My mom has been so nice to point out that 13 yrs ago this weekend was my baby shower. She was also so kind to point out that she thought I would have had another child by now.
Thanks mom, I have not thought about that at all.
Time has flown by so fast. Colin will be a teenager soon :(
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Gambling and Appliances
Weird title right, I guess I should explain. Frank has a friend that is known to gamble A LOT! We went to AC a few years ago with Frank's job and this guy LOST $5000. IN ONE DAY. Yeah, I like to gamble a little too. But I generally gamble with about $100-$200. I don't like to lose my money, but I figure that if I went into the city for dinner, drinks, & dancing, then I would spend about $100.
So this guy, apparently is in a lot of trouble and a lot of debt. He bought a condo last year which will be forclosed on very soon. I guess he intended on remodeling it and bought (but never installed) all new stainless steel appliances, new cabinets, new title, new lighting, etc.
This is obviously where the appliances come into the story. We have been without a kitchen for over a year now! That's right, no kitchen.....we do all of our cooking on the BBQ or a small single coil hot plate. We are on such a tight budget for our renovations. This friend, knowing that we are fixing our house, wants to sell the appliances (Fridge, stove, Dish Washer, microwave) and the lighting fixture to us for only $2000. We might even buy the titles.
I feel bad for the guy that he is going through all of this crap, but hey, I am getting a really good deal.
So this guy, apparently is in a lot of trouble and a lot of debt. He bought a condo last year which will be forclosed on very soon. I guess he intended on remodeling it and bought (but never installed) all new stainless steel appliances, new cabinets, new title, new lighting, etc.
This is obviously where the appliances come into the story. We have been without a kitchen for over a year now! That's right, no kitchen.....we do all of our cooking on the BBQ or a small single coil hot plate. We are on such a tight budget for our renovations. This friend, knowing that we are fixing our house, wants to sell the appliances (Fridge, stove, Dish Washer, microwave) and the lighting fixture to us for only $2000. We might even buy the titles.
I feel bad for the guy that he is going through all of this crap, but hey, I am getting a really good deal.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Does "milk & sugar" = "light & sweet"?
OK, every once in a while I stop at dunkin donuts before work. It is a smaller one, but hey it's on my way. Anyway, I don't go in there enough to be a "regular". But, let me tell you, if you are a regualar, the people that work there know exactly what you what the second you walk in the door.
You can hear them say, "Large, skim, 2 sugars" or "Old fashioned, large black". If I went in there all the time, I can guarantee that I would walk in the door and they would say "Medium hot tea with milk and sugar, glazed stick". What is my point you ask?? I am predictable.
That's right, I am very predictable. I can meet my husband at a casual dining place and he could order a full meal for me. Burger, no tomato, diet coke, side of fries. I am not saying that I never deviate from that, but if he ordered that I would be perfectly happy.
It's not just the food. That is who I am. I get in a grove and just do the same thing over and over again. I don't really like change.
It's funny, I stayed at a crappy job for almost 9 years because that was my routine. I only left because I moved and it would have taken me 1 1/2 hours to get to and from work. That moved changed everything, and my "regular" went out the window.
When I moved, everything that was regular in my life changed, and all at once. New job, new town, new husband, new school for Colin.....new start. It was of course a change for the better, but it took a while to get used to my new regular.
To end - maybe next time I order my hot tea I will order light and sweet instead of milk and sugar.....boy I am a rebel :)
You can hear them say, "Large, skim, 2 sugars" or "Old fashioned, large black". If I went in there all the time, I can guarantee that I would walk in the door and they would say "Medium hot tea with milk and sugar, glazed stick". What is my point you ask?? I am predictable.
That's right, I am very predictable. I can meet my husband at a casual dining place and he could order a full meal for me. Burger, no tomato, diet coke, side of fries. I am not saying that I never deviate from that, but if he ordered that I would be perfectly happy.
It's not just the food. That is who I am. I get in a grove and just do the same thing over and over again. I don't really like change.
It's funny, I stayed at a crappy job for almost 9 years because that was my routine. I only left because I moved and it would have taken me 1 1/2 hours to get to and from work. That moved changed everything, and my "regular" went out the window.
When I moved, everything that was regular in my life changed, and all at once. New job, new town, new husband, new school for Colin.....new start. It was of course a change for the better, but it took a while to get used to my new regular.
To end - maybe next time I order my hot tea I will order light and sweet instead of milk and sugar.....boy I am a rebel :)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
We are planners!
OK - My sister just sent the schedule of events between now and January. First let me say that I love my family and love spending time with everyone. We plan like crazy (Poker night, apple picking, baking cookies, etc). There are so many of us that it is hard not to plan 5 months in advance.
We have something to do basically every other weekend from now until Jan. Then we take a break and go on a huge family cruise in April. A cruise, mind you, that was planned in Sept '06. Yep, you read that right, we planned an April '08 cruise in Sept '06.
When we planned the cruise, the first thing that popped in my head was "oh, cute - I will have a little one to bring and hopefully be pregnant with #2". I am not joking, I seriously thought that I would go off BCP in Oct 2006, get knocked up soon there after, have a baby by the end of 2007 and be pregnant again by April 2008. I never thought it would be almost Sept and I would not be pregnant.
Like I said, we are planners. We like to plan. We do things years in advance. You don't plan to have issues getting pregnant. In December of 2006, I really thought I would be close to having a baby by now. Picking out the nursery, trying to find out about my shower, etc.
The funny thing is is that in Feb, I was trying to calculate what my due date would have been if I got pregnant that month. It turns out that it was going to be the same due date as Colin's. I thought that would be cool to have kids born on the same day only 13 years apart. Yeah, well not only did I not get pregnant that cycle. But, that cycle would last 87 days.
We have something to do basically every other weekend from now until Jan. Then we take a break and go on a huge family cruise in April. A cruise, mind you, that was planned in Sept '06. Yep, you read that right, we planned an April '08 cruise in Sept '06.
When we planned the cruise, the first thing that popped in my head was "oh, cute - I will have a little one to bring and hopefully be pregnant with #2". I am not joking, I seriously thought that I would go off BCP in Oct 2006, get knocked up soon there after, have a baby by the end of 2007 and be pregnant again by April 2008. I never thought it would be almost Sept and I would not be pregnant.
Like I said, we are planners. We like to plan. We do things years in advance. You don't plan to have issues getting pregnant. In December of 2006, I really thought I would be close to having a baby by now. Picking out the nursery, trying to find out about my shower, etc.
The funny thing is is that in Feb, I was trying to calculate what my due date would have been if I got pregnant that month. It turns out that it was going to be the same due date as Colin's. I thought that would be cool to have kids born on the same day only 13 years apart. Yeah, well not only did I not get pregnant that cycle. But, that cycle would last 87 days.
Tough Guys Wear Pink ?!?!?
OK, as much as I really don't like printed tee shirts, Colin is getting to the point where he likes to pick out his own clothes. Don't get me wrong, I don't lay out his clothes, I just buy them.
Last night we went school shopping. Sassy (or as I like to call them - Snarky) tees are all the rage. Now, there are some that I would never let him get; but there are some that are just so funny.
Last year we started with "Tough Guys Wear Pink" - really?? I think guys that wear pink are "pretending" that they are tough. It is almost like a unwritten rule. You wear pink, you better be tough because you are gonna get the crap beaten out of you. LOL
Colin found this hat. It was a camo fisherman type of hat. Of course there is no tag on the hat so I have no idea how much is actually cost. But let me tell you, the hat looked so damn cute on him. His is growing his hair so the hat kind of covers the funky hair that he has right now. But he wore that hat the entire time we were in the store. Mind you, the entire time I still have no idea how much it costs. Hey, for al I know it is actually not even for sale; but something someone left behind. So we get to the register, and they have someone go look for the same hat to get a price. I love being "that" person that holds up the line. So, I pay for the sassy tees and figure that I would pay for the hat separate so I don't have an angry crowd behind me.
10 minutes go by, do I really want to wait for this hat. God, it looks so cute on him. So I wait. I tell Colin that if it is too expensive he can't have it.
Finally, we get a call. The hat costs $2. GREAT!!! The best part is that I have no cash, so I had to charge $2. Whatever, he looks really cute in the hat!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Going "Down the Shore"
I always wondered why we go "down the Shore" but once we get there we are still "down the Shore" Why aren't we "at the shore"?
Anyway, we are going to LBI area again this weekend. This time with Colin and my parents. MMG said that she might join us but that we are "Plan C" - Plan C???? I guess I don't really rank.
I must say, it is nice to have a place that we can just get away to. It is supposed to be a cheap vacation, but I always spend lots of money here. We are hoping to do things that Colin will like since he has never been there. There is a place called Popcorn Zoo, apparently it is the BOMB. The place has only rescued animals and the such. And I guess you feed the animals popcorn. I think Colin will like it.
It will be a nice break. It is funny, because the last time we were there was when I thought I would ovulate and by now I would be a couple of weeks pregnant, yea well that's not the case, I have not even gotten my period since 2 weeks before our last trip. Now that I think about it, that seems much longer than 67 days. That trip seems so long ago.
Anyway, it will be nice to get away. And here is the super lame part. My parents will be there this weekend also. I mean it is there house so we really can't kick them out. But, my mom has already told me that my dad wants to give Colin $100 to have a great time. The way I look at it is that is $100 I don't have to spend!!
Anyway, we are going to LBI area again this weekend. This time with Colin and my parents. MMG said that she might join us but that we are "Plan C" - Plan C???? I guess I don't really rank.
I must say, it is nice to have a place that we can just get away to. It is supposed to be a cheap vacation, but I always spend lots of money here. We are hoping to do things that Colin will like since he has never been there. There is a place called Popcorn Zoo, apparently it is the BOMB. The place has only rescued animals and the such. And I guess you feed the animals popcorn. I think Colin will like it.
It will be a nice break. It is funny, because the last time we were there was when I thought I would ovulate and by now I would be a couple of weeks pregnant, yea well that's not the case, I have not even gotten my period since 2 weeks before our last trip. Now that I think about it, that seems much longer than 67 days. That trip seems so long ago.
Anyway, it will be nice to get away. And here is the super lame part. My parents will be there this weekend also. I mean it is there house so we really can't kick them out. But, my mom has already told me that my dad wants to give Colin $100 to have a great time. The way I look at it is that is $100 I don't have to spend!!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Colin starts school in 1 1/2 weeks
Colin will be 13 in the fall, where has the time gone. I can't believe I was pregnant 13 years ago. Over the last year, I have been on a message board with others trying to get pregnant. I can't believe how much has changed since 1994. I am listing them here, I am sure that there are more, maybe I will update the list as I see fit.
Some of the differences
1. When I was pregnant, you got one (yes one) ultrasound. This was done at when ever the Dr said so. This is now considered the "big" ultrasound. I was able to have 2 ultrasounds because at the end I was spotting and had to have an emergency ultrasound. I see women getting an ultrasound as early as 6 weeks.
2. You were months pregnant, not weeks. You just figured that a pregnancy was 9 months so based on your due date you would subtract 1 month from that, etc. So I was due in Nov - so in July I would have been 5 months pregnant...I have no idea how many weeks that is.
3. You never figured out the due date yourself. You went to the doctor and they pulled out this fancy wheel thing (I know they still have it) and that was it. There was never moving any due date based on ultrasound. Your date was based on your last period - that's it.
4. Registering for a baby shower was basically unheard of. My mom basically made a list of things that I needed and crossed things of this list.
5. Nothing matched, I had what I needed and that was enough.
6. When you went to Toys R Us (or anywhere) there was about 4 car seats (high chairs, play pens, etc) to choose from. I have been there recently and I can not believe the amount of crap the have now. I also can't believe that each company has several patterns, types, etc of every product. 13 yrs ago, the only way you got a different pattern was use a different brand.
7. During my pregnancy - other than drinking alcohol and smoking, everything else was ok. Yes, I was told not a lot of caffenine and maybe some other small things, but in no way was it no tuna, no ceasar salad, no this no that. I see things on BOTB and I am like, What???? I know things are different and I know that I ahve not done the reasearh on why certain food are a no-no, but my son is fine and I ate whatever I wanted.
8. If you child was cold, you put a blanket on him.
9. My son drank juice (what a horrible mom I am).
10. There were no boppy, bumbo chair, diaper gennie (well, this one was brand new), they did not have fancy car seats that clipped into a fancy carriage, my diaper bag was the free one from the hospital (best bag ever), wipe warmer meant that you rubbed your hands together before you touched the wipe, my swing was a swing that made this loud noise, not this sideways swinging thing that is so quiet.
11. Maternity clothes were the worst thing EVER! They all had this horrible circular collar - yes, even in the nice expensive stores all the shirts were the same. Trendy and Maternity were never in the same sentence.
12. Pregnant girls would never show their belly and would NEVER had done pregnany photo shoots.
13. Formula feeding was considered the norm. It was weird to breastfeed.
14. Only your coach was in the room with you. And the delivery room was not this semi-private room. It was just a delivery room, where you and 4-6 other women were delivering also. You would NEVER has your mom, your MIL, your cousins ex-girlfriend, your Best Friends Husband, etc in the room.
15. My son had bumpers in his crib.
16. My son LOVED his walker. We actually put plexiglass (sp) over a french door so he could crash into it without getting hurt.
17. The internet did not exist, you got your information by actually talking to your doctor or buy buying a book (gasp)
18. I probaby had lunch meat every day.
19. I colored my hair - probably twice.
20. my son actually played in the dirt!!! Probably had many worms in his mouth and he is still alive!!! Yes I washed his hands, I probably even used some soap at times, but I never prevented him from playing in the dirt and never followed him with antibacterial gel.
21.It was the norm not to find out the sex of the child.
22. Pain Medicine was the norm. Most doctors would just give this to you, you had to specificlly request NOT to have pain meds.
23. His "jumperoo" was a cloth like seat that was attached to a spring that had a clasp on it. The clasp hung from a door way. He loved it!!!!
I am sure that there are tons more because I come across it all the time. I always think to my self - I never did any of that, etc.
I am not flaming anyone or the way they treat their pregnancy or how they raise their child, I am just stating that it is VERY different from 13 years ago.
My son is a very healthy, well adjusted 12 1/2 year old. I was a single mom for 11 of those 12 years and I think he turned out GREAT!
Some of the differences
1. When I was pregnant, you got one (yes one) ultrasound. This was done at when ever the Dr said so. This is now considered the "big" ultrasound. I was able to have 2 ultrasounds because at the end I was spotting and had to have an emergency ultrasound. I see women getting an ultrasound as early as 6 weeks.
2. You were months pregnant, not weeks. You just figured that a pregnancy was 9 months so based on your due date you would subtract 1 month from that, etc. So I was due in Nov - so in July I would have been 5 months pregnant...I have no idea how many weeks that is.
3. You never figured out the due date yourself. You went to the doctor and they pulled out this fancy wheel thing (I know they still have it) and that was it. There was never moving any due date based on ultrasound. Your date was based on your last period - that's it.
4. Registering for a baby shower was basically unheard of. My mom basically made a list of things that I needed and crossed things of this list.
5. Nothing matched, I had what I needed and that was enough.
6. When you went to Toys R Us (or anywhere) there was about 4 car seats (high chairs, play pens, etc) to choose from. I have been there recently and I can not believe the amount of crap the have now. I also can't believe that each company has several patterns, types, etc of every product. 13 yrs ago, the only way you got a different pattern was use a different brand.
7. During my pregnancy - other than drinking alcohol and smoking, everything else was ok. Yes, I was told not a lot of caffenine and maybe some other small things, but in no way was it no tuna, no ceasar salad, no this no that. I see things on BOTB and I am like, What???? I know things are different and I know that I ahve not done the reasearh on why certain food are a no-no, but my son is fine and I ate whatever I wanted.
8. If you child was cold, you put a blanket on him.
9. My son drank juice (what a horrible mom I am).
10. There were no boppy, bumbo chair, diaper gennie (well, this one was brand new), they did not have fancy car seats that clipped into a fancy carriage, my diaper bag was the free one from the hospital (best bag ever), wipe warmer meant that you rubbed your hands together before you touched the wipe, my swing was a swing that made this loud noise, not this sideways swinging thing that is so quiet.
11. Maternity clothes were the worst thing EVER! They all had this horrible circular collar - yes, even in the nice expensive stores all the shirts were the same. Trendy and Maternity were never in the same sentence.
12. Pregnant girls would never show their belly and would NEVER had done pregnany photo shoots.
13. Formula feeding was considered the norm. It was weird to breastfeed.
14. Only your coach was in the room with you. And the delivery room was not this semi-private room. It was just a delivery room, where you and 4-6 other women were delivering also. You would NEVER has your mom, your MIL, your cousins ex-girlfriend, your Best Friends Husband, etc in the room.
15. My son had bumpers in his crib.
16. My son LOVED his walker. We actually put plexiglass (sp) over a french door so he could crash into it without getting hurt.
17. The internet did not exist, you got your information by actually talking to your doctor or buy buying a book (gasp)
18. I probaby had lunch meat every day.
19. I colored my hair - probably twice.
20. my son actually played in the dirt!!! Probably had many worms in his mouth and he is still alive!!! Yes I washed his hands, I probably even used some soap at times, but I never prevented him from playing in the dirt and never followed him with antibacterial gel.
21.It was the norm not to find out the sex of the child.
22. Pain Medicine was the norm. Most doctors would just give this to you, you had to specificlly request NOT to have pain meds.
23. His "jumperoo" was a cloth like seat that was attached to a spring that had a clasp on it. The clasp hung from a door way. He loved it!!!!
I am sure that there are tons more because I come across it all the time. I always think to my self - I never did any of that, etc.
I am not flaming anyone or the way they treat their pregnancy or how they raise their child, I am just stating that it is VERY different from 13 years ago.
My son is a very healthy, well adjusted 12 1/2 year old. I was a single mom for 11 of those 12 years and I think he turned out GREAT!
Day One
I have tried this blogging thing so many times. I post for about a week and then never again. I actually deleted 3 blogs under this e-mail address. One I started about 4 years ago. There was one post, how lame is that.
I was thinking about making separate blogs for different topics (raising a tween, trying to get pregnant, fixing up our house, etc) but if I can't maintain one blog, how the heck can I do multiple????
Anyway, I hope this will be the first post of many.
I was thinking about making separate blogs for different topics (raising a tween, trying to get pregnant, fixing up our house, etc) but if I can't maintain one blog, how the heck can I do multiple????
Anyway, I hope this will be the first post of many.