Thursday, August 28, 2008

Lubbock's Day Out

Nothing exciting to write ... of course, I just woke up. I'm going to try to get a shower in before Lubbock wakes up. I enrolled him in a Mother's Day Out program. It's Wednesday morning from 9 to noon. I figured it would be nice to have a scheduled block of time to devote to housework. When writing it on the calendar, however, I started to write "Mother's Day Out" and realized what a misleading name that is. I'm not going out! Lubbock's going out ... so around these parts, it's known as "Lubbock's Day Out!"

I only enrolled in the Wednesdays we didn't have guests in town and didn't do the first Wednesdays of the month because I've been joining my friend Gretchen at a Mom's Together program at her church. It's really nice. They provide daycare and then you go and sit with about 150 other local Moms, eat breakfast, and then listen to a speaker on an array of topics. My favorite one was about marriage and what our husbands need from us. It was a while ago, but I realized that by spending money unnecessarily, it's actually being disrespectful to Kevin. He works hard to earn that money and his efforts should be appreciated.

Crud, Lubbock's awake! I guess a shower will have to wait.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

You're Not in Texas Anymore

Kevin was so sad when he got home yesterday. He got his birth certificate and exchanged his Texas driver's license for an Illinois one. I'm sure it's got to be weird to open your wallet and see a completely foreign ID in there. He said the first time he hears "Oh, you're from Illinois" when he's in Texas is going to be really hard for him. He would much rather hear "Oh, you're from Texas" when he's up here. I felt bad for him.

Heather dropped off Eleanor today for a little bit so she could take Joey for a haircut. Eleanor is really cute and she's a really good big sister to both Joey (and surrogate-ly) to Lubbock. Heather brought over lunch from Panera and we talked for a little bit until it was obvious that all the kids were ready for a nap.

So, that's where we are now. Lubbock's napping. Laundry and dishes are going. Pork chops are marinating in a garlic parmesan dressing. I can't decide if I want to take a nap myself, so I figured I'd turn everything off and blog for a minute.

My dad called earlier and said that he and his new wife (Colleen ... long O), booked flights to come out toward the end of September. It will be really nice to get to know her a little better. My dad's on his 6th marriage. I really hate saying that since most people know I grew up Mormon and so, immediately, they assume I mean six wives. No, these all happened separately. I am able to see already that Colleen is taking an interest in us and isn't jealous of him wanting to spend time with us, so that's really nice. I just want him to be happy and for Colleen to be able to enjoy her visit in Illinois.

This is making for a busy month, though. We've got a trip to the lake house, I've got a Saturday class to learn how to "man the polls" for Election Day, a big trip to a kid's clothing sale planned with other moms ... okay, maybe not that busy. Still feels like it.

Oh! I found out Hayes Carll (my new music crush) is going to be in Chicago on 11/5, so I got tickets. He's playing at this really tiny bar that looks like it only seat 80 according to the website. It will be awesome to see him in such a small venue. Kevin really likes him, too. His music reminds us of Texas. It should be a good night. We just have to figure out if we want to stay downtown that night or hire a towncar because I don't like being irresponsible when it comes to late nights and driving.

I think I'm going to see about a quick nap ... maybe. I'm not much for napping, but lying down never hurt anyone.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Olympic Slump

I love the Olympics. I can barely peal myself away from the television when they're on. I actually love a lot of sporting events (March Madness ... a good story to share in a bit about that, and the Bowl part of college football are probably my other two favorites). I think I like sports so much because you NEVER know what's going to happen. It's not like a one hour mystery show that about three minutes into it, you've already figured out the plot. Anyway ... the Olympics ended with such a spectacular show ... although, not as exciting as the the opening show. This year, with the aid of Tivo, I actually finally finished watching the Olympics last night. I wanted to see the men's marathon and basketball game, but with Kevin's birthday weekend (we decided to extend it), I couldn't get to it until then. So, now the slump hits me. I have nothing to watch on TV, so I'm going to be back to a better wife, mother, house cleaner, friend, sister, daughter, blogger ... maybe it's not such a bad thing.

Kevin took Friday off. He first went for a haircut. He usually goes to SportsClips, but there was a 20 minute wait, so he decided to try a local business instead. The lady reminded him of his mom and he loved his new haircut, so he set up an appointment for Lubbock later that afternoon. (Yes, he did just get his first haircut recently, but he must have my hair because it's already long!) He went to renew his license, but couldn't do it without either his birth certificate or his high school transcripts (why these are equivalent forms of ID, I'm not sure), so we had to call his dad to mail his birth certificate to us. Then, we went to the Polo outlet store and he got a pair of shorts and two shirts for his birthday. (He also found a cute green one for Lubbock ... they have about four matching outfits now ... so cute!)

Saturday, we just hung out and ran around town. There's an antique store we've always meant to go to just down the street. In the same parking lot, there was a store going out of business and selling all it's fixtures. I was able to find a great table that is more suited for being a craft room table.

This reminds me ... the picture to the left is a table I am IN LOVE WITH. It is at the Anthropologie store and costs $1300. While Kevin seems to think it's a bit overboard (especially since it doesn't come with chairs) ... I happen to think that I didn't know my life was incomplete until I saw it. Again, I'm being over-dramatic. Really, I left my name and phone number and asked that if they ever marked it down ... like 75% off or so ... maybe I could talk Kevin into getting it. In the meantime, I think the first table I bought to go downstairs may turn into another project. I want to paint the legs yellow and buy a white Corian top to go on it. From my research online, I think I can get the top for about $100 from a scrap yard. I still don't know what to do about the chairs, but surely I can find some great garage sale or Craigslist finds for that.

Okay, my March Madness story, then off to housework ... Kevin and I met March 2, 2002. I only know this date because it's my brother's birthday and I remember calling them from my car before going into the club. We didn't really hit it off from the start. I thought he was hitting on my roommate (as he puts it ... casting a few lines and maybe one would bite). He offered to buy drinks and I accepted. We hung out and exchanged numbers. I really didn't think about calling him. But, the next morning, I woke up and I was hungry. I also was low on funds ... as a resourceful young woman, I decided to call him and we had lunch! I started to like him a little more. About two weeks later, my best friend, Moshmee called. She had lost her job and wanted to know if I would come down there that weekend. I called Kevin to see if he wanted to go and he said it sounded like fun. We packed up the car and drove to Austin on Saturday morning. When we got there, Moshmee, was still at a music festival, so Kevin and I hung out at a bar ... drinking and watching basketball. A few drinks later, we started talking about differences between Oklahoma (where we lived at the time) and Texas (where we both grew up). We thought it was silly that you couldn't get tattoos in Oklahoma and decided that since we were in Texas, we should get some. He asked what I would get and I pointed to a logo on the Coors Light bottle. It's the shape of Texas, but filled in like the Texas flag. Shocked, he said it was the same thing he wanted. We walked to the nearest tattoo parlor and got matching tattoos within a month of meeting. We were so dumb. At least we didn't get each other's names!

More later, I'm sure.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

A One Mile Line and a Happy Birthday

On Tuesday, I was going to take Sonic drinks to the masses and drop off a dozen Cherry Limeades to Kevin's office. Alas, Kevin decided it was too busy for me to stop by. I'm kind of glad, though. When Lauren got off work, we packed up Lubbock and began our short drive to Sonic. About a mile away, traffic came to a complete stop. I was freaking out ... how can the line for Sonic be a mile long? Lauren kept insisting there had to be another explanation. "No," I said. "There is no stop light between us and Sonic. This has to be the line. Chicago has been waiting for a Sonic and now we're in a one mile line in pursuit of happiness." Okay, I was a little dramatic. Indeed, there was a small accident and traffic had gone down to one lane.

As we arrived at Sonic, there were traffic cones and lots of employees not allowing people into the parking lot. Instead, they directed us to the far end of the Wal-Mart parking lot. We were put in a line with other cars ... all full of people wanting the same thing ... a Sonic meal. Yes, we waited 45 minutes in line just to get into a Sonic stall! We then ordered our food from someone obviously not too familiar with the menu (apparently Illinois needs to learn that white gravy is an appropriate thing to dip fries into!) and then received our food from a youngster on skates that couldn't count change. If an order totals $10.36 and I give you $11.36 (I believe in tipping at Sonic), my change is not $.64. It will get better, it has to get better. But, Lubbock had his first taste of Cherry Limeade (how Britney Spears of me as Lauren put it).

Kevin drove by last night and said the line is still in the Wal-Mart parking lot. He doesn't think it's worth the wait as much as I do.

On to a different topic. Kevin's son. (I'm denying parental ties at this moment.) For the third time in the last week, he's taken off his diaper at nap time and taken aim on the floor of his nursery. Kevin's son. I just don't know what to do. I'm not ready to potty train a 15 month old. I guess I'm going to let him nap with pants on. He hasn't figured out how to take those off yet.

My husband is 32 today. That's crazy old! I can't believe it. He's so nonchalant about his birthdays. Me? I celebrate for a whole week. Kevin? He went to work today. He's taking tomorrow off, but only because he needs to actually get an Illinois license. He's finally giving up his Texas one. He needs to register to vote, too. I still don't know what we're going to do for his birthday. I've tried looking for something cool, but in the big city of Chicagoland, there's NOTHING going on. I think it's because school starts around now. He said he is going to go with my sister to Karaoke tonight. Singing is probably not on his agenda, but I'm sure a few Coors Light are. He deserves a relaxing time. Lauren is babysitting on Saturday evening, so we'll go out to dinner. But, there's nothing to open for his birthday. He'd rather go shopping then open a gift. I'm the opposite. I like the surprise. Then again, I hate the surprise when I know there's a surprise. If that makes sense.

Anyway, I'm going to go see about a nap before Lubbock wakes up from his.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A Drink and a Mop

Oh, it's been so busy around here. My sister found a super cute third floor to rent in this beautiful 1900 Victorian style home. They have lush flower gardens planted all over the property and an outdoor game room! I'm happy she found such a nice place to rent ... and it's only about a mile away, so she's still able to stop by. In fact, she moved out on Friday, but we've still seen her everyday since.

Lubbock discovered recently that if you have keys in your hand, you're leaving. When he notices the keys, he runs over and hugs your leg and cries ... no, screams. When Lauren left yesterday, I put Lubbock in his crib and closed the door to his room. Lauren left quietly and when I let Lubbock out of his room, he wandered around looking for Lauren, but at least there was no fit throwing.

I just forgot what I titled this entry ... let me explain. Since moving to Illinois, there are only a few things I miss ... fried okra, Mexican food, and a Sonic drink. Well, my friends, I can make my own fried okra and Mexican food, but my wait for Sonic is over! The one they've been building only 4 or 5 miles away is officially open for business. Kevin drove by yesterday and said that every stall was filled and the drive-thru line was completely backed up. Alas, I will still brave the wait and submit myself to the torture of sitting in a parked car with a 15 month old in order to once again enjoy the goodness of a "Medium Diet Coke, easy on the ice"! Kevin also wants me to bring his team some Cherry Limeades. He just hasn't let me know how many.

As for the mop ... Since I've been a stay-at-home mom, I have started to take great pride in making sure my house is clean. I only get around to it about once a week, but I like to be completely in the zone when I do clean. This week, Kevin took Lubbock for the full week's grocery shopping while I cleaned. (Side story: It reminds me of the Everybody Loves Raymond episode when he comes back with 10 boxes of 1 ply tissue and all sorts of other "wrong" stuff. Kevin bought the "wrong" paper towels ... he got the kind that have little flowers, while I like the completely white ones ... the other ones just mess with my OCD-ness. He got the gelpac dishwasher thingys and I like the powder ones with the Jet Dry ball. He got two rotten avocados and I like non-rotten ones. Then, to top it all off, two pints of Ben and Jerry's. Who needs that? Not us!) Anyway, I used to be able to afford a housekeeper, but since I'm not working, she didn't really fit into the budget. So, I've been trying to do my best to keep the floors as clean as she did. I first tried the Hoover FloorMate. It's like a vacuum that mops, too. Unfortunately, it didn't do a good job getting into the little grooves of the linoleum. So, I tried the sponge mop that fold over on itself to drain the water. But, when I pushed down on it to scrub really hard, it would keep flipping over. So, I tried the kind you push down on the handle and it squeezes the sponge, but the rods on either side keep chewing up the sponge and now it's falling apart. I just bought the dang thing two months ago. I've done some internet research on what kind of mop others recommend and there's two of them. One is the Libman Wonder Mop and the other is the Oxo Good Grips Roller Mop. (Well, actually people recommend hand and knees ... I've done that twice and do agree that it is the best, but my whole house needs to be mopped and that's a very long process.) I'm just not sure the string kind of mop is appropriate for a wood floor. But, I'm going to go investigate these two kinds of mops and buy yet another mop.

Wow! My life is really un-exciting if I can fill a whole entry on the trials and tribulations of my mopping career! Lubbock sounds like he's ready for his breakfast. Then, its off to Sonic.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Olympic Fever

I'm watching the Olympics 24/7 ... Go USA!!! I've taught Lubbock how to say "YAAA" and hold his hands above his head. Too cute!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The "Olden" Days

FYI ... I'm really behind on a ton of things, so I'm just writing "bullet points" to remind myself what I should write about ... I'll add more detail later. I'm just a forgetful person sometimes!

Our house guest, Moshmee, left town, but Kevin and I met back up with her on Saturday night at an outdoor concert venue called Ravinia. It was awesome and the Gypsy Kings were of course very exciting. It was nice to see Cormic and Nadine, too.

I spent Monday cleaning the house and then horrible storms passed just to our north on Monday night. We lost our power and since we're on well water, that means no water. I hate not having water. Kevin went to bed about 8:00 p.m. and Lauren and I stayed up laughing about how everything we wanted to do was electricity based. "What did people do in the olden days?" We couldn't even play Apples to Apples since it was just two of us. So, we started harassing our two brothers via text. Yes, no power, and yet, somehow ... we manage to find a way to use modern technology to entertain ourselves. Our other options that we considered were reading poetry to each other or seeing how far we could get in singing the score to The Secret Garden. The next morning, still no power. Lubbock and I went to the nearest McDonalds for breakfast then came home ... still no power. We went to the library for an hour or so then came home ... still no power. We went to Target and wandered (bought diapers, which by the way went up $2) then came home ... still no power. I finally decided that at this point, I was risking losing the food in my fridge if we didn't get our generator hooked up, so I asked Kevin to come home from work. He got home a little after 1:00 p.m. and hooked up the generator and then worked from home as well as he could with just his Blackberry. At about 5:00 p.m., we decided to check into a hotel for the night ... Ahhhhhh, shower ... how I missed you! We invited Lauren to join us, but the hotel was very far away since everyone in our area had checked in the night before. She sent me a text around midnight saying we had power. YAAAA! So, we stayed the night in the hotel since we paid for it and we already there. Kevin got to sleep in a little since the hotel was pretty close to his work. Lubbock and I packed up the room and came home to get ready for our playgroup at Jen & Haley's house. He's taking a nap and I have to take a shower (again), but I thought I'd get a quick entry done.

I do have pictures to post, but the computer's being really slow right now. Maybe I'll get those up after I catch up on laundry tonight!