Not Me Monday!

I did not steal this idea from a friend's blog. I made it up all on my own.

I did not eat 10 potstickers for breakfast. 10 is surely too many. I only ate 5.

I did not put Kyle in his crib this afternoon hoping that he would go to sleep but knowing he wouldnt. That would hurt his feelings. Or he would just play.

I did not seriously consider going out to eat instead of making dinner after being at the cell phone repair shop for hours on end to no avail.

I did not drink another Starbucks Frappuccino this afternoon when I probably shouldnt have.

I did not leave my dishes in the sink to 'soak' for so long that the water got cold. No sir, I scrubbed them up the minute I put them in there.

I did not go 2 days without washing my hair, only to wear it up today because you could tell-it was gross.

I swear, I did none of these things. Or did I?

A day of exploring

Today we went out to explore. We ended up by the "Great Salt Lake". Really not very great in our opinion. It is so salty it is considered the Dead Sea of the US. I think brine shrimp live out there. And a lot of smells live out there too. But we still explored. We picked up some rocks and threw them. Kyle learned the great art of navigating unsteady terrain. He even learned about climbing up rocks. He is so brave it is scary.

It was a really decent day for it. Not too sunny, not too cold. T-shirt weather.

And Kyle even kept his new hat on the whole time.

Until he bumped it on a rock and it came off. Of course, he wanted it right back on.

Now Mommy is tired. Do you think we wore out that boy? Not a chance.

Mommy Day!

I got a Mommy day today. Or better yet, a Lisa day. Larabee took Kyle out this morning to do 'man things', giving me some time to myself. I decided to head over to the mall because I needed to get my ring cleaned. Not something I necessarily want to take Kyle with me to do. So I wandered around the mall, went to a few stores, and even got a haircut. In peace! It is absolutely amazing how good it is for the soul to do something for yourself. I don't do it nearly enough, but that is my own fault. I dont necessarily want to go do too many things by myself, so maybe I should start thinking of things. As much as I adore being with Kyle, some time away from him is good for both of us.

My big owie

Last Thursday was simply a bad day. I had the stomach flu something terrible, my Grandma Donna passed away and, when I was on the phone with my mom, I fell down the stairs of our trailer and buggered up my back. I was so scared, and the first thought I had when I realized what had happened was "Oh my God, the baby!" I burst into tears because by that point I was simply overrun with emotion. I was sore, and I hurt, but that had nothing to do with my tears. My tears were coming from my heart, a mother's heart, and a heart that was (at that time) full of fear. I gathered up my phone, let the dogs in, called my mom back for just a second, called and left Larabee a crying-barely-understandable message on his phone, and got out the phone book. Kyle was napping, so fortunately I was able to focus all of my attention on finding a Dr that would see me that day. Since I don't have an OBGYN yet it wasn't like I could just call her/him and have them squeeze me in. Fortunately I found a place that not only got me in within an hour, but also gave me an ultrasound no questions asked. I got to see that little bean in my belly that is just growing and growing. I got to see that wonderful heartbeat, and hearing it was just awesome. We (the ultrasound tech and I) even saw the baby wiggle around. Yay!
So everything ended up OK. My bruises are even pretty much gone at this point and I have one scab on my back from a bad scratch. Other than that, I am good to go. According to the measurements of baby on the ultrasound I am 8 weeks and 5 days into my pregnancy. 2 months. Hard to believe. I am so thankful.

Hugs

Is there anything as precious as a hug? Can anything lower your blood pressure more quickly than a hug? Can anything make the world right again like a hug? I think not.
Kyle has recently learned how to really hug, you know, by actually squeezing his arms around your neck. It is wonderful. Every time I change his diaper I stand him up and he just hugs me and hugs me. It fills my heart with an unexplainable joy because Kyle has never been a cuddle bug. He is way too busy for that, so the fact that he takes time out of his busy day to give his Mama a hug (which sometimes lasts for 2 or 3 minutes) makes it all the more special.
My heartstrings are being tugged just thinking about it!

Getting our bearings

A new city, a new routine. I am such a routine oriented person that it is really irritating to break routine or change routine. I am not having such a hard time this time around though, which is surprising. Maybe I am simply glad to be here. Maybe I needed a change. Maybe I will be able to be more efficient this time around. Not a bad thing if you ask me.
I have scoped out the Library, which we went to today for story time. Kyle had a blast playing with the other kids close to his age and I really loved watching how well he interacts with everyone. He is such a little love. I always joke that he is forever running for Mayor. He will go to anyone, is perfectly sweet and adorable, and leaves a group gushing. If that doesn't scream politics I don't know what does. As long as it only ever goes as far as class president.
So now we get to get into the routine of being here. I am glad because I was tired of my Texas routine.

Our big move!

I know I am a few days late in posting this, but better late than never, right?

We are finally out of Texas. I hate you Texas. I love you Texas. I never want to go back. I miss you. It is complicated. I miss the winter weather (which is like summer at home) and I never want to see the summer weather again (which is somewhat like living on the sun).

Our family made a lot of wonderful memories in the state you don't mess with. Kyle spent the better part of his first 15 months of life there. He learned how to crawl there. Though he learned how to walk in good 'ol Idaho, as any good Idaho boy should. He got to go to the ocean, to amusement parks, and to the Zoo. He even acquired a new dog there. We naturally referred to our trailer space as home, however temporary it was, but if you ever ask me I will tell you that I never lived there. I just stayed there for a while. I believe 'a while' is an undisclosed amount of time, so it is still true.

As of now Texas is simply a memory. We may have to go back someday, but I will be the first to say that I hope we don't ever have to. It is hot, it is dirty, and it is just not home.

Now we are in Salt Lake City and I am ever so glad to be closer to home. I know it is still 11 hours away, but it is much much closer than San Antonio. When we crossed into New Mexico, my heart sang. When I first saw real mountains, snow, and beautiful landscape, my soul rejoiced. I feel whole again. I feel like myself. I feel as if I have snapped out of a mundane existence and back into real life. It makes me sad to know how uninspired I was in Texas. I need visual stimulation, I need nature at it's finest, and I need fresh air and open spaces. We have only been here three days and it already feels more like home than San Antonio ever did. That seems strange to me. Perhaps it is because we are now in more of a groove and not so homesick. I think that the way the economy is we have stepped away from the 'woe is me' attitude about not being at home and stepped into the idea that we are truly thankful that we are still surviving. We are blessed.