Its gotta be better than last year....

Tomorrow I will turn 31.  It feels like only yesterday when I was blissfully writing this post, where I gushed about how excited I was to turn 30.  Although we didn't have any real plans, I was looking forward to spending my special day with the two most important men in my life:  Greg and Parker. 

Sadly, my day didn't go as smooth as I had hoped, and it's something I never blogged about...until now:  Greg had been very un-happy for several months with the management at the wind farm he transferred too in Texas.  So un-happy that he began having a few anxiety attacks.  One happened the morning of my birthday (after I had posted my blog).  He was at work digging up fence posts (which had nothing to do with his job description, mind you), when he called and told me his chest felt tight and that he was having a hard time breathing.  I was pretty confident that it was from the horrible anxiety that his job was giving him, and I told him he should tell his manager.  Well, in the work force, when one mentions that their chest is hurting and they need to leave work, they assume one is having a heart attack.  Which meant the only way the manager would allow him to leave was if someone took him to the ER.

Now, I will never pretend to be a doctor or a nurse, but I was very confident that my husband was not having a heart attack.  However, they required him to go through extensive testing and wanted him to stay over-night to monitor him.  Obviously, Greg's safety is more important to me than celebrating a birthday, but since I just knew he wasn't about to keel over and die, I was a little disappointed that I had to have my birthday dinner at the neighboring McDonald's with only little P.J. as company (granted he's good company, but I would have rather Greg been there, too).

To save on gas, Greg had been driving our car to and from work.  Which meant I was driving our truck.  No big deal, except it kept having issues with the connectors of the battery slipping off, and it always seemed to happen when I was driving.  That evening as I went to leave the hospital, I was trying and failing to start the truck.  It was miserably hot in Texas, Parker was starting to fuss in his car seat, and that was when my sister who lives on the other side of the world, chose to call me and tell me Happy Birthday.   Her first words to me were, "Happy Birthday, are you having a good day?"  Exasperated and on the verge of tears I yelled at her the way a sibling can only yell at another sibling, "NO!  Call me back in 10 minutes!"   Luckily, the truck started a few minutes later and I was on the way "home" sans my husband.  It was definitely not the best way to begin a new, exciting decade and then to cap it off I got to go to bed solo. 

The following day, Greg was released from the hospital, but was told he couldn't go back to work until he saw a heart specialist.  That appointment was three weeks away, so we figured we may as well go to our lake house (which is now our "real house").  And, in typical Greg fashion, since he had three weeks "off" he decided that would be the best time to begin the remodel on the lake house....isn't that what any person who just got released from the hospital would do?

On our drive to the lake house, Greg finally revealed to me what my birthday present was.  The order had been delayed and we knew for several days that it wouldn't arrive until a few days after my birthday.  He felt so guilty for my lack of a "happy" birthday, he broke down and told me he ordered a hammock for me online.  I was so excited, because I have always longed for afternoons of me lounging in a hammock reading a book (I'm a real bundle of excitement, aren't I?)

In order to keep my birthday present a secret, Greg had ordered and paid for it using a checking account that we rarely use.  He then made me promise not to go online for any reason to check that account, because he figured I would google the company he ordered the gift from and spoil my surprise.  I promised I would avoid that account, and true to my word, I did.  On my birthday Greg received a letter from the bank of that account.  It said that there was some fraudulent activity and that Greg needed to contact the bank.  Apparently someone made a $3.00 purchase at a gas station on the East coast.  We didn't know how it happened, but obviously someone had our debit card numbers, and therefore the bank decided to place a stop hold on our debit cards and they mailed us new ones.  The next day the company that Greg ordered my hammock from called and said they couldn't get his card to work.  We found it a little odd that they didn't charge his card the day he ordered it, so he explained the situation and told them that at the time we weren't comfortable giving our debit card number out yet.  It wasn't a very big deal, except that means the cherry on top of my birthday sundae was not getting a hammock (or a birthday present for that matter) after all.

Blah, blah...I know; I'm whining.  But it's OK, because I have tomorrow to look forward too!

Just like last year, we don't have anything special planned for my actual birthday.  And, I hope that we don't have any unfortunate events like we did last year.  However, we plan on celebrating on Saturday by driving up to Norman and staying the night at my in-law's.  Greg is taking me out to Red Lobster for my birthday dinner and then I'm hoping my in-law's will not mind baby sitting Parker after we put him down for bed so we can sneak off to a movie.  My mother in law also informed me that she is going to order me a birthday cake for us to enjoy!  Would you believe me if I said I haven't had a birthday cake in at least eleven years (yes, I'm counting...bitter, party of one sitting right here!)  Then, to cap off what I hope to be a nice relaxing birthday weekend, we get to go meet our new niece who was born yesterday!  Sounds blissful to me, and like the title states: Its gotta be better than last year!!!

A month with my niece

It has been a busy summer in our little casa, which is why I've been MIA for awhile now.  Sorry!  We had the honor and privilege of having one of our nieces come stay with us for a month this summer!  Having always wanted to have a little sister, I was so excited for her to come so we could stay up late, braid each others hair, try out new make-up techniques, and gossip about boys!  OK, just kidding!  Although that is what I thought life with a little sister would be like.  In reality we:  watched a lot of movies, went out on the boat, went to the beach, went shopping, took a trip to the zoo, made a few visits to my mom's house, got sick, drove around on the golf cart, and she even shadowed me at the real estate office a few times.  We had a lot of fun, but I will admit, I spent a lot of time worrying that she was going to be bored.  After all, I am a working mom and wife, so I knew I couldn't devote all of my attention to her.  Luckily, she knows how to keep herself entertained (by texting)! 

These are a few things I learned by spending the month with my 13 year old niece:

1.  Teens text.  A LOT!
2.  Even though I think I'm pretty savvy about music for my age.....I am not.  She even let me listen to a song by one of my favorite bands that I didn't even know existed! 
3.  She knows way more about fixing her hair and make up than I did at her age.
4.  Teens have much better fashion sense now than when I was growing up.
5.  They eat a lot of pickles!
6.  They are more than happy to show you a cool dance move if you don't already know it.

Playing with Parker in a bounce house at the mall.

Swimming in Lake Texoma.

Tackling a pinterest project: fingernail polish with newspaper ink on top.

Our nails!

A trip to the amazing Warren Theatre.

Eager to watch Snow White and the Huntsman.

A trip to the zoo with more of her cousins!

Aunt and Niece.

Our only "family" shot before we said our good-byes.

Braylee, we had a great time with you this summer, and hope you had fun as well.  My only regret is not taking more pictures! (*TAQUITOS!*)  We love you!  (*Do you need anything from The Home Depot?*)  (*Sorry, inside jokes, I couldn't help myself!*)

Parker's 2nd Birthday Party

Parker's 2nd Birthday Party was over three months ago and I'm just now blogging about it...which is proof that the two's keep a working mom BUSY!  I showed my inspiration for his party on this post.  Here's how the party turned out:

Party favors!  The train shaped crayons were purchased at Red Elm Designs.

Snack Station.

Marshmellows AKA Choo Choo Smoke!

Choo Choo Fuel was delicious Almond Tea Punch.

The party favor bags.

His custom birthday shirt made by Great Stitch

The concrete was slightly damp, so my train tracks didn't last through the afternoon :(

Parker's train birthday cake made by my friends from Two Sweet Sisters

Playing with one of his favorite cousins, Hillarie.

Enjoying a piece of choo-choo smoke!

Present time!

He was going through a major train phase, and he loved this travel sized Thomas the Train!

Where's my cake?  I'm ready!

The wonder in his eyes speaks volumes!

Trying hard to blow out his birthday candles.

Enjoying his first bite!

Dig in, everyone!

Cake brings everyone together!

Hitching a ride from his friend, Braxton.

Outside play time at its finest!

Trying out his new toys.

These two cousins are crazy about each other!

Post Birthday Party Dinner:  He was beyond tired and wouldn't even eat!

Flip Flops!

One of Parker's favorite activities is to walk around in mommy or daddy's shoes.  Literally!  He especially loves walking in our flip flops.  I had asked him on multiple occasions if he wanted a pair of flip flops and he would always say yes.  While grocery shopping in Wal-Mart on Saturday I wandered over to the toddler shoe aisle with hopes of finding a pair of flip flops for Parker.  Either none of the sizes fit correctly or they were just plain ugly (as in neon green).  Luckily he didn't break down crying when we left the shoe aisle without a pair of flip flops in the shopping basket.

Yesterday we went to Old Navy because I just knew they would have a pair of flip flops that would fit him well.  I was right!  Parker was over the moon at the sight of the whole wall of flip flops!  After trying on the pair that fit, I asked him if he wanted to wear them or put his sandals back on. His response was a joyful, "yes!"  All day long he would proudly look down at his feet and exclaim, "flip flop"!

Last night, as soon as he got out of the bathtub, he was asking for his flip flops. I explained to him that he couldn't wear his flip flops because he had to put his jammies on, but I assured him that he could wear them when he woke up the next morning.

This morning when I heard him calling my name on the monitor, I went and rescued him from his crib.  I took him to my room and sat down on my bed with him and asked him if he wanted to lay down on mommy's bed.  He said no, which is rare.  He then proceeded to get down off of my lap and he went and sat on his alphabet train.  Thinking he was content, I went back into my bathroom to finish fixing my hair.  Next thing I knew I could hear Parker talking.  I poked my head into my room to see what he was doing (since his dad was still sound asleep!) but he was nowhere to be found.  I then realized that I was hearing him over the monitor that I still had in the bathroom.  He had gone into his room (which had the door shut, because his cousin was sound asleep on his bedroom floor) and as I approached his room, he came running out the door with two objects in his hands: his flip flops!  Apparently he remembered that he could wear them in the morning (the memory of a 2 year old never ceases to amaze me)!

He tried to immediately put them on, but I told him he had to take his jammies off, first.  He hesitated a second (this is usually a morning routine battle), said "OK", and immediately began taking his jammies off.  Once he was down to his (saggy) diaper he sat down and put his flip flops on.  I tried to help, but he stubbornly yelled, "I do it!" when I tried to lend a hand.  And, he did just that.  I would have taken a picture then and there, but then he began saying he wanted a shirt, and I was afraid if I took the time to search for my camera, the saggy diaper would be whipped off and I would have a large puddle of pee somewhere other than inside the toilet.

Off we went for Parker to go pee-pee in the potty wearing only his shirt and flip flops!  Shortly after I finished getting him dressed, I snapped this picture of him sporting his new flip flops.  Now I'm starting to think I should have bought more than one pair!

Oh, How Pinteresting...The Food Files

I'm still worried that in a few short days my blog may disappear to never-never land, but I figured I'd link up for Wednesday's blog party anyway!

One of my most despised house-hold tasks is to come up with a menu each week.  Luckily, pinterest has proved to be a wealth of inspiration and (most of the time) yummy recipes!  Here are pins of all the recipes I've tried and fallen in love with:

Source: Uploaded by user via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: tastebook.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: beckyhiggins.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: onceuponachef.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: mogwaisoup.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

To get any of these delicious recipe's just click on the picture!  You will need a pinterest account to do so.  Don't have a pinterest account?  Comment me your email addy and I'll send you an invite! 

Source: someecards.com via Felicia on Pinterest

'Til next time, Happy Pinning!

I need blog help!!!

To my fellow bloggers:  I got an email saying I needed to switch over my legacy blogger account to a google account by May 31st, or my blog would be lost (or something like that).  I did the change, but it didn't swap over my blog.....My new "blog" has none of my old post, or the blogs I follow.  Has anyone else had to do this?

I tried looking for help but Google is not very helpful...Just wondering...I really don't want to loose all my old blog posts  :(

The Big T-W-O!

I can't believe my sweet angel is TWO!  Where did the time go?  It seemed like the previous month really showed me how much he is learning and growing!  Almost anything I ask him to try to say, he will!  Which also means we have to be very careful about what we say, too.

One of the best highlights of the month was this little conversation we had on the couch:

Me:  Who's this?  (pointing to Greg)

Parker:  Dada

Me:  Who am I?  (pointing to myself)

Parker:  Mama

Me:  Who are you?  (pointing to Parker...obviously)

Parker:  Parker

Me & Greg:  *GASP*

Prior to that, I had never asked him what his name was, and I hadn't ever tried to get him to say it, either.  It was a pleasant surprise.  Now I can ask him, "What's your name?"  and he'll say, "Parker".  It's adorable.

Once he got his name down, I figured he better learn how old he was.  I didn't want to confuse him by teaching him "one", and then a week later telling him he was two.  Luckily, he learned quickly, and on his birthday if someone asked  him, "How old are you?"  He could say, "two".  Granted, that doesn't mean he answers every time!

Some fun things that happened this past month for him were:

He began potty training!

He went to the circus!

He saw a real live turtle for the first time!

The easter bunny visited him!

Money he found in an egg left by the Easter Bunny.

He got to play in the rain!

A neighbor gave him all kinds of "new" outside toys...we put this one up in storage because it's too big for him still, but I love this pic of him!

Parker is still sleeping really well!  He takes naps in the afternoon and at night he never fights me about going to bed.  Although he has never tried to climb out of his crib, I plan on converting it to his "toddler bed" in the very near future.  We'll see how things go once that happens!

He still has the combination of straight and curly hair, which is sometimes a little wild-man looking, but I love it!

At some point this past month, he began getting his back top molar in.

Parker's favorite things are:  bubbles, trains, running, playing outside, and chips!!  (Not too proud about the last one, but oh well!)

On his actual birthday we went up to Norman to stay at Parker's Nana and Papa's house.  We had his birthday party there the following day (post to come!).  We had a celebratory lunch at Braums on the way there, complete with Birthday Cake ice cream!  He was out cold for the entire journey there.

One interesting thing that happened shortly after our arrival was that we had to take shelter in my in-laws storm shelter.  A tornado touched down a mile away from the house, but luckily we were safe and no damage was done.  How many kids can say they got to turn two in a storm shelter?!

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, PARKER!  I love you more than you'll ever know.  There are days when I'm ready to tear my hair out, but then you can look at me with a huge grin and a loud laugh, and I'm reminded again of how precious you really are.  You are smart, sweet, energetic, and so fun to be around! 

I am TWO!  I am 26 pounds!