Kelly in NC

Grayson-
This has been a very busy month! It started with a visit from your Nagy and finished with 4 days of male bonding between you and Daddy. You have discovered new skills and you continue to surprise me everyday.
In the last 31 days you have begun to babble. Most of the time, we have no idea what you are saying but it is fun to watch you talking in sentences, waving your hands all over the place, using a language that only you understand. You really started this skill on the drive back from Florida. At some point I handed you your toy phone and as always you put it right up to you ear. But then, out of nowhere, you just began to talk, jabbering away, and moving your hands. I am a bit curious about whom you are copying. I am pretty sure that I do not wave my arms around while chatting on the phone! Anyhow, the babbling is new…the pointing-not as new, but now it is at a new level. You point at everything. And I mean EVERYTHING, waiting for us to name it or for us to hand it over for you to examine. There are a few words that you use consistently now: Bubble, Tick-tock (when asked what does the clock say), and you make a funny “Oo Oo” when you see a picture of a monkey- after all that is what the monkey says…kind of! You wave bye-bye at every opportunity and say “hey” when you see someone new.
I am pretty sure that you enjoyed the trip to Florida. You loved swimming in Nagy and GB’s pool- as long as someone was holding you. We bought you a little life vest- but you screamed your head off from the moment we put it on you until, the moment we took it off. You enjoyed the water hose even more than the pool. Once GB showed it to you, you would constantly wander over to the door that lead to the hose and grunt, hoping someone would take you out to play. You spent one night with your Uncle Joe and Aunt Amy and as requested, you were well behaved while there. (So thank you for not scaring Uncle Joe into not having children- after all you would like more cousins, right?) We then went to visit Paw Paw’s farm. You loved seeing all the animals and playing in the dirt. I think that you gained some bonus points by quickly reaching for Paw Paw to hold you. The next day we were off to play with Maw-Maw and then to MiMi’s and Aunt Jennifer’s house. Our final stop was a visit in Gainesville before just the two of us started the 7 hour drive back home. It was not an easy drive- but we made it back without any major problems.
A more recent “skill” that you have discovered came about toward the end of this month while I was away for a few days. You have found that if you kick your legs, it is next to impossible for someone to carry you. You use this new maneuver anytime you do not want to go somewhere or are mad that we are moving you. Kicking is not the only way you express your displeasure. As you recall, last month you figured out how to throw yourself backwards in order to really have a tantrum. Luckily you now ease yourself backwards and once you are safely lying on the floor, then you will begin the screaming and writhing about! Pretty smart! Daddy and I are trying to avoid giving you too much attention for these fits and we often walk away and give you some space. I guess that space is not exactly what you are seeking since you often move to wherever we have gone and continue the tantrums there.
At fourteen months, you continue to love your bath time and you love to splash in your swimming pool (that Aunt Anna gave you for your birthday). You enjoy having books read to you- although you do not always sit still for the entire thing. You are busy, busy, busy; playing with multiple toys at once, running around the house, and trying to get us to chase you! You are still easy to put down for a nap and at bedtime, although I would say that you have officially outgrown being rocked to sleep. (Sad for me.) You have learned how to nicely pet Ozzy and as mentioned above you have learned how to better express your feelings.
Everyday I look at you and think that you are a miracle. A special gift from God to me! I love watching you learn and grow and while there is a part of me that mourns the loss of you as a “baby” there is a bigger part of me that celebrates each and every milestone you achieve. So congratulations on another month of achievements. I promise to celebrate and document each one with you. You are the most wonderful part of my life!
I love you everyday!
Love-
Mommy

Well, Grayson and I survived the 7 hour drive home by ourselves on Friday. Thanks for all the prayers!
Now I am preparing for a trip to Tennessee for a Character Education Conference. I leave tomorrow and won’t return until Wednesday. I knew that all my faithful readers (all 5 of you) wouldn’t survive without some kind of post, so this is the best that I can do. Tim is already complaining about how I’ve been gone for a week and am now leaving for 3 more days…this time with him in charge of Grayson. So no time to give an update on how the trip to Florida went. In a nutshell, I had a great time and wished that I had more time to spend with my parents. But it was a short trip- impacted by a wedding and so, maybe next trip. Also, I have posted photos (CLICK HERE) and hopefully that will keep you satisfied until later this week. Hope everyone is surviving in your own worlds. Sorry to say I do not have time to check your sites tonight…but I promise to visit soon!

I leave today for Florida! I promise to update when I get back at the end of next week! Please send out prayers for me on next Friday. I will be driving back with Grayson by myself in the middle of the day. I could use any and all luck to make it back without going insane!

Well, my summer break is finally here. What I have since discovered is that this summer will not be a “restfull” as originally thought. Tim has decided that I am his construction assistant this summer and has already made a list of things I need to “do” tomorrow. I am not complaining (except for in this post) as I know that he has really worked his butt off on this house already. I think last week almost broke him. He is trying to manage all the houses that are part of his “paying” job and then also manage our project. Not an easy task by any means. As you can tell from the photo above (and the updated virtual tour if you click on the photo) the house is the framing stage. As of Saturday, the entire first floor was finished. Of course they are putting on the exterior wood and will then move to the second floor/roof. Tim has had difficulty with the electric company hooking up the power, hence the framers are using generators (which = more $). He has ordered the windows twice and is at his wit’s end at trying to keep the workers from driving through the front yard. On Saturday we put up more construction fence and hung signs…but I guess we will know tomorrow if they will read them.
So, the house contiunes on schedule and I will officially be “working” this summer…but at least it is at my own pace…and without middle school girls screaming and crying in my office. I’ll probably be ready to go back to school at the end of July.
On a different note, Tim’s mom left this afternoon to go back to Florida. We have had a blast having her stay with us for the past few days. I promise to post photos soon…so check back in a few days.
On Wednesday we will leave to go on our mini vacation. The three of us are driving to Florida for a friend’s wedding and to visit all of our families who live in the area. Tim will fly back by himself after the weekend and then Grayson and I will spend next week treking all over central FL. I am looking forward to the trip- as I haven’t been “home” since the Thanksgiving before Grayson was born. I admit that I am NOT looking forward to the hours upon hours in the car with Grayson…especially the ride home by ourselves, but I know that it will all be worth it! Plus it will be the only vacation we get this year- buidling the house and all.

I thnk that I was tagged by Brooke . She said Kelly- but wasn’t specific. Since I check her blog and comment often, I am going to assume that she meant me. If you did not mean me Brooke, then oh well. I had fun doing it anyhow! So here it is:

-What were you doing 10 years ago? Can you believe that I had to pull out a scrapbook and actually look to see what I was doing in 1997. As it so happens, I had just finsihed by second year of college and had just started dating my husband. I spent the summer working through a temporary agency as a secretary at a cell phone store and driving back and forth between my parents’ houses and Tim’s house.

-What were you doing 1 year ago? Grayson had just turned one month old. I was still adjusting to being a mother…and according to my blog Tim, Grayson, and I were at the beach celebrating his Grandparents 60th wedding anniversary.

-Five snacks you enjoy:
1. Dove Dark Chocolate
2. Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Treasures with Almonds
3. Costco’s granola that is sold in the bakery area
4. Trail Mix
5. Animal Crackers

-Five songs that you know all the lyrics:
1. I Will Survive
2. These are the Moments (Edwin McCain)
3. Earl (Dixie Chicks)
4. Letting Go
5. We are the Boys From Ole Florida

-Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Quit my job and only volunteer there when I wanted to.
2. Finish my current house (without the cost cuts) and build a house in the mountains and one at the beach.
3. Pay up Grayson’s college fund.
4. Buy a little house near me so that my mom and dad (and in-laws) could visit more often
5. Travel!!!!

-Five bad habits:
1. Picking the skin off my lips
2. Pulling at hang nails
3. Peeling dead skin off my feet
4. Using too much toliet paper
5. Tim would say- taking too long, too hot showers and steaming up our pitful bathroom that does NOT have a fan.

-Five things you like doing:
1. Playing with Grayson
2. Reading
3. Scrapbooking
4. Editing home videos
5. Napping

Five things you would never wear again:
1. The cabbage patch hair do (short permed bangs) and long in the back from 4th grade
2. A thong…ok maybe not never…but definitley not as often as I used to!
3. A string bikini
4. Pencil Leg jeans
5. Pointy Toed shoes

Five favorite toys:
1. My digital SLR Camera
2. My video Camera
3. My Ipod
4. Do games count? They are sold in the toy department! So I think yes! Catch Phrase
5. Cranium

I’m gonna tag ~
1. NaeNae
2. Crabby Mama
3. Katie
4. Jacqueline
5. Soapbox Superstar

Well, another weekend down and now I am four days closer to my summer break. Have I told anyone how excited I am about the break? Six weeks off. Yipee!
Tim came home from his mountain guys trip on Saturday night. That gave me enough time to host a “girls movie night” at my house on Friday. Ceaser salad, strawberry margaritas, cheesecake, coffee, a movie (”Catch and Release”), and of course three great friends…it is not a surprise that I had a great time. Perhaps I should send Tim away more often?
Grayson was an angel while he was gone. That was a relief becuase I have come down with some sort of a head cold. I think that it is making its way down into my chest…but I am hoping the Mucinex keeps it from settling in for too long. It seems as if I have been sick alot so far this year. With the stomach bug a month ago and this cold now, I am over being sick. Is it possible that having a kid can lower your immune system? It doesn’t really make sense since Grayson is a year old now. But, hey we like to blame these things on something right?
Yesterday, despite my stuffed up nose, we had 12 members of Tim’s family over for dinner. His cousin Tina and her husband Chris were down from Ohio. They just had a new baby boy in January, so of course we hosted a get together in order to see the new addition. Unfortunately, given my cold I didn’t hold him at all. Maybe next time…of course by then he probably won’t sit still for a minute. We had a really nice time-even if it did rain. I swear that everytime Tina and Chris visit our house, it always rains. Maybe they will not hold that jinx over our new home.
On the subject of the new house…water proofing is finished and the framing should begin this week. I will go next week to pick out all of the plumbing fixtures. Did anyone out there realize how expensive a faucet can be? I guess now I know why our current house has all those basic silver fixtures…very cost efficient!
Last but not least I wanted to share with everyone this item that I saw on a recent trip to Walgreens:

Ok- who are the fooling? I especially like the smart way they have packaged the item. Especially how they pointed out that it can easily fit in your pocket and how convinient to have a smooth head attachment too. All for $10.79. So for any of you out there whose “personal massager” might happen to break and you absolutely MUST have one right away- try Walgreens. They’re open 24 hours. Unbelievable!

Well, as I mentioned a few posts ago, I decided to join my friend Angelle’s Blogging book tour. Here is how is works: a book is chosen and is posted on Angelle’s site. She gives a certain amount of time to read the book and a deadline to submit one question about the book. Readers then choose 3 questions to answer from those submitted (also posted on Angelle’s site) and then answers are posted on our own site. I must admit that I am really excited about this book club. I busted my butt to get the book read in time (which I really enjoyed the book by the way) and I would love to see more people participate. Go by Angelle’s site from more info and try to participate next month. She hasn’t posted the next book yet…and I think she is still taking suggestions.

Anyhow here are the questions I chose to answer:

2.As a mother, I can’t imagine subjecting my child to anything like foot binding for the sake of societal acceptance. Do you think there are any practices in today’s world that might indicate a similar symbol of female status in our society? What are they?
I think that there are lots of things that we do because society determines that it is beautiful. A few severe examples are breast implants and nose jobs. I even knew a few girls my freshman year of college whose parents bought them such surgeries as high school graduation gifts. But of course there are less severe examples of things we do to our children to help them “fit” in or to make them more attractive. Braces comes to mind…I mean how many kids do you know wear braces? I must admit that I was one of those kids…and that I later paid to have them put on a second time. So, yes, I do listen to society about what is acceptable when it comes to appearance…and even as an adult I was willing to put myself through the pain (albeit not as painful as footbinding) for the sake of improving my appearance.
But that makes me think of something else while on the topic of footbinding: Did anyone else find themselves scruched into the fetal position with your toes curled under while reading the discription on footbinding? Maybe it was just me. I also couldn’t help but search for pictures of footbinding…and couldn’t believe what those ladies did to their feet. Unbelievable.

3. Why was Lily so forgiving of Snow Flower and her betrayal, yet so angry with her family and Madame Wang? Isn’t the betrayal the same? Why are we so forgiving of friends but not of family members?
You know, I really wondered the same thing. I mean if anything Snow Flower went on and on about her family…so shouldn’t she be even more accountable for the lie? As for why we are more forgiving toward friends than families? Uh, you got me on that one. I think that I am more forgiving of my family members than I am of my friends. I mean afterall I am stuck with my family no matter what! I will admit that I do hold my family to higher standard that I do my friends. For example it aggrevates me to no end when I see my family talk with food in their mouth, or use improper grammer; where I am must less likely to become annoyed when one of my “friends” makes the same mistake. Maybe this is how Lily felt. Maybe she held her mother and Madame Wang to higher standard because they were adults?

4. How do you feel about the concept of “old sames” (being in an arranged friendship)? Were you surprised at the way it turned out for Lily and Snow Flower? Have you found yourself in a “sisterhood” kind of friendship throughout your life? How was it able to last through all of the changes you have gone through in your life?
I was surprised by the ending. I, too, thought that Snow Flower had entered into the friendship with the other girls, but I didn’t understand why Snow Flower did not immediately correct Lily’s mistake…she could have easily corrected her while at the bridal party…but anyhow, I loved the way Lily tried to make things right by Snow Flower and her children. I loved how she became her nursemaid and in my opinion, Lily was forgiven well before Snow Flower died.
As for friendships in my life, it is funny but I feel like for each chapter of my life, for each major change, I have found different friends to get me through those times. While there are a few friendships that always remain consistent, I am guilty of losing touch with friends once our circumstances no longer match. I think that a big component to having a life-long friend is the mutual desire to stay close no matter the distance you live or how different your lives may be. There must be a commitment between the two people. You can be honest with that person and know that they will be honest with you all because you know that they love you unconditionally. On Jacqueline’s blog last week she had a post that said: Friendship is a comfy situation like home. You get home, kick off your shoes, relax and sigh, “Ahh, home.” I like how that post described friendship. It is those friends who make me feel like “Ahhh, I’m home” that I know will last me my entire life time. The are my “old sames”.