Nappy Time

Hmmm...I couldn't help but think of Imus after I titled today's blog...

It's Monday and David is having his morning nap. I think Matty's about to take a little snooze too. We just went to the restaurant that is connected to the hotel. The waitress was brand new and obviously was less than thrilled to be there. She got pretty bent out of shape when I asked her what 'scrapple' was and made her go ask the cook when she didn't know the answer. "Uhh it's like sausage, only made of pork. And it's square" was her response. Since when is sausage NOT made of pork? I decided not to order that...

Here's a picture of Lil D playing with the safe that is in our room. He has tons of toys to play with but likes the sound the buttons make when he pushes them.




He loves to pose for the camera:


Yesterday we went to Zoo America, part of Hershey Park. Matty and I have been there before, but zoos are always fun and we figured Lil D would have a good time. The weather was awesome - it was nice and hot, but no super-muggy, and there was a nice breeze too. The sky doesn't get very blue down here though - definitely nothing like Maine. One of the best parts of the zoo was when a zoo keeper came up to the bear tank and threw a watermelon over the fence. The biggest one swam over to get it and started munching on it right in front of us!


I'm not sure what we're going to do today. I'd like to go back to Hershey and get some chocolate souveneirs for my co-workers. They were nice enough to let me have tomorrow off so that I could come down here with Matty. I'll also get something for my mom as she has offered some great moral support through this weekend. This surely has opened my eyes about how much your life changes when kids start coming. To be honest, I don't know if it's for me. I'm not saying I'll break it off with Matty or anything, but right now the thought of me doing this all day every day makes me want to run in the other direction. I'm sure that'll change in a couple years. As of right now though, I'm looking forward to getting back to reality!!!

Change in Plans

Wow, no blog since Monday - I must've been busy this week! We have been short-handed at the office so I've had to wear many hats these past few days. One day I didn't even get a lunch break! Wednesday it was just the boss and I running the show which meant Thursday and Friday was catch-up day for charges. I was supposed to get out early on Friday so Matty and I could go to PA and pick up little David. The judge had other plans. She said that if he wanted to see his little boy he'd have to come to PA and spend three consecutive nights with him on two separate occasions. Poor Matty called me at work to see if I could get Tuesday off from work because he was going to PA for the weekend. Fortunately my co-workers gave it the ok and I had to quickly go online and hopefully find a hotel room available on this busy Memorial Day weekend.

So now I'm in PA - day #2. We stopped at Matty's mom's house in Saco on the way down and headed to PA around midnight. I slept from 1-4 and Matty drove the whole night through. We got to town around 7am and waited for 8 to come around so we could meet up with David's mother and make the exchange.

After picking lil D up we went to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. D fell asleep on the way over so we took advantage of the quiet time and caught a little snooze ourselves. I was pretty tired and couldn't even imagine how tired Matty was - at least I was running on a few hours of sleep.

We checked into the hotel and unloaded all of D's stuff - he had lots of toys to keep him busy, which was good. We wanted to be sure he was surrounded by familiar objects so he didn't stress out as easily.

After an hour or so of playing lil D passed out again (must be nice to have it so easy!) so Matty and I got a little more sleep as well. After waking up we went to Chili's for supper and then to Wal Mart to get some teething rings and Anbesol. This poor little guy has some sore gums! We got back to the hotel, gave lil D a bath and tried to get him to go to sleep. After an hour and a half of crying, screaming, and attempts to calm him down with snacks, milk and a pacifier he finally settled down and went to sleep. At this point I was quite frazzled and had to step out and call mom. She offered me some words of wisdom and quickly calmed me down. This is, after all, the first weekend I've ever spent with a baby. I have no experience with kids, have never changed a diaper and never really planned on having any. Now I have an amazing boyfriend with this sweet little boy that he loves more than anything. They are a package deal, and if I want one, I gotta have the other one. It hasn't been easy, but Matty has been very patient with me and I am willing to learn. This will be interesting...

Grease Monkey

It's Monday already? The weekends always seem to go by so fast - probably because I work so much!

Friday night was lots of fun - Matty and I went over to Mel's where Jenn and Ross have been house sitting. We watched the finale of Grey's anatomy (because we weren't awake long enough to watch it Thursday) and then went to Bugaboo Creek for supper. I got 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken and 1/2 rack of ribs, Matty got a filet mignon and a salmon filet - on top of the nachos we had to munch on as we waited for our meal! After we rolled out of there we headed to the Sports Arena and shot some pool. Jenn commented on the chemistry between me and Matty and I was all smiles for the rest of the night :)

Saturday I got up and went to the barn, as usual. Big Buddy was lame so Aunt Weezie threw me on Nick so she could ride Little Bud. Nick was quite a change from what I'm normally used to - he was so frisky and wound up! Aunt Weezie commented that Nick prefers a loose rein, but every time I gave him a little slack, he picked up his speed again! This lil boy sure does need some work - he'll keep me busy this summer!

I ran home in hopes to get a few hours of sleep before my cousin's graduation party. As soon as I got home my neighbor knocked on the door. I answer, all muddy and covered with horse hair as she informs me we have no heat or hot water. Super!!! I crawl into bed anyways and got a little sleep, except for when my mom, my dad, my landlord AND Matty called to interrupt. I slept until about 1:15, packed up some clothes and makeup and headed to mom's for a shower. We all went over to my cousin's college graduation party together, had some food, socialized for a bit and headed out. I did some cleaning at home, then worked 6-10.

Sunday I got up early and headed to mom's for another shower. My landlord informed me that someone should be at my place around 6:00 that night to fix my heat and hot water. How convenient.

After church we went to the Muddy Rudder for lunch - I ate stuffed mushrooms! Then mom and I went to Wal Mart for some groceries. I got home around 4 and cleaned for most of the night. I boiled some water and did the dishes with it because I didn't want to put the dishes off any longer! I also watched a couple episodes of Grey's Anatomy from season 2 - Aunt Weezie lent me season 1 and 2 and I've been watching them bit by bit.

This morning I got up to get ready for work and found there was no hot water. NOT impressed. I got dressed, put a headband on and headed to work. It is now 3:00 and I feel like a big ball of grease! I'm glad I sit out back because I'd be embarrassed to have to check patients in and out. Landlord said I should have hot water by the time I get home - guess all that I needed to push a button by the heather - like I'm supposed to know that! If I still don't have it by the time I get out of here, I'll have to go to mom's because I need to work at the store tonight. Wish me luck!!!

Poor Charlie

I am sad to announce the passing of my fish, Charlie Chaplin. He stopped swimming Sunday night and died late Monday :( I'm super-bummed because he was kind of expensive and was so cute! I'm not sure what went wrong - I had just gotten my water tested the day before and everything was fine! Poor poor Charlie.

Tuesday night I worked late at the office, then got called in to Hannaford. I was in a bad mood to begin with because me and Matty had had a disagreement the day before, and I was less than thrilled to go straight from work to work. They just opened a new shift leader position though and applied for it, so I figured going in and helping out would show that I do care about my co-workers and helping them out.

Last night I worked at the office until 5 then the store 6-10. I didn't have to work until 9 this morning, so it was nice to just lay in bed and relax for a while.
Matty showed up at the office with an iced coffee - he does that when he needs to make a delivery to Silver's, which is just down the street. He's so thoughtful :)

Tonight is the season finale of Grey's Anatomy AND CSI. I haven't watched CSI for the past few weeks because I've become highly addicted to Grey's, but I guess tonight they reveal the 'Miniature Killer' and the last victim is a CSI!!! I'm betting it's Katherine, but we'll see. I hope it's not Nick - he's my favorite one to look at :) Matty's going to bring over some bunny ears (I don't have cable) and we're going to record CSI upstairs in my room as we watch Grey's. Then once Grey's is done, we're going to rewind CSI and watch that! Sounds like a pretty good plan, if you ask me.

Tomorrow night Matty and I are going on a double date with Jenn and Ross - Bugaboo and then shooting some pool. Saturday my cousin is having her graduation party - she graduated from UMO just last weekend. I work 6-10 at the store then will probably just go home and watch a movie.

I'm getting very excited about my trip to Florida and the Caribbean. I had to spend the money I had saved up on my cat, but if I get this promo at the store I'll be making more money and should be able to stash more away. Let's just pray that Madison stays nice and healthy!

Busy Weekend

Saturday was pretty much the pits. Work was fine and everything, but that's all I did. I'm also not happy about my Nike Shox that I paid over $100 for - I bought them in hopes that my feet wouldn't ache by the end of the day. I think my 10 year-old Adidas are more comfortable!

Sunday I got up and went to mom's for breakfast, than church. Aunt Weezie didn't make it in so I offered to usher. I greeted people at the door and handed out bulletins - not a difficult task. When it was about time for the service to start Jean came over and told me which row I'd be doing the offering - (gulp) offering? Church members take turns with the offering, taking the plates up to the front of the church and making sure they get passed to everyone. I had never done the offering before and was afraid of screwing up! Everything went fine though and I was thankful that I dressed nice and was having a good hair day.

The cookout at Grandma and Grandpa's was fun. It's sad to see Grandma's memory deteriorating, but it was nice to do this while she is still "here". We had burgers, hot dogs and chicken and ate in the garage. It was quite breezy which I wasn't thrilled about, but at least the sun was out.

After lunch Brother and I went to Hannaford. He didn't have anything to do and since he can't drive for the next year I figured it would be nice to get him out of the house. We also went to Petco, then picked mom up and went to Wal Mart. After dropping them off I picked up KFC mashed potatoes and a Hannaford roatisserie chicken. Matty and I munched on that as we watched the final Survivor. For those of you who follow the show, I'm sure you hate Dreamz as much as I did after what he pulled. What made him think the jury would give him a million dollars after dissing Yau Man like he did?! I was very pleased that Earl won though - he and Yau were definitely my favorites. I already can't wait until the next one starts!

There's isn't much for exciting stuff going on today. I work 8:30-5 at the office, then 6-10 at the store. Tomorrow I don't work until 9 so sleeping in will be pretty cool. Tonight I'm going to bed as soon as I get home!

Work-aholic

Don't I wish I had co-workers that watched Grey's Anatomy and Survivor. Friday when I got to work all I wanted to talk about was how friggen smart Yau Man is and how I can't believe what a jerk Meredith's father is. And what about George and Izzy - I hope they end up together. It's kind of hard that George is married, but he obviously is pre-occupied with something else. Also, the look that Callie gave Izzy after she gave that whole spiel about taking love for granted was crazy - I could almost see the claws coming out!

Yesterday I worked until 4, got another airbrush tan and picked up some munchies to take to Mel's. Last night I brought Matty over to meet all of my friends - it felt like I was going to a job interview. I'm not sure why I was so nervous because Matty is the most charming man I've ever presented to my friends, but they also know about our extensive past and how much heartache our 5-year ordeal has caused. In the end I got thumbs-up from Mel and Jenn (the ones who's opinions mattered the most) and Jenn even commented that she's never seen me glow the way I have the past few weeks :)

Today I work at the office until about noon and then at Hannaford from 3-10. Somehow between jobs I need to do laundry, vacuum, wrap mom's mother's day present and track down the card that I got her months ago. It is such a cool card and refuse to buy a new one - I don't care if I have to tear my closet apart to find it! I had a hard time deciding what to give her this year - I have like 3 or 4 presents for her. If I see something I know she'll like, I pick it up and stash it away. There are pros and cons to that system - for one, it seems like I never have to do last-minute shopping because I've always got something waiting for her. On the other hand, sometimes I can't keep my little paws off her presents. I got her a really cute Dooney wanna-be purse that ended up in my collection. I bought one in black and one in white. I kept the white one and had every intention to give the other one to her. Well, then Josh died and I needed a little black purse for the funeral. Hmmmm...I could just *borrow* mom's purse this one time, right? Wrong! It's now in my collection and can't imagine not having it whenever I want to use it! Sorry mom - not that she'll ever know it was for her anyways, right?

Aunt Weezie comes home today! Yayyy! I hope she plans on taking me to that horse shop in Florida she blogged about yesterday!!

Pay Day!

I *live* for pay day!

These past two weeks have been a little more difficult than most because of Madison's vet bills - thank God she's all better!

I had to take money out of my Christmas Club to buy groceries the other day - luckily I have the option of tapping into it because I've never spent $500 at Christmas time. Matty has a birthday coming up, but he's been hearing about my money woes since day 1 so I know he won't mind not getting anything expensive. We both are trying to save money - I'd like a new Mazda 3 at some point, and he wants to start building a house on his land in Hampden.

Matty and I have been spending a lot of time together lately and I can't remember the last time I have been this happy. It feels like that part of me that died has come back to life with the sun shining and bright colored flowers in full bloom. Not a day went by that I did not miss him when we were apart. We've surely hit speed bumps along the way, but I think the few years that went by has shown how much we both have changed and matured. I'm even looking forward to meeting his son - hopefully I can set the positive example that his mother has failed to do.

I don't have a whole lot going on this week, so again don't have much to blog about. I see Counselor tonight - I've been promoted to going once every two weeks instead of once a week! Survivor and Grey's is on tonight - I always look forward to Thursdays!

Tomorrow I get the last airbrush tan in my package, then hang out with my friends for the night. My friend Jenn's boyfriend just came home from Iraq on Monday and he will be coming out with us too. Their love story is quite interesting - maybe I'll post it sometime when I have more time to type. I'm looking forward to seeing him though - mostly because he has a wicked cool British accent! Poor Mel is kind of feeling like a spare wheel though since Jenn and I both have paired up with significant others. We're trying really hard not to make her feel left out although her jealousy sometimes can get the best of her. Counselor says you can't keep everybody happy so I try not to stress about it too much. All I know is that we are trying - that just might not be enough for some people.

I work 8:30-12 at the office and 3-10 at the store - there goes my weekend. Aunt Weezie comes home though, so I'm sure she'll have some cool pictures to show me. She hasn't blogged much, so that must mean they've been busy!

For mother's day we're going over to my mom's parents house. Her mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and we want to do something special while she can still understand what is going on. We are doing a buffet-style lunch and Grandma doesn't have to do any work at all! It'll be nice to get the family all together again. It seems that lately Grandma and Grandpa are up in Millinocket as often as possible and even when they're home, Millinocket is all they talk about. I know they'll eventually move up there and that kind of bums me out. They've gotta do what's best for them though, and being with their grandbabies is top priority.

Vertigo

It's been a pretty busy weekend - they always go so fast!

Saturday morning I went riding - the horses sure aren't as frisky as they used to be! I figured Lil Bud would give me a run for my money, but it took a lot of persuading to get him moving!

I got another coat of my airbrush tan done after that - it's looking better every time! I love all the comments that I get from people. When they say "wow, you must've just gone on a trip or go tanning," I say "nope - neither!" The puzzled look I get is fun :)

From 2-9 I worked at the store, then I went home and took it easy.

This morning I got up a little early, cooked a nice breakfast and went to church. I was please to see my mom's parents there. They have been going up to Millinocket for church, but had decided to change the scenery today. I went to their house for lunch and had a cheeseburger!

After lunch mom and I went to get some groceries, like we always do. At this point I was starting to feel the effects of my seasonal allergies. Just like clockworks, every spring my allergies kick in and kick my butt! I can deal with the stuffy nose and the itchy eyes, but the dizziness is what gets me. My doctor says fluid builds up in my ears, which causes the vertigo. If I turn my head real fast, I almost fall over.

I've actually been feeling dizzy for about 2 weeks, but hadn't really figured out what it was caused by. At first I thought it was because of the bonk on the head I received at the store the other night, then I blamed it on the new snazzy glasses I got (changing prescriptions always messes with my head a little bit), but now that I've gotten used to those the only thing it can be is allergies. When I got home I took an Allergra, snorted some Rhinocourt and took a nap. I was even dizzy in my dreams!!!

TGIF!!!

Ahhh, the beauty of Fridays - full of hope and anticipation. Well, that is except for mine because I usually work and have busy weekends. Tonight I don't have to work at the store so I'm going over to Mel's house for a girly get-together. We were going to play in here mom's hot tub tonight, but for some reason it didn't work out. I even rescheduled my airbrush tan appointment so I could actually get in the water! Instead, we'll watch The Breakfast Club, eat pizza and sip wine.

Yesterday Mel and I met up with a travel agent and made arrangements for our cruise. We're going to the Western Caribbean and are visiting 4 different ports.
Mel just got back from a cruise last month and is very gung-ho to go on another one. Since I'm so good at stashing my money I decided to give in and committed to going. Right now it's just the two of us - they are expensive, so I don't blame others for not being able to do it. If I wasn't so good at saving, I wouldn't be able to do it either!

Does anybody out there watch Grey's Anatomy? I am the only person in the office that watches Survivor and Grey's, so when something crazy happens I have nobody to talk about it with! I was so sad when Susan died last night - she was so nice! It also broke my heart to see Meredith's father take his anger and sadness out on her... they were just starting to bond! With Susan gone, I doubt they'll even speak now. I can't wait for Aunt Weezie to buy the next season when it comes out. Right now I've seen season 1 and 2 because she lent them to me. I still have some catching up to do and can't wait!

Wednesday

I don't really have much going on for exciting stuff, so really there isn't a lot for me to blog about.

Madison ended up not needing an enema the other day - the x ray showed she was no longer constipated. My next questions was "then where is she pooping?" Her litter box has been completely empty, so either she snuck out sometime when I didn't realize it, or she's found a new spot somewhere in my apartment. So anyways, the irritation is most likely caused by the two hairballs sitting in her stomach (according to the x-ray) and I need to give her 3" of a hairball remover every day in hopes that she'll puke that up on my rug somewhere. I went to Petco and got a pet stain/odor remover because my poor rug sure has taken a beating from all of this. I also got a new fish, and I hopefully will be able to post a picture of her sometime this week.

Yesterday I went to the eye doctors for my yearly checkup. Normally patients get a screening exam every two years but where I have ocular hypertension and a family history of macular degeneration, I need to be screened for glaucoma. Everything came out fine and I got myself a snazzy new pair of glasses. The glasses that are in style right now are pretty funky looking, so I was looking forward to joining the trend.

Tonight I have to work at the store - I was thrilled when I got my schedule because it's the only night during the week I have to be there! Tomorrow I see my doctor to follow-up on my period of depression which has drastically improved. For those of you who have ever considered going to counseling, I strongly recommend it!

Well I guess I should go empty the fax machine or something. It's kind of nice to have a desk out back away from everything because I can get away with blogging when I have some spare time!