Swimming Pools and Cheese & Crackers

Those were my favorite things from our weekend getaway.

We took a quick trip to Palm Springs. We reserved our hotel at the last minute and decided to just GO! It was the only weekend we had available before Stephen's big surgery in October, so we had to jump on it.

Palm Springs is hot. But it's perfect for lounging around.

We spent Saturday doing just that. Our first trip to the pool wasn't great. The munchkin was a big ol' grouch. So we left and got ice cream and went back later. Take 2 was so much fun.

This is me annoyed that we're not having fun.

Ah, that's better!

Back at the room, I gave the little guy a bath while hubby set up a table of cheese and crackers and olives.

We ate and ate and ate. (And then went out to dinner!) (And then we ate oreos!) That night we all slept pretty good. We had the leave the next morning and made a quick run to the outlets on our way out.

Too short, but so so glad we went.

'Member??

Of course we all remember where we were and what we were doing 10 years ago today. The past 2 weeks I have been watching tons of shows recalling the events of 9/11 and talking about heroes and victims of the day. After so many years, it still takes my breath away seeing the second plane strike the building. It makes my heart sink thinking about all those people who thought it was just another day at the office.

Ground Zero from our trip in Dec '08

This morning, MSNBC played the news report from that day in real time. We heard again the shock as the buildings fell. And saw firefighters running for their lives. People crying on the phone talking about how they could see people jumping from the buildings. Citizens covered in ash and debris. So intense. It was shortly after that when GW made the announcement that we would be going to war. And cheers were heard throughout Times Square. Regardless of how you feel about our former President and the state of war now, he did what he had to do at the time. And people knew that and were in support of it.

Watching the footage in real time made me remember where I was and exactly what I was doing that day. I can't help but reflect on my life at that time too. Much like the US on that day, I was in a state of limbo. I felt unsettled and confused about where I was going. Paul was in my life, but we were living far apart and not sure which way we would go. Shortly after, we had our own little war so to speak.

Man, I'm glad things have changed!! 10 years has flown by and while I still have moments of uncertainty, especially in regards to my son's health, I still look forward to the next 10 years with hope and excitement. I've got my rock and that sure helps.

My favorite of all the 9/11 documentaries was called Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero. Not only is it an amazing story but its about looking forward while still paying tribute to the past. "Never forget" is the perfect motto, not just for our country, but our lives in general. Never forget what happened. Never forget those we've lost and those who have helped us. Never forget where we came from; our roots. Never forget how far we've come. Learn from our experiences. Continue looking and moving forward.

Never forget how resilient we can be.

Trying

So I've been doing a little experiment. As everyone knows (because I always complain about it) Stephen isn't the greatest sleeper. He's been getting a LOT better as he gets bigger, but we still have a little ways to go.

In order to rule out that this might be my fault because of something in my diet, I have cut out all caffeine. I had very little to begin with, but I just want to make absolutely sure. This means no Diet Coke and no dark chocolate.

So far, the experiment blows.



Also my computer is down again. Stupid Dell.

The End.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mommy Faux Pas #5

Has anyone ever tried taking a baby to a movie and it was successful? I came so close today. SO CLOSE!

I had it timed perfectly. The movie started at 2:50pm. Stevie would go down for his longer nap at about 3. That would give me just enough time to enjoy The Help, right? I mean, we would cut it close toward the end there, but there was a chance this could actually work!!

I showed up late, ensuring that I would see less previews and more movie. They put us in Theater #3. Stephen fell asleep right when we settled into our seats. YES! So far, so good.

But...the previews hadn't started yet. At about 3:15, they moved us all to Theater #6 because of technical difficulties. Dang. This was now cutting it REALLY close. Then they proceeded to play literally 12 previews. TWELVE. So the movie didn't start until like 3:45.

Then just to really rub it in, and make sure this wasn't going to happen - about 20 minutes into the movie, it just stopped playing. And took about 10 minutes to get up and running again.

Sure enough, Stephen was awake by 4:30. I fed him and he stayed quiet for a good little while as he woke up. Then the babbling and spit bubbles began. There were only like 6 other people in there and I was loving the movie so much, I almost stayed. But I felt guilty being THAT mom. So we left. During a really good part too!

But, I tried. And failed.

Oops.

P.S. I miss going to the movies so much.

P.P.S. At least they gave us our money back.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

After several years (and I'm not exaggerating about this) of pleading with my husband to get bikes, I just finally just went and got one. This encouraged my husband to get one also. So now we have bikes. Just like that. Sometimes mama needs to take matters into her own hands.

I, of course, had to include Stephen in the excitement. He got a little seat that attaches to the front of my bike and helmet so he can ride along. I have been getting great joy from this. Last night as we rode our bikes down Chandler Path for the first time, I had a big grin on my face and just enjoyed our first little family bike ride so much. The little booger seemed to enjoy it (and the baby did too - hee hee)

The only problem we've run into is Stevie gets sleepy and can't really nap, since there's no headrest. Then he just gets mad. So our two rides have started out well and ended in tears, and we've had to keep them relatively short. But I still love it. A lot.