Smooches

Tonight at Oliver's bed time, I was saying my goodnights and asked O for a goodnight kiss. I turned so he wouldn't kiss me on the lips (so we don't trade germs), but Oliver decided he wanted a kiss on the lips. He grabbed both my cheeks and laid a big wet smooch right on my face. It was priceless. It really doesn't get any better than that folks.

Here are a few "smoochie" pictures. I love that lil guy, and I think the feeling is mutual.

“A kiss is something you cannot give without taking and cannot take without giving”

House Picture Overload

Alright folks, here are some more pictures of the on-going house project. It is fitting to add them this morning because this weekend should be the weekend we move in. You'll notice in the pictures that this just isn't going to happen, but hopefully you can see all the progress that has been made so far.

Notice the grass coming up!

Oliver's very RED bathroom

Oliver's Bedroom (trim will be white)

Guest Bedroom (trim to be painted white)

Kitchen (minus fridge and stove)

View of Den (bookshelves to be on back wall)

Master Bath- Sneak Peak

The master shower is complete- talk about a lot of tile work.. Jim was so relieved to be finished with that project. The faucets are in too, so you can finally see how things are coming together. I'm still on the lookout for some mirrors.

18 Month Check-Up

Yesterday Oliver had his 18 month check-up. Yes, you heard me right.. Baby Oliver is an 18 month old. It was a nice smooth laid back appointment. Oliver sat on the table while we waited and we sang songs and played peek-a-boo in the mirror. He used the pen and drew lines on the paper I had and on himself. Dr. Lopez came in (I can not say it enough, this man is awesome) and Oliver got really quiet and looked a little unsure of things. Dr. Lopez played with him until he was comfortable and went over Oliver's weight, height, etc. My little shrimp is in the 12th percentile of weight. He came in at 22.8 pounds. I realize there are 4 month olds who weigh that, but he's staying consistent on his growth chart, so we aren't too concerned. He eats like a champ- he loves fruits, veggies, beans, cheese, and his milk. He already has excellent eating habits which makes me happy. Nothing pisses me off more than parents who feed their children crappy food all the time. I consider it a form of child abuse, but that's for another blog.

Anyway, Oliver is 65th percentile in both head circumference and height! I was so pleased to see how much he's grown. I've really noticed his legs growing in the last month, so I was super excited to hear he was now in the 65% of height. He may not be the shortest one in his class after all. Oliver also scored really high on the 18 month test. One of the few things he isn't doing yet is speaking in 3-4 word sentences (at least ones I can understand). But, he is talking more and more and now says 12+ words we can understand. Here are some of the words he's saying now:

Spider

Door

Bye-Bye

No

Uh-Oh

Otto

Dog

Gobble-Gobble

Momma

Da-De

More

Cheese

Dr. Lopez spent 20 minutes with Oliver showing him the equipment he had to look in his ears, eyes, and nose. Oliver wanted to hold them so bad, but Dr. Lopez wouldn't let him have them until he said, "please." This went on and on (Oliver is quite stubborn). Finally, he asked Oliver again, "Do you want this?" and Oliver responded, "No." hehe So while we were talking Oliver out of nowhere says, "please." So now I have a cute AND polite little guy. Thanks Dr. Lopez!!

Mrs. Independent

Today I did something new, something I've never done before.. I stepped over the husband/wife duties line, and I mowed the grass. Whoa! Yes, this may sound a little dramatic, but I seriously felt in that moment, if I can mow the grass, I can do anything. And just for the record, there's a lot of grass to mow in our yard. It took an hour and a half, and that was with me going at full speed. It was a great work out, and a nice sense of accomplishment. (Like I always say, it's the little things these days)

Turtle Saver!

Today I did what I've always wanted to do when I'm in the passenger seat.. I saved a turtle from getting squished.  It wasn't a busy road, and I didn't have Oliver with me, so I felt okay about putting on my emergency blinkers and stopping to wait for him to cross.  Unfortunately, the little fellow got stage fright and stopped about 3 feet from the side of the road- and oh boy, the cars were coming.  I waited for the car coming up behind me to pass, then I jumped out and hoped he wasn't a snapping turtle.  He had bright red eyes, so I think that means he's a male- so handsome he was.  Anyway, I asked him to not bite, and I carefully went down the hill and placed him safely on the other side.  Yes, we had a moment.  Happy trails lil turtle, happy trails.

Yard Work

Oh boy, we're getting close! The painting is done, appliances are going in this week, and now the yard is all nice and ready too. The thing that initially drew me to the house was in fact the yard. It's amazing. We cut down a few trees, got the flower beds mulched, and planted the grass. I can just picture Oliver playing kick ball and soccer in the back yard with his friends. I am looking forward to growing old in this house.

So Hollywood

Splurge!

I've been eying this little number for quite some time now.. Only one problem, I could never afford it.  For some silly reason anything labeled as "modern" or "mid century" is incredibly expensive.  I bet if my Mom had known that was going to happen she would have held on to all that rad retro furniture she had when I was little.  

This of course brings me to a story when I was maybe 7 or 8.  My playroom was above the garage, and in it was this super cool black pleather couch amongst other great '70's pieces.  In the closet Mom kept all her old clothes which I used to try on all the time... Anyway, one summer day Mom gets this crazy idea to clean house.  And I mean, she was on a mission to get rid of as much stuff as possible.  This sadly included the black couch, amazing clothes, and even my stuffed animals!! The nerve.  She had found Dad's stash too, and I can vividly remember the conversation between them. heh.  Luckily for us all that throwing/giving away made Mom tired, so the minute she went to take a nap, Dad and I snuck back upstairs and in a panic went through all the neatly folded clothes and items Mom had put in the "give-away" and "throw-away" box.  Since she had already cleaned out the closet, we knew that would be a perfect place to hide our beloved treasures.  We had saved our things, and she never had to know.. But then next year came around and she felt the need to do it again!  Opps.  She was on to us, and I think eventually all our goodies were given away.  The worst part was she had Dad put the couch at the end of the driveway along with some awesome lamp shades.. Those suckers didn't even last a night.  I'm sure a neighbor saw them and thought, SCORE!  They probably held on to them and sold them for a ridiculous amount of money.

But back to my amazingly hot light fixture above.  Isn't it sweet?  I'm really really excited because I just ordered it.. It's my one splurge on the house, and it was made for my dining room.  It should arrive in 2 weeks.

Starbucks Can Suck It!

I have several addictions, and one of them since becoming a Mom has been coffee. Not just any coffee... Starbucks. It's not so much the coffee, but the espresso shot that I crave in my coffee. It can completely change my energy level from a low 2 to a 9 or 10 in just about 30 minutes flat. It is exactly what a Mom of an active 17 month old needs. Problem is, it gets pricy, and we are on a budget around here. So, I would limit myself to one or two a week, and only if I got my work out in for the day. It was an excellent motivator, and frankly a lifesaver. It definitely didn't hurt to have a drive thru Starbucks close by... all the temptations.

So there I was about a month ago driving up to the Starbucks about to order my usual grande iced red eye when I noticed the prices changed. It went from being an already over priced $2.69 to $2.96! What in the hell?! Okay, so it's only 20 something cents more, but it's the principle of the matter here. Why? Starbucks isn't losing money.. Greedy bastards. I was ticked. I'll show them I remember saying.. I'll find another coffee shop to go to, and I did. Booda beans was great, it was local and they had a place for kids to play. It was a bit of a drive, but a fun way for O and I to get out some afternoons. But good things always come to an end. Booda Beans closed the end of of July, but my addiction was still going strong. Starbucks was calling me back. So I went back, but I went less often. I convinced myself that it was like I was getting a coffee with flavoring (25 cents more), so it wasn't that big of a deal.. I just wasn't getting the flavoring. Then, 2 weeks ago shit hit the fan. They went up on the prices AGAIN! My mouth dropped when the lady said, that will be $3.20. WHAT?! I am not paying $3.20 for an iced coffee and 1 measly shot of espresso. I asked her what didn't go up in price, and her response was the hot coffee. ha! Add some ice and it's $1.50 more! That was it. That's what it took for me to break my addiction of Starbucks. I make my own coffee, and I make a 2nd pot in the afternoons. I'm thinking I might start researching some espresso makers too. Take that Starbucks! (but I'm just not that strong enough not to accept if you're buying.. just sayin.)