One of my local friends is a teacher and just started back to school last week so they are taking their boys to the Learning Center with Austin. It’s 17 miles from our town, so I offered to drive them to school with Austin since I drive out there for work myself. It’s going really well so far.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Transformations
Until now he has always been a total Mama's boy, but more and more I see him wanting to be with and like Dad. Today was our Mommy Monday and all day he kept asking was "where Dad?", "where Daddy?", "where Papa? (Grandpa Steve who visited last weekend)", "where Dad". This weekend we went shopping in the big city and went to the Home Depot to get supplies to replace the gutters on our house. He was so eager to get right in there with Dad and pick the stuff out. After putting back several things he grabbed and threw in the cart I suggested that he help Dad, so Dustin would pick out the parts he needed and hand them to Austin who would go and put them in the cart. When we checked out Austin climbed up on the side of the cart and handed the parts to the checker guy. Last week Dustin cut up his forearm on some barbed wire and we have been bandaging it, so of course Austin has been all about having a band aid, or bandage on his arm too. Tonight he even got a hold of a pen and drew scratch lines down his arms like Dad's scratches.
He is speaking really well now and it is such a blessing for him to be able to communicate exactly what is on his mind. He is so good at cognitive tasks too, my nieces and nephew gave him a hand held video game when they were here a few weeks ago and I noticed he was playing a Memory game on there and able to clear a 16 square puzzle. We bought him a real Memory game this weekend and he totally loves it, other than he doesn't have the whole concept of taking turns with other people. He loves to match the cards and really does have a phenomenal memory for such a young age. I have also been going through his toys and clearing out the ones he no longer is interested in and as I was digging through the stuffed animals he spotted his Scout dog that has been buried for a while now. He has been playing with it all weekend, and the great thing about it is you can plug it into your computer and enter in the child's name, then Scout says their name and sings songs that incorporate it and the spelling. Austin has totally been spelling his name all weekend. It's also encouraging him to practice pronouncing "Austin" since he seems to struggle with the s-t transition. He says it more like "Ausin", but it has been improving all weekend.
Friday, August 26, 2011
5QF
I'm not really a fashion diva so as long as I have plenty of clothes in my rotation I am not big on buying new clothes. I would love a new fridge, but I want to wait until we move, and then I want to invest and get a super nice fridge with all the accessories that I have always dreamed about. A new drier would be nice too since our old one pooped out this summer and I have been line drying our clothes for the last month and a half. I don't mind it so much other than I dislike the crunchiness of line dried clothes, especially the towels.
Linky Tools subscription expired. List not available.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Cowboys and Indians
The new Kaibab Paiute Princess |
Tribal Council |
Friday, August 19, 2011
5QF
1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?
I am rarely home alone, but no, I don't. I also don't close the bedroom door when I shower so I walk out of the bathroom and to the room to get my clothes. I would be in trouble if someone came home with company.
2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?
My husband says "SWEET" aww, he is sweet! I don't know maybe today is should be "TIRED", LOL!
3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?
I can't really think of a store that out outright "refuse" to shop at. There are two mom n' pop grocery stores locally and I can not stand to shop at one of them. It is super small so you are always getting stuck in the isles if there is someone else there, and their layout is odd. It takes me forever to figure out where to find stuff. They do however carry a certain type of juice that we love so occasionally I go in there to stock up on the juice.
4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?
I don't know, it just doesn't seem right for me to pick someone for him. We know a lot of little girls and many of them are head over heels infatuated with Austin, but I can't say I would really pick any of them, not because of the girls, just because I don't know what they would be like when they are older.
5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you?
Yep! I think I've mentioned it on here before (is that morbid or what?), but my Mom has a friend who was in her late 70's and she went out dancing with her husband. They came home, went to bed together and she just did not wake up in the morning. It doesn't get any better than that!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Aloha Friday
Pieces 8 and 9
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Perspective
- I am thankful for getting up at 4:50am this morning because it means I am Mom to a wonderful two year old who was wide awake and I am the one who got to hold him, rock him, and eventually let him come out and watch cartoons on my lap while I caught a few zzz's on the couch before work.
- I am thankful that my cold from last week is coming to an end and that it made me remember how wonderful good health really is and how I should not take it for granted and to also be compassionate to those who suffer from chronic illness.
- I am thankful for my PMS/cramps as it means I am a woman and was able to carry a child in my womb and will again hopefully soon.
- I am thankful that I have clean water at the turn of a faucet and will immensly enjoy my shower in the morning that I did without this morning. It is easy to take for granted that we have access to good, clean, and safe water.
- I am thankful to return to work today because I have a job that I enjoy and so does Dustin, and we live comfortably and are able to provide our son with many things that Dustin and I didn't have.
- I am thankful to have filled my gas tank at $3.45 a gallon because I have the luxury of a good working, reliable vehicle to transport myself and my family safely.
- I am thankful for the 10 extra pounds I carry (even though I should lose them) because I live in a country where good food is plentiful and I waste too much even though there are thousands of people in the world starving to death.
- I am thankful that I get to kiss my best friend every day. There is no perspective to that, it is truely wonderful in every way!
(Added 8/17) I thought of another one, I am thankful for my bed that is located in a country whose government it busy tearing each other apart and people are having hard times because I know that when I lay down at night I can rest peacefully since I am relatively safe and secure because there are brave men and women out there who are not safe and secure protecting me.
Monday, August 15, 2011
My new doo
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Motivations for Marriage
Then I mosied back to the salon and went inside. The stylist was working on a woman's hair doing a big fancy up-do. They were chit-chatting as she was working and I found out the woman was getting married tonight. In the salon was also a young lady who was maybe 12-13 and found out that she was the woman's daughter. When the stylist finished her up, after about another 15 minutes, she was getting ready to pay and the woman said to the stylist that she really wanted her to come to the wedding, not to worry about eating because they would have plenty of food. The stylist was like yeah, I'll be there even though I'm wearing my jeans.
After the bride left and the stylist was washing my hair, her daughter came in and we were all talking about the bride and wedding because they both had known the woman for some time. They said she actually had been in and gotten her hair done for another wedding about a year ago. I of course don't know the woman, or her story, but I know she was getting married tonight, had gotten married to someone else a year ago, and presumably might have been married at least one other time to the daughter's father.
So that all got me thinking about marriage and what motivates someone to get married so many times when it seems they are aren't in it so long as they both shall live. For me marriage is a sacrament of my religion that makes a permanent bond for our relationship and validates the children that we are given. I take it so very seriously and I know that Dustin does as well. I have no doubt that this is the one and only marriage for both of us provided one of us does not die prematurely.
For some I know religion is not a factor. It is obvious in our society that marriage is not essential to validate children. It seems to me that since cohabitation is readily accepted in most places today, I don't understand why people bother to take the step and enter into marriage, especially if they have no intention of seeing it through. It's a shame to me that we can't figure out a way to limit the people who carelessly marry over and over. Can you imagine if there were a law that if you had been married X number of times and could not marry until those people had died, that people might actually try to make that happen. I would have to think that divorce is not cheap, financially or emotionally, and that this should be a motivation to not get married unless you are serious about it, unless of course someone is out to take advantage of a sugar daddy situation.
So what would be the motivation for a 50 something woman who has been married at least twice previously to tie the knot one more time? Is it just a string of lousy partners and now she has found "the one", the fear of being alone, wanting to provide her child(ren) with a father figure, wanting to have a party and be the center of attention (wondering this after she was so intent on inviting her hair stylist who obviously had not planned on attending the wedding)? I guess I'll never understand.
Finally...
Here is a quick list of what is going on with me:
- We listed our house with a realtor. We haven't gotten a new job yet, but the housing market around here is slow even in good economic times so we thought it would be wise to go ahead and list it now and move into a rental here if we do sell it instead of getting a job, moving into a rental there and having to maintain this house until we sell it. Cross your fingers for us that we get a buyer!
- My father-in-law might be coming for a visit next week. The town to the north of us has a festival to commemorate all the old western movies that were filmed around here, then on the weekend the tribe I work for is hosting their annual powwow. It's like a total cowboys and Indians week which he loves.
- Yesterday Austin started calling me "Mommy". Until now it has always been some other form like "Ma", "Mom", or "Mama", but yesterday he added the "ee" to the end.
- My brother brought us a huge bag of clothes that my nephew out-grew. We now have a ton of clothes when he gets to size 4. There were also a lot of shoes and even a pair of super cute cowboy boots when he gets to size 10.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Family visit
Here is the group except for Dustin and Austin who were in the truck for Austin's nap |
Austin wasn't cooperating with the photo |
Here the girls are taking their oath to become Junior Rangers at Pipespring National Monument. |
Oops!
Last night Dustin said he thought it looked like Austin posted to my blog when he got back to the computer, but I was so sick that I couldn't even get off the couch and told him I would look at it later. I thought I was having allergy issues, but when I got home from work last night I crashed fast and went from a little laryngitis to completely blocked nasal passages, sore throat, and mild fever with chills. I was MISERABLE. I called in sick to work today and am resting at home. I'm trying to make myself drink more fluids, but my throat hurts when I drink juices. I am guessing this is what Austin had last week when we thought he was having allergies, so it only lasted a couple of days.
Friday, August 5, 2011
5QF
1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?
I have three brothers and a sister. My oldest brother died in a car accident when he was 19. I was born a year and a half later, so I never got to meet him. I am close with the other three and miss living closer to them. I also have a half sister who I just met a couple of years ago, and I am getting to know her better.
I am slightly over weight now, and other than being self conscious about it, no one ever comments on it. After I had Austin though I lost a ton of weight while breast feeding, I know it's not typical, please don't hate me, and I had more people telling me how skinny I looked and how I needed to gain weight. It was to the point that it was annoying, so I guess of the two I'm happiest now.
Funnel cake, nuff said!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Rockin’ weekend!
My brother who lives in Phoenix stopped by with his three kids this weekend on their way to Grandma’s house in Denver. They got here Friday afternoon and left first thing Sunday morning. It was a super nice visit. It’s funny how hard it is to have good quality time together now that we live so far away from each other. When I was in college, all three of my siblings lived within an hour of each other and my Mom, so we got together all the time. Since we saw each other so often it was not a big deal and we got down to quality time. Now that we all live far away, this brother is about a 5.5 hour drive, my other brother is 7.5, my sister is 11 hours and my Mom is 10.5 hours, when we get together 1- we are exhausted from the traveling, and 2- it’s like we spend the time catching up and often don’t really get down to quality time. You know what I mean, where you can be with each other and do something fun together and enjoy each others presence.
We spent most of the weekend jammin’ to Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I would have never thought to suggest that we play our game, these guys are big time country fans and also Broadway musical type music. But my younger niece heard the kids talking about it at school so she wanted to give it a try. They loved it and by the end of their visit one niece was singing “Black Hole Sun'” and the other was singing “Creep”. Heck even my brother got in on the fun and his favorite song to play ended up being “Enter Sandman”, hardcore! My nephew wasn’t really into it, but he is often hard to interest in things. I have a feeling my brother will be ordering a band kit when they get home!
We also went to the park and played with water guns and went to the pool. I did not take too many pictures because I was thoroughly enjoying our quality time and often forgot to pick up the camera.