Hometown, Shometown... I live everywhere (in the Midwest) now!

After one month in Minnesota, I managed to weasel in a trip back home to Oxford!  I obvi can't stay away from the town I lived in for um... 24 years straight.  That's a long time and I'm kind of embarrassed.  Jarod is back in town for Miami's First Pro Camp (which was completely successful on so many levels, might I add)

As much as I've enjoyed big city living, where you can get to the mall in 15 minutes (unheard of) and there's a Tbell/Long John Silvers combo (Heaven?) down the street,  I much enjoy driving an hour to the city, realizing that my sister and I were going to different places (in the same car) to stop for 10 minutes to get a set of golf clubs Jarod probably won't use. Then jetting 20 minutes the other way to a Target that also doesn't carry the carseat that everyone in Southwestern Ohio wants having a small breakdown because I lost misplaced my keys in my purse and realized my credit card was left at a restaurant back home (30 minutes).  (Big Rant)

Anyway, it's been rather nice to be home.  I landscaped manicured my eyebrows, can take regular showers, and no longer have a child.  It's like being in college again, except I'm allowed to sleep in the same room as my significant other.... in my full size bed...with my 11 month old child....awkward? Yes.  Sammy has enjoyed his time, and I haven't heard him laugh this much since the last time we were in Oxford.  I feel bad taking him away from all these people he loves (my parents, his little friends, my sisters, Oxfordians that love him...etc) but he has to learn to hate his parents sometime, right? I think I'm doing a good job of that.

Sammy's been doing this thing where when he sees me, he clings like those baboon babies have to when their mother's are swinging from trees.  1. I don't swing from trees. I'm afraid of heights and fast moving vehicles 2. This is new.  He usually hates being around my boney little body.  I think he's afraid I'm going to leave him somewhere and never come back.  Sometimes I joke around and say things like that to him, but I didn't think he understood.  My dad said I should stop saying "Bye Sammy.  Mommy loves you! See you...N-E-V-E-R" when I go somewhere without him.  Suggestions?

Sammy will be one year old in about a month.  The other day, I asked how old someone's baby was.  She told me X months.  Then she went on this explanation about the age based on weeks vs actual number date on the calendar and there being a difference.  There was also the suggestion that there is a difference between how YOU count and how the doctor counts.  I was obvi half listening, but when she left, I realized... I have no idea how old Sam is according to the doctor.  I hardly remember how old he is to me.  I'm really glad it's smooth sailing as far as getting to the one year mark.  I don't think I'm going to say things like Sam is 48 months old or whatever.  That's confusing and I can't do simple math.

Speaking of the monkey's milestone, we have a lot that's coming up!  There's pictures, birthday parties, galore!  I'm little bit hating this planning.  While I LOVE the idea of having a special day for my little ball of joy, some people keep telling me, "You don't have to make a big deal.  He's not going to remember it." Yes he is.  Didn't you notice? He's a baby genius.  His first memory will probably be coming into the world via birth.  I have some Fresh Beat ideas, and I really wanna follow through.  We will be back in Ohio for a party, but not before partying it up in Minnesota!  If we're really lucky (maaaybe) I can get Jarod to let us party in Texas as well with all our friends!

We've done the first haircut, he's got a couple teeth, and he will soon to be walking! (I really hope.  Jarod might have a minor heart attack if it doesn't happen soon)  He's been saying things like "Cup" and "Cow?" (just like a  question) and has learned to point his finger at me when he's mad (at least it's not the middle one!)  I'm exhausted from all this craziness, but you know it wouldn't be a summer unless we went "Up North" which we will be doing directly after this week in Ohio for four days.  Then it's off to the State Fair!  Then we will be back in Ohio, and my head my spin off as the finale of Sammy's birthday party.  That or a special choreographed dance.  I haven't decided.  So let's show our life in pictures!

This is how the booger sleeps...

Morning before his first haircut!

 

A little nervous in the chair

"Just a little off the top"

Trying to find the buzzing sound

So handsome!

Nap time with Lion

Time out Nap

Dinner with Daddy

Meeting Kai Lan at the Mall of America 

Wanting to get into the tank at the aquarium

Back to Bloggin'!

A new husband, two new teeth, five pounds, and one big mess later... I'm blogging after a billion years of absence.  I have one thing to say.  I'm exhausted.  Since my last blog, Jarod has moved back home *finally* I got a visit from my BFF Britt, Jarod made an honest woman out of me, Sammy has acquired some chompers, and I got to meet some of my first live Amish (which turned out to be a disappointment.)  Let me tell you something, this is quiet a lot, so hopefully I'll be able to recap in the next few days while we take a "relaxing weekend" So I guess I can start at the beginning....

Jarod mozied (word?) on back to Ohio about two weeks before the wedding.... I was a crazy lady.  All I wanted him to do was teleport back to Oxford in the split second that he had packed up the truck and he didn't do it. Was that too much to ask?  To me, no.  Every time Jarod is traveling back to me, I always get this anxious feeling that he's taking his time, because he doesn't want to be back with me.  This might be caused by my lack of any real concept of time and space, but I go nuts on him every time.  Weird coming from the person who completely missed her flight to Minnesota last summer and had to wait a whole day to get there.  

Jarod packed up his truck to the MAX.  I couldn't believe The Law let him pass through, who knows how many states and hundreds of miles to get here.  So there was his life... all packed up and ready to merge with my mess.
I leisurely decided I would give some clothes away, for what might be the first time in my life.  I don't think I've gone through my wardrobe since high school, and I'm sure I didn't really give anything away.  I wear clothes from middle school on the reg, I know it's weird.  My hoarding ways need to stop as we live our lives like Irish Travelers  gypsies.  You do not even know how much anxiety I've had over giving away my clothes.  I have accumulated 6 13-gallon garbage bags of clothes to donate. (Do you think kids these days want authentic wear from the late 90's? I think it's coming back!)  This is after I've hidden several drawers worth of clothing that I might want to wear "some day" at my parent's house.  Jarod was a little shocked and worried when he saw my give away pile.  I think he second guessed marrying me at that point.  All of my drawers were still overflowing after I had gotten rid of the things I didn't need.  He should feel lucky.  I gave away my favorite pair of sweatpants (bright red, zippers on the bottom with an elastic waist) that he's constantly embarrassed about, because I will wear them twice a week in the winter.  I traded them in for my bright red scrub bottoms that are too big for me.  Equally as comfy, not as cool.
Jarod lived out of his bags for about a week before I decided I would give in a few drawers.  This took a lot of maneuvering and a lot more tears work, then he thinks. I did make him use Sammy's closet for his clothes... I can't make all the sacrifices in our relationship!  We've tried to merge as much as we can, but it's incredibly hard with all the things I've collected over the years, but we're trying.  I've decided that I would just bring the books I haven't read on my bookshelf with us instead of my entire library, for example.  Packing is going to be one of the biggest bitches I've encountered.  I'm a little anxious at this point and we have less than a month.  First big move to Minnesota.  Next stop? Who knows!

Did you know: Sometimes, when you think you smell a skunk outside, you might be sniffing the nearest fox?  They actually have an odor that is just as bad as the stink of a skunk!

My Odd Little Baby

Today was the first day Sam has really smiled since we've been back in Oxford.  Maybe it's because we are finally treating the double ear infection that he never complained about, getting back into the routine of life while Mommy goes to school, or Patty the Platypus (most likely Patty), but one thing is certain... we hate Horrible Ohio right now.

Sam's second favorite Beanie Baby, and my first:

Patty the Platypus

She's seriously like 15 years old

 It breaks my heart to see how much he misses his dad. For a few days, he'd look around whenever we were obvi searching for Jarod.  The only thing that's made him happy are the few minutes Jarod talks to him over the phone.  Sam is currently sleeping on me while I write this at 1:30 in the morning.

That brings me to a topic that is slightly odd.  Sam likes his women big, round, and plump (Sorry, Gianna :) )  While Sam will obvi let me hold him and snuggle because I'm his mom, he is extremely uncomfortable on my skin and bone frame.  I honestly feel bad that I haven't kept on my baby fat weight.        The poor kid can't get comfy.  The second he sees a woman that is slightly bigger or has the pleasure of having ample breasts, he lunges for them and snugs up close.

We sat next to a woman on the plane back to Ohio who was slightly bigger.  Sam couldn't get enough of her.  He kept putting on his charm with his flirty smile and giggles.  Then he started rubbing her fatty arms trying to get her to hold him.  He's such a weirdo and obviously doesn't understand boundaries.  Coming from a kid who has had a sudden fear of strangers, he surely can't resist the women with some junk in the trunk.

Sam enjoys the comfort of a pillowtop mattress and can't get comfortable without a soft pillow. Maybe that's how he wants his woman too.  He's such a little diva... guess I should pack on the pounds.

There is one thing he doesn't complain about, apparently, pain.  Sam has his first aliment...the double ear infection.  The kid hasn't complained at all, really.  He has no fever, he eats like mad, and he stop his nervous tick of pulling on his ears 3 weeks ago!  For a second, I felt like a horrible mother, as she told me that it looked "really bad" and I had no idea this was going on.We were going in to check about his super yucky cough!  Really, Sam? No heads up?  He's always so happy and hasn't complained one bit.  We were on a plane for goodness sake!  He hardly cried, only when he was hungry, so instead of being mad at myself, I decided I'd be mad at him.

Here's another weird thing about Sam, while we're on the topic.  He loves Beanie Babies.  We have tons in storage at my parent's house.  Like every other family in the 90's, we jumped on the Beanie Baby band wagon.  We had the cases, the tag covers, and I was in the Official Beanie Baby Club.  When I was pregnant, my family joked about how all the crazy crap in the house we had would go to the grandkids.... aka unborn Sam.  I said something about how I didn't want the Beanie Babies.  My mom said, under her breath, that she was going to give them to her grandbabies.  Well crap, turns out, Sam loves them.  His cow that he can't sleep without?  Beanie Baby.

Sleeping with his cow

He chews on him like crazy when he sleeps and likes to twirl his tail around.  It's actually pretty adorable, but only because Sam is cute.  Deep down, there is a part of me that despises the fact that Sam is attached to something, but at least it's only when he sleeps.  He wants nothing to do with him during the day.  The problem is, he's starting to smell. I'm not sure if you can wash these little fake animals or not but something needs to be done.  I decided I'd try to get him to like something else.  Patty was my first Beanie Baby and my fave EVER.  So I stood there, Patty in hand, shaking her in front of Sam's face.  He was pretty excited, so I decided it was time:  I ripped the tag (obvi still with the plastic cover) off.  I actually hesitated.  Like it was going to be worth something "some day"  Seriously?  I contemplated, for a split second, about risking my son's life for the dollar worth of Patty the Platypus.  Is something wrong with me? I tried to get him to sleep with her instead of the cow, but it didn't work out.  Now she's his daytime playmate.   Dammit.

Did you know: Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump?

Spring Break, It's gonna be a crazy week!

Here's a shout out to my BFF Britt and Dad Beck on their marathon in Napa Valley today!!

We finally made it to Texas and I'm FINALLY getting a break from the chaos of school!  Actually, I just threw myself into a different type of craziness such is Jarod Palmer's life (last night, I took Christmas decorations down), but that's OK with me.  We had a semi-relaxing trip to Texas... Sammy semi-behaved himself.

We were the first to board, so we got to watch everyone else get on the plane, and I see tons of guys in suits.  One of them sits next to me, and I ask "Are you all going to a convention or something?"   Of course they aren't.  haha.  Turns out, they were the Syracuse Crunch, the team that Jarod was going to be playing that Friday.  Lucky us.  The trip turned out to be super awk.

Not only did Sammy continually rub the poor man's leg with his foot, he was watching a movie on his iPad, and Sam wanted to watch too.  He spent two hours leaned over trying to watch the movie with him (successfully) and tried to talk to him.  Of course the jerk continued to ignore the poor 5 month old.  What does Sam do? Get louder...and louder...and louder. He got so upset, he started to cry.  The only toy I brought on the plane was his butterfly, so I kept flapping it around, and Sam loved it, until it was his turn.  The poor butterfly went for quite a ride.  Sam sure did let him fly...right into the guy next to us.  That's what he gets for ignoring my baby!

Along this trip, Sam of course takes the opportunity to take biggest dump of his life.  Not one of the quiet ones either, he had a bit of a struggle and let everyone know what he was doing.  And of course he waited until 25 minutes til landing, meaning, we couldn't get out of our seats.  I honestly don't even know where you can change a baby on a plane.  Is that possible? He thankfully made it OK, and he was soo excited to see his Dad.

I'm so happy be here and I've decided this is quite a nice family I have.  Sam is a pretty good baby, although he has his kinks.  Jarod is the best ever.  Only he could understand when I say "I'm going to drink this glass of wine and pass out.  You have to put Sam to sleep" and just say "Wow, that's a big cup...but you deserve it."

It's been a sweet trip so far, Sam lights up every time he sees his dad.  I take this as a good sign.  Only a few more years until Jarod starts embarrassing Sam on the reg!

Did you know?  The name "marathon" comes from the Greek city Marathon where war messenger ran (without stopping) 26.2 miles to deliver a message saying the Persians had been defeated... then collapsed and died.

I Left My Heart in Texas

We made it back to Ohio safe and sound and extremely cold.  Though, for the car ride home, I had to take Sam's pants off so he wouldn't sweat to death.  He was an angel on the plane, which was a relief.  Apparently he likes plane rides.  It seemed like he even recognized my family, but was a little overwhelmed by everyone at once and just wanted to hang out with Dad.  He cried a lot and was looking around, but eventually calmed down and was happy when I let him hear Jarod's voice on the phone.  Hopefully that keeps him happy until we see Jarod again.

We're staying at my parents for a few days so they can hog him for awhile.  Please keep me sane.

Texas was the best time of my life.  We made so many new fantastic friends!  We traveled to several different cities and saw the sites.  I got a glimpse into my future of permanent living with Jarod (amazingly coexisting great!).  And I got to have my perfect family.  It kinda makes me tear up.  This Mommy-ness has made me soft!

I'm truly blessed to have found someone who cares about my dreams as much as his own.  Jarod's true and pure support of me finishing school is more than I can ask for.  The sacrifice he's making is greater than mine in this situation. Asking him for this one dream was hard for me, but receiving it shows me how much he really does care about me and our family.  Hopefully I can do the same for him some day.

Enough mushy stuff, let's talk about the Highlights of Texas!

San Antonio-  Talk about lifelong dream!  Regardless of the fact that you can't take pictures in the actual building, you can't really laugh, and apparently you can't have drinks in the place, and they hide their research but the story teller was fantastic.  Obvi I love history and this took it to a new level.

Dallas- We visited with Jarod's Grandparents who got to meet Sam.  Annd I had the best steak ever!

Ruthie's Mexicana- Did I have the best Mexican food or what?  Make a trip down Grand Pky in New Territory and it's on the corner of 90 and 6 in that little strip mall.  Our server couldn't speak english very well and I got a cheesy puff pastry.  Better than Fiesta Charra, Oxbox Folks.

The Sunshine!  Ahhh I miss it now that I'm in gloomy wintery Ohio.  Keep in mind I've never lived anywhere but Oxford, Ohio.  I feel like Ohio is definitely not the place to be.

One thing I won't miss are the crazy birds at Wal Mart.  They were there all the time and scared the crap out of me.  I seriously thought they were waiting for an unattended baby and they'd swoop down and take them away.  I always would assure Sammy that I was watching out for him and wouldn't leave him out in the open for the taking.

I had the best time of my life in Texas and I hope we'll be back for my Spring Break AND next year!  Let's cross our fingers for Jarod.  Now I've got to go shower before my mother judges me.  Back to the real world!(Stink face)  I'll write again soon!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Yesterday was super busy filled with sleeping, resting, and hockey.  Sammy stayed up until past midnight for the New Year and apparently was a little hung over(kidding); he didn't wake up until 10.  Then last night, he followed suit in his rebellious teenage ways and stayed up past one.

Last night Jarod and I decided to stop at the 59 diner, which was quite a headache in itself.  This was a place I really wanted to go to while I was down here, it looks really cool from the highway.  First, we didn't realize it was past 11 when we were looking for a place for dinner and really wanting burgers.  We drove passed Fudruckers, which was obviously closed then decided to back track to the diner.  Big mistake using the GPS.  Turns out there are multiple 59 diners and almost made our way back to the rink.  Around this time, I started thinking I wish Jarod would just tell me no when I ask for things.  By the time we got to this place, we got a cross-eyed waitress who was really slow.  While the milkshakes were delish, Jarod and I feel super sick today.  Lesson learned: we're making our own hamburgers for lunch.

I went to Randall's today, and always use the same cashier if he's there.  Mostly because I'm testing him.  I understand that when I'm toting a baby with me, the guy can call me "M'am" but when I'm by myself...seriously?  I look about 14 years old.

Only a few more days in Houston and I'm dreading leaving.  Mostly because I haven't packed a thing.  Seeing how I came down here sending 3 huge boxes an over 50 lb suitcase, then had my family send more things down to me, I'd say I'm a little behind. The problem is, every time I clean the place up, Jarod comes in running around in circles with his arms out destroying everything.  It's a disaster everyday.  Plus, I can't find a lot of my clothes.  Seeing how I'm the only girl here and the only one that does the laundry, I'm not sure what's going on.  Maybe my fiance is secretly a crossdresser who likes really tight clothes...he already wears my socks on a regular basis.