Silly Conversations

Aaron’s reaction to losing an argument: “Oh yeah?  Well you’re just still upset that a house fell on your sister.”

I was a little confused and disturbed about this statement.  So I responded with, “So I’m Elphaba now?  Maybe I should be mad that someone dropped a house on my sister.  Or more importantly, maybe I’m upset that someone used my sisters tragic demise to try to gain a political foothold and enslave and manipulate my people.  Did you ever think of that?  Maybe I’m just frustrated and tired of being profiled because I have an unfortunate skin condition and a severe allergic reaction to water.  And maybe, just maybe, you’d be a little grumpy too.  I’m not a wicked witch, I’M A POLITICAL ACTIVIST!!!”

Aaron just stared at me for a few minutes.  “You know?” he finally said, “That insult was a whole lot funnier before Wicked came out.”

Later on, Aaron was playing this zombie game that he’s found online.  I was ready to start another episode of Dexter, and I was waiting on him.

“Are you in there shooting zombies again?  That’s just so rude.”

“What?  I’m just sitting in my house, chilling, and these zombies come banging my door down!  What am I supposed to do?”

“You don’t even give them a chance!  You have no idea what it is they need.”

“They’re banging down my door!”

“And your automatic response is to shoot them.  You don’t even try to talk to them, do you?  Didn’t even occur to you, did it?”

*Stares in disbelief for a few seconds* “I’m just sitting there and they come banging down my door and come at me and I’m all like ‘Whoa, guys, lets talk about this’ and they keep coming and I’m all ‘look back up and lets talk or I’ll have to shoot’ and they don’t and so I have to shoot them.  It’s not like I want to.”

“Well, maybe it’s just a language barrier.  You simply don’t understand each other and you aren’t even willing to try!”

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak “Uuungh!”

Yeah.  That’s how my night has been.

There was another funny conversation in there somewhere, but I don’t remember it.  Maybe I’ll tweet it later.

Explosions

My mother has been in town since Monday helping me out getting the nursery ready.  We got a few things done, went on a few shopping trips, and got all of Ashton’s clothes all boxed up and ready to be given away.  It was wonderful having her here.  The best bit was when she first arrived.  Ash greeted her with open arms, then immediately looked past her and demanded to know where Grandpa Dude was.  That made her feel all warm and fuzzy.

Friday night we skipped the usual TV fest and went to Arlington where they were having a festival for the fourth of July, only they did it on the night of the third.  Aaron had to be out in that area anyway to reserve the family’s “spot” for the parade (a long standing tradition.  Aaron and his father and usually a few cousins spend the night on the sidewalk so we have the best seats for the parade the next morning) and the rest of us dragged picnic munchies and chairs out and hung out at the festival.  It was well done, they had free bounce houses, a cute little petting zoo, and lots of other activities.  There were free concerts at the pavillion, including the headliner for the evening, Fastball.  As soon as I remembered why I knew that name (shut up, I’m pregnant) I was very excited to see them live.   I was also surprised to learn that I knew more than just one of their songs!

The pavillion has a really pretty fountain that the kids played in.  Ash got to run around in it, and because I didn’t think to pack any swimmer diapers, we just had him in a regualr pullup.  So by the time he was done playing (rather, we were done with him playing) his pants were desperatly trying to fall off, and he was running around with one hand holding them up at all times.  It was funny as all hell.

They put on a fireworks dispaly during Fastball’s intermission.  It wasn’t the most amazing display I’ve ever seen, but it was nice.  Ash had a good time, family seemed to have a good time, and Lissa had a great time, so to say a good time was had by all is a bit reduntant.

The next day we saw the parade, which was fun.  We went home and relaxed (and Aaron washed the street off because WHEW!) and ate lunch.  Dad made it into town so we got to visit with him for a bit.  Then we went to Judy’s for early dinner, and headed from there to get ready for fireworks that night.  We watch the fireworks in Bedford (because that’s where we live, duh) and join friends of ours at Isis Studios because it’s a great place to watch from!  Charles and Zoe met us there, and there were a few kids, all between the ages of 2 and 4, so they all kept pretty entertained.  The fireworks were wonderful, and by the time they were over I was ready to pass out.  Ash went right to sleep after bath, so we must have worn him out as well.

Mom and Dad packed up themselves and Ashton this morning and headed out.  Mom and I usually take a summer trip to visit Oklahoma family, but this year I can’t travel.  So Mom and Dad are going to take Ash up there to see everyone.  My little boy is going to be gone for four whole nights.  They’ll come home Thursday and I’m really not sure how to feel about that.  On the one hand it will be relaxing to not have to keep up with him for a week, but on the other hand I’m gonna miss my little boy.  We’ll see how it goes.

I’m sure he’ll have a blast.

What Blog?

Hey look!  A blog!  And it’s got my name on it and everything!  It’s like it’s mine or something.

Well shit.

I’ll be back soon.  I’m sure I have stuff to tell you, but I can’t for the life of me think of what it is.  Also, I’m not really coherent enough to actually tell you any stories anyway.  So… yeah.  Nothing to say, and not intelligible enough to say it if I did have something.  Which I don’t.  Really.

Wait… my mommy is in town helping me out this week.  She’ll take Ash up to Oklahoma next week so everyone can see him (they probably won’t get to at Christmas because I won’t want to travel with a new baby.  Plus the two of us usually take a trip up there in the summer anyway) So that’s something, right?

Oh, and I danced last weekend.  There are pictures.  It’s embarrassing.

I should probably go to bed now.

And Now We Know

Ok, I already have a boy.  I know what to do with a boy.  I’ve got the boy thing mostly figured out.  I don’t understand him… but I can mostly handel him.  Boys should not present any problem.  On that note…

What the hell am I suposed to do with a girl?

Yes, I know, it wouldn’t have mattered what the gender was.  They would have been completly different anyway.  The problem with kids is none of them follow the blinkin rules.  The “experts” come out and say all this stuff, and I’ve never met a kid that followed any of it.

Maybe it’s because kids can’t read yet.

So… there you have it.  Ladies and Gentelmen, I would like to introduce everyone to Anwyn Renea Thomas.  I will try to scan the sono photos soon so I can get them onto flickr.

Toddler Grammar

I love hearing small children talk.  The way they attempt to figure out how words go together is wonderful.

Ashton was in the living room playing Spyro.  I can see him with no problem from my spot at the desk, so I decided to leave him to it and come fart around on the internet for a few minutes.  He came to the door of the office and asked “Why aren’t you out here?”

“Because I’m in here, sweetie.”

He looked a little frustrated at this.  After a few moments he said “Get out of…” thinking hard about the best way to put what he thought into words he decided on “not out here.”

Get out of not out here.  I love it.

The Big Bad Fall

Friday was a bad day.  Aaron and I had a rather significant disagreement; I had a bad pregnancy, over emotional day; and Ashton had to have his head glued back together.

Aaron went to a baseball game Friday night.  Ashton was supposed to go with him, but things didn’t work out, there were communication issues, and basically the whole thing left me rather peeved.  Aaron had not been home to spend time (other than dinner) with Ash since Tuesday, and… well… see the previous overemotional pregnancy statement.  I was unhappy.

So, around 4:30 Ashton was being a little crazy and wired and running in circles around the living room.  Well, he lost his balance (as toddlers do) and managed to put his head into the corner brick of the fire place.  I saw the fall, but didn’t quite register what had happened.  When he started crying he looked fine, so I told him to come to me and comforted him for a second.  When his crying only got worse I pulled back to take a look and that’s when I panicked.

The side of his face was covered in blood.  My shoulder was covered in blood.  The couch still has a few spots of blood that I didn’t get out.  I took him to the bathroom to get him cleaned up (hyperventilating the whole way) and finally managed to see the cut.  It was deep as hell and I was afraid he would need stitches, but I didn’t want to go to the emergency room unless I was certain, because that’s really really expensive.  I called Aaron and luckily he was close to the house (having left work  early to meet his dad for the game).   He swung by the house, took a look at his son’s bleeding forehead, which had slowed considerably, and declared that we probably ought to go to a doctor.  I always had the mindset that stitches = hospital, but Aaron had another idea.

We discovered that the CareNow clinic down the road from us is awesome!  For any little emergency like this I will certainly be using them in the future.  Seeing as how my son is fearless and insane, I can only pray that it won’t be too often.  They checked him out, cleaned him up, and used some kind of bonding agent on his wound.  He wasn’t happy about the whole thing, but he behaved wonderfully, all things considered.  He didn’t struggle too much, and he only cried toward the end of the visit when he was just tired of being held still.  They gave him stickers (which are apparently the way to his heart these days) and told us to come back in a few days for a follow up.  Aaron, having done all he could do, gave Ashton a kiss and went on his way to meet the rest of his entire family for the ball game .  (I know, right?)   Lissa came over and we watched tv, ate ice cream, and bitched about how much men suck.

The next day Aaron felt that we should have a family day.  Considering the looks he got when he arrived home the night before, I’m surprised he wanted to be anywhere near me, but I didn’t argue.  The plan was to check out the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Art Museum.  We got there, payed $10 to park, and got in line for tickets.  The next available showing wasn’t until 6:30, and somehow the idea of waiting until then just didn’t appeal (it was only about 12:30).  We wondered about what we could do instead (having already payed for parking) and remembered that the Dallas World Aquarium was down the road a piece.  So after a nice long walk, we went to one of the best indoor zoological exhibits I’ve ever been to.

Deciding that the day was going to be all about Ashton, we also went over to Gamestop to get him his own game.  He has discovered the game systems, and the game Aaron’s been playing lately is Grand Theft Auto.  We were both disturbed one morning when we were getting ready and heard gun shots coming from the living room.  It was then that we decided that he should probably have access to a more child friendly game.  So we went and picked up Spyro, which he doesn’t really have the hang of, but he can make it do some stuff and that’s enough to entertain him for a few minutes at a time.  He still tries to play GTA but we keep putting it away higher and higher.  We’re seriously considering finally getting a Wii.

I have pictures of the glued cut on his forehead that we took today, but I can’t seem to find the cable that hooks the camera to the computer, so I can’t download anything.  Which sucks, because I have pictures to put on flickr and there’s nothing I can do about it and I’m sad now.

UPDATE:  OK so I found the cable that attaches to the camera exactly where I had left it.  Apparently it’s a magic disappearing cable, because I looked in that spot several times and it wasn’t there, but when Aaron looked he found it right away.  I told him it was magic and that it had been hiding from me and he just gave me one of those looks that says that he thinks I’m pregnant and insane.  So… the link to our flickr is down at the bottom of the side bar.  Go check out my poor little boy and his ouchie.

Monkey On His Back

So I finally decided to break down and get a harness buddy for my insanely active toddler.  We were at World Market getting some new chairs for the dining room (as an anniversary gift to ourselves) and there happened to be a Target next door.  While Aaron was helping them load stuff into the car, I went next door with Ashton to see if they had what we were looking for.  I had originally looked at a monkey, because that seemed insanely fitting for my son.  All they had were bears, and I knew that if I went anywhere this weekend, I would want this thing.  So I tried to convince him that a bear would be awesome.

I handed him the bear and, with my best excited voice, asked him,”Isn’t this a cute bear Ashton?”

“Yeah,” was his response.  He took the bear from me and tried hugging it a few times.  Feeling optimistic, I asked if we should take Mr. Bear home.  “No.”  And Mr. Bear found himself being thrown from the cart and onto the floor.

I picked up the bear and tried again, this time with all of the enthusiasm I could muster.  I got the exact same (if a little more annoyed) reaction.  This went on a few more times.  I decided to wander around to see if I could get someone to help.  Maybe they had monkeys somewhere and I was just blind.  I didn’t find anyone to help, but I did find my husband coming to find us.  “Did they not have it?”  He asked.

“They didn’t have the monkey, but they have a bear.”

“Did you have your heart set on a monkey?”

So I took him to the bears and showed him the delightful reaction I got when trying to force the bear on our fickle child.

“Ashton, look at the really cute bear!  Don’t you want to take the bear home?”

“No.”

“Well, what if we just put the bear in the basket.  How about that?”

“NO!” And he reached into the basket and threw the bear as hard as he could.  By now Aaron got the idea and agreed that we should at least ask if they had any monkeys.  We headed up to customer service and were “helped” by a lady who not only had no idea what we were talking about, but I’m pretty sure had no idea what she was doing.  She looked up something and started talking about colors and sizes and how she didn’t see any different patterns.  I looked at her blankly and declared, “It’s a stuffed animal!”  I might have yelled that last bit because she gave me a somewhat worried look.  Aaron thanked her for her help (if that’s what you could call it) and led me out of the store.

We hit another Target on the way home. By then the other child (aka parasite) had been using my bladder as a punching bag and I couldn’t stand it anymore.  I ran into the bathroom as Aaron took Ash to find a monkey.  As I walked toward the kids section, I saw Aaron walking back with what looked like an empty cart.  My heart sank.  Did they not have monkeys either?  Did he have the exact same reaction?  Was this stupid idea not going to work?

The reason I couldn’t see the monkey was that it was in my son’s demanding hands.  He was trying to tear it out of the box by the time I reached them, and we had to ask the cashier to cut it out for him.

He wears the silly thing around the house and tells you all about his back pack.  Constantly.  We have yet to use the “tail”, but he’s so happy wearing the silly thing that I think it will be ok.  I guess we’ll find out.

21 Weeks

I’m 21 weeks along, close to five months pregnant.  Everything is going well, the baby looks healthy.  I’m gaining the right amount of weight and size.  Things are going swimmingly.

We did another sonogram today to see if we could get a glimpse at the baby’s gender.  The kid had it’s back turned to us the whole time, but we could at least see between it’s legs from the back.  Since there was no sign of male genitalia, the doctor is guessing that it’s a girl.  There is still no way to be sure of this, so I’m going to wait YET ANOTHER MONTH before I feel that I know for sure.  So no screaming it from the mountain tops… yet.

I think I might have to break down and get a harness for Ashton.  He’s way too quick and active and has no interest in staying anywhere near his parents.  I have no idea how other parents train their children to stay close, but it seems to have something to do with the child’s desire to not lose his mom and dad.  My kid couldn’t care less, it seems.  I found a really cute monkey backpack, where the tail is actually detachable a strap for parents to hold onto.  For about 10 to 13 bucks I won’t have to worry as much anymore.  I finally reached this decision when we went to Scarborough Faire yesterday and I was by myself with the boy.  With no stroller (because it’s kind of a pain to deal with out there) it was almost impossible to keep him in check.  So… monkey backpack.  They’re actually called harness buddies.  I’ve never liked the idea of putting a leash on a kid, but Ashton is way more active than most, and I can’t keep up with him in my “current state”.

There are several parents who call this lazy.  I would like them to chase my son around for a few hours and then have a chat with me.  It’s not lazy, it’s just desperation.  My favorite comment of all is that you can train a dog to heel, you should be able to train a child just as easily.  How do you train a dog to heel?  I always used a short leash.  Somehow the logic just doesn’t translate there.

Okay I’ll stop my silly rant here.  I know it sounds like I’m trying to justify myself and this decision, and I kind of am.  To myself.  I’ve just been against the idea for so long that I’m having a tiny issue coming to terms with the fact that this might just save my sanity.

This is all for now.  You will know as soon as I do about the parasite and it’s details.

Unmoving

This Monday will mark the half way point for us.  20 weeks.  It can only get more exciting from here, right?

Because the doctor is super paranoid with this pregnancy (Ashton had some problems, putting me at high risk for getting pregnant again) he’s done a sonogram I think every time I’ve gone in.  We had an official one last visit, to make sure the baby is ok and hopefully see the gender.  The baby is either shy, or very very VERY interested in that part of his/her anatomy, because it wouldn’t take it’s hand out from between it’s legs.  And because it was still a little early, we couldn’t see anything.  So the fetus is still an “it”.  I’ll just continue calling it a parasite for now.  It’s fun, because it makes everyone around me crazy when I do that.

I just don’t feel all that connected to this baby.  Not like I did with my last pregnancy.  Maybe I got myself so psyched out in the first couple of months (I was sure that I was going to lose it) that I’ve not been able to get back to that attachment?  I genuinely have no idea.  With Ashton, I could feel how he was doing all the time.  I knew he was a boy long before the doctors did.  There were no surprises until he was actually born, and had been having difficulties.  Even that wasn’t much of a shock.  I went to the hospital because something didn’t feel right.  I was so in tuned with him.

This one?  I just can’t get a feel for it at all.  I know it’s active because we’ve seen on the sonograms how squirmy it is.  But I just don’t feel as much movement as I would have expected.  And I really have no clue about the gender.  I have always imagined myself having two boys.  I would love a girl, but I’ve never imagined having one, and the idea really never crossed my mind.  Now that it’s a real possibility that this baby will be a girl (50/50 at least) I’m not sure how to respond.  I would like to know so I can adjust my brain to the idea of it.  That and so I can clear out all of the boy clothes that we’ve kept behind from Ashton’s wardrobe.  And buy new stuff.  It would also be nice to be able to tell my mother so she’ll stop bugging me about it.  And you thought I was impatient!

On the outside, Ashton is bound and determined to make me insane.  This whole “I’m not taking a nap and you can’t make me” thing is crap.  The bedtime routine hasn’t gotten much better.  The potty training has improved by leaps and bounds, but only when he’s in a good mood, which is not when he’s tired.  So you can see the problem we’re having this week.  My mood isn’t helping things much, because I’ve not gotten a decent night’s sleep in about a week either.  Maybe the kid and I just need a break from each other.

I’ll let you know about the baby as soon as I do.

Blog Fail

So things keep happening around me and I keep thinking, “I should totally blog about this,” and then I totally forget about it because I suck.  So, you would have more blogs if it weren’t for the fact that I am an absolute failure at all of this nonsense.  I’ll go back a few weeks and try to remember stuff:

First Scarby started.  For those of you not in the know, Scarborough Renaissance Festival started a few weeks ago.  We went opening day and saw lots of familiar faces.  Some of them were welcome, and some were very much not, but they were seen none the less.  My bestest friend saw her ex, and it triggered a huge turning point for her.  This is a good step.  He seems to have a profound and unhealthy effect on the women he dates, but that’s really not the point.  Anyway, the point is a good time was had by all.

The next day I spent with my in laws while Aaron spent the entire day out at Scarby again (this time to work).  I got some crafty stuff done and such.  The rest of the week was not very eventful.  Friday came around and Lissa and I went to the Fort Worth Zoo in search of donkeys.  They didn’t have any, but we got some fun footage of animals and us being silly.  Ashton tried to run us both ragged while we were there.  My parents got to the house an hour or so after we did, and we all went out to dinner.  The night ended with Lissa and I desperately trying to finish editing footage from the previous week in a timely manner.  Not sure we were all that successful.  Aaron and Dad did other geeky stuff.

Next night was dinner with the whole family for my sister Tasha’s belated birthday.  I think that the restaurant was trying to immobilize us with all the food they gave us, but we managed to waddle out of the restaurant on our own.  We made mead that night.  And we stayed up LATE again.

Easter Sunday happened.  My parents left that morning, I spent the day with Aaron’s family (without him) and the kids ran around and wore themselves out.  I got Ashton a really cool Easter basket, which I failed to take pictures of because I suck like that.  It had some candy and a Cat in the Hat plush and the book.  He overlooked the stuffed animal at first, but now he’s sleeping with it and dragging it around.  Too cute.

I’ll do a whole other post about the pregnancy in a few days.  Just don’t have it in me right now.