To Do...Eventually

Things I eventually really need to do (in no particular order):

1. Start a coke rewards thingy and enter points - considering how much Diet Coke the hubby and I drink (well, me not as much now since I was pregnant and am now nursing) we probably would have earned enough for a super cool prize by now.
2. Do something with my Pampers rewards points... maybe the Shutterfly album???
3. Enter in the points for the Huggies rewards program, even though their rewards are crappy.
4. Go through all my wedding planning stuff in the garage, especially the invitations I've stockpiled through the years.
5. Go through over a year's worth of bridal magazines and update my "inspiration" binders.
6. After #6 I need to update my website with more tips.
7. Lose weight.
8. Regularly take a cardio class at the gym on base.
9. Use the treadmill again - I don't remember the last time I ran...
10. Figure out what I'm going to do about my HR certification that's going to expire at the end of this year.
11. Reach out to my MBA class and coordinate a Happy Hour/reunion/networking event.
12. Transfer my 401k funds from my previous employer to my IRA somehow or another.
13. Dust the curtain rods in my bedroom.
14. Ask the hubby, again, to organize his "corner of crap" in both our bedroom and in our closet.
15. Start setting aside baby clothes, toys, etc. for someone (shhh! not everyone knows yet!)
16. Call the place where we ordered the bear coins to follow up on the bear we're still missing.
17. Update my mom and dad's med list that I have saved on our computer.
18. Design and create Star Wars themed invites for RJ's first birthday.
19. Schedule a doctor's appointment for me and hubby - we really should get a physical and bloodwork done to find out how our cholesterol and etc. is.
20. Find out if and when the library does story time.
21. Regularly take RJ on walks in his stroller.
22. Book our airplane tickets for our trip to HI this July.
23. With the hubby, figure out a better system to keep our recycling organized in the kitchen.
24. Figure out something creative to do with the bumper from the baby's crib.
25. Oh yeah - get a good job that pays me at least what I was making previously.

Window Shopping

After a week of rain, rain and more rain, we had a beautiful sunny weekend. Today RJ and I joined some friends for lunch and a stroll through the Carlsbad Outlets. While my friends did some shopping, RJ and I enjoyed the beautiful day and walked around, enjoyed the sun, and ducked into just a handful of stores.

I have to admit, it pained me a little that I couldn't shop like I used to. I hadn't been there for a while and was pleasantly surprised to find that they now have a Michael Kors outlet store as well as a Ferragamo outlet store. I walked into Ferragamo first and went straight to the shoe section. I was practically drooling when I caressed the soft and smooth leather of many beautiful shoes. Of course, I hit the clearance section first and was shocked by how low the prices were on some shoes! My first thought was, "Wow! What a steal!" My next thought was, "But where am I going to wear these now?" (since I'm usually in flip flops or sneakers - I only wear dress shoes to church nowadays). My last thought was "Holy Crap! I used to spend this much on SHOES!!??"

THEN we walked by the Michael Kors store... my heart raced when I saw the signs - $299, what!? $199, whoa!, $99 (gasp, gasp, gasp!!!), and even a sign for $69 - whaaaaa????!!!! It was too much for me to handle ... I didn't want to be tempted, so I didn't even walk in the store.

Seriously though, I know that I don't need anything. I've got my health, a healthy and wonderful son, a fabulous husband... and many more things that money can't buy :)

Wish List

My parents have been playing the lottery for as long as I can remember. From time to time they "win". They're so cute - they get so excited when they win $2. I think the biggest my dad ever won was something around $2000. You'd swear he hit the multi-million jackpot by the way my mom was jumping up and down and screaming :)

I don't play the lottery. Well, sometimes I do when the jackpot is big, but that's maybe once or twice a year. Being unemployed and having a single income family is something new and foreign to us. We were never big spenders, but now more than ever we think twice, three times, or more when considering purchasing something new. If I were to hit the lottery tomorrow, these items would be top on my wish list (in no particular order):

(1) Of course, we'd start by putting away money for RJ and paying off debts. But then...
(2) A new King sized mattress
(3) Luxury linens, king sized pillows, and at least 2 sets of king sized comforters/bedspreads
(4) New bedroom furniture (when we moved into our house, we didn't buy a new set and
currently have an interesting mix of pieces going on in here)
(5) A new car for the hubby - and if there is $ left over, a new car for me
(6) 1st class tickets for my parents trip to the PI this year, plus pocket money for them
(7) 1st class tickets for our trip to HI this year
(8) A huge STAR WARS themed party for RJ's 1st birthday this year
(9) A new Dyson vacuum
(10) Remodel hallway bathroom to put in the bathtub, tiles, sliding door, and all the upgrades
my mom originally wanted when we bought the house

Oh What Fun

In 2009 we were blessed with the opportunity to take our son to the following:

(1) Legoland (awesome Military discount)
(2) Legoland Sealife (free with the Legoland tickets)
(3) Seaworld (free thanks to Military Appreciation!)
(4) Disneyland (thank you Mel & Phil for the free passes!)
(5) Birch Aquarium (another awesome Military discount)

Mind you, he was too young to remember any of this (which is why babies are usually free anyway), but nonetheless it was fun to take him to these places and watch his face as he witnessed new and exciting things. Of course, it was quite fun for Mommy and Daddy to go to these places too (Disneyland was our fav), and we'll definitely have to take our baby boy to these places again, sometime in the future, when he can really understand and appreciate these experiences.

Until then, we'll continue to take him on fun and exciting adventures... like today, we decided to check out Kohls since hubby had never been. Baby boy enjoyed being pushed around in his stroller while I dug through the clearance racks in search for good deals for Christmas 2010. The highlight of the trip was when his Daddy let him touch all sorts of different materials. It was fun to watch his face and hear him laugh and squeal when he touched brushed cotton, corduroy, wool, etc. The other day he enjoyed being pushed around the mall and looking at the lights - oh how the lights amazed him. Another time we ate at Wendy's (where baby boy dined on organic peas ala Gerber) and he was mesmerized by the signage, particularly the picture of a chicken sandwich.

Oh what fun he has with the most simple and basic things! I must cherish these moments... because I know in a year a plastic spoon won't entertain him the way it does now!

I Miss Drugs

When I was in college, I was introduced to a particular drug that, when I took it for the first time - I was hooked and it changed my life. That drug was.... CLARITIN!!! (LOL!)

For 17 years of my life, I honestly thought it was normal to blow your nose every day, to sneeze every day, and to only be able to breathe out of one nostril at a time. I seriously thought this was the norm. I always left the house with at least 5 tissues folded neatly in my pocket - and always thought it was odd when I asked someone for a kleenex and they didn't have one???

God bless my girlfriend who noticed my symptoms one afternoon and said, "You should see your doctor, I'm pretty sure you have allergies." She told me about Claritin and how it worked wonders for her and her kids. Sure enough, she was right, and boy did that drug work - it was amazing! I could breathe (out of both nostrils!), I stopped sneezing, and I didn't need to carry around tissue any more! I took this drug on a daily basis... until I got pregnant.

Thankfully my allergies weren't that bad during my pregnancy. Now that I'm nursing, the pollen count decided to go way out of control and I am miserable. I can take Claritin, which does the job - but what I really need is Claritin-D, which has a decongestant in it. BUT, if I take it, it'll mess with my milk supply, and I'm not ready to stop yet.

So, I will deal with my symptoms... I'm feeling a little nostalgic actually. I've got a pack of kleenex in my bag, and tissues in my pocket. The amount of snot that I blow out of my nose every day is crazy - I can't believe I was like this every day! I guess it's not that bad - it's the sacrifice I make so I can continue to make milk for my baby - but boy do I miss drugs!

12 Years

The hubby and I can hardly believe it - today marks our 12 year anniversary. What!? Really - could it really be - have we been married 12 years? Wow. That's amazing.

In the past 12 years so much has happened...

(1) We lived in Hawaii
(2) We lived in Chicago
(3) We moved to San Diego
(4) We bought our first home - a lovely 3 bedroom/2 bath condo
(5) We bought our first single family home - a lovely 4 bedroom/ 2.5 bath house
(6) My parents sold their house and moved in with us
(7) We went on several vacations, including a fabulous trip to Barcelona
(8) Hubby got his Associate and Bachelor Degrees
(9) I got my MBA
(10) Hubby and I finally got Confirmed
(11) We had 4 miscarriages, which included the loss of our daughter, Angelina
(12) We were blessed with our beautiful son

...and so much more. I look forward to many more happy years together with my hubby :)

Props to the Hubby

If I don't say so myself, my hubby is a pretty smart guy. No really, he is. He was a nuclear electrician in the Navy - which meant that he went through 2 years of intense schooling and training before he set foot on a submarine. Ask anyone who's been in the Navy what they know about a "Nuke", and the first thing they'll say is, "You gotta be smart to be a Nuke!" (or is its spelled n-u-c? I dunno...)

When we got married I was aware that he wanted to go to college after he got out of the Navy. I wasn't expecting him to, but the guy worked full time and when to school full time. He truly impressed the family when he graduated at the top of his class. Wow.

He's definitely NOT a suit and tie kinda guy, but don't let that fool you. Throw a complex problem at him and you will be impressed. The man's troubleshooting skills are amazing. I love watching his face when he's trying to figure something out - it's so intense, then when he has an answer, his face is like "duh, that's easy, just do this!"

When he decided to work for a nuclear power plant, we knew that the plant operated 24/7, 365 days a year. For the past several years he had the holidays off. This year, for whatever reason, he wound up having to work on Christmas and New Years days. Mind you, he doesn't have a choice, his schedule is what it is. (On a side note, as an HR professional I usually don't like unions, but I must admit that my hubby's union works pretty darn hard to make sure that these guys are compensated appropriately, are treated fairly, and most of all - are safe.)

Anyhoo, I overheard him talking to his mom on New Years Eve. He told her he was working on New Years Day, I assume she had something to say about that, and his response was simply, "Mom, do your lights turn on when there's a holiday? Well someone has to work to make sure that people have electricity. Not everyone can have the day off..." I don't know why, but I loved that he said that... so true. I wish my mom put it like that for me when I was a kid (she was a nurse and worked every holiday imaginable... sadly, she was rarely home...)

So, yeah, I gotta give major props to the hubby. He's working today so we couldn't enjoy the holiday as a family. It's all good though. No big deal, really. I just want to go on record to say that I really appreciate him. Today and always.