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.