3 posts tagged “weekend update”

I also spent a lot of money, but I got a good chunk of my Christmas shopping done - including my husband's gifts for his bosses! Hooray! Now I have a lot of wrapping to do, but that's the easy part of Christmas. Shopping sucks.

I was super psyched, though, because I found the perfect gift for one of our friends for whom, I think, it is near-impossible to shop. But I chanced upon it, immediately called his wife for approval, then purchased it - and even used a coupon for it! Hee hee! I love being frugal when I can. It makes the dollar stretch so much futher. And then I can get so much more!

So now I really only have one person left on my list who has nothing from me (not including family, of course). I have some thoughts, but I need to give it more consideration. And I only have $87 of my allotted budget left. I need to get really creative about this!

The weekend started out with a trip to the Saturn dealership to get my car serviced. There isn't anything wrong with it, mind you; I just like going to the dealership and having them check everything out as long as the car is under warranty. I had my fuel injector thingy flushed and my tires balanced and realigned on top of the oil change and fluid top-off, but it was good to have that done. Besides, I haven't been there since June, and my Saturn e-mail said that I only had 33% of my oil life left.

After the dealership, I stopped at Costco ($1.98 for gas!) to pick up some of The Boy's bath soap and a couple of other things. Then it was on to Target (office gifts in the front bins for $1 each!), where I found some long-sleeved tops for myself (all ridiculously on sale) and long-sleeved onesies for layering The Boy this winter (45 degrees this morning! Yikes!). I also picked up some much-needed hand soap, some of which was Method's toasted hazelnut holiday scent. I highly recommend it. My next visit was to Bed Bath & Beyond before I made a final stop at Old Navy to use a gift card that had been burning a hole in my wallet. I tried so hard to use it all and fell $4.13 short, but the cashier was nice enough to let me have the change rather than keeping it on the card. Because, really, when can you ever find something for $4 at Old Navy?

As I said, I spent a lot of money.

That evening we went to our friends' house to celebrate a few birthdays. The Boy loves playing drums on Rock Band 2. Our friend Doug set up the drums on Freestyle Mode and let The Boy go to town on them. It was so much fun to watch! He held sticks in both hands and was hitting all the drum heads... I may have a future Keith Moon on my hands! Perhaps I should think about sound-proofing a room.

The next morning, we went to IKEA to pick up a few things. I (finally) got my chandelier and shades for the dining room, and because I needed to spend at least $100 to get a "free" $20 gift card (and it was something Chris needs), we picked up some bookshelf extenders, too. Now I have $23 IKEA dollars to put towards a mirror for the dining room. Woo hoo!

Of course, the trip to IKEA completely threw The Boy off schedule, which, as we all know, is a big no-no. He boycotted his nap and had a major meltdown around 5, so Chris and I whisked him into the bathtub, cleaned him, put him in his pajamas, gave him a yummy dinner of bananas and bread (he ate a lot of chicken for his afternoon snack), then brushed (and flossed) his teeth and put him to bed. And then he didn't wake up for 11 whole hours!

So, yeah, it was a really busy weekend. But I got a lot done (including three loads of laundry), and The Boy woke up in an awesome mood this morning. Who can argue with that?

I wanted to write a bit yesterday but was so exhausted, I ended up going to bed early and falling asleep before 8.

Some notes:

- The Boy says "Up!" very clearly, and usually does it while he holds his arms up and lifts himself onto his toes. It's very clear that he wants to be carried. Of course, he also says it while you're carrying him, but I'm not sure what he means when he says it in that context.

- I found a toy that is a must-pack for long airplane rides. It's a wand with a clear ball on top that, when you press a button, flashes different colors. It kept The Boy occupied for two and a half hours while I had him at work with me on Friday (and the ride home), and, best of all, it doesn't make any noise (save for a slight "whirring" sound)!

- The Boy holds some serious grudges. We took him to the Magic Kingdom yesterday, and let's just say that he was probably thinking I was a really mean Mommy. I (a) made him get a haircut, (b) wouldn't let him stand in line for a third time to see Daisy Duck, (c) wouldn't let him run to the characters while other kids were waiting in line in front of him, (d) kept asking him if he wanted to take a nap (which, of course, he didn't), (e) wouldn't give him any of my ice cream when he woke from his nap (he ended up passing out in his stroller, his body hunched over the little tray), and (f) whisked him away from Pluto when the character handler told me the line was already closed. And that was just at the park! After we were back home, I made him wait before he could get into the shower, took him out of the shower before he was ready, hid the Kix before he ate his weight of it, and refused to give him all of my hamburger bun at dinner. It's amazing he was talking to me this morning.

- The only thing that makes me more nervous than a child who hasn't pooped in 24 hours is one that hasn't pooped in 36 hours. The Boy went most of Saturday without a single poop and all day Sunday, too. When he finally pooped on Saturday, his diaper was quite full; I changed two poopy diapers this morning and still warned his teachers that they should still be on the lookout. Well, at least we know he doesn't have Toddler Tummy right now.

- I'm getting contact lenses again! This time, I've opted for soft toric lenses instead of the gas permeable variety. The gas perms hurt my eyes when I wear them now, so I'm hoping the soft lenses will be kinder to my poor, aging eyes. As soon as I pick up my lenses and get them checked, my doctor will sign off on my prescription for glasses, so I can get a new pair of those, too. My current pair keeps sliding off my nose.

- Chris and I voted this weekend, so we've done our civic duty! Hooray! Let's just hope they count the ballots correctly and the focus isn't on Florida this time. (For the record, I was in Florida and voted in 2000 and in 2004, and both times, Florida went to the other guy. I'm hoping the third time will be a charm!) The early voting place is right by our house, so I was able to go, check in, vote, and come home in less than 20 minutes. It took Chris even less time because he didn't have to stand in line. (We took turns voting because I was still waiting for The Boy to poop, and he also hadn't gone down for a nap. I don't think I need to explain what tired and cranky little boys are like in public.)

- I've discovered that there are some things at Costco that are actually cheaper when you use coupons and shop grocery store sales and don't buy them in bulk. Mind you, it's primarily cereal and such, but it was a revelation nonetheless. Of course, we still spent more than $200 there this weekend (only $25 of it was non-essential), but at least I know we're stocked on meat for a while.

- The Boy nods more often than he shakes his head now. (It used to be that he never nodded.) It's very cute, but he seems to follow this simple rule: When you don't understand the question, just nod "yes" because it makes the grownups happy.

All told, it was a very busy weekend. I got a lot of stuff done (The Boy's haircut, my eyes checked, a trip to Costco), but I've still got plenty I didn't do, either (laundry, purging my closet, laundry, straightening the kitchen, more laundry). But isn't that what next weekend is for?

I don't know how, but I managed to pick up a really bad sinus cold this weekend. And now The Boy has it, too. It's the second cold I've passed on to him. It's only fair, I guess. Lord knows he's given me a lot worse!

Yesterday was my friend Todd's wedding. It was outdoors. In Florida. In the beginning of July. Is there any wonder, then, that The Boy was bright red (even though I kept him in the shade)? He was just really hot. He survived it splendidly, though. I constantly fed him ice water while we were outside, and after just a few minutes inside, he was back to his normal color.

Anyway, he was very well-behaved throughout the ceremony and reception. My husband was told (again) that we need to get The Boy into modeling. I just don't think it's a good scene, really. There's just too much pressure for a little kid, you know? But I told Chris that I wouldn't be opposed to sending in his picture for a Parents Magazine contest. Even then, though, I don't know that I could handle the rejection. He wouldn't care, but I'd be all sorts of annoyed.

We left just after the cake cutting. The Boy was getting tired (it was bedtime, after all). I put him into his pajamas before we left, and he (thankfully) dozed off within minutes of getting into the car. Once we got home (it was an hour drive), I only needed to gently get him from his car seat and deposit him into his crib. He protested a little when I lifted him from his seat, but he seemed grateful to be able to stretch out in bed.

My friend Bekki told me the most exciting news on Friday when we went to their house... She and her husband are expecting a little bundle of happiness sometime in January! I'm so excited, words can't begin to describe. For as long as I've known them, the two of them have repeatedly said that they're not interested in having children. And even after The Boy was born, she was still disinterested. But now she's pregnant! And I'm incredibly stoked for her.

So, The Boy has had an eventful weekend. Friday was a trip to IKEA and an afternoon at Aunt Bekki's and Uncle Doug's where he repeatedly climbed up the stairs (I'm still trying to teach him how to crawl down) and chased their cat - even tracking her under the couch! Chris was feeling poorly, so he took The Boy home while I went with our friends to Todd's rehearsal dinner. (And there was no fuss going down for a late nap, eating dinner, taking vitamins, or any other part of the bedtime routine.) Someone from the bride's side asked me where my husband and child were, and I told them that Chris took him home and put him down. I then added that tuck-in time is one of my favorite parts of the day, but that I was glad to have a night off from being Mom.

Then Saturday was the wedding. I don't want to talk about it. Suffice it to say that I kept The Boy amused throughout the ceremony by blowing bubbles while he fanned them away from him. I wish I had a video camera or asked someone to take pictures because it really was adorable. Oh, and my little cheese connosieur really liked port wine cheese.

Actually, there is one notable thing that happened during the reception. Any time we let The Boy wander on his own, he would make a beeline for either Uncle Doug or Uncle Lipman. It was the funniest thing. He wanted either Uncle Doug or Uncle Lipman to hold him, which is not usual at all. He was also happy going to Aunt Bekki (though I'm putting a stop to that very soon because she's not used to picking up 24 pounds of squirminess - and I'm going to make sure she gets the kid-glove treatment during this first pregnancy) and Mommy and Daddy, of course, but when left to his own devices, he sought out Uncle Doug.

Today, I made him sleep in until 7 (I wanted to sleep in), then reluctantly plucked him out of bed and began our day. Save an hour morning nap and an hour afternoon nap, he was going non-stop for the entire day. It was constant jabbering, constant running, constant playing... I took naps while he napped and still couldn't keep up with him. (Never mind the sinus cold handicap. I still think I ought to be able to keep up with an almost-15-month-old!)

Anyway, a part of me is glad to be heading back to work tomorrow. I need the rest.