Parker Peanut's Page!

Little Wiggles!

2012-01-30T12:53:00.002-05:00

I don't have time to write much, but wanted to make note that I've been feeling Little Bug moving around over the past week! I just looked back at the posts from my pregnancy with Parker, and I felt him for the first time at week 14 as well. The most noticeable instance was during one of the living room dance parties that Parker and I often have to entertain ourselves. Little Bug was dancing along with us! :) Just little taps and flutters at this point, but I'm so excited for the near future when Parker and Chris will get to feel the movements too! It is such a magical experience!

In little more than a blink, here we are at second trimester!

2012-01-27T14:52:00.003-05:00

I can't believe a month has passed since the first time we got to see with our own eyes the little person growing in my belly. Our pregnancy confirmation appointment was on December 27th, and Chris, Parker and I all got to see that tiny little being on the big screen. At just 9 weeks, we saw that tiny beating heart, and that itty bitty little gummy bear shaped being. Parker dubbed the baby "Little Bug," though he has decided he's sure the baby is his long-time imaginary baby sister, Lula.

I didn't realize how nervous and apprehensive I had been about that appointment until I sat on the table for the ultrasound. My hands started trembling and out of nowhere I was crying with a tight knot in my throat. When the technician found the baby and we saw the fluttering heart, my own heart had its own little explosion... of joy, of relief, of disbelief. I realized how much fear I had built up wondering if we wouldn't be able to have another baby. The confirmation of that new life was transformative for me, as it will continue to be for our family.

Nearly five weeks later, I am in my 14th week of pregnancy and in my second trimester. We had a second ultrasound last week that showed a fully formed little person with fingers, toes, ears, and a tiny little upturned nose. Seeing that visual of our wiggly little baby was such a nice reassurance of what I can't yet feel. I've felt a couple of little taps and flutters, but know in the coming weeks I will have more regular reassurance from within. In just two weeks, we'll be going to find out if we're having a boy or girl, and I couldn't be more excited.

Chris, Parker and many friends think I'll have a girl, I still have a feeling I'll have a boy. The Chinese Birth Calendar says 'Girl' and the needle test says 'Boy.' (As in hanging a needle on a string over my belly- not poking anyone!) I've had dreams about both. My pregnancy has been pretty similar to mine with Parker. Not much morning sickness, severe insomnia, fatigue, and swollen breasts. I'm so busy at work that I go to bed along with Parker at 7:30 or 8:00 more nights than not. I've gained 2-3 pounds, which is less than I had with Parker by this time, and I attribute that to the volume of activity I have every day giving tours and hosting events.

My big cravings have been bagels and cream cheese, frozen yogurt, and other dairy products. I have been having some aversion to meat (chicken, pork, some beef), but still crave a cheeseburger now and again. :) I'm definitely eating plenty, taking my vitamins, and making an effort to stay hydrated.

Parker is wonderful as ever, and forming his own social circles with new friends and teachers at school. It is such a joy to look out my office window and see him running, jumping, and playing. I feel like this school really supports kids in enjoying childhood to the fullest, and I am so grateful that he can be here. There's not a day that I don't fall in love with my sweet son even more.

This post is getting long, and I need to run, but Chris is doing very well too and has been a great support. He is working really hard, and making great advances in building his career doing just what he loves- making, teaching, and talking about music! I'm so proud of him and really admire the perserverence that he has had to follow his dreams all of these years, even when it was an uphill battle.

Have a great weekend, and I'll try to find time to post more frequently than every month. I've had so much fun going back over my entries from my pregnancy with Parker, and I want to capture those same memories of this time with "Little Bug." :)

Cautiously Optimistic

2011-12-13T15:34:00.004-05:00

It is often funny re-reading previous posts, and realizing how quickly things change. This has been especially true this past year, where change has been around every twist and turn. I don't think there is anyone who still reads this blog (who would? I post about as frequently as I put on my tennis shoes to go out for a run). But, if you happen to be reading this you will be privy to the insider information that even as I wrote my last post, I had a tiny little someone beginning life inside me.

No one was more surprised than I when, just a few weeks after losing a very early pregnancy, we found out that we were once again expecting. We hadn't been trying, and let's just say the odds of that happening were quite slim! I had a hard time not feeling terrified, and worried that I was not ready to face the possibility of another loss. Chris and I decided to share the news that weekend, while both of our parents and family were together for Thanksgiving, in hopes that more people sending good energy to our little bean, the more likely we might have a happy outcome. I'm encouraged to report that we're 8 weeks along, and though not out of the woods, we are getting closer and closer to the end of the riskiest early weeks of pregnancy.

We are cautiously optimistic that we might finally welcome a much awaited second child late in Summer 2012, and are hopeful that our December 27th ultrasound (10 weeks) will show a healthy heartbeat and fingers and toes in all the right places. This journey has been a rough one, but one that has built strength in our appreciation for our family, personal strength to persevere in the face of adversity, and faith that there will be a right time for our family to grow if it is meant to. My focus right now is providing the best possible opportunity for success through rest, nutrition, and positive thought, and trying to find peace in knowing that I am strong enough to handle the process, no matter what.

Love and resilience,
Laura

Growing, Learning, Living...

2011-11-17T08:50:00.005-05:00

We attended the wedding of one of Chris' co-workers this past week, and on the way Parker asked, "Do you think Michael Jackson will be there?". Our boy has such a funny, creative mind, and only continues to be the center of our universe every day. Parker is loving his new school (also my school!), and has grown in to quite the independent, tender, and always brilliant little man. I truly can't believe we just celebrated his fourth birthday, though at the same time I can hardly remember my life before him. We held a wonderful fisherman themed birthday party, and enjoyed the company of family and friends who came from near and far to help us celebrate. Even Andy and Anna Kennedy came down with their two little boys (Cole was only 10 weeks old!), along with Mimi and Papa, to spend the long weekend with us.

My new job is going well, and I feel so lucky to spend my days on the same campus where my little guy is learning and playing. High Meadows School is a indescribably magical place, and I feel very fortunate that this is what school will be to our son. The responsibility of my position is huge, and I struggle sometimes with the amount of pressure that is on my shoulders to make sure our enrollment goals are met, so, as one teacher pointed out to me "we can all have jobs next year." (No pressure). I feel confident in the changes I have made to some processes and in the product I am representing, so I remind myself not to be consumed by "meeting the numbers." Being a working mom and finding balance is no easy task, there is no question in that.

I've been thinking about posting on my blog for some time now, as a lot has been going on. Chris accepted a full-time job at the Atlanta Institute of Music as a curriculum coordinator, and is really thriving in that position. I flew to Oregon twice to stand in the weddings of two of my best friends, April and Leah, and cherished those special moments with friends and witnessing the love they have found in their grooms. We gave up on selling the old house, and have rented it to a very nice bunch of twenty-somethings who may have some interest in buying it down the road. The rent doesn't cover the mortgage, but it allows us to be where we are and get by, which is what needs to happen for now. Fingers crossed for economic recovery over years to come and the opportunity to sell without catastrophic loss. We have lost a pet, and added two (Leo our cat ran away, and we adopted a puppy, Pickles, and a lizard, Chucko.) We have also struggled with our pursuit of adding a second child to our family.

I feel the need to stay authentic in what I write in this blog, and have realized that sharing our experiences can only help others who might find themselves in similar shoes at some point. In October 2010 I lost a pregnancy after about seven weeks, and went through the same experience last month. I have gone through some extensive testing, which fortunately resulted in the conclusion that these were most likely just isolated incidents unrelated to a medical issue. That said, it is really a heartbreaking experience, and after having gone through it twice, I am left fearful that maybe it just isn't going to happen for us. I do believe that if we are meant to bring another little person into the world, he or she will come when the time is right. There is a heaviness in my heart over both of these losses, but I remain grateful for the extraordinary child we do have. I'm not sure there is anyone who even reads this blog anymore, but I wanted to share our story because I know that miscarriage can be a very isolating thing to go through, and I have been comforted by others who have helped me realize that I am not alone, and that happy endings do happen more often than not.

Next week, my parents are flying in from Oregon, and for the first time in nearly 10 years together, the Nicholsons and Richerts will celebrate Thanksgiving together at Chris' parents home in North Carolina. I am very much looking forward to being surrounded by family, eating yummy holiday food, watching Parker play with the other kids in the family. My parents will then be traveling to Tennessee to support Peter during his mother's memorial service. Sadly, Pinky passed away several weeks ago after struggling with many health problems for years. I know that Peter is comforted that she is now freed from her pain, and we join him in envisioning her dancing through the heavens.

This has been a long, bitter-sweet post, but I am glad to have updated the history of the many transformations of our life. Through each, I learn something new, and realize the value of the many blessings we have been provided.

The Nicholsons Reinvented

2011-06-23T11:14:00.004-05:00

It seems nearly impossible that my last post was only six months ago, because reading back over it I realize that our entire lives have changed since then. A school, a job, and a move later, we are settling in to our new home in Roswell, I am settling into my new job at High Meadows school, and we are hoping and praying that our old house will sell in the near future. Parker is spending the summer at home with a nanny, Selina, and her 8 year old daughter, Riley, which he is enjoying very much. He will be starting the preschool program on campus with me at High Meadows in August. I am so grateful to have a job where Parker can be close, and benefit from an amazing school opportunity.

Leaving our neighborhood full of friends, as well as the house we came home to as newlyweds and brought our little 6lb 12oz Parker home to, was sad, but it also really felt like the right time. My new job is 34 miles away from our old house, which would have translated into a VERY long and traffic-ridden commute for me and Parker every day. My new hours are 8-4, which is awesome, but I couldn't imagine leaving the house at 6:45 every day to make it by 8:00. SO... with an immense amount of emotional and financial support from our family, we took a leap of faith and leased a new house near my work, and got the old house market ready. Yes- this is the worst possible time to try and sell a house. Yes- we will be taking a huge hit and writing a big, fat check whenever the house sells. Yes- it has been one of the scariest decisions of a lifetime, but in the end, we really felt it was what needed to be done, and that the long-term implications were all positive.

We are still in the breath-holding stage with the old house on the market, and I know I won't feel truly relaxed until that process has closure. We've had some rental interest, so that remains 'Plan B' if we don't accept an offer before fall rolls around. Our new house is amazing, and we absolutely love it. I think we both, however, feel as though it can't be real that it is OUR house. Once we are able to proceed with the purchase part of the lease/purchase I know we will both feel like we can let ourselves sit back and enjoy the new place to the fullest. In the meantime, we aren't having any trouble enjoying the pool, lovely open living space, and safe, quiet neighborhood.

It definitely feels as though we are well on our way to a more peaceful, happy, and established chapter of our lives, which is a really good feeling. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped us along the way and can't wait to throw a house warming party once we get a little more settled and organized. Now that I have a few extra hours in my days, hopefully I will remember to stop and write a little more often. I know these are times I'm going to want to remember.

Cheers,
L

Back on the Change Train and Birthday/Thanksgiving Recap

2010-12-03T15:24:00.002-05:00

Well, because we hadn't had quite enough excitement lately, we decided to turn our house upside down by converting our master bedroom into a family room, our master closet into a recording studio, Chris' office into a guest room, and our guest room into our master bedroom. Actually, it was a lot of fun and gave us a whole new perspective on our house! This weekend I will be finishing up the painting. Note to self- next time you paint a room purple, make sure you really want it to be purple forever because it is impossible to paint over!

In addition to that change, we are changing Parker's school (again) which I feel horrible about, but it is really out of necessity. Parker's part-time nanny's new spring class schedule required her to resign, and Chris' work volume is picking up a lot (great news!), so it was becoming increasingly impossible for him to stay home with Parker during the day. All in all, it should be ok. There is a really good program right down the road from my office and the people there are very nice. I am ridden with guilt about putting Parker in his first full-time preschool situation, but I'm sure he will love it. I will feel good that he is close at hand if he needs me.

I realized that I didn't do my usual post for Parker's birthday! We had a great little 3rd birthday party for him with close friends at the house. Upon Parker's request, it was a "Super Hero Party," complete with a transformer cake of his choosing. Friends in attendance were Jeff and Nicole, Kevin and Lindsay, Erica and Jake, Marina, Deborah, Emma, Julia, Robert, Ian, Heather, Henry, Allen, Rebekah, Dave, and Holland (I feel as though I'm forgetting someone...). Parker had a great time and was blown away by all of the cool presents he got, the highlight being a giant batcave complete with batman, trap doors, and an elevator. Thank you so much to all who came to celebrate!

To my sweet Parker, you continue to amaze me daily with your intelligence, sense of humor, kind heart, and abundant "I love you's." You are my most precious thing in the whole world and I feel so lucky to be your "Mom" as you now call me. Although it is bitter sweet that you are growing into an independent little boy so quicky, I couldn't be more proud of the wonderful little person you have already become. I love you so much and always will. xoxo Mommy

I am really looking forward to the holidays this year and am trying to ignore the fact that along with them will come my 30th (gasp) birthday. When the heck did I get so old!?! I'm pretty sure I was 23 last year... Anyway, I am reminded that 30 is the new 20, that you're only as old as you feel, and all of those other sayings people recite to make themselves feel better about aging. In all seriousness though, I'm looking at this birthday as a good opportunity to reflect on who I'd like to be "in my next 30 years" as Tim McGraw would say. I'd like to invite a little more joy and a little less seriousness into my world, and appreciate that what I've got going on is a pretty darn good thing. Cheers to throwing away too-tight jeans and embracing my mom-booty, to finding happiness in special moments with family, and to becoming more comfortable just being me. Ok- that's my sermon for the day. It is 4:00on Friday and I'm ready to BLOW THIS JOINT! :)

Happy Weekend!

Listening Ears

2010-11-16T13:59:00.002-05:00

Cooperative Preschool Parent Hazing

2010-11-16T11:36:00.004-05:00

So with my job change came the challenge of finding a new preschool for Parker at the drop of a hat. I had heard good things through the grapevine about a neighborhood cooperative preschool near our house. It is a nature/science based school, is very "green," and has a fun playground, and was close to home, so it sounded like it would be a good fit for P-man. Cooperative preschools are run and governed by their parent base, which sounds very warm/fuzzy/and holistic. Our experience as parents has been that it also means elitist/political/and heirchical. On the positive, Parker likes his teacher, they do fun and creative activities, and for the most part, he has enjoyed his student experience there.

On the flip side, Chris and I are finding that because we are both working parents, don't have lots of money, and because Parker turns his nose up at their hummus and edemame parent-provided snacks, we're getting the nose in the air treatment regularly. Chris has been fulfilling the parent-teaching component of the contract because he doesn't work days, while I will be doing committee work because of my more traditional work schedule. I had my first "work day" this weekend as an Art Auction Volunteer. I had kind of imagined setting up do-dads, serving wine, and taking payments. Oh, how I was mistaken...

I arrived at the auction, which was held at a fellowship facility down the road, and walked through the door not really knowing who I was looking for or what I was doing. A few people ignored my entrance and look of confusion, while a short, attractive woman with runner's calves walked up and said snappily: "Oh. You're Allision. Go over there and figure out how to attach that picture tree to the wall." I said, "Actually, I'm Laura, but I can see what I can do." Ms. Bossy Runner replied "Go get your nametag on that table. And, Allison, when you're done with that go set up the food and drink table." A few other yuppie mothers passed by without hello, or recognition, and I'm thinking "well this is going to go just splendidly."

So after figuring out how to attach a 9 foot, 10 pound tree to a ladder so it could stand free in the lobby, and watching as the yuppy dad I was working with took credit for the idea and received praise from Ms. Bossy Runner, I was told to go downstairs to my "station" for the night- "the fishing pond." I went around three corners and down two flights of stairs, and was told that I was in charge of supervising the "children's room" for the evening. On one table there was a giant container of rainbow colored biodegradable packing popcorn and a bucket of water. On the next table there were acorns, glue, contruction paper leaves. On the last table there were popsicle sticks, hay, pipecleaners, construction paper, and sharpies....yes SHARPIES, for the 2, 3, and 4 year olds to use while constructing their scarecrow crafts.

In addition to supervising the children's room activities, I was to stand behind a giant t.v. box that has been decorated with fish, and attach prizes to fishing lines thrown by the toddlers, while collecting $1.00 from each of these toddlers for each line cast. Joining me in the "childrens room" was one dad, who looked as shell shocked as I felt. "Are you new, too? This is pretty intense." I said "yeah, I'm new too. What kind of cult did we join here?" He replied "I don't know- my wife set it all up. I think we're getting hazed." About 20 minutes later, Ms. Bossy Runner popped her head through the starwell entrance and said "Allison- the kids are coming." I was thinking, "well, at least we won't have to be upstairs with the stepford wives all night." Oh, how I wish I had run out the door at that moment.

Just about then, approximately 60 small children with a few parents in tow started running, climbing, and pushing down the stairs. "I want to fish! I want to fish!!" So they fished, and they glued, and they made a swamp of dissolved rainbow packing popcorn. They sharpied the tables, and eachother, they cried, they screamed, the yuppy parents got drunker, stood around talking to eachother about their home made organic yogurt concoctions while their "highly advanced and independent" children covered themselves in various colors and varieties of goo, tried to eat acorns, hit eachother and me with the clips at the end of the fishing lines, and cried some more. The president of the preschool, whom I had never met, came down the stairs and said "who gave these kids Sharpies?" I said "I have no idea." She (at least) said "I apologize- I'm sorry that's the first thing I ever said to you. Now lets get the Sharpies collected." So I collected Sharpies, made more kids cry because they wanted their Sharpies, spent 45 minutes using my fingernails trying to scrape dried rainbow packing goo from the tables, so that more goo could be made, while more and more parents stood leisurely around ignoring their children and sipping on wine and micro-brews.

When my four-hour shift was over ten hours later, I walked up stairs to go get my purse, and Ms. Bossy Runner zipped over to me. "Allison. Go over to that table. There are three people who haven't collected their auction items. Give them their slips when they come." So I stood by the table, watching people tote around their $500 framed coffee filter collages and $1200 toddler-painted toy chests they had purchased that night, and waited. No one came, and finally the president came back up to me and said "Are you done downstairs? Did the mess get cleand up?" I said "Well, I did clean as much I could. The Sharpie isn't going to come off those tables. My shift was over at six, but Ms. Bossy Runner told me I needed to stand at this table." She told me to go ahead and leave, but to tell Ms. Bossy Runner on my way out. I walked up to her and said "I have to leave now. I need to pick up my son from the babysitter." "Oh." She says. "So no one's at the table." "No." "(impatient exhale)Fine. Thanks."

So that was my first volunteer experience at Parker's unnamed (Un)Cooperative Preschool. I think we might explore some other options for next year. :)

I believe I called this one...

2010-11-15T12:35:00.002-05:00

It was kind of funny looking at my July blog post predicting the winds of change blowing, because it was just a month later that I walked into my office and my boss asked me to "go for a walk." Naturally, I thought that I was getting laid off, but even in the moment I took a deep breath and said to myself "ok- here it is... whatever it is." The news was that my position at the Academy was being rolled into someone else's job in the university admission department, and that they had something totally different lined up for me at one of the satelite campuses of the university. My new position would be overseeing the recruitment efforts for all of the university's distance (i.e. satelite) campuses as the Director for Distance Campus recruitment.

Of course, there was a sense of relief that I still HAD a job, but mostly my feeling was more along the lines of "yuck- I don't want to do that!" The good news was that this new position is in Norcross- about 19 miles from home vs. the 54 miles I had been driving each way, every day, so that is something, but aside from that I'm looking at this as really good motivation to figure out what is going to be more fulfilling to me in the long run. I really miss being part of a true school community, and would really love to find another position in a small independent school where Parker could possibly attend at some point. My eyes are peeled and my ears are open to what might be out there, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

The trickiest part about this whole scenario was that I was given about two weeks notice to get trained and get down to my new office. Most of you know that Parker has stayed with our friend Deborah since he was 11 weeks old right next to the Academy, so this really threw a wrench in our arrangements and our emotions. We worked things out so that Parker is home with Chris part of the time, at preschool part of the time, and with a nanny part of the time, but with Chris in search of a more secure work scenario, who knows when that will change again. The whole thing has really forced me out of my comfort zone because I always like to have things mapped out and to have routine and consistency. I suppose it is good for me to see that things can work out outside from that rigid format, but I'll be happy when things feel more established and steady again.

At any rate, I thought since I now spend my days in an empty building making phone calls and sending bulk emails, it would be a good time to take another shot at picking the blog back up as a lunchtime activity. Besides, I recently watched Julie and Julia and remembered how good it feels to have some dialogue with yourself now and again regardless if anyone is listening.

Hugs,
Laura

Monday, Monday...

2010-08-02T08:10:00.002-05:00

Before I kick off another busy summer work week, I thought I'd stop and rattle off a couple of cute Parkerisms. Although my sweet little boy has left nearly all traces of baby behind, and has picked up a few fun terrible-two-tactics, he is still the sweetest and smartest little button I could imagine.

This past week Parker started telling me "Mommy, you're just so precious" and "You're just the most precious thing to me." I've been waiting my whole life to hear those words. :) Yesterday, he said "Do you remember yesterday when I was singing with my Buzz Lightyear and you were screaming and telling me that I can't sing because its against the rules?" (This did NOT happen! Since when do I scream?) I responded: "Parker, I don't remember that happening. Are you telling the truth, or are you telling Mommy a story?" He said, smiling: "Mom, I was just decorating the truth." Oh boy!

Our kids at the Academy come back to school next week, which is astonishing to me. This has been the shortest summer ever to exist, and I really feel under-prepared for the back-to-school madness. I am, however, looking foward to having the girls back in the building, breathing some life back into the place. I'm not teaching Journalism this year, so won't have quite as much stacked on my plate this year. I'm SO SO SO looking forward to taking a few days off to fly to Colorado for Sarah Strasser's wedding, and spending the weekend with my best college girlfriends! The following weekend, my parents will be coming out for their fall visit, which will also be a nice treat. As always, I've got a few home projects lined up for them to help me with!

I'd better get back to it, but will post new pics soon.

Heart,
Laura

Flying Pigs...

2010-07-21T15:27:00.002-05:00

The pigs must be flying somewhere, because after nearly a year without blogging, the notion struck me to write a post. Why, I'm not exactly sure, but I thought I'd go with it. There is no monumental news to share, no great epiphanies to pass along, no grand declarations. Really, things are pretty much as they usually are, but I've missed putting my thoughts down, so here I am!

This year has been so many things. Parker has grown from a toddler into a brilliant, hilarious, and independent little boy. I fall in love with him every single day. Chris has transitioned from working in the corporate world to teaching part time and running a business of his own. I have made it through yet another year at the Academy (shockingly, my fourth!)and will be diving into the next school year in a few short weeks. Where has the time gone?

The truth is, although there is no news to share, I feel the winds of change stirring in the distance and I feel ready for something new and different to come in and stir things up a bit. I'm not sure what will manifest itself this year, but I feel it coming, and welcome it with open arms. Although there are no concrete identifiers that this is the case, I can tell I am at a transition point in my life, and am excited to be headed toward my 30th birthday knowing that this is going to be a year of growth, exploration, and forward motion.

Here's to whatever's next!
-L

Little Boy Blue

2009-10-13T09:09:00.003-05:00

I'll have to follow up on this post with a picture once I download, but for now I can only describe the hilarity that was Parker this weekend when he colored himself entirely blue with a Crayola washable marker. I probably should have stopped him, at the very least when the diaper came off, but to be honest, it was just too funny to interfere. While growling and saying "I'm a tiger- rawwwwr!" Parker covered pretty much every inch of himself (including areas that probably should never be blue), whith 'Brilliant Berry Blue.' Have I mentioned I have a funny son? Later that day Parker's bath water immediately turned Carribean blue as the little boy inside that blue tiger began to reimmerge.

'Dress up' has been one of Parker's favorite activities lately. Outfits have included hats, leis, dog collars, necklaces, socks on the arms, pants on the head, collander on the head, mommy's shoes, daddy's shoes, and a wide variety of other objects on a wide variety of body parts. You just never know what he's going to come up with or what he is going to describe himself as. It's the best entertainment ever! I know I say this in every post, but I have never in my life had more fun than these two years being Parker's mom.

For a while now Chris and I have been mulling over trying to sell our house and move outside the city... closer to my work and into a bigger house. After meeting with a realtor and anguishing over everything it would take to make this happen and the money we would lose trying to sell right now, we have decided to relax and stay put for a couple more years. I can't tell you the relief this decision has granted us. I think neither one of us realized how much pressure we were putting on ourselves trying to make all of this happen, and it reallys feels good that we've come to the realization that what we have now is pretty darn great and that we should take a deep breath and enjoy it. I have a nasty habit of obsessing over "what's next?" instead of living in the here and now. As the old saying goes, 'Life is what happens while you're busy making plans,' so my recent goal is to open my eyes and enjoy every moment of the great life Chris and I have created together. We are blessed with what we have, and I know it's important to be grateful! My friend Brooke is always great at helping me remember that things nearly always happen as they should, and it is my job to trust that this is the case. :)

Ok, well there's my two-cents for the day. I'll try to get some photos up really soon!

Love,
Laura

That's right... two in one month!

2009-09-23T07:59:00.003-05:00

Funny- When I wrote that title I meant "two blog posts in the same month," but looking at it I realize it has double meaning... Parker will also BE TWO in one month!!! TWO!!! My little baby boy has grown into the most wonderful little person who gives great hugs, tells funny stories, and says "I love you, Mommy!" He is my best little friend and the sunshine in every one of my days.

Speaking of sunshine, this is the first time we've seen it for a whole week! For those of you not in Georgia and who haven't watched the news recently, we have had torrential rain for the past week, leading to serious flood conditions in some areas of Atlanta and other parts of the state. Astonishingly, 10 people died in the floods, which is a true tragedy. We've experienced some water damage (small roof leaks, water back-up against the back of the house), and although these things are a concern and a nuisance, we are thankful that our house is not submerged and that we are all safe and sound.

My parents were visiting from Oregon for the whole week and couldn't believe the rain! My dad and I usually go for walks every day when the are in town, so I was sad to miss out on that special time together, but we had lots of fun anyway. Parker had a great time getting to know Grandma and Grandpa a lot better and showing them all of his new talents. They read a lot of books, and played a lot with Playdough, which is his most favorite activity these days! Grandma, of course, is quite a Playdough sculpter, and made many beautiful animals and creations for Parker to squish! They fly out today, and I miss them already!

Eating out with Parker has been quite a challenge lately, as he has no interest in sitting in a chair or high chair, and has very little interest in eating most of the time! He just wants to get up and go exploring, which is not very condusive to leisurely dining. Terrific Two's here we come! :) Parker is the pickiest little thing on the planet- it's a wonder he doesn't just blow away! He seems to survive on little bites of grapes and yogurt and toast here and there, so I guess I shouldn't worry, but it's hard not to. Toddlers are really something else! :)

Well- back to work for me, but I'll give another update soon. Pray the sunshine stays with us long enough to get our roof fixed!

-L

And you thought it would never happen....

2009-09-01T07:58:00.003-05:00

Low and behold, I woke up this morning and felt like blogging. It was a busy summer, and there's way too much to try and recap, so I'm just going to move forward from here. As I was writing my friend Leah an email yesterday I realized that Parker is doing way too many fun and hilarious things these days not to record them and share them. Now that work has slowed down a bit (today is the last day a new student can enroll for fall term, so I can breathe a sigh of relief!), I've got more down time to sit down and type a little. It feels nice to sit here sipping my coffee and eating some fig bread a colleague brought into the office and reflect a bit.

Parker will be two in two months. TWO! Just like every parent for all time has said, I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW FAST THE TIME IS FLYING BY!!! P now talks in 4-5 word sentences, makes jokes, can count to ten, spell his name.... he's pretty much amazing. He's still happy as can be, but is also learning to communicate his likes and dislikes more clearly. (AKA "NOOOOOOOO BEEEEDDDDDDDTIIMMMMMEEEE") My favorite thing he is doing a lot of is playing make-believe. He will wrap up a stuffed animal in a blanket and carry it around like a baby, singing it "night night songs," or ask for a piece of cheese to feed to the animals in the Fisher Price farm at Deborah's house. He says "My" instead of "I'm," so everything comes out really cute. "My eating my banana." "My jumping on this!" He even says lots of complicated words like alligator, bicycle, dinosaur,... Can you tell I'm still the proudest Mommy there ever was?

Well, I'd better get back to work, but wanted to let you all know that Parker Peanut and his fam are still live and well. More later. -L

A fun, relaxing weekend

2009-06-15T08:30:00.003-05:00

I don't have any big news to share...just that we had a really enjoyable family weekend together, got the house cleaned up a bit, and did some relaxing. On Saturday we took Parker to a place called Leapin' Lizzards- a huge warehouse sized building full of inflatable castles, slides, jumparoos, and animals. We met Parker's friend Henry, who is a few months younger than he is, and his parents and had a really good time playing. After that we tried a brand new restaurant in our neighborhood- Saba- which was delicious and kid-friendly. Yay! Needless to say, our little guy slept like a log that night. On Sunday, Parker and I walked to our community pool which has a whole section for little people and spent three hours playing in the water with other toddlers and their parents. It was a perfect pool day and we had so much fun! We took a little break from swimming and had a little picnic lunch by the pool. Sitting there with Parker, eating slices of cheese, grapes, and cereal and sipping on a juice box watching other kids splashing around in the pool was just one of those perfect moments in life that I want to hold on to forever. We walked back home and both took a long nap. I'd call that a perfect Sunday afternoon!

Hope you all have a great week. Everyone send my friend Christi happy labor thoughts- tomorrow is her due date! We can't wait to meet little Matt!

Let's do something nice in memory of Marvin...

2009-06-09T14:04:00.003-05:00

Most of you know that Starvin Marvin was a stray kitten who I adopted after he was left on his own at 5 weeks old. He was a special needs kitty with many disabilities, but even more wonderful attributes. Today I went to the Atlanta Pet Rescue website and donated a small amount towards the surgery for another injured kitten, Twinkie, whose leg was broken by a dog and requires surgery. I'd like to ask that, if you can, you pick an animal organization in your area who helps animals in need and make a small donation in Marvin's memory. There are so many animals out there in need of care, and although there are also many great organizations who work to help, they count on donations to provide medical care to sick and injured animals. Thanks for helping me keep Marvin's memory alive by helping another animal in need.

Best,
Laura

At long last, another post...

2009-06-08T14:11:00.003-05:00

To anyone who is still stopping by to see if I finally got around to updating my blog, thanks for sticking with me! The spring flew by in it's usual whirlwind, and now that our students are out of school for the summer and our end-of-year meetings have come to an end I can take a deep breath and a moment to reflect on the past few months.

Over the past few months we celebrated Chris' 31st birthday, mother's day, my dad's birthday, our 3-year wedding anniversary, and the graduation of the BA class of 2009. We traveled as a family to San Francisco, congratulated our friends the Burts on a new addition to their family and await an addition to the Thompson family (any day now), and have had fun visits with friends and family who have come to visit us. 2009 has been a busy year already, and we're only half way done!

Parker is still the apple of my eye, the most joyful part of my day, and the person who can make me laugh the loudest. He tickles his mommy and daddy with funny jokes, dances, songs, and activities on a daily basis. He knows more words than I can count, and is using sentences more and more often. He can even identify and write the letter "P" and says "P for Parker" whenever he sees one. I just can't say enough about what a wonderful experience being Parker's mom has been and continues to be every day. I know Chris feels the same way.

This past weekend Leah came to visit from Oregon, and I was so grateful to her for traveling great distances to be with us for a few days. It was so special to spend the weekend with one of my oldest and dearest friends. We spent a lot of time relaxing, talking, taking walks, and eating good food. I'm also particularly glad that Leah was in town this weekend because it was time for us to say goodbye to our darling Starvin Marvin. I won't say much... just that he was the best cat ever to walk the earth and that he will be missed always. His strange little body wasn't built to last, but I know he lives on in a special place in the hearts of everyone who knew him. I'm so glad that Leah was here to be my support and to help me make a really tough decision, but undeniably the right decision.

Well, its Monday, and I'm exhausted after a long weekend. Now that summer is here and the dust has settled after the end-of-the-school-year-mania, I should be back to posting a few thises and thats more regularly. In the mean time, say a little prayer for Marvin's safe journey to the fields of catnip that await him in kitty heaven. He was, and always will be my little angel.

Too bad we don't have a happy baby...

2009-05-12T08:52:00.002-05:00

Little Laura

2009-05-04T12:56:00.002-05:00

This week at work is Teacher/Staff Appreciation week, and they asked us to send in photos of ourselves as babies/kids so that the students can guess who is who. Mom and Dad scanned a few for me to use, so I thought I would post them. Can you believe how much some of these look like Parker!?! Usually I think he looks just like Chris, but there's no question he got some of my features (eyes, ears!!!) :)

Easter Pics

2009-04-24T09:45:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt at my school where Parker got to meet the Easter Bunny! The other pic is Parker after eating too many chocolate eggs. :)

Hello my name is Par Par.

2009-04-14T13:58:00.002-05:00

This weekend Parker started referring to himself by name. If you point to him and say "Who is this?" he points to his chest and says "Par Par." It is the sweetest thing you can imagine. He has also recently started saying "thank you" "I did it" "Go, Dog, Go!" and "there it is." He can also (sometimes) count to three. All this and he's not even a year and a half old! I can't believe how smart my little guy is.

We will be celebrating Parker's half-birthday in San Francisco in a couple of weeks! I can't remember... did I already blog about this? I'm going to a conference and Chris and Parker are coming along for fun! Chris also lined up a DJ gig that will more than pay for his plane ticket, so we get a free mini-vacation! Yay! I love San Fran and can't wait to eat some sourdough bread, sushi, and Thai food! Yummmmmmm. The conference hotel is the San Fran Hyatt, which I hear is really nice. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the flight, but we'll manage.

Easter was a lot of fun. We met up with some of my family members who were in town and went on a grand easter egg hunt. Parker thought this was the best thing ever! He has also discovered a new favorite treat- Peeps. He likes them so much he took a package of Peeps and hid in our walk-in closet where he proceeded to unwrap them all by himself. We caught him before he was able to stuff the 6 marshmallow "Birds" into his mouth, which was very upsetting to him. He followed us around mournfully sobbing "no, no, biiirds, no, no, biiirds." Don't worry- we gave him one for dessert an hour later. :)

As far as I know I don't have any plans this coming weekend, which is very exciting to me. I would love to have a couple of days to fiddle around in the yard and get the house in order, take Par Par to the Park, and then relax with a good book.

Have a great week!

-L

Happy Birthday, Buddha!

2009-04-08T08:55:00.001-05:00

If we were waking up in some other countries around the world today, such as in Japan, we just might be taking the day off; for it is on this date, April 8, that many people celebrate the birthday of Buddha. What motivated a wealthy prince to renounce his worldly possessions and choose to live as a simple monk, teaching how to find happiness and to let go of suffering? Legend has it that Buddha was born around 560 BC, in a kingdom that was on the borders of present-day India and Nepal, and that his name was Prince Siddhartha Gautama. At age twelve, it was foretold that the prince would become a great spiritual teacher if he were allowed to see sickness, suffering and death, so his father, the king, did everything he could to shield his son from seeing the “real world.” However, at age thirty, the prince escaped, and after coming to the realization that all of his wealth and power could do nothing to stop the pain and suffering of the world, he came upon a monk who was calm and peaceful, despite his own many hardships. Filled with zeal and great compassion to help the world, the prince renounced his title, gave away his possessions and began devoting his life to discovering the way to eliminate human suffering. After years of study, meditation and sacrifice, legend has it that he found what is known as “Nirvana” (the cure to the ills of the world), and became the Buddha, or the “completely enlightened.” Buddha adopted the life of a religious teacher from the age of 35 until his death at the age of 80, and he attracted many followers. In the centuries following his death, Buddhism has become a very popular religion in many countries throughout the world, not just in Asia, and it all began with the young prince who advised his followers to teach this “triple truth” to all: “A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”

Back from the dead...

2009-04-08T08:25:00.002-05:00

Well, the Nicholson family has finally recovered from THE WORST STOMACH VIRUS EVER. My boss was home for a few days with it last week, where Parker picked it up, and in turn gave it to me and Chris. I will spare you all the gory details, but let me just tell you I would rather go through labor and delivery again than re-live the past 5 days. The bug caused Chris to cancel on his own birthday party, me to miss my own recruitment event at work, and for Parker and I to miss Christi's baby shower. Even worse, Chris had two friends visiting from Seattle who had to bear witness to the nastiness that was taking place and had nowhere to escape to! Sorry guys! Seriously bad timing!!!

Now that we're all back from the dead, Parker and I are going to celebrate by going to meet the Easter Bunny!!! Luck has it that the big EB is taking a break from preparing Easter baskets to make a visit to our campus. He will be hosting an egg hunt for all the little people at the campus Child Development Center (and Parker)! It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day and I can't wait to see my little guy's face when he sees all the other little ones, lots of bright eggs, and, of course, a six foot bunny waving at him.

Parker is talking up a storm these days and knows more than 75 words, which really blows my mind. He's starting to string words together more as well. He's such a smartie! I'm determined to put in some work this weekend figuring out how to get the video clips of him doing cute stuff out of the video camera and into my computer. I am so pathetically low(no)-tech, but I'll do my best to figure it out. Sharing his horse whinny with you alone would make it worth my while. Prepare for hilarity!

For Easter this weekend we are meeting up with some of my family members here in Atlanta. My Dad's cousin's son recently bought a house here and is hosting a little get together. We will see Uncle Paul, Aunt Kathy, Cousin Jake, Second Cousins Helen and George, and their kids who I haven't met yet. It should be fun! I certainly never imagined I would be attending a family reunion in Atlanta- who knew!

Well, back to work for me. I hope you all have a fun and relaxing Easter weekend. Brooke, if you're reading this, I hope your sweet baby Audrey will arrive in time to enjoy Easter 2009 with you! We can't wait to meet her!

Hoppy Wednesday,
Laura

Another quick funny...

2009-03-26T13:40:00.002-05:00

Parker and I were lounging in bed the other morning watching a little 'Handy Manny' when my stomach made a really loud growling sound (time for breakfast!). Parker lifted up my shirt and growled fiercely back at my belly button. Once again- funniest boy in the world!

Daddy and Parker's trip to Athens

2009-03-23T13:38:00.002-05:00

While I stayed home and repainted some super-cool vintage chairs I picked up at a garage sale, Parker and Chris drove up to Athens, Georgia, where Mima, Grammy, and Cousin Adele were all waiting to see him. They played in the yard, ran around, and ate good food. Meanwhile, I headed to Gabrielle's bachelorette party, which I will simply say was very entertaining. Here are some pics from their trip:

Parker, Parker, quite contrary.

2009-03-20T15:27:00.003-05:00

Our little Parker has discovered the word "NO" and will very sweetly tell you "no" to almost any question you ask him this week. It's so funny. His other favorite word of the week is "happy," which he will say over and over again (reminding mommy of the Ren and Stimpy "happy happy joy joy song.") Parker's latest obsessions are grapes, which he calls "bops"... I don't know why, the swiffer sweeper (it will keep him busy for hours) and birds. He gets very excited about talking about birds, seeing birds, and thinking about birds. He also likes stomping around pretending to be a dinosaur and roaring. There is nowhere P would rather be than out in the yard playing with sticks, running in the grass, and watching the dog run around. I've attached a few pictures. It's almost the end of the day... Friday at last... so I'm not going to write much, but just wanted to give a little update. Tomorrow is going to be crazy: tax appointment, quick trip to Athens (Georgia that is), and then Gabrielle's bachelorette party (where I will watch a gentleman named 'Romance' put on some sort of show... I can't imagine what his talent might be...?) More updates on that later.

Puerto Vallarta!!!

2009-03-12T15:12:00.004-05:00

I'm finally getting around to writing a note or two about our grand adventure to Mexico!!! We barely escaped the "storm of the century" in Atlanta (which equated to 3 inches of snow on the ground and some low temperatures)when we hopped on a plane two Saturdays ago to fly direct into Puerto Vallarta. Parker was so great on the flight and made tons of friends with other passengers- young and old. We even bumped in to 3 or 4 of the same people at the airport at the end of the week who greeted him by name and came to ask how his vacation was. What a social networker we have already! :)
When we arrived we were bombarded by people asking to get us a taxi, and like the suckers we are we followed one guy out to the lot, where we could have easily walked ourselves, and were then asked for a tip. Yup- we are the stupid tourists. Oh well. When we finally arrived at the resort, after a misguided tour of the hotel lobby next door, we happily greeted "grandma" and "grandpa" and lay down to relax for a little while. Later that day, Pete and Sue arrived from California and we were all able to eat dinner together as a family. Very nice!

The days to follow were spent swimming, eating, and drinking margaritias! Parker was wild about the pool, so Chris and I got up each morning, waited until the pool opened at 9, lathered Parker up in his baby sunblock, and headed for the kiddie pool. Our Parker is one little fish. He is still looking at us pleadingly asking to go to the "wa wa." Good thing it won't be long until it's pool season here in Atlanta.

Chris and I took a couple of excursions together including a booze-cruise to an island where we watched a stage show called "Rhythms of the Night" for which my parents got us tickets the week before. After the show we got to eat a wonderful dinner by candlelight on the beach and then booze-cruise our way back to town. (I won't mention the part about getting lost in a croud of cruise boat tourists and arguing about whether we were going to miss our boat or not after which one of the cruise boat operators asked if he could take me off of Chris' hands... ahhhhhh tequila...)Anyway,for the most part it was great and I only remembered the fun part in the morning. :)

On our last day Chris and I took a taxi down south a number of miles where we went to my favorite spot in the PV area, Mismaloya beach. We spent a great day together (after we got over leaving Parker...we both get more separation anxiety than he does). We staked out a beach chair (or rather were herded to a beach chair by a restaurant worker who wanted us to sit in front of his joint) where we spent most of the day trying out funny tropical drinks like the 'Crazy Monkey' and the 'Chi Chi,' playing in the water, buying some trinkets from vendors on the beach, and exploring the ruins of the set of the old classic movie 'Night of the Iguana,' One of my personal favorites. :) I don't think Chris and I had spent this much time alone together since Parker was born, and we really enjoyed eachother's company.

Saying goodbye to the family was sad, as it always is, but we were ready to head home at the end of the week. All three of us got a pretty nasty cold during our last 2 days there and we were missing our animals big time. Anyway, that's about all I can think of to say for now. I haven't downloaded camera pictures yet, but here are a few from Chris' iPhone.

A quick little funny...

2009-02-26T13:56:00.002-05:00

So I went to see Parker at lunch today, as I always do. I had eaten my lunch and was sipping on a cup of coffee when I hear a weird barking sound. I look around and realize that Deborah's cat, Hobbs, is coughing up a hairball (I know, Tessa- one more reason not to like cats...ha). Then I hear another weird cough, not coming from the cat, and see Parker on his hands and knees pretending to cough up his own hairball. I nearly died laughing it was so funny. I asked him what he was doing and he said "Cat" and then made the coughing sound again. Oh, I have the funniest little person alive.

Mexico Bound!!!

2009-02-23T13:59:00.002-05:00

Yes, we are still alive....and headed to a warm and sunny Mexico vacation on Saturday! It has been a busy month and we are all ready for some rest and relaxation. We're meeting my parents, brother, and sister-in-law in Puerto Vallarta and will spend the week swimming, sunning, and drinking margaritas. This trip was our Christmas gift from my mom and dad, and boy are we grateful!

Parker is chatting up a storm now, and even says some more complicated words like ear ring "ear wick" and eye brow "ah bra." His current favorite foods are blueberries and whole black beans. The poor little thing is getting 4 big molars in right now, but is still his cheerful self despite the fact that he's not sleeping much. His Elmo addiction has only increased, and he was delighted to find out that Deborah had some old Sesame Street videos from when her kids were little, so now he gets an afternoon Elmo fix as well as his standard car-ride viewings. Oh boy. ;)

Mima (soon to be Mimi?) came down to visit us this weekend and we had so much fun playing, eating, shopping, and chatting. Parker and I were both sad to see her go on Sunday. Chris spent Saturday night in North Carolina at a Bachelor party with a handful of friends. They had a good time, but I think Beth and I had even more fun drinking wine, eating yummy snacks, and watching movies. :) If I know Mima, we'll have a plethora of new pictures coming our way any time now. I'll post some up ASAP. :)

Seniora Laura

We've Created a Monster...

2009-02-02T10:55:00.002-05:00

...a Sesame Street monster that is. Parker has been watching Elmo's World on his DVD player in the car and is now OBSESSED with Elmo. He said "Elmo" for the first time yesterday and was carrying the DVD case around to everyone trying to get someone to put it in the player for him (he had already watched it twice). He also dances around singing the theme song..."Da da ta da, Da da ta da....." (if you have a toddler, you know the tune) It really is cute to see him dancing to the music on the show and getting so excited to see Elmo that every part of him wiggles, but then I start feeling guilty about letting my 15 month old watch t.v. I suppose as long as it is in moderation it will be ok. We balanced it out yesterday with playing in the yard and examining sticks and leaves and talking about the dog.

Parker has been SO much fun lately and just gets funnier and wittier as he grows. He is an avid dancer and already has better moves than his Mama. He gives hugs and kisses, big smiles and waves to almost everyone he meets, and is picking up new words nearly every day! He impressed the doctor last week when he knew all of his body parts when she asked him about them- even his teeth, hair and eyebrows! I couldn't be more proud of my little wonder. He makes every day so much fun.

Well, it's almost lunch time, but I wanted to start out the week with a post about Parker Peanut. I realized my blog had morphed from adventures of parenthood and funny stories about Peanut to tales of woe and the trials and tribulations of Laura's whiney existence. Sorry! Here's a new one: Life is good, Parker is adorable, and we're going to Mexico in 4 weeks! Wahoo!

Have a great week.
Love,
Laura

Our New Ride!

2009-01-26T13:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-26T10:13:00.004-05:00

Seeing that today is the Chinese New Year, I think it is a great one to take another crack at my new years resolutions. In China, today is the day to give your house a thorough cleaning and sweep out the dirt from the previous year and start the new year fresh and clean. Coincidentally, today is also the day I turned in my company car (out with the old), and will be riding home in our new 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe (in with the new!)! Hooray! I purchased the car on Saturday while Chris was in California and surprised him by picking him up in it at the airport last night! What fun! The Santa Fe is just what I had been looking for and I found a great barely used one at a great price. It sure made parting with the Honda easier to know that I had a great replacement. (...just realized I've used the word great about 10 times in this post so far. Great.) It's kind of funny, actually- It dawned on me that my first car was a 1988 model, my second was a 1998 model, and now my third is a 2008! I guess the universe was telling me it was time for a new car!

Now that that ordeal is over and done with, I can relax a little and enjoy my new car and my free evenings and weekends!

One LOUSY week.

2009-01-22T09:10:00.005-05:00

Well, they say bad news always comes in threes, and this week that has definitely been the case. Yesterday was crap from start to finish. First we got the alarming and very sad news that the father of one of our students committed suicide yesterday morning. We spent the rest of the day offering support to students as a very somber hush fell over the school. Yesterday evening, after a grueling 2 hour drive home, Leah called me to tell me that she needed to cancel her trip to Atlanta at the last minute (she would have arrived this evening) because a dear friend of hers is in the hospital in critical condition. I was so very much looking forward to spending the weekend with my dearest friend, but feel much worse that she may lose a friend.
This morning, I FINALLY heard back about the company car, and the news is "Sorry, but we're turning it in next week." This means I have 4 days to find transportation, get a car loan, and buy a car so I can get to and from work next week. How's that for courtesy.

The good news is that despite my aggravation, I actually feel thankful today. I feel thankful that the people I love are healthy and safe, that I have a loving family, and that I am employed in a job I enjoy, despite obvious inconveniences. This week's events have really given me a reminder to have perspective, and to know how blessed I am in the things I have been provided.

So, now I'm going to try to enjoy car shopping as much as possible. At least "now is the time to buy!" Sigh....

More later.

-L

2009 has been interesting so far...

2009-01-14T13:51:00.002-05:00

I haven't talked a lot about this on my blog, but over the past three or four months I have been feeling a little "off". Of course I have still been enjoying Parker, but have felt a lot of anxiety and stress, and just haven't felt like myself. I believe that part of this is because I really had taken on too much and wasn't making it a priority to take care of myself. My New Year's resolution was to reduce stress and take care of myself so that I will have more happiness and energy left to give back to those around me. This past weekend, I made the difficult decision to drop my online program. I did this so that I could come home from work and commit my home time to Parker and to Chris, and also to myself. I'm going to read books I want to read, take time to sit down and eat dinner, and maybe even fit in some exercise! I feel a little bit dissapointed in myself for not being able to pull it off, but moreso I feel an overwhelming amount of relief... or at least I did, until...

I got an email from the second in command at the University saying that they don't think they want to renew the lease on the company vehicle they gave me to drive a year and a half ago. Here's the even better part- the lease is up on the 27th of January. Chris and I only have one (running) car, and that car is the very same one I was driving in HIGH SCHOOL in 1998. It has been having all kinds of problems lately, and I know it wouldn't hold up if I were to drive it over 100 miles a day as required by my commute (not to mention that would leave Chris without a car...). I am HORRIFIED that my employer would give me this news with 14 days notice, and feel very disrespected by the way it was presented to me. I know that this is not a decision that was made by anyone I work with directly, but it still makes me loose a lot of faith in my employment situation. Chris and I can't just go out tomorrow and buy a new car in the next two weeks. That type of investment would be a stretch for us at this point and would require more preparation than two little weeks. I am really upset and not quite sure what this means for us. As always, I guess I just need to have faith that things will work out as they should.

Needless to say, my momentary feeling of relief after dropping my class immediately vanished and was replaced by anxiety. Sigh. I'm trying not to let this news distract me from my orginal goals of self care. The universe has been good to me and my family, and I know that with every closed door comes an open window. Keep your fingers crossed for a good resolution to our momentary dillema.

Ommm..... ommmmmm.... :)

Mima and Papa's visit!

2009-01-07T09:29:00.002-05:00

Mima and Papa came to spend this past weekend with us and we had a wonderful time. As usual, Mima brought lots of good food, wine, and took lots of pictures!!! I don't have a lot of time to write, but wanted to get some of these great pics up!

Welcome Penelope Jade!

2009-01-06T14:19:00.002-05:00

I won't post her picture with out parental permission, but I am so excited that my dear old friend Jessa had her baby, Penelope Jade, this past weekend. Little P was 3-4 weeks early, but she's cute as a button and already much adored by everyone, including me. :) Congratulations John and Jessa!!!

Next on the agenda- ACCOUNTING! I start my online accounting class tomorrow (gulp) and will hopefully survive with at least an ounce of my sanity left. I'm having some serious anxiety about this class, and even more so now that I have looked over the syllabus and noticed that a HUGE percent of my grade is made up of the midterm and final exam grade. I usually depend on my daily assignment and paper grades to help me out, since that is where my strength lies, not in test taking. I must keep reminding myself, all I need to do is pass. I know I can do that much at least.

Grandma and Grandpa also arrive tomorrow, so we have that to look forward to. We still have our (dried out) Christmas tree up waiting to celebrate with them on Saturday. I think we will get up, open stockings, open gifts, and then strip down the tree and give it the boot. :) We might also try to make it to the aquarium this weekend. We'll see how we feel about it and how much energy we have after our "holiday" food. I'll be taking some videos with my new camera and trying to rope Chris into helping me figure out how to get them into the compute and onto my blog. (Lindsay- maybe you can give me a quick tutorial?) :)

Parker is enjoying all of his Chrismas loot, and some of mine. One of his favorite "toys" from Christmas is my new excercise ball. His eyes got huge when we blew it up, and he kept saying "ball" with an inflection that translated into "my goodness, that's the biggest ball I've ever seen." He walks behind it rolling it down the hall and into various rooms. He also got a little lawn mower from Grammy, and has spent a good deal of time mowing the living room. Why don't they make those things pick up crumbs as they go?

New word update:

Out (get me out of this: tub, high chair, carseat, crib)
Up
Al (Emma's brother who is home from college)
Trash
Eye
Ear
Nose (sort of)
Feet
Socks
Shoes

Ok- back to work for me again.

Oh- PS. HAPPY 2009!

A couple of cute Christmas pics!

2009-01-05T16:33:00.003-05:00

Here is Parker in his Christmas jammies and with his new lawn mower.

Christmas 2008!

2008-12-30T12:42:00.002-05:00

Well, we had a very enjoyable Christmas week, even though it was a little different than we had originally planned. Poor little Parker came down with a horrible cold and ear infection the weekend before we had planned to leave to drive up to Mima and Papaw's in North Carolina, and I ended up with a sinus infection- yuck. Our little Subaru was also broken into that weekend right in front of our house, so we felt really nervous about leaving the house vacant, especially since we had planned to take Lennox with us. We decided it best to stay home, let little P's antibiotics take action, and enjoy a quiet Christmas at home.

Although everybody was sick on my birthday, I still had a nice day and got a couple of really great gifts! Chris bought me an AWESOME new digital camcorder, which I am so excited about. This means as soon as I figure out how to do it, I can start adding video clips to my blog! How exciting!!! I also got a beautiful turquoise and saphire ring from my mom and dad- it is really unique and I've already gotten many compliments on it! Thank you, thank you for the gifts and love! :)

On Christmas day we got up and ate a good breakfast, sipped coffee, and opened the presents that Pete and Sue (my brother and sister-in-law) sent us from California. Because Chris and I had already exchanged gifts early, and I had given Peanut his new shoes early, we're sure glad we got that great box full of presents to open on Christmas morning! Thanks Pete and Sue- we love you!

Later that night we visited a few friends, went to bed, and got up the next morning and drove to Ashville, NC where we stayed at Chris' aunt and uncle's house and saw many members of Chris' family: Uncle Chip, aunt Melanie, cousins Sonny, Chelsea, Candace, Keith, Uncle Eric, Mima, Papaw, and of course little Matthew. Matthew is Parker's second cousin and is about to turn 4. He and Parker had a BLAST playing together, and spent hours jumping on the air mattress we slept on. It was so cute and funny. I can only imagine how much fun they'll have together next year.

We're home now, and doing some relaxing. I'm out at the office today getting things in order for our new students to arrive on Sunday. Parker is back up to full speed and feeling much better. The only bad thing about the medicine he's been taking is that it has been really hard on his stomach, and he consequently has his first case of diaper rash. I feel so bad for his little bottom, but we went out and got ourselves some Bourdeaux's Butt Paste, and are hoping it will clear up quickly. It certainly hasn't stopped him from running around (yes, he's running now- unbelievable!) and being the funniest, cutest thing ever.

We are now looking forward to a visit from Grandma and Grandpa next week, at which time we will celebrate Christmas number 3, complete with a visit from Santa, stockings, and our famous Christmas tree pastry! Yummm!

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve! Be safe and have fun! (I will undoubtedly be in bed asleep before the peach drops in Atlanta, so toast one for me!)

Love,
Laura and fam

Class #2 complete!

2008-12-11T10:01:00.002-05:00

I am SO relieved to report that I have survived another class, and even earned a 93%! Hooray! I am just giddy that I don't have to start the next one (Accounting... help, Tessa!) until January 7th. I plan on reading the entire Twilight series between now and then since I have time to read for pleasure. Now I can relax (sort of)and enjoy the holidays!

Speaking of holidays, I never gave much of a Thanksgiving report! We had a great time with Mima, Papa, Grammy, Adele,Cousins Joyce, Cliff, Claire, James, Emily and Abby! The food was fantastic and the kids had lots of fun playing together. Parker even gave little Abby a big smooch! Kissing is his new obsession. This past weekend he repeatedly kissed our 18 month old neighbor, Holland, to which she responded "Oh no, Oh no, Oh no."

Our ride home from Thanksgiving weekend, however, was not so fantastic. It took us over 8 hours, 3 of which Parker was VERY upset. The trip was especially trying since Chris, Parker, Lennox and I were all packed into my little ole Subaru and none of us had much personal space. We all felt better after a stop at Outback Steakhouse. Even Lennox, who got the scraps! Although I'm excited to go back to Mima and Papa's for Christmas, I am not excited at all about taking that drive again. Boo.

Parker can now walk across his room on his own!!! He continues to be a real clown. Deborah had a cold last week, and when he came home he kept picking up his wet wipes and pretending to blow his nose in them like he had seen her do with tissues all day. He also does this really funny fake laugh when he is around a group of people who are laughing about something. It is SO funny (I wish you could hear it because talking about it just doesn't do it justice.)

Well, I've got a busy Thursday and Friday at work, and then a roaming Christmas party to host on Saturday, so I'd better run. Have a great Thursday!

Love,
Laura

More fun pics...

2008-12-09T10:13:00.002-05:00

Here are a few more random pics including: Parker's first taste of chocolate (fudge sundae sauce- he wouldn't give me the spoon back!), Parker in the waiting room at the Children's Hospital awaiting his x-ray results- as you can see, he wasn't worried, Parker in Mima and Papa's yard wearing his new fuzzy coat, and Parker passed out on his favorite pillow- Grandma. Enjoy! :)

Catching up to do!

2008-12-09T10:01:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lapse of posts... I don't even know what happened to November. I blinked and it was over. Here we are a couple of weeks out from Christmas, and I feel like Halloween was last week! Oh no! Let me start by catching you all up on some photos, and then later today I will write a little post about Thanksgiving in North Carolina. A couple are of Parker and his first birthday cake. Can you tell he was exhausted by the time we got to cake time? Thanks to Mima for getting these pictures off of my camera and into the hands of friends and family!

Parker's First Haircut!

2008-11-25T14:55:00.002-05:00

After many subtle suggestions from friends and acquaintances, I finally admitted to myself that it was time for Parker to shed his adorable little mullet and get a trim. After obsessing and agonizing over the idea of cutting Parker's hair (every hair was perfect already, of course!), I went ahead and trimmed it up a little in the back and over his ears on Friday. I saved the tiny pile of hair in an envelope, as every good mother does, and I'll have to say, it looks pretty darn cute. For my first mommy-haircut, I think I did a pretty good job.

I'm also proud/relieved to let you know that Parker is once again toddling around, taking more steps every day. This means I didn't break him permanently when we fell down, so I can stop worrying about getting the worst-mommy-of-the-year award and lumps of coal in my stocking. Whew!

More than anything, Parker is talking, talking, talking and kissing, kissing, kissing! He wakes up every morning and gives me and Chris multitudes of kisses on our lips, each time proclaiming, "Tiss, tiss." He also loves to kiss the cats, dog, stuffed animals, and anything else that strikes his fancy. Here are some other words he's using frequently these days:

-Apple (one of his favorite foods- he likes to carry an apple around with him most of the time).
-Juice
-Dog
-Cat
-Hat (He LOVES hats and thinks that anything he puts on his head is a "hat," including tissue, socks, pants, and toys.)
-Chicken (He doesn't say this word clearly, but when he eats it he always says something that sounds like "gaken")
-Sock
-Shoe
-Mama
-Dada
-Emma (his friend)
-No (uh oh- we just heard this one for the first time this week!)
-OOh ooh, ah ah (when asked "What does a monkey say?)
-hiss hiss (when asked what does a snake say?)

I know there are others that I'm not thinking of right now...he's quite a little chatter box! I'll update again soon with stories of our Thanksgiving weekend at Mima and Papa's in North Carolina!

Love,
Proud Mama Laura

Welcome Dean Andrew Kennedy!

2008-11-20T13:19:00.003-05:00

I just realized I didn't make a post about the birth of the son of Parker's godparents! Andy and Anna's son, Dean Andrew Kennedy, was born on Sunday evening at his home in High Point, North Carolina. His brave mommy went through the entire labor and delivery at home with the assistance of two midwives, and produced one super handsome little 7lb 5oz baby boy! We are SO excited about this new member of our honorary family and can't wait to meet him next week! Parker is thrilled that he is going to have a new buddy to play with very soon! If these two are anything like their daddies were, we'll have to keep an eye on them every second! :) Look out world, here comes another Kennedy/Nicholson duo!

Back on our feet...

2008-11-19T13:18:00.002-05:00

I'm happy to report that Parker is doing much better, and although he isn't 100% back up to speed, he is using his right leg and foot much more than he was even a few days ago. It has been a long week and a half, but I'm finally allowing myself to take a deep breath about the whole thing. We'll still keep a close eye on him and make sure he reaches a full recovery, but for now, I feel confident that he'll be toddeling around sooner rather than later. Thank you so much to those of you who have kept Peanut in your thoughts and prayers and who have sent well wishes. We are so lucky to have a great network of family and friends to support us!

I'm drudging through the mid-weeks of my second on-line class, recovering from a cold, and trying to fit in a little mental health time. I was really feeling pretty down in the dumps last week and was questioning whether I can continue spinning as many plates as I have been, i.e. work, baby, commute, AND school. I think it was just one of those moments of feeling overwhelmed, and I've decided to just keep plugging away knowing that in 2 years I'll be done with the school portion. If it gets too hard, I can always make a change later. I have to stay strong and just take it one thing at a time. It's hard not to feel like I'm falling short as a wife/mother when I see giant piles of laundry on the dining table that I couldn't put away because I had homework and then felt exhausted and went right to bed, or when I drive through and get cheeseburgers for Chris and I to eat for dinner because we haven't fit in grocery shopping to our weekly schedule. I hope that Parker remembers when he grows up that his Mommy worked really hard to make sure that he had everything he needed and not that his house was occasionally a disaster zone. Sigh.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, and some time to put away all that laundry!:)

Our big fall...

2008-11-11T09:08:00.002-05:00

On Friday evening Chris and I had some friends over to the house to play Cranium. It was a fun filled evening until I walked out onto the back deck holding Parker, and my feet slipped on the wet wood and we fell flat on the deck...hard. Of course Parker was terrified (as was I), but he stopped crying after a minute or two and after looking him over and finding no apparent injury, we put him to bed. In the morning, he woke up cheery as always, but when we put him on the floor, he would not pull up to standing. When we tried to put both of his feet on the floor to "walk" him like we often do, he wouldn't place his right foot on the floor. Panic suddenly rushed through me when I realized something was wrong. My baby was hurt!!! Chris called our pediatrician and we went straight to our local Urgent Care for x-rays. They took a couple of his foot and didn't find anything. With directions to give hime Tylenol every 4 hours, we went home. I was so upset all I could do was cry. The thought of something being wrong with Parker was making me crazy! On Sunday there was not a lot of improvement, so I decided to take him to our pediatrician on Monday. They sent us straight to the Children's Hospital of Atlanta for more extensive x-rays. Parker was not at all happy about this process and cried harder than ever while we all held him down. It was heartbreaking! Of course as soon as they were done he was happy again and wanting to touch everything in the office. Parker's x-rays were negative for breaks and fractures, which is great, but no one has really been able to tell me what IS going on. They said to bring him back on Friday if he is still not bearing weight on his leg. I am SO WORRIED and so distrought over this whole thing I can hardly function properly. I will only feel better when Parker is back on his feet and back to his usual activities. Please help us pray for Parker's fast recovery, not only for his sake, but for the sake of his worried sick Mama!

More Teeth!

2008-11-06T14:40:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update to say that in addition to walking for his first birthday, Parker has also decided to cut 4 new teeth all at once. Poor little fellow! He had a miserable drive home from work yesterday with a sore mouth and no Grandma to keep him company in the back seat! Those crockedile tears break my heart!

Our little Etrade baby

2008-11-05T15:24:00.003-05:00

I forgot to mention that Parker is a celebrity impersonator. We have had MANY people come up to us and ask if Parker is the Etrade baby. I just watched the commercial again, and can totally see why. I told you Parker was an early talker!

I don't know how to imbed the video, so just go to this link to view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdfvWAp5GUw

Change for America!

2008-11-05T10:10:00.002-05:00

When I'm writing in my blog, I often think about Parker looking back through my writings about his (our) life at some point long down the road, when he is an adult wondering what life was like when he was little. Today, I feel it is important to make note of the significant event that has occured in the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. No matter what your political standpoint, it is undeniable that this election will be one that stands out in history and marks a paradigm shift for our nation. I feel proud to have been part of this change.

On a different note, Mima has sent us some pictures from Parker's party day. You'll see that Grandpa and I carved some pumpkins, and I looked super silly in my pirate get-up. Enjoy!

Election day and other updates...

2008-11-04T10:13:00.002-05:00

I got up early this morning and placed my vote! It felt good to know I had done my part towards electing the candidate I believe will provide the best future America for my family to live in. I'm in the mood for change!

Parker's party this weekend was a big success. He was his wonderful cheery self, and many friends and family came to help him celebrate his big #1! We had fun dressing up as Pirates and helping Parker open lots of great gifts! He wasn't sure quite what to do with his cake, but he got a couple of bites of frosting in and then threw the rest on the floor. :)

Grandma and Grandpa have had a fun visit and have gotten in lots of quality Peanut time. Parker likes to fall asleep on Grandma and take naps with her. He likes to listen to Grandpa play the banjo! They brought him a super cute pair of walking shoes with little three eyed monsters on them! More walking to come!

Mima made us a WONDERFUL scrapbook of Parker's first year. She had pictures we hadn't even seen yet and put them together beautifully in a cute little book. Thanks you Mima for such a considerate gift. We will treasure it always! xoxoxo

Today I got the exciting news that my cousin Jake is moving from New Mexico to Atlanta! It will be fun to have some family in town and I'm looking forward to helping him get to know the city. It's hard to believe I've been here for over 3 years now! How time flies.

Well, that's it for now. I need to enjoy my last day with my mom and dad before they head back to OR.

Love,
Laura

A Birthday Miracle!

2008-10-30T20:02:00.003-05:00

Parker turned one year old today as all of you know. Do you know what else he did? TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS!!!! Can you believe it? We went to have lunch with Daddy at work so my parents could see the Turner Campus and Cartoon Network. We were in his work area and Parker stood up and took three or four steps to get over to Chris!!! He was so nonchalant, you would think he did it all the time! It looks like he was just waiting for the perfect moment to showcase his new skill. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed and focused around preparing for the big party on Saturday. We've got our pirate hats and we're ready for a Parrrrrrty!

Happy Birthday my sweet baby Peanut. You are the light of my life and I could not possibly be more proud of the wonderful little person you are becoming and already are. I love you so much and always will. xoxoxo Mommy

Mima's visit

2008-10-29T08:32:00.002-05:00

Mima came in to town last weekend to help us prepare for Parker's birthday party! Parker spent his first whole day with her while I went to work, and they both had a great time! She helped us get the house in shape and entertained Peanut while I got some school work done.

As she always does, Mima took some great pictures. I'll write more on Sunday after Parker's birthday party has happened and update those of you who can't come on how it went. I can't believe tomorrow is his birthday- ONE year old already!

Sorry... I fell off the Blog Wagon!

2008-10-20T08:43:00.002-05:00

Life has been really busy lately, and blogging fell off my list for a few weeks. Sorry for the lapse of information! :) We are all alive and kicking! In fact, a very special little Peanut is about to have his very first birthday party!!! In spite of the fact that I am having a bit of a personal crisis over the realization that my tiny baby boy is already a whole year old, we are throwing him a costume party at the house and have invited family and friends to come help us celebrate. To those of you who live far away, we will miss you and wish you could join us!

Chris, Parker and I are going to be a band of pirates, Grandma is going to be a French painter (as she will be painting faces), Grandpa is going to be a German Band man, and Mima and Papa have a funny surprise costume. We'll have games, food, and of course, a cake for Peanut to eat/play with/dive into or whatever he should choose to do with it. I have a lot of planning and orchestration to accomplish between now and then, but we'll pull it off somehow.

I finished my first online class last week with a 92%. Not too shabby! I start my next class this Wednesday. I wish I had a little more time to gather my thoughts before I start class #2, but I should survive. I've been in a little funk the past couple of weeks because I have so many commitments and not a lot of time to just relax. It scares me because I think that is just how life is going to be from here on out. I will always be a little overwhelmed, a little under-rested, and feel a little like a chicken with my head cut off. It's this crazy thing we call life!

Parker has become such a little boy. He is so expressive, funny, adventurous, and sweet. What a lucky Mom I am. I just hope I don't blink and realize he's graduating high school. The pace of this whole thing is really scary, and frankly, a little sad. I'm so happy for Parker that he is learning and growing and developing, but I will miss that sweet little bundle that I brought home from the hospital what feels like days ago. Sigh... (Ok- I'm actually getting teary, so I better get to work).

Love,
Laura

Updates...

2008-10-01T10:04:00.002-05:00

I realized this morning that I have a number of things on which to update my loyal blog readers. (LOL- :)) Here we go:

1. Atlanta gas crisis: The city has essentially been out of gas for 3 whole weeks. There have been fights at gas stations, cars abandoned on the side of the road, hour long waits at stations that have gas, and people unable to go into work. Rumor has it that today more stations are going to be receiving gas deliveries, so I believe the end is near.

2. Teeth: I have them now, and they look pretty good. They didn't turn me into a supermodel as I had hoped, but they look natural and feel good in my mouth. Good enough.

3. School: Things are going well. You read about the midterm, and other than that it is mostly a lot of busy work. I have only two and a half weeks left in this class, and I'm pretty sure I'll come through with an 'A' which makes me happy.

4. Parker: As always, Parker is wonderful and a constant joy. He is really starting to "talk" more, and has picked up some new words. His vocabulary includes:

-Dada
-Mama
-Kitty
-Juice (or something that sounds a lot like it)
-What is this? (or something that sounds a lot like it)
-I don't know (or something that sounds a lot like it)

He has the most delightful sense of humor and is the highlight of my day, every day. Can you believe in one month our Peanut will be one year old???? It is really blowing my mind.

Let me know if there are other topics I've left hanging. Basically, things are good, I'm really busy, and life is going by at a slightly disconcerting rate. Didn't I just give birth, like, last month?

Happy Wednesday.

-L

Are you kidding me???

2008-09-23T15:38:00.002-05:00

I just took my midterm. I spent about 20 hours preparing for it. No kidding. The professor said it would take 2 hours. It was 20 multiple choice questions long and was open book. No, I'm not kidding. It took me 11 minutes. WHAT?

Am I complainging? Of course not. Would I like to have my weekend back? Absolutely!

Sigh...

Got Gas?

2008-09-22T15:35:00.002-05:00

I have only a moment or two to post, but wanted to share the weird news that Atlanta has run out of gas. We went to 14 gas stations this weekend searching for gas, before Chris finally was able to get 8 gallons for $51.00 before that pump ran out. Crazy! One of our students said earlier today that she couldn't find gas here in Gainesville, either. I've got enough gas to drive home, but I'm kind of worried that I won't be able to drive to work tomorrow! What a weird problem to have.

This weekend was kind of annoying. I spent the whole weekend studying for a 2 hour mid-term I was set to take on Sunday, and then the professor didn't post the link to the test! Grrr. Now I have to take it either tonight or tomorrow night when I get home from work. That upsets me because I'm always tired and busy when I get home from work! On the other hand, Parker got to spend lots of nice quality time with his Daddy this weekend. They went out and watched football and went to a street parade and went grocery shopping. What a great Dada little P has!

One good thing about my weekend was that I spoke on the phone with my old friend, Jessa, who I haven't talked to for 10 years. She is expecting a baby, so we had lots to chat about. It really made my day to talk to an old friend, and we fell easily into conversation like not much time had passed at all. So funny to think that we used to sit around writing song lyrics back and forth in class and talking about our first boyfriends, and here we are all grown up having babies! When did I grow up? Weird!

Ok- quitting time!

Pray I find gas.

Oh, and PS... I get my new teeth this Thursday. YES!

I miss Oregon...tear!

2008-09-15T13:49:00.003-05:00

I was looking at the Facebook page of one of the students from my school who moved to Oregon this summer. She posted pictures from her new home in Ashland, and it really made me miss my home state. :( I just had to post the pic b/c it is so beautiful. I will never forget you, gorgeous Oregon!

I love strawberries!

2008-09-10T12:28:00.002-05:00

Cute Bunny Teeth

2008-09-10T08:01:00.002-05:00

At least Parker looks cute with bunny teeth. :)

Rabbit Teeth

2008-09-09T15:33:00.004-05:00

I had my dentist's appointment today and it was horrifying. I was there for 3 hours having chunks of old crown sawed/drilled/yanked off, sitting around looking like a gremlin with pointy little tooth nubs, and then getting "temporaries" installed. I think a better word would be gigantic glowing bunny teeth. I look like $&#*@* Rodger Rabbit, and of course, I have a wedding to attend this weekend where I will see a bunch of people I know. I feel like crying. To make matters worse, I can't even touch the rest of my teeth together, so I guess chewing is out of the question for the next 2 weeks as well. At least I will by a skinny rabbit. :(

This past week Chris and I took a few days off of work to go up to North Carolina. Chris was supposed to go on a big fishing trip off the coast, but it got cancelled because of Hurricane Ike. We had a lot of fun anyway spending time with Grammy, Mima, Papa, Andy, Anna, and Chris' cousin Joyce and her two kids. All was well until Chris pointed out the one of the tires on our little Subaru was completely bare. I guess the alignment was off very badly and ruined the tires. All of them. We got stuck in South Carolina on Sunday night and had to drive back on Monday, when Chris and I were both supposed to be back at work. 4 new tires and a newly aligned car later, we finally made it back home. Whew! The trip was so much fun, but it's too bad it had to end on such an annoying note.

Needless to say, my nerves are kind of fried. I'll write a nicer post later in the week to tell you all about the wonderful things Peanut is doing these days. For now, I'm going to hop-hop-hop out the door before anyone else sees me.

Laura Longtooth

All worked up about nothing.

2008-08-26T12:59:00.002-05:00

I went to the dentist today expecting to go through the horrifying experience of having my front teeth removed (the crowns, anyway) and replaced with temporary veneers to wear until my new crowns were ready. I was so nervous/anxious/terrified that I couldn't even eat lunch. I went to the dentists office and sat in the chair waiting, hands shaking and sweating. I met with the dentist, and she said that she'd like me to do 2 more weeks of bleaching before they move forward. You'd think I would be relieved, but it was almost a let down not having something done after all of my worry! I think I wore myself out, because I really feel like I need a nap now.

But, on a better note, the dentist was really nice and seems really committed to making sure my teeth will look fabulous, bright, and shiny when they're done. That does make me feel better. So, I'll put my heeby-jeebies on hold for 2 weeks and just keep on bleachin!

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth...."

-

Whew!

2008-08-25T09:02:00.003-05:00

By the way, I had a very relaxing, do absolutely nothing weekend, and feel so much better because of it. Mission accomplished.

Tomorrow is my first major dental appointment- Yikes. Will update on how that goes.

Little Chris!

2008-08-25T08:59:00.002-05:00

Chris' mom sent me this picture of Chris when he was about Parker's age. How hilarious! I can really see now that Parker is a good mix of both of us. I think I'll try and scan a photo of myself at this age as well so you can compare the two.

I can see the light!

2008-08-22T09:28:00.002-05:00

My hell week is nearly over, and of course I will finish it with a bang by working late into the evening tonight, and returning home at 10pm. Peanut will stay late at Deborah's house, and be entertained by Emma and the cats. Chris left this morning to New York city, where he will DJ all weekend. Lucky him! The good news is that I have been excused from having to work tomorrow, for which I am SO thankful! I think I may just lie on the carpet all weekend and let Parker use me as a jungle gym.

Peanut is doing great. He's not walking yet- still cruising around on the furniture and crawling after me wherever I go. So sweet. He has hit a really fun stage where he is very interactive and really funny. I think he is going to be a little clown. He's very into tweaking noses this week. He thinks it's really funny to pinch my nose and make me squeal. He's got 4 teeth now, and has the funniest little beaver smile. Love it.

Believe it or not, I bought my books to start my masters program next week. (Actually, the undergraduate pre-requisite marketing course I need to start my Masters, but whatever...). I started flipping through the pages of my $200 text book (gasp) last night, and actually got really excited about being back in school. I got that excited rush I used to get at the beginning of each school year, before the disenchantment sets in and you realize how much work you're in for. For now though, it feels good to be doing something just for me.

Hopefully my next post will be letting you know that I feel rested and rejuvinated after a relaxing weekend. :)

10 hours til the weekend...

From a couple of months ago...

2008-08-21T09:41:00.001-05:00

A picture of Parker's first time swinging. I just found this photo on our neighbor's Facebook page from their daughter's birthday party. Parker had so much fun swinging! Weeeee!

Love my Hubby...

2008-08-20T13:49:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to say that I have the sweetest husband ever. He wrote me the most loving, complimentary email this morning and made my whole week. Thanks, Honey! No matter what I have to face at work this week, I can feel content and happy that I have such a wonderful family to come home to. xoxoxo

Too cute.

2008-08-18T08:09:00.002-05:00

Move-in day and Orientation for new students was this weekend, and I just had to post this super-cute picture of two of my student leaders with our school mascot, the Golden Tiger.

Half... Way... There...

2008-08-15T13:54:00.002-05:00

My super long, exhausting, complicated, demanding, everlasting week is half way over, and I'm feeling good about that. Some of the student leaders I manage at work are back at school and preparing for the arrival of our new students tomorrow. Their energy and enthusiasm is helping me stay upbeat, despite having to work all weekend.

My dentist's appointment went ok. My tooth isn't too badly broken, but they said that because my crowns are 11 years old, it really is time to replace them. The good news is that they are going to look a lot better and more natural than they do now. The bad news is that insurance only covers 50%, and the remaining balance is $1,400. Ouch. At lease this is a once every 10-15 year deal. I'm looking forward to my new smile.

Parker is having a good week, and despite being very busy, I've still been able to spend a good bit of time with him. He is so much fun. I fall in love with him every day.

Chris has been really sweet and supportive this week, as he knows I have tons going on. Parker has been really "Daddy attached" lately, which I know makes him feel good. He has said "Dada" to Chris many times over the past few weeks, and really seems to know what he's saying. He also makes a sound that sounds a lot like "kitty kitty" when he sees the cat sometimes. So cute!

Ok- I've got to run over and visit P, but wanted to tell you that things are fine, and I haven't lost my mind yet. Actually, it's been fun having some of the students back in the building. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Love,
Laura

Longest week ever...

2008-08-11T08:23:00.002-05:00

Last week was pretty much crappy start to finish. Parker got a fever of 102 on Monday evening and I stayed home with the poor, miserable little guy on Tuesday. The doc said he probably just had a bug and to keep him hydrated. I went back to work Wednesday and had parents of students calling to complain about our new payment system, the raise in tution, lack of financial aid, etc. Since the economy is so bad, we're losing students whose families are reconsidering a $26,000 yearly investment in their daughter's high school education. This is no bueno in my department.

Friday was the only fun day of the week. We went to our friends Jacy and Jared's house to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies. Wow. It was amazing. We also ate our own version of Chinese food (Rachel Ray's chinese chicken meatballs and spaghetti) and pot stickers and egg rolls.

Saturday morning we went out to breakfast and in the middle of the meal I broke off part of one of my front teeth. I have had porcelain crowns on my front teeth since I broke them off in 4th grade. I may have to have them both replaced because they are nearly impossible to patch. Crud! Later that day I started to feel really bad, and ended up with the same high fever that Parker had earlier in the week. Now I have a super sore throat, and guess what?, this is the week I get to work all 7 days! Joy!

I'm now in survival mode... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Monday...already?

2008-08-04T12:59:00.002-05:00

It seems that our weekend was over in the blink of an eye. So was that brief period of time that we had a tiny baby! Parker is now 9 months old, is growing out of his cute baby-pudge, is crawling, standing up, cruising, climbing stairs, growing teeth, and beginning to form words. I look at him and marvel...where did this little boy come from?

This weekend Chris, Parker and I went to a new community pool that opened in our neighborhood. It has a "beach entry" for wee ones like Parker, and some fun fountains to play in. Parker, as always, was thrilled to be in the water, and was even more excited to "baby watch" as there were lots of other little ones there. Later that day we went on a trek to find the nearest Red Robin restaurant. I was craving one of their Bonzai Burgers and some strawberry lemonade! We drove forever, but had a great time once we got there. It is so much fun now that Parker is eating some table food and can try little bites of what we're eating. He loved bits of cheeseburger, blueberries, graham crackers and is crazy about strawberry yogurt!

Ok, well, I've got tons to do at work. Ugh! Ta ta for now!

What a relief! (literally)

2008-07-28T13:39:00.003-05:00

Well, Parker is doing much better now and his daily supplement is doing just what it should. Whew! He is sleeping better and isn't suffering from the constant tummy aches he was having before. He is also "cruising" on the furniture, crawling at an ever increasing speed, and getting into everything! He had a weird look on his face on Friday night and he stuck out his tongue with a dried up leaf on it. Eew!

Chris spent a lot of time playing with us this weekend, which was so much fun. We went to the park (despite the fact that it was a million degrees and soggy humid) and Daddy pushed Parker in the baby swing and went down a few different slides with him. Parker loved it. I can't wait until it cools off some and we can spend more than 25 minutes there before we wimp out and retreat to the AC.

Parker also discovered this weekend that he thinks sneezing is hilarious. Chris had a sneezing fit and Parker giggled. Then Chris performed a few more pretend sneezes and Parker started laughing hysterically. He has the best sense of humor. He also thinks chasing the dog around the house in Mommy's arms is a riot. What a fun age he is right now.

I don't know if a drum roll is in order, but we think Parker may have said his first intentional word last night. Chris had been saying "Dada" to him all weekend, and last night when he was changing Parker's diaper, Parker looked at him and clearly said "Dada." Why is it Dad's always win out on that one? Anyway, we're excited that we might have a little talker soon, although I will miss the crazy little language he speaks in now when he learns "real words." :) He is also starting to wave "bye bye" which is super cute.

Hope everybody is having a great Monday!

Update #2

2008-07-22T15:25:00.003-05:00

Parker Pooped!!! Sadly, he did also throw up, but at least he pooped. Hopefully now that he's on his medicine, next time will be easier. Thank you for sending your special poo poo prayers. They worked. :)

Update

2008-07-22T14:33:00.001-05:00

I feel better today and am not so stressed... although there still has been no relief for poor Peanut. Pray for poo poo.

-L

Plugged Up.

2008-07-21T08:57:00.002-05:00

Ever since Parker started eating "real" food, he has been pooping only 1-2 times a week. I called his nurse line to see if I should be worried, and they told me to start giving him prunes and apple juice. I did.... to no avail. So then, a few weeks ago, Parker started throwing up every time he pooped. He didn't get upset when it happened, but naturally, it was very concerning to me. We went to the doctor on Friday and they said some babies just take longer to adjust to digesting food, and prescribed Miralax once daily in his juice. 4 days later, we're still waiting for a result. There's nothing worse than feeling like there could be something wrong with your darling baby.

I've been stressed and high strung lately already, for a variety of reasons: job changes for Chris, travel, company, Chris traveling, my job demands, etc., and worrying about Parker and his health coupled with the sleep loss that is coming along with his tummy aches has put me in a funk. I feel exhausted and emotional. Hopefully it is just today that it is really getting to me and it will pass. I think a good cry might also be in order. I'm heading up on a couple of the busiest work weeks I have all year where I will be working 8+ days in a row. Thinking about it makes my blood pressure go up, but after those days are over I will be able to relax and recoup a little.

I would feel so much better if I could just go on a walk a few days a week, which is something I love to do and is great at improving my perspective, but it has been so $&*#*@ hot here lately I would die of a heat stroke if I tried to walk, let alone taking Parker along with me in his stroller. Bah! Ok, Thanks for listening to my rant. I (obviously) am having an off day and appreciate those of you who care to read my ramblings. :)

Don't worry... I'll be better tomorrow. :)

Love,
Looney Laura

More pics...

2008-07-15T08:27:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday, Mima!!

2008-07-15T08:20:00.003-05:00

Mima Beth came to town this past weekend and we had such a nice visit. She arrived Thursday, Chris cooked us a delicious dinner, and on Friday Mima helped with Parker while I worked from home. On Saturday we went to Lowes and I got all of the supplies I needed to sand, prime, and paint our coffee table, which I did, but it was a lot more work than I thought it would be. Whew! On Sunday we took Mima out for a celebratory birthday dinner since her birthday was yesterday. What a nice weekend!

As always, Mima took lots of pictures and sent them to us yesterday! Hooray! As you can see, we had lots of fun with our Peanut!

Parker's first 4th of July!

2008-07-08T12:13:00.007-05:00

This past weekend we spent the 4th of July with friends up at Lake Blue Ridge in Georgia near the Tennessee border. We stayed at a really cute cabin with 10 other people, ate lots of good food, played in the lake, and visited with friends. Here are some photos!

For New Moms to Be...

2008-07-08T09:31:00.003-05:00

I have a few friends who are expecting babies right now, and one of them asked me for some advice on what to register for. Now, as you know, I'm no expert. I've only had one baby and he's only 8 months old, but here was what I came up with. If you have a baby and have things to add to this, or have different thoughts on various products, please comment so my other expecting friends can benefit from your experiences! Parker may not have liked something that your baby really enjoyed! :)

1. Diapers- are you planning to do disposable or cloth diapers?
We have only done disposable diapers mostly because we are a super busy working family and just couldn't imagine either laundering cloth diapers or being organized enough to manage a diaper service routine. If you want to be as earth friendly as possible and have time/energy to make it happen, go for cloth. I will note, however, that I read in one of my books that the amount of water used in laundering diapers may be as damaging as the waste created by disposables. Not sure how credible that is. If you choose disposable, pick a diaper receptacle you like to register for. Let people know exactly what kind of diapers you want (we really liked Pampers Swaddlers- ask for size 1 and up. If you have a bigger baby they won’t fit in NB size for long). If you have a small/average baby, you can buy the number of NB size w/ gift cards.
2. Feeding- are you planning to bottle feed or breast feed?
If planning to formula feed, even partially, ask for gift cards to places that sell formula. This is one of the most expensive baby items! You won’t know which formula is a best fit for your baby until you try a couple, but ask your doc for some suggestions. When we supplement we use Enfamil Lipil. Parker likes it, but it does give him more gas than breast milk. Also pick a bottle set to register for (we use Avent, and I know a number of people who swear by Dr. Brown’s).
If planning to try and breast feed, I would recommend waiting to buy an expensive pump. I know a few moms who planned on breast feeding, bought a $200 pump, and then it didn’t work out for some reason. They are easy enough to pick up once you know that feeding is going to work for you.
*Of course I have to include a plug encouraging you to breast feed! It is such a fulfilling experience and is great for baby! 

3. Where is baby going to sleep?
I knew I wanted Parker to be in the same room with us for the first few months, so we wanted the cuddle nest and a pack’n’play to have in our room. This is totally up to your parenting preferences. Some families choose to put baby in the crib from day one, which would be convenient for you since your room is right across the way. I would do a lot of reading about what your options are and what feels like a fit for you. I feel like my parenting style is a very close fit with the “attachment parenting model: Dr. Sears,” but there are lots of other books out there. Co-sleeping is not for everybody, but once again, we have definitely enjoyed the special bonding time it allows. 

4. Car seats/etc.-
-I don’t know that I would get a “travel system” again. I would get a nice, lightweight*, carseat and one of those handy metal frame buggies you can plop it into for the first 8 months when you need to. Make sure your carseat can fit into a grocery cart child seat! Mine weighs a ton and would not fit there so it was impossible to grocery shop! Then, pick a nice stroller to use from 6 months on with the following features: reclining seat, baby tray with space for sippy cup and cheerios, mommy tray with place for water bottle and keys, canopy. I haven’t found the perfect stroller with these features that will fold up and fit in a car trunk, but I’m sure its out there!  Definitely go on line and read customer ratings before buying anything.
-We LOVE our Britax roundabout convertible carseat. We began using this when Parker outgrew his infant seat. You could, technically, just use it from the beginning, but you couldn’t tote it around like an infant seat, which comes in pretty handy. I would definitely recommend this brand for the future even though it is more expensive. They are very well made and comfortable for baby.

Other things we like:

Evenflo Exersaucer- very entertaining and a good way to keep him busy in one spot while making dinner or doing laundry!
Canus Goats Milk baby products- very soothing on the skin and smell amazing!
Door Frame bouncer- endless entertainment for baby and parents!
Fisher Price portable booster seat- this is great when you are traveling to a place without a high chair. You could even use it on a picnic. Parker was able to use it starting at 6 months and it straps onto any normal kitchen chair and is only about $25.00. Great for grandma and grandpa’s house!

Those are the main areas, now, I can tell you a few things we didn’t use (and you’re welcome to them!):
1. Tummy Time mats…. Babies can have tummy time anywhere and aren’t old enough to care about the mat when they need to be doing “tummy time”.
2. Exercise mats with things that hang down to play with…. Once again, Parker usually just wanted to play on a blanket with toys he could really get a hold of. He did, however, like to watch a mobile in the crib.
3. Bumbo seat- some people swear by these, but for the price, I didn’t think it was all that great. At first he just sort of slumped over in it, and by the time he fit it better it just annoyed him to be so immobilized.
4. Baby Bjorn carrier- For heavens sake don’t spend $100 on one of these things. The other brands do exactly the same thing and you can find them anywhere for around $25.00!

I’m sure I’ll think of more later, but this is a start! 

So Much News!!!

2008-07-02T15:51:00.002-05:00

Well, I have 9 minutes before I need to head over to pick up Peanut, so I'll see how efficiently I can cram all of our news into one quick blog. My trip to Oregon was fun, fast, not particularly relaxing, but worth the while. Parker did quite well on the plane minus a few little outbursts because of hurty ears, but to mommy it felt like we were on the plane for about 30 hours instead of 6. We got into Portland around 11 pm on Tuesday and spent the next day visiting with family, shopping, and driving. On Wednesday we got the VERY EXCITING NEWS that Chris had been offered a job at Cartoon Network, which he happily accepted. As he said over the phone "That was great: I got a three week vacation, a three thousand dollar raise, and a job I like better!" Not too shabby!

On Friday my parents, peanut and I went to the Roseburg Arts Festival and chatted with some local artists that my parents know from the community. That was fun since I have been going to that event since I was Parker's age! I bought a couple of pretty photographs to bring home.

On Saturday we had a party for some of our family friends to come over and meet Parker. He met Jan and Dick, Virginia (our neighbor), Francis Sohn, Manya, Judy, and got to see auntie Leah again. That night we went out to eat with the Mullers (Leah's fam) at my favorite Chinese resteraunt. Yummy!

Uh oh.... two minutes to go.... Ok- So we drove up early Sunday, saw Aunt Kathy, uncle Paul, and my cousin Kristin and her husband Mark and their two cute kiddos, Cassie and Luke. Then we headed over to Auntie April's house and visited with her and Auntie Fletcher for a few hours. We had a nice dinner with my folks and the aunties and the next morning were back on the plane! Whew. I think that's about it.
Gotta run!

Love,
L

Cheerios, lint, and dog food...

2008-06-23T12:47:00.002-05:00

Parker started eating Cheerios last week, and then little lint balls he found on the floor, and then dog food Lennox dribbled onto the carpet. Oh my, how my little Peanut is growing up! He is also crawling the speed of light, pulling up to a standing position on anything he can get a hold of (including the dog), and has begun complaining if you take something away from him (magazine he is eating, ball point pen he found, giant ball of cat hair the cat kicked off...).

Things are still a little stressful for us right now, but at least one thing got sorted out. Chris' tax lady (our new personal hero) somehow got things straightened out with the IRS and we got our tax return. Although Chris may still have identity theft issues in the future b/c his SS card was stolen a few years ago, this was unrelated and easy to fix. Thank Goodness!!!!

Our fingers are still crossed for Chris and his job search. He got a very frustrating call last week from Cartoon Network letting him know that he was the candidate they had selected to hire for the position to which he applied, but the same day the paperwork was submitted to finalize the offer, the company underwent a hiring freeze. We still don't know if they can squeak him in, or if that opportunity has now been eliminated. The HR lady also warned Chris that if he is given the position and the branch undergoes cut-backs, his position as a new employee would be the first to go. Wow, that's encouraging. Chris will still be receiving severance for a couple of months, so we're not in any immediate danger, but I can't help but feeling a little nervous anyway. He does have a couple of other options on the horizon though, so I just have to trust that things will work out as they should, as they always do.

So, on a lighter and most fabulous note, I got the very exciting news today that my long lost friend, Jessa, is expecting a baby!!!! CONGRATULATIONS John and Jessa on the great news! Jessa and I were very close friends in junior high before she and her mom moved down to the Palm Desert California. I visited there once but we lost track of eachother after we headed into high school and college. We have re-connected over the net and have been keeping up with one another via one another's blog. (Ah, the age of the internet...) Anyway, I am overjoyed about their news. Hooray, hoorah, yipee! There is truly nothing better in the whole wide world. :)

As you know, tomorrow I head to Oregon. I'm almost packed, and am left now to let my anxiety build about a cross country plane ride with an almost 8 month old (can he possibly be 8 months...??? GASP!) I'm sure it will be ok, but please think calm, relaxing thoughts for me tomorrow evening. :)

Ok- lots to do, lots to do. Will update from Oregon.

LOVE,
L

Girls just want to have fun!

2008-06-17T09:23:00.002-05:00

You will never guess what I ended up doing last night. Yesterday afternoon my friend, Christi, called me and said "I have a surprise for you." She had gotten her hands on some tickets to see Cindy Lauper at this neat little Ampitheater in Atlanta, and invited me to join her! I picked up Parker a little early, dropped him off with Daddy, and flew to the concert venue. The concert was part of the "True Colors Tour" which, obviously, is geared around the gay community (which is HUGE in Atlanta). It was quite a lively and interesting croud, and we had so much fun dancing and listening to great '80s music. The B-52's played, Cindy Lauper played, and Rosie O'Donnel and that guy Carson from Queer Eye For the Straight Guy did some stand up, which really was funny. Chastain Ampitheatre is a really cool venue b/c you get seats and a table, so you can bring a picnic to eat while you watch the show. Christi, MaryBeth and I had some great food to nibble and shared a bottle of wine. I was really overdue for a fun, stress-free girls night, and I feel so rejuvinated today even though I didn't get a lot of sleep. Fun times! :)

Oregon bound!

2008-06-12T09:30:00.003-05:00

I just realized that in all of the hustle and bustle of the past few weeks I never mentioned that I will be coming home to Oregon for a week this month. Parker and I are flying to Portland on June 24th and will fly back to ATL on the 30th. We will be spending the week in the Burg with Gramma and Granpa, enjoying some rest and relaxation. I'm a little nervous about flying that far with the Peanut all by myself, but I'm sure he'll be a trooper.

I was just thinking back to what I was doing a year ago, and realized that I made a trip to Oregon at almost the exact same time to attend my baby shower. My friend Tessa must have read my mind, because today she sent me this picture that she took at the shower. I looked at this picture and could not believe that just a year ago I was not yet truly a mother, and today it is so much of who I am. Amazing how a year (even a moment) can change us.

I don't have any more updates about our many complicated scenarios, but will keep you posted. Keep sending those good thoughts our way!

Ok, this is getting ridiculous...

2008-06-11T08:33:00.004-05:00

Someone please blow away the dark cloud that has settled over our house, because this is getting ridiculous! The IRS called last week to let us know that we have been "Red flagged" because Chris filed his taxes twice. Of course, Chris did not file twice, so we called our H & R Block folks to see what the deal was. Chris talked to the IRS and the tax lady, and apparently someone else filed under Chris' name with his social number. What does this mean? The identity theft that Chris has battled since 2005 has re-emerged in a big way, we won't get our much needed tax refund until who-knows-when, and we have one more thing to worry about! AAAAAAAAAaaaahhhhh!!!

If anyone knows how to deal with this type of thing or has any advice, please let me know. Chris is meeting with Tax Lady tomorrow and they are going to call the IRS together to see what needs to happen next. I'm hoping the info this moron provided on "his" tax paperwork will lead us right to his door so we can have him prosecuted. What a *@)!)#*$&) misery!!!

In the mean time, we're still waiting to hear back from a couple of the places Chris interviewed (fingers crossed!!!!!). It sure would have been nice to have that refund check so we could feel a little more secure right now, but hey, that would be just too easy, wouldn't it.

I would say it's about time for the Nicholson Family to have some super Good Luck!!! Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket... Will definitely be praying for an end to this unlucky streak we've been on. Don't worry, I do not forget how many blessings we have regardless of this rough patch. We have a caring and supportive family, the most beautiful, hilarious, and charismatic little boy alive, a roof over our heads and love for eachother. Ah, I feel better already just having listed those things.

Love,
So far evading a nervous breakdown Laura

Pets

2008-06-09T08:20:00.002-05:00

On Friday Lennox went to the vet because he has chewed a giant hole in his back and neurotically chews on it all day long, every day. Gross. We thought it was just a hot spot and have been waiting for it to go away (for months) but it hasn't. We were worried he had some sort of tumor or skin disease or something, so we finally broke down and took him to the doc. Apparently he is just severely allergic to fleas, and any time he comes in contact with a flea his skin is going to erupt. We have been treating all the pets for fleas, but come on, now and again he's going to run into a flea. Super. Anyway, we came home with a couple of bottles of meds, and a dog with a giant lampshade around his neck. He has been walking around like a blind person, running into every thing, all weekend long.

Saturday was pretty low-key. It was about a million degrees and humid here, so we didn't leave the house much. We went grocery shopping and lounged around the house for most of the day. Parker is getting his second tooth and has been a little less chipper than usual. He's also had some constipation problems, which is really sad to watch! We're implementing some prunes into his daily diet. Poor little guy!

On Sunday we arranged to have our friends Jacy and Jared come over to watch Parker while we went out to dinner together, which we haven't done for ages. In preparation, we spent the whole day cleaning the house so that it would look nice while J & J were there. It was a big cleaning process, but it feels good to have the place back in order. Some time in the early afternoon I realized that I hadn't seen Marvin for a few hours. We looked high and low all over the house, and could not find him! Marvin has been looking punier than usualy lately, and I had a horrible feeling that he had crawled away somewhere and was not ok. We still hadn't found him when we went to dinner, so I worried about him the whole time in addition to worrying about whether Parker was ok or not. So much for a relaxing, romantic date! We did, at least, have a very nice dinner and bottle of wine.

When we got back, Parker had been upset, which made me sad, but he calmed down, ate, and passed out as soon as he had Mommy back. Jared and Chris went to the back deck to let Lennox out and suddenly Jared saw Marvin pop out from under the deck!!! He was out there all day long in temperatures nearing 100 degrees! What was he thinking!!! We have no idea how he escaped, but he scared the daylights out of me. He seemed very nonchalant about the whole thing. Little Booger.

So, that was the big weekend update. Chris had an interview last week at Cartoon Network and should hear back some time this week. Keep him in your thoughts, prayers, cross your fingers and anything else you can think of to do in hope that he gets an offer. This is a job he would really enjoy! :)

I'm super tired today, but wanted to keep you in the know.

Luv,
Laura

A Tooth!

2008-06-04T08:17:00.002-05:00

The first time we thought a tooth was coming in, it was a false alarm. This time Parker is teething for real! He has a tooth coming in that we can see and feel! Pretty soon he'll have one of those cute two teeth grins. :)

Bye Bye!!!

2008-06-03T09:26:00.001-05:00

Parker waved Bye Bye to me for the first time this morning when I dropped him off at Deborah's.... My little boy is growing up so fast... tear!

2008-06-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

Oh, What a week!

2008-06-02T10:26:00.002-05:00

Well, this week I have some fun news to share, and some not so fun news to share. My spider bite is looking much better, thank goodness, so I can scratch that off the list of things to worry about. We had back-to-back meetings last week at work, which means I had a voicemail full of people annoyed they couldn't reach me when I got back to my desk. Joy. And last but not least, we got the unfortunate news that Chris had been laid off, along with half of the employees at his company. Not to worry- we will be fine and he has already set up a bunch of interviews, but it was a little scary (for me at least... but then I worry about everything).

Beth "Mima" came to visit, which was so nice. She did a great job of lifting our spirits and Parker had a great time playing with her. As she always does, she took tons of great pictures, which I will post today. Parker is really crawling now and is getting faster and faster day by day. If I walk out of the room for a second while he is playing on the floor he starts to follow me. So sweet.

More news later...

Cutie!

2008-05-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

This is a cell phone pic, so not very clear. Sure is cute though! :)

My Little Swimmer!

2008-05-27T08:44:00.002-05:00

Parker went swimming for the first time this Sunday in the pool at one of our friend's loft community. HE LOVED IT!!! We buttered him up in baby sunblock, got some swimmer diapers and swim trunks, put a hat on him, and even got him some super cute baby sunglasses! He was stylin! Chris got in the water with him and towed him around. Paker kicked his little feet and squealed and giggled the whole time. We have a little water baby! :)

On a less exciting note, I got a weird bug bite on Thursday, which turned out to be a poisonous spider bite. First it just got really swollen, but then opened up into a big dime-sized sore. I had to go to the urgent care place to get some meds. Yuck. It's looking better now, but will definitely leave a scar. Alas.

Today I'm back at work. I'm really, really tired today and my usual coffee shop is closed. How dare they!!! I'm going to have to go sniff out a cup somewhere else before I fall fast asleep on my keyboard.

TTFN-
Laura

One Big Day!

2008-05-20T12:26:00.001-05:00

Today is not only our 2 year wedding anniversary and the day of Chris' job interview, it is also the day that Parker first pushed himself up to a sitting position all on his own! He even sat there for a while smiling and playing after he did it! Way to go Parker! He is also on the move and learning to crawl- he can get nearly anywhere he wants to be now, which is great for him, a little scary for us! He's not a power-crawler yet and is still working out the logistics, but I can tell we don't have much time left before we're chasing him around the house. Yikes!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Stu!

2008-05-19T12:56:00.001-05:00

My dad is celebrating his birthday today! We wish you a great, relaxing, and celebratory day, Dad! We love you!!!

Also, everybody think good thoughts for Chris tomorrow! He has an interview for a new job opportunity that would be a fun and exciting change. Tomorrow should be a lucky day to interview since it is also our 2 year wedding anniversary! WOW! How the time flies...

Love you, Chris! GOOD LUCK!!!

I like this quote:

2008-05-15T10:43:00.000-05:00

Albert Einstein - "There are two ways to live your life - one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle."

Gramma and Granpa meet Bill...

2008-05-14T14:53:00.003-05:00

...Clinton that is... in Roseburg of all places!!! Most of you may not know that my first cousin, Hannah Richert, is Bill Clinton's personal assistant (no, not like Monica...). She works out of New York and has worked for the Clintons for many years now. Anyway, she called my dad two days ago to ask if he wanted to shake Bill's hand while he was campaigning for Hillary in my home town. Mom and Dad were personally introduced to Bill and got their picture taken! How about that! (*Uh oh, Mima and Papa- please don't disown us! :))

My First Mother's Day!

2008-05-13T08:26:00.003-05:00

Sunday was such a nice, relaxing day for the Nicholson family! :) Chris made me a wonderful breakfast: a fritatta with basil from my herb garden, tiny tomatoes and cheese from Oregon :), sliced bananas and strawberries, and a biscuit! Yummy! Chris mowed the lawn and then we went out and got a new cell phone for me b/c my old one kept falling apart, and then we ate dinner at Noodle, a really yummy Thai noodle place. We came home, did some chores around the house, and got to bed nice and early! Ahhhh. Parker made me a mother's day card with Deborah with stamps of his cute little feet on the front! So sweet! I also got happy Mother's Day wishes from lots of my friends, which made me feel very special. Thank you, everyone!

A couple of weeks ago when my parents were in town, we got Parker's 6 month pictures taken. We got to see the proofs online yesterday, and they are soooooo cute! If you want to check them out, go to hnmphotography.com and click on clients, view proofs, and then select Nicholson. The password is parker. He is our little Gerber baby! ;)

Ta ta for now!
L

So much to say, so little time!

2008-05-08T08:19:00.004-05:00

Sorry to have fallen off the blog wagon for a moment- we have had a very, very busy week! Let me backtrack a bit and fill you in briefly on the past few weeks:

*My big Open House on April 26th went really really well and Parker and his Daddy had a great time hanging out for almost 8 whole hours! They went walking, took a nap, and played. This was the longest I have been away from Peanut, and I did just fine too! We're all growing up. :)

*May 1st: Parker had his 6 month check up at the doctor, and once again, was 50th percentile for height and weight- absolutely perfect! (16lb, 14oz, 26.5 inches:) The doc gave us the green light to try any baby food we want. Here are the results: Apples= good stuff... love 'em Sweet Potatoes= yummy! Ate almost the whole jar! Bananas= taste good, make tummy very upset! Peas= still not overly enthusiastic, but will eat them in a pinch.

*Physical milestones: Parker can sit up, roll all over the place, and is about to crawl. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He can also get up on his hands and feet with his bottom in the air. Very cute!

*Gramma and Granpa came to visit which was so much fun! We played games, got our picture taken together, went for walks, and ate lots of yummy food, and went shopping! Unfortunately, Parker was having some tummy trouble for the second half of their visit, but aside from that, we had a blast! Too bad the time went by so fast. :(

*Exciting News! Parker's Godparents and our good friends are expecting a baby! Congratulations Andy and Anna! We could not be more happy for you and can't wait to meet your little Kennedy Bean! :)

Ok- I feel at least kind of caught up now. Whew!

Up next: My first real mother's day! :)

Parker is 6 months old Today!!!!

2008-04-30T08:40:00.002-05:00

Happy 1/2 birthday, Peanut! I cannot believe how fast our first 6 months together (face to face, that is) have gone!!! You have brought more joy, happiness, and fulfillment to my life than I could have ever imagined. Every day you amaze me as much as the day you were born. What lucky parents we are. xoxoxo- Mama

P.S.- To celebrate your big day, Gramma and Granpa are arriving this evening for a visit. How exciting!!! :)

Happy Bloggiversary!

2008-04-27T14:36:00.003-05:00

I just realized that a few days ago was my Blog's one year anniversary! I am so amazed that I have managed to keep it up for a whole year! I have tried so many times to keep a journal, and always give up after a few days. Somehow having an audience for my thoughts gives me more incentive to put my experiences down in words.

Well, today I cleaned up the most giant, explosive poo I have ever seen. Usually I try to spare you the dirty little details of parenthood, but today I just can't help but mention that I spent a good portion of an hour cleaning poo out of Parker's hair, armpits, bouncy seat, changing station cover, outfit, and laundry hamper. WOW. Eating foods has opened up a whole new world of diaper changing. Ok. That's all I'll say about that.

I just got done cleaning out our showers with my new 'Green Works' cleaner (new non-chemical Clorox product). I really like this line. It smells good, it doesn't bleach stuff, and it gets the job done as well as other cleaners I've tried (for the most part). As I was scrubbing (without gloves, nice), I was thinking that someone could really make some money opening a 'Green' cleaning service that only uses eco-friendly products. The whole 'green' movement is so big right now, I bet you could make a killing in a neighborhood of yuppies (as my dad likes to call them) who want to do the in thing and be green, but want someone else to clean their house. I was thinking it could be called "Squeeky Green". I was sure I was about to become a millionaire, but as it turns out the catchy phrase is already being used by Target line, Method. Oh well. There go my millions (again).

I have another tub to scrub before Peanut wakes up from his nap, so I better go. Hope you had a great weekend. Oh, just realized I forgot to update you on my Saturday. Will do that tomorrow.

Luv, Laura

Eeeew, Peas!

2008-04-23T09:31:00.003-05:00

Well, over the span of a week, Parker has decided that he was mistakenly enthusiastic about eating peas. Chris tried to feed him some last night and he turned his head from side to side and got irritated. As it turns out, he was holding out for baby applesauce mixed with rice cereal. Can you blame him?

Parker and I enjoyed our relaxing weekend last week. We went to a cook-out with friends and had a play date with 1 year old neighbor, Holland. They were pretty funny together. Holland would pry toys out of Parker's hand, which he didn't seem to mind, and he would tug on the back of her shirt over and over, which she tolerated. :) Holland's mom, Ashley, and I enjoyed a glass of wine and some snacks.

We were all ready for Daddy to come home on Sunday (tired Mommy, neurotic Doggy, and full-of-energy Baby). Chris had a good trip, but was excited to be back home from San Francisco. He played two good shows, met some weird San Fran folks, and ate some delicious West Coast food.

...And then we all went back to work on Monday!

I have another Open House this weekend, but this one is going to be big! I have 11 families (32 people), coming to learn more about Brenau. I'm so excited that we received so many RSVP's for our first Prospective Student Open House!!! It almost makes me feel better about working all day Saturday... sigh.

More later...

Zombie Mommy

Yummmmmm....Peas!

2008-04-17T08:18:00.003-05:00

I just realized I forgot to mention that Parker started eating rice cereal a couple of weeks ago, which he loved, and this week he got to try his first real food... PEAS! I went to Whole Foods and got a bunch of organic baby foods for him to try. My book said to start with a vegetable, so he wouldn't get hooked on the sweet stuff right away (bananas, apples, etc.) and reject other stuff. Parker LOVED his peas!!! I couldn't shovel them in fast enough and he was grabbing the spoon and smearing peas all over the place. It was hilarious!

I had planned on waiting until Parker was 6 months old to introduce any foods like my breast feeding book suggests (yes, I'm still doing it and proud of it!), but Parker was getting hungrier and hungrier between feedings, reaching for our food, and is sprouting a tooth, which were all signs that it was a good time to go ahead and let him start trying some of the good stuff. Besides, he will be six months in two weeks (how is that possible!), so we weren't far off of the recommended time line. We introduce one food per week, so I'm excited to see what he thinks about sweet potatoes next week! Wahoo!

Chris is leaving tomorrow for yet another trip. This time to San Francisco where he will dj at a huge club that holds 2,000 people. I'm so jealous that he gets to go out to the West Coast without us. :( We will miss Daddy tons while he is gone, but Parker and I will enjoy having a relaxed weekend at home, with no company, and no big plans. Ahhhhhh.

In two weeks Gramma and Granpa Richert will be visiting from Oregon! Yippee! The last time they saw Parker was the first week of January, so they are in for a real surprise when they see their little grand-peanut. I'm so looking forward to spending time with Mom, going for daily walks with Dad, and having some nice family time all together. I have scheduled a 6-month photo shoot with a photographer here in Gainesville for that weekend so we can get some great Parker pics, and a few family shots.

Ok- I've got a phone interview to conduct in a moment, but wanted to update you on our latest adventures with food.

Love and Whirrled Peas,

Laura

I spy with my little eye...

2008-04-14T08:08:00.002-05:00

...a teeny tiny fleck of tooth in Parker's little mouth!!! Oh boy, here we come teething! Hopefully it won't be too hard on my sweet Peanut. I'll write more about the weekend later, but wanted to share the news. Our little boy is growing up so fast!