Blast From the Past....Part 2

Here are some pictures from long ago.......

8th Grade (around the time Eric and I dated for the first time)

Guessing by the candles, I would say I am 7?
Christmas 1982?
Fat baby!!
This is my brother....I think Carter looks just like him as a baby.

Random Fact #20

I hate money.

Seriously. Money stresses me out. I am tired of being stressed over money; wondering how rent is going to get paid and how we are going to eat. If we could just get out of this hole we are in.................grrrr!

Random Fact #19

I am afraid of the dark.

I'll admit it - I am 26 years old and still afraid of the dark. I'm not sure why - too many scary movies? Definitely a possibility. My imagination runs overtime and I hate being in the dark.......whether it's in my own house, someone else's house, driving in the car, camping, etc. There are times where I still run and jump on the bed! Seriously! And camping really wierds me out because you are out in the middle of the wilderness with wild, unpredictable animals. Having a gun makes me feel somewhat safer........though I know Eric's rifle would be no match for a bear. I somewhat got over the fear when I lived alone - I really had no choice! But now, when Eric isn't home at nights, like when he goes camping with the guys, my preference is to leave the bathroom light on and shut the door. I wonder if I'll ever get over this fear.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my little brother, Dana. He is 23 years old today.

We will be going to my parents' house to night to celebrate........he has requested BBQ ribs and our family's German hot potato salad, followed with rhubarb crisp and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Can't wait!!!

Random Fact #18

Eric was my first kiss.

Ironic, don't you think? Strange how things come full circle in life.

Family....Part 3

Here are some pictures of the visit with Eric's mom.

Carter and his Grandma Michelle.

Carter playing with Tanner.

Family....Part 2

Here are some pictures from the visit with my parents.

Carter munchin' on a cracker

Carter and his Grandpa
Jesse fetching the buoy in the canal.
Carter and his Grandma - watching Jesse.
Big boy!!

Family

Here are some pictures from the visit with my Grandma, Aunt Brenda, and cousin Hannah.

Carter and Joey

Carter sure does like Joey. And Joey is patient enough to just lie there and let Carter play with her - hair and ear pulling included!!

What a Weekend!

Weekend Recap:

Friday night, Eric went out with the guys, so it was just Carter and me at home. We had fun - playing, giving him a bath, etc.

Saturday - I woke up with Carter in the morning about 7:00. We played for a little bit, until he was hungry. I fed him and then he went back down for more sleep at 8:00. I took this opportunity to get some extra sleep too. Eric woke me up at 10:30. We showered and got ready for the day. We went to the mall in search of shoes for both of us. Eric was in dire need, and the cat peed all over most of my shoes. So needless to say, I needed to replenish my supply! Eric and I both ended up with two pairs of shoes each. Eric grabbed a couple pairs of shorts that were on sale. We grabbed some Panda Express for lunch. Then we went in search of tuxes for the wedding. We ended up going with the first store we went to - Mens Warehouse. We picked out fabulous looking tuxes for everyone. Eric's will be black on ivory (shirt and vest) and the groomsmen will be black on peri vest and ivory shirt. The ushers will have basic black on ivory shirt, no vest. We came home, fixed some dinner and watched some Boston Legal.

Sunday - we got up fairly early. Eric went fishing and I headed over to my grandma's house to box up the bridesmaids' dresses and let her visit with Carter. My Aunt Brenda and cousin Hannah were also there. After that, I went to my mom's house to highlight my hair and drop the dresses off. She didn't have the stuff to do my hair, so we played with Carter and then took their dog, Jesse, to one of the canals so she could play in the water. It was about 75 degrees today, so it was perfect outside. After that, I met up with Eric at his mom's house to BBQ some steak and baked potatoes. We played with Carter a bit and then headed home. It was time to go grocery shopping - always more money than we plan on spending. Yikes!

Pictures to follow.

Please explain......

On a normal week day, we put Carter to bed anywhere from 9:00-10:00. He sleeps all through the night, and I have to wake him up at 7:00 in the mornings to get ready for the day. On the weekends, if we put him to bed at that time, he will usually sleep until 8:30, on a good day. Every single time I try to keep him awake a little longer and feed him later, with the hopes of him sleeping a little bit later on those Saturday and Sunday mornings, he's up EARLIER. Like this morning, 6:50. Before the time I would even be waking him up on a week day. Can someone explain this to me?

Random Fact #17

I was pretty darn good at softball.

Not to brag, but I'll go out on a limb at say that, at my best, I was one of the best pitchers in the state. I started pitching when I was very young. I don't think I started out pitching - I always played infield.....third base, shortstop, second base, and even first base at times. And back then, pitching was kind of a back up thing that I could do if the team needed me to. As I got older, I think we all realized that I had some talent. So my parents worked with me on all the dynamics of the game....hitting, pitching, fielding, etc. Along the way, I went to pitching camps, met with pitching coaches (including Mr. Greg Alder, who was asked to play for the Men's Olympic Softball Team) and fine-tuned my skills as a pitcher. When I was getting ready to go from middle school to high school, I made the decision to try out for varsity softball. My dad tried to talk me out of it - not knowing if I really had what it took, and not wanting to see his child disappointed if she didn't make the cut. I had a rival my entire softball career - and ironically, she was on my team. You aren't supposed to be rivals with your own teammates! Anyway, I had heard that she and one of my best friends, Shoshauna, had made the varsity team as freshmen. So I made up my mind. I was going to try out. And so I did. The fielding portion went very well. I didn't hit worth beans and was very defeated because of that. But then the coach came to me and told me that she had heard I could pitch. Why yes, yes I can. :) So she had me go to the gym with a couple other pitchers and catchers. I got all warmed up, noting that my speed was pretty much matching my rivals. I thrived on competition, so I threw everything I had - all my pitches, as fast as I could. And I knew right then that I blew the coach away.

I think we had two days of try-outs (Saturday and Sunday), and on Sunday after try-outs, they posted the team roster. My name was on the list. The only freshman that year to make varsity - and let me tell you, not many freshman AT ALL make the team.

That first year, they didn't really know me and what I was capable of during games, so I was kind of a back-up pitcher and player. I remember sitting there one cold game, watching as our second baseman got hurt - nailed in the face with a ball that cut her upper eye open. The coach put me in and the first pitch after that was a screaming ball hit to me. I caught it, tagged the runner, and threw the ball to first, for a double play. This girl can play. :) Our "star" pitcher, my bitter rival, struggled through the season....often doing great at the beginning of a game, but tapering off towards the end. Which made for some nervous games. So the coach started putting me in to save our butts. And that's how I started making a name for myself - put her in and she'll pull us out of this mess. And I did just that - winning games.

My junior year, we made it to the District Championship Game and played one of our rivals, Centennial High. It was pouring rain - an absolute downpour. Which is a pitchers nightmare - a wet ball is hard to pitch!! My rival was pitching and doing a great job - we were leading and that's all that mattered. While she was running the bases, she tore her ACL - ending her career. I was put into the game to finish it off and ended up winning the District Championship. We went to State..............and did poorly. The whole team lost their morale when my rival tore her ACL. I think we could have done far better and wished the team didn't think that SHE was the whole team and carried us. Because she didn't - we were good without her.

I decided not to play softball my senior year and honestly, it's my only regret in my life. I usually don't believe in regrets, but that's my one. I had a boy that I wanted to spend more time with, so I gave up playing softball in high school and decided I wasn't going to go away to college to play either. I gave up a damn fine career for some loser and I will never forgive myself for that.

However, the dream was amazing while it lasted.

Addicted

I'm addicted to my son. I'll admit that much. He was enjoying standing tonight, so I had Eric snap some more pictures. He eats it up - Carter that is..........the camera. I'm told I was quite the camera ham when I was a child. I see the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Working on it......

So Carter has been showing more and more interest in putting some weight on his noodle legs. So this weekend, I was playing around with him and he humored me by playing along. He hasn't really shown interest in crawling yet - his main mode of transportation is rolling EVERYWHERE. So maybe he'll take after his mama and completely ditch the crawling and go straight to walking. ;)

Concentrate!!

Ok, that's enough. Are we done?

Dad, make her stop!

He was much happier like this!

Random Fact #16

I have been to Ground Zero.

Aside from a few specific deaths in the family, and giving birth to Carter, this was one of the most moving moments in my life. Back in May of 2005, when I was visiting my friend, Rita, in Boston, we went to NYC for about a day and a half. We canvassed as much as we possibly could in one day...........seeing The Bronx, Soho, Greenwich Village, Central Park, Queens, Times Square, etc. One of the visits included Wall Street, and Ground Zero happened to be across the street. What a moment. There was not one person standing or walking by that was not crying. And I didn't know how I would react, but standing there, knowing what happened and the lives that were lost, the tears came in abundance. It was very emotional. I'm glad I had the chance to see it while it was still in clean-up/construction, before anything new had been built.

Blast From the Past

Here is a picture of the fearsome foursome. My cousins Matt, Brian, my brother, Dana, and me. I feel like I had three brothers growing up, not just one. Mostly because there really aren't that many family vacations where we weren't all together. Sure, there were some. But 9 times out of 10, it was just the eight of us (my parents, my aunt and uncle, and us kids..........and the dogs). Every single vacation comprises the best memories of my life.

Random Fact #15

I was a devil child!

I think I was perfectly nice until all the other children started showing up! ;) I wasn't particularly fond of my little brother growing up - and we made no secret of it. When he was just a few weeks old, my mom was vacuuming, so I took him and put him on the shower floor and left him there. When my mom came to check on us, she asked where he was and I just shrugged my shoulders and gave the "I don't know, mommy" response. She eventually found him - he's still alive!

One time in Cascade (I think?) there was this green car that my cousin, Matt, was fascinated with. I'm not sure what possessed me, but I told him that a witch lived in the car. He wouldn't step near that car after that!

When my brother was a little bit older..............maybe 6? I'm not sure. Anyway, I was cleaning out his ear with a q-tip, and it tickled him and he jerked his head toward me. Well, the q-tip ruptured his ear drum and it was bleeding like crazy. He wasn't really crying or anything, so I just covered him up and told him to go to sleep. I went to my room, put on my pj's and crawled into bed. My mom came tearing into my room minutes later telling me that we were going to the hospital. Of course, I ask "why, mom?" She told me I knew why. ;)

There are many other stories of my constant harassment of my brother and cousin Matt. Too many to share here. It's so much fun being the oldest!!!

(Easter, 1984)

Playtime

Carter was playing in his Baby Einstein toy the other night during dinner and just had too much fun! So much, in fact, that he just passed out right there in the toy!


Here is Carter modeling Eric's hat. Too cute!

Carter's pink eye is completely gone - though I'm still pumping medicine into him. He generously passed the pink eye on to me, so now I'm battling it. I can't even remember the last time I had pink eye! We were playing around in the extra bedroom last night while I was loading pictures.

Random Fact #14

I LOVE baseball.

I'm pretty much a sports fan in general - I will watch golf, tennis, basketball, and football. Soccer doesn't interest me and I only watch hockey live. My family is very sports-oriented. But baseball is my true love. I love watching it live or on TV. I love coming home from work on a warm spring day, opening all the windows in the house to get a breeze coming through, and turning on a good game. It doesn't necessarily have to be my favorite team, but it helps!

My favorite team happens to be the Red Sox. I still love the Braves, and I always will, but for several years now, I have been seriously loving the Sox.



I had the opportunity back in May of 2005 to fly out to Boston and take a vacation with my two best friends, Meag and Rita. Meag lives in California and Rita actually lived in Boston at the time. So we got to stay with Rita at her house and she showed us around Boston. The Red Sox weren't playing in town while we were there, so we were only able to do a tour of Fenway.

Still awesome though! The Sox just so happened to be playing at Yankee Stadium.......and gosh, we just so happened to have bought tickets in advance. So we were able to see the biggest rivalry in sports history AT Yankee Stadium. It really doesn't get any better than that. I have pictures at home of the game and Yankee Stadium, and more of Fenway, so I'll have to dig those out and post them. The game was one of the highlights of my life - there really is no bigger rivalry than tha Yankees and Red Sox. The fans at the game were extremely rude and overall, I was not imporessed with New York people as a whole. However, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and, like I have been known to do, I pushed the boundaries and actually wore a Red Sox shirt to Yankee Stadium. There were concerns about how hazardous to my health this could potentially be - and it was scary; I had people in my face screaming.........I just had to laugh. Because, even though I am a HUGE baseball fan, it IS just a game.

About Me

Eric's Aunt Cristie posted a blog about things that she admires about herself, things she enjoys, and things she expects of herself. I figured this would be a good time to make my own list since I have been feeling very down lately.

Things I admire about myself:

I am very organized.......when it's something I care about.
I have three extremely good friends who have been just that for years now. I hope to maintain them as life-long friends and their friendship is invaluable to me.
I am a hard worker. Whether it's work or school, or whatever I put my mind to, I strive to work hard and excel.
I feel I am a great mother. My son is the light of my life, and seeing him smile when he sees me walk into a room melts my heart.
I am dependent - if I say I am going to do something, or be somewhere, it will happen. I don't like letting people down, so I always strive to please everyone.
I admire myself for going to therapy and addressing issues from my past that needed to be dealt with. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Things I enjoy:

I love reading. I could spend a day on the couch or outside reading a good book and never get bored.
I enjoy alone time. I don't get it anymore now that I have Carter, so it's definitely something that I miss.
I love playing with Carter. If someone could pay me to just roll around on the floor and play with him all day, I would LOVE it!

Things I expect of myself:

I expect to be a hard worker. It's something I firmly believe in and expect it of those around me as well.
I expect to get back into amazing shape for my wedding/honeymoon.
I expect to be a good mother. I want Carter to have a fabulous childhood and I know I'm responsible for that.

Random Fact #13

I have a massive celeb crush on Colin Farrell. MASSIVE.

More from the Park

Here are a few more.....

It was really windy! Check out the hair!

A Day at the Park

Sunday, my friend, Jenny, Eric, and I took Carter to a playground. We took him down several slides, but they didn't have any swings! Boo! I was excited to swing with him, but the slides were enough fun. We'll be on the hunt next weekend for some swings.

Me and Carter getting ready to go down the slide.

Even the big kid had to play.

Carter and Eric Mommy, Daddy, and Carter

Jenny and Carter