"Please continue to hold."

"Your call is important to us.
Your call will be answered by the next available representative.
Your call will be answered in the order it was received.
Hanging up and calling back will only delay your response time."

AAAAAAAAugh.

Anyway.
I'm so so so so so so tired. (I'm really more tired than that...but I cant type many more "so"s. That's how tired I am!)

Damon wasnt home last night...he was out of town. So, I had a really hard time falling asleep, and then had a really hard time staying asleep.
It's amazing how many tiny things you hear when you pay attention...or you're home alone. (I wasnt home "alone", but I was the responsible adult in the house!)

Anyway...last looked at the clock shortly after midnight.
Was up at 5 this morning to start my day.
Let the dog out.
Feed & water the dog.
Find something to wear.
Bathe, hair, makeup.
Wake Baby Gage.
Change Gage's diaper.
Get Gage's clothes together & some snacks for Memaw's.
Load Gage & my work stuff in the car.
Off we go....
...to Rockwall...
Drop Gage off.
Turn around...
...off to work...over the bridges & through the traffic, to the hospital I go!
Travel time from Rockwall to work: 50 minutes. Not too bad.
So, there goes 60 miles in the morning!

AAAnd...I get to do it all in reverse after work!

Yesterday...oh boy...the traffic was reeeeally bad. I had to stop & get gas. Got Gage. Went home. Total trip time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.
Pleeeeeeeeeease let this afternoon be different!

...and can I Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease have a nap-time?
Somebody pass me the Mountain Dew.

Catch up.

Today is the day to play catch up.

I havent been able to blog in a while...

What's going on in my world....
Well, my license to practice is up for renewal in June & I am only lacking 2 hours of CEUs for Ethics. Other than that, they are all done...

Over the weekend...we unpacked (yes, that's right...unpacked) our glasses & hung our shelves...

That's in the kitchen. Disregard the little white marks. We have to go back & fix that....

This is from the dining room...


We put the shelves up high enough that they are not in Gage's reach...but I'm sure when he starts climbing...we'll have to block them off or constant remind him that those are off limits!

Work is fine...

I'm going to Austin this weekend. That'll be fun!
I'll get to see Mom & David briefly, and I'll get to spend time with Allen & Dad. Woohoo!

Gage is learning the meaning of the word, "No".
And, he's learning to wave "ByeBye".
He's growing up so fast!!!

My opinions on shows... (because I know how important all of this stuff is...)

The Apprentice: Goodbye Andrea. Can you imagine playing with her as a child. Talk about bossy. (From what I've heard...I was pretty bossy too...I bet I would have given her a run for her money!) Anyway...goodbye to her. I think she was a pretty good leader, but not a very good team-member.

Y&R: I'm ready for Gloria to go to jail, and I cant believe that Michael is helping her. What a stupid idiot. Phyllis sucks. Nick is stupid. And, if I were Nikki--I'd be so mad at Victor. Ugh. the drama...

How I Met Your Mother: last night's episode was soooooo funny!

Desperate Housewives & Gray's Anatomy: total let down this week. I've been watching all season. I dont give a crap about the summary episodes.

Sopranos: Artie's going to go nuts. He's going to really lose it. Maybe that's how the season will end: Artie will kill Tony & himself. Or, kill Tony & then someone else will kill him. Who knows. Vito---stay away as long as you can, buddy! And Christopher...when did he fall off the wagon? Hookers & drugs...nice. But then again--on a good, sober day he's hanging out in a strip club. What a high class life! (note the sarcasm)

Movies...
Proof: pretty good. Not great, but pretty good.
Wolf Creek: pretty good. Not great, but pretty good.
Run Ronnie Run: stupid comedy. Great if you want to laugh but not really have to think about anything...

Baby Gage likes watermelon. And, he hates anything that tastes like vanilla. It's so odd to me. He just gags & spits out green beans & anything vanilla flavored. What a silly-nilly.

He likes popsicles...

And "Biter Biscuits"....

...and here he is with the teddy bear that Miranda got for him...


Okay..I've got to run now, but I'll try to blog more frequently!
:)

Knot-head.

So, apparently Britney Spears & I have something in common...
I feel like a bad mom, and she looks like one.

I dropped Baby Gage yesterday.
He hit his head on the side of the bathtub.
He has a big ol' knot on his forehead.
He was slippery & I was getting him out of the bathtub, and he thought I had him so he stopped balancing, and I didnt have a good hold yet, and when I tried to grasp him in time, he slipped through hands, and his head went forward, and the side of his forehead hit the edge of the bathtub, and boom! I could have just died...

I felt HORRIBLE!
I cried more than Gage did.
He cried for less than a minute, while I watched the spot swell & turn red.
So of course, we call the Pediatrician on call. Who of course said, "I'm sure he's fine. This is the first of many spills he will take." My mom & my mother in law all said the same thing...

Here's a pic of Baby Gage about 45 minutes after it happened...
Look at the top right portion of his little head. You can kind of see his "ouchie".


So the pediatrician on call said, "can he crawl in a straight line?"
"Well, I can put him down to crawl, but I cant ever predict if he's going to go in a straight line."

Anyway....there was no vomiting. there was no seizing. there was no apparent disorientation or confusion. there was no listlessness. he seemed fine. he seemed to be better off than I was.

Oh. I still feel bad....

Post Easter Weekend...

Well, it's Monday again.
I have a super-mega-headache to the point that your eyes feel like they're shaking.
Took 2 Ibuprofen...about 35 seconds ago. Will be reassessing the situation shortly to see what other actions need to be taken.

It's post Easter weekend.
Friday night...after work...went home...played with Gage...that's about it.
Saturday...we worked in the yard...played with Baby Gage...and then Saturday night I met Mom & David at the hotel where they were staying. They left for Playa del Carmen on Sunday...so they (& 2 other couples) came up to Dallas to spend the night before flying out Sunday morning.
We had a good time just chatting on Saturday night.

Sunday...cleaned house a bit...worked in the yard a bit...cleaned out the shed. It actually only took us an hour & a half...but we are sooooo proud of ourselves for doing it. We've lived in this house for what...2 years? Our shed was full of the previous owner's stuff. We're talking grass seed from 1960-something. Old rusty yard tools...and I think we came across the first rake. That's right: THE First Rake. I just may need to call the Smithsonian.
Anyway...we cleaned out the shed, hosed the interior down, and organized our yard stuff to store in there. After that, we went inside, stripped, & bathed. At which point I discovered a spider running down my leg. IIIGHhhhhhh-eewwwww. That gives me the heeby-jeebies just thinking about it! But, still...glad we got it done.

When Baby Gage woke from his nap, we did our Easter stuff. We didnt do an egg hunt b/c he's so small. Next year though. Anyway...he got aaaaaalll kinds of Easter stuff, and just this morning I remembered that the Easter Bunny left some stuff out! (How's that for an organized bunny?...I think the Easter Bunny needs some elves like Santa's got...)

Baby Gage's Easter goodies...

He was so excited...

His favorite thing was his green duckie...

He's our little "Hunny-Bunny"!!


And, on Sunday night, Tiffany & Trystan called. Oh My Gosh! It was the sweetest little conversation...
(T=Trystan, N=Nana (me))
T: "Happy Easter Nana!"
N: "Happy Easter Trystan."
N: "Did you go on an Easter Egg Hunt?"
T: "Uhm-hmm."
N: "Did you get lots of Eggs?"
T: "Uhm-hmm."
T: "I give Gage lots of kisses."
T: "...bring Baby Gage heeeeere?"
N: "Well, Baby Gage is already in bed."
N: "Where are you guys?"
T: "We're at Mark's house. You bring Baby Gage over heeeere?"
N: "Well, he's already in bed."
T: "Nnnn. (he was thinking.) I'll come to yooooooour house."
N: "But Baby Gage is already asleep."
T: "Okay, I'll come to your house. I loooooove you Nana."
So sweet!!!

Saturday we had to run some errands...Baby Gage of course went with!
We're ready to go...


Movie Reviews:
"Walk the Line"....so good. I really really enjoyed it.
"Run Ronnie Run"....in progress. So stupid, but funny.

That's all for now...I've got to run.
:)

TGIF...

Well, thank goodness it's Friday.

Good Friday to be exact!

I've been pretty busy lately & have not blogged much.

Wednesday night after Aunt Loraine went to choir practice, she came over & had dinner with us. Before she got there, I was thinking that the last time she came to my house was when I was pregnant & she came to tell me that Riley died. And now, Uncle Glynn has died...and that was just a few weeks ago... Anyway...I was very glad that she came over. We had a great dinner & visit. Baby Gage was already in bed though.

And...she brought over the sweeeeeeeeeetest little gift for Baby Gage. Her granddtr is my 2nd cousin, Miranda. Miranda goes to tutoring & earns points for tutoring activities. She's 8 or 9 now. Anyway--she saved up like 20,000 points from tutoring activities to earn a teddy bear to give to Baby Gage. How sweet is that? SOOO sweet. So, she took the bear to Aunt Loraine's since I live near Aunt Loraine. And then she called Aunt Loraine to remind her to get the bear to Baby Gage for Easter. So, Aunt Loraine brought it to our house when she came over for dinner.I just think that is so sweet & kind & just very thoughtful for a little girl to turn her hard earned points in for a teddy bear for my son. I cant get over it. So sweet.

Damon is working on installing a water fountain in the back yard. He loves it. Got it from his mother. It has 5 tiers. I like the sound of the running water too.

Damon had Baby Gage outside yesterday while he was working on the fountain. Damon didnt get Gage's face covered in the skintastic stuff really well, and GAge now has FOUR mosquito bites on his face. He looks like a little ragamuffin. I guess his 6 month pictures THIS weekend are out.

I am very proud of myself right now...let me share: I have been working on a project at work for TWO YEARS. I had to take some time away from it while I was on bedrest & out with Baby Gage. Now I'm back. AND--today, my final proposal went through the big company that owns our hospital, and now it just has to be approved by the director of HR here, and the Vice President of the hospital. They both now have copies for their approval...and I cant wait to hear from them! Woohoo! This is all for the cell phone drive.... what a project. Sounds like it would be easy to set up & go from there...but you have to do a ton of research & go through all of the approval processes.... Anyway...I am in the home stretch, and it feels sooooo good. I reeeeally really hope this is successful.

I overslept this morning. I was soooooo tired. I was asleep before 10 last night, and up at 7 this morning. I should have been up earlier...but when my alarm went off, I was so out of it that I just turned the whole clock off. When I finally woke up, it was light outside & my clock showed no time. I jumped up out of that bed so fast! Ran to the bathroom & checked the time. I was only about an hour behind on starting my day. Whoops. Someway-somehow I made it to work one minute early. Kudos to me! (of course, I sprayed wrinkle release on my dress instead of ironing it; my legs arent shaved--thank goodness it's a long dress; and I have yet to put makeup on today.)

Oh...back to the fountain Damon installed. He wants to put a light up to shine on the fountain. Okay, that sounds good. But--here's the kicker: he wants to put up colored lights to shine down on the fountain. To me--that's yucky. I told him that white lights would be fine. And, he wanted the lights to be red. If you shine a red light down on a trickling water fountain---I'll just think of blood. No thank you. I told him that if it HAS to be a color--I'd go for blue b/c it reminds me of water, or green b/c it will blend in w/ green foliage. I am so not supporting his installation of crimson lighting. Thank you for playing. Please try again.

Side note: water guns & the ER do not mix. It's a crazy day here today. I swear if I get shot with a water gun today---I just might come back swinging. I can see the news reporters now:

"In Arlington, a hospital employee was terminated for assault on coworkers. The ex-exployee stated, 'They got what they deserved. I didnt sign up for a wet t-shirt contest!' Apparently the employee was disgruntled over other employees spraying her with a water gun. No official statement has been released by the hospital."

Anyway...That's all for now.

Hello again.

Hello again. It's me.

I've been so busy today---I havent blogged at all! I didnt even check in...

Anyway...I finally got around to uploading some pictures...

Here's me & Baby Gage getting ready for yardwork...oh, the fun...

Damon makes fun of my boots...but I tell you...if I were gone, it's just one of the many things he'd miss about me!

On Monday night...Baby Gage entertained himself with an envelope. He remained entertained for about 30 minutes. That was a long time for Baby Gage time.


Okay...I've gotta run. Normally I'd write more..but I'm busy.
:)

Biblical Mother's Day Sayings...

Came upon these...thought they were cute.

Sayings Of Biblical Mothers - MOMISM BACK THEN:
1. Samson! Get your hand out of that lion. You don't know where it's been! (Judges 14:5-8)
2. David! I told you not to play in the house with that sling! Go practice your harp. We pay good money for those lessons!
3. Abraham! Stop wandering around the countryside and get home for supper!
4. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! I told you never to play with fire!
5. Cain! Get off your brother! You're going to kill him some day!
6. Noah! No, you can't keep them! I told you, don't bring home any more strays!
7. Gideon! Have you been hiding in that wine press again? Look at your clothes! (Judges 6:11)
8. James and John! No more burping contests at the dinner table, please. People are going to call you the sons of thunder! (Mark 3:17)
9. Judas! Have you been in my purse again?!
10. Jesus! Stop working on that wood & come in for supper. You'd spend all day on that wood if your father told you to!

Paternity Test Tuesday.

Well, it is Tuesday. And for some reason...it never fails...in the morning on my way to work...I always flip through radio stations. There is one local station that has "Paternity Test Tuesday". How sad is that? That's become so prevalent in our society that we now have Maury shows dedicated to that....now radio shows...."I wasnt with nobody 'cept him. I know he tha daddy. My baby look just like 'im." Then Maury says...or the radio guy says..."John, you are NOT the father!" Anyway...that's my little vent for that topic. What a waste...

Found another spot this morning. So, now that's two. Both are on the right side.
Last "episode", I had three spots total. One large, one medium, one small. This time, I've got one medium, and now a small too. Lovely.

I need to get my hair trimmed. My ends are yucky.

Damon starts his new job tomorrow. Soooooo excited about that! (me, that is...I'm so excited!) Damon went yesterday & did paperwork/new hire stuff.

Baby Gage is just...well, precious. He played with an envelope for about 30 minutes last night. I finally had to take it away from him when it was tearing apart. It's funny though...we spend all this money on toys, and he was more entertained with an envelope than any of the toys.

He's crawling like a champ. He loves to stand & walk if we go with him. I got him that puppy push toy. He's okay with it...but then he seems to realize that he's walking without Mommy or Daddy, and starts crying. (I feel so needed!!!) Anyway...Damon & I both noticed that he seems to walk on his tip toes. We both ask each other, "Is that normal?" We dont know... We'll have to google it.
:)

I am working on establishing a cell phone drive as a community service project here at the hospital.

I want to attend a conference on 5/25 about self neglect in the elderly population. It's not super expensive, offers CEUs, and is in the Dallas area....but, two other people already have that day off...so I dont know if my boss will approve my absence or not. Just a chance I'll have to take.

Got to scoot onto my work responsibilities now...

Monday Monday...

dada...dadada...

Okay. It's Monday.
I'm in a surprisingly good mood. Why surprising? Well---I had to get up at 5 to get Baby Gage out to Rockwall...then got gas...then turned around & went aaaaalllll the way to Arlington.

Lovin' the cost of fuel right now. Sheesh!

Weekend...
Saturday...made Taco soup for dinner. Got Baby Gage some new toys. Got Damon some new shirts. Had a good day with Baby Gage. And--got to sleep in. Gage was up for less than an hour around 7, and then went back down. I didnt get up out of bed until 9:45! Woohoo!

Sunday...got up early. Ran to WalMart to get this cake that my husband loves: Boston Creme Cake. So yummy. Served Damon breakfast in bed. We had leftover Taco Soup for lunch. We took Baby Gage & Eddie for a walk. Damon watched poker & golf. (Hey, even the TV channels knew it was his birthday!) I worked on the laundry situation. (And yes, it has become a situation.) We played umpteen games of Yahtzee. Watched Sopranos. I made a lovely dinner...and then we went to bed. We played cards in bed after Baby Gage went to sleep.

Sopranos...so what do we think? I know they are leading us to believe that Vito is going to or has already killed himself...but has he? will he? who knows.... At least the series is picking up. I hated the first couple of episodes from this season...

Would this post be complete without some pics of Baby Gage? I think not...

My baby is growing up so fast. I think this next picture speaks for itself. He's growing up sooooo fast.


I love my Gage's kisses! Love them!


Baby Gage...trying to eat the camera...


Okay...this next picture is blurry. I didnt have the camera on the proper setting, Gage was moving...but, I love it anyway. It's his 1st Zweiback (spelling???) toast. What a mess. And really, Eddie kept taking them from Gage...so we had to put the dog up! Poor Gage...cant have anything! Anyway...he was so happy, and loved his little toastie-treat.

He had mushy toast-bits all over his face...all over his walker...in his hair...you name it. It was all over. But, he loved it.

We had a good weekend.
Daddy had a good birthday. He got pants & shirts from me, and 3 golf balls from Baby Gage. He got to sleep in...got breakfast in bed...got to watch what he wanted on TV all day (golf & poker)...had me cook dinner...got me to play a bazillion games with him...a new episode of Sopranos came on TV...he got his favorite kind of birthday cake...& he ate some chocolate pudding. What a day.

:)

Some fun websites...

Some fun websites...
www.thehappywomanstore.com
(sassy jewelry...girly stuff...)
www.shopartworks.com
(really cool ornate switch plates...)

:)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

So, yesterday when I got off work...I was driving home as usual. It was raining pretty hard at the beginning of my trip home...but as I approached Dallas, there was a big rainbow!

And...of course, I took pictures............while driving.
(Dont tell my insurance agent!)

Rainbow 1

Rainbow 2

Rainbow 3

Rainbow 4


It was so much prettier in person...but it was a little unexpected pleasantry in my day that I thought I'd share.

:)

In case you missed it...

Just in case you wanted to know this:

Today, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning,

the time and date was

01:02:03 04/05/06.
This will never happen again.

You may now return to your life.

Pictures of Pictures...

So, yesterday's blog got me thinking of moments past...
And I was at home last night...
Baby Gage was already asleep...
Damon was in our bedroom watching TV & playing some computer game...
I was in the living room with the TV on...ironing a shirt for him...and I started looking around the living room & dining room.
I love looking at the pictures we have framed in our home.
They are some of my favorites!

So, I'm sharing them here...

These two are in our entry way.

Those are two of our engagement pictures, and the mats were signed by the guests at our wedding. Damon & I randomly go over there & read the little messages. We're both so glad that we decided to do that for our wedding!


These are pictures in the living room.
On the left is from our wedding when we were getting ready to leave.
The next one from the left is our first family photo.
Then, there's me & Damon in the parking lot @ the lofts where we used to live.
On the end--one of my maternity photos...

(I love that picture...whether everyone else does or not!)

Also in the living room...

I LOVE that picture!
It's from when Gage was about 2 weeks old. Damon was burping him. I have no idea what time of the night that picture was taken...but at that time---we were up & down all day & night. We did a lot of our parenting from the bed! We were so sleep deprived. Whoever said that newborns slept alot...well, they never met mine.

We have a larger framed picture from our wedding in the living room also...

That's our kiss! And I like it b/c you can see the aisle runner. I love that aisle runner! It reads, "You are simply my best time, You are my sweetest laughter. Always you will have my hand to hold."
(Side note: while planning my wedding, I ran upon that phrase in a Marshall Field's catalog...fell in love with it.)

In the dining room we have Gage's big photo mat. We had people sign it when they came to visit Baby Gage, and had the ob/gyn's office staff sign. Then, Damon took it to the nursery while Gage was still in the hospital, and the nurses put his little hand & feet prints on there for us.

Up close...Yes, that is my pregnant belly in the center...


And...near the beginning of March...I took Baby Gage's footprint again. I framed it.
It's on the buffet in the dining room...

So, out & around my home...those are some of my favorite things.
These are by no means ALL of my favorites...but some of them!

:)

A few years ago...

Damon & I were married a few years ago. 2 1/2 years ago.
We met in 2001.
Got engaged 2002.
Got married 2003.
Bought a house 2004.
Got pregnant December 2004.
Found out about the pregnancy 2005.
Had a baby 2005.

Now, it's 2006.

Ginger posted about her engagement pictures...and it got me to thinking about going out & about when we took our engagement pictures...

This picture was taken on the porch area of the Scottish Rite Cathedral where we got married.

At that time...we lived in a loft in downtown Dallas. The pictures were taken the first weekend of June 2003. (How in this world do I remember that?...I can barely remember my debit pin number...but I can remember that unimportant detail!!??)
Here we are in the interior stairwell of our loft building. (Building A to be exact!)

Now, that's not the best picture of us...but, it takes me back. And, it's like when I look at that picture, and reflect on our life at that time...I can practically smell the building! It's not a bad smell--just the Station smell. The Kirby (where I used to live) has a unique smell. Every place has a smell. Anyway...I digress...

This picture was Damon's favorite...

It was taken outside of Campisi's downtown.

I loved living downtown.
I miss loft living. I really, really, really do.

I told Damon that if we win the lottery, we are going to buy the penthouse suite on top of the new W Hotel that they are building in downtown. Then, I want to buy some old run down building & change it into lofts. And--there's some old building in Dallas that was used as a psychiatric hospital at one time. There is still a brick/concrete sign on one of the sides that reads "Sanitarium". How fun would it be to buy that & change it into lofts, and call it something like, "Asylum Lofts"!!?? (I'd be too afraid to live there...spoooooky!)

Anyway....
Oh, I just found this picture...
It's from our engagement trip. We went to Aruba with my parents, and that is where Damon proposed.
Here we were the night after getting engaged. Or maybe 2 nights after getting engaged. Anyway---there was a drag show, and we had a good time with the Queens!


So anyway...Life was different then.
We paid rent instead of house payments.
We slept late on the weekends.
We didnt know about the ginormous cost of diapers & formula. I mean, we knew they were expensive in concept...but we didnt really KNOW.
We could hang out late with friends on the rooftop deck.
We could have the TV as loud as we wanted it.

But...we had no idea what our son would look like.
We had no idea if we'd have a son for that matter!
We had no idea what blessings life had in store for us...

April is here!

First & Foremost:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA!

Who does she share a birthday with? Well, I'm glad you asked.

...Marlon Brando
...Eddie Murphy
...Jennie Garth
...Alec Baldwin
...Wayne Newton
...Jane Goodall
&...Doris Day.


Other announcements: hugs to Ginger. Her great-grandmother passed away. I was unable to go to the service. But, hugs to her b/c she's missing her great grandmother.



Today is Monday. Oh what fun.

Over the weekend...went to Kala's wedding on Saturday.

Damon's dad came into town to celebrate Damon's birthday...(next weekend)

Took Baby Gage to the zoo for the 1st time.
We were only there for a short time...the temperature really got up there!
We went to the Dallas zoo.


Baby Gage had fun watching the larger animals. The small ones---not so interesting to him.


Mommy's favorite animal to watch: the elephants. But, we didnt see any. So, Mommy's 2nd favorite are the monkeys...


More...


And we got Baby Gage a souvenir hat...
He was sooooo pooped! We wore him out!


But...by the time we got home...he was awake again & ready to go!


And what a happy boy!

(Look, you can kind of see his new bottom teeth!)

...And then to cool off--he played in the living room without any clothes on. My little trailer park baby. But, he had a great time..got cool...and pulled out every single one of his little toys in the living room toy basket. (If we could only train him to put them back...)


Movie Reviews:

The Weatherman...parts of funny...but, overall it is more serious that I thought it was going to be. Pretty long... I'd give it a B.

The Honeymooners...would have preferred it to not be a modern-day story...you know, more like the old show. It was okay...but I wouldnt ever rent it again.

TTFN: TaTa For Now!