octolilly [through the years]

Drew woke us this morning by saying he wanted to play Cogs. And watch Volcano’s on Netflix. “I like the scary parts!” “And do your boobs have springs in them? Is that why they bounce?” Okaaay. Time to get out of bed!

Before Daniel left I signed some paperwork he had but I got frustrated that I hadn’t read through it all. Things like that really bug me. I’m not the sort of person who reads all the text of agreements I click through on the Internet but I am that way about Big Important Things.

I think Drew is about to hit a growth spurt. Before 10:45am this morning, he had a bowl of cereal, two whole-grain waffles with cream cheese, a glass of milk, some of my yogurt, and a bowl of spaghetti.

We kept the porch door open all morning and the breeze made me feel like I was exercising outside while I used my Wii Fit Plus. I just select all the categories for three reps each and work out for 72 minutes (sometimes I pause for random things but mostly it’s best to plow through). At one point I was doing some of the yoga poses and I caught a glimpse of Drew in the reflection of the TV as he attempted to copy my poses. He was trying to do the Tree Pose and promptly fell over backwards into the recliner with a loud “UGHHHH.” I feel ya, kid. Sometimes that’s all I manage to do as well. He decided to just sit and watch after that.

I made lunch and no, I can’t make a peanut butter, jelly, turkey, cheese, and mustard sandwich with pretzel trees stuck in it. But I can make variations of that. Not nearly as impressive. I Internetted for a bit and Daniel filled me in on the paperwork debacle so I felt better about that and then I saw fresh new baby pictures from a co-worker of Daniel’s, and pictures of Jon & Tara’s little M and I swooned over all of them.

The rest of our afternoon was spent being lazy, playing on the porch, and creating cars out of Tinker Toys. I also got a kick out of how obsessed Drew is with keeping his drinks cold. Whenever he’s thirsty, he opens the fridge and takes out his small cup of milk, OJ, water, or juice and takes a few sips and then puts it back “IN CASE IT SPOILS AND GETS HOT.” It seems like he opens the fridge four or five times each hour.

I also got fed up with my MacBook. The screen is fading in and out pretty often and getting fuzzy. It’s frustrating that it’s in this in-between stage of working and not working. We’re waiting for it to do something permanent before we send it off to be repaired. I hope it lasts through vacation at least.

Dinner was just pizza for the boys. I still haven’t had anything. I’m just not hungry tonight and even though I know I need to eat my points so I keep my metabolism up, I’m just not forcing myself tonight. Dang it, I ate TWO peaches this afternoon. I’m good.

Ken came over to hang out and play cards. And after we finished a couple of games, I took Drew for a night-time walk before bed where we discovered a.) a very sharp screw in the grass that Drew deemed “VERY DANGEROUS AND CRAZY,” b.) the bugs are out and hungry for my blood, and c.) I need to check my mail more often.

Now it’s just Nerd Central as the guys are coding and I’m about to delve into a bit of WoW therapy before bed.

I’m taking a page out of Das Becca’s book and simply titling this “Day One.” I want/need to write daily so I’m going to try writing each evening before I sleep.

Sidenote: Excuse me while I fangirl out a bit, but I just adore Becca’s blog. She’s certainly in my Top Ten Blogs I Love and Creep and Stalk and Swoon Over.

Most of my time lately has been spent gaming, counting points, and having very small outside-time.

I started playing World of Warcraft again. The old guild fell apart after I left gaming in January (not because I left – even though I can pretend) and so now I’m with a bunch of new people and reverting to my not-talking-very-much-and-just-diving-into-the-game. The best thing about playing is how it completely relaxes me to get lost in another world. The fussy thing is that I miss playing with Sara.

I joined Weight Watchers Online on July 31 to get a much-needed kick in the butt. I’ve been talking with my doctor for the past few months and although she was happy with my weight loss results at the beginning of the year, she gave me a new goal to reach by August 27th and I spent most of June and July packing and cramming food in my mouth because OMG STRESS MOVING MOVING FOOD WHERE IS MY CHOCOLATE OH MY PANTS ARE TIGHT. I lost 5.5 lbs the first week and although I shouldn’t complain, I was really “meh” about it. So what, 5 lbs? I don’t think I’ll feel really encouraged until I lose a thousand. Or something.

And I’m pondering whether to purchase Nike+ and beginning Couch to 5K.

Drew’s rash is still frustrating us horribly. It seems like it flares up every four days or so and then eases off. And because of that, I’m trying to be extra careful about his being in the heat. I know he’s getting a bit stir crazy though and on our last trip to the park he was so excited to be OUTSIDE that he hopped around and shrieked “I AM SO HAPPY!! I AM SO HAPPY!! I AM SO HAPPY!!”

And then became an angry pirate shouting at imaginary enemies.

But now I need to convince Daniel and Drew to stop playing computer games so I can tuck Drew in bed and then we can get our Tudors fix.

This is the gorgeous library here in Whitmore Lake. I found a couple of children sprawled on the front steps earlier today and I almost melted right there because it felt so STORYBOOK and SWOONY.

~

Drew: I’m making a space shuttle!
Me: Oooh. What did you name it?
Drew: Speeder.
Me: You could call it Atlantis. That was the last space shuttle.
Drew: Did it have sparkles all over it?
Me: No.
Drew: Did it have flowers all over it?
Me: No.
Drew: Oh. (dejectedly)
Drew: I guess I could call it Amanta.

~

His rash is a bit better. Just a bit, though.

On Thursday evening, we met up with Ben, Kevin, and Dave to enjoy a bit of Asia City. I tried sushi for the first time and Drew impressed everyone with his chop-sticks skills (I didn’t).

We arrived home to the flashing lights of police cars and fire trucks (and since the fire department is next door – I think all the firemen were like WHOOOO THERE IS A FIRE LET’S ALL GO! because they were everywhere) and general mayhem.

Apparently someone threw a smoke bomb in one of the buildings and smoke flooded quickly throughout the building and naturally everyone thought FIRE.

This also happened:

On Friday evening we explored the Ann Arbor Art Fair with Courtney and Amanda. Ken wouldn’t go because he “was afraid he’d strangle a hippie.” The heat had subsided a bit so we braved the crowds with our four year old and found lovely heaps of art. I was ecstatic when I found a booth filled with handmade wooden toys. I asked the older couple who ran the booth if they had a card with their website listed so I could purchase their goods for future birthdays and holidays and they looked shocked.

“These are handmade goods so if you want to buy them then you have to buy them here.”

I almost laughed in their face just in disbelief. I mean, it’s 2011. The era of Etsy. Handmade goods rule the Internet but if you want to stick with the marketing plan of Hole Up in a Booth and Hope Everyone Buys Right Now then good luck.

Other than that, the art fair was really beautiful and I was once again reminded that there is a niche for everything.

We did have to leave before we saw everything because Drew was SO hot and seeing as how it’s best if he’s not in the heat very much at all – we had to scoot away earlier than expected. He fell asleep on the long walk back to the car, slept all the way home, slept while I changed his clothes and tucked him in bed, and slept until 9:30am the next morning!

We did a bit of housework on Saturday, caught up on Downton Abbey (I’m seriously obsessed with this show – it reminds me of the Biltmore House), and I saw Super 8 with Courtney, Amanda, and Ken. The movie was okay. There were some cheesy spots but it was pretty good.

Sunday was filled with LOTS of Monopoly Deal (I’m glad I have someone else addicted to this game now), I made lunch for some friends, Daniel saw Captain America with Andy, and Drew and I made so many lego creations that if I never see another lego I’ll be happy. Okay, that’s not true. At all. But sometimes I just want a break from legos. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

We also finalized our vacation plans on Sunday. We’ll be in South Carolina from August 14 – August 19! I’m so excited to see my family, to catch up with Kerry, and to see Sara but I’m really bummed that our timing is off as far as seeing Jonathan and Tara and their little girl. They’ll be in Russia the entire time we’re visiting in South Carolina. I guess we’ll just have to plan another visit really soon!

Yesterday was filled with such happy things! I caught up with a friend I haven’t spoken to in EIGHT years, I found some old children’s books I thought I’d lost (they are filled illustrations that have lost their copyright and I will be slathering them all over the web asap), I got a LOT of unpacking done in the office, and I took a hot shower for thirty minutes and blared Bon Iver while I thought through some frumpy-stuck-in-a-rut I’m feeling (it totally worked).

I also decided I’m going to do a new thing every day in August. And by “new thing,” I mean something I have never done. It’s rather hard to come up with thirty one things but here’s what I have so far:

Eat sushi, donate blood, watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day, get a pedicure, get a passport, get a massage, visit the Detroit Zoo, send a secret to Post Secret, find the Mice on Main in Greenville, SC (when we visit in Aug), and color an entire coloring book in one day.

I also want to ride in a small plane. We have a few friends here who have their private pilot’s license so hopefully I can bum a ride with one of them.

And, I’m incredibly interested in Trash the Dress. I tried on my wedding dress this afternoon and it was just plain hilarious.

I walked into the living room wearing it and Drew looked up from his pile of Legos and shouted, “WHAT DID YOU DO?” I told him it was my wedding dress and he asked, “are you getting married tonight?” I said, “no, I got married to Daddy a few years ago. I’m just trying this on.” He replied, “well, I’m really busy right now.”

The problem with doing Trash the Dress in August is that even though I’ve lost 13 lbs this year, I’m still horrifyingly 40 lbs heavier than when we got married in 2006. And I was plump then, too. I could only zip the dress up halfway – it was way too tight around my bust. DID I GAIN 40 POUNDS IN MY BOOBS? OH GOD. So, unless I can magically shed 40 lbs in about a month, trashing my wedding dress is not going on the list. Maybe later.