Rainy days and Mondays always get me down...

As soon as I opened up the blinds this morning, I knew it was going to be a long day...only made longer by the fact that Matt was flying in at 7pm and we could hardly wait!

The rain. Lots and lots of rain. There have been problems with flooding in the area, of course nothing like what Texas is experiencing, but enough that some roads in our area were closed. Luckily, our house sits pretty high and our streets drain very well so we haven't had any problems. Unfortunately, it does mean we spent another day inside, except for a couple of errands, Quinton and I had to keep each other occupied. Plus, you would think with all this off and on again rain that the high school marching band wouldn't be able to practice but nooooo, I was able to hear the BOOM, BOOM, BOOM of the drums for at least 4 hours today...grr, I knew there had to be a downside to having the high school practically in our backyard! High school marching bands - fanatical ones at that - do NOT make good neighbors!

Instead of playing at the park, we amused ourselves and played with every toy Quinton owns and read half of his library! At one point, I was on the floor laughing hysterically because I clipped a mini-cowbell to the back of Quinton's shirt and he kept going round and round in circles trying to find it and I kept saying, "I need more COWBELL!" Quinton didn't get that last part, but you can totally understand why it was the highlight of my day!

We did get out of the house for my chiropractor's appointment and a quick errand, then home to finish tidying up for Matt's arrival. Unfortunately, Matt had called earlier in the day to let us know that flights all over the Midwest were canceling because of the weather. So at about 5:30, Matt called to let me know his plane had landed in Indianapolis, instead of Chicago because Chicago was so backed up. A little bit later, he called to say that their flight into Chicago was canceled and that he'd be overnighting it in Indy...Quinton and I were so bummed, we did the only thing we could do...we went to our local ice cream hangout, Braum's, and drowned our sadness in crinkle cut fries and a single scoop caramel pecan sundae - with a cherry on top!

On our way home from Braum's, Matt called from a car with some guy named Steven. They were splitting a rental car and driving to Tulsa from Indy straight through. Matt said that after everything was said and done, there were three choices:
1 - Go to a hotel and stay overnight in Indy, not getting into Tulsa until 10pm tomorrow.
2 - Hop on a three hour bus ride to Chicago and HOPE he could get on an early flight out the next morning, or
3 - Split a car rental with a stranger with whom he bonded while circling Chicago for 45 minutes and get into Tulsa at 8am tomorrow morning. So Matt, missing Quinton and me too terribly much, chose to hop in the car with a stranger and is probably near St. Louis right now!

So that's our day in a nutshell...and me, I'm just the mama squirrel collecting all of the nuts!

Pirates & kitties don't mix!

Diaper Diaries

Day #639

What a lovely weekend, since there were no weather anomalies to send Quinton and I running for the refuge of the bathroom! Although, there was plenty of rain! Saturday morning, we woke up to thunder and rain...it made for a lazy morning of cartoons, pancakes and sausage... Quinton's favorite. After his nap, though, the sun was shining and the mud was rich! Instead of donning swimsuits and playing in the mud as Matt suggested, we headed out to run a few errands and then we hit my favorite place...Chuck E' Cheese's. I keep a cup full of tokens in the car at all times, just for days like this. We had a great time until Quinton wandered off and was out of sight for about 3 minutes. That was my FIRST experience as a mother where I struggled not to stand on a table and scream his name - or at least for everyone to stop and be quiet so I could find him.

Quinton did walk right up to me just about the time I would have jumped on the table, so he rescued both of us from an embarrassing situation. We left that zoo pretty quickly thereafter!

After that fiasco, we went to the mall to run an errand. If we go to the mall, that means we have to go to the play place in the mall. There, too, Quinton sneaked past me to run out the entrance of the little play area...lucky for me I heard his giggle in time to catch him. Little turkey! I think he's doing this on purpose to erase any bit of non-gray hair I have left in my head! Thank goodness for my friend and colorist, yay Genelle!

Sunday, Quinton must have been feeling the spirit because I could have sworn I shut our bathroom door but knew I was mistaken when I heard Quinton giggling like a little school girl. I ran to my bathroom only to find a very mad and soaking kitten...apparently, Quinton 'saved' her by baptizing her in the toilet... Have I mentioned these kittens may not be long at our house if this keeps up?

Yesterday, Quinton and I were playing in his room and he rediscovered some toys. Among his favorite of the day was his pirate eye patch. He loved putting it on and wandering around, bumping into walls...I bet that happened to real one-eyed pirates all of the time...you know, no depth-perception and all. Quinton kept handing it to me to put it on and chase him around...then I'd make him 'walk the slide', he is the funniest 21 - month old I know!

Today, we had swim lessons. His favorite part is making big splashes. He really likes his teacher Miss Kayli. Tonight, when we were getting out of the pool, he gave Miss Kayli a kiss on the cheek and I swear he was blushing, afterwards! That's my little bear...so sweet and loving.

Matt returns from his work trip Wednesday night, Hallelujah! He's been gone a week and a half, including the weekend and I am ready for a break. Although I did watch Roman Holiday for the first time today with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. it was such a cute movie, why don't they make them like that anymore??

Well, off to bed for me now. Enjoy the pics and stories!

Tut, tut, it looks like rain!

Diaper Diaries

Day # 633

The bags under my eyes could tell a lot about what went on last night with the weather! Quinton and I didn't rest very well last night to say the least.

To set the background, Matt left Monday morning for Philadelphia. He'll be there through the week for work and then he heads to D.C. for the weekend and then back to Philly, coming home on Thursday, I think. So it's a long week for Quinton and me.

Monday and Tuesday went great. No biggie.

But Tuesday night, the clouds rolled in and stayed for a while. The light rain and wind started about 9pm. By 9:45, my dish network cable was out (it seems like if you sneeze the wrong way, it goes out). By 10pm, though, the power was flickering, the lightning flashes were so fast and furious, it looked like daylight outside. Then, the hail and the winds REALLY picked up. The family room was so noisy with the hail hitting the windows, the wind howling and the thunder shaking the house that I went in Quinton's room, where he had woken up and was crying a little but the noise outside was so loud I didn't hear him. I grabbed Quinton, my cell phone and a flashlight and shut us up in the master bathroom, the most interior room in the house.

Growing up in Florida, I've been through some pretty good storms. As a little girl, I HATED lightning and thunder. After a good overnight storm, my parents would find me either at the foot of their bed or one the floor of their room, without fail. This storm last night was one of those ones where I wished I could curl up at the foot of their bed again!

After about 10 minutes, the intensity of the storm subsided. I put Quinton to bed in my bed and then was finally able to watch the news. The weather man reported 45-50 mph winds in our area and up to 5.7 inches of rain in one hour! Apparently a lot of Tulsa was out of power but I was thankful ours was still working.

This morning, I took some friends to the airport and along the way we noticed there were cracked and downed trees all over. Some of the houses under construction in our neighborhood were blown to bits! One house had the a-frame roof set up yesterday, only to be knocked down like a row of dominoes by the storm. My neighbor called shortly after I returned from the airport and asked me if I'd seen the damage to my house. Huh??? So I went outside and sure enough, some of the siding had been torn from the house. The neighbor was calling because a large chunk of her siding had come off, too.

Quinton and I took a walk this morning and here are some of the pictures of what was left this morning. He's taking a nap now, after finding a worm and lots of mud to play with, earlier....ah, the joys of being a mom!

My first blog post!

Wow, who knew blogging was this easy? Although I think I am one of the last people of some of my friends to have my own blog...I even suspect Quinton has a blog! Who knows what that kid does after I put him down for a nap?

I'll try this out for a bit and see what comes of it.

Enjoy!

Diaper Diaries

Day # 631

Today was Father's Day. Matt and Quinton thoroughly enjoyed themselves and I enjoyed dressing them alike.