I've Been Tagged!

My friend Liz sent this 'tagged' message to me so I have to keep the chain going! I don't usually do these things when they come around in emails but I figured since I so often only write about Quinton (and sometimes Matt) and rarely talk about myself, it would be kind of fun to participate...so here goes:

A. The Rules are posted at the beginning. B. Each player answers about themselves. C. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people, posts their names, and goes to their blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago:
1. Still dating the same guy for 4 years (not Matt) - didn't meet Matt until October of 1998.
2. Going to school at Brigham Young University in my Junior year.
3. Working at Ottavio's in downtown Provo.
4. Spending almost every weekend at various dance clubs in Provo: Bricks, the Bay, Manhattan Club, The Edge/The Omni.
5. Living with funny roomies Gina, Jackie, Katie & Joy (I think).

5 Things On My To-Do List Today (for tomorrow):
1. Clean house for potential Realtors and Simply Fun party.
2. Work (check on new candidate submissions)
3. Go to the grocery store (pasta sauce, fruits & veggies)
4. Take junk from garage to Goodwill
5. Exercise

5 Snacks I Enjoy:
1. Key Lime Pie (just discovered how easy this is to make and YUM)
2. The queso that goes great with Tostitos chips
3. Dr. Pepper
4. Cheetos
5. Matt's "ants-on-a-log"

5 Things I'd Do if I Were a Billionaire:
1. Pay off all debt for me and my family
2. Go on as many family vacations as would allow with any of our extended family who'd want to come
3. Build a giant lodge in Park City for hanging out with family and friends
4. Let Matt be a stay at home dad, he'd be great at it
5. Get a really good personal trainer and be healthy

3 Bad Habits:
1. Cursing while driving (oops)
2. I procrastinate
3. Not putting a new roll of toilet paper on the holder when it's empty.

5 Jobs I've Had:
1. In high school I worked at Papa Gino's
2. Ottavio's, as a waitress
3. Applebees, as a waitress
4. In PR in NYC during the dot.com boom
5. I fundraised for a theatre under renovation in Waukegan, Illinois (http://www.geneseetheatre.com/)

5 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me:
1. I used to drive a shiny blue Camaro
2. I lettered in rowing, in high school
3. I almost flunked out of BYU my second semester because I discovered dance clubs
4. I still know the names of the two biggest crushes in my life
5. I've had over 50 roommates in my life (99% of them were straight up crazy! - you know who you are)

I am tagging Rebekah, Sarah, Crystal, Erin and Cheslea.
Thanks, Liz! This was fun!

Winter Blues

Diaper Diaries

Day #853

What a week we had! I am so glad today is Monday and another week has started so we can put last week behind us! Both Quinton and I came down with textbook cases of the flu! Fever, throwing up and other nice effects that a lady doesn't discuss. Needless to say we are still enjoying toast, chicken noodle soup and clear liquids, STILL. Just to illustrate how pathetic we were, here is a picture of Quinton with a damp washcloth on his forehead. He fell asleep watching CARS with it on.

In other news, our move date is scheduled for Valentine's weekend! I previously posted, on accident, that we would be moving in November but that was a Freudian slip on my part not wanting to leave Tulsa anytime soon. We are excited for the adventure of Chicago and hanging out with our friends, there. It's been a little over 3 years since we left Chicago and we are excited that so many of our friends still live in the same area.

Matt is in Las Vegas this week for a big trade show his company goes to ever year: The World of Concrete. Sounds very exciting, huh? Too bad Quinton and I couldn't go! I've only been to Las Vegas a couple of times and most of those were on impulsive road trips in college but with the move so close, it's better for Quinton and me to hang out at home and sift through all of our junk. It's a shame it's so cold outside, I really need to have a yard sale!

Quinton is a fun kid now at 28 months old. He is speaking clearer and his vocabulary is expanding. One of his favorite things to do is find pairs of things and say that one of the pair is a mommy and the other is a baby. I don't know where this fascination comes from but it's cute to watch and play along. Quinton also loves trains. We have a generic train set for him since he doesn't watch Thomas the Train and he loves it. He and Matt like to make elaborate train track configurations..actually Matt loves making the tracks elaborate and Quinton likes to break it down.

Quinton, Matt and I enjoyed lunch together last week and as Quinton sat on Matt's lap, I couldn't help but notice how much Quinton and Matt look alike. They have the same hair color, the same facial features (although Quinton does have my nose) and it made me hope that if we have a little girl, someday, she favors me like Quinton looks like his daddy. I can hope, right?

Well, off to clean before a realtor calls!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Diaper Diaries

Day # 840

To say that the holiday season was a busy time for us would be the understatement of the year! It seems like I am always starting out my posts by mentioning how busy we have been with this, that, and the other thing, but if you know me, Matt or Quinton, you know I'm not exaggerating in any case!

Rather than bore you with the details, I'll dazzle you with the highlights!

Quinton and I flew to San Diego on the 14th of December to help with the wedding details for my mom. Matt arrived on the 19th, just in time for me to register him on United Life Church's website to be authorized to perform weddings! If you don't believe me, check it out at http://www.ulc.org/! Within 24 hours, Matt received his credentials in an email conferring upon Matt the title of Reverend. It worked out great because we couldn't find a bishop from our church available to perform the wedding so Matt conducted my mom's nuptials!

The wedding and reception were on Decmber 20th. It was raining on the 19th so we were very worried about the weather for the OUTDOOR wedding on the beach on the 20th. As it turned out, it was a cloudy YET dry day on the 20th. Perfect for taking pictures without the sun scorching our eyes! The affair was simple...my mom's one criteria for her wedding. It was at a park on the beach in La Jolla, California. The guests were mostly family, some friends and with the dolphins frolicking in the ocean near the ceremony, it was as picturesque as it gets.

Later that evening, my sisters and I threw a fun reception. With the help of a friend of my sisters', the club house at her condo building looked beautiful. It was a fun send off for the happy couple.

Christmas Eve, Quinton, Matt and I spent the day at Sea World San Diego. Quinton was free, so even if he didn't enjoy Sea World, we weren't out any money! As it turned out, Quinton loved Sea World! Ever dolphin, sea lion, seal and seagull was a "SHARK" to Quinton. When we went into the real shark tank, Quinton was mesmerized beyond words! The funny thing is, is that to go through the shark tunnel, you are on a moving sidewalk. Yeah, I spent about 10 minutes dodging people coming through the tunnel the right way because Quinton didn't want to leave the tunnel! Nobody complained , though, it was fun to see his expression watching the sharks overhead.

Christmas Day, we enjoyed an early wake up call by my sister and her kids, who were ready to open presents (early for me is before 9am). The presents were piled high and only grew once my mom stopped by! Quinton received, from his cousin James, a really cool radio controlled Lightning McQueen car and to him, he didn't care about any other presents. I think Matt and I opened more of Quinton's presents than Quinton did!

Later that afternoon, we took full advantage of a San Diego Christmas and headed to the beach with a frisbee. Quinton had a blast with his cousin James, in tow. Matt didn't know what to do with himself...getting a tan on Christmas Day is just too foreign to him, even after living in Phoenix!

We flew back to Tulsa the day aftyer Christmas - which was a sort of miracle in and of itself with so many flights having been cancelled the week before, I was lucky to make it hom with Quinton!

We spent the next day and a half settling back into life in Tulsa, only to find ourselves bored to tears on Friday night. I suggested, after my sister-in-law Teresa planted the seed of the idea, that we head to Utah for New Years. Matt asked me if I was 10% serious or 30% serious and I said, 30%. Then, I check flights and they were VERY expensive so that was out of the question. In the end, we decided to drive to Utah at 7:30 pm and were headed out of Tulsa by 10 pm with the car loaded! It took us roughly 22 hours of driving with a few potty breaks and some walking for Quinton, but we made it to Matt's brother and sister-in-law's place, but not before suprising my sister and dad, who live about 20 minutes away from Matt's brother's place. My sister's face was priceless! I had her on the phone, thinking I was in Tulsa, only to show up on her doorstep in Eagle Mountain, Utah! My dad was just as suprised and LOVED the fact that he was able to see all of his kids and grandkids in the month of December!

We had a fantastic stay in Utah and is was totally worth the 44 hours of interstate driving time we logged! We even traded in our Camry for a newer Suzuki XL7...that was a MUCH nicer ride home!

Now, on to today, Matt's 33rd birthday! We had friends over last night for cake and ice cream and today Quinton and I took Matt out to lunch. We even had one of Matt's favorite dinner's tonight, Forest Service Pie (think Sheperd's Pie but with a cornbread topping). Some of Matt's birthday highlights were a 1 year subscription to Triathlete magazine (a real page-turner) and a couple of books. He's saving up for race entry fees for some triathalons later this year.

Well, I don't want to bore you too much more and I have to go to bed since the realtor is showing our house tomorrow and I have a lot of straightening up to do in the morning! That reminds me! It looks like Matt's boss needs him in Tulsa until the middle of February (NOT November as previously erroneously mentioned) and then our address will be changing to the Chicago-area! Our house has been on the market for about a month. Check out our MLS listing, if you are bored!

Nature's Early Christmas Gift

Diaper Diaries

Day # 814

Well, what to my wondering eyes should appear but lots of downed trees and a house full of guests! That's what the late great Ice Storm of 2007 has brought us just in time for the busy holiday season!

Saturday, it started raining a little, no big deal. But by Sunday night, the rain would fall and instantly freeze to whatever it fell upon: cars, trees, swing sets, grass...EVERYTHING was covered in ice where rain touched it! We even had thunder and lightning to go along with the ice!

By Monday morning, all the schools were closed, much of Oklahoma was without power and it was COLD. Our friends, the Knowles, ended up coming over Monday evening because their fireplace wasn't able to heat their house well enough for their two kids to stay warm so they headed over to our place for an impromptu slumber party. Unfortunately for the Knowles, today is Wednesday and their power is going on and off at their house and their mailbox was taken down by a neighbor's tree.

Yesterday, Matt and Trevor Knowles spent the day glued to their cell phones running around and helping out church members and friends chop up trees that were blocking driveways and streets. They two guys came home at about 6:30 pm, soaked and tired!

Today, Erin Knowles and I took the kids to a kids play place where they have those big inflatable bouncy gyms. We had to get the kids out of the house and some place to run around since they've been cooped up for days. Our venture out today was amazing with so many LARGE trees down and so many houses without power. Erin and I went out last night to pick up a few things and it is a weird sight to see entire blocks of neighborhoods without a single light showing, just pitch black! Seeing blocks of stores dark was weird, too.

Weather reports are predicting 1-3 inches of snow on Saturday but the silver lining to THAT cloud is that Quinton and I are flying out to San Diego on Friday and we may miss the snow and go straight to sunny skies!

Here's to hoping for better weather, SOON!

Happy Everything!

Diaper Diaries

# I have no clue!

Well, it's practically been a month since our cruise and it's taken me this long to get around to updating the blog. There are a ton of pictures in the Cruise album to your left if you have some spare time...and then a little more spare time. It was fun for me to go back through the pictures, today, to add captions. I already miss the fun times!

We'll be having more fun family times since we are heading to San Diego for Christmas and for my mom's wedding! My parents have been divorced for about 5 or 6 years and my mom met a lovely gentleman, Tom, while out visiting my sister in San Diego last year. Tom went on the cruise with us and ended up proposing after a karaoke version of "Lady" by Kenny Loggins. We are excited about this new adventure for our mom and the trip to San Diego should be fun, too.

The cruise was a blast! Some friends were surprised we were taking Quinton with us but this was a family cruise, all thanks to my grandparents. In total, there were 17 of us and I wouldn't have wanted Quinton to miss it for the world!

There is so much to do on a cruise boat, it's great, but I really have to recommend the NAPPING part of the cruise as one of my favorites! I'm usually so busy at home with all kinds of things that when Quinton takes a nap, I hardly ever take the luxury of sleeping, too. But on the ship, it was great, Quinton went down for a nap and either Matt or me would stay in the room with him and take a nap, too. What a lovely vacation!

Our original cruise itinerary has us going to Jamaica and one of the Grand Cayman islands. Tropical Storm Noel had other plans for us, though. Our first day out to sea, the captain let us know we would be skipping Jamaica and heading to the Bahamas, instead. By that same night, the Bahamas were out since Noel would have crossed our path. We ended up in Key West, Florida, after a day and a half out to sea. From our original port of Ft. Lauderdale, Key West is MAYBE a 4-hour drive, but whatever, we were having fun.

In Key West, Matt and I found a place that had tandem parasailing rides. We convinced my sister, Jessi and her husband, Wes to go with us. Jessi wasn't too excited but we talked her into it. It was one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life! I even think Jessi liked it, too!

After parasailing, we met up with some of the rest of our group and went on a glass bottom boat tour. Unfortunately, the operators of the tour didn't mention there was a small craft advisory and we probably shouldn't be going out to open water. Needless to say, when we did hit open water, the boat was ROCKING more than it should have been! When we finally reached the reef the boat was going to tour, the water was so rough, you could hardly see anything below and as soon as I went down to the glass bottom-area, I had to run up the stairs cause I was feeling the effects of the rocking. I wasn't the only one! There were several other passengers up top looking as green as I was. It was a rather excruciating tour and we were quite happy when the captain decided to take us back in earlier than planned. If you are ever about to get sea-sick, people will tell you to 'watch the horizon' to steady yourself. That didn't quite work since when you had your eye on the horizon, you had the boat rails in front of you going UP and DOWN a lot! I finally gave into my natural instincts, hoping not to set anyone else off. I have to say that was NOT one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life!

After that lovely ride, some of us were actually hungry and by asking around, we found a delish Caribbean/Puerto Rican/Cuban restaurant called El Maison de Pepe. If you ever go to Key West, I'd recommend it! The food was very tasty, even after the boat trip. After lunch, we wandered around shopping and enjoyed the street performers in Mallory Square. We headed back on the boat just as the sun was setting. We wanted to get back in time for the karaoke competition and dinner.

Karaoke

By booking us all on a cruise together, I don't think my grandparents ever dreamed they'd unleash the craziest karaoke competitors the cruise ship had ever seen! My older sister, Alyee, in her life as a law-student moonlighted as a karaoke deejay. She actually met her husband, Cliff, through that gig at a local dance club so they both share a love for karaoke. My little brother, Jeff, is attending comedy school in L.A. and loves to be the center of attention. Throw into that my mom's friend, Tom - who although being a novice to karaoke, really made his mark - and you have a wild and crazy group of karaoke lovers! Then, top all of that off with 17 karaoke audience members whose family members are in the competition and you have a recipe for F-U-N!

By the end of the cruise MANY fellow passengers knew Jeff, Alyee and Tom by name, not to mention my grandparents!

Besides karaoke, there are fun game shows and trivia competitions on the ship. One night, my grandparents were chosen to be on the Love & Marriage game show. There were three couples on stage: one couple who had been married 5 years or less, one couple who had been married 6-25 years and then my grandparents who made it into the 25+ years of marriage. They have been married 58 years! Amazing, I know!

My grandad is such a ham that I have no idea where my family gets it! I honestly think my grandparents stole the show, they had some great one-liners and really played up their innocence. The funny thing was that the game show was filmed and kept showing, about 3 times a day, on the ship's television station. So by the end of the cruise, EVERYONE knew my grandparents. It was the cutest!

We also spent Halloween on the ship. That was a lot of fun because they had a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treating route set up. A lot of passengers and crew were dressed up for the occassion including Quinton. My really great friend loaned my a Raggedy Andy costume that her mother-in-law handmade and it was TOO cute on Quinton. He had a hard time keeping his wig on but all of the little old ladies on board loved his costume. My nephew, James, was a knight and my niece, Winter, was a butterfly. Even my aunt and uncle, grandparents and mom and Tom got in on the fun, too. My little brother, Jeff, though, was fantastic as "The Donald". Jeff is especially talented when it comes to impersonation, Christopher Walken being my favorite of his, and he did The Donald very well, too.

By now, you have to realize that I am one of the most blessed people in the world to have the crazy, funny, and most caring family members ever. Needless to say, Quinton misses 24-hour french fry availability, all the ice cream he wants and lots of attention! My sister's son, James, kept asking to go back to the boat once they went back home to San Diego.

Our other port ended up being in Cozumel, Mexico. Unfortunately, we arrived later in the day so a lot of the fun outdoor stuff was closed so we just wandered around shopping in town. It was fun but I missed not going to the Grand Caymans.

After the cruise, we were able to spend a couple of days in Florida hanging out, going to the beach and visiting with friends. It was so nice to have Matt around for a nice long vacation.

Since the cruise, we have been busy with preparations for our move to Chicago. Plus, my mom announced that she wanted to get married in San Diego on the 20th of December so we quickly booked flights for Christmas in San Diego. We are excited to spend more time with family even though we should probably be in Tulsa getting the house ready to put up for sale.

Well, it's taken a long time to get this blog entry done so I had better post it before I let it go even longer.

Cheers!

Bon Voyage!

Diaper Diaries
Day #765

This is my last-minute effort to update the blog before I go on vacation tomorrow! Wooohooo!

I really should be in bed since Quinton and I have a big day of traveling, tomorrow, but I just have to post before we leave and I have some really cute pictures to add!

The last couple of weeks have been busy as ever.

My work really had me hopping just after we returned from Matt's parent's farewell in Utah. Plus, I came home with a sinus cold that became walking pneumonia...at least it was the walking kind, instead of the hospitalized pneumonia like I had just after Quinton was born. Apparently I am more susceptible to pneumonia, in any variation, since my bout with it 2 years ago...lucky me!

Plus, Matt has been traveling a little bit. This month, besides Utah, he's been to Boston, Vancouver, D.C., Phoenix (tonight) and Ft. Lauderdale on Friday to meet up with us in Florida for the cruise we set sail on Saturday! I get dizzy just thinking about all of those flights!

My lovely grandparents had the fantastic idea of sharing a cruise with anyone of their family members who wanted to go with them, so a bunch of us are heading out on Saturday for a 5-night cruise to the Cayman Islands and Jamaica! I am so excited, I can barely type straight! Quinton even has a passport for this adventure! I'll have to scan his passport photo and post it another day because he looks really cute!

Amidst all this excitement, though, we have been able to have fun going to pumpkin patches and playing with friends at the park. The weather has really cooled down this week and it's wonderful to feel fall in Tulsa! Quinton looks very cute these days in his jeans and long sleeves...it seems like just last week he was in shorts and t-shirts...oh, wait, it WAS last week!

Quinton is so much his own personality these days. He loves to repeat words he hears Matt and me say, which is not always a good thing! He has never really walked from point A to B, Quinton is a runner, wherever he's going. Before you think he's angelic or something, I do have to say Quinton is NOT the best shopper at the supermarket. He hates sitting in the cart and has about a 60 second threshold for the minutiae involved in going through my grocery list. It's easy to follow our trail, though, through the entire store...it usually consists of Round 1's french fry bribe, then Round 2's lollipop bribe, all the way down to Round 103's Mommy-Dancing-Like-A-Monkey-In-The Register-Line dance! Seriously, I relish the days when Matt's in town and I can grocery shop solo! I can't say that I'd trade any of it, though. I love it when Quinton smiles, I love it when he gives me a kiss for no reason other than he loves us unconditionally (although lollipops do help)!

Today, I told him he can't grow up anymore...his response: he pointed to me and said "No, mommy!" - Sad, but true.

We also had Quinton's 2nd Birthday pictures taken today. They turned out very cute so I have to share, enjoy!

Stacy

Time flies...

Diaper Diaries

Day #751

Wow.

Time sure does get away from me sometimes.

I had all the best intentions to post pictures and stories about Quinton's birthday party weekend but then I was really busy with work. And then the next weekend, we were in Utah for Matt's parents' mission farewell. I came back to Tulsa with a nice sinus cold which is now in my chest and has me up coughing right now instead of sleeping soundly.

Oh and Matt left for Vancouver today!

Quinton's 2nd Birthday

Well, to recap Quinton's birthday party, we have to start with a typical hot and humid Saturday in Tulsa, Saturday the 22nd to be exact. Matt vetoed my many brilliant ideas to have Quinton's party at any number of loud and obnoxious venues appropriate for my son's second birthday festivities. We finally agreed upon the spacious playground out in front of our house with its easy access and ample parking. Then, Matt vetoed my even more brilliant ideas to have any number of pony rides, jupiter jumps, 40-foot inflatable slides, ball pits, clowns, cotton candy and/or popcorn machines to entertain our party attendees. Matt's eloquent argument: "Quinton is two, he doesn't know the difference."

End of story.

No ponies, no balloon twisting clowns with artistic renderings of flowers that I so love...just a party at our playground. But since we all know I like to make the drab fabulous, I was able to borrow a bouncy house and my dear neighbor, Leann, made a cake fit for a prince on his 2nd birthday!

Quinton's party turned out absolutely great. All of our friends ands neighbors who were able to come enjoyed themselves. Matt cooked hot dogs on the grill and we had the best birthday cake I've had in a loooong time! Quinton, as Matt predicted, didn't seem to notice all of the hub-bub was for him. Matt even struggled to keep Quinton's attention on opening the presents. Quinton must divine his humility from me, of course :^P

Utah

Our trip to Utah the following weekend (21st to the 24th) was a lot of fun. We were able to spend a lot of time with Matt's family and enjoy the cooler weather Utah had to offer. On Saturday, the rain even turned into snow at one point! Quinton was a little befuddled since he'd been wearing shorts the day before in Oklahoma, only to find himself bundled and playing in the snowflakes the next day! Such is the life of a jet-setting toddler, I suppose.

Matt's parents are preparing to go on a Mormon mission to Duluth, Minnesota, where they will be working with the Church Education System. Matt's mom hadn't had much time to check out the finer points of Duluth before we'd arrived and while there, I was able to help her find out a few things about Duluth. Honestly, I didn't even know where Duluth was on the map so it was just as much as about me educating myself than it was about helping my lovely mother-in-law out! Much to Wanda's delight, Duluth is known as the "air-conditioned city" due to the cooling effect that Lake Superior has on it during the summer months. My in-laws were not looking forward to a warm climate mission, so the fact that Duluth is NOT a warmer city is good news to both of them.

During our weekend, we were able to spend time with all 8 of Matt's brothers and their wives and families. It's always a full house when everyone is around...counting all of Matt's immediate family, I think it's up to 47 people right now. Plus, a lot of Matt's aunts, uncles and cousins came into town so as you might imagine, it was a fun farewell!

Although I wasn't able to get south of Salt Lake City to visit my family, I was able to spend a couple of hours with my good friend, Gina before she left on a flight back to California. It just so happened that she was in Utah the same time we were and since I haven't seen her in over two years, it was an awesome opportunity to hang out with her and her son even for a couple of hours.

Life in Broken Arrow, OK

Since the party and Utah, we have been busy with everyday life. My work keeps me busy and Matt's work keeps him even busier. I have to say that Matt and I enjoy everyday with Quinton so much more than before he came into our lives.

Last night, I was playing with Quinton and felt a bump on the inside of his neck. At first, I didn't know what to think. I had Matt feel it when he came home and then I looked on the internet. It's scary what you can find on the internet when it comes to a simple search like "bump in neck". I didn't really sleep well last night because I wasn't sure what to think. So the first thing this morning, I called Quinton's pediatrician and made an appointment for him as soon as possible.

What a relief doctors can be in this situation! The pediatrician noticed a bruise on Quinton's forehead, along with the bump on the lymph node. He said that after a good knock to the noggin like the one Quinton sustained when he was running through the house and fell on the tile flooring on Monday night, there can be a little blood from the bruising that drains into the lymph node and that's what was the likely cause of the swollen node. He said it should go away within a week or two without any negative effects.

So many thoughts had run through my mind before that appointment with the doctor that I was relieved beyond words to know Quinton was okay. I can honestly say that we love and appreciate Quinton everyday but this past 24 hours, I have held him closer than I normally do just because I can and he doesn't seem to mind. I don't even mind letting him ride the horsey ride at Wal-Mart twice in one day just because I know I can't stop him from growing up so I might as well appreciate each moment.

My cough medicine finally kicked in so it's time for me to sign off for tonight.

Goodnight.

Stacy