Home Again!

Let's be honest, I've really been home since Tuesday night, but I feel like I've been going nonstop since then! Wednesday I was wiped out, so I didn't do anything... at all. I haven't even unpacked yet.

Thursday, Jackson & I missed Rhyme Time. We split the blame though; he decided to make a mess in his diaper (and outside his diaper a little - yuk!) as soon as I strapped him in to the car seat, and I was in such a hurry to make up for lost time, that I forgot my wallet at home and had to turn around to go get it. Finally, we were leaving the house 15 minutes after Rhyme Time was supposed to start, so we went to run errands instead. We went to my (current) favorite store of all time, Babies R Us. I could walk around in there for hours. And I have. Anyways, we got diapers and a couple new toys for Jackson. Then we had lunch with my Dad, who is in town from Taiwan right now. We were right by Barnes & Noble and since we had missed Rhyme Time, we went in for coffee and to look at the books. We found a few books that we really liked, and met a couple new friends too! Then I went over to GAP to buy some t-shirts and wound up finding a pair of jeans I liked at a store nearby. Finally, we swung by Bath and Body Works to pick up an air freshener refill for spring. Right now we're using cinnamon which seems like a fall/winter scent to me. So we got something fruity for spring.

On Friday I took my Dad down to the Museum of Nature and Science to watch an IMAX film about the Tour de France, which my Dad follows every year. He loves it and one day wants to go to France to physically follow the Tour from beginning to end. After that, we went back to Plano to pick up Jackson and have lunch at my parents' house. Unfortunately, their bathroom had flooded that morning, so Daddy had laundry to do. So I decided to tidy and vacuum my sister's room since she's coming home this week (yay!). I love coming home to a clean room, so I hope she appreciates the gesture. She's bringing her boyfriend home to visit as well, so I cleaned up my old bedroom for him. I took down a lot of my decorations from high school, so now my room looks a little bare. Luckily, my sister is an amazing painter, so I hung one of her paintings I found while tidying her room. It looks beautiful! I was on such a roll that before I knew it Jackson and Steven were both passed out, so we decided to spend the night.

This morning (Saturday), we woke up and Steven went to his Golf clinic while I stayed at my parents' house and cleaned up my room a little more. When Steven was done with his clinic, we went to lunch and ran errands with my Mom and Jackson. We went to this family-owned place near us called "Holy Frijoles!" It is so yum. The salsa is amazing... and the enchiladas... ok, now my mouth is watering. So good, so good. After that, we went to buy a rug, some cleaning supplies (apparently I colored on my door as a child... and then covered it with obnoxious magazine clippings), and some baby items for a shower my Mom's going to next week. Yay Babies R Us again! Then we met up with my Dad to find a birthday present for my sister, went out to dinner, and finally came home to our own house! Phew. It was a busy couple of days, after a busy few days in New York City! I'm ready to slow down and work on getting the house in order this week.

I was going to write about my New York visit tonight, but I'm getting really sleepy. I guess it will have to wait for now. (yawn) good night.

New York, New York!

The last time I was in New York (and the first time!) Steven and I were on our honeymoon! We went to 2 Broadway shows, stayed a block away from Times Square, went shopping at Bloomingdale's (siiiigh), played in FAO Schwartz, saw the Statue of Liberty, and visited the World Trade Center site. I don't care if people roll their eyes at us for "doing the tourist thing" (which many New Yorkers have), WE HAD THE TIME OF OUR LIFE!!! It was perfect. Loved it!

So this weekend, I'm packing my bags and jetting off to New York City to see my sister and do the non-tourist stuff. She's a senior at Pratt Institute and her senior art show is this Monday and Tuesday. Yaaaay! My parents and my Uncle & his wife are going as well. We're all so proud of her! In the mean time, Steven and Jackson are going to have a boy's weekend without me.

Anyways, I guess it's time to get packing!

Wonderful Wednesdays!

Every Wednesday Jackson and I go to Rhyme Time at the library (see post titled "Story Time"). It's great because it gets me out of the house and Jackson has fun checking out all the other kids and we both love dancing around and being silly! Last week Steven joined us for Rhyme Time and a picnic, and then we went to the Museum of Nature and Science (formerly the Science Place). It's a hands-on museum, with a special area for kids up to age 7. Never mind that Jackson slept through the whole thing, Steven and I had a BLAST! We're such little kids at heart. I had a lot of fun thinking about what Jackson would like about it when he's older. Steven and I decided that he would take one day off each month to have a special day with Jackson and me.

Yesterday, though not as fun, we had a big day too! Of course, it started with Rhyme Time. We finally got a spot in the front row and Jackson got so excited that he spit up all over himself. Not that I can blame him, it is super fun. We had fun wiggling and listening to the stories, and then (of course) Jackson passed out in the car. Then I went by Starbucks (the addiction continues) and over the Babies R Us. It is amazing what baby items have emerged since Jackson was born! I can't believe how quickly things have progressed... I mean, come on, he's only 3 months old! To be fair though, I expect that several items came out for 2009. Well, we had a great time there and got a pirate onesie and some antibacterial wipes for the diaper bag. Then we went to the Home Goods store (attached to TJ Maxx) to find some discount items for the house. They actually have some really nice stuff... including our wedding stemware! I found some boxes for the house to wrangle some of the items that have been floating around with no place to go.

After that we popped over to Michael's to find some frames for Steven. When he was in the Navy, they had a celebration for crossing the equator. Once someone crosses, they become a "shellback" instead of a "pollywog" BUT only if they can get through initiation. This is where Steven's problem arose. He crossed the equator a few times before becoming a shellback because either he missed initiation, they didn't offer it, or he got so excited that he split his head open and needed stitches. Finally, on his fourth trip across the equator, after 2+ years of serving on the Blue Ridge, he became a shellback and received a certificate. Recently, Steven's been talking about how much he misses the guys from his division of the ship, so yesterday as I was unpacking our stuff (yes, STILL!), I found his certificate! I know it's very special to him, and I would hate for anything to happen to it, so I took it to Michael's to have it framed. I told Steven about it last night and he was thrilled. It will be ready in two weeks and I'm so excited to see how it turns out!

Finally, we went to the Container Store to find some place to store all the papers we have floating around. Then it was back home to see Daddy (by this time it was past 5:00!) and then we went to watch Steven's softball game. He and Cale play for a co-ed church team. Last night they played a team of Hooter's employees. Unfortunately, Steven's team lost, but he got one of the 2 runs, so that was good. I met a few of the wives and had a good time talking with them. It's amazing how Moms are drawn to each other. As long as you have kids in tow, anyone whose ever had kids or nannied will come over and talk. Love it. To wrap up the day, we had pizza with Cale and then went home and passed out. It was a busy day!