Weekend boys

I had to take a trip out to Salt Lake on Thursday and Carl was at training in California. Luckily Grandma stepped I to save the day and was able to take off and watch the boys. Max got to ride forward in her car and they got all kinds of treats. The rest is all random. New coat (FINALLY), car shopping cars, iPad at dinner, slides with Daddy, asleep on Mommy.

Day 154, 155, 156

10.21,10.22, 10.23.2012

Our weekend flew by and now we are just going with life. I have been struggling to work in between entertaining Max and remember this being a really challenging time with Carson too. Taking him to and from preschool has really screwed up Max's naps, which isn't helping anything, and I'm lucky to get one work break during the day while he sleeps at home. Granted all my work can be done at any time of the day, but it is sooooooo hard to stay up and work at night. Right now that seems like the best option since that's when it is quiet and I can focus.

I'm trying to stay positive, especially on an extreme lack of sleep. Max wasn't sleeping at all for the entire last week so hopefully we're on the up swing. But who are we kidding? I haven't slept a full night in WELL over a year. 

Sunrise from my window.

Day 118: While Daddy's away

9.15.2012

Carl had to work on Saturday (again) so we had to find something to do. The only distinction between my weekdays and weekends are that Carl and my mom are home on weekends. So when Carl has to work it feels like any other day, but I can't do most of our fun things because of the lame weekend crowds. 

So......to Chick-Play we go!

Then I dropped Carson off at Carl's shop and he got to work with him for a while. Max and I did a little shopping since I was down there and didn't have Carson to tag along. We went to dinner with friends and then Carl made us go to boring Gander Mountain. That place is scary. Camouflage with pink and rhinestones should be outlawed in every state. Carson and I kept ourselves busy in the tents. :)

Day 79: Shred it

08.07.2012

I am admittedly so behind on blogging photos that I don't totally remember what was going on in some of these!! I know I was crazy busy when I took this photo because Max was tearing the office apart and I didn't even care. Most important stuff is tucked away so it's just a matter of picking back up all the books, crayons, shreds of paper, etc. at the end of the day. I have to tie my computer cabinet doors shut and had to move all my important paperwork. If he gets a piece of paper he will SHRED it.

iPhone pic from our morning walk.

Day 76: Fixed

Yep, more of little dude sleeping. After all the sickness he still didn't sleep great on Friday night. He fell  deep asleep finally early in the morning and then wouldn't get out of bed. Carl had to work Saturday so after he got up Max turned sideways and planted himself in bed like this.

Carl also got a motorcycle on Saturday. We went down to the shop when he finished up so I could oversee the selling paperwork. I'm the paper person in our household, aka I'm paranoid about bad titles and forms. hahaha
So Carson got to help Daddy "fix on" a BMW. Those two are quite the team.

Naughty Pants Magoo

The last two weeks here have been fun and a bit crazy. Our house is definitely full now, but it's great having family around. Carl's sister Christy, her fiance Andy and Carl's little brother Dustin are all with us for now! Dustin got to start school here in our neighborhood and Christy and Andy are on the job hunt. Carson loves having new faces to look at. Every time one of them comes in the room he says, "Oh, hi ______!" like it's the first time he's ever seen them. 

Then we got kind of bomb dropped on us in the last two days. Carl got called for jury duty and he just had to show up yesterday as one of about 200 people. After all was said and done he was chosen for the 14-person jury and it is a murder trial that could last up to two weeks. Everyone was telling him to say everything outrageous to get out of it, but he said there was really no way to lie since you didn't know what the right answers really even are. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but he is about 2 weeks short of his 90 days at work so his benefits to pay for this haven't kicked in yet. His boss fought for him, but corporate won't pay. It's pretty lame to just miss an entire pay period out of no where! Sucky suck suck.

Grandpa Rick came to visit again this week too. He slept in the recliner. :)  We've been doing a lot of playing outside, going on playdates and working in between. Carson is always obsessed with our neighbors' Razor Scooters. He has never been able to ride them on his own, but he tries all the time. I have to drag him home after he plays with them. Well, Dustin shows up and guess what he has.....a Razor Scooter. Carson quickly claimed it as his own and has been attempting to master it ever since. On Wednesday night Carl was trying to teach him how to balance on one foot and push off with the other. He showed him twice and all of a sudden Carson just took off! Every time before this he would try to put both feet on and obviously just fell right over. Once he figured out what he was supposed to do you couldn't stop him. The funniest part (which I didn't get on video) was him trying to copy Carl and do a 360.

Other than all that, I just have some random photos to share that I've snapped over the last while. ***Disclaimer: He got a haircut last night. It wasn't by my choice that he looked like a poor homeless child with twangers galore.

One day last week we went out for the day and we didn't get home in time for Carson's nap. He was fine, but when we got back we tried to get him to lay down with us on the floor on his couch. We watched a movie and he ran around for over an hour. At one point it got really quiet and this was why:

Then he eventually came to lay by me and crashed out of no where. We rarely ever get to see him sleep so we basically just sat there and stared at him. Apparently he sleeps with his eyes open sometimes. And my arms go to sleep incredibly easy.

He loves helping Daddy make pancakes every weekend. He's finally figuring out how to stir without flipping the whole bowl out onto the counter. 

We've been out playing in the backyard a lot during the days. I don't know what he'll do when it gets cold. It already is starting to feel chilly and I'm not ready for it at all!

Since he got his Jeep, the Cozy Coupe lives in the back. He goes "four-wheeling" in the grass and rides it all over out there. Lately Elmo has been coming along for rides too. "Mommy, Elmo NEEDS to come with me."

We can't even believe how well he is talking still. He can put sentences together that I had no idea he would be able to at this point. Last weekend we told him we'd try to go to the park, but it got too late and we had to run other errands. When we pulled into Target he screamed from the backseat, "I thought I said no Target!" We just looked at each other like, uh, he really said that.

Yesterday he wasn't feeling well and threw up on the way to daycare. He seemed fine last night, but I was still watching him. When I got him up this morning I asked him how he was feeling and he said, "Grumpy". I didn't even know how to respond. It is so amazing that at this age they can 100% comprehend what we are saying and answer with the right words

At my office we just signed for a third arm of the study we've been doing for a while now. That one looks like it will go until 2013 which is GREAT news!! My boss is already talking about planning our February trip to Carmel again. I don't know if that's really awesome or really mean since it's still 5 months away! :)

And in case you're wondering, Naughty Pants Magoo is one of the many nicknames I have for Carson. I have no idea why, but most of them end in Magoo or Magee.

Happy Anniversary to us :)

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary! Time is flying by, but in the best way possible. I couldn't ask for a better husband and father to my little dude.

I rarely have to ask him to do anything twice, even though he has to ask me to do things ten times. 

He takes it upon himself to bring me home big Diet Cokes after he has been gone 12+ hours a day.

He rubs my back many many nights while we are watching TV.

He buys mostly all gray shirts and black shorts, but still asks me if they match.

He'll never ever understand my love of year-round flip flops, sandals and hoodies.

I'll never understand his undying love for buying so. many. pairs. of new shoes.

He believes in me no matter what, even when I don't.

We love each other unconditionally and it feels great!

(Sorry to be so sappy....)

Anyways.

Carl started his new job today! He is going to be a Field Service Technician for Crown Lift Trucks. It seems a little random, but this company just keeps coming up in Carl's life. I honestly think it's meant to be. This was the THIRD time he had interviewed with them over the last seven years and this time it all fell into place. They were very eager to get him which felt great. The car business has always been second nature in our family, but it was getting beyond grueling. It is soooo time for a change! I'm very proud of Carl and everything he does to keep this little operation afloat. :)

And because I can always use an anniversary to shameless post some of our favorite pictures.... 

This is one of my very favorite pictures that came from our wedding. It wasn't even taken by our photographer, but by our pal Luke. This was mid-shot of cake being shoved in my face. You can see some weird ghosting of the action and the cake is flying though the air. You can even see cake shadows on my tongue! It just makes me laugh and feel happy every time I see it.

And a pic of my handsome guy I took just moments before he proposed to me. Think he looks nervous???

We get to go out on a date tonight, yay! 

Love you Babe!

C-Man

I thought I would share my current giggles with you all.

We are starting a new study at work so this means I keep my 'every third Monday' telecon for study one and now had to add my 'every second and fourth Monday' telecon for study two. I was hoping we could schedule the new study for morning time and I'd use daycare for these days, but they wanted to have them at 2pm again. 

Well...Carson didn't nap well at all this weekend, mostly because there was too much fun to be had around him (with Daddy). We put him down an hour early last night since he was so grumpy. So don't you know it, he woke up at 6am today. I figured this meant he'd nap early today and be wide awake by my call time. I'd have to let him watch a cartoon in my room since my call never goes over 20-30 minutes (same thing as when I have to shower when he's awake!). 

But now it is currently 1:50, Carson fell asleep at 11:00 and he is still asleep! He rarely sleeps over two hours, he hasn't had lunch yet and most likely he'll wake up just before or during my call. I seriously don't understand how he always knows how to do the exact opposite thing I want him to do!!! Oh well. I guess it could be worse. He could be screaming at me right now like many other days. haha

And daycare is still going really well. He has been six or so times now. The poor kid starts freaking out as soon as we turn into the parking lot now and cries the whole time I drop him off. But they said it only takes him a minute and he's totally fine and has a great time. The whole time we are driving home he sit back there saying "missed you Mommy!". It's the cutest thing ever. If I drop him off by 8:45 then I'm home just after 9:00. I leave to get him around noon, he's ready for a nap as soon as we get home and usually sleeps until about 2:00 on these days. It is so worth it to get 5-6 hours of "me" time for about $30!

He figured out how to open the fridge and freezer on Friday so we have a lock on the door handles now. A little girl walked up to him at B&N on Saturday and he looked at her and said, "Hi Friend!". He is obsessed with playing outside right now so we've been letting him stroll in and out of the back door. Carl taught Carson to say "Ewww, yuck" when I give him a kiss. He has completely lost all interest in Yo Gabba Gabba all of a sudden and unfortunately switched to Caillou. If you don't know what it is, be happy.

Ahhhhhhh........It's 1:55 and he's now waking up as I post this. I have five minutes to get food and a cartoon ready! Wish me luck :)

Today was a big day...

Carson went to daycare for the first time!

Granted, it was only for about 3 hours, but still. I have checked into many different daycare options in the last few months and keep chickening out on pulling the trigger. I just can't stomach committing that much money to something that I don't know how it will work out and have to follow their schedules. Plus, they are SO expensive for something that we don't need right now. That being said, it has been getting pretty difficult here with Carson wanting 100% of my attention when I have some work stuff going on. I know that's why most people don't believe you can work at home without child care. I make it work for sure, it's just not the most fun option for either of us. He has been getting really antsy and starting to kind of act out so I want to get him around other kids and out of his normal everyday setting.

Well, we are setting up a new study at work so I knew I had a big teleconference this morning. I have heard a lot of good things about a drop-in daycare close by so we checked it out yesterday. Today was the perfect opportunity to use something like that. Their prices were really reasonable since they charge by 15 minute increments. You literally only pay for what you use and can set your own hours obviously. I got a really good feeling in the center and about all the ladies there. They have a preschool for 2-5 years from 9-noon so it's really structured with tons of stuff to play with. There is a toddler room for the little ones if there are lots of big kids in the main room too.

I dropped him off this morning around 8:45 and told them I'd call when I was done with my telecon. That was about 10:30 and she said he was doing great, asked for Mommy once and was in the highchair eating his snack then. I told her I'd be there by 11:30 and got a bunch of work done here. When I got there he didn't even act like it was a big deal to see me (bittersweet, right?). They said he couldn't have done any better, he played and had a great time. I am so happy. When we tried the gym daycare I think he was just too young to be introduced to it and also was a time when he was having separation anxiety to make matters worse. If this ends up being good we will try to use it one or two mornings a week for both of us to get a break. I love just knowing that I have an option to use something. There have been so many times I've felt pretty stuck because it seems like you have to do all or nothing with child care. This could be a great option for our situation!

He was so bored this week he started pulling out all the cookie sheets and stuff from below the ovens. That drawer lock is broken so I just let him at it. 

He lined them all up, tried walking on them and then slipped on his butt. Action shot!!!

He always watches himself in the appliances like they're mirrors.

And he is still loving his tractor book we got at Barnes and Noble. (Check out that cowlick!)

Back and Relaxed - Carmel, 2010

We had an incredible time in Carmel this year. I took about 400+ pictures so I have been trying to sort through them in the last few days and deciding which ones to share. As a disclaimer, I can't narrow it down very well so there will be A LOT of photos in this post. :)
**You can click on any of the photos if you want to see them in full size.**

Carson did awesome for the entire time we were gone. He didn't even notice we weren't here. He took all his naps, slept fine through the night and had fun playing with Grandma. That made it so much easier to relax while we were gone.

On the trip we did a lot of new things and were just basically free. It sort of felt like I had forgot my purse or something, like you feel naked when you don't have something that's always with you. It took awhile to stop feeling like we forgot Carson in the car. 

Basically we just chilled, went sightseeing and gorged ourselves with tons of food. Bob took us to some fancy cheese shop...we each ate over a pound of cheese alone in three days. Yummmmm. We had our favorite cake in Monterey, drank beer and wine, made dinner at home and took full advantage of the espresso machine in our house. Luckily it also had some decaf or Bob and I would have been wired the entire time. Oh, I got to experience my first Trader Joe's too!

It was surprisingly really cold the entire time we were there and rained a lot too. Luckily I decided to bring my big winter coat, scarf and gloves because I actually need them! I was completely bundled up the entire time.

We usually fly into San Jose and drive an hour down to Carmel. This time Bob asked if we wanted to stop at a redwood forest on the way down as a detour. We were all over that! It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It literally felt like you had been plucked from the real world and dropped on some crazy planet. It had the most enchanted feeling. Everything was SO green and everything around you was so captivating. I took a ton of photos there...here are some of my favorites.

 It was hard for me to get the actual scale of the trees in one picture because I didn't have my wide-angle lens with me. I did take this picture with my phone to send Carson. That tree Carl is standing in front of is 270 feet tall!

 

I was going to take a picture of Carl under this one big tree that was split in two at the bottom. Then he yelled at me for never being in the pictures so I set up the self-timer and jumped in.

Then he made me kiss him. Yuck. :)

We found lots of these banana slugs. Apparently they are the mascot of Santa Cruz, but they were nasty. They stood out everywhere and were cool to look at though.

 

One of my favorite things were all the big triangle-shaped spider webs that were covered in rain drops. They looked so awesome.

And there were a lot of different kinds and colors of mushrooms all over. They all looked like flowers or clams. And all of the ground was covered in clovers. We never found a four leaf one though.

We took turns under the huge overhanging trees.

 

 

There were all kinds of other plants growing on the big trees that had fallen on the ground.

Then it was time to go check out our rental house. It turned out to be more than awesome. It had a gourmet kitchen, beautiful furnishings, three patios and much more. It was really nice!

Then we headed to Point Lobos. That's the local natural reserve that we have gone to every year. It is so pretty. They have what is called "seal island" out on one of the points. It is impossible to see them with your bare eyes, but you can sure hear them! Especially when the wind picks up just right. I finally got somewhat of a decent picture with my telephoto so now I know what was out there.

This area is mostly all cliffs so you stay up top instead of going to a beach.

There is this ice plant all over there. I absolutely love the colors!

 On Saturday we drove down Big Sur and stopped at a few beaches. This was the only time it was actually sunny and we all loved feeling the sun. We hiked around and spent time just laying in the sand. They had three huge storms just before we got there so it was still really windy and the waves were huge for that area. 

 

 

At one point we were all laying in the sand and I looked over to snap this shot of Penelope next to me and Bob perched up on the rocks. Aaaahhhhhhh........

There were really cool big turkey vultures that flew over us the whole time. I got this shot of one.
We saw three whales while we were at the Bixby Bridge also.

 

 We were hoping to be there for the sunset, but it was too cloudy to see much of anything. This is what the sky looked like that night.

And on a different spot that same night:

Sunday was really rainy. We went down to Carmel Beach to walk around. My umbrella was pretty pointless and I had to come hope to re-dry my hair. Then we came home, finished what was left of all our amazing food and took off back up to San Jose. 

It was really great, but we came home pretty tired. We stayed up super late (for us), didn't sleep great in the bed there and still woke up at our normal time. We are still trying to catch up. Tuesday was Carl's birthday. This was a wonderful way to celebrate! He took Monday off too so he's have a day to relax before going back.

So, if you got this far, thanks for reading! I told you it would be looooooooooong.