Terrifying

Last night for 90 terrifying minutes I had no idea where Kolton was.

Well, maybe I'm being a tad overly dramatic but that's what it felt like anyway.  Let me explain...

I knew he was with his babysitter but I was surprised when I got home from my dinner meeting before them.  We only have one girl that watches him and her son is involved in a youth football league that practices every Tues, Wed, & Thur.  She took him one other time and made it home by 8:00.  So when I got home shortly after 8 and they weren't back yet i thought it was odd.  I sent her a text and tried to ignore the lump in my throat.  5 minutes and no response later I called her phone...it went straight to voicemail!  Que panic.  I texted again, called again, called again, called, called, called, well you get the point.  Now it was 8:30 and I'm pacing the driveway willing her car to pull into the community.  Here was the problem...

I didn't know exactly where she was taking him.  I just knew football practice.  I didn't know the babysitters home phone number.  I only know her cell.  I didn't know her address either.  She had recently moved.  I was FREAKING OUT.  So I did what any panicking, irrational mother would do.  I threw a Hail Mary and called the realtor that had recommended her because I knew they were close friends.  She wasn't sure where the fields were either but told me she wouldn't be surprised if practice ran late because there was no school on Wed.

My rational brain told me there had to be a logical explanation but my irrational brain jumped to the worse case scenario.  What if the got in an accident?  What if he was kid napped from the field?  My heart was pounding out of my chest!!!!  So I looked up youth football and started driving to the closest field not knowing if this was even the right place.  FINALLY she called.  They were at our house and Kolton was already in bed.  I must have just missed her.

Apparently, Kolton got fussy so she took him to her house while she waited for her son to get done with practice.  She fed him and then he fell asleep and so did she.  When she woke up and realized her phone was dead she decided to bring Kolton home instead of plugging her phone in.  But she brought her charger to plug in at my house.

I'm not mad at her at all.  Although falling asleep and having your phone die when you are watching someone else's child is probably something that shouldn't happen.  More than anything I was appalled at my lack of judgement.  I was completely lacking any details about the where abouts of my child and that my friends, is on me.  I also didn't set the expectation with her about what time I'd be home.  I'm sure she thought it was going to be a later night.  She loves Kolton and was very apologetic.  She also wouldn't accept any payment from me.  I'll definitely continue to use her.  I just need to make sure to give and get ALL the details.

I remember my mom telling me stories about me getting lost in the grocery store.  I feel like most parents have a terrifying moment or two in their memories.  If you haven't had one yet consider yourself lucky!  I hope the worse is over for me, but I have a feeling that won't be the last time.  Having kids changes everything!

Big Boy Seat

We FINALLY got Kolton into a big boy seat.  Oy!  For what ever reason I really struggled with the decision.  Part of it was cost but who am I kidding that's not really what was holding us back but I also didn't want to spend $300. But Heaven forbid something terrible happens then I'm the ass hole parent who didn't want to protect her child.   I just couldn't decide.  I read and re-read and re-read a number of reviews online.  I went to Babies R Us, Target, Walmart, back to Babies R Us.  Then there was the convertible vs straight on booster seat.  What brand is good, better best?  I just couldn't decide!!!

A few of the Moms I know told me that the Evenflo brand was recommended to them.  It was also recommended to me by a man who ran a baby boutique where he couldn't offer me a seat for anything less than $250...I laughed in his face.  So I ultimately decided on the Evenflo booster for $150.  It was actually thinner than the convertible seats which I thought would fit better in my little Mazda 3.  Plus at 20 months my intention was to get Kolton forward facing.

What I didn't know was all car seats have an expiration date of about 6 years.  So that means if we want to use our infant seat for another child we better get crakin.  Um, not quite ready for that yet!

A Little This & That

I'm a little scattered tonight because I just saw a giant spider outside.  Ugh!  I know they start to come in during the fall and I'm beyond terrified.  Chances are I am going to be home alone and screaming my head off. At the other house we paid for pest control to come and spray.  But in a town house with only 2 exposed sides I'm just not sure its worth it.  So I think I'll go to Lowe's tomorrow to try to find something.  I just wish they didn't print big damn eight legged freaks on the bottles!  So here are a few little tid bits thats been going on around here...

This is the kind of thing that I think is hilarious and Mike would have a cow over.  I emailed this to my mom who promptly called me to tell me that this was how babies fall out of windows.  I'd like to think that if we lived in a high rise I'd be more mindful

Catching a glimpse of Kolton sleeping still takes my breath away.  I don't allow myself to watch him too often because I'm always so afraid he'll wake up.   Over the weekend he treated both Mike and I to a little sleepy snuggle time which rarely happens.  

Little man still isn't talking but he's definitely hearing and understanding language.  He's able to identify body parts when asked, well, when he wants to, and follows simple instructions.  I'm just waiting for him to catch me off guard and spurt out something really inappropriate.  

Unrest

Hard to believe that its been well over a year since we moved to Richmond.  All of my sad & mad feelings have subsided however, I still feel restless.  The kind of restless like when you are having  a great time on vacation but a piece of you can't wait to get home.  It's weird.  But I really think a lot of it has to do with our living situation.  I look around this place and think of all of the things I would like to change or upgrade.  But its not worth it for a rental.  Then there is the constant fear that I'm going to wreck something.  We thought we left our last place in pretty good condition considering we never so much as hung a picture in the place.  We got less than 25% of our security deposit back!  WTF!!!!  They docked us for cleaning, a scratch in the counter tops. hardwood floor repair, trash removal, and I don't even know what else.  The big problem is we never had a walk through either at move in or move out so we have no proof.  They just kept our money!

But I'm really trying not to sweat the small stuff anymore.  After a week I still spend a lot of time thinking about that little boy who died of cancer.  I think this story is going to change my life forever. Its really hard to be upset about life when I get to spend all of my days with my beautiful, healthy, baby boy.  We spent a good 1/2 hour chasing each other around the kitchen yesterday.  The little shit even picked up on the concept of the double back.  We both worked up a sweat =)

Propped Up

My friend Meghan came into town for a visit from Baltimore.  We had a blast going on last night and I was so glad she got to join us for music class today.  We've attended this class some what sporadically but I really want to make it one of our weekly activities.  The teacher uses different props through out the class.  I quietly whispered to Meghan that it gets a little crazy and Kolton doesn't quite grasp the concept of putting things away so I often have to help him.  I couldn't have been more wrong and more proud of little man today!  He took only one prop at a time and didn't try to take away another kid's.  Then he expertly put them away when told. I just love seeing him transform before my very eyes.

1st Day of Preschool!

Today was Kolton's first day of preschool!  He only goes on Mondays from 9-noon.  I think the curriculum includes a lot of playtime =)  At orientation some parents were very concerned about leaving their babies.  Me, not so much.  Well, maybe a little.  It wasn't that I was worried about leaving him.  I was worried he wouldn't stop crying.  Like when they page me at the gym after a half hour.  Because of this the teachers make sure drop off is quick.  At this age we have to walk them to the classroom but there is definitely no time for lingering goodbyes.  I was a little teary eyed but only because on the drive to school the radio station discussed the Taylor Swift song I mentioned yesterday.  This was the ROCK station and the DJs all admitted they bawled their eyes out and thought it was the saddest song ever.  Agreed.  But at drop off, little man didn't cry at all and happily took the teacher's hand.  When I picked him up they told me he had nothing but smiles all morning =)  So, what did I do with my free time?  I took Sophie for a walk, talked to my mom, and cleaned the kitchen.  Not too shabby I'd say!

On our walk tonight we noticed a woman who appeared to be chasing a cat with another one following her.  My feelings of guilt from not doing more to bring that other cat home are still fresh so I asked the lady if she needed any help.  Upon further review the escapee looked a lot like the missing cat from the poster.  When I asked about it she said no, but this was his brother.  The good news is the missing cat was rescued from another storm drain in the community!  But um, don't you think she should keep better tabs on them?  Then to top it off the other cat that was trailing the lady followed us to our doorstep.  Thankfully this one was wearing a collar & tag so I called the owner who came and got him. I just don't understand the whole indoor/outdoor cat thing.  Do they know their way home or not????

On a Serious Note...

1st "Official" Haircut

Did you hear about the song Taylor Swift performed at the StandUp2Cancer telethon?  It's called "Ronan".  She wrote it after reading a blog that the little boy's mother started when he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma.  He died in May of 2011 shortly before he was to turn 4. You can download the song on iTunes with proceeds going to cancer related charities.  Mommies be warned, I didn't get through more than a few seconds without bursting into tears. Something about this story is really gripping me.  Ronan's mommy is my age and in addition to dealing with her profound grief she is finding the strength to dedicate her life to finding a cure.  All while continuing to be a rock for her husband and twin boys and growing her family with another baby on the way.  I can't fathom the strength of this woman. 

I'm instantly reminded that the reason this story feels like it hits so close to home is because I personally know 2 families that are fighting for the lives of their children and 1 that recently lost that fight.  It's just not fair at all...The number one message that comes from all of these stories is how precious life really is, to treat each other with kindness, and savor every moment. 

Nemesis

Kolton has been OBSESSED with the Jack In The Box lately.  I don't know what it is about that crazy clown?!?  He is coordinated enough to stuff it in and close the lid by himself.  But, the clown doesn't always cooperate.  Kolton gets really frustrated and it is so darn cute!

If The Shoe Fits

Recently Mike pointed out that Kolton's feet were hanging out the back of his sandals.  To be perfectly honest I had never noticed.  So yesterday I took him to Stride Rite to get his feet measured and pick up some new shoes if needed.  He measured for a size 6, both his sandals and his sneakers were size 4!  Oops!  Totally underestimated that one.

Bye, Bye, Summer

No white after Labor Day, right????  I know I've written about this before but it always throws me off when its September and still in the 80's and 90's.  How can you say Summer is over and get geared up for fall when its going to be another month of steamy days?  So I guess tomorrow is the non-official start of fall.    My goal is to be much more active with Kolton and get us on a schedule.  He is finally taking a later nap so I have us busy in the mornings and then going to the gym in the afternoons. This is what we'll be up to:

Mon:  Pre-School 9:00-12:00  Yes!  I'm already sending him!  More on that in another post.
Tue:   Playgroup
Wed:  Romp N Roll
Thur:  Music Class
Fri:     We'll go to the gym in the morning and have the afternoon free.

We also have another play group to meet up with so we'll be ditching the gym some afternoons.  I'm really hoping to make this schedule our way of life.  I think we'll both benefit from having more structure.

Cheap Eats

I love steak!  I really do.  It's not just the meat, it's the entire meal experience...soup, salad, potato, and a bottle of Cabernet of course!  Back in the day (before little K) some friends and I would hit up a high end steak house every few months or so.  We'd spend around 3 hours leisurely enjoying a savory meal.  But that isn't something we can maintain anymore.  So I've been doing my research at the abundance of chain restaurants that we now resort to.  It's no secret that I love going out to eat!

My favorite so far is Ruby Tuesdays.  For about $11 you can get a 6oz sirloin with a side and trip to the salad bar.  I think they've really elevated their menu and the overall atmosphere leans toward a little more elegance even though its still a family restaurants.  Believe it or not TGI Fridays is a close second; once you get past the tackiness. Again for about $11 you can get a petite sirloin with 2 sides. And the kids menu is pretty expansive.   I actually thought the steaks at those two places had better flavor than last nights place, Longhorn Steakhouse.

So if you are like me and enjoy a good cheap meal.  Give em a try!