Arizona Here I Come...

...and I can't get this song out of my head. The Pixies are one of Nic and my favorite bands, and this song reminds me of the good times we have spent in the magical mountain deserts of Arizona. Nic thinks that if I sing it out in the desert this week I will be able to call all the javelina to me. We'll see. We will see.

P.S. I also keep singing "Cactus" by the Pixies. If you are a Pixies fan, get out your album and enjoy.

Bangs

So I'm considering cutting bangs. Real bangs.

Not quite like this.

Or this really.

But more like this.

I talked to my sister about it and found out that she just recently cut bangs herself. (She is the one on the right. With the bangs). I think they look really cute on her.

So yeah. I'm considering it. I'm going to Phoenix on Saturday (to visit my mom and sister) and so I'll probably cut them then. If anyone has a strong opinion on the matter (i.e. "Don't do it Meagan, it will make your face look puffy", or "I have been dreaming that you would cut bangs for quite some time now, and I'm just glad my dreams are finally coming true") please speak now or forever hold your peace. I'll do my best to consider your feelings on the matter.

Portrait of my Almost One-Year-Old

Scratch on the chin from falling outside: 0 tears

Bruise across the cheek for biffing it against a shelf: a few tears.

Rug-burn on his chin from falling and/or dragging his face on the ground: lots of giggles.

Trying to get him to hold still so I can take a picture of the bruise on his forehead for my blog: lots of blurry pictures.

Finally getting this ragamuffin to sit long enough to get a picture of him: priceless.

P.S. And you wonder why the poor guy has so many injuries.

Gonna be a Socca Playa!

I am still working on putting a video of Mason's dance moves on here. The problem is that I have over an hour worth of footage...so I need to do some editing. It should be worthwhile once I get around to doing it. In the meantime, here is a video from last week.

Mason loves his ball. It was his first word other than "mama" and "dada". He loves to kick it around the house...especially when Nic kicks it with him. This video should also showcase his walking skills for all you grandparent's out there who haven't seen him walk yet! Enjoy! (Its kind of long, but I didn't have time/the desire to edit it today. And I wanted to post it today)

Fun and Not So Fun...

Fun:

• Going to visit my dear friend Deb's parents in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
• Awesome 60 degree weather while we were there.
• Relaxing, playing Dominos, eating yummy chocolate cake.
• Taking Mason to the beach for the first time.






• Taking Mason's shoes off and letting him walk all over the beach (he loved it).











• Trying to keep Mason from running into the ocean.





• Letting Mason put his feet in the Atlantic Ocean. (brrr!)





• Watching Mason try to catch the seagulls. (Have I mentioned how fun he is?)

• Spending some quality time with Deb and meeting her awesome parents.

Not-So-Fun: (Sorry, no pictures. Although I think we considered it at one point, but decided we didn't need pictures for the following events to be burned in our memory forever.)

• Diaper blow-outs on the beach.
• Deb getting sick before we leave, and being sick the whole way home.
• Getting poop on my shirt. (So much poop in my blog posts as of late).
• Changing Mason's completely blown-out diaper at a rest stop without a changing table.
• Mason throwing up several times in his carseat on the way home.
• Removing everything from the car in the dark parking lot of a Tweeter store in an effort to clean up the mess.
• Sopping up vomit out of the carseat with clothing from my suitcase.
• Throwing up myself on the side of the road.
• 3 hour trip home becoming closer to a 6 hour trip.
• Bringing home the disease to both Nic and Deb's husband Dave. (I'm sorry!)

It was an adventure we will not likely soon forget. Honestly though...it was worth it. Thanks Deb for a fun get-a-way!

Book Club

I've had the chance to read a few books over the past several months. Several of them are books that I wouldn't typically read, but I found the books either during a time of boredom, or they were free...so I gave them a shot. I thought I'd give a run-down of the good and the bad in case anyone is looking for something to read.

• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I found this book at my mom's house last September. Mason was having a difficult time adjusting to new sleeping conditions, so I read this book while I let him cry himself to sleep one night. This is not the typical book I would chose to read. I'm not usually into motivational, "feel good" type books. I don't know why. I'm just not. But this book was pretty good. Randy Pausch seemed to have a good grasp on life and I liked that he didn't make himself out to be a saint the whole book. Overall I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.
  

• The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. My dad and Penni gave all of us kids a signed copy of this book for Christmas. Again, I don't often read stores like these, but I was very touched by the message in this book. I think Glenn Beck did a great job portraying how guilt and self-pity can lead a person into a downward spiral. I know there was some critizism about the book not being entirely a true story, but after looking into Glenn Beck's life a little I can understand why he approached it the way he did. Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
  

• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I found this book on the "community book shelf" at our apartment complex's clubhouse. It was a good find as I like Jon Krakauer. The book is a true story about this kid who leaves his entire life behind to live a life of solitude on the "open road". He ends up dead in the wilderness of Alaska. In the book, Krakauer retraces his steps trying to get into his head and find out exactly what happened. Great read. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
  

• The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. I'm not a big Nicholas Sparks fan. Well, I've only read one other of his books. So I guess thats not fair of me to say. But I was kind of disappointed then and I was disappointed again reading this book (another "community book shelf" find). This time around Sparks deviated from his usual romance novel by adding a mystery/thriller type plot. I found it predictable, and only slightly entertaining. But even the love story, which is suppose to Sparks expertise, was lacking and kind of boring. One of the only redeming qualities was that there was a dog in the story who played kind of an "Old Yeller" type role. Overall I give it 2 out of 5 stars.
  





• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. So this book is currently on my nightstand. So far though its fabulous. Its an extremely interesting/unique look at how Satan tries to tempt those who believe in Christ. Its all from the view of a couple of satan's "devils". Very interesting and insightful. So far I give it a 5 out of 5.

I have a few other books I've read recently, but Mason is growing tired of playing alone. So I'll have to save them for another day. Happy Reading!

One of those days

Yesterday was just one of those days when the universe was out to get me. It all started with Mason completely pooping through his diaper. Okay, so that happens. So what if it was all over the carpet, in his hair, on my shirt, and even on the wall. I stripped him down and put him in the tub. After sanitizing him, I started a load of laundry. About 10 minutes later I walked into my kitchen (the laundry room is off the kitchen) to find 3 inches of water all over the floor. I ran through the water and shut off the washing machine, then called maintenance (gotta love living in an apartment!). Shortly after calling maintenance, my downstairs neighbors (who are very elderly) call me in a panic because water is pouring into their kitchen and bathroom. Great. In the meantime, Mason is throwing a fit because he either wants to play in the water or be held. Neither of which I was willing to do at the moment. So I put him in his high chair with a stack of graham crackers and started mopping up the water as quickly as I could. Luckily the maintenance guys came quickly and I ended up getting a new washing machine. While they were out making the switch, I got Mason out of his chair and I was holding him when Nic called. So I'm relaying the events of the morning and absent mindedly put Mason down...forgetting that I left the gate to the stairs open. Now this is the EXACT situation that I have promised myself I would never be in. Things get crazy, everyone and no one is watching the baby, etc etc. As soon as I sat him down he ran for the stairs and I turned to find him teetering (toes curling over the top step) with a huge smile on his face as he stared down his fate. I screamed, threw the phone and dove just to catch him as he was falling forward. (No one probably knows this since not very many people have been to our apartment...but our stairs are deadly.) Afterward I found the phone and told Nic what happened. All my kind, sweet husband could think of to say was, "Wow Meagan. Sounds like you need to get it together." Thanks dear. I'll work on that.

In the meantime, the carpet is clean, I have a new washing machine, my neighbors aren't flooded out, and my child is still alive. Now if that isn't having it together I don't know what is.