From the Mouths of Babes

Let me just start off by saying that this pregnancy has been a learning experinece for TJ...and that probably goes without saying since he is 5 and old enough to notice differences! He has been really sweet. He likes to rub his hand in circles on my belly, and most of the time I don't think he is conciously doing it, which makes it even cuter! He talks to "his baby" and kisses my belly regularly. I am just hoping this continues AFTER the baby is born. I'm afraid he may turn green soon after he realizes he isn't the only one that needs attention any more! But back to the story.
Yesterday I picked TJ up from his KK's house after work. When I got in she asked, with a huge grin on her face, if TJ's teacher had emailed me today. First thought..."Why, did he get on yellow?" TJ pipes in, "No, I was good today, I didn't get on yellow or red!" He usually tells on himself, so what could he have done that was so funny? So, KK tells me that she ran into his teacher, we'll call her Mrs. D, in the hall. Mrs. D has lost a lot of weight lately, and is really looking great! KK told her as much, to which she responded "Well, obviously not!" She explained that TJ got to be the line leader and was hugging on her before leaving the classroom. He began to rub her belly and told her "You've got a bun in the oven!" Oh yea, he did! And where did he get that phrase, because we certainly don't refer to it like that?! Well, we asked him...he got it from Ice Age~Dawn of the Dinosaurs! He is really big on quoting movies right now. We tried to explain to him at dinner that he can't just ask or TELL people that unless he knew for sure that they had a baby in their belly. He said, "Well, Mrs. D laughed when I said that...she thought it was funny!" Yea, I'm sure she did...

Christmas Eve Dinner

Every Christmas Eve Thomas' Aunt Lyda invites the family (and some "extended" family) to dinner. We all bring a dish...decided on by Lyda, and stuff ourselves with food and dessert until we roll into the living room to watch football and mingle around. This year Aunt Lyda added a few more invitees to her list: My Mom and brother, Lee...this was a very nice addition and was wonderful to be with both sides of the family! Thomas' cousin, Laura, also brought a new invitee, Ronnie (sp?). This, in itself, was a very fun addition! In bringing a boyfriend, Laura was sure to have Granny-isms flowing, whether she wanted them or not. I will only mention one, since the other is not G-rated and Laura may not approve of me posting that ;) Not long after Ronnie had been there, Granny began telling him that she cross-stitches Christmas stockings for each family member. She goes on about how she used to sell them and also give them as gifts, but she has stopped that now and is saving the remainder for future family members only. She goes on to tell Ronnie that she'll give him a stocking, "but only if he's gonna marry Laura!" Way to scare the poor boy off...sorry Laura!
We started a new tradition at last year's Christmas Eve Dinner...playing Left, Right, Center. For those of you who aren't on the up and up...it is kind of a gambling game...but super fun...and the only kind of gambling I will do...I can stand to lose 3 quarters! You each start with 3 quarters and there are 3 dice. You roll the dice, which contain a dot, L, R, or C on the sides. You either do nothing (the dot...which you want), or pass one quarter to the right, left, or center. Once the quarter goes in the center it is no longer in circulation. Whoever ends up with the last quarter, gets the pot in the center. TJ enjoys playing too, that is until someone else wins and takes "his" quarters! Uncle Mike won the first round, and after a little pouting gave TJ back his quarters, plus one! See how happy he is posing with Uncle Lee...

A Cause for Serious Concern

I really need to catch up on Christmas and all, and I promise I will, but I had to share this HUGE problem I am having first...

It's called "Mommy-Brain," "forgetfulness," "absentmindedness,"I-have-to-much-on-my-mind-edness!" It is a serious concern as you will soon find out what I have done, or forgotten to do...on numerous occasions. I have heard of contracting "mommy-brain" while pregnant. Supposedly your hormones have something to do with the scatter brained issues and forgetfulness, but who knows?! I don't remember being this bad with TJ, but this time around, who knows what might happen!

We do not have a receptionist at our office, so we all answer the front door. One day, several months back, I answered the door. It was Tyler; she works for Corky (one of my bosses) at his other company. She asked to see Tanya...she had a gift to give her. So, of course, I said "no problem" and headed off to get Tanya for her. So, the next day Corky comes in my office with a smirk on his face and kind of stares at me with this questioning look. He says, "Ashlee, I was talking to Tyler this morning. She said she came by yesterday." I replied, "Yes, she came by to see Tanya." Still not knowing where he was going with this, he went on..."did she see Tanya?" It hit me like a bolt of lightning..."OH MY GOSH!!!" I had forgotten to get Tanya! From the time I answered the door, to the 5 yards to Tanya's office!!! I have no idea what happened...who stopped me in the hall for conversation, what fax did I picked up off of the machine??? It's gone, like a black hole...I don't know what happened to me! Corky busted out laughing and said that poor Tyler had waited up front for 15 minutes, and then just left her gift at the front because she didn't want to ring the bell again! How awful is that!

Well, then there's more...today I had a Dr.'s appointment. I had to do the glucose tolerance test so I drank the deliciously sweet orange mixture (just kidding it's pretty nasty) and then went into the exam room to talk to the Dr. 5 minutes later, I am done with the Dr. and still have 45 minutes before my blood can be taken for the test. So, they said I could run a few errands, but had to be back in 40 minutes. I was excited not to have to sit there so I made the most of it by running to Party City to grab up some last minute birthday party gift bag things for TJ's party this Sunday. When I got back in the car it was around 3:30 Eastern Time, so I thought it would be a good time to call Thomas since he was in between school and baseball practice...just to fill him in on all of the stats at the Dr.'s office. While talking to him, I drove back to the Dr.'s office. Once there, I hurried Thomas off of the phone so I could make it back by the 1 hour mark. I pulled out my umbrella since today it is trying to snow, rain, and sleet all at the same time and headed in. I got there with 5 minutes to spare, so I had to sit and wait. Had my blood drawn, the tests run, and made my next appoitment. When I walked out, I grabbed my umbrella out of my purse and reached my hand into the pocket where I ALWAYS keep my keys...only they weren't there! Maybe the fell out into the black hole that is my purse. I felt around, still nothing. I shook my purse to listen for the keys, still nothing. What could I have done with them? I decided to walk over to my car to check if I might have left them on the seat by accident. As I got closer I heard it...my car STILL RUNNING! I left my car in the parking lot, with the keys in the ignition, still running, unlocked, and went about my business at the Dr.'s office!!! I guess it's a good thing that I atleast put in in PARK!