The Cabo Journal

Here are the rest of my journal entries from our Cabo trip this year.

Nov 4, 2012

We woke up bright and early this Sunday morning still not adjusted to the new time zone. We had our coffee and sweet bread and enjoyed the sunrise from the balcony. The day before we scheduled a timeshare presentation for this morning in exchange for a car rental credit, a dinner cruise, and free breakfast. We were told the presentation would be 90 minutes. In the end, it was more like 5 hours from the time we got in the car to head to San Jose del Cabo (about a 25 min drive) to the time we retrieved our car from the valet. We all felt like we had been beat up and remembered why we don’t sit through these presentations. Our salesperson, Debbie, was great and gave us a fairly good expectation of how long everything would take. When we got down to the end and said “no thank you,” she went and got her manager, Alex. Alex, of course, came over to give us his “best offer.” When Jimmy continued to explain why we were not interested, Alex very abruptly said, “Well, this is by best offer. If it works for you great. If it doesn’t fine.” And then he turned to Debbie and said “tell them this is my final offer,” got up and walked away. This is when Jimmy started to morph into his alter ego: Mr. I WISH A MF WOULD DISRESPECT ME! As soon as Alex disrespected us all, any chance of them making a sell went out the window. Instead of recognizing this and letting us go, in walks a second manager to again give us their best offer. When Jimmy gave him the “I would not buy anything even if it were free” speech because Alex disrespected us, this man still continued to talk. This enraged Jimmy, and all of us quite frankly, and we started to zone out. We were finally sent to what was supposed to be our final stage where we were given a survey. Can you believe they were still trying to sell us a vacation program. At this point, I had to get up and wait outside because I couldn’t listen to anymore sales pitches.  What’s crazy is that the original price they gave us was approximately $125,000 and by the time we made it to the 5th person, it was $3000. True, it wasn’t for exactly the same product but that price swing is insane and leads me to believe that some folks are being ripped off and are actually agreeing to a $100,000 plus price. Crazy!

When we finally got out of there, we all felt like we had just done battle. We were exhausted, hungry, and desperately in need of an alcoholic beverage. We had already missed the Colts/Dolphins game and were on the hunt for a sports bar where we could enjoy the rest of NFL Sunday. Thankfully, we found a cool rooftop bar in downtown San Jose del Cabo called Shooters where we enjoyed a good lunch and several cold beers and margaritas. We headed back to Cabo San Lucas after the day games, parked the car, and headed back out to catch the night game at a sports bar in walking distance to our condo. We stopped at a bar with only one person in it so we thought we would enjoy the game in peace. Little did we know, this one person, who we called Island Eddie, talked more than all of us combined. His eyes lit up when he saw us come in and he gravitated to us immediately. He was clearly intoxicated but thankfully he was a happy drunk and provided us with a lot of laughter and two rounds of shots.

We made it back the condo a couple hours later, climbed into bed and called it a wrap for day 2 in Cabo.

Nov 5, 2012

Antwain (Jimmy's cousin) had his mind set on playing golf and was even considering going on another timeshare tour to get a free round on a $300 per person course. After hearing no other takers, I reluctantly agreed to play with him but qualified that since I haven’t played or even swung a club in several years (5 or 6 to be exact), I would probably only be good for 9 holes. I convinced him we should just pay the money instead of subjecting ourselves to another timeshare nightmare. He made the reservation for 1pm and we were set. Because I hadn’t planned on golfing, we had to make a quick run to Walmart so I could get a collared shirt. I grabbed a purple one to match my sneakers (If I sucked, at least I would be cute) and we were good to go. $288 later we were tee’d up at Hole 1. I won’t take you through the play by play but let’s just say that I performed way better than I thought I would. I even got a couple of bogeys and double bogeys. Antwain was shooting for at least one of us to get a par but it didn’t happen. I think at some point both of us had a chance on a par 3 but our short game (namely the fact that neither of us have any accuracy with the pitching wedge which by the end of the game led me to using my putter if I was anywhere close to the green) killed us. I also felt more confident about my game when after the first 3 holes, Antwain had lost about 4 balls. Who knows where they went. I guess the dessert sands and bushes needed them more than he did. 

The course was beautiful and for a quick second almost renewed my enjoyment for the game. I felt like those lessons I took at the Lansing Country Club when I was 8 were finally paying off. Then we got to hole 15 and like clockwork my enthusiasm had passed. I don’t know what it is. Once I get to about the 3 hour mark of hitting and chasing after a ball in a golf cart, I’ve just had enough. I’m sure Antwain could tell when my interest got lost because that’s when I started the serious conversation...marriage, kids, life, etc.  He teased me for it later but I warned him I was only good for 9 holes. I was actually proud of myself for stretching it out for a few more. It was getting dark by the time we got to Hole 17 so we turned on our speed golf skills and decided to skip Hole 18.  On the car ride back to the condo we were hoping that our respective spouses had prepared us a delicious meal but were sadly disappointed when we walked in to a scentless kitchen. Shawntee informed us that Jimmy had just left to watch Monday Night Football and that she was waiting for us to get back with some food. So the three of us headed out to find Jimmy so we could eat. Once we finally found him, he was finishing up the last of his tacos and beer. “You didn’t wait for us” I proclaimed. He showed no remorse and suggested we get the 4 taco + 1 beer special for $7. Typical. We ate while watching the Saints demolish the Eagles and then walked back to the condo and called it a night.

Nov 6, 2012

Election Day! I couldn’t wait to get up this morning and turn on election coverage. I planned on staying glued to the tv. Unfortunately, the only news station we had in English was Fox News. Boo! But I guess it’s better than nothing. We kept it on mute for most of the day so we could read the headlines. When the polls started closing around the country we turned the volume back on and gathered on the couch to see the results unfold. The strange thing about Fox News' coverage initially was that they were very quick to call states for Romney and register his electoral votes on the screen but in the same scenario where Obama was clearly the winner of a state, they would not give him the check mark. Using this tactic, they skewed the results in Romney’s favor for as long as they could; until they couldn’t. Then, after they finally announced that Obama had won Ohio, Karl Rove, who was one of their commentators for the night went on a 20 minute rant of how he thought it was too soon to call Ohio and that he would err on the side of caution after what happened in the 2000 Election. Dude, give it a rest! When your co-commentators say it’s over it’s time to let it go. The fellas went to bed after the results were announced but Shawntee and I stayed up for the speeches. Although, I kept dozing off during Obama’s speech (due to exhaustion not disinterest) I went to sleep thinking happy thoughts. 4 more years!

Nov 7, 2012

We spent most of the day at the pool (and by we, I mean me because the blazing sun sent the others back inside within an hour). I love heat and sunshine! That’s what inspired me to apply to virtually every law school in Los Angeles. I knew the odds were in my favor and I would be accepted to at least one of them. I couldn’t take the dreary gray days of Michigan and 4 months with no sunshine. I don’t think depressed fully explains how that type of weather affected me. But I digress. So, while at the pool, we started talking to a couple of retired guys visiting from Canada. Turns out they were subjected to the same “5 hours in purgatory” timeshare presentation we were. We shared some laughs about how they wouldn’t take “no” for an answer and how they sent all the failed attempts out the back door to get on a sketchy van to pick up our prizes.

Later in the evening we claimed one of our timeshare prizes by going on a Sunset Fajita Cruise. At first we were skeptical because there were more people in line than the boat appeared to be able to hold, but it all worked out. We took some great photos of Lovers’ Beach and The Cove and it was neat seeing how developed the coastline was from a panoramic vantage point. After the servers dolled out the fajitas and bottomless drinks, we headed to the top of the boat where the dance party had begun. We did the Cuban Shuffle, The Percalator, The Wobble, and a couple other line dances I don’t know the name of. In the end, it was a lot of fun (which is usually the case when an open bar is involved). We de-boarded and headed back to the condo for more rounds of margaritas and Uno. I was sleep by 9:30pm. It must have been all the sun I soaked up.

Nov 8, 2012

Thursday came so fast. Including today, we only have 2 full days left. On Monday, it seemed like we’d been here for longer than 2 days but now it feels like we just got here. I can already tell today is going to be a chill day. Jimmy is nursing a hangover after drinking way too many margaritas last night and Antwain and Shawntee are sleeping in. Every morning so far, Jimmy, Antwain, and I have gone for a morning run. By the looks of things so far this morning, I think we’re taking the day off. I was planning on going to the beach today but I might just opt for the pool again. We’ll see where the day takes us.

Cabo - Day 1

Nov 3, 2012

This was our third annual trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico so I decided to keep a journal of our travels. Jimmy and I invited his cousin Antwain and wife Shawntee this year for a week's stay in a condo near the marina.

We arrived safely to the Los Cabos, Mexico airport at about 11 am Saturday morning. We were in the new terminal which means we de-boarded onto a jet bridge instead of directly on tarmack like we have in previous years. We sped through customs and tried to avoid the throw-up of guys trying to sell or sign us up for something. It’s quite overwhelming if you’ve never experienced it. I imagine it’s like being on the New York Stock Exchange floor but everyone is yelling at you. “What hotel...you need a taxi...you need a shuttle...my friend what activities are you doing on your vacation...and on and on.” Thankfully, we’re pros at this now so we made it through unscathed. We were supposed to meet Jimmy’s cousin at the bar outside of the terminal. However, we didn’t count on them flying into the old terminal which was about 1/2 mile walk from where we were. Instead of making the jaunt, we decided to go pick up the rental car and then swing back over and pick them up. 

Tourism in Cabo must be picking up because Dollar was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it. Our tiny commuter bus was packed so we positioned Jimmy right at the door where he could jump out quickly and hopefully get a good spot in line. Despite this strategy, we still ended up being there 30-45 minutes before pulling out of the lot. While I was waiting, I ended up meeting the most interesting young woman. Her name was Lara. She was a 25 year old UN translator, born and raised in Lebanon but currently living in Detroit. She was in Cabo with her husband, a Finnish man, who also works for the UN in Defense Ministry but lives in Afghanastan. Most striking was the fact that this was the first time they were seeing each other since 2010 when they were married. Because he works in the “war” industry, he constantly moves to different war-torn countries. First he was in Egypt, then Syria, and now Afghanastan. 

“We fight all the time,” she said. “Does marriage get better,” she asked me. Since I haven’t been married much longer than she has, I didn’t have much to offer but I did suggest that living apart for their entire marriage could have some impact on how they relate to each other. She also admitted that she bickers with him over little things and with this I offered the question that my godfather Happy Howard often asks: “Do you want to be happy, or do you want to be right?” She thought about this for a minute and then said, “I guess that makes sense but does that mean I can’t always say what’s on my mind?” Bingo! “That’s exactly what it means,” I said. “Sometimes you have to pick you battles and realize that keeping the peace is often better than saying how you feel and ending up in a fight.” I also asked her why she wasn’t living with her husband in Afghanastan and this launched us into a new conversation about Women and Islam. 

“In Kabul?” she said as she turned up her nose. “It’s so restrictive there for women.” Lara is a muslim woman but very progressive according to her. She shared her opinion that the restrictions placed on muslim women is more cultural than religious. Her rationale was that all religious sects have failed to explicitly give women rights but that women in history have had to demand their rights before any were realized.  “Muslim women are not demanding their rights and until they do this nothing will change.” We went on to have a very interesting discussion and I remembered why I love to travel internationally. You meet the most interesting people. Lara was very insightful for a 25 year old women. I was impressed. She speaks three languages, English, French, and Arabic, and had passion in her voice. Hers was a passion I feel is missing in my life. I yearn to be passionate about something that will give my life direction and purpose. Yes, being a mother has fulfilled me in ways I could have never imagined. However, I sense there is a greater purpose for me. I just have to discover it; or better stated, it has to discover me.

Hello Again...

I can't believe it's been since August that I've posted on my blog. Wow...time has flown by. I definitely intended to write a post when Jimmy and I spent Labor Day weekend in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with friends or when I watched U of M win its 300th football game in a nail biter agains MSU or countless other times when Carter did something that was just darn cute. While these posts were written in my head they didn't make their way to the information highway.

I have been doing a lot of self reflection over these last few months. Mostly with trying to figure out what I am going to do with the next chapter of my life. Should I ride out being at home with Carter and Jimmy until we make our way back to California, should I go back to work, or should I take this time to explore interests and volunteer opportunities that I most likely won't be able to do once we move back to California? So many thoughts spinning around in my head was driving me crazy. My brain needed an intervention. I decided to add meditation to my life. My father has been meditating nearly daily for many years so I sought his guidance. He encouraged me to start slowly, suggested some readings, and warned that it would be a challenge but to keep trying. Like most new experiences, I started out with conviction. I began waking up every morning at 6:30 am and began meditating for 5 minutes. Believe it or not, that was probably the most challenging 5 minutes of my day. It's crazy where your mind leads you when you're trying to clear all thoughts. I continued this routine for about a week and then 6:30 am became 7 am became 7:15 am became meditating in the evening instead of the morning became not meditating at all. At this point, I haven't meditated for about two weeks. Granted, I haven't been home for the last 4 weekends (or all of last week) but I hope to get to a point where location is not a deterrent to seeking the few moments of solace my brain (and spirit) really needs. Part of the challenge, I believe, is finding the right time and space for mediation. Morning has never been my strong suit. I used to consider myself a night owl but since having the little one (and being married if you ask Jimmy) I'm pretty useless after 10 pm. My brain wants to shut down and veg out in front of the tv. With that being said, meditation is a work in progress for me.

For the 2 weeks I meditated consistently, I did see a change in my actions. I completed my application to the Indiana State Bar (which I had been putting off for no good reason), I began searching for jobs, I sought out volunteer opportunities, and overall, I started feeling more secure about where I am in life. This feeling hit home yesterday while I was in church. The pastor did a sermon on Revelations 6 and 7 and discussed how "salvation belongs to God." What this meant to me was that I need to stop worrying about willing my life in a certain direction and trust that God is leading me in the right direction. Now, that doesn't mean that I'm going to sit on my couch and wait for God to send me a subliminal message in a promo for The Voice (shout out). I am going to continue to be "in action" and put myself in situations where my next step may be revealed. If I say I believe in God, then I should also consider that I am where I'm supposed to be right now. I am ok with that. My life is GREAT and if you hear me complain (about anything) please remind me of that fact.

Pool Parties

We went to two pool parties today. The first was for my mommy group and the second was for a birthday party. I was able to time it perfectly so that we left the first party with one hour to spare before the next which allowed Carter to sleep nearly the entire hour in his carseat while I drove to the locale and stopped for gas. His nap was long enough to recharge him for the birthday party and ensure he wasn't in a cranky mood. Both went off without a hitch and we had a lot of fun. Needless to say we were both exhausted by the time we got home. I hurriedly gave Carter a bath, got him into bed, and then took liberty to have my own relaxing bath and am now watching a movie.

Here are some picks from today's fun.

Another Fabulous Girls' Weekend

This past weekend I met up with my three roommates (April, Freddie, and Ebony) from my Sophomore year at the University of Michigan for our annual girls' trip. This year we found our way to New York City. City of Lights, City of Dreams...City of Too Much Trash on the Street, City of Raw Sewage Stench, and City of Too Much Exhaust from Taxi Cabs if you ask me. Nonetheless, I always enjoy myself when I'm there and this trip was no exception.

April and I experienced flight delays on Friday due to thunderstorms on the east coast but luckily we both arrived in time to avoid any major upset of our plans. Freddie was heading up from D.C. on the commuter bus and Ebony was already in Long Island and was going to meet up with us later, so April and I decided to grab dinner. We stayed at the Doubletree in Timesquare so we were centrally located to almost anywhere we wanted to go. After dinner, we rushed over to see the Broadway production of Porgy & Bess but to our disappointment the star of the show Audra McDonald was not performing. Bummer! The show was still pretty good; although I liked it a bit more than April who didn't care for the musical arrangements. When the show was over we walked a couple of blocks to meet up with Freddie, our friend Russell, and another college classmate Paul for drinks at Havana Central. Next, we headed downtown to a club called Crimson where a childhood friend of mine was hosting a party. Luckily he was at the door when we arrived so we didn't have to pay a cover. Thanks Elkhair! Despite the DJ being a little suspect on his mixing and musical selection skills we still had a good time and partied like it was 1999 (that year is actually relevant to us since we were in college at the time). April and I finally called it quits at 3:30 am but Freddie and Ebony continued to party until at least 4:30 am. We were sleep by the time they made it back to the hotel.

Needless to say, Saturday was a slow morning. My eyes didn't open until around 11am and that was only because April left the curtains open and I was blinded by the sun. When we finally pulled ourselves together it was 1 pm and we were headed out the door to grab some lunch. Now, the place we choose was in SoHo which was probably about a 10-15 min cab ride from our hotel. But nooo...me being the adventurous person I am suggested taking the subway instead. Why did this little excursion turn into an hour lost from our lives. We had to walk three blocks to the subway station and then took the train uptown instead of downtown so we had to get off, cross the platform, and head back downtown. When we finally got off the train 20 minutes later, we had to walk another 3-4 blocks to the restaurant. I promptly apologized to everyone and promised not to have anymore bright ideas during the trip. The food at the restaurant called Jane was delicious so all was forgiven.

After lunch we met up with a law school classmate of mine who led us through the retail streets of SoHo. Living in Los Angeles for 10 years I just have to say that SoHo puts Rodeo Drive to shame. Between the streets of 6th Ave and Broadway on the east/west and Houston and Broome on the north/south there has to be more retail stores than in any other singular locale. There was just about every store I've ever heard of and some that I have never heard of or rarely see. Higher end designers included Louis Vuitton, Ana Sui, Chanel, Hugo Boss, and Dior; mid-range stores included Banana Republic, J. Crew, Adidas, Puma, and Express; and lower range stores included H&M, American Apparel, Topshop, and Aldo Shoes. Some of the more uncommonly seen stores included countless private boutiques, a Beats by Dre (only one in the nation) and a Chobani Yogurt store where we were served chilled plain yogurt in glass bowls filled with toppings of our choosing. It was definitely retail overload. I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't even prepared to shop. I did buy Jimmy a couple of shirts from Hugo Boss but I was only successful at that because I already knew exactly what I was looking for. So that I'm better prepared next time I find myself there, I am going to start a SoHo shopping fund, save up several thousand dollars, map out my shopping course, and wreak havoc on the streets of New York. Who knows how long that will take but mark my words "I'll be back."

Our feet were tired after walking around so we took my friend up on his offer to visit the bar he works at in the East Village. The bar is called Please Don't Tell or PDT and won the first ever James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Bar Program. Upon entering the bar you can tell you're in for a cool experience. In order to get in you must first enter a hot dog shop called Crif Dogs and then enter a phone booth in the corner. Once you pick up the phone in the booth a secret door of sorts opens up and you are greeted by a host. Now, there are only 13 bar seats and 5 small table tops in the entire bar so in order to maintain a private feel once those seats are taken no one else is allowed in. As you can imagine, reservations are highly recommended. Walk-ins are accepted, however, you may find yourself waiting a while before getting in. Once in, you are greeted by very friendly (yes, there are friendly people in New York) and knowledgeable servers and bartenders. The menu contains various cocktails inspired by prohibition era spirits all of which are $15. It also contains a small food selection of hot dogs using ingredients from notable New York restaurants. We had a great experience there and would recommend a visit to anyone in the area. As an aside, it was kind of weird stepping back into the daylight after being in a dark speakeasy for an hour so make sure you have your sunglasses.

From there we quickly headed back to the hotel to freshen up and get dressed for the evening. We met up with yet another college classmate Daria at Tillman's, a lounge known for good music and a chill vibe. The DJ was late setting up so by the time we had a couple of drinks we were ready to check out another place. We taxi'ed it to Beauty and Essex, an upscale restaurant that converts into a lounge/club late night. Once there we met up with even more U of M classmates so this really was turning into a reunion of sorts. We partied even harder at this spot than we did the night before. The DJ was on point and the crowd was a lot of fun. Unfortunately for Freddie, she missed the fun because she was at the hotel in the bed. Apparently, she can only handle one night of partying at a time. The rest of us stayed out until about 5 am and then headed back to the hotel to crash. Freddie served as our wake up call later that morning since she woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed.

We managed to pull ourselves together enough to meet my uncle, his wife and daughter, as well as a friend I went to high school with at Melba's in Harlem. I was looking forward to a good soul food breakfast and had seen Melba on The View marketing her Fried Chicken and Egg Nog Waffles. I decided to get Salmon Croquettes and taste someone else's waffles. I was not blown away by the food. It was good but not great and the waffles she is known for tasted a little heavy to me. There were also reports from the table that the chicken was dry. My uncle said we must try Amy Ruth's next time we're in town because it's much better. Nevertheless, I had a great time catching up with family and my old (but still young) friend.

To close out the trip April and I had a farewell glass of wine at Blue Fin overlooking Timesquare.  All in all, we had a fabulous time and I can't wait to see where we're headed next year.

P.S. I think I over did it because not only was I sleep on the airplane before my flight took off but I woke up Monday morning feeling something kind of awful with a sore throat and nasty cough. This is exactly why I can only party like this a couple times a year.

Carter's 1st Day of School

Today was Carter's first day of the 2012-2013 school year. It was also his first day at a new school Interactive Academy. He attended a different school February through May of this year but I decided to make a switch after hearing great things about IA from neighbors and after going to visit and finding that they have a full size gymnastics studio in-house. The kids get to use the studio during gym class and when it's too cold to go outside. Sweet! I wish this was an option when I was in school. I enrolled Carter in a one week long summer camp at IA at the beginning of August so he would have some familiarity with the school before starting today. His schedule is M, W, F from 8:30am-3pm. I know this may seem like a long day for a two year old but they nap for 1.5-2 hours of that time.  This is a significant increase from his schedule earlier this year which was T, Th 8:30am-12:20pm, after which he would come home and nap for 2 hours. The difference now is (in addition to the extra day) that I get to utilize nap time to get some stuff done outside of the house.

I was worried about how Carter would react when I dropped him off this morning because he has literally been connected at my hip all summer. If we hadn't already bonded we definitely solidified our bond during our two week solo road trip in June. "Carter, you're my boy!" (uhhh...literally) Anyhow, I was afraid he may have some separation anxiety. It took us about 10 minutes to get from the parking lot to the classroom because he seemed to be so fascinated with all the other kids and parents walking into the school. Then when we got to his classroom, his teacher greeted him with a "Hey Carter! So good to see you!" I thought this would be enough to warm him up so I took this as my opportunity to make a run for it. Not so fast. He was right behind me with that look of betrayal on his face that only kids can make. I like to call it the "you're not leaving me, are you" look. Darn it! So I tried again by coaxing him into the classroom and saying "Have fun Carter. See you later." That's our signature goodbye. I can only assume it worked because as soon as I said it I turned to walk out the door before giving him a chance to respond. I didn't hear any tears or screams as I left so I think he was alright.

At round 10:15am I received a phone call from my neighbor who was calling to tell she had seen Carter at school and that he seemed to be having a good time. She takes a boot camp class at IA and saw his class in the gymnastics studio. She said he was the most talkative of his classmates. No surprise there. We definitely have a little motor mouth on our hands. The funny thing is I knew he was going to be a motor mouth before he could even talk. He would just always make noises and used a lot of gibberish to try to communicate. My neighbor told me that he just kept saying "Mommy and Daddy coming soon." Awww...it just breaks my heart. Not really. Five hours later still counts as "soon" right? When I picked him up that afternoon he was all smiles as I thought he would be and his teacher said he had a great day. By Friday I'm sure there will be no issues at drop off and all he'll say is "Bye-Bye Mommy. See you later."

Here are a couple of pics from his first day.

Carter's First Movie Experience

My dad mentioned that he wanted to take Carter to the movies when we were visiting last weekend. I told him I didn't think it was a good idea. Until today, I hadn't taken Carter to a movie theater because I didn't think his attention span would allow him to sit still for 90 minutes in a dark room (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse excluded). Due to a unique set of circumstances, I decided to test that theory today. 

I went to pick up my niece and nephew around 2:30 pm today for a 2-day sleepover. Carter was scheduled for a haircut at 4:30 pm (Jimmy has been fired as the barber) so I proposed that the youngsters go to see Spiderman at 3:30 pm and I come and pick them up when the movie ended at 6 pm. Great plan, except that I still had time to kill before Carter's haircut. I decided that we would watch the Disney movie "Brave" for an hour and then leave for the haircut. I really would have preferred Madagascar or Ice Age because I think the animal characters would have a better chance at piquing his interest. However, the timing wasn't right for those movies so we had to go with what was playing.

We arrived at the theater at 3 pm and Spiderman didn't start until 3:30 pm so initially all four of us started watching "Brave". Carter started off well. He was laughing and pointing at the screen and calling out "trees" and "horsey" (very loud I might add). Then he started taking turns climbing into my seat and then climbing into my niece's seat. Then he turned around in his seat, stood up, and started waving at the people behind him. I still thought we would make it through our planned hour...that is, until my niece and nephew excused themselves to head over to Spidey. As soon as they left, Carter looked at me like "what's going on" and began whining "I wanna go too." Now, I'm that parent everyone is wishing would get up and remove her child from the theater. Well, I obliged; but only after he started throwing his "GiGi Bear" on the floor and yelling out "Noooooo" every time I picked it up. Unfortunately, in my effort to leave quickly and quietly, I forgot my purse and had to go back and get it. I was kind of bummed because the movie was actually good and I wanted to stay and watch it. Guess I'll just have to add it to my Netflix queue.

After we left the theater, we headed over to the children's play area in the mall to pass the remaining 20 minutes before heading to his haircut appointment. This was a much better option and the one I should have chosen from the start. Oh well...at least I now know for sure that he is not ready for the movie theater. I'll try again in a few months. 

Road Trip Parts II and III

We stayed busy in Atlanta. Thursday (6/21) we went swimming in the morning and then to the park in the afternoon. Friday Carter and I spent most of the day with my Aunt Carolyn and cousins LaCara and Maiela. I haven't seen them in over a year so it was nice to catch up. Friday night, Michon and I hit the town for a ladies' night. We went to a cozy restaurant in Buckhead called Georgia Grille. If you're in the area and love enchiladas and/or quesadillas, check this place out. I had a Lobster Enchilada and Michon had a Shrimp Enchilada. We both loved our food and the Key Lime Margaritas we had with it. Our plan was to hang out at a lounge afterwards but being that neither one of us knew where the hot spots are, we decided to drive around through our old stomping grounds in Buckhead. Apparently, the old party area that was stacked with bars, lounges, restaurants, and clubs has been demolished to make room for a new live/work/shop development similar to Atlantic Station but with a Rodeo Drive feel. Unfortunately, all it is right now is a construction site that, according to Michon, has been stalled due to lack of funding.  Seeing the construction site was like attending the funeral of my single girl party days. I spent a lot of fun nights in my late teens and twenties there. We finally ended up at STK where we agreed to stay long enough to have one drink. As we stood by the bar checking out the scene of twenty-something females and forty-something males, we agreed that we didn't miss being single. We also agreed that we were "old," which was confirmed when, in sync, we headed for the door as soon as the last sip of our drinks trickled down our throats. We were home by midnight but it felt like 2 am.

Saturday morning we had brunch with my cousin Marcus who just finished his junior year at Morehouse. We're so proud of him! Then we headed to Georgia State to watch Maiela, who just finished her freshman year in high school, play in a bball tourney. It brought back some memories of my high school basketball days. Especially since she runs point like I did. I must say, her skills are better than mine ever were and she still has three years to get better. I hope to see her playing college ball in a few years.

After the game, we rushed back to Michon's house for baby Morgan's 1st birthday party. This is when the real fun began. Can we say seven kids all under the age of 6. Did I mention that their favorite game involved everyone running to and from the couch while screaming and yelling "Baby Carter," who somehow became the unofficial mascot. Maybe because his scream had the highest pitch. Even baby Morgan tried to get in on the action...from her high chair no less. It was a lot of fun to see the kids have so much fun but the screaming started to get old after 10-15 minutes so we had to find another game that was more sensitive on the ears. By the time the party was over, I felt like I was drunk, high, or a combination of both. My ears were ringing, my vision was blurry, and every time I tried to stand up my balance was just a little unstable. Who knew kids could reek so much havoc.

Sunday morning we enjoyed an uplifting church service before packing up and hitting the road to Pensacola. (Thank you Sherman for helping me load up the car. I think we both almost passed out from the heat.) It took us about 6 hours to get to Pensacola, which was nothing after the drive to Atlanta. My plan was to stop at the first Starbucks we came across to get my new pick me up drink, a Tall Chai Latte with a shot of espresso. Why did we drive almost 2 hours before seeing a Starbucks? I didn't think it was possible to travel that far in this country without a Starbucks. I was shocked and appalled and for the first time realized we weren't in civilization anymore. :-) I finally found one in Auburn, AL. After some quick caffeine, we were on the road again. We next stopped in Montgomery to eat the lunch I packed for us and to stretch our legs. Most of the drive in Florida was done on a local highway that weaved through small towns and farmland. On the major expressways you can forget you're driving through the South but when you're on a two lane road passing mobile home parks and houses on cinder blocks I was quickly reminded that I was in a world very different from the one I live in everyday. I felt very thankful and blessed to have the great fortune, family, and friends that I do.

Pensacola was great. It was our recovery stop after being in a highly charged house full of kids. When we arrived Sunday evening, my Uncle George took us to Cracker Barrel (apparently, one of his regular spots since the servers knew his name and sat him at his usual table). When we got back to the house my Aunt Alexa was getting out of a taxi from the airport after a 10 day cruise in Italy and Greece. What I saw next gave me hope that Jimmy and I will still be giddy in love in 20 years. As soon as George saw the taxi he immediately turned off his car (in the middle of the driveway) and raced over to the taxi to give Alexa a big bear hug and tender kiss. I don't think I've ever seen him that excited. It was so cute! In that moment, he forgot that Carter and I even existed.

The next day (I think it was Monday 6/25 but honestly I've started to lose track of days and dates) we explored Pensacola heading to downtown, the famous fish market Joe Patti's, an awesome new concept store called The Bodacious Olive, and the beach. The Bodacious Olive is a store dedicated to selling freshly infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. It was like a wine tasting bar but with olive oil and vinegar. You could taste as many flavors as you wanted and they even offered bread to dip. We settled on the Wild Mushroom and Sage infused olive oil and Cranberry Pear White Balsamic Vinegar. We also bought some freshly made penne to go with the shrimp we were planning on buying from Joe Patti's. We were planning on making the pasta dish for dinner but made the mistake of stopping by a world market grocer and having the most delicious sandwich I've ever had. It had tabouleh, pesto, and hummus, and was served on warm french bread. Oh my goodness! I know most of you won't think that sounds appealing but...oh my goodness...delicious! Needless to stay, I wasn't hungry for dinner so we had to postpone the pasta dish for lunch the next day.

Tuesday (6/26) we decided to stay low key and rest up for the trip ahead of us. We went swimming in the afternoon but pretty much veg'ed out for the rest of the day. Especially after eating the yummy penne pasta with wild mushrooms, zucchini, shrimp, and the infused olive oil we bought. Today we packed up, went to lunch at a lovely restaurant on the marina, and then hit the road for Jacksonville, where we are now. The drive was going smoothly until not far past Tallahassee, I-10 E was shut down at I-75. The worst part was that there were no signs directing drivers to the detour. In fact, the only way I found the detour was to pull over at a rest stop and look it up on my phone. Who does that! What if I didn't have a phone with internet. I would have been out of luck. The detour ended up adding at least an hour to our already long trip. By the time we got to our hotel it was 10:45 pm. I get out of the car and walk around to Carter's door so we can go inside to check in and as soon as I open his door his Mega Blocks start pouring out and fall to the ground. I had to laugh to keep from crying. Then, as if things couldn't get worse, the desk clerk informs me that there has been a water main break and that the water in the hotel will be shut off from 11 pm to 6 am. Fabulous!

As you can see, by the fact that I'm typing this at 3:39 in the morning, I still haven't wound down from the trip. That espresso stuff really works. I'm going to make myself go to sleep now so I can continue on our journey to Savannah in the morning where we'll be reunited with Jimmy after a week and a half away from him. We miss you honey and can't wait to see you!

Here are a few more pics from the trip so far.

Mama Nan with the kids.

The whole crew, one year older.

Carter with Uncle George and Aunt Alexa.

Even after the long drive, he's all smiles. You just gotta love this kid.

Road Trip, Part I

On Monday, Carter and I embarked on what will be a 3 week road trip in the South. Our first stop is Atlanta where we are visiting friends and family. Then we are moving on to Pensacola, Florida and finally to Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head, South Carolina. For the first few legs of the trip, Carter and I are riding solo until Savannah where we meet up with Jimmy. It took us about 11 hours to get to Atlanta. We only had to stop twice which exceeded my expectations with a 2 year old. We stopped once at a rest stop in Kentucky to use the restroom and eat a snack and then we stopped in Nashville at a Chick Fil-A with a playroom to eat dinner and to give Carter a chance to burn some energy. It took us about 5 hours from Nashville to Atlanta and Carter was amazing. He didn't cry, whine, complain...nothing. He just alternated between watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my phone and looking out the window taking in the scenery. Every once in awhile he would call out an airplane or a truck he saw but for the most part he was quiet and looked to be in deep contemplation (he must get that from me). I know most parents think their kids are awesome...but my kid is the awesomist (yes, I did just make up a word). We arrived at my friend Michon's house around 11 pm we both collapsed in the bed. Unfortunately, Carter was up bright and early the next morning at 7:30.

The next day, I unpacked our luggage and then decided to go for a run through the neighborhood.  I asked Michon about some potential routes and she nonchalantly said her neighborhood had some hills so I should get a good workout. I mapped out a 3 mile route on my phone, put Carter in the jogging stroller, and hit the street. When I came to the first street I was supposed to turn on and noticed that the hill was so steep I couldn't see the bottom of it, I knew this run was going to be shorter than I had anticipated. I also decided to skip that street and revise my route. Unfortunately, I quickly ran into a dead end and had to turn around and brave the hill. Just to give you an idea of how steep this hill was, there is an emergency brake strap on my stroller that you are supposed to wear around your wrist in case the stroller gets away from you. I have NEVER worn that strap around my wrist until this run. So I'm jogging very slowly down this hill and as soon as I round the corner I notice there is an equally steep hill going up. "I can make it," I'm thinking in my head. "Let's do this!" When I get to the top of the hill (or what I thought was the top of the hill) I don't go more than a half of a block before the street starts to ascend again. Now mind you, I couldn't see this second uphill because it was around a curve. As soon as I saw it, I knew the stop sign at the top of the hill would be my turn around point. On my way up, a police offer passed me in a squad car and waved. And then I saw him again on my return route. I know he was following me just to make sure I didn't pass out. Oh...did I mention it was 80 degrees and sunny outside.

We eventually made it back to Michon's house after running just over 2 miles in 23 minutes (I would normally finish 2 miles in more like 16-17 minutes) and I was drenched in sweat and felt like I had run 4-5 miles. I cursed out Michon later that day for not giving me a full description of "the hills" in her neighborhood. It was a great workout but I don't know if I'll be doing it again while I'm here. Definitely not with a stroller.

Today, we ventured out to the Atlanta Zoo. Michon has 3 kids, two boys who are 4 and 3 years old and a girl who will be 1 year old next week. Add Carter to the bunch at 2 years old and we had the age spectrum covered. We had two strollers (one a double stroller), two backpacks filled with packed lunches and diapers, and 4 kids excited to see some animals. We had a great time. We saw giraffe, zebras, a rhinoceros, flamingos, monkeys, a tiger, a bear, kangaroos, gorillas, and a panda. Carter did pretty well but I decided early on not to let him walk on his own. He was going every which way except in the direction we were going. Instead, I let him ride in the stroller until we got to each destination and then let him get out and look at the animals. He knew the giraffe, birds, and monkeys by name which was pretty cool to hear. After we took a break to eat our packed lunch, we headed over to the train for the kids to have one last treat before heading home. However, by the time we got there, Carter was knocked out in his stroller and I knew better than to wake him. He didn't wake up until we were almost back at the house.

We had a great day. Managing 4 kids proved to be sometimes challenging but we made it through unscathed. Tomorrow morning is swimming. That should be fun!

Here are some pics from today.

Mothers Day Blessings

I had a great Mothers Day weekend. It kicked off Friday night when I met up with some girlfriends for dinner and drinks. We shared a lot of laughs and it set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Saturday morning I got up early to meet my running buddies for an "easy" 4 mile run on the Monon Trail. The weather was perfect and the run was so easy I didn't really break a sweat which I was hoping for since I had just gotten my hair freshly done the day before. Then I hurried home to get ready for a date with my husband. We planned to go out to lunch and then to a movie. Thankfully two of our friends (a couple) agreed to babysit Carter while we were out. We went to eat at a restaurant near downtown Carmel named Divvy. It is a new small plates restaurant with minimalist decor but still with a cool vibe. The food was yummy and we complimented it with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. After lunch, we headed to catch a 3 p.m. showing of "Avengers." I was already dozing when the (20 minutes of) previews ended and I was definitely sleep within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Jimmy already knew it was coming so he graciously offered his shoulder; although he did give me a couple of nudges to try to wake me up (emphasis on the "try"). While I was awake for some parts, none of those times were during the good parts. I couldn't even begin to tell you what happened in the story. Message: do not drink a bottle of wine and gorge yourself with food just before going to sit in a dark theater with comfy chairs for 3 hours if you actually want to watch the movie. Anyhow, after putting Carter to bed, Jimmy cooked dinner for us: steamed lobster tail with melted butter, fried potatoes (his specialty), and a green salad. It was yummy and hit the spot. We watched a recorded episode of our favorite tv show "Revenge," and then called it a night.

Today, we woke up early for church where the pastor finished up a series on marriage entitled "Marriage Unscripted." The overarching message was that a husband and wife should be friends and always nurture their friendship together over things like physical attraction, romance, etc. because it is the friendship that will help the marriage endure. I thought that was fitting because Jimmy and I had such a great time yesterday, mostly at lunch (when I was awake), talking and laughing with each other. We don't always have the opportunity to do that with our busy schedules so the time together meant that much more. We also took the opportunity to spend more quality time together this afternoon during Carter's nap and before Jimmy had to jet off to Kentucky for work. I finished off my Mothers Day evening with the one who made this day possible for me-my little man Carter. After Jimmy left, we headed to the park, ate dinner, and then took a walk around the neighborhood with our dog Sarge. All in all, I would have to say that my 2nd Mothers Day was a complete success.  

Delicious White Bean Turkey Chili

Today I was planning on making Giada de Laurentiis' White Bean Chicken Chili for dinner but when I got to Whole Foods they only had ground turkey so I had to substitute. Her recipe also calls for swiss chard but I decided to use kale instead. I also left out the onions because Jimmy is allergic. Here is my adapted recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 lb ground turkey thigh
1 bunch kale, stem removed and torn into small pieces
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off and reserved in a bowl
2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons flour
grated parmesan cheese

In a large and deep pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the ground turkey, salt, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until turkey is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in flour until combined. Add the beans, kale, corn, and chicken stock. Stir ingredients well to combine and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the chili into serving bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Old Habits Never Change

So we all know that Mothers' Day comes every year around the second week of May. And even though I have had mothers (mom and stepmom) for all of my life and I am now a mother myself, the very well-deserved occasion always seems to sneak up on me. The only option I'm usually left with is sending flowers through an online carrier that does next day delivery. Now I know what you're thinking ("aren't your mothers reading this")...probably, but if they don't know I'm a procrastinator by now, then they will never never know me (I stole that from Teddy Pendergrass...sort of). But I digress (shout out Fred). This year I decided I was not going to send flowers because the last time I sent flowers through an online vendor they turned out to look nothing like the vibrant picture on the website. Sigh. While I made this decision several weeks before Mothers' Day, I still found myself spending a couple of hours in front of my computer today searching for appropriate gifts. Darn it...it snuck up on me again. After searching several websites and soliciting opinions from others, I finally made my decision. Unfortunately I can't tell you what I purchased because I don't want my moms to find out before they receive the gifts. All I have to say is thank goodness I have an Amazon Prime Membership that includes free 2-day shipping. I just made the cutoff to have the gifts arrive before Mothers' Day. Another Mothers' Day disaster averted. Whew! Until next year...

Happy Mothers' Day to all (who qualify)!

The Start of a New Season

Yesterday marked the kickoff of my Spring/Summer season of running events. I ran in the Inaugural Lansing (MI) Half Marathon. My dad told me about it a couple months ago but I didn't decide to actually run in it until a few days before because I was waiting to see what the weather was going to be like. A lot of good that did because it ended up being 45 degrees and very windy. Since I had committed to going to another event in Lansing the night before I decided to buck up and brave the cold. Other than the many cracks and potholes in the road the course was quite nice. It took us through the farmlands of Michigan State University, through a few neighborhoods, and through Potter Park. I anticipated the course being very flat but they managed to find the only hills in Lansing and put them all in. Running up those hills with wind gusts coming straight at me was tough but luckily I had on a brimmed hat so I put my head down and pushed forward. Some people were bold (crazy) enough to run in shorts and a tank top but I wasn't messing around. I had on warm leggings, three layers up top (short sleeve, long sleeve, and pull over), gloves, a hat, and ear warmers. All that kept me warm and at no time did I feel the need to shed any layers (except the gloves which I took off for a few miles but had to put back on towards the end when my fingers were going numb).

I finished in 2 hours 2 minutes and my dad, stepmom, and Carter were there to cheer me along during the course and Jimmy made it just in time to see me finish. I know I say I HATE to run in the cold but so far I've had my two best times in cold weather. Maybe the cold weather helps keep me hydrated since I'm not sweating as much as I would be in warm weather. I'll have to test that theory as the weather warms up. I would love to improve my time to 1 hour 50 minutes which is 6 minutes faster than my best time.

My next race is the Mini Marathon (half marathon) in two weeks. I'm running with Jimmy's cousin who will be running in his first half marathon. My job is to get him to finish in under 2 hours 10 minutes so I likely won't reach my personal time goal in this one. Two weeks after that I'm going to do the Geist Half Marathon. My friend who's done it before says it's a pretty challenging course but if the weather is warm I'm hopeful that I'll get a personal best. I should be in better running shape by then. The rest of my schedule looks like this:

May 26th: Lawrence Sprint Triathlon (I haven't decided on this one yet. I'm waiting for the weather to warm up to get back on my bike)
June 24th: iChallenge Indy Classic Duathlon (1 mi run, 17.5 mi bike, 4 mi run)
July 21st: Indy Sprint Triathlon (500 meter swim, 10 mi bike, 3 mi run)
August 4th: Eagle Creek Trail Run (15K)

That's all I've planned so far. There is the Indianapolis Marathon in October and the Monumental Marathon in November but it's usually too cold for my taste during that time of year. This is an ambitious schedule for me so wish me luck!

The End of the Nap? Noooo!

Carter would not go to sleep at nap time today. I put him in his crib at 12:30 pm like usual and went downstairs to eat lunch. When I finished 30 minutes later I still heard him making noises so I went to check on him. "Hi" he says cheerfully as I open the door. Since he wasn't even close to being sleep I pulled him out and let him come into our bedroom. Not 5 minutes later he started what I like to call sleepy behavior. He started trying to open random drawers, spinning around in circles, and hitting me. That behavior landed him right back in his crib with my hope that he would close his eyes and succumb to nap time. 10 minutes later he was still standing up in his crib so I decided to give up because it was close to 2 pm and he hadn't eaten lunch yet. We went downstairs so he could eat lunch and after that I just knew the "itis" would kick in and he would be sleep in no time. No such luck. He was bright eyed and ready to play. That was the last trick in my book so I accepted the fact that he wouldn't be going to bed until bedtime. Luckily, he fell asleep just before 7:30 pm as I held him in the rocking chair. One lullaby and 2 minutes of rocking was all it took.

I hope today was an anomaly and will not be the status quo moving forward. I am not ready for the end of Carter's naps. That 1-2 hours (especially on days he is not in school) is sometimes the only break I get all day. Tomorrow will be a good tester because he's having a party at school. If that doesn't tire him out we may be in trouble. Houston...we have a problem.

Carter Update

I've been loving hanging out with my little man lately. The nice weather has allowed us to go outside and explore. Carter loves being outside. A lot of the time we just take a walk through the neighborhood. He likes to walk up our neighbors' driveways or sloped front yards and loves to climb the stairs leading to the front door. Sometimes I feel compelled to ring the doorbells so he can say hello. Of course, he always invites himself in if there is an answer. The boy is definitely not shy. He didn't get that from me.

There is also an open field and trail across from our house and he can stay out there for an hour picking flowers or throwing rocks. Not only is he not shy but he also doesn't have much fear. He will walk aimlessly into the woods that back up the trail trying to discover whatever is rustling in the trees. We also try to get to the park whenever we can. Thankfully it is a 5 minute walk so I turn on some Pandora tunes on my iPhone and we're there in a snap. Whenever I take him out of the stroller I say "I'm unleashing him" because he doesn't stop moving from the moment we get there to the moment I'm strapping him back into the stroller. First he wants to swing...but only for about 30 seconds; then he want to climb up the baby slide and then slide back down again; then he wants to drive the life size tractor; then he wants to climb up the hills; then he wants to go down the "big kid" slides (at least 6 times); and finally, he just likes to wander checking everything out. I like to take him late in the afternoon because by the time we get back home he's exhausted. Dinner time, bath time, and bed by 7:30 pm. Works like a charm.

Here he is frolicking:

He's also talking a lot more lately and doing more independently. I would estimate that he says 40-50 words, including most major body parts (nose, mouth, teeth, eye, toes), common food items (milk, juice, cheese), toileting (pee pee, boo boo, pot-pot), and many more. He will also try to imitate a lot of words I say. Independence should be his middle name because he wants to do everything by himself. He wants to brush his teeth, put on lotion, bathe himself (even though he only washes one arm, one ear, and one foot), and pick out his own clothes. I love his independence but sometimes it makes it difficult to get things done in a timely fashion.

He's loving school now. When I drop him off he gets excited, walks in, and goes directly to his class. He used to cry when I left but now he waves and say "bye-bye." When I pick him up he smiles, runs over to hug me, and then runs over to get his jacket. He also tells the other children and teachers "bye-bye." He used to cry as soon as he saw me, would run to get his jacket, and then head straight for the door without acknowledging anyone. I'm glad that phase is over. I'm thinking of changing schools beginning in July so hopefully we won't have to go through the "breaking in" stage all over again.

So I will finally admit that Carter is spoiled. In the last two weeks he went on a clothes/shoes shopping spree, got a new table/chairs, a Mickey Mouse sofa that converts to a bed, and his own lounge chair with footrest. Dang...he's living the life. The Mickey Mouse sofa is the first thing he's ever begged me to buy and I did just to quiet him down. We were in Babies R Us shopping for a gift for someone else and we passed by the sofa. All of a sudden Carter starts pointing and yelling "mouse...mouse," and he would stop. After trying to quiet him down (not very hard I admit) I caved in and said "fine; we'll get it." For the record, he did stop yelling after I put it in the cart.

Here is Carter with all his new goodies:

Nostalgia

I spent most of my day, yesterday and today, on college campuses.  Yesterday I took my niece (16) and nephew (14) to visit Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and today I took them to visit Indiana University in Bloomington. Being in those musty dorms and seeing students passed out in the Student Union brought back some memories. It also reminded me of the fact that as of next month I will have been out of college for 12 years. 12 years? I can't believe it's been that long already. In a way, I didn't really feel that much older than the students I saw walking on campus. Maybe because I still look 20 (but who cares about that superficial stuff...me). Or maybe because I still feel there are great possibilities for what I can accomplish. I'll tell you one thing, I definitely felt reinvigorated just by being there. But on the other hand, I felt worlds away from the days of wearing sweats to class, eating cereal for dinner, pulling all nighters to finish a paper I had a month to write but started 12 hours before it was due, and most of all...not having any responsibility whatsoever (other than passing my classes of course). It's amazing how time flies. I feel like I've accomplished a lot in these last 12 years and while I sometimes feel nostalgic about my college days, I wouldn't want to go back and do them again.  

How do you feel about your college experience? 

Got Help?

I have several female friends that have children and who are stay-at-home moms. The most frequent topic that comes up when we talk is that we sometimes feel trapped because we are always with our children. Not trapped in the sense that we regret having children but more so that we would love to be able to do things sometimes by ourselves, with friends or with our spouses. I have a friend who does not yet have children and she has commented several times that she thinks I do a good job of taking time for myself without feeling guilty about leaving Carter with someone else. Frankly, I take this as a compliment.

There was a time, especially when we first moved to Indiana where I felt very lonely because I didn't have any adult interaction. I was in a new place with no friends and Jimmy was working all the time and did not have the energy to give me the attention I needed.  This all changed once we moved into our house. A priority on my agenda was to FIND HELP! I started utilizing nieces who weren't busy during the day, I interviewed and began using a babysitter on a regular (bi-weekly) basis, and on weekends we utilized Jimmy's sisters so that we could have some alone time. Oh yea...I also called on Carter's father (ha...ha) to take over when I needed a break. Having this support along with Carter recently starting school two half days a week has been invaluable and is what has kept me sane and relatively stress free. In fact, I find that I enjoy the time I spend with Carter that much more. Thankfully, Jimmy has always been encouraging me to seek out alone time and to GET HELP, especially since he is gone so much.

This brings me to my friends.  To all of you...and you know who you are...I know I've told you this before but...GET HELP...if you feel you need it and if you can afford it.  Life is too short for you to feel stressed out and you deserve some YOU TIME.

A Day In My Life...

I really hate when Jimmy is out of town for long stretches because it throws my whole schedule off. I have a hard time sleeping when he's gone so I end up staying awake late, sometimes as late as 2 a.m. Unfortunately, no matter what time I go to bed, my wake up time stays constant based on Carter's wake up time which is usually between 7:30-8 a.m. Even though I'm tired, the good thing about staying up that late is that I get a lot of things done. Yesterday was was of those days and just to give you an example this is what it looked like:

9 am - Wake up (factoring in daylight savings it was really 8 am)
9:30 am - Breakfast (eggs and soy sausage)
10 am - Playtime with Carter (alphabet, throwing/kicking ball, reading, coloring, singing/dancing, and playing instruments) (Somewhere in there I also managed to do a load of laundry)
12:30 pm - Snack
1 pm - Carter's nap time (During nap time I made some phone calls, drafted a confidentiality agreement for a client, paid bills, and responded to emails)
2:30 pm - Lunch (Turkey, Cheese, and Strawberries)
3 pm - Put in another load of laundry
3:30 pm - More playtime
4 pm - Walked the dog
4:30 pm - Watched tv while folding laundry
5:30 pm - Prepared dinner for Carter (Rice with broccoli)
6 pm - Carter ate dinner while I had a 15 minute conference call with client
6:30 pm - Get dressed for gym
6:45 pm - Leave for gym (Carter goes to Kids Zone at gym while I workout)
8 pm - Arrive home from gym
8:15 pm - Bath time for Carter
8:30 pm - Relax with Carter while watching tv
9 pm - Lay Carter down to bed
9: 15 pm - Eat dinner (Spinach Salad, Rice, and Broccoli)
10 pm - Carter wakes up crying (I rocked him back to sleep and lied him back in his crib, however, he woke back up immediately and the only way he would lay down was if I staying in the room with him)
11 pm - I fall asleep in Carter's rocking chair waiting for him to go to sleep
11:30 pm - I wake up and head back downstairs to clean the kitchen
12:15 am - Get ready for bed
12: 30 am - Call Jimmy to say good night (He's in CA so it was still early there)
1 am - Fall asleep
3 am - Carter wakes up crying ( I bring him to sleep with me and spend the rest of the night with him kicking me in the face)
7:30 am - Alarm goes off (Today is Carter's school day and he needs to be there by 9 am)
8:15 am - After hitting the snooze button several times, I finally get up and leave Carter sleeping while I get dressed.
8:30 am - Carter wakes up and we get him ready for school
8:50 am - Leave for school (Carter has strawberries and milk in the car)
8:59 am - Drop Carter off at school

And then my day begins all over again. Whoa...I'm exhausted even typing this. At least I did get a 60 minute hot stone massage this morning which felt great. I needed it after a day like yesterday.

It Feels Good To Be Back Home

Why am I writing this post at 1:47 a.m.? Probably because I'm still on west coast time. Carter and I just got back home last night from being in California for 9 days. While it was an awesome trip and we got to reconnect with friends and family, I am totally exhausted. But more on that later. Let me tell you about the trip.

We started off in Sacramento where we spent 3 days with Nneka, my close friend from college, and her family. She has a little girl named Madison who was born just 2 weeks after Carter. When we made arrangements for the trip, Nneka and I thought it would be so great to get the kids together because they haven't seen each other for a year. Let's just say we got more than we bargained for. Carter and Madison seemed to have a very strange relationship. One minute they were hugging and giggling together and then the next they were wrestling (yes...apparently 1 1/2 year olds can wrestle...who knew). Madison would slap Carter, Madison would get put in time out in the corner, Carter would go and join her in timeout in a gesture of solidarity, Madison would be released from timeout, Carter would push Madison, Carter would be put in time out in the playpen, Madison would try to break him out, Carter would be released from time out, and then the cycle would start all over again. It was so exhausting. The only sure fire solution we found was to put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which is the only tv show that stops both of them in their tracks. The weirdest part is that through it all, I really think they bonded. It's like they're the same child, except that Madison is a girl and is a little more emotional than Carter. Here are some pics:

There were some happy moment too when we took them to a kids' play area:

On Day 4, Nneka graciously drove us to San Francisco where we met up with Jimmy. Although Jimmy was working most of the time, it was great to see him. Meanwhile, Carter and I spent our time wandering around the shops near Union Square and playing at the Children's Creative Museum, which was a lot of fun until Carter decided that his purpose in life is to take away toys from every other child there. One boy was not having it and they had a tug-of-war until the other child's mother stepped in. I was just going to let them fight it out. Sooner or later Carter is going to mess with the wrong kid and then maybe he'll learn that being the bully when you're the smallest kid in the room is not in his best interest. We also got the chance to have dinner with Candice, a friend from both college and law school. Candice doesn't have any children yet so of course she thought everything Carter did was soooooo cute. I, on the other hand, did not think it was cute when Carter started throwing crayons and tried to intrude on the conversation of the people in the booth next to us (they didn't look interested in engaging in baby talk). Nonetheless, a man sitting across from us thought Carter was so cute he insisted on taking a photo of us. Here it is:

The boy knows how to pose for a picture. I think just before this he was throwing a mini-tantrum.

After 2 days in San Fran, Carter and I headed to LA to complete our west coast tour and Jimmy headed back to the midwest. From the time we got to LA to the time we left, we were going nonstop. To his credit, Carter was right there with me and didn't complain too much. We got the chance to see my godfather Happy Howard and his wife Laura, who were more interested in Carter than me (something I have to get used to...It's not about you anymore Tara). Then we headed to Chan Dara (the best Thai food ever) with my mom. The next morning I met up with my former mentee, Christiane, who, at 15, is blossoming into a beautiful young woman. We had breakfast at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles and it was delicious. Christiane had grits for the first time and I am glad I could introduce something so wonderful to her life. From there, I checked in on one of my clients, and then Carter and I enjoyed lunch with all my old co-workers from Leal & Trejo. It was awesome to see everyone and we shared lots of laughs and good food. After that (still the same day) I went to get my hair done. I didn't realize how much I miss hair stylists in LA who know how to press some hair. My hair was straighter than it ever was with a relaxer. We ended the night with a home-cooked meal and then crashed by 9:30 p.m.

The next couple of days were spent seeing as many people as we possibly could. We had a quick visit with my friend Liz, we went to Downtown Disney with my cousin J'ne, we had a playdate with my friend Jamaul and his 2 kids in Pasadena, and we had lunch with my old co-worker Surisa in Eagle Rock. I also managed to get some Pinkberry, Sprinkles, and yummy ahi tuna tacos. That's LA speak for $5 frozen yogurt, $3.50 cupcakes that I waited 20 minutes in line to get, and good Mexican food. By the end of our last night, we were so exhausted that Carter was sleep by 7:30 p.m and I was dreading our 9 a.m. departure time the next morning. I sucked it up, packed our bags, and got a few hours of sleep before my alarm went off at 5 a.m.

The plane ride home was not so good. One thing you should know about Carter is that when he's tired, he is one cranky boy. He hits, he whines, and he likes to run around like a chicken with his head cut off. So this manifested on the plane with him throwing his books on the ground, refusing to sit on my lap during take off, refusing to keep his seatbelt on when sitting in his own seat, grabbing glasses from the lady's face who was sitting next to us, trying to grab the phone of the man sitting next to us, and just general tantruming. Upon our arrival in Indy, one man who was sitting in the back of the plane with us, looks at me and says "I bet you're glad to be home." I couldn't say anything but "yes, I am."

So while we had a great time in California, it was a long trip, and I am so glad to be back home, sleeping in my own bed. Also, I don't plan on making a trip to the west coast alone with Carter until he's a little bit older and can control his tantrums better. I forgot how long that trip is (at least 6 hours with a layover). Until next time LA: the weather was beautiful but I don't miss the traffic or how many people inhabit the city. After living in Indiana for a year, it seemed so crowded and I could instantly feel myself tense up as I was driving about town. Maybe I'm a midwestern girl after all.