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Walking through the Front Door

6 Mar

During our trip back to Savannah, I stopped by WSAV and it just felt weird.  I was looking forward to visiting the station right up until I went to drive there.

It dawned on me – I have to park in the front and I have to ring the front doorbell instead of parking right behind the newsroom and using my key like I did for the majority of my grown-up years.  I’m not one of “them” anymore.  That got me thinking – should I even be going back? I mean, they are probably all busy like I always was when people would come visit and what do I really have to say to them?

I decided that since I drove there I might as well just go do it – besides I had already told Paul I would be there and I knew he would make me feel like I still belong (he even asked my opinion on a story which felt really good!). But as soon as I walked in that front door I felt the awkwardness – I could tell some people were thinking – “What in the world is she doing back?” Some people even said it to me.  I guess they were thinking “she’s free – why would she ever return?”  All I could say is I just wanted to say hi and while that is true I also wanted to see how the place was doing.

I don’t really know how to describe it but what I do know is that place was busy and felt so different to me.  Maybe it was so different because I knew I didn’t have to worry about scripts or the deadline or adding stories in at the last minute – I could be in there and just hang and I could leave whenever I wanted and then not even watch the news that night!

I guess my visit back was worth it because I did get to laugh with some of my buddies and hug others that I’ve missed – plus it made me realize I could walk away from something I loved to be a part of without any regrets.

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I’d Like to Thank…

5 Mar

These are just a few of the random (sometimes ridiculous) things I’m thankful for on any given day:

  • Paper Towels – I’ve used more in the past few months than I think I have in my entire life.  I’m constantly washing my hands because of diaper changes (another thank you related to this one is coming up) or cleaning up spills (2 Cokes were sacrificed today alone) – if I didn’t have paper towels I would have a lot more laundry to do.
  • Lotion – I can actually see my skin cracking on my hands – I never had dry hands before – I actually wondered why some people use so much lotion – now after tons of dishes and hand-washings (my own and Nia’s) I get it.  I now have lotion stashed at every sink and where I sit each night.  The smell of the one I use most often reminds me of my mom and makes me miss her even more.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants – with all the cartoons Nia watches – this one is my savior because it is super funny.  We both laugh at the craziness.  I think I look forward to watching it more than Nia – it’s the only tv show I get to watch during the day and I don’t think I’d have it any other way right now – it cheers me up and gives Nia and I something to share – especially when she looks at me with a funny face and says “What’s SpongeBob doing Momma? He’s silly, huh?”
  • Dogs – man do they make cleaning up after meals easy or what?  I still sweep around Nate’s chair when I think Joe-Boy might have missed a few crumbs but for the most part he does the sweeping up me.  The only downfall to this though is at night when he’s sitting at my feet relaxing – I can’t even describe the stinky dog-gas I have to endure.  But hey, the floor is clean!
  • The Library – I totally love story hour – the storyteller is really nice and the kids get to do crafts plus it’s so much fun for Nia and I to pick out a bunch of books to read every week and even more fun when I don’t have to pay for them!  I do buy the ones we really love though like the one Monica told us about called Fancy Nancy – it is really cute and Nia loves it. It actually even made me cry!  There’s just something about a library and bookstores in general that I love – even though I don’t get to read as much I’d like to – I just love getting lost in all the shelves of books and knowing that there are so many different stories out there waiting to be read…as for my story tonight – I thank you for reading and say “The End.”

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Feast or Famine

2 Mar

So much has happened with the Valles fam this past week that it was too hard to sit down and write about at the time – now though the boy is taking a nap (and will probably wake up before I can finish this) so I will try and share everything as quickly (and interestingly) as I can.

Last Thursday – I get sick.  Like real sick.  Like can’t stand up or I’m going to throw up sick.  Like did throw up while boy was playing with the toilet bowl brush with one hand and hitting me on the back with the other.  I couldn’t function and wasn’t able to call in sick because Andrew was stuck in a meeting all day and couldn’t come home.  It was a big challenge.  Before, when I worked and got sick, I could call in and then Andrew would take the kids to day care – of course you know that’s not the case anymore so I was forced to try to stomach making them lunch and required to try and stay awake.  By the end of the day I started feeling better but then Andrew started feeling sick and then (even worse) at 3 in the morning Nia wakes me up saying in a very sad voice “Momma, I threw up in my bed.”  She stayed sick for the next 24 hours.  I finally knew she was feeling better when she asked for “chicken, french fries and bananas” for dinner.

After the Sickiness

After the Sickiness

On Monday, we all loaded up (minus Joey who got to stay at a doggy-kennel-resort) and headed to Savannah.  Andrew had to work there and I figured we all might as well go since we really didn’t have to be here by ourselves.  Visiting Savannah was so wonderful and it made me remember why I loved it there so much.  Of course the people we love, but also there’s just something about that town.  I even missed that awful smell that is distinctly Savannah.  We only stayed for a few days but they were such great days.  The kids and I got to spend time with Aunt Ree, Uncle Marcus and Baby Ella – Ginger, Lee and Cami – Karen and Baby Andrew – Paul – I even went to see WSAV and Nia got to play with her old friends at her day care.  It was awesome taking her there – the kids bombarded her and they fought over her all day saying “that’s MY Nia!”  She was a little overwhelmed and played hard and it was just so sweet to see how much 3-year-olds can miss each other.  Nia’s really good friend Avery started to cry when Nia had to leave – kind of like I did when I had to say goodbye to Ginger – proving there’s really no age limit on missing your buddy.

Before the Move

Just Visiting

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Look Ma, No Parachute!

20 Feb

DISCLAIMER: No children were hurt in the making of this blog memory.

Couch Diving

He’s only been walking on the earth for about 4 months yet he already loves to couch dive.  As a mom it is probably the most scary thing I’ve seen him enjoy – as Nicole the crazy lady, it’s pretty funny.

Here’s how I think Nate found out he loves to couch dive:

One day he was just chilling on the sofa when he decided to try and stand up.  He then began to boing, boing, boing his little body back and forth across the couch until eventually he didn’t boing anymore but more like plopped.  Andrew was (of course) there to catch him and I think that’s what’s fed his need to couch dive ever since.  He knows Andrew will be there to catch him and we’ll always make that “wooh” sound when he takes the step over the edge.  (The “wooh” sound is the sound of the breath being taken from my body right before my heart stops in fear that he’s going to hit the floor.)  The sound that comes from Nate as it’s all happening is excited laughter and forget about trying to get him to stop – as soon as Andrew has him in his arms Nate is pushing to get out of them and struggling to climb back on the couch.

I just thought I have at least a few more years until the need to jump off things happened. I’m still trying to keep up with him trying to eat non-edibles and bang his head off things!

Before the Jump

Pea(poop)nut Butter Recall

18 Feb

AH!  I can’t believe this!  For the past 6 plus years of my life I’ve been searching for product recalls to write about for our consumer segment on the newscast – none of them ever affected me personally.  Of course, now that I don’t get to see hardly any news there’s a recall that affects my family and I just fed the potential poison to Nia last night!  I found out about it in the weirdest way too – as I was checking out at Publix tonight the cashier was mumbling and laughing about about “feeding her sister Peter Pan peanut butter” – I must have shot the what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look at her because she then went on to tell me about the recall.

I haven’t eaten a lick of the peanut butter myself but I’ve been serving up the possibly salmonella-infested spread to Nia since we moved into this house.  I’m searching my memory trying to think if she got sick after eating the last sandwich I made for her – but that doesn’t matter because all of these websites say even if you haven’t gotten sick yet you still could and you won’t know it for like 8 to 72 hours after you swallow it down.  Now I have to sit through 3 days hoping my little girl doesn’t have a potty attack.  In the meantime, I’m just going to scowl at the little brown jar with it’s alarming red lid as if to tell it – you and me – we’re gonna go rounds if you upset my sweetie’s tummy.  I know I’m supposed to throw the jar away and all – it’s just right now I feel this strong need to have a showdown with it – at a distance of course.

It’s interesting what something like this can do to people.  I’ve read that some are suing because they say the salmonella infection cost them money due to lost work and doctor bills – others say they’re afraid to ever eat the peanut butter brands again. As for what it did to me – it’s taught me a lesson.  I’m trying to make sure I won’t miss another recall – I’ve signed up to get email alerts from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department.  We’ll see…

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Doctor Appointment Agony

9 Feb

Two freaking hours!  That’s how long Nia, Nate and I were held hostage at our new pediatrician’s office today.  I can understand that if the waiting rooms were packed or something but there were only a few of us in there.  What’s worse is there were no toys/books to entertain the kids, there were signs everywhere that said “No food or drink” and “Take your soiled diapers home,” the fluorescent light was flickering and the boy had to spend an hour walking back and forth on the examining table in nothing but his diaper only to win 3 shots at the end of the torture!

I was losing it!  Nia even said (twice) “This is taking FOREVER!” (Wonder what bad-attitude adult put that phrase in her vocabulary?)

It was so hard picking a new doctor for the kids – we all really like the doctor we had in Savannah.  I mean, sometimes we wondered about a diagnosis or two but overall we never had a horrible experience with him.  This one makes me want to send him a thank you card or something.

(By the way – the boy is fine – just a well visit – it confirmed he’s healthy, small and angry. And if you were wondering – I did have to take a “soiled” diaper home with me since their trash cans were apparently too good for a little baby poo.)

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False Alarm (Thank God!)

1 Feb

You know that smell of something burning?  I don’t think I ever really experienced it until today.

After smelling it, it took me a few sniffs around the kitchen to figure out what it was.  I unplugged our rechargeable flashlight and sniffed – nope.  I went over to the stove and made sure it wasn’t turned on – nope.  I smelled around the fridge – nope.  I then walked into the other room to see if it was coming from there (it was kind of like that game – you’re getting warmer and in this case I was getting colder).  When I turned around to point my nose back in the direction of the kitchen I SAW what was causing the smell – smoke was coming out of the dishwasher.

I was scared to open it – not only because I’ve watched too many movies that show a huge explosion happens after you open a door that has smoke pouring out of it but also because I had no clue what to do if there were flames behind the door.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with that because it was all smoke.  The cause? Well, he’s about 20 pounds, blonde hair, blue eyes and always into something.  Apparently, the Boy tossed one of his clear plastic bottle caps into the machine and I didn’t ever notice.  It was nicely wedged under the heating element.

How'd that get there?

After it was all over with Nia gave me a suggestion to cool it off and stop the “yucky” smell – “Hey, I have a great idea.  Let’s put lots of ice in it.”

Put some ice in it.

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That was awkward

22 Jan

Kids say the darndest things right?  Wasn’t that a TV show or something?  Well, it’s pretty funny to hear, even when your kid is the one being brutally honest to strangers.  Some recent awkward moments include:

– After STARRING at a teen boy with pierced ears standing next to us in line at the grocery store, Nia seems to yell, “boys aren’t supposed to wear earrings!”   What am I supposed to say to that? He obviously heard her and doesn’t think it was very funny – he must be thinking what kind of narrow-minded parent are you to teach your child that only girls can were earrings!  Well, it’s hard trying to explain the complexities of life and the freedom of choice to a 3-year-old!  I mean, I want to tell her – trust all police officers, they will help you when you need it – but then the realistic side of me wants to add – but even then some people will only pretend to be police officers to fool you and steal you away from mommy and daddy!  I think she’s smart and all but that would really blow her mind.  I told her (very loudly so the boy would hear) “that’s not true, your uncles have earrings.”  Not sure if that really helped the situation, but I had to try something!

  • The next awkward moment happened at the same grocery store on the same day.  The nice older gentleman was helping us take our groceries to the car – he was even loading them up in the trunk for us.  Well, I was trying to make small talk with him but he was really hard to understand because he had such a strong accent.  I would just do the thing most people do – smile and say uh-huh – Nia though – doesn’t yet grasp the concept of politeness and says not once but twice “he talks silly huh?”  All I could think to say is “honey that’s not nice, he’s a nice man.”  Her response?  “But he does TALK SILLY!”
  • I’ve saved the worst for last – it’s the worst because it happened in church – as I was taking communion (or the Jesus cookie as Nia would call it).  I was carrying Nia and it was my turn to quietly take the “body of Christ” from the well-dressed, short man at the altar.  As soon as the wafer entered my mouth Nia says, “He’s little huh momma?” All I could do was look the man in the eye and try to apologize with my facial expression.
  • I’m now trying to teach Nia about why it’s not nice to say certain things to people – yes it makes for very memorable, awkward moments – but I just would hate for her to shout out something really horrible.  Like when she points at the people who drive those carts with the baskets on them and says “look momma they have a funny buggy.”

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YUM

13 Jan

It was a 20 minute drive and very worth it!  My Caramel Frap was the most delicious one I’ve had in awhile. Sometimes they skimp on the caramel and whipped cream – not this time though.  I always order the smallest size but it’s been so long since I had one I went all out and made it a “venti”!  Man was that thing HUGE!  IT WAS AWESOME!

I don’t get out much, can you tell?  I don’t care – it was a very enjoyable moment for me and I look forward to the next one!  I think I’ll wait a week or so though after savoring all those calories and fat!  At least now I know where I need to go for my Frap fix!  (Thanks to Jason for the tip!)

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In Search of a Starbucks Drive-Thru

12 Jan

Yes, I’m one of those people.  The one who needs their Starbucks fix.  I have $50 in gift cards burning a hole in my new really cool diaper bag (thanks to our new friend Monica) and they are all I can think about. As soon as I’m finished posting this I’m going to search for the closest Starbucks drive-thru and then load up the kids and take a road trip!  I haven’t been out of the house during the day all week so what better reason!?!? (Forget about the groceries and other necessities we need – Caramel Frap here I come!)

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