A birthday tribute to Liz

I was almost 13 when my sister Liz was born. I don't remember any of the bad stuff that goes along with bringing a baby home (not sleeping through the night, diaper blowouts, crying fits), I just remember how cute she was and how much I loved having a little sister. I'd dress her up in pretty clothes, play toys with her, watch Disney movies 8 times in a row (she figured out how to rewind the VCR to play her favorites over & over), "coach" her for gymnastics in the living room.

Some of my favorite memories of Liz through the years...

• Her Teletubbies phase
• Her attachment to Tickle me Elmo
• Having The Little Mermaid on repeat for days at a time
• Liz's little voice and laugh when she was younger. Cutest thing in the world!
• Teaching her gymnastics fundamentals and how important it was to have good form and pointed toes. We'd do forward rolls on the couch and handstands on the carpet. I was convinced she was going to be an Olympic champion. lol
• Having little photo sessions when she was younger and I was just getting into photography. My earliest photos were blurry and terrible, but my favorite one is of her probably 2 years old in a leotard clutching her Elmo, striking a model pose. Liz has always been game to let me practice photography on her :)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha9y_O6iz9c (I still say this alll the timeee)
• "Have you met my friend Boddie?"
• Liz and her violin concerts. It started in 4th grade as just a little hobby and now as a senior, Liz blows everyone away with her amazing talent. She is a true rockstar!
• Taking photos of Liz & her outfits on her 1st day of school. I think I stopped when she hit 5th grade since I wasn't living in Salem at the time :( I really wish I would have kept doing it!
• Standing back-to-back to see if she was taller than me yet (she just recently passed me, by the smallest of margins. Ugh!)
• All the birthdays and holidays we've shared as a family
• Seeing how great she is with her nephew Oliver :)

I could go on for days, but those are the highlights. I am so impressed by how smart, driven and motivated my sister is! I am so proud of her violin talent and what a truly kind person she is. Despite the age difference, my baby sis is still one of my best friends and I'm excited to see what the future holds for her.

I love you Liz, you are the best little sister I could ever ask for :) Happy 18th birthday!

The new normal?

I've been unemployed 7 weeks now, which has just flown by. During those last few weeks at work, I would think about all the stuff I would get accomplished when my job ended and how I would finally get caught up on all those nagging tasks I'd been too busy to do. Wrong! Who knew a toddler took up so much time & wouldn't let you get anything done?? ;)

Here's an average day for me:

• 7am: Get up, eat breakfast, review my to-do list, browse a few websites
• 8 or 8:30am: Oliver wakes up, change him, feed him breakfast
• 8:30-10:30am: Oliver plays, runs around the house, tries getting into things (the dog's water bowl, my nightstand, locked cupboards), I get dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up, set out snacks for Oliver to eat in between playing
• 10:30am: Nap time, hopefully for 1.5 or 2 hours
• 10:30 - 12ish: While Oliver sleeps (fingers crossed!), I answer e-mails, work on photos, check facebook and cross off various items on my to-do list, eat lunch
• 12 or 12:30pm: Oliver wakes up, change him, feed him lunch
• 12:30pm - 3ish: Pretty much a repeat of 8:30-10:30, with Oliver playing, running, eating, giving hugs to the dog. Me? I'm cleaning up little things here and there while I watch him play, making grocery lists, planning dinner, going a little crazy being confined to the kitchen/family room (lol)
• 3pm: Sometimes I can get Oliver down for another small nap around this time. Those are the best days (sorry, it's true! haha). I get to sit down for about an hour and work on some more tasks (applying for jobs, cleaning up my desk, paying bills, updating our photography website/facebook, trying to get new business, etc) If Oliver doesn't go to sleep, he's usually content playing in his crib for a bit, so I'm able to get a few things done before taking him out.
• 4pm: More snacks for Oliver, more playing, start dinner, clean up dishes as I go along, Derek gets home around this time if he works a regular shift and plays with Oliver for a bit
• 5pm: Dinner for Oliver (he has refused to sit in his highchair this week, so unless I chase him around the house to stuff food in his mouth one bite at a time, he doesn't eat. Sounds fun, right?!), dinner for us, feed the dog, clean up dinner dishes
• 6pm: If Oliver didn't watch a little TV in the morning/afternoon, I let him watch a little show in the evening (yes, I've resorted to the TV these days since it helps him wind down a bit and gives me a chance to sit down. ha!). His current favorites are The Magic School Bus, Curious George and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He typically doesn't sit still  for the whole 25 minute show, he gets up and roams around the living room glancing at the TV occasionally, so I don't feel too bad about letting him watch it.
• 6:30pm: Give Oliver another little snack, get him into the bathtub, into his pjs, brush his teeth, read books or play games
• 7:30pm: Put Oliver down for the night
• 7:30-10pm: Work on more photos, get caught up on anything I tried doing earlier in the day but didn't have time for, go around the house and pick up all Oliver's toys and random things he left on the floor, watch a show with Derek if he's around, waste a little too much time on pinterest ;) Go to sleep and do it all again the next day!

Some things to note... Yes, I get a full 8+ hours of sleep every night which is awesome and I'm very thankful for that :) Oliver loves his sleep too and routinely sleeps 13 hours a night straight. In total, I have about 6 hours of downtime throughout my day, but I find it hard to accomplish things when I get interrupted so often or don't have time to complete a whole task. I forget what I was working on, so the next time I get some Oliver-free time, I dive into something else. I absolutely can and should organize my time better to get more things done. As we're settling into this new routine, I think it will get easier to use those small chunks of time to be productive. I don't think I give myself enough credit for all the things I do get done each day. I'm impatient and want it all done NOW, not realizing that the little pieces I do each day will eventually get the big project done.

Seeing my day laid out like that makes me realize how much actually goes on each day and how I can use my time a little more wisely. I get frustrated that I haven't done more things these last 7 weeks (organizing/cleaning out closets, getting rid of stuff we don't use, etc), but that doesn't really compare to spending quality time with my son all day every day :) Although it would be nice to get some me-time for longer than an hour or two at a time, I am very lucky I'm able to stay home for a little while with my favorite dude.

Mistaken Identity - Vol 3

In case you're new: I get e-mails intended for other people with my name all the time and have decided to share some. See below for the newest ones.

2nd grade at 17 months, eh? I must have a Doogie Howser on my hands :)

FilipinaLoveLinks sounds right up my alley!

Table tennis in Sri Lanka? Count me in!

How are you getting home from school? That's a great question, hope you're not still sitting there 3 weeks later!

 All 3 e-mails were from the same lady. But now I know what I'm naming our future daughter (if we ever have one): Shelialah!

Any one in the market for fancy imported tiles? ;)

 I get at least a few e-mails from this crazy Bethea lady each week and they're always good for a laugh! Although I am happy I'm receiving these of the poor 80 year old lady that originally signed up. She probably would have sent her life savings to this idiot.

 I rarely respond to e-mails that are sent to me in error, but these were loan documents for someone, so I figured it might be important. Just a little :)

Apparently this is supposed to be an alien, but I think it looks like a piece of poop. (Pou?? Come on now!)