Almost 2 months later.....

Its been awhile and there's lots to write. A lot of stuff has been going on....and we've been super busy. For those of you who dont know we've been having eating issues, as in, he doesnt eat and apparently hasnt gained any weight in 6 months....so this led to copious amounts of blood being drawn and sent off for tests.....something was off and then we had to obtain a urine sample...we're still waitning on those results. Let me tell you getting a urine sample from an un potty trained 1 1/2 year old does not equal fun. so we're waiting.
He also had a developmental evaluation because he isnt talking. again, as withthe eating, he is not talking at all. we've had one word since he was 12 months....hes now 20 months.....he was average or above average in all areas except communication/speech....so now we schedule speech therapy (haevnt done that yet as i have been super busy at work). the day or the evaluation we got out early and headed to the Keys for lunch at the Tiki Bar in Islamorada. it was fabulous. We hadnt been in a long time and we really enjoyed it. Little E seemed to have fun too...we splashed inthe water and walked in the sand and he loved just sitting on the railing and looking at the water. It was a wonderful day and i got tons of great pictures (143 to be exact) but here are a few of my favorites. I posted my absolute favorite by itself a few minutes ago.

Yesterday we cut the grass and E tried to wash the grass off the sidewalk with the hose. Little E decided he wanted to play with it instead and ended up soaked but had a great time.

Work for me has been good. My seniors took their exams this week so as of today I only teach 2 classes out of 7 periods...its a wonderful thing! I need the extra time though as I get to teach AP Calculus next year and really need to re-teach it to myself...its been a VERY long time since Ive seen anything even close to calculus. Im pretty excited though, my second year there and I get AP Calc...yay!

Probably my new favorite picture

First Haircut

So E and my mother in law have been making comments (or gestures) for quite some time about getting his hair cut. I refused. I like it long. I think its cute. I finally caved in today. I figured I could compromise. I took him to Cartoon Cuts in the mall and paid $16 for them to spray his head with water and make about 5 cuts with the scissors. oh well. He did very well. Refused to wear the smock but sat pretty well with the basket of toys they gave him to play with. He didnt cry at all and i think actually liked not having his hair in his face. He shook his head around for quite some time afterwards.

We even got a lollipop afterwards! Our very first one, and we enjoyed it very much. He didnt have very much of it but what he did have he liked (I didnt need him on a sugar rush so I took it away after a bit).

Soccer and Shuttles

We started soccer this past Saturday. I was very excited. They break the kids up by age. only 6 months difference in each group (18-25 months, 24-30 months etc.....). Apparently EJ was the only kid under 2 1/2 in his time slot, so he was put with the older kids. Im hoping that in time he will want to be like the bigger kids and hopefully maybe if there is a God he will listen and follow some of the directions! I am pretty sure me and E got more excercise than anyone else on the field.... there were two goups of kids, our group and older kids at the other end. EJ wanted to be anywhere his group was not. He listened to no one and was only concerned with running as fast as he could away from us. (that, however resulted in a nap that lasted almost 4 hours! yay!) The first picture is of EJ, running AWAY from our group. He did sort of get the concept of soccer. He kicked the ball about half the time, the other half was spent picking it up with his hands.

Here he is in his soccer ball socks and Adidas Sambas ($38 for those shoes but when I saw them in his size I HAD to buy them)

Yesterday the shuttle took off from Kennedy SPace Center. Not close to us by any means but we were lucky enough to see it, it was super bright and these pictures do not do it justice. It was pretty amazing and looked like a giant fireball racing through the sky.

Playing with Pictures

I've spent the last hour playing with a free online program to play with pictures. Thanks Lindsay for the link. www.picnik.com Its not great, definately not exactly what I was trying to accomplish but not so bad.

New Shoes

EJ likes to wear his shoes. It means that we are going outside. He brings his shoes to me to put on. He brings me my shoes. Today he put on my shoes. Cute? Yes. Although my husband doesnt think so. i told him about it over the phone. EJ was wearing my shoes. Heels. And walking around the house in them. He walks better in them than I do. :) Sad, I know. I was fortunate enough to actually get a few good pics of the fashon show.

We are very very proud.

Nicole Needs...

I got this from my friend Lindsay's Blog, and it seemed like fun.
In google you type in quotes "[your name] needs"
So here is what I apparently need...

1. Nicole needs a boob job. and it came up 3 times in different wording.

2. Nicole needs no food when she can shop till she drops. i wish, i dont do much shopping and i certainly need food, i like to eat.

3. Nicole needs Photoshop. I woul dlove Photoshop, although its not so much in the budget at the moment.

4. Nicole needs a new computer. new stuff is always nice, but i just got a new laptop last may.

5. Nicole needs a drummer. really? for what? oh yeah, so i can walk to a good beat wherever i go..

6. Nicole needs a husband. Nope, i already got one of those! and i like him lots!

7. Nicole needs to live in the NOW on Intervention. Definately dont need an intervention.

8. Nicole needs some good vibes. we could all use some good vibes now and then,

9. Nicole needs an urban love nest. Do i even want to know what that is?

10. Nicole needs to lay off the Botox. yes, yes i do. i get botox way to often and really should cut down :) haha, funny how ive never even considered botox.


so those are my needs apparently. :)
Thanks lindsay!

Cartoons Rock

EJ doesnt watch a lot of TV, but every night before bed we watch a few shows on Sprout. Make way for Noddy seems to be our favorite. We laugh and dance to the opening theme song and its one of the few times we actually sit still (well the entire 2 minutes of the song). This was the scene earlier in the day, a complete meltdown for some unknown reason (is there ever a reason?) just before we left the house. He wanted so badley to go outside (we were on our way out) but i had to finish getting ready, he obviously didnt understand :) Sitting on the couch watching tv before bed....he looks like such a calm child here....

and then Noddy came on and here is the reaction to the theme song, usually he stands up on the couch and dances too.

why sit on the couch when there is an ottoman to lay across???

Blog Fail

I failed miserably at keeping up with my blog. i am pretty sure that anyone who used to read it no longer even bothers to check. i dont blame you. why check whenthere is nothing to read! anyway, a lot has happened in the past few months. work is going ok, a lot of stuff IS happening at work but most i can't write about for legal reasons (that should clue you in to the funness of the situations there) but overall its still a good place to be. it definately isnt perfect, no where is especially in todays economy and education system but from everything ive experienced in education i wouldnt want to be anywhere else right now. i am thankful that i have a job and am getting paid. i really couldnt ask for more. some people are really upset about the possibility of us not getting all or part of our "normal"raises next year, but seriously, i would even take a pay cut just to ensure that i have a job next year. so many people around me are loosing their jobs, getting laid off, taking huge pay cuts etc and i am seriously thankful that i am not one of them.
E is also doing well at work. currently he is on a 2 weeks business trip which sucks. playing single parent is a lot of work (i have much respect for those who are single parents full time). it means i am out of bed at 5am and showering by 5:10 and then getting myself ready and then EJ and out the door by 6:10am. and then it is non stop until he goes to bed at 7pm at which point i have to clean up after dinner and get all his stuff (lunch) ready for the next day. super tired. but its ok. but again, we are thankful he has a job that pays well and pays the bills. a few weeks away here and there is just fine.
Here are some random other things that have been going on in no particular order:
i started playing soccer again on monday nights. its fun but exhausting.
I developed a major allergic skin reaction to somethingunknown a few weeks ago. ended up in the ER and was put on high dose steriods and other stuff. Doc Obvious looked at me and said "yup, that sure is a severe allergic reaction to something" and said i would probably never know what it was and walked out. i was home in a little over an hour (door to door). i cant even get in and out of a doctors appointment that fast. i was sent home full of whatever drugs they gave me and within hours it was gone. still dont know hat it was
EJ starts soccer in march. yay. the program is called soccertots. super cute. i'll post pictures when he starts.
We did some landscaping. the yard in the house was pretty terrible. or rather non existant. we had a starnge layer of greenish brown stuff growing all over. dont know what it was but it wasnt grass. so E spent several days ripping it all out and then laying down sod. we even bought plants and some flowers. we have no idea if they will survive as neither one of us know anything about flowery things with leaves and such. but they look pretty.
Most of the pictures below (except the first one) are of EJ helping with the landscaping project. the first is ofhim sweeping. he loves to sweep. and carry the broom around. so i dressed him up in an apron (thanks sara!)

Here he is "helping" withthe big rake. way to big for him but he had fun....notice the beautiful "lawn" we have here.
So the next day i went to Lowes's and bought him his own rake, much morehis size and not as easy for him to hurt himself. if you notice there is no more green, just dirt. we let EJ run around in the dirt and play.

Then we turned onj the sprinkles. dirt+sprinklers+EJ=one huge mess :) but lots of fun.

We stripped down and walked straight into the tub where there was a muddy mess.

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Christmas

I've really wanted to be better at posting....so far i have not succeeded. the amount of time that i have to actually sit at the computer is rare and when I do have the time i dont have the motivation. Until I have the time to really sit down and write here are a few pictures from Christmas to hold you over.....i just know the 3 of you who read this are just dying to see them ;) yeah....
Christmas Eve was at E's cousins house. Roasted pig, beer, and dominoes...what more could you want? :) EJ still has a thing for beer and bottles....
Santa came and dropped off a whole mess of toys for him on Christmas morning. WHen we got him up he ran right through the living room, past me and the waiting camera and staright to the kitchen. it took awhile for him to actually come look at the toys....and he just kind of stared at them for a bit. The big present was a big red wagon, complete with 2 seats and 4 cupholders....now, what 2 small children need with 4 cupholders i will never know....

We went for a ride in our new wagon after breakfast (yes, we can do that here in south florida...no snow and it was nice and warm) but as soon as we got 2 blocks from teh hosue it started to rain :) we were all soaked by the time we got back, but it seemed he enjoyed it anyways!

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving and other stuff.....

Its been awhile since I posted, there is so much to write so I guess I will use a version of Beth's famous lists:

1. The Big Move

we moved into our house the weekend before thanksgiving. It was a huge project but we got most of it done. most of our stuff thay we dont use on a regular basis are still in boxes and probably will stay that way for several more weeks, unleast until my christmas vacation. we got a new fridge which i love. stainless french door fridge with a double door freezer on the bottom. its awesome. now we only need to remodel the rest of the kitchen to match...hahaha, yeah, that just might be in the budget somewhere in the next 5 years if we're lucky. we got a new washer and dryer. we needed a set so on black friday we were in line at sears at 4:30 am. i have NEVER gone out on black friday ever. i dont deal with those kinds of crowds well but they had a kenmore set for $599. it was necessary and wasnt that bad and while we were out we went to a few other stores. i will post pics of the house with our stuff in it soon..

2. Rhode Island

This past weekend EJ and I went to RI. we left thursday afternoona dn got back sunday night. The main reason forme flying up was to see my grandfather. He isnt doing so well and I really wanted the chance to see him. I wont be going home over the holidays due to financial reasons and santa will only deliver toys at home.....we will probably venture to RI during my christmas vacation at times just not over the actual holiday. So on saturday before my dad's concert I went to see him. My dad wasnt sure if he'd even remember me but as soon as he saw me he smiled and then started to cry. we sat and talked for awhile. he asked how the baby was and how teaching was and I just really enjoyed the time I was able to spend there. I only wish I couldve stayed longer or had the chance to go more often.

the rest of the weekend was nice. my mom and ray and me and the baby went to Edaville railroad (for those of you in miami its kind of a very small scale Santas enchanted forest but with a huge rail car that takes you around to look at the lights and stuff...and a lot colder) it was nice but cold. EJ seemed to enjoy the railway for about 10 minutes until he got bored and wanted to run around. i took him on the dumbo ride and the carosel. both were fun once the ride actually started. he screamed and fought while we were waiting for the ride to start, he is extremely impatient, but had fun once it started.

we also visited with my dad and dana which was fun. EJ ran around outside playing with sticks and leaves and had a great time.

>

i dont want to talk about the plane ride to RI. EJ was THAT CHILD on the plane. the one where you are secretly screaming inside your head "OH MY GOD, JUST GIVE HIM WHATEVER HE WANTS" yeah, loads of fun.

the ride home to Miami was much better. not perfect but better. let me just say that i will never fly with him again without his own seat and a car seat to keep him strapped down. we got a row all to ourselves (yay) and he slept for about 90 minutes (double yay) and played most of the rest of the flight (triple yay). heres a picture of him before take off on the way home.

3. Thanksgiving

out of order i know but we had thanksgiving at the new house. i found out the thursday before. lots of time to plan. it was just us and my in-laws. I made the traditional american thanksgiving dinner, my in laws had never had it. (when ive gone there we've had turkeywith cuban spices and rice and beans) so i made turkey with stuffing (real stuffing not stove top....even i was impressed with myself on that one), mashed potato, yams, green bean casserole loaded with cheese, rolls, cranberry sauce (from a can, i hate homemade). it all can out fabulous and my in-laws loved it. my father in law who hates turkey had 3 or 4 helpings along with everything else. it was great.

4. there are a few other things i wantedx to write but i'm exhausted and its time for bed. :)

We have a house! yay!

We closed on a house today...yay! its a 3 bedroom 2 bath 2002 sq ft house with a 1 car garage and a huge screened in patio on the back. It has a huge living room (with one wall of mirror stripes...yeah, they HAVE to go) a dining room, a big kitchen and even though the kitchen is no9t the prettiest kitchen ever, its deal-able until we have money to remodel it. and it also has another room off the back of the kitchen that could be the tv room if we wanted a formal living room or an office if we had two kids but for now it will probably be the playroom.....or at least where we store most of the toys. The first picture is the front of the house...off the right is the garage. there are two huge windows in the front that look into the dining room and living room. the other window on the front left is one of the three bedrooms. here is the living room and one of the sliding glass doors that lead out to the patio. off to the right is the dining room and the door leads to the kitchen.

here is the room off the kitchen (it has another sliding glass door to the patio)

and a crappy shot of the master bedroom. the little doorway leads to a hall of closets and off to the master bath.

needless to say we are so very excited and hope to move ina few weeks. :)

We LOVE bathtime!

We love bathtime. So much so that we can undress him in his room and then he proceeds to run to our bathroom and climb in the tub.....so far no accidents on the way....so far....

Halloween

So the pictures uploaded in backwards order...oh well. The last picture was the begining of the night, screaming and crying but eventually he got over it! we walked from our condo to the miramar towm center where they had tables set up for the kids to trick or treat at (althought the lines for that were really long and he doesnt eat candy anyways so we avoided that) Mostly he ran around and showed off his cute costume and played with some of the other kids. We didnt stay long, it was already past his bedtime and he was getting sleepy....so here are the pictures.