Viva Las Vegas

Ted and I took a couple days to get away by ourselves this past weekend. We chose Vegas because Ted likes to play blackjack and I like to.....go on vacation. It was our first time away from Nic since he was born (or really since March of 2007:)). My mom, bless her heart, volunteered back in January to babysit for the weekend.

It was both a relief and very scary to be away from him. Through my mind raced all the things that could happen. What would happen to Nic if the plane went down? We don't have our will written out yet. Maybe we shouldn't have left without doing that. What if Nic has to go to the doctor, will Mom know that he needs to go? What if I never see him again...? (On top of that I was reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picolt - not the most uplifting book for a parent.) I held back tears more times than I can remember and couldn't hold them at times either.

We arrived in Vegas about 11am and got into our room by 2pm. By then I was so exhausted I could hardly stand up. Since we were on vacation, I thought a nap was in order. However my brain didn't agree with my body and I lay awake for 2 hours trying to sleep. So I showered up and headed to the bar for a cocktail. I walked through the casino and sat at the bar and thought - this doesn't look like the movies anymore. I didn't see anyone resembling Brad P*itt in Ocean's Eleven, I didn't see many women dressed like the women in the tv show Las Vegas (though I was not either). I saw a lot of older women in jogging suits with a hairdo that gets done once a week at the salon. I saw a lot of college boys hauling in their own cases of Natural Light. And I saw a lot of kids. Why anyone wants to take a baby or even a teenager to Vegas on vacation is beyond me.

I went to Vegas 12 years with a guy I was seeing - we had the typical drunken Vegas weekend (but that happens in Vegas..well you know). Then Ted and I went 2 years ago spending part of the time at a convention and the other part walking everywhere and seeing as much as we could. This time I slept a lot (or tried to). I did have some drinks and play some games, but like the rest of my life, this destination changed too. We ate one dinner at the hotel's steakhouse and spend more than I usually do on groceries for the week. But as we sat and ate our expensive entrees and sipped our wine ($49 bottle -eek that's 16 bottles of cheap Chuck) we knew that quiet dinners for 2 were not going to come along too often, so why not enjoy.

Don't get me wrong, if I had to make the choice all over again I would give up ALL the wild weekends for one full of Nic's giggles and spit up.

Thank you to Mom for taking excellent care of my little bundle of joy. I know she went home and slept a good 8 hour sleep free from Nic's nocturnal crying, kicking and scratching of the sheets.

When Did I Lose My Mind?

When exactly did I lose my mind? Was it during birth? In the sleep-deprived weeks after? I'm not sure when it happened, but it happened.
But don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining, it's just funny. I talk to Nic and myself all day long in different voices, making up songs for every little thing we do. Some of my favorites:
"Falling Off the Couch"
"Poopie on the Butt"
"Babies with Pacis"
The list goes on and on.
Not that I was using a ton of brain power before I had him, but ......come to think of it......this is much more creative! I can come up with a jingle off the top of my head, some even have dances to go with them. If you visit with Nic and I, I may sing and dance them for you, they lose something when written.
Here is Nic in his "look Mom, no hands" pose!

The Blue Do-Rag Lives On

In my mother's living room is a picture of my dad on vacation in the British Virgin Islands at the helm of a boat wearing a blue do-rag - or bandana if you wish. My mom blew up a copy of that picture to display at his funeral 3 years ago as it is a wonderful picture of him having a great time on his trip and the best way to remember him.
The other day Nic was "helping" with folding laundry and I pulled out my blue bandana and thought it would be fun to fashion a do-rag on him. To the right is the result. At the time I wasn't thinking of the picture of my dad, but my mom mentioned the similarity so now it's what the picture is for.
Though he always looks stunned in his pictures, I assure you he was smiling before it was taken. It looks like he is trying to be tough in this one.