Day 190

 

July 9, 2010

 

July 9, 2011

Today was a great day! Gus took two naps (hooray) and Steve got the lawn mowed. We went grocery shopping and got a table and chairs for Gus for $15 from a lady that I made a deal with on Craig's List!

Here is a picture of Gus from this morning:

I got a new app for my iPhone that does Polaroid pictures! It's awesome!!

Gus took his morning nap, then we went grocery shopping and came home and Gus played for a bit. I started my dessert for our dinner with the Dudding family tonight.

It was absolutely incredible!!!

We got Gus up and headed to dinner around 4:40. We stopped on the way and picked up the table and chairs that I got from Craig's List. The lady had it for $25 and when I asked if it was still available, she said it was sold but the person never came to get it, and I could have it for $15! YAHOO!! It's tiny, but super cute and will work for Gus.

Then we headed to the Dudding's house. I taught Francis last year and both he and his sister were in my Ecology Club that I sponsored. I helped Mrs. Dudding a few times with her education classes, and we've just always clicked. They're such a nice family and have always been very supportive of me, and Gus.

Here are some of the pictures from our night at their house:

 

Our house just before leaving

 

Mr. Dudding

 

Emma has a mouse and Gus was trying to "taste" him... :)

 

Both kids play piano and Mrs. Dudding is starting to learn too!! Gus had a great time with Emma just banging away on the keyboard!

 

Trying to eat the mouse

 

I don't know if Gus completely understood that the mouse was alive and not something to eat

 

Mouth open... going in for a taste...

 

Emma and Francis were so funny to watch with Gus. They were chasing him around their house and Gus was squeeling with delight and they loved it too. It was so cute!!

 

Gus running away while Emma and Francis chased after him!

 

Mrs. Dudding loves Gus too!!

 

Steve and Andrew (Mr. Dudding) chatted while Sophie (Mrs. Dudding) and I chatted and the kids played together. It was such a nice evening!

We didn't leave their house until after 9:30!!! Gus was tired, but not crabby (thankfully). We got home and put him to bed and now I'm ready to pass out. 

Here are two additional pictures from a year ago today. It's funny because a year ago today, Steve called me and said the six words that I had been praying to hear, "Do you want to come home?" It was a Friday and he told me that he had just talked to Deborah (our attorney) and she gave us the all-clear. It was the answer to my prayers and I was excited to pick Steve up from DTW on Saturday the 10th!

I also had lunch with Amy Hoski... and she got married today! So a year ago, she was starting her year count-down to getting married...

See you tomorrow!!!

>^..^<

Day 189 (Our Fifth Anniversary)

 

July 8th, 2010

 

July 8th, 2011

Here's a video from July 6, 2010:

Today, Steve and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! I had hoped that he'd be coming home early from work so we could watch our wedding video and exchange gifts, but he had to work late. So much for summer hours!

Gus was a BEAST today. Just very difficult to deal with all day. He refused to eat more than a bite of anything, but wanted to snack (not okay). He physically hit me twice (not okay), and threw a few tantrums after being told not to touch the phone. It's bad enough with the behavior and testing the limits, but then he can't communicate his needs with me, so it's added frustration. He did take two naps, so that's a good thing.

This morning Suzanne came to clean and Gus and I played downstairs while she cleaned downstairs. Part of the problem is that all of his toys are up here, so it's hard for him to be entertained downstairs. I did my best... and took some pictures:

 

Yep... that's a bowl on his head

 

Playing peek-a-boo

 

Water from his sippy spilled onto the carpet... he spent like five minutes just touching the spot and running his fingers through the wet spot onto the dry part...  :)

 

He finally ate my pizza crust (who doesn't love cold pizza for breakfast???)- I think he liked the taste, but also how it felt on his poor little gums

 

Blanket boy... getting tired and ready for a nap

 

You can always tell when Gus is super tired...

He napped for almost two hours and then we came downstairs for lunch. He refused to eat. I got to 2:00 and I was praying that Steve would get home soon, and instead he said he'd be home by 4:00. BUMMER!!

Steve ended up getting home just after I put Gus down for his afternoon nap at 4:00. We exchanged gifts and I was super excited to see his face when he opened his gift. I made him a mosaic picture... the main image is our wedding picture and then it's made up of thousands of images of us from our wedding day until now. It's amazing!!! Here's what it looked like:

Steve gave me the most beautiful, stunning, three-stone ring (past, present, future). I can't believe how gorgeous it is!! He's incredible and so good to me:

Obviously, I don't get jewelry like this everyday... he said it's special because it's our fifth anniversary. It's almost embarrassing... ALMOST (but not quite) and I have no shame. I love it, adore it, and think it looks fabulous on my right hand ring finger. Now I know why he was so pissy about me spending money on things... ;)

So around 4:30 Jen arrived and I gave her a quick run-down on things. She was excited to watch Gus and eager for him to get up from his nap so she could play with him.  :)   She said he got up at 5:15 which is awesome... that means he had another hour nap!! 

We went to the Angus Barn for dinner. I got a $50 gift certificate from Wake County Public Schools when I was named Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist. We didn't celebrate our anniversary together last year (Gus and I were in MI and Steve was here), so I couldn't use it for that last year, so we decided to use it tonight.

When we got there, they put balloons at our table (cute) and the waiter (Kenny) was awesome. I think I was really excited because everyone always RAVES about the AB. I've only heard about how amazing it is, how incredible the food is, and how elegant the experience is. So to say I had high expectations would be an understatement.

Unfortunately, I was not impressed. Maybe it's because deep down inside of me is a cheap girl. If I'm going to spend $34 on a filet... it better sing and dance for me as I eat it. My filet was cooked to perfection, but didn't wow me with flavor. It wasn't seasoned... and while it wasn't horrible by any stretch, it also wasn't the best damn thing I've ever had to eat.

The stuffed potatoes were 'eh... okay. Nothing spectacular. The salad... (Ceasar) again, it was just okay. When I review it on Yelp it'll be a two or three star review. I have no need to go back ever again, unless someone is DYING to go and willing to pay for my meal.

We had dessert and it was good (Goodberry's and Rita's are better), it wasn't fantaastic. AND-- just as our dessert comes out, our waiter brings out an "Anniversary Pound Cake" with candles and says it's on the house for our anniversary. REALLY? He couldn't have mentioned that we'd be given AN ENTIRE POUND CAKE before we ordered dessert?

Anyway... we left and felt like the whole experience of going there is something that's over-hyped. It's okay, but not the best place to go for a steak in the area. Over Rated.

We headed to Beaver Creek with the hopes of catching the 7:30 Horrible Bosses showing. We got there ar 7:10 and saw that it was sold out. BOO!!! The only movie showing around 7:30 was Cars2... no thanks. So instead, we called it a night and headed home.

We got home just as Gus was going to bed and Jen and Matt were in his room trying to soothe him into bed. He was crying and when we walked in, his face lit up and he was super happy to see us. It was really sweet.

We spent a few minutes with him and then put him down for bed (he cried for about 15 minutes and then fell asleep) and then watched a movie with Jen and Matt.

Now it's time for bed.

Nite!!! Happy 5th Anniversary my prine!! I live yov!!

>^..^<