Me, Nathan, and Paul when we first got to Paul’s grandparents’ house for some delicious food followed by some egg-hunting… all following a beautiful Easter service at our church. Of course, it can sometimes be incredibly difficult to convince a three-year-old to sit still for a picture, but we were finally able to get a decent one in the midst of some squirming.

Nathan helping his great-grandmother dye some eggs. He totally loved it! At first, I was slightly trepidatious about Nathan being around food dye, but it worked out well… He was surprisingly calm and managed not to make a huge mess. And he thought that it was super neat to dye eggs multiple colors.

He was so excited about carrying around the basket full of eggs. I’m pretty sure he thought he was Big Stuff, and I must say that I wholeheartedly agree. And doesn’t he look totally dapper in his Easter outfit? Paul’s grandmother gave us the jacket, and she’s pretty sure it used to be Paul’s. So of course I had to put Nathan in it for Easter.

Nathan’s having a nice little chat with Daddy. My two most favorite men in the whole wide world, right here, both looking as handsome as ever, and both making my heart swell to approximately the size of a football field. I don’t even know how my heart hasn’t exploded out of my chest yet.

After the festivities, the little guy was pretty tired. He had a big day and really enjoyed going to church, gorging on a delicious Easter meal, dying eggs, hunting them, and then running wild and free outside.  Holidays are great around here, and I am super happy I get to spend them with my wonderful husband and child. I couldn’t ask for anything better!

It really sucks that I’m having such painful arthritis problems. I’m only 31. That’s a little depressing.

So anyway, he gave me a Cortisone shot in my shoulder and guess what? Now I’m experiencing a Cortisone Flare. The injection site is swollen and all the surrounding tissue is so sore that I can’t even touch it. I couldn’t take a shower last night because I literally could not move my right arm because of the pain each little movement caused in my shoulder/upper back. Just putting on my socks is agony. I can’t even think about lifting Nathan at this point. Fortunately, these symptoms should only last 24-48 hours, but until then, I have to rest my arm, take Ibuprofen, and ice the area. That means I can’t empty the trash, so my house stinks because the trash is full. Can’t vacuum, mop, clean, do dishes, do the litterboxes, etc. I hate, hate, hate not being able to take care of things around the house, which is probably what got me into this mess. Instead of resting my injury, I just pushed through the pain and kept doing the housework. I HATE getting behind on the housework because it takes forever to catch back up. Well, I’m not going to make that mistake again. I’m going to take it easy until my shoulder feels better. Not sure how I am going to deal with a messy house in the meantime… too bad Nathan’s not old enough to be handed some chores!

I know, I know. Woe am I, right?

Enough with my kvetching and self pity. In other news, my baby boy has turned THREE YEARS OLD! I can’t believe it! We had a party for him at a pizza place this last Saturday, and it was great. Just about the entire extended family was able to make it, along with a couple of my friends and their husbands and children. All in all, I think there was about 25 people or so in attendance. My dear friend of nearly 13 years baked a special cake just for Nathan. It was HEAVEN. In fact, I have been gorging on cake for the past few days, and if I gain any weight, I shall blame it entirely on my friend and not my temporary lack of self-control.

Here is a picture of that sugary deliciousness. It was a double-layer vanilla cake, and she made the checkerboard design with sheet icing.

And yes, I realize that I had placed Francesco (the green, red, and white car) on a collision course with Lightning McQueen. Francesco had been removed by little hands, and I wasn’t paying attention when I put him back on the track. Oh well. Nathan didn’t seem to care.

Singing happy birthday to Nathan! He totally loved everyone singing to him and was as proud as he could be that he was finally three years old.

Blowing out the candle with a little help from Daddy. It looks like Nathan was so focused on blowing the candle out that he could have face-planted into the cake.

Reading the card from his great grandparents (Paul’s grandparents). Believe it or not, Nathan really likes cards. Ever since his party, he’s been looking at his cards, carrying them around, and playing with them. I let him play with them until he starts to get too rough, then I put them away for safe keeping before he mauls them to death.

He loves opening presents. Although he seems to prefer unwrapping them, he also loves digging into gift bags and flinging the tissue in all directions. Look at his face- he was really concentrating!

He liked the wooden car my brother got him. And oh, see the hat he’s wearing? That’s his train conductor’s hat, a gift from Paul’s grandparents. Nathan LOVES it and has been wearing it constantly since he got it.

When he thought there were no more presents, he got a little upset. Hey, it’s not a party until someone cries, right?

Ahhhh sweet relief. There were more gifts after all.

This one was from Paul and me. Look at Nathan’s mouth hanging open as he examines it… he loves this toy. He loves ALL his toys. He got some super cool stuff… in fact, he made out like a bandit. He loves, loves, loves every single one of his gifts and has been playing with them all nonstop! Everyone picked out the perfect things for him… there was not a single present that he was disinterested in. In fact, when we got home from the party, we didn’t even bother trying to get him to nap. He was too pumped up about all his new toys. The first thing he does when he gets up in the mornings is break out the new stuff. Which is really, really cool.

See, Paul and I don’t buy him a whole lot of toys throughout the year. Don’t get me wrong, we DO buy him stuff, but he is not spoiled by any stretch of the imagination. So whenever he gets gifts, it just makes his day/week/month. Now I just need to find the time to go through his room and pack away the toys he’s outgrown.

Wow… I still cannot believe I’m the mother of a three year old.

Regretfully, I did not. But only because I had food poisoning from (I’m pretty sure) some gravy I ate for lunch on New Year’s Eve. I started feeling queasy 3-4 hours after I ate it… and then about 8 hours after consumption, it hit full force. I had waves of chills hitting me every 15 seconds, nausea, and my whole body hurt. My joints and muscles ached, and anything touching my skin caused pain, even laying in bed. I was lightheaded and dizzy and (of course) completely lost my appetite. I only threw up one time, but it was so violent that I couldn’t breathe and it felt like someone sucker-punched me in my sternum. It started around 9:00 on Saturday evening. The worst was over by 24 hours, but I had some lingering symptoms that lasted an additional 24 hours after that. So I was sick New Year’s Eve and all day New Year’s Day. Let me tell you, it was NOT a good way to bring in the new year!

But there is always a silver lining.

While I was laid up in bed, I was able to get caught up on a lot of stuff I was behind on (like emails) from my… NEW PHONE! That’s right, I totally upgraded from my old (like, REALLY old) RAZR to a smartphone. This one in particular. My husband got it for me for Christmas, and I love it! There’s a huge difference going from a “dumbphone” that can’t do anything to a smartphone. I can’t believe all the things I can do from it… it’s like having a hand-held computer! And the slide-out keyboard is great. It also has a virtual on-screen keyboard, but I totally prefer the slide-out one. It’s much easier to type with. I’m totally addicted to it now… it’s SO much easier to check the news, emails, and even Facebook from the convenience of my phone. It’s MEGA AWESOME!

So anyway, my poor husband had to bring in the New Year all by himself. I’m just thankful to be finally feeling like my old self again. Everything here is getting back to normal after the Holidays. Paul has returned to work after a 2-week vacation. We had a wonderful time!! It was awesome having him home for so long, and I miss him when he’s not here. But on the bright side, I can finally get caught up on the housework! Christmas came and pooped everywhere… my house is still a mess! New toys scattered everywhere… Christmas decorations still out… boxes strewn throughout the rooms… counter tops cluttered… refrigerator stuffed full of leftovers… It comes with the territory and it was totally worth it! I had an AWESOME Christmas this year so I’m not complaining.

I am hoping to get the Christmas post written in the next few days. In the meantime, check out the picture.

It’s a new book Nathan got for Christmas. It didn’t take him long to scribble in it. I can’t turn my head for a second around here without him coloring on something or making big messes! Oh life with a toddler. But it’s a life I wouldn’t trade for anything!

They are awesome. Yes, I know I am quite partial.

We had Thanksgiving at Paul’s grandmother’s house and totally gorged ourselves on some delicious food. Nathan, being the persnickety little feller that he is, refused to eat any of the food. Naturally. He wouldn’t be Nathan if he wasn’t so dang stubborn. But to make up for it, I was able to snap some cute pictures.

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. The entire Holiday season, from Halloween through the New Year, is so much fun! Even though it’s the busiest time of the year for us, we totally enjoy it all. I’m sad that the season is drawing to a close. The New Year is coming up… I can’t believe it. Ready or not, 2012 here we come!

Now don’t you feel better? Good.

So besides me being a lousy blogger during the Christmas season, everything here is going pretty much as planned. We have all of our shopping done and most of the presents wrapped… Paul has been off work for the past week, so we’ve really been enjoying that as well. Nathan is amped up and totally ready for Christmas.

Last weekend, Paul and I took Nathan to the mall with us. We arrived before 9am, so the crowds were light. All the stores were playing Christmas music, and Nathan sang along! “Jingle Bells” and “Oh Christmas Tree” are two of his favorites. He got to see Santa while we were at the mall, although we didn’t stand in line and get a picture taken. Maybe next year when Nathan is ready.

My house is a total wreck right now. I’ve been so busy with all this Christmas stuff that my housework has gotten behind. Hell, I can’t even keep up with the dirty clothes. So as much as I am looking forward to Christmas, I am also looking forward to it being over so I can finally get some things DONE around here.

So I just wanted to pop in and let y’all know that all is good here… we haven’t dropped off the face of the earth or successfully cloned an army of ourselves. (Because who would be interested in blogging after you clone an ENTIRE ARMY of yourself!) And don’t worry- my blogging will pick up again after the Holidays are over and we get back into the swing of things. In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying the season (no matter what you may celebrate) and I will still be posting now that I’ve gotten the big stressors (such as present-buying and wrapping) out of the way.

Now to break out the mop…

I have most of my Christmas shopping done! I spent all day Saturday braving the crowds, getting jostled by oblivious texters while walking crowded walkways. I seriously can’t stand people who text and conveniently forget that the world around them continues to revolve.

Oh yeah. Speaking of texters, I was almost hit the other day by a moron who was texting while driving (again. This seems to happen nearly every time I drive). I was passing her in the left lane because she apparently didn’t have the brainpower to keep her speed consistant… it varied drastically. So anyway, as I was passing her, I noticed she was looking down more than she was looking at the road. And then she veered into my lane and nearly hit me and Nathan as she was looking down.

People who text and drive aren’t the brightest crayons in the box. They are apparently clueless that they have greatly increased their odds of crashing and injuring someone because of their own self-absorption. They are thinking only about themselves and what THEY want.  I just hope that neither me or any of my family members or friends are hurt because of such brazen acts of sheer stupidity and self-centeredness.

So anyway, I braved the masses, hit some awesome sales, and got just about everything I needed to get for Christmas. I’m not usually able to get everything done this far ahead of time, so it’s nice to be able to relax and not stress as Christmas Day approaches.

In other news, Nathan is still being a bit ornery. This child is incredibly strong-headed and stubborn, and he keeps doing things he knows he’s not supposed to do just to test us and see what we will do about it. His most recent mischief involves climbing up onto his bookshelf to retrieve the baby powder. While I was distracted. On the computer. Can you guess where I am going with this?

Not only did he dump the baby powder all over his dresser, but he tried to pry the safety lock off one of the drawers. We’ve been having issues keeping it adhered to the dresser, and Nathan has been taking full advantage of this weakness. No big deal… it’s just clothes in there… but still. It’s the principle.

And now he is in time-out for climbing on top of his toy chest and messing with his radio (which is off limits!). I was on the computer, beginning to type this post (it seems most of his mischief occurs when I’m writing in this blog) and then I suddenly hear music blaring from his radio. I storm into his room only to catch him standing on the floor, smiling sweetly.

LIKE HE THOUGHT I WOULDN’T FIGURE IT OUT.

Only three more weeks til Paul’s Christmas vacation! I can’t wait!

So Thanksgiving was awesome this year. We ate at Paul’s grandparents’ house, and let me tell you, it was a delicious feast. Turkey, ham, spinach salad, green salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, dressing, deviled eggs, a corn dish, gravy… I can’t even remember everything we had! And the pies, we can’t forget about those delicious pies!

Nathan, however, would not partake in the feast. By the time we ate, it was way past his nap time, and I’ve noticed the more tired he is, the more strong-headed he becomes. He didn’t even want to taste any of the food. Oh well. There’s always next year.

On the bright side, I was able to get him to try a pretzel the other day. It’s the little things, folks. It’s the little things.

Also, I was able to get a few cute pictures, so I’ll have those up within the next few days or so.

Well, it’s been a long day… I didn’t have much time to write, but I just wanted to update everyone on our Thanksgiving. I hope you all enjoyed yours as well!

Nathan really likes to color. What’s really cute it watching him color in a coloring book or on one of those children’s menus that restaurants give kids… he tries so hard to color in the lines, but of course, he doesn’t have the motor skills to do that just yet. And he also really likes when Paul or I draw on the paper as well, and then Nathan will try to mimic what we’ve done. Right now, we’re practicing circles.

In other news, I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving! My husband will be off from work Wednesday through Sunday for a much-needed break. I can’t wait to hang out with him and enjoy some time together! And don’t even get me started on the good food I will be gorging on. We’re having Thanksgiving at Paul’s grandmother’s house, and let me tell you that woman can cook like you would not believe. And the most awesome part is that many of her recipes are from her her mother and grandmother… talk about deliciousness!

Hopefully, I won’t gain too much weight this year…

(Yeah right. Lock up your pumpkin pies because I am on a path of consumption!)

I have somewhat of a plan this year, though. I’m going to try to steer clear of foods that I have easy access to throughout the year such as candy, etc. But stuff that I don’t get that often will be okay to eat, as long as I (try) to keep it in moderation. I only have 10-15 more pounds to go before I’m at my goal weight, and with the holidays factored in, I am giving myself til March to lose it.

Wish me luck.

Remember in my Halloween post, I talked about taking Nathan trunk-or-treating and how they had someone there taking pictures? Well, Nathan’s picture finally arrived in the mail! This picture is a little low on quality since I had to scan it, but it’s still really cute. Also, you should be able to click on the picture to get a larger image.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s Halloween. We had so much fun! And yes, eating all that candy was totally worth it!

Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten all that after all…

Then again, it just makes me work out even harder at the gym!

I’ve only gained a pound from my gluttony. That’s not bad at all. I think it’s because muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat, and since I’ve been working out like an animal for a number of months now, I’ve built up a decent amount of muscle. Therefore when I do decide to splurge, I don’t gain 5-10 pounds like I used to before I started being more healthy. So bring on the holidays!