Another Sunday, Another Church

Quinn and I wentto try another new church today. He didn't have time to get a nap in before we left, but he fell asleep in the nursery on one of the girls' shoulder. I really enjoyed the service and the people were very friendly. I was greeted when I got there and taken on a tour, which is more than I can say for the church last week. The nursery was great and a lot of people came up to me to introduce themselves. I would really like to go back, and I hope Jalal likes it there. The one thing all these churches have had in common is that they almost seem claustrophobic compared to West Shore. After going to church in a movie theater for years, normal ceilings seem so low! Quinn slept all the way home and then for another hour and a half. After he woke up, he ate a huge lunch: chicken, peas, lima beans, gouda cheese, pita bread, and strawberries. He's even getting pretty good at using his new sippy cup with handles. He's been in a great mood all afternoon, talking up a storm and playing nicely without destroying things.
Anyway, Jalal had the whole day off yesterday and we had a wonderful time together. We bought some photo albums at Kohl's because we are trying to start organizing all our pictures together in albums. Daunting task. I know. In the afternoon, we went to Freedom Weekend Aloft, an annual festival with a hot air balloon race and concerts. We walked around a while, found out it wasn't a good idea to take Quinn up for a tethered hot air balloon ride (next year), and sat on the grass to watch the hot air balloons take off. I think there were about 14 of them, in all different patterns, most of them rainbow colored. It was the neatest thing I've seen in a while. Oh, and we saw Radio! The guy from the movie that Cuba Gooding Jr. played. That was so crazy! After the balloons were off and floating around town, we left and went to a Mexican restaurant down the street from our house. It was fantastic, even though it was karaoke night. Quinn ate his own meal, a cheese quesadilla. It is so nice to go out and be able to feed him real food and not have to sit there and spoon baby food into his mouth. What a great eater.
The other night I got peed on twice. I was getting a bath ready for Quinn. I was kneeling beside the tub testing the water. I had just taken Quinn's diaper off and had him sitting on the side of the tub until the water warmed up. Suddenly, I realized that he was peeing, all over the side of the tub, the floor, and my shirt. So I plopped him in the tub, cleaned up the floor, took off my shirt and gave him his bath. Afterward, I was drying him off on his changing table and was just about to slip a clean diaper under his butt when he shoots a stream of pee straight into the air. I slapped his diaper over him in time to avoid getting wet myself, but I did have to change his changing pad cover. What a mess.
So, tomorrow is Memorial Day and Jalal has the day off. I think we'll try to go to the pool if the weather is nice. Maybe we'll grill steaks or something since we just got our propane tank refilled. I wish everyone a happy Memorial Day and thank all those who've served our country. Love, Us.

Entering the New Millenium (only 8 years late)

We bought a laptop today! Woohoo! I know it seems like a totally frivolous expenditure, but it really will help me get more work done. Now I can work downstairs while Quinn plays and he won't freak out because he can't see me (separation anxiety is fun, let me tell you). It was on major sale and even came with a free wireless printer. So all I have to do is complete 5 more edits than I would have otherwise and it's paid for! Plus, Jalal can use it for work. His boss asked him just the other day if he was ready to travel. It will only be to Charlotte, but he can keep up with his restaurants even when he's out of town for a couple of days. I'm excited about the computer. It's fast, and it's pretty. (I know some girls like that! Hah!)
Anyway, Jalal took Quinn on a field trip to Publix so I could get some work done, so I shouldn't spend much time blogging. I wanted to share with all of you the ridiculous stage-mom thing I just did, though. Some of you already know, but I signed Quinn up for a Parents magazine cover photo contest. I mean, there are some cute kids on there, but I don't think they have anything on Quinn. Seriously, one third of the judging is on personality, and I think you'll all agree that this kid has too much personality for his own good. Check out our gallery to rate and recommend him, though it doesn't affect the judging. The most recommended ones get into a weekly newsletter is all. I'm after the big prize! http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=168900566
I guess I'll get back to work now. Later. Love, Us.

Another Week Gone By Already?

Where is the time going? Seriously, I am sorry I haven't been keeping up as well with the blog. Sometimes I feel guilty writing and posting on here when I should be working on freelance work. But now I have the whole night to do both, so I don't feel so bad. Quinn had a couple of "firsts" this week. He ate his first hamburger by himself at Five Guys, and he went swimming for the first time. The burger was a big hit, but I kept wondering if Child Services was going to come after me for feeding him hamburger this young. I guess it's not that bad. It's not like it was a hot dog or McDonald's. He had a hard time concentrating, though, because there were people around. And if there are people around, Quinn feels it is his duty to entertain them with his big cheesy grin. He always picks the cute girls, too. Is that innate? Good grief. So, it was very overcast yesterday and we only had about an hour before it rained, but we went to the pool at our complex and played around in the cold, cold water. Quinn seemed to enjoy himself, though he played it cool and didn't get too excited. We have this inflatable tube baby holder thing (sounds awful, I know) and he just sat back and chilled out for a while as Jalal and I fussed around him and took pictures. He's already a water baby. Thank goodness.
We finally got his records transferred and an appointment made with a new pediatrician. I think we're going to like this guy, but we didn't do interviews like we did the first time around. Quinn will have his 9-month check up next month, a few weeks late, but we needed to wait until Jalal's health insurance kicked in. Though I'm sure the doctor won't say this, our child is a beast. Jalal and I were playing with him (or rather, letting him play while we tried to rest) this morning in bed. He climbs, stomps, and crawls all over anything in his way, even spread-eagling himself on my face a few times. He also has this nasty habit of trying to open your eyes for you if you are sleeping or just trying to. That's not the Peek-A-Boo I taught him! And he's fascinated with my teeth, always putting his fingers in my mouth and pulling my lips away from my teeth so he can poke them. Maybe if he got one of his own soon it wouldn't be so interesting. But still, less than a week away from 9 months and still not a tooth in sight. It doesn't stop him, though. Now he feeds himself one meal a day. This week it has been salmon, peas, sweet potatoes, and sometimes string cheese. He shovels peas into his mouth like they are going out of style. As soon as he eats up what I've already made up, I'm going to see how he likes baby lima beans. The salmon he really seems to like. I just baked it plain and pulled it into pieces. The really little pieces he had more trouble with, so I cut them bigger the second time. The kid can really pack away some food. It's nice that he's getting to use his partitioned plate. We have a cute tiki hut plate that I think we got from Caroline, Willie, and Isabel. Two days ago, he let me know he was done by dropping the empty plate on the floor. Thanks, kid. It is nice to be able to do something else while he eats, though. I usually can wash up the dishes or unload the dishwasher during dinner, and tonight I prepped my dinner--skillet lasagna. It didn't work out too well. The lasagna didn't quite get cooked all the way. I think next time I would have to pre-cook the noodles.
Well, Trish decided on the bridesmaid dress color and I ordered my dress the other day. I couldn't believe it when the girl pulled out the forms I had filled out and said, you know which dress you're getting, right? Um, not really. They hadn't written down the style number, so I had to go search for it again. That was weeks ago! We found it without too much trouble.
I'm sure there is more I meant to write about and can't remember now. So I'll sign off for now, post some pictures and try to get back on in a day or two. Love, Us.

Mother's Day

Well, I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was great. Jalal and Quinn made me breakfast in bed--eggs with chicken sausage, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, toast, and an apple. It was so nice. I also got two very sweet cards, a windchime, and an attachment for the tub so I can give Quinn a bath without bruising my knees. Mother's Day came at the end of another weekend in Charleston. Friday morning, Quinn and I set off for the Holy City yet again. We met up with Liz, Ang, Jen, and Bret for lunch at Melvins (mmmm...cheeseburger). While I waited for them to show up, the nice lady working there tried to feed Quinn Captains Wafers, ice cream ("it's just milk!"), and banana pudding. If someone says no thank you twice, wouldn't you take a hint? I'm not feeding my eight-month-old whole milk and high fructose corn syrup! For crying out loud. Anyway, we had a great time watching the boys interact, both of them with recent head injuries from trying to stand up. From there, we went to Arcadia to visit with the old coworkers. Quinn flirted and impressed everyone with his speed-crawling and leg-climbing skills. He also inspected a few cubicles to make sure they were up to par. Rob, zip that backpack! ; ) After we checked into the Red Roof (ick), I changed for the wedding and dropped Quinn off at his Auntie L.C.'s house. It was on my way there that I realized I hadn't brought a bottle. Jeez! So I had to run over to the Teeter and pick up something that he'd never used before. Lauren said he did fine with it, though. He spent the evening chasing her cats, Hootie and Graham, around the apartment. I had a wonderful time at the wedding. Jackie, one of my oldest friends from Charleston, came back from New Orleans to marry Parke. I made it JUST in time. It was at the Maritime Center, and despite a little wind, it was perfect. It was like a Shore Thing reunion. A bunch of us who have all worked at A Shore Thing on the Market were all there, as was one of the owners, Paul. So it was Paul, me, Jackie, Desma, Megan, Colleen, and Robin. We were missing Fiona, who had to go to West Virginia because of a death in Tristan's family. It was crazy reminiscing. I'm thinking of putting together a "Where are they now" newsletter about all the girls who have worked for Ruth and Paul over the years. Two, Jackie and Terri, have just gotten married, and Angela, Heather, and I have all had babies within the last year. Pretty crazy. Anyway, I danced a little at the wedding (can't pass up my theme song, "Brick House") and now, two days later, I still can't feel my two outside toes on both feet. Is that a problem, do you think? I know my heels were high, but seriously? So I hung out at Lauren's talking for a while before taking Quinn back to the hotel. That night and again the next morning, I realized how spoiled I am now about hotels. Thanks, Jalal. The bed was crummy, and there wasn't even a hairdryer! We met Anna for breakfast at Skibo's on James Island, which I highly recommend. Then, once I found out Jamie wasn't back in town yet, we set out for home. A quick turnaround but I was glad to get back to Greenville. It's time to catch up on housework and freelancing. Gas isn't getting any cheaper, you know! Tomorrow I have to go order my bridesmaid dress for Trish's wedding. I'm so excited! Well, it's late and I should go to bed. As soon as I find my camera from wherever I packed it Saturday, I'll post a couple of pics from this weekend. Love, Us.

Catching Up

Well, I guess I have at least two dedicated readers because I had a couple of people ask how last weekend went. Sorry I haven't posted. It was a crazy week as we got ready for our trip back to Charleston. I won't let it happen again. So the visit from Trish was wonderful. We had a full day of wedding dress shopping planned for Saturday, but she found what she wanted at the very first store. They were so kind and helpful there that she went ahead and ordered it! I'm so happy for her. All I'm going to say is that it is white and beautiful. We also found the bridesmaid dress for me, but she hasn't decided on a color yet. I won't tell you what that looks like either since they are similar in style. I'm sorry Trish could only stay a couple of days, but I know I'll see her again soon.
The rest of the week was kind of a blur. Wednesday I planned a little birthday celebration for Jalal (he turned 30 on Saturday) and made him a special dinner and dessert. His favorite dessert since he was a kid is strawberries and angel food cake, so I fancied up a store-bought cake with layers of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I thought it looked pretty good, until yesterday. He told one of our friends that it didn't look like much but it tasted good! Well, fine then. See if he ever gets it again.
On Thursday, Quinn had a couple of big tumbles. He tried to climb the coffee table and bumped his forehead. He got a little bruise and a bit of a lump, though it didn't look half as bad as I thought it would. He let me put some ice on it, too, which surprised me. Later that day, he tried to climb over my leg (I was sitting on the floor with him) and tumbled into his sippy cup. That looked worse than the coffee table!! He has about an inch-long scratch on his temple. He even cried a lot longer on that boo-boo, I guess because it scratched his skin. Poor kid. Jalal keeps telling me that this is just part of the process, and I know that. I know he's going to fall, and he's going to hurt himself, but I still feel like I should be able to protect him better. I could cushion the coffee table (which I've said I was going to do for two months now), but I can't keep his sippy cup from him! All weekend I called him Captain Lumpy-head.
Speaking of the weekend, it was back to Charleston on Friday! It was finally time for the first annual Charleston Dragon Boat Festival. I called Sterling when we got into town and she got me on a practice boat later that afternoon. It was a tight squeeze, though, since we were supposed to be at a rehearsal dinner for Dave's wedding at 7:00, and the boat didn't get back to the dock until 6:15! Whoops!
Dave and Stephanie's rehearsal dinner was at a beach house on Isle of Palms, and it was nice and casual. Quinn was a hit and tried to stay up the whole time we were there. He was extremely well-behaved until he fell asleep on me around 10:00. The next day was the big day. We had 49 teams participating, which is huge for a first festival. The weather was gorgeous, but it was a little windy at times. I paddled four times, three for the regular heats and once for the cancer survivor race. We came in 2nd, 1st, and 2nd in the regular races. Go team! Our team name, by the way, was Paddle Like You Stole It. How funny is that? It was wonderful to see everyone again. I even got to see an old friend who used to paddle with us, Kellee, and her husband and daughter. Some of my friends came out to see us, including Billy and Laura and Dave, Cam, and Marshall. Jo Ann was awesome enough to take over Quinn-sitting when Jalal had to leave to get ready for the wedding. All in all, it was a great day, even though I got a little too much sun. I reapplied potent sunscreen a few times, but I guess it just wasn't good enough. So I'm a little tender from that and a little sore from paddling. Not to mention my tailbone hurts from the boat seats. I think it was a success. Well, Quinn is awake now and starting to beat things against his crib rails, so I better go get him. I'll try to finish the rest of this tonight and get some pics up. Later. Love, Us.