Teeth

Holy Smokes, y’all! Have I got a TON of picture downloading/backing-up to do! I have not backed up a picture since December. Ugh!

Last night, my darling little baby boy lost his second tooth. It’s been hanging in there for several weeks without coming out, so last night, Boy Pop decided (and was encouraged) to give it some really good yanks. And he did. Only he couldn’t get it all the way out, so Dr Pop finished the job. That would be TWO teeth my baby has lost before he’s even turned 6! Both of his bottom front teeth are now gone, making way for his permanent teeth.

I have both teeth in a little bag in my dresser. I remember the day he got them. March 2nd, 2004. Texas Independence Day. He cried all day long and then my maid, who witnessed his fussiness told me to feel in his mouth. Two little teeth were budding up.

Sigh!

I wish I could go back and visit that time. We had some hard, tough days during Boy Pop’s first year and a half, and I definitely do not want to relive those! But the thing that keeps bugging me, has been on my mind just about every single day of my child’s life, is that I did not fully appreciate the time I had with my son. I don’t fully appreciate the time I have. There’s always something that absolutely must be done right this second! There is always something going on that takes (took) priority over simply being with him. I mean come ON! That house won’t clean itself, the laundry won’t wash itself, the money won’t earn itself, our food won’t cook itself…

And the guilt is overwhelming. I live with guilt every day of my life. Self-imposed guilt. That I’m not good enough for him. That all the things we do together are not enough. That we only get to do things together after I get home from work. That I slip up most of the time and don’t make my family sit down together for dinner every single night. The list goes on and on.

The reality is that my child is a happy, well-adjusted, independent, healthy 5 (and three quarters!) year old. He will soon graduate to his green belt in Tiny Tigers Tae Kwon Do. He will be starting kindergarten in under two months. In a very short period of time, a flash, really, he has gone from relying on me for his very existence to pulling out his own teeth without hesitation.

8 Years Ago (Right this minute!)...

I was still on my first date (from the night before) with Dr. Pop.

I remember getting home at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and sending a text to my best friend, Karly.

It said something along the lines of, "Wow! I just got home! Great date!"

I think from the time we had our first date, through the following year and a half, we spent two nights apart. One because I'd helped a friend move and was too exhausted to drive and one because he was out of town for work.

I know we are about to celebrate our country's independence this weekend. And it is an amazing thing to think about, what happened all those years ago. That a few men, who had finally had enough, had the guts to say NO MORE! And that is, indeed, what we all need to remember this weekend.

But for me, the Fourth of July weekend (and the days leading up to it) have a special place in my heart for another reason.

On July 2nd, 2001, when I got home and sent that text message to Karly, I didn't know what the future held. I had no idea that we would be together this long, nor what an amazing, incredible, fantastic, insane road we had just stepped onto.

Thank GOD we took that first step!

Love you honey!

What the H.E.L.L?

It is June 30th today. It seems like yesterday I sent a text to one of my friends, telling them to come to the pool and, "Viva June!"

And now we are 1/3 of the way through summer. June has been an extremely busy month, too! Lots of swimming and tae kwon do and family reunions.

Boy Pop spent a week with my parents and Dr Pop and I did not know what to do with ourselves! We ended up not doing a whole heck of a lot, just hanging out and missing our boy.

And, just because it had been ages since Boy Pop had gone and gotten sick, he decided to get the stomach bug from hell.

So this is how we spent most of yesterday... At the ER being treated for dehydration.

Please note that his poor little cat, "Pookie," got dehydrated from his stomach flu, also, and had to get an IV.

All is fine now. We got back home yesterday and today, in that amazing bounce-back way of his, Boy Pop is as right as the rainfall we just received.*

*Considering that we have been going through a 100+ degree heat wave for the past three weeks with virtually zero rain, today's rainfall is extremely "right."

"Social" Media

This guy I dated almost a decade ago had one of those football fan message boards. In fact, sad but true, I met him through his website as I am a rabid Longhorn fan and was actually on the bulletin boards quite often reading up on analysis and fan talk. And his website and those like it were a money-printing machine! Advertisers paid through the nose to have a banner up at the top of the page. Though the relationship and the website are both no more (thank GOD!), friendships I made through that particular fan website have endured. I know many of these people in real life and still keep in touch with them through various methods (through an offshoot bulletin board (LMFanZone!) or at tailgates when I go to the games in the fall).

My parents were always slightly freaked out about my online friendships as they never quite “got” it. And that’s okay. I could see their point. Most of the people who went on the boards hid behind a username and you never really do know whether or not they are telling the truth about themselves. In the case of the person I dated, unfortunately, he turned out to be a liar, but that’s another story.

All this took place before blogs became popular. Before facebook, myspace, blogger, and twitter came into existance and the accompanying online explosion where anyone with a modem could have a website or facebook account and immediately update the world on everything from the elections in Iran to what they had for breakfast. And not only that, but major corporations started creating "social" presence online. And there is a huge chunk of money to be made once again over the internet.

During that period in my life, I got to see the ugly side of bulletin boards (arguably the first version of social media). There were people out there who absolutely HATED the guy I dated. It was so ugly the things they would post about him, about his friends, about his family, about ME. I never quite got used to that part. The bullying with words (because that's all they had) of someone they never met in real life.

Fast forward to today. I have this little blog that I update on occasion. I write for me and if someone out there happens upon it and likes what I have to say, that’s great! But I didn’t start this blog for anyone but me and it has no purpose other than to be my release. It’s where I go to get it all out. I also have a twitter account that I use mainly to rant about things in silence instead of out loud. I follow certain people because they either keep me informed, make me chuckle, or both. There is so much about blogging and twittering and all of that crap that I neither know nor care about. I’m good with my little space because I’m not trying to influence anyone. I’m not looking for approval from you. I’m happy if someone reads this blog, but if you are not my family or close friend, it doesn’t kill me if you don’t approve of me or agree with me. And quite frankly, it doesn't kill me if my family and friends disagree with me, either.

While the online world has gotten bigger, so have the bullies and psychos. Childish behavior by adults has grown exponentially. My friend Jessica got into a war of words this weekend with just such a character. And apparently it has caused quite a big brou-ha-ha. I don’t particularly care which one started the mess. HE took it too far. She’s a big girl and can certainly take care of herself (I daresay that she has a few more connections in the real and online worlds that he does, but I could be wrong). But this guy has absolutely gone insane with his vendetta. He’s posted you tube rants, and has made online threats to not only ruin her, but also her family. That man is a certifiable psychopath. And he is so drunk with his supposed “relevancy” in “social” media that he thinks it is perfectly okay to do all this.

This is when social media becomes anti-social. And it makes me want to delete every aspect of my own tiny little corner of the internet. It’s not what I signed up for. And honestly? If you are sitting behind a computer screen, spending all your day “connecting” with people in the virtual world while ignoring the real and beautiful world and people around you, obsessed with followers and “friends” and posters and commenters and blah blah blah, then you are pretty much a loser. If you really think it is okay to call a person's young children names, then you are not only a loser, but a fucking ball-less dumbass as well.

I don't care how much money is in it. Social Media as a business is SO. NOT. FOR. ME.

More Vacation Photos

Since I didn't really post any pictures of the grounds, I thought I'd share a few quick hits here:

One side of the pool. Above, Boy Pop was committing the sin of washing off early morning beach sand in the shallow end.

Looking back toward the resort from the beach.

One of the fountains at the entrance.
The style of the hotel took after the old Spanish Forts.

Sunset.

This was taken out of our window.

Early morning view from our room.

Gotta Get Some of These Posted!

You know, because we're going back there in a month!

This past Memorial Day Weekend, we took Boy Pop to Mazatlan. It was the first time we've taken him with us on one of our Mexico vacations and we all had a ball! It was a quick trip (3 nights), but we managed to pack lots of fun and relaxation into every second.

Mazatlan is on the west coast of Mexico, just north of Puerto Vallarta, and pretty much directly across the Sea of Cortez from Cabo San Lucas.

The resort was easily the most lush, green, and beautiful resort we've ever visited in the country. The seas were calm-ish and we had no fears of large riptides or undertoes (sp?) (of course, we only waded out to our knees, but still!). The swimming pool was salt water, too, so my hair was grateful.

I really cannot wait to go back and do some more exploring. We made one effort to go into town and visited both Old Town Mazatlan and the Golden District. We searched for a restaurant that Dr Pop's mother had visited about 42 years ago and while we had confirmation that it was indeed still there, we were unable to find it. But we did get to ride in a cab that is unique to Mazatlan. A pulmonia. It's an open air taxi built on a Volkswagen frame. Highly dangerous! But not hot at all since we had all that wind blowing at us.

I'm so happy that we were finally able to experience the beach with Boy Pop. He loved every single minute of the trip and can't wait to go back! Little does he know that I booked our return trip this past Wednesday.

Meet Iggy

This past weekend, the Pop family took a much-needed break from the chaos that is organized t-ball, Tae Kwon Do, pre-kindergarten graduation, an over abundunace of family intrusion, and extremely stressful work life to spend Memorial Day weekend in Mazatlan. This trip was the first time Dr Pop and I took Boy Pop with us to Mexico. I have so many pictures and stories to tell, but I thought I'd start with one of our lunchtime visitors.

Meet "Iggy":

This iguana was hanging out in the bushes next to our lunch table on Sunday. He barely took any notice of the three of us, so I took the opportunity to run and get my camera. Boy Pop and Dr Pop took the same opportunity to try to feed him.

Unfortunately, the birds swooped down and stole every french fry they threw his way. Getting tired of this, the iguana moved from his position in the sun, through the bushes, and under the barrier fencing.

He wanted to get closer to the action:

Boy Pop decided to call him Iggy and proceeded to feed him about half of his french fries and a good portion of his ham sandwich! We got tons of video of the entire process, but for some reason I cannot get it to play right. So you'll have to settle for a picture or two.

Iggy the Iguana hung out with us for a good 20 minutes. He kept waiting for more food. But I think he must have finally gotten full! A bunch of french fries and some ham will probably do that. And yes, I know I should be appalled that my son fed part of his lunch to a wild iguana rather than eat it himself, but on vacation normal rules do not apply.

Iggy was one happy iguana and my kid was ecstatic! I think he wants one for a pet now. Lord help me!

Pondering/Question for the Masses*

*Like, duh, I realize that the number of readers I have is not so much "masses" as it is "handful" but it sounds better.

Two times in the last week, I have heard the term "push present" connected with mothers.

What is a "push present" and how can I get one?

That is all.

One More Completely Different Thing...

Is it just me, or is it completely annoying and irksome when you reach out to a friend multiple times with no response? Not even an, "I'm really busy right now."

Seems to happen more and more often these days.

I suppose every now and then we reevaluate friendships based on where we are at certain points in our lives, but knowing that fact and possibly being on the receiving end of that reevaluation doesn't make it less painful or easier to take.

Living in the Shallow End Some Days

It seems my days lately are filled to the brim with work, t-ball, Tae Kwon Do, dinner, laundry, and the like. I used to update this blog on an almost daily basis and now I consider it a victory if I can make it a weekly thing. Looking at the date of my last post, I even failed at that. The busier my real life gets, the more my writing and escape hatch suffers. Oh well.

Last week, my friend Jessica posted my blog about facebook and girlfriends on her facebook page. I received more hits on my blog in one day than I had the entire month before. Thanks Jess! That was really cool. I was pretty honored that a woman who does pretty well for herself by writing actually thought my little story was good. You’d think with that kind of press and all those new people, I could have updated, huh? You’d be wrong. I can't even download pictures to my computer!

I have approximately eleven million pictures on my digital camera that require downloading, backing up, and uploading to facebook, Kodak Gallery, and here. It’s sort of overwhelming. Plus, when I went to my parents’ house for Easter, I found a proverbial gold mine of old photos, including my wedding pictures. I now have all my wedding pictures in digital format. It’s pretty awesome. And we are about to add to the masses of photos pretty soon.

Dr Pop, Boy Pop, and I have planned a trip to Mazatlan for Memorial Day weekend. It will be the first time we have taken Boy Pop with us to Mexico. I am pretty excited about it, but of course, all this brou-ha-ha about the swine flu has put a bit of a black cloud over everything. I seriously doubt that all the deaths in Mexico that they “suspect” to be related to this new illness are truly the swine flu. It’s just a hunch. We don’t want to cancel our trip, but we don’t want to get sick, either. Oh well, we have a month…

Speaking of, over on the right hand side, I have a link to my workout blog. To tell you the truth, I rarely update it anymore (I mean, c’mon! I don’t update *this* blog often, so why would I update a secondary one more?). It’s fairly seasonal. I get all gung-ho and start working out around February or March, to prepare for our annual pilgrimage to a Mexico beach in May. This year, we took our trip at the end of February, so my workout timing got all screwed up. And my typical modus operandi is to work out like a fiend up until the trip, then not do a whole helluva lot the rest of the year. Healthy? No. The right thing to do? Doubtful. But it is what it is. And this year has been no exception. So I’ve been sitting on my ass (read, toting my boy to t-ball and martial arts and cooking dinner and everything else) and not working out.

*Embarrassing confession alert!* Imagine my surprise when I got on the scale the other day and it was about 10 pounds heavier than it should have been! I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was! So yesterday, I finally got off my butt and got it running. I am terribly sore today. But I’m motivated. And motivation is key. We never do anything without proper motivation. Working out is no exception. Two things motivate me to exercise: The thought of being in a bikini and the thought that I might run into someone I dislike when I'm not looking my best.

It's a girl thing, I think. You know what I'm talking about ladies, right? For me, it is always being "on" if I think that there is a chance that I might run into someone I don't like when I'm out and about. I know it is shallow. Jen Lancaster wrote about this on her blog a while ago, before her book Such A Pretty Fat came out and it really hit home. Having a nemesis is motivational sometimes. They don’t even have to know that they are motivating you. For me, it just won’t do to have this particular chica be in better shape than me. So when I feel myself slipping, I remind myself that I could be embarrassed should our paths cross.

Whatever works. Although, when I posted on twitter that I was running instead of doing Turbo Jam and did that count? Someone actually replied to me that of course it did and I should gradually up my intensity. It was so cute. They have obviously never read anything I’ve ever written before and didn’t know that I was being sort of sarcastic and that my question was rather rhetorical. Oh well. I thought it was sweet.

I definitely have more to say, but I just cannot form sentences at the moment. My sales quarter at work is going to end in three and a half days. I’d better focus on closing some of my outstanding deals instead of writing more.

Facebook and Girlfriends

I've been way too addicted to Facebook lately. I'm a little torn, actually. On the one hand, I have a small circle of friends on there, who I've known forever, who I am still in contact with. Facebook is just another way of keeping in touch. And it gives us the opportunity to connect when normally we wouldn't. For example, I never see some of my friends. But on fb, I can write on their walls, see pictures of their kids, laugh, and joke. And since I detest talking on the phone and avoid it at all costs, this has been fantastic.

On the other hand, it is a reminder of all that made me miserable growing up. I have these high school friends on fb and they are really acquaintences. We were not friends growing up. We just knew each other. We went to the same parties. They were part of the "in" group. I was on the periphery. And that's fine. I thought I got over all that stuff 17 years ago. But after someone posted pictures they'd scanned of the social club I'd been left out of my sophomore year of high school, I regressed for a moment to that 15 year old insecure little girl who just wanted to be popular. Ugh. I nearly cancelled my membership.

Then, I stepped back from the ledge and started thinking about myself. I did some introspection. And I decided that I'm not a very good girlfriend in the normal ways and here's why:

• I don't like to leave my house or my neighborhood once I'm there for the night or weekend.
• I don't enjoy talking on the phone.
• I don't like to go out without my husband.
• Hell, I still haven't met one of my college roommates second child and he's almost a year old! And the last time I saw my other college roommate, she had one child (who was a baby) and now her daughters are in school (or about to be).
• Girls' Nights Out are nonexistant in my world.
• I don't shop well with others.
• I don't ever meet anyone for lunch.
• I've never gone on a "girls" trip.

I could go on, but over the past few years or so, I've put myself in this little insulated world which revolves around my husband, our son, and our neighborhood. I don't know why or how it happend, but I rarely stray from it. Sure, I have a lot of fun! We are always doing something. But the typical "girly" stuff is pretty much nil. Maybe it's poor time management. It always seems that everyone but me has time to go to the gym, shop, tote the kids to their various functions, cook dinner, clean the house, spend time with their friends, and work a full time job. I get overwhelmed by it all.

But I would like to say to all of my girlfriends out there, I might not do all the little things that girlfriends are supposed to do, but you will never find someone more fiercely loyal or protective or willing to come when needed. You know I'm there for you. Always.

Maybe we could meet for lunch?

Give... Please...

First, read THIS.

You don't have to know her to help others not have to deal with this kind of loss.

Poop, Pooped, Lasers

My dog needs to go to the vet, I think. He has a poop problem. For two out of the past 5 days, he's had, um, irritable bowels. Now this is a dog who never, and I mean NEVER, poops in the house. He once pooped by the back door after we had been gone a little too long and the expression of embarassment on his face was priceless. He knew he'd done wrong.

A few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I woke up, started my coffee, and sat down in the living room. I smelled a faint odor of dog poo. I searched the entire downstairs, found nothing, and thought it was all in my head. But it kept bugging me, so I did a little more investigating, and found nothing! An hour or so later, Dr Pop woke up and I mentioned the smell to him. He looked around and couldn't find anything. That is, he couldn't find anything until he went upstairs to get something out of the office. And there it was. A trail of poop all the way down the upstairs hallway.

So I was in shock, but I cleaned it up. Chalked it up to the idea that the dog needed to go to the bathroom and couldn't manage to wake either of us up to let him out. It was a first.

Fast forward a bit to this past Sunday morning. I slept in. Dr Pop gets up to let the dog out because he's being loud and panting and wanting out. I hear a sort of strangled noise out in the living room, but fall back asleep for a minute or two... And then I hear, "Bubba! Bad Dog!"

He walks into the room and said, "There is a trail of shit all the way up the stairs and into Boy Pop's room!" Sure enough. There it was. We think he was in Boy Pop's room, checking on him while he slept, and had to go. But couldn't make it.

So I cleaned it up. I swear, I'm running out of carpet cleaner!

Yesterday, I had a hair appointment. I've been re-blonded. I get home at around 7:30, go to change clothes, and notice that the bedroom door is closed. Dr Pop had decided to lock up one of our terrorizing cats. I opened the door. And was greeted by the worst smell ever.

Yep.

And I cleaned it up. Along with the cat vomit that the poop caused. And I scrubbed the carpet and opened a window.

But the smell wouldn't go away.

And then I noticed the poop on my comforter. Large Golden Retriever Poop. On. My. Comforter.

And that's when I finally gagged.

I'm pooped with the poop.

Oh, and as I type this, Dr Pop is sleeping the sound sleep only someone who's been given multiple sedatives could be. Bless his heart. He had gum surgery this morning. Luckily, he has a doc who does it with a laser instead of a scalpel.

Oh Hi!

How ya been? I've been great. Still having writer's block. But not really writer's block. More like, I have so much to say that I cannot put two coherent sentences together these days to actually tell you about it all.

I guess sometimes you let it go for so long that when you finally get around to updating, it is just so overwhelming! I mean, I have MONTHS of updates to do! Or so it seems...

So. We went to Vegas in February. Dr Pop's company paid for the whole thing, put us up in a suite at the Wynn, gave us gambling money, bought us dinner for two nights, took us to see La Reve, and allowed us to party our arses off. We both won pretty big on the Craps tables. And I hit a couple of times on the slot machines. So this trip goes on record as the first time we have left Vegas without spending a penny of our own money and still came home ahead on gambling. Pretty damned cool. I can see how a person could become addicted to the life.

While we were in Vegas, my parents were with Boy Pop, who was getting used to his cast. Stupid broken ankle! It took four different doctors with three different opinions, to finally get an acceptable and agreed-upon timeframe for the cast. Four weeks. This past Tuesday, he finally had it removed. Hooray! While he was in the cast, he managed to still get his orange belt in Tae Kwon Do Tiny Tigers, AND play t-ball with a pinch runner. Nope. The cast didn't slow this child down one tiny bit! Thank heavens!

After Vegas, we came home for two very hectic days. My parents stayed with us while we both worked, washed a ton of laundry, and packed for a week in Mexico. I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but we went back to the same resort where Dr Pop and I were married 6 years ago. This trip we celebrated by going to the wedding of two dear friends.

It was fun exploring the resort (The Moon Palace, if you're interested) and seeing the changes that have taken place between visits. Our first visit to the resort was in July of 2001, after Dr Pop and I had been dating for about three weeks. At the time there was a casino on-site. I have an almost-identical picture to the one above, taken 8 years ago, sitting in a frame in my office at home.

It was also fun to see that some things have not changed. Things like the cool swing bar at one of the pools at the resort. We made sure that we took our friends to it. A lot of things have changed over the years, but they still managed to keep some things true to the past...

I have a picture like this from my own wedding. I call these the "kissing chairs" because they are set up so that you sit next to one another and facing one another. Behind us is the gazebo where Dr Pop and I said our vows six years ago. It has changed, but our memories have not.

The past month has been a whirlwind and I cannot believe that only three months into 2009, I've already burned through over half of my vacation time! Oh well. It was definitely worth it.

I do have to say that something was definitely missing from this trip, though. I don't think I've ever felt the absence quite so deeply when Dr Pop and I have been on one of our getaways before, either.

Boy Pop.

His passport is now in process. We don't want to leave him behind next time (even if we are leaving him with his grandparents who take him on "safaris" in Texas or to Six Flags or Sea World or any of the other myriad of activities they plan).

I have more to say (of course I do!), so stay tuned...

Please Stop!

Or at least, slow down!

I’m in the middle of a massive case of writers-block. I have tons of stories to tell, don’t get me wrong. Loads of updates and vacation photos to put up, too. I could talk about how Boy Pop got his Tiny Tiger’s orange belt this past Thursday and how very proud I am of him and the fact that this has been one of the best decisions we could have possibly made for him. Or I could talk about the fact that for the past month, Boy Pop has been working towards that belt with a cast on his foot. Or how we are now in official Little League t-ball. And what an eye-opener it has been for me.

I could go into detail about how busy work has been. But it really hasn’t been too bad and I’ve had lots of opportunities in the past week to put up a huge post, but I just sat and looked at blogger, paralyzed by my inability to express it all. I don’t know if I need to take a break or take it down. After four years of doing this, though, I cannot imagine ever stopping. I’m sure I’ll get back to normal soon.

I am registering Boy Pop for kindergarten next week. The thought makes me sad in a lot of ways. The days and weeks, months and years are passing by at such an alarming pace and I feel like I’m in the middle of a tornado, being swept up right along with it. He’s not my first or my last to go to school. He’s my ONLY. And it is going by too fast. Where is my pause button?

Last night, we went to the local carnival. We rode unsafe rides, ate junk food, laughed, screamed, and played. I documented the evening with my little camera and now I have even more pictures to post. But the best picture was on the little “Cobra” rollercoaster. Boy Pop and I were in the car in front of Dr Pop. As we whirled around the first turn, a camera took our picture. Of course, we paid the $7 they charged for a 4x6 print in a cardboard frame. I love this picture. It really captures the essence of my little boy. He has this incredible, real smile on his face. He’s gripping the bar, his hair is flying, and he looks like my baby.

It makes me want to laugh and cry all at the same time.