Walk Like a Man, Talk Like a Man

July 29, 2008 at 9:29 pm | In Declan | 5 Comments

Here’s some videos of Dec walking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed9WwxFUvgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjYdVZfazyM

I’m off to defend my dissertation tomorrow . . . I’ll post more when I get back!

Nighttime Musings

July 25, 2008 at 1:44 am | In Day to Day, Random | 5 Comments

I am a terrible sleeper.  Like, if I get 4-5 hours a night, that’s amazing.  So now it’s 1:19 am, no signs of sleep, despite the assistance of a mild sleep aid.  I’m reading a book for my book club called, The Shack, by William P. Young.  In it, a 6 year-old girl is murdered by a serial killer while on a camping trip with her father and siblings.  In a quest for healing, God summons the father to the place the murder took place.  I’m about half-way through, and it’s just starting to get a bit . . . silly.  But the gruesome tale has succeeded in making me afraid of camping, and I’ve checked on the kids a couple of times now.

News in the Nusz household . . .

1.  While backing out of the garage, I succeeded in severely damaging both the passenger side mirror AND the track to the garage door.  This is not a uncharacteristic behavior for me.  I freely admit that I should never be allowed to drive nice cars.  Kevin handles my lapses in driving ability with good humor, thankfully.  He purchased a new mirror off of ebay, and bent the track back on the garage door.  The funny part was that when the mirror arrived in the mail, he fussed because it had a couple of light scratches on it.  Um, did you see what I just did to the old mirror?  Now I won’t have to break in the new mirror; someone else did it for me.

2.  Dec is walking!  Well, he’s taking three or four steps at a time.  He then gets intimidated and falls to the floor.  But it’s a start.  Savannah keeps shrieking, “He’s walking, he’s walking!”, which contributes to his leeriness. 

3.  Declan had his twelve-month well baby check-up a couple of days ago.  He weighs 22.5 pounds, and falls in the 50th percentile for both height and weight.  Savannah had her 3 year check-up, and she weighs 30 pounds.  She falls in the 30th percentile for height, and 50th percentile for weight.  Both were very upset when they got their shots.  Much screaming ensued. 

4.  Dissertation defense:  Thursday, July 31, at 11:30am.  Think good thoughts.

5.  Job possibilites:  looking up!  More later, when things are finalized.

So, that’s what’s going on in the Nusz household, as noted from my perceptions at . . . 1:35 am. 

Peace out.  Maybe I should say, “good night”; it might put me in the mood to sleep.

Action!

July 20, 2008 at 10:59 am | In Savannah | 3 Comments

I just wanted to post a picture of Savannah that my friend Erin took while she was visiting a couple of weeks ago.  I just love it.

The Movie Girls

July 17, 2008 at 2:00 pm | In Savannah | 2 Comments

Last week, Savannah attended her first movie.  We went with my friend Kelly and her daughter Kate (see our cuties in the picture above).  Dec and Sara (Kate’s sister) stayed home with a babysitter.  It was a free movie at a local cinema, and we could get popcorn and a drink for $1.00 each.  It was called The Bee Movie, and Savannah loved it.  She especially loved the snacks. 

As I told Kevin, I’ve been waiting Savannah’s entire life for her to get old enough to go to the movies.  I love going to the movies.

So fun.  Hopefully we can go back soon.

My Son

July 14, 2008 at 11:04 pm | In Declan | 8 Comments

 

This post is hard to write. As much as I enjoy writing this blog, and expressing my thoughts and feelings about my little family, I tend to project a voice that highlights the humorous aspects of parenthood. I am more comfortable with sarcasm than sentimentality. I am more wry than tenderhearted.  I am more likely to laugh when happy than cry tears of joy.

But this is the post designed to highlight the significance of my son’s first birthday. His first birthday. The end of infanthood. The beginning of his toddler years. What do I say? How do I express the joy of having such a little angel in my life?  How do I discuss how my intense love for him was so hard won, as his first six months was wrought with a severe case of acid reflux that kept us up nearly every night, burned his little throat until his cries were hoarse, and caused us to spend hours in the doctor’s office?

How do I share how it feels when I see him gaze at his sister adoringly, when he gives me a juicy, open-mouthed kiss, or when he pats my shoulder in rhythm with my attempts to burp him after this morning feeding?  How can I express the feelings that I get when I stroke and kiss his soft little feet dozens of times each day, squeeze his plump thighs, and caress his little blond ringlets?  His goofy grin, his bursts of temper, his cuddly nature . . . all I know is that everyone else is missing out.  Everyone who does not have the privilege of being his mother is missing out. I don’t know how to explain it.  I just know that I was meant to be his mother and he was meant to be my son. 

I realize this post is woefully inadequate.  I wish that I could bottle up my love and give it to him to be released during those moments when I am not there throughout his life.  I wish that I could soak up a lifetime of his reaching hands, the feeling of his face in my neck, the smoothness of his baby skin.  I know as he grows up he will grow away, and I celebrate that, as it means that I am doing my job.  But for today, he is my baby.  He is all that is good in the world.  He is a reason to hope. 

I love you, my son.  Happy first birthday.

Job Woes

July 8, 2008 at 9:02 pm | In The Job | 1 Comment

Today I emailed the human resources lady at my new job to see when they needed to me to come in to get my background check.  She casually emails me back and says that due to budget cuts, all background checks are on hold while new positions are reevaluated. Um, what?

So I call the head of the school psychology department.  She has to shut the door to her office before we can finish the conversation.  She confirms that all the school psychology spots in my part of town have been cut.  She tries to assure me that they WILL find a spot for me in the county, but it will not be in my part of town, meaning that I will likely have to drive really far, and may end up in some ghetto school.  And since I will not take a job that means that I have to drop the kids at daycare at the crack of dawn so I can drive an hour, I basically consider myself jobless.  Which really sucks, cause I already paid the money to get Dec into daycare AND I busted my butt getting this dissertation done so I would be done with it by the time my job started.

Several weeks ago, I had been tentatively offered another job in another county, so I called the school psychology department head and explained what happened.  She was very understanding.  There is a small chance I may be hired, but only if they can open up a 1/2 time slot, which isn’t very likely.  She says she’ll let me know by the end of the week.  Even if there is a spot, it might be really far away.  But, first things first, we’ll see what she says.

I’ve called all the other school districts in the area and all the other school psychology jobs are filled.  I’d say the chances that I’ll have a job in the fall are about 20 percent.  WHICH SUCKS.  I am ready to go back to work and I thought I had a great job.  I’ve got my doctorate, but I’m unemployed. So, I’m totally disappointed.

Not much ya’ll can say, I know, I’m just venting.

Shopping

July 6, 2008 at 9:23 am | In Day to Day, Savannah | 6 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I took Savannah to Kohl’s in an attempt to find a couple of summer outfits to wear to work, as my new job will begin in a few weeks.  I explained to her that we were going to look at clothes for Mommy only (not Savannah) and she was going to have to be a good girl during the shopping trip.  As we walked in the store, I told her that she should look for some pretty dresses for Mommy.  This is when she said, “Maybe we should look for some pretty dresses for Savannah”.  I replied, “Nope.  Just for Mommy today.”  She seemed to understand, but I was a little nervous that the shopping trip would have to be aborted after she threw herself down in the toddler section, begging for some new clothes.

Well, she was the model shopper.   I would hold up a shirt or a dress, and she would say, “I like that one.”  And I would say, “Should I try it on?” and she would say, “Uh-huh.  Try it on”.  Sometimes she would hold up items for me to admire.  I was pleased to see that she thinks I’m a size 2.

When we went into the changing room, she perched on the little seat with her snack in hand.  As she munched animal crackers, I tried on about 15 different things.  For each item, she would gush, “Wow, Mommy, you look sooooo pretty.” or “I love that one.”  Or “It’s beautiful, Mommy”.  It was the best shopping trip ever.  You have no idea how your self-esteem is raised when someone has decided that their entire job is just to tell you how pretty you look.  In the dressing room next to me, a woman was giggling uncontrollably at Savannah’s precocious comments, but I’m pretty sure she was just jealous that she didn’t have a such an efusive admirer. 

Well, fast forward to our visit to Ann Taylor the other day (much nicer store, 70% off sale, and therefore, a more intense need for Savannah to be good).  During this shopping trip, which lasted about 15 minutes, she was crawling under the racks and running around in circles.  As we entered the dressing rooms, I told her to tell me if the clothes I was trying on were “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”.  Everything was thumbs down!  And it was accompanied with a facial expression that clearly stated, “You’re so ugly and fat, Mommy”.   Needless to say, I left the store having made no purchases.

So, at three years old, my daughter is a discriminant shopper.

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