One fell down and bumped his head...

Holy WOW!!

I dont think that we could have fit anymore into this weekend.  It was off the chain!!

We started with graduation on Friday night.  The "Sensational Seven" walked on Friday night.  It was pretty cool.  This is the second graduation that we've gone to... I cant remember what we did for the first one, but I was in Africa when Lizzie and Melissa's class graduated in 2008.  Last night was pretty cool... Wakulla county did not disappoint- everyone was there.  The stadium was packed (weird).

Our assistant coach JW came up with a trailer to help us move on Saturday... Dave and I had that swagger because we had already moved a bunch of stuff.  So when JW offered to make a third run with the trailer we passed it up, thinking "we got this."  That is false.  Turns out, that we still have 2 solid days of moving ahead of us.  What could we be moving you ask?  I dont know... things like an under the bed tupperware container labeled "Very Important".  What is in there is anyone's guess.  But it seems important?  So Dave's friend JF came over to help provide muscle.  Actual moving was short lived on Saturday though, because chatting around hotdogs grilling turned into Dave and Jessi being done early for the day.

Cue Sunday... more of the same.  Turns out moving is a pain in the ass.  Not only do you have to move, but you also have to clean .  Double that when a baby is involved, because guess who doesnt like to pull his weight?  Yeah, Nico... it was like moving with my brother (burn!! okay, just jokes.... JJ is awesome!) 

So Sunday finally gives way to Monday and it looks like progress is being made.  So Dave makes a run for the new house and I am left with Nico.  Now you may begin to feel bad for him, because he spent most of the weekend in his "case".  His "case" is a backpack that has a little stand on it, so you can take him off your back and set him on the ground- so he is kind of standing up ("case" is actually short for Nico's pack that comes in the case... I think its funny to talk about him being in a case).  Anyways, I set him down on the floor in the hallway to fetch a bottle for him... when I hear this horrible loud crash.  I run into the hallway and find that he has pulled a dustbuster vacuum off of the shelf that is 5 feet over his head.  Now, I dont know if it actually hit him, but he was screaming his face off.  I figured that if it had actually hit him he would have been holding his head or something... and there was no blood or cuts or anything.  So maybe it just scared the hell out of him.  So I give him his bottle and he goes to sleep... BTW reason #4567 that babies are awesome:

Sleeping with their legs drawn up under them and their bottoms in the air.  I love it.  So adorable.  I digress.  So then I put Nico in his case and put him on my back and we're walking around the house.  Now, mind you, having a kid in that thing=not being able to do MUCH.  Generally, they aren't good for leaning over or being lithe and agile.  But I can clean okay... especially if I sit next to him.  Anyways... I am walking around the house trying to find stuff I can do when I venture into one of the back (now clean) bedrooms.  While I knew that Dave had cleaned the floor with the oil soap stuff, I was not aware of the slippery nature of this stuff.... and thus slipped and fell, as my mother would say, "a$$ over teakettle."  With Nico in his case on my back.  Thankfully he was okay... but wow.  You would think that that would be it for the day... you would be wrong my friend.

So I go to do some work outside and I set Nico in his case on the ground, which is slightly uneven. I am walking around, shoveling or something when he starts to pitch a little bit of a fit... and promptly flips over on the ground. He didnt cry or anything, I think he was a little stunned.

In any case, as you can see by about 2pm, he was over moving.  If you are thinking, "hey! I recognize that guy!"  You would be mistaken- that is not Dirk Kuyt, the scrappy midfielder that plays for Liverpool and Holland.  This is actually a picture of Nico.  I know... with that fair skin and fair hair, they look very similar :) 

So this afternoon, we took a break from the moving (and damaging Nico) to drive down to Wakulla.  One of our seniors signed her letter of intent with Johnson and Wales University to play ball.  It's pretty exciting... takes our number of kids going to college to play ball to 2 this year and 4 total (not counting a softball player who is going this year).  It was really great to be there to witness her signing... I think it will definitely be good for her.

Tonight we pretty much wrapped up the moving... we have a couple of outdoor items and some cleaning stuff at the new house.  So we are running by in the morning to get it.  We absolutely adore the new house.  Nico's room feels like it is about twice the size of the old one.  I feel like grabbing Nico's arm and leg and spinning him around helicopter style around his room- that is how big it is.

Also contemplating all the fun stuff to do to the house... have bought a gallon of light blue paint.  Essentially, I am going to make like many Bishop women before and paint anything that doesnt get away fast enough.  First up is Nico's changing table and a shelf for his room (whoot).  This new house is cool because it kind of rambles around in a compact way... if that makes sense... when you come in the front door you can make an immediate left and go to the living room, dining room, kitchen area as well as the "Florida Room" (<---deserves it's own tangent somewhere).  Or you could go straight, get to Nico's room and the office... or make an immediate right and get to our room.  In any case, the house is bigger and ramblier than the old house, so it is entirely possible for your husband to come back with dinner and scare the pee out of you because you were walking out of your infant son's pitch dark nursery room and didnt see him in the hall nor hear him come home.  Not that that happened to me or anything... but I digress.

So to sum:  we have moved.  Nico survived (mostly).  I am jumpy now.  Awesome.

On an unrelated matter- I feel bad for his teachers tomorrow.  As a preschool teacher, I always liked the parents who were realistic about their kids... there were many a time when a parent would bring a kid in full-on meltdown mode and just set them on the floor in the middle of the room and say, "I'm sorry.  He is out of control today."  It was refreshing- especially compared to other parents who thought that a kid misbehaving was my fault... that the problem was clearly with me.  So I am trying to be the former.  I am trying to be real about my kid....he is probably going to be off the chain this week... he hasnt been sleeping well (new room).  Plus he didnt get to bed until late (tonight).  Which likely means: OFF THE CHAIN.  Sorry Megan and Caitlin. My bad.

I have had my machine running stata for the last couple of days... and I am not sure what to think.  I am getting results that are either, "HOLY CRAP!!  THIS IS SUCH A GAME CHANGER!!  GIVE JESSI BISHOP-ROYSE A PHD NOW.  SHE IS AMAZING" OR "really?  how is this new?  or important? or worth a phd? kick her to the curb, stat."

Yay!!  Research!!

Also, if you haven't done so, you might want to follow the blog, because starting tomorrow... you will not be able to read....LH- I know you are anti because you can't remember the password for the google account you started for that NCAA basketball bracket 5 years ago... and that you have successfully managed to avoid facebook for this long.  But seriously, this is bordering on foolishness now.  Heart. (Yes, I did just call you out... :)

Entertaining?

How adorable is this kid?


Not much going on around here.... Dave and I are finishing up The Big Move... which is really just a bunch of little moves.  We have plans to head down to Wakulla for graduation tonight (the Sensational Seven are walking).  The weird/awesome thing about graduation in Wakulla?  Everyone shows up for it... it's like a social event.  It'r pretty cool.

 On a completely unrelated note... I have figured out a gap in the literature.  Not the academic-dissertation-infant-mortality research.  But a gap in fiction.  There does not appear to be a genre that I am overly interested in.  In a cursory search of amazon this morning (while waiting for an appointment to start), I realized that most "chick-lit" does not appeal to me for a variety of reasons, and I feel like I should do something about it.

I think most of chick-lit is geared for the sex and the city crowd (of which I don't consider myself a part of- for a variety of reasons, but namely because I never understood women who consistently when faced with the choice of paying bills or buying expensive shoes, chose the later...and while we are on the topic of SATC... let me just go on record here... the only character that doesn't need to be punched in the face in my book is Miranda... but only based on the process of elimination... Carrie is almost likeable, but doesn't quite do it (based on previous statement about shoes).  Samantha's singleminded obsession with sex makes her almost a caricture while Charlotte's prudish-primness is annoying.  Dont get me wrong, I will probably see the second movie, but only because it's two hours of my life... and I have wasted two hours of my life on worse endeavors.... but I digress) Pat Conroy usually does a pretty good job with character development, but his reads are so heavy (often dealing with themes of abuse, alcoholism, suicide, the Holocaust and the 60s and 70s). And I was really disappointed with his last book (South of Broad).  And most of the chick lit that is out there is about some girl's quest to find a husband.  And it always ends the same way... girl gets boy.  

So I really am left without a genre of fiction that I am interested in.  I would gladly read more non-fiction, its just that sometimes, you want to be entertained.  Maybe my standards have just gotten ridiculously high...Do I need to write it?   

Lost-Moving-Signs

So the weekend came and went.... WOW. Got a lot moved on Saturday and Sunday, including a BEASTLY Ikea book shelf (one of those 4X4 cubby style shelves. We bought it at a yard sale for our friend LJ, who is moving away. I'd say that at this point, we are about 70% moved. I feel pretty good about the amount of stuff that I have gotten rid of. It goes a lot faster when you are getting rid of your husband's stuff (just jokes... but not really :)

Here is Nico helping to unpack...

I ended up staying up all night last night to grade papers. I promised my students they would have them back last night... but I didnt get to do a lot of grading this weekend. It was just like old times. For some reason, once I have committed to being up all night, I take that as a time to put on an old movie... something that I dont get too wrapped up, but entertaining enough to keep me awake. When I was in high school it used to be Braveheart. Well, last night I selected "Signs" from the Netflix instant viewer. Like I know that there are a lot of anti- M. Night people. But I contend that it contains 5 of the scariest movie minutes in the history of movies... they are towards the end- when Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix bring the kids out of the basement thinking the aliens are gone. Mel Gibson sets the boy on the couch and starts to move the TV into the living room... and its weird because it looks like bad shooting- the camera remains focuses in a weird way. But then the tube TV slides into the picture and you see a reflection of an alien. Holy Oh my God. It freaks me out to this day and I know it's coming. I get heebie jeebies just thinking of it.




In any case... another reason I didnt get to any grading before 11 pm last night was LOST.  Finally- its over.  For those of you who don't know- I came to LOST late- mid way through the 5th season.  I watched the first four seasons last spring and watched season five in the fall.  This is why Dave Royse is an amazing husband... because he indulges me on these things.  He even attempted to watch some with me.   He eventually lost patience with the improbability of the plot line.  He didnt want to commit to going back and seeing the other five seasons... but was willing to let me attempt to try to explain what was going on.

My thoughts on the Series Finale?  I am still thinking about it.  I think that the producers oversold how emotionally satisfying it would be... all the loose ends being tied up and what not.  But I think it is sort of fitting that a lot of people still have questions.... that is how the series went.  I am not militant or anything.  So that plus tonight's series finale of 24 and I am closing the book on two TV relationships.  You know what is VERY cool about this era of technology?  When Nico gets old enough, we can watch some of these series together... not like 30 years ago when you watched something that was that till Nick at Night.  So that is cool... Can't wait till he gets past the age of malleable brain matter... so he can start watching TV!  Whoot!!

All for now.  Got some data results that I need to do something with.  Hope you are all well.
Heart.

The reason I never saw Aerosmith Live...

It is amazing the things you don't remember.

In the process of moving, I am forcing myself to go though stuff and throw it away.  I heard a thing on NPR this week about hoarders (maybe last week).  The guest was saying that for a lot of people, they hang onto stuff because they are afraid that they will forget about the experience.  And if they dont remember they were there, who else would?  What follows below is a narrative about some of the stuff I have come across during the move.... if you're not into long slow walks down Memory Lane, you probably should click away.

So I have come across some interesting finds.  When I went off to college, it was kind of a big deal.  My mom kept a stack of postcards on her that were stamped and addressed to me.  Whenever she was at the soccer field or work or wherever she saw someone and they asked about me, she'd offer them a postcard to drop me a note.  I saved them.  All. Girls I played ball with... my brother's teammates...people I met through work.  That is pretty cool.  I also have a collection of letters from the smartest person I ever met in real life (JED).  I had the fortune of attending FMHS with him.  We seem to have kept in touch pretty well... I hope that I wrote him as much as he wrote me... and that they were half as entertaining as his were...they were mostly about stupid people, idiots, and the like, including several written as though they were British Military communications (you'd have to know JED).

I came across an envelope that contained a bunch of flourescent stars (the kind you put on the walls of your room) as well as a printed copy of Corinthians 9: 24-25.  Also written onto a piece of paper: "You must either conquer and rule or serve and lose; suffer or triumph, be the anvil on the hammer."  Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe.

I also had one of the signs from our dorm hallway "Absolutely No Males Beyond This Point!!!"  and a small printed picture of a very young Elvis Prestley... that I had taped to something.  Someone I cared about gave it to me, which is why I kept it... but I can't remember who now.  I also have a note from my bestfriend/roommate ELF apologizing for stealing a paper that I had been working on.  She hid it in our room and had meant to give it back to me... but forgot.  Apparently, I had gotten mad at her? (I do not even remember this situation).  I also found a letter explaining that I was on chapel probation, Spring Semester of my freshman year.  You got on probation when your attendance dropped below 75% for the semester (this definitely sounds like me).

The best find from this box of memoribilia?  A letter from my sister:
"Dear Jess,
Hey dork. How are you. Everything is fine here. We made it home at about 230 in the morning.  How in hell did we turn a 12 hour trip into 16 ______ hours?  Dad was being so annoying.  He kept wanting me to read aloud from his book.  (My cue to start reading: he would start singing "read me a story... read me a story..." Needless to say, I didnt get my book for English read.  Ms. Miller made me take the test Friday.  I think I did pretty good for not actually reading the stupid book.  So anyway, when is your court date?  Are you going because you are going to contest the ticket or because you have to? Did you give plasma again?  I told Tawnya about that and she laughed until she got kicked out of Mr. Cunningham's class. I got 2Qs 4U:
1) Why did you even tell Mom, it's not like you are a minor?  2) Are you going to take BB's Money? He must be really rich or really stupid or really in love with ELF.  Which is it?  Anyway, how are things with your other problem?  Did you get your demerits under 50?
Anyway, I have the best idea for you RS, JS and ELF.  Ok.  You've gotten in trouble at school, so you don't want to risk sneaking out, but you still want to go clubbin.  Hers is what you do... first you sign out, like you are going home (that way you wont be in trouble for curfew.  Second, you go clubbin.... have a blast... blah, blah, blah.  Then, whenever you get back you sneak into your room.  When you are asked, why you are back, just say you changed your mind about going home.  Isn't that the best idea ever?"

Seriously?  I had to get advice from my 17 year old sister on how to sneak out of a dorm?  Really?  In defense of me:  She refers to the single worst/best weekend of my LIFE.... it started out crazy.  I dont know if you have gathered from the letter from NLB, but Lee was a little bit strict about girls/guys being unsupervised together.  Apparently, I had a little problem with "authority" my freshman year, because I thought the rules didnt apply to me. So ELF and I snuck into the boys dorm Friday night. Simmer down now.  It was early (like 8pm).  And it was Lee weekend, so we took that to mean that rules weren't on... in any case, we were on the first floor with some of the guys from the basketball team... listening to music, discussing plans to go out.  When we got busted.  Totally got in trouble.

So I freak out a little...am sure that I am getting tossed from the team.  So I lay low on Saturday.  Sunday ELF and I decide to go cliff diving with another group of friends (the kind that typically didnt get in trouble ever.)  We go up to Charleston to jump off of cliffs into a river (HOLY HELL?  WHAT?  HOW is this ever a good idea?) It was pretty fun... the group we are with decides that it would be fun to go jump of a railroad trestle further down the river.  When we got there, I decided it was way too far (50 feet, maybe, instead of the 20 or so the cliffs had been).  So ELF and I decide not to jump... but we are hanging out.  Then the cops come and start writing tickets for trespassing.  Now, none of us have IDs.  And rather than lying to get out of the ticket. I give them my real name?  WHAT?  What is wrong with me?

The amount of the ticket ended up being the cost for the Aerosmith ticket that ELF's friend BB had gotten for us, to go with him (he offered to pay the trespassing tickets so that we could still go).  And since I couldnt do both- I ended up paying the trespassing ticket.  And missed Aerosmith.  Yeah, the tour right after the movie Armageddon came out.  Remember how hot the soundtrack was? Aerosmith and ZZ Top all over it?

So this little trip down memory lane reminded me 1) how gullible/easily influenced I used to be 2) how NOT hardcore I was and 3) I still haven't seen Aerosmith live.

LeBron

I just dont know where the time goes.  Seriously.  Really, another morning?  So quickly?  What is with the fact that it is already Wednesday? Crazy!!

I have a(nother) job interview with DOH today.  I had one a couple of weeks ago and was told that they would be contacting the interviewees this week.  The interview today is actually pretty funny... I had to take an excel test for it.  Now, mind you, I have been using Excel pretty regularly for 8 years now.  I have learned some pretty sweet tricks...I felt like I could take Excel off some sweet jumps.  On the PeopleFirst website, I was asked how I would rate my knowledge of and ability to use Excel.  I was like, "I basically wrote the book on Excel."  So I go into this Excel test with my swagger... and got pimp slapped to the floor.  I basically got pwnd by the test.

This is how I thought the test would go:


This is actually how it went:

(note:  I am NOT Lebron).

I guess, I am not as good at Excel as I thought I was.  But apparently, I aced the other part of a test (proof reading a letter).  In any case, they wanted to bring me in for an interview, despite getting pwnd by Excel. So, we will see how that goes.  I hope they dont ask me how good I am at rating my ability to perform simple tasks [FAIL].

So that is that.  Not much else new to report.  Nico and I started some seeds last week.  And by Nico and I, I mean, I started some seeds last week.  Nico just sat in his high chair and poured water from his sippy cup everywhere.  We started tomato seeds, hot peppers, sweet peppers, basil and sunflowers.  The sunflowers and basil seem to be doing well.... the tomatoes and peppers are acting like they are too good to germinate.

Nico's room in the new place has these two huge windows that look out over the back and side yards... the plan is to plant the sunflowers there, so they will grow up and he can see them.  Yes, those are little pots made with newspaper.... why yes in deed, that is very environmentally friendly!!

This was mostly done because I realized that we have a very weird problem.... the compost bin.  Yeah.  We obviously want to take it with us... but I am not sure its cool to leave behind a pile of half-decomposed food. I dont know.  So I "harvested" some of the compost to mix with potting soil for the plants.  But seriously, how can I speed up the composting process?  Any suggestions?

Nico at practice:

The Little Moves

I HATE MOVING.
Seriously, I do.  I much prefer the cross country move- you know.  You load all your stuff into a vehicle... drive 10-12-14+ hours away.  Sleep.  Wake up the next day and unpack.  All in one fell swoop.  The in-town move just goes on and on and on and on.  Like, "Hey!  Let's run a load of stuff over to the new house that is half a mile a way."  Annoys.  Even more annoying is when you tell your husband that you ran a load of stuff over to the house and he mocks you thinking that that meant you took over a lamp (because that is all he noticed).  Bleh.

Like the new house.  There are parts that are weird though.

The first picture is taken just inside the entrance.  The second is taken looking at the entrance.  You see the fireplace.  Be very jealous!! This front room is long and skinny and it is not abundantly clear where the TV and couch should go.   Dave wants to put the TV in the on the other side from the doorway from the fireplace.... but where should the couch go?  And what do you do about the fireplace?  It would be cool to make like Cody and Nico and put our TV above the fireplace, but you cant do that with a tube TV (yes, we are the last ones in the world to get a flat-screen).  Plus, that would require mechanical and technical knowledge beyond what Dave and I have.

It goes straight back to a dining room, which we probably wont use as a dining room, since the place also has an "eat-in" kitchen.

Major bonus:  the living room may just be large enough to make a sewing corner for me... SSSSHHHHHH.  Don't tell Dave.  I have to be very very sneaky about that.

There are two downsides to the house... no dishwasher (I know, I said that was a deal breaker... but if you saw the house you would agree that it is amazing.)  We also lost our mudroom.  Now, the loss is somewhat mitigated by the extra closets we get with this new place.  But the mudroom/laundry room was nice because it housed dog stuff, soccer stuff, highschool soccer stuff, beer making stuff, cleaning stuff, etc.  So now we have to find places for all this stuff.

But its pretty cool.  Glad to be moving.  Will post more pics when I can take better house photos.

Got Stata set up to run some analyses (getting close to getting over the obstacle of the multilevel analyses) getting ready to go to the gym.
Heart.

Daily Cute

Trying to get some stuffz done today.  Somewhere between Tallahassee and Orlando- I lost my driver's license. I originally thought I left it at the check in at the hotel, but it seems that I remember having it after the race (to get adult beverages-BTW nothing tastes better than a beer at 1000 am after a bike ride and some running.  Of course my players who check my blog need to remember that I am 30 years old and when you're 30 years old you can drink whatever beverages you want anytime you want them- except when you are at work.  But I digress.)

My losing my driver's license wouldnt be such a problem except that we are moving (this month) and I figured that I would kill two birds with one stone and change my address on my driver's license.  Except that now there are all these federal regulations regarding the verifying addresses and whatnot.  So long story short, I refuse to go to the driver's license place, wait in line to get a copy of my old driver's license and then go back in two weeks to update the address.  I object on principle.  Of course I am sure the 5.0 won't accept that as a reasonable excuse as to why I do not have my driver's license.

In any case, we are getting the key to the new place today (whoot!!).  We're going to slowly start moving stuff over this week... a load or two after work here and there.  Then we are getting a moving truck for the main big stuff next week.  After that, it is just getting the Apakin house cleaned up.  Yay!

In other news, LRM took this video of Nico and me yesterday.  He is pretty much adorable!

Meh

Recognize this person?  She is the original meatball!!

Not much going on today.  I am assisting with an online course at FSU this summer.  It is a course that I have taught many times and assisted many times. So it should be pretty smooth sailing.  It's weird to be only mentoring... which I havent done since 2006?  I dont have to worry about dates being right, quizzes opening properly, etc.  Its kind of nice.

We got our first graduation announcement in the mail today.  WOW.  So weird.  I remember these kids being freshmen like it was yesterday.  Craziness!!

All for now... dissertationing today.  I know- you're jealous. 

Mr. Cool

Not much going on around here. We started BBUSC this week- so back to the grind.  We have had a bunch of girls coming out- including one who is transfering from another school... a pretty good player.

Nico has been REALLY pissy the last couple of days.  I think it is largely a function of his sleeping schedule being a little bit off+his regular schedule getting back on schedule+ teething pain. He did, however sleep all the way through the night last night.  When he started to stir at 630 this morning, I was like, "Oh my God!  Did I just sleep all the way through the night?"  *AWESOME*

I am reluctant to mention anything about it- because I might jinx us, but he was pretty fun at the soccer field yesterday.  With SB graduating, we are going to be on the lookout for a new keeper.  One of the twins has volunteered agreed to be the go-to girl next year.  Intellectually its a great option- she is fearless and tough.  But she hasnt played much GK... and even when she did, it was three years ago.  In any case, we had a GK workout at BBUSC last night.  I brought a box of stuff to occupy Nico.  The great thing about a soccer field is that, as long as you aren't kicking balls at the kid and he isnt trying to crawl through a drill, there really isnt that much trouble he could get into on the soccer field.  So I set him up with some toys to play with and conducted a gk drill about 5 yards away.  It was awesome.  When he got a little needy, I put him in a backpack and put him up on my back.  BTW- the baby backpack is awesome as well.  What is not awesome is all the hair that I have lost because Nico insists on pulling it out.

Gr8 weekend!

So its been craxy fun around here this past couple of days.

These are the "wonky" log cabins that my mom and I worked on while she was up.  We got five blocks done (want Nico's quilt to be 4X4, so I need 9 more.)  Aren't they cool looking?  I cant justify working on it a lot right now- with the whole dissertation and moving thing... but I am hoping to get it done for Nico's First Birthday.

Mom and JJ left on Friday morning... in the afternoon, I took off down to Orlando to run the Muddy Buddy.  I had dinner with JSD and her little bundle of cute O on Friday night.

About the race: it is a running and biking race.  You have a partner, you run part of the way while your partner bikes, you get to a drop point and drop the bike.  The runner picks it up and goes, likely passing you along the way.  At each bike drop there is an obstacle to do- wall climb, cargo net climb, balance beam, etc.  At the end, there is a huge mud pit you have to crawl through.  The race takes place at the Wide World of Sports at Disney, and wraps around their facilities... so you run out to the baseball fields, by the entrance, etc.  We accomplished my major goal of not finishing last.  I did fail, however, at keeping my face out of the mud- mostly because it is gross... but also because I was wearing contacts and that is never a good combination when you're driving yourself back to Tallahassee.  I also managed to not run into anyone, twist my ankle (badly- I did tweak it a little on the cargo net climb) and I didn't eat it face first off the bike (whoo- hooo!)

It was definitely a lot of fun!  I am hoping to do it next year... and when Nico gets a little bit older, I think he should run the mini-muddy buddy.  So cute!

So when I got back from Orlando, Dave and I headed to Nene Fest.  It is a festival put on by the hippies that live in Indian Head.  It was pretty cool... we got dinner there, where we discovered that Nico loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  He pretty much helped himself to the one on my plate.  NOM NOM NOM NOM. 

Last night was pretty chilled out.  This morning Nico and Dave went on a drive and got some breakfast.  They also brought home a Tallahassee Democrat, which featured a story about Moms who coach on the front page of the sports section.  It was pretty cool...BUT... what is with my face?  If I really look like that in real life, I am going to be very mad at all of my loyal fans for not mentioning that my face looks like a fun house mirror! I am assuming that maybe I had a hard time keeping my eyes open and my face got weird and they tried to fix it by photoshopping eyes from one picture onto another.  That is my only explanation... because, WOW... I look very weird. 

This afternoon, Dave went to play coed while Nico and I watched.  He is getting to be a quick little booger- crawling away if he you take your eye off of him!!  We did a soccer drill today, which was pretty cool.  It was a modified Portuguese Man of War... in the traditional drill, you line up a line of balls on the ground.  You put a kicker on one side and a GK on the other... you go down the line, with the kicker attempting to kick the ball out of the hands of the GK... who moves along from ball to ball trying to keep the kicker from getting a shot off.  Its tricky because its very fast and you have to push yourself off the ground while not using your hands (coincidentally, its my Dad's favorite GK drill).  I just sat the ball in front of Nico and kicked it while he held onto it with his hands.  He was pretty good at it till he got bored!!

He is off the chain when it comes to food... so far he is into trying almost anything.  We might be at the end of getting baby food vegetables... he seems to like real ones so much better.  And I guess since in the end, the goal is to get him eating regular food-food, that this is pretty good.  Tonight I had some green beans (with bacon in them) while trying to feed him baby food green beans.  He was like, "Srsly? Lady, I know what is up!"  We have also started seeing if he is interested in yogurt, which he is.  So far this is what we have:

LIKES:
real green beans
real peas
tamales
pbj sandwiches
macaronni and cheese
bagels
cheese cubes
most fresh fruit
most canned fruit
eggs
pancakes
cheerios

DISLIKES:
baby food carrots
baby food peas
orange peppers (weird). 

All for now.

Future Frog Man?

It has been pretty fun around here the last couple of days.
SB had her signing on Monday.  She is headed up there to play on a soccer scholarship... so that is pretty cool.

Mom and JJ came into town yesterday- just for fun!  Yeah!  It's pretty awesome.  Mom is teaching me to do a wonky Log cabin and to quilt as I go... so we started a baby quilt for Nico.  Yay!

Today Nico got in a pool for the first time.  I am not sure what his assessment is.  It might have been a tad cool for him... but he didnt cry.  We even dunked under for a second. 

We drove down to St. Marks this afternoon for dinner.  For the most part- Nico has been a gem, if a little cranky this week.  While I have tried to adhere to the approximate schedule he has at school (nap in the morning and in the afternoon), its been hard because he hasnt been napping well (mostly just cat naps).  I feel bad for the girls at school next week because he is gonna be OUT OF CONTROL!!

Speaking of out of control.. I woke up this morning to chaos...Apparently Nico had managed to get let loose with some poop that escaped the diaper.  He was in his Pack N Play and it ended up everywhere- in his hair, on his stomach... all over toys.  When Dave got him out of the bath and stood him up in his crib so that he could put together a  diaper- Nico took that opportunity to pee between the rails and onto the floor.  This morning was a MESS!!

I got a  call from the Tallahassee Democrat this afternoon... apparently they are doing a story on coaching moms and they asked me to be a part (for Mother's Day).  So that is pretty sweet!!  The story will run on Sunday!! So check it out!!

The games he plays...

Sorry I have been absent as of late. The lack of a work-imposed schedule has meant that I dont have a set time I have carved out to do blogging... so... that is what is going on.

Thursday, our across the street neighbor brought us a turtle- your standard box shell guy.  He said that he was intrigued with turtles and frogs and such when he was younger and thought that Nico might like to see it.  I kept it in a box on the front porch for a couple of hours till I went to get Nico from school.  When I finally got Nico home he was more interested in the box that the turtle had been chillin out in.  Which brings me to how funny he is these days.  Of course, he is into EVERYTHING.  Literally, everything.  And his thing is dumping things out of the containers they are in.  Ohai- I see you have a diaper bag here.  What is in it?  I see that you have a box of stuff to be taken to good will... what is all this stuff?  So he inspects everything and moves on... it literally looks a tornado of BABY hit the place.  

We had a pretty good weekend.  FG graduated on Friday night.  Since he was graduating with his PhD he was "hooded".  They do the PhD ceremony at the end of the graduation, and in which, your major advisor "hoods" you, meaning that you walk across the stage and kneel and they affix the hood about your shoulders.  Its a bit like being knighted, I think.  In any case, because it was the last day of session, Dave had to work really late.  So Nico and I went with The Baller.  You know what true friendship is?  Sitting through a 2.5 hour graduation ceremony with a 9 month old.  Nico was pretty good... considering.  I got him to take a nap for a little while, until people wanted to "applaud" their "graduates".  How rude!!

He applauded during some of it- which is pretty awesome.  I didnt realize that what a big deal it was until I realized that he is taking his cue from the people around him.  He saw everyone else applauding and started clapping.  Talk about freakin' adorable!! Here is a video I took of him doing it today (excuse the Ernest Hemmingway look- its hot up here and the AC is broke.  AGAIN!):



In my final preparations for the Muddy Buddy this week, LR and I went riding bikes on the Heritage Trail. Mind you the last time I went bike riding on a trail it ended badly for me... I ended up eating it face first on the trail.  This weekend, however, was a much better outcome.  Turns out the trail in Piney Z is where it is at.  We had a good little ride.  After, Nico and I went up to the Meadows to see some of the Wakulla girls playing CSA.  They are playing in a coed league- which is pretty cool.  Our sweeper LT is playing on a team with MH and SH.... the former scoring against boys with an assist by the latter (her sister).  I dont mean to brag, but MH is going to set it on fire when she comes up next year.

Sunday Dave played some soccer and Nico and I hung out at the house.  Normally we would have gone to the field, but it was hot and gross.  I chose instead to take this video of Nico- showing off his hide and seek game.  Its pretty hilarious.I had been sitting at the dinner table doing this- with a dish towel.  He is imitating me here...