Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Remember, Remember

Last year, Ashley, Becca, and I burned little paper men in honor of Guy Fawkes Day. 
These men were twisted out of a list of negative things in our lives. For instance, my said: 
 These were the things I wanted to “burn” out of my life. I am ashamed that "Mafia Wars" was on that list. Haha. There is NO excuse for that!
 
Well, I am happy to report that a year later, nearly all of these negative things are gone. The burning worked! 
Eliza doesn’t have colic or scream. I have a great job that allows me to work from home when needed and another part time job that allows me to work from home completely and tutor students. Nathan is also gainfully employed and our debt is quickly evaporating. I am also proud to report that I definitely do not play Mafia Wars or have time for vanity.  Additionally, my love for chocolate is nearing extinction. Who would have thought!?

As for the sleeplessness and zombie nightmares….we are still working on those :)

Monday, November 8, 2010

How a 14 Month Old Shows Love

Eliza inaugurated her 14 month marker by biting and hitting me. I suppose I had it coming. I tried to do something really horrible…like take her away from Nathan when he was holding her. They looked so cute cuddling, and I must say I was jealous of their cuddle time. I reached my arms out to Eliza and she smacked my hands, as if to say: “Go away!” Thinking she was playing, I reached for her again, where my hands were instantly slapped away, and a scream ensued. Nathan laughed. I cried.

She wasn’t messing around. She wanted to be with her daddy. How cute.

The next day, I had to tell her “no” after she repeatedly turned the television off . She looked at my hand holding hers, then leaned over and bit my arm. I guess she is getting a little personality! I hope she doesn’t become the child who bites everyone. If she does become that child, she is certainly just like her mother in one sense at least.

This little girl always has a mischievous grin on her face as she runs throughout the house.
And she has absolutely no concept of how her body is subject to the laws of gravity. She bumps into tables, falls on the floor, and staggers around our house as if she can never quite reach a state of equilibrium. There is no slow moving for Eliza. There is only fast and faster. Please note the bruise on her forehead.
Most notably, at 14 months, Eliza has formed obvious attachments to toys, books, her favorite blanket, and people. She expresses outright sadness when her friends Tina, Samuel, and Joseph leave after playing or when Nathan gets dressed to leave for work.

And although I am somewhat jealous Eliza prefers Nathan's company over mine, I think it is precious how much she and her daddy love each other. She squeals with delight every night when he gets home, she looks for him in rooms when he is gone, she runs to him when I vacuum and she gets scared, she takes him all of her books so he can read to her, and she expects to see his face most nights when she wakes up wanting a bottle (the weekends are my night shifts!). I’ve learned parenting is much different than I originally anticipated, especially with our current situation with working/school. I expected I would stay home and do all the mothering, while Nathan worked and provided for our family. Instead, Nathan and I have done a tag-team routine for the past few months, where we both work full time and parent full time. We’ve sacrificed having our days together in order to be with Eliza.
Look at that cute face concentrating! You can tell we think it has totally been worth it.  However, I am excited for us to be together more often in the not too distant future. The end is in sight!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Eliza and the Snail

A few weeks ago, my friend Tina and I found this rocking snail at a yard sale.

It was in perfect condition and only $5.00! When I got home and saw the item retailed for $80.00, I was tempted to sell it.

But after seeing this happy face:
And then remembering this lovely creature from one of my all time favorite childhood movies: 
 ....I didn't have the heart to part with it. The rocker stays, and Eliza loves her racing snail.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

500 Days of Summer

Two years ago, I had tickets to see this movie at Sundance. Unfortunately, Nathan came down with meningitis (how could he!?), and I gave my tickets away. Sadly, I missed the opportunity to see some pretty awesome celebrities (including Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt). I was a little bitter. Well, maybe a lot bitter. I then heard the movie was about a couple's relationship and subsequent break-up. Having been dumped a couple of times, I decided I didn't want to watch a depressing movie. I like happy endings!

Then last week, my dear friend Amalia convinced me I had to watch the movie. I finally gave in because I trust her opinion. AND....I loved it! It wasn't sad or depressing (to me at least).

Here is my favorite scene:


I loved the soundtrack. How can this NOT make you smile? Brilliant.

So Maybe I Should Stop Watching Scary Movies

For the past few nights, I have had horrible nightmares. Vampires, scary children, ghosts, and zombies have been visiting me in my sleep. I have no clue how this happened. I'm sure it is completely unrelated to the fact I went on a horror movie binge. AMC and the Chill Network were showing edited horror movies in honor of Halloween. This is one of the only chances I get to see so many classics! These are some of the movies (and a television show) that I watched last week:

The zombie baby and zombie little girl are terrifying.


The classics.
The little boy is terrifying. So is Jack Nicholson.






Lame.


 
 I love Cillian Murphy.

 This show is brilliant! Nathan doesn't like any kind of scary movie and still enjoyed this series premiere. My friend Becca has a full explanation. 

And finally, there is Beetlejuice. After watching this movie for the first time in ten years, I am slightly disturbed this was one of my favorite movies as a child. It is creepy! I also can't get over how skinny Alec Baldwin was or how weird Michael Keaton became. I still love the dancing scene at the dinner table.

Catherine O'Hara is awesome.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Late Nights

When I am up late working, I watch this and it makes me happy.


I can't stop watching it!