Wednesday, May 22, 2013

2,628,000


Another non-crafty post.

I just realized what most of you probably know already -- time is relevant.

On Friday, r will officially be a year old.  It will be 12 days, 365 days,  or 525,600 minutes since I gave birth.  Wow.  In all my nights of counting sheep, I could never have counted up to half a million.

And now it's here.


Hour Glass Clip Art

Today I got a phone call about a lab test I had done yesterday.  While poking and prodding me, the nurse explained that I will hear back from them by Friday, or Tuesday (because of the long weekend) at the earliest.

And now, less than 25 hours later, I play the message on my voicemail:

"Hi, this message is for C.  You came in for a blood draw yesterday...Can you please call XXX-XXXX and ask to speak to Abby?  We wanted to speak to you about some of your labs."

Gulp.

It did not help that I heard the message at 1:00pm.  Which meant, everyone (including Abby) but me, will be on lunch break.  I call anyway.

"Hi, this is C, returning a phone call from Abby... (hyperventilates).  Please call me back at XXX-XXXX.  Wow.  Oh, my goodness.  I'll be by the phone.  Thank you."

I pass out from anxiety.

Just kidding.  It was the longest 30 minutes of my life.  And believe me, I felt all 1,800 of those seconds tick by.

1:30pm.  I call again.  Abby answers.

"Hi, C!  I just wanted to let you know that there was a problem with---"

WHAAAATTT???  Oh, no...I don't have a will in place.  My life insurance will take care of R and r, though.

"--our lab.  We are unable to run one of our tests, and we would like for you to come back for another blood draw.  Can you come in at 3:30pm today?"

"Um, sure."  I stammer.  "I would LOVE to come in at 3:30pm today.  I really hate needles, but right now, I've never been so happy that you just needed more blood."

Abby:  "Oh, what were you thinking I was calling about?"

Me:  "The worst."
  
Abby:  "Oh, I'm sorry."

Me:  "Oh, please, don't be.  I'm really just glad it was just more blood."

And I could literally feel the years (that she scared out of me) drain out of me.  Yes, all 2,628,000 minutes of them.


Thursday, May 16, 2013

If There's a Will...

(Warning:  This is a non-crafty post.)

... there is a way.

You know how some products are "something"-proof? Like how prescription bottles are child-proof, how packaged food is tamper-proof, how some smartphones are shock-proof?

Well, I've proven to myself that a car is not C-proof.

Several months ago, I managed to lock myself and my son out of our apartment, and then our car.  In a span of minutes.  That takes skill, people.

I had to explain how that happened on my frantic call to AAA, while DS's and my teeth (DS has 8 teeth) were chattering in the cold air:
1.  Every morning, my husband thoughtfully takes my large purse, laptop, and lunch bag to the car, so all I needed to carry with me are DS and DS's lunch.  DH locks the car with the spare, and drives off to work.
2.  The night before, I ran an errand (unusual for me) and while I usually stuff my keys into my coat pocket, for whatever reason, I absent-mindedly clipped my keys to my purse.
3.  Yes, the same large purse that my husband thoughtfully takes to the car the next morning, in addition to my laptop bag and lunch bag.
4.  Yes, my car keys and my apartment keys are in one key ring.
5.  DH was working 2 hours away that morning (and could not come to our rescue).

Sometimes, my brilliance astounds me.  I'm sure the representative on the other end of the line was equally astounded.

Thankfully, both my apartment and AAA offer exceptionally quick lockout service.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

It's a Mickey Mouse Birthday Party!

Hi, everyone!  I know I've been gone a while, and rather than explain what I've been up to, I thought I would just show you.

March and April had been hectic -- we went to my niece's Christening, my husband's goddaughter's Christening, and my sister-in-law's sister-in-law's (not a typo, she is really my sister-in-law's sister-in-law) wedding.  And then, May crept in, and DS (dear son) is almost one year old!

That is what I've been up to -- the weeks leading up to his birthday party last Sunday, Mother's Day, were spent prepping and planning.

First, DH (dear hubby) and I had to decide on a theme.  Actually, DS decided on the theme for us.  While at Toys R Us, he grabbed a Mickey Mouse toy at the store and never let go.  We took it as a sign that he would like a Mickey Mouse party. :p  He also bops his head to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot Dog song (it's quite catchy -- you should take a listen) every time we play it for him.  So, a Mickey Mouse party it is!

After drafting the guest list -- DH and I come from big families, and extended families, and we knew we wanted all of them, and our friends, to join us in celebrating DS's first year -- we had to agree on the invitation.

Ahem.  After nights of brainstorming, this is what I came up with:
Front of invitation

Inside of the invitation.  It's hard to see well on the photo, but it's a pop-up invitation.

Mickey up close

Making ~40 of these invitations took me three weekends.  I could only work on them on weekends, because of my work schedule.

Then came decorations:  I we decided to stick to Mickey Mouse's colors for the decorations (black, red, yellow, and white).  By this time, I was on a roll.  My head was spinning with ideas, and I was bouncing them off DH one on top of each other.  He made the smart decision and decided to leave the decisions about decorations (and all things party-related) to me.  He took over baby-sitting and household chores (including laundry and dishes) while I was in my birthday party planning-possessed state.

We covered tables in red, white, and yellow table covers.  I made Mickey Mouse centerpieces for each of the tables, and attached three balloons (red, white, and yellow) to each of them.
(please ignore the bottle of pop on the table)

I also made a Mickey Mouse banner from black and white cardstock to hang over the dessert table.  The banner was attached to each other using red, white, and yellow ribbons.
(in case you were wondering, there was a "Y" in "Birthday;" it was just hiding behind the balloons)

For the birthday boy's seat, we brought with us a mini-high chair (the one that you strap into a chair) and decorated it.
He didn't really stay on the seat for too long.  There was too much going on around him, and he wanted to be part of the excitement.

For our young guests, I made goody bags out of paper bags. I filled them with toys and things (stickers, tattoos, scrapbook, markers, balls, etc.) that I picked out, based on each guest's age.  I printed labels with a Mickey Mouse clip art, and a message from the birthday boy.

I also made the two larger stand-up Mickeys.  Here is a photo of one of them (the one on the goody bag table):

I did not, however, make this Mickey:
He came from Party City. ;)

I also made most of the items on the sweets table (please see the photo with the Mickey Mouse banner above).  Among the treats I made were:  chocolate covered Oreos, chocolate-dipped Rice Krispies treats, chocolate cupcakes in baby food jars, and the candy tubes (sans toppers).

All in all, it was a great party.  We all had a great time.  However, between preparing for the party for days, hauling everything from our home to the place we rented for DS's party and back, setting up and cleaning up (our families helped us out -- aren't they awesome?), and taking care DS, DH and I were exhausted.  After weeks of breathing and living Mickey, I was over-Mickeyfied.  If I see another Mickey Mouse again, it will be too soon.

The next morning, I got a phone call from my sister-in-law (whose sister-in-law got married last month, remmeber?):  "Hey, C!  Guess what?  For A (my niece)'s birthday, we're having a Minnie Mouse party!!!"