Snow Day

Yesterday, we stayed in for a SNOW DAY. Yes, it snowed - not much accumulated and today it is all gone but it snowed!!!! We watched movies, snuggled, took naps, and had a fun family snow day.

With Carson's runny nose and cough, he hasn't been feeling all that well. However, he did feel well enough to dress in his Lowe's apron and get to work. :) Lowe's would be proud!

Carson and Mommy day

Today, Carson and I spent the day together.

We headed off to the Dr. for Carson's 18 month checkup. He charmed the nurses and Dr. Seigal as usual. He weighs 27lb (50%ile) and is 34 1/2 inches long (100%). His appt went very well until the shot time came along. I have to say the 12 month shots went a lot better than today's. He really wasn't liking the nurse when it was all over. After a Thomas the Train sticker all was fine.

We then headed off to see Daddy at work and stop at the Dollar Store. I LOVE the dollar store. We have a really good one out here and it seems like they always have good books. Therefore, Carson got 8 new books about the magic word, saying excuse me, how to share, and learning manners.

Then we went to meet Sara for haircuts. Carson did EXTREMELY well and sat in the chair all by himself. I have to say that Sara did a fantastic job twirling him around in the chair and keeping him entertained. He even helped her out by sweeping while she was cutting my hair.

We then headed home for naps. Once, Carson got up from his nap we snuggled on the couch for some Dora and the Backyardigans.

I absolutely love days like today!!!!!

Sick AGAIN and Snow!

Tuesday night, Cory and I had flashbacks from when Carson was a baby because he was up the majority of the night. We didn't know what was wrong but began to think it was growing pains. We took him to daycare and then Nena picked him up. That is when I got a call at work saying his nose was like a faucet running and he had a cough but was playing well. Must have been why he was up the night before. I came home and did all the preventative things to hopefully keep a cold away. We did the Vapor bath, Little Noses, Vick's baby rub on his chest, and kept him propped up for most of the night.

However, he still wasn't better Wednesday morning. Did I mention that I had to go out of town yesterday and returned today so was worried about the little guy. Here we went nearly 16 months of his life with him not getting sick and it seems like it has been a losing battle for the last two months.

So I headed to Lexington, KY yesterday afternoon to conduct a training session for ~85 HR Managers. Then found out that the Charlotte area was expecting the first winter storm of the year. Yes, you guessed it - I missed the snow....again!!!! It has only snowed twice here in the last 5 years I have lived here in NC. Once this past Feb and I was in Raleigh at a conference - by the time I got home all the snow had melted. Then there was last night- Mooresville got about 1 1/2 - 2 inches and yes I missed it - it is practically all melted now. Fortunately, I made it home safe with only a couple hour delay at the airport. The only thing that saves me is that Cory and Cathy always tend to find the camera and show me what it looked like!!! Maybe one day I will see the snow in NC cause I really miss it!

Here are my "You Missed The Snow - but we thought of you" pictures :)

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, where to I begin? Haven't blogged for a few days because I have been swamped. So let me catch you up...

Work: Training out in the field is going really, really, well. We had 9 regional trainings last week and have 3 Tuesday, 4 wednesday, 3 Thursday, and 2 Friday. Then we will only have 3 the remainder of the month. It is very rewarding to see all the hard work come together and then have it received so well in the field. With all this training comes a lot of hard work as I (with 1 other person) am providing support to all the trainers during their training sessions. Therefore, 12-16 hour days last week really was starting to get to me. I did realize today in looking at my schedule, that I am only in the office for 5 days the remainder of January. I head out to Kentucky on Wed afternoon and will return Thursday night. Then I head out on the 23rd -25 in San Diego, CA for training and then 28-30 in St. Louis for training. I sure will be glad when Feb comes!!! Good thing I love my job.

Home: Got my laundry done, sheets washed, and house cleaned this weekend - LORD DID IT NEED IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Didn't make it to the grocery store so will have to do that tomorrow night after work.

Child: Ms. Julie told me this week that she thinks Carson is starting his terrible two's early. In some ways I would have to agree and some ways I would not. We have noticed that since he had his roseola - he has been getting extremely frustrated at toys, things, etc. We have been working on getting him to stop whining and to use his words. He is getting a little better at it. We also have noticied this weekend that we are using the time out chair more than we have before. Tonight, we think CW really is starting to understand that when we say no we mean it. Would like to report that the whole night routine thing is going very well. We start at about 7:45 picking up our toys, then we change our hiney, and brush our teeth. We are then ready for our 1 bottle of the day and get all snuggled up with our friends. I am still amazed how some stuffed animals have been our live saver in getting this routine down....I am all for Big Elmo, Little Elmo, Laying Down Elmo, Dinny, Pooh, and Teddy.

Husband: Just want to mention how great of a husband I have. Cory has been extremely supportive during my many hours at work the past few weeks. I don't necessarily come home in the best moods (I KNOW - Can you believe that - me grouchy!?!?!?). He is always there, ready to pour my glass of wine, listen to me complain, and tuck me in the bed.

Mother-In-Law: We are VERY, VERY, fortunate to have Cathy especially when all my family is in MO. Cathy has been so gracious to pick up Carson at Ms. Julie's, bring him home, get his nap in, do laundry, clean, get dinner and bathtime sometimes for Carson, etc. She is such a huge help to me especially on those "swammped"days.

Class President: Who knew you had to plan class reunions when you were the president of your High School Senior Class? ! This year will be 10 Year class reunion so I am starting the planning sessions of our reunion. Fortunatly, I don't have to do it by myself however, getting it going is one thing. I have been working on that in my spare time (late night hours when I can't sleep)

Toddler stage is best!!!

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy the stage we are in with Carson right now? He is SOOOOO much fun. He loves when we chase him around and tell him we are going to get him. I could not resist getting the video camera out tonight before bed time...we had to take Carson's jammies off cause he was so hot from running.

The Verdict Is....

IT WENT AWESOME!!!!

The first training session of the new system today went awesome. I was so relieved to hear the first piece went well around 2:15 and then I got a call around 4:30 that the other piece went well. My manager and director are very pleased. I can't wait to see how the two training sessions go tomorrow. 22 more trainings to go!

Nothing New

Not much is new in the Spears household. We are all finally starting to feel better and recover from our trip to MO.

This weekend we didn't do much. Saturday, we went to Concord Mills (BIG shopping center with outlets) and walked around. I found a dressy winter coat that I needed and we found some bargain Christmas wrap and cards for next year. Carson really had a good time riding in the stroller. We then went over to our friends Kelly, Davie, and Mattie's house. Mattie got a Wii for Christmas therefore had to show us her moves. IT was absolutely hilarious seeing Cory and Mattie box each other - Mattie won!!!

Today, Carson and I did our normal grocery shopping trip but did it without daddy. I am still trying to figure out if I was brave or stupid for taking Carson by myself. Normally, Carson is very well behaved however, today he had no nap and it hit while we were at the store. To say the least, I was ready to pull my hair out by the time we left. Of course, he fell asleep the minute we started driving but it was 4:30 and I wasn't happy because if he took a nap this late he would never go to sleep tonight. However, he wouldn't wake up so both of my boys snuggled on the living room floor for about an hour and snoozed.

So, now that I am sitting down after all my errands and chores today, I am exhausted. I am headed to take a good, long, hot shower and go to bed. Tomorrow is a big day - the first training session for the new system that we are rolling out. Since I was the PM on the project, I am a little nervous but have no doubt it will go fine. I'll write tomorrow and give an update.

Elmo, The Dinosaur, and Teddy

It's no secret that we have always rocked Carson to sleep. It has never really been a big deal because he takes his bottle and typically falls asleep during it and I think of it as my time with my little guy. Lately, it hasn't been working that well.

So, Monday night he wouldn't go to sleep and I told him it was night night time and put him in his crib. He proceeded to say Elmo and point towards his basket of Stuffed animals that I just put in his room this past weekend. I leaned over, got Elmo, the dinosaur, and the teddy and put them in bed with him. He snuggled and rolled over and went to bed. I was impressed. Carson has never been attached to anything (binkie, blanket, stuffed animal, etc) so was kinda shocked when he was content the minute I put some stuffed animals in the crib with him.

Last night I was going to try again but he fell asleep while rocking so no problem.

Tonight, we rocked and he had his bottle but didn't fall asleep. So I told him it was night night time and put him in his crib. I then grabbed Elmo, The dinosaur, and teddy and snuggled them all up next to him. He put his arm around Elmo and said "blanky" so I grabbed a blanket and covered him up and he said "night night" and went to sleep. No crying, no whining, nothing!!!! I actually am still in shock - have we reached a milestone???