Sunday, June 12, 2011

Don't be mad that I'm only posting this video. And don't be mad that it says beeyotch.



I have to keep reminding myself
I'm not like anyone else

Surround yourself with friends
Who only call you a superstar

The sky is the limit
And I just wanna flow
Free as a spirit on a journey I'll go
Cut the strings and let me go
I'm weightless, I'm weightless

Thursday, June 9, 2011

I'm sitting here in Paulden Arizona with the wind and the dry heat and the lack of people and guess what? New York City is buzzing! I keep thinking how the Subways are still stopping and going and stopping and going even without me there. One is probably arriving right now at Court Square. Another is probably leaving Grand Central. And there's probably even one at Bedford/Nostrand Ave.

I've been back for 3 days now and I'm still tired! New York City truly never sleeps! In fact, half of the days we were there, I didn't go to sleep until 6 AM! And that's normal!

There are things I wish someone would have told me before going. I've decided to record them here mostly for my own sake so when I return again next year I'll be prepared.

1) Buy the week long pass for the MTA Subway/Bus system. At this time it's $29 for one week unlimited rides.
2) Do the guided tour stuff! It's worth it. Otherwise a lot of time will be wasted wandering aimlessly. Which is not a bad thing in our case. Because we met LOTS of people.
3) Don't talk to everyone, especially the drunks/druggies. We spent some time trying to teach Mariah that she didn't have to engage all the people that tried to talk to us. lol.
4) Ask the locals for directions. That way you don't look like an idiot.
5) Bring Tom's shoes. They'll save your life.
6) Don't buy the $6.95 map they sell at the station outside of the airport because you can get one for free from the actual subway people.
7) You CAN haggle the people at gift shops. Sneakers.
8) Eat the 99 cent slices.

I wish I could go in depth about everything we did. You would be BORED out of your mind. I will tell you that we met a lot of famous people. I'm pretty sure I talked to enough famous people that I am considering myself famous now. I have the HOOK-UPS!

We did NYC pretty perfectly. We did a few touristy things and a lot of local stuff. We took a bus tour all around Manhattan (upper and lower), did a pedi-cab in Central Park and spent the rest of the time figuring the city out on our own Chevrolegs (holla Chels!).

I can honestly say that we didn't meet any rude people (besides the ace hole kids who threw rocks at us for walking too close. This was in Brooklyn so I'm not counting it.). In fact, a few of the people I met I would like to keep in touch with for forever!

We had the privelege of attending a funk show at a local (and pretty popular) place in the lower east side. Sullivan Hall is the name.  It was pretty much my favorite evening of the whole trip. The band was so amazing and so was the energy! Everyone was dancing to this 11 person band which is awesome considering other shows I've been to where you're lucky if you have that crazy girl up front just tryin' to show off. No, no no. EVERYONE busted a move and it was FUN music. Not creepy, grind up on you kind. I was sweating and loving it. That's my kind of work out.

So anyway, I won't bore you with more stuff. Until later. Check out my Facebook album for pictures because you know you won't see them here (slow computer remember?). And if we aren't friends on Facebook, there's a reson for it. lol. Rood.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

I know you must get tired of the posts about peoples kids. But mine is different lol. Not really.

Jackson has been a late bloomer in mostly everything. Didn't crawl till 12 months, walk until 15 and just barely started speaking full(er) sentences. Like when he said recently after coughing, "Oh shit, I'm sick." I was in NYC when that one came out and so when David told me over the phone, after dying of laughter I convinved him that I've been watching myself around the kids because of this! So we came up with the neighbors as culprits for his language. lol.

He's still obsessed with trains. He loves them. I'm not sure how long it will last and because of this, I threw him a train-themed party (pictures to come). I think it might have been a dream come true for him. A bouncy castle, a candy bar, and cupcakes. And presents! What more could a 4 year old ask for?

A kitty? Well he got one of those too. Only by accident. And now that the novelty has worn off, I've frequently found him tossing (litterally) the little guy into the bathroom (where his litter box and food is). Kitty has become quite defensive after having to fight off a 2 and 4 year old. He's really friendly but likes to play! The kids both have scratches all over. You might think I'm a child abuser if you didn't know that we own a cat!

I can still get kisses and hugs out of him (sometimes they are bribed) but I am afraid these days are running thin. He still fits in my lap and sometimes wants to!

He torments Sadie but she gives it right back to him! The other day she ran out of our bedroom and shut the door behind her before he could get out. And because he can't open that door yet, he was so mad! You might have been able to hear a giggle from the other side! Aside from that, they do love each other. We still can't leave the house unless they are both ready to go. Neither one will allow for it. So while it's been crazy having 2 so close together, I'm thankful for the constant friendship!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

For all you brand-new or about to be brand-new moms out there- This is for you. And for Jackson.

He's 4 today...the little human that came out of my body. I was gonna say vagina, but that wasn't true for me. Do you remember my birth story? I wonder if I have it somewhere. It's not here. I started this blog AFTER he was born. Hmm... wonder if it's on M-Space. I'll go look there too. I found it. This is from June 7th, 2007:

Current mood:content


So… have you ever noticed that some people are really good writers? Have you ever noticed that I am not? I enjoy it anyway. I wrote long novels and it makes me happy.

I have pretty much been on hiatus since May 31st, 2007. I'd like to tell my story.


Having a baby is hard. No one tells you how hard it really is. I am going to write the book on babies being hard work. I think it will be a best seller.


David and I decided that we would go through with my induction scheduled for May 31st at 7:00 a.m. So May 30th was a regular day. I went to State College to get a camera. Mutual was that night. It was a good one (go David!!). I was feeling really nervous about the whole labor thing but was really excited as well. We tried to get to bed early that night realizing the next day would be a huge one. 11:00p.m. rolled around and I was finally able to get to bed. Well, don't worry at 1:30a.m. Baby Nickle had it in his mind that he was gonna come when HE wanted to and not when the doctors wanted him to. My water broke! I shot out of bed thinking I wet my pants. But no, it was definitely something else. Seriously the worst experience of my life. I showered, we tried to hang around because my contractions were not bad but I was too nervous/anxious. We decided to head to the hospital. Coming off the elevator at the hospital, I stood there crying like a 4 year old who just peed her pants because there was nothing I could do about the leaking fluid down my legs. Gross.


I was contracting and dilated all morning but I was not progressing much. So around 2 or so, my midwife came in to check me again and found that there was another sac of amniotic fluid which she thought was preventing baby from coming. She broke it, and checked again. She was then realized baby's position was a little off. She decided to call the doctor in. He came in and checked me as well. Yes. Lots of fingers in my vagina = not fun. He explained that baby was brow presentation. David explains this a lot better but basically, he was not coming out the right way. There were a lot of risks if I decided to try this vaginally and so he recommended a C section. Because of the way he was laying, there were risks of his neck muscles tearing, or my uterus exploding….etc. Sounds dramatic right? After taking the birth classes, the one lesson I remembered most was to go into labor open minded because you never know what could happen. Definitely a true statement. I decided to not take the risks and have the C Section. While reading all of the labor books, I had skipped over all of the parts about C Sections, thinking I would not be having one. Well I did.


Its crazy that after all of the above went down, it was seriously an hour later that Baby Nickle was born. What a roller coaster! I don't even know what to say. So much happened in the course of two days. It was insane.


It took us until the last day we were in the hospital to name him. Jackson Chase Nickle is the name. I'm so glad we decided to wait until he came out to name him. Jackson was not even on the list. It fits him real well though. He's so super cute. 9 pounds 3 ounces. I'm openly glad I did not have to push that through my vagina.


The first few days were the hardest ever. I'm so thankful for Shannon. Seriously. We would be dead if it weren't for her. We were so silly to think we could do the first night at home, by ourselves. This is a good story. So it's 2:30 in the morning. I decided to take the Pain Pump out of my stomach. It's this device that sent pain medication through two tubes attached to my belly. I pulled the first one out fine. The second one though, was a lot more difficult. It was stuck. It hurt too. So I'm sitting there crying, baby is crying, my boobs hurt like hell from breastfeeding and so did my stomach, incision, brain…. Etc. Finally, David said he was going to call Shannon. I definitely did not object. Yes at 2:30 in the a.m. She lives 30 minutes away and still graciously came and rescued us that morning at 3 a.m.. We would have been dead and our child left parentless if it weren't for her. Thank you!


I also have to say that I have the best husband ever. He is a GREAT daddy to our little guy. Previous to this, he has probably changed 5 diapers. I would say if I didn't know, that he is an expert now. He's so amazing and natural at the whole thing. It's actually crazy. I feel a little overwhelmed at the newfound love I have for him since Jackson was born. I can't talk about it much otherwise I start crying… and it's a waterfall.

I've been so lucky. I have the best friends ever. Although I was not able to enjoy the focal points provided by Jenny, I was able to enjoy the delicious meal I made out of the Jolly Ranchers she brought. Jenny and her goody bag saved the day!
I have to apologize to the friends I have not responded to in a week or so. It's been a little crazy. I am super excited for this new challenge and I can now say (at least for today) that I concur with David when he said that he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. It's the little moments (and the 3 hour stretches he gives us of sleep at night), that make it all worthwhile. Don't worry, I'm still writing the book of babies being hard. For now though, I'll just write this blog.

Because this is a long enough post, I'll save my reminiscing of this sweet boy for tomorrow. Happy 4th to my Chicken Nuggle.

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