Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Trip Review (long)

Overall our "vacation" to Arizona was ok. It was nice to get away with Nik for a few days, but it will be equally as nice to get home to Christina. We missed her terribly and talked about her constantly. Here is my review of our trip:

Nik booked the trip without consulting me, so we ended up with a hotel 45 minutes away from Wrestlemania - the very event we were flying there to see. He also booked us on flights there and back with a stop over. He didn't plan ahead regarding restuarants, activites, or any other plans for that matter. So, zero stars for Niks vacation planning skills. Moving on . . .

Our first flight was fine, even good I would say although I was disappointed that all food was for purchase only (but I was not surpised).

When we landed in Chicago for our layover, I was surprised to realize that we had three hours to kill. Not only did we have a pretty decent length of time originally, but our pilot was also diligent in getting us there early. I immediately thought of my friend that lives in Chicago but unfortunately it was a little too late to arrange to meet up at just a moments notice. I really wish I would have planned something ahead of time.

Luckily, the layover in Chicago was a pretty nice part of our trip. We took a very long and leasurly lunch and were happy to do so at Macaroni Grill. I was actually shocked that the airport had a Macaroni Grill and considering it is one of my favorite places to eat, I was also thrilled. We also spent the entire time there discussing possible middle names for Gwen. So far, we came up with these possibilities: Isabella, Eve, Ann or Anne, Belle, Brie or Bree, Rose and Brey. I think I'm missing a few actually, so I might have to come back to this list.

Personally, I'm leaning towards Ann or Eve. But, even though we have a long list, I'm really not totally thrilled with any of these options. I feel like there is a name out there that I totally love, but that I just haven't found yet. Since Gwendolyn is such a nice, pretty, and mature name (oh, and very long), I'm really looking for a cool, maybe trendy, fun middle name that is short. For some reason I can't get the name Lola out of my head. I love love love it, but it doesn't sound good with Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn Lola Kalos, uuumm, no, I don't think so. Gwendolyn Ann Kalos, although it sounds great and there is nothing wrong with the name Ann,
I just feel like it is missing something. Anyone have any suggestions?

By now are you wondering why we are talking about baby names instead of my trip? Sorry about that, back to our regularly scheduled program . . .

The second flight which took us to Phoenix was awful. Since it was double the length of the first flight, it just seemed never ending. On top of that, I got horrible motion sickness. It was like the morning sickness came back again. For the first half hour of the flight I felt horrible, then it got better. By the time we were getting close to landing I started feeling really sick again. The worst part was that it didn't get better when we got off the plane. I actually felt sick for the rest of the night. So besides the fact that we were very tired from a long day of travel and we were jet lagged from the three hour time change, on top of that I felt like crap. Considering Saturday night was our only free night in Arizona, we were a bit annoyed at the circumstances.

After the flight, we headed for Hertz to get our rental car. We normally use Enterpirse, but strayed because of cost. I regret that decision now. There was a HUGE line at Hertz. I have never ever had to wait in a line like that to pick up a car that we already had reserved. Then, we get up there and the guy is giving us a Toyota instead of the car we reserved. I didn't complain since it says "or comparable car", but still, with the whole recall issue with Toyota, I just didn't feel comfortable about them forcing us to take a Toyota. Then, when I handed him my bank card and realized that Nik was going to pay on his card, I quickly told the guy that wasn't the card we wanted to use. He assured me that he would only do an authorization on my card and we could pay with Niks card when we returned the car. Big mistake. Even though the rental itself only cost $200, the guy "authorized" my card for $416. And yeah, when you "authorize", you basically are holding the money for 48 hours (minimum). So guess who had no money for the entire trip? Yeah, I only had a litle more than that in my account to begin with (since it is a spending money account only), so I just didn't have any money to work with while we were there. Luckily I didn't need it, but still, I was not a happy girl.

When we finally got our rental car, we immediately jumped in and headed to the hotel. We were very anxious to get there. Of course the GPS took us to the wrong one and I felt completely embarressed when we tried to check in and were informed that we were at the wrong hotel. Oops. After we found our hotel, we couldn't figure out which building was the right one since they had a casino as well. We ended up parking at the Casino by mistake and having to walk with our bags, to the building that had the hotel rooms. This wasn't much fun considering I still felt so sick.

Now onto something positive . . the hotel was very very nice. We loved our room. It was beautiful, clean, had a great view and an awesome flat screen TV. They even had this hookup thingy which we could hook up our netbooks or cell phones to and play our music through the TV speakers. Oh and free wifi too. So, that was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I found out the next morning that my netbook screen was no longer working (damn it), but we had Niks netbook atleast.

After we checked out the room and got settled, we headed downstairs. There were two possible restaurants that we wanted to choose from. Afterwards, we wanted to either go to the nightclub there or to the lounge that had live music. Turns out neither of the optional restaurants were our cup of tea. I guess it was mostly my fault since I am so picky when it comes to food. Instead, we ate at the food court and that food was really bad. It didn't even occur to me at the time that we should have left the hotel to go somewhere. I guess since we were so tired and the hotel was in the middle of nowhere, we just didn't even want to think about that option.

When our horrible dinner was over, we walked over to the nightclub and found out that we could not get in due to dress code. Nik hadn't brought any dress shoes. Oh well, I didn't care considering how I felt. We went over to the lounge and found out that the live band was playing all Country music. No thanks. So, we called it a night.

In the morning I was determined to plan something fun for us to do before and/or after wrestlemania. As you saw in my previous post, I didn't have a lot to work with. We did finally decide on the scenic drive at a Mountain Reserve. It was ranked number one as far as things not to miss in Arizona on the Yahoo Travel guide. I also read an article about things to do near Wrestlemania. It was specifically written for those going to the event. I mapped out a restaurant to go to before the event and then two possible options for after the event. I was determined to go to the first one for lunch because I was craving fish tacos and that was mentioned in the review. From the two restaurants for dinner, one said they had a live band and a dance floor and the other had a laid back atmosphere with lots of different kinds of music and a mechanic bull. I figure, either one of them would be nice.

We drove 40 minutes to get to the Mountain Reserve and were greeted by a huge road block. The sign said "Silent Sunday Event". The scenic drive was CLOSED! This is the scenic drive that ranked NUMBER ONE on the "things not to miss" list. How is it closed??? I was very dissapointed, but hungry, so we headed off to the restaurant which was another 40 minutes away, but just 5 minutes from Wrestlemania.

Sandbar Mexican Restaurant or something like that was the name of the place. The decor was great, the atmosphere was great, they played music, and in the outside area the place was covered with sand like at the beach. They even had a little wave pool. It was really cool. Unforuntately, none of the remaining tables outside had an umbrella and it was just too hot and sunny to eat outside, so we went indoors, which was nice too. Moments after opening the menu, sadly I found that the "fish tacos" mentioned in the review did not exist. Of course, that was THE reason I wanted to go to that restaurant. Great.

Lunch was good and we took our time again because we had time to kill, considering we didn't get to take our scenic drive. We got to Wrestlemania early, but with all of the madness - tons of people and cars everywhere - it was a good thing. Nik was able to buy a shirt and not even have to wait in line (which is normally unheard of).

The venue was nice, they had a lot of fun food options (yes, I know I just ate, but come on, I'm pregnant, remember?) I had a frozen lemonade and ice cream later on. Yum. I guess Arizona heat really made me want something cold.

I was pleasantly surprised that there were lots of kids there, young kids. There were little girls and little boys, some decked out in wrestling gear and some not. There were lots of three, four and five year olds, plus a few even younger than that. In fact, we actually saw a baby who couldn't have been more than 10 months old. Of course, with every cute kid we saw, we had to talk about Christina and how we missed her and wished she was with us.

Now I don't know if you care about the actual event itself (probably not), so I'll keep this part short. It was ok. Nothing real exciting, I pretty much called all of the winners, so it wasn't a surprise. I guess I enjoyed it, but it was no big deal. Nik drank way too much, also not a suprise.

When we got back to our rental car, I called the restaurant with the band to ask what kind of music they will be playing. Turns out that they don't have a band. They use to have a nightclub within the restaurant, but don't anymore. Great. I guess whoever wrote up that review specifically for Wrestlemania, did not check his/her facts. So, we GPS'ed the other restaurant. It was really close to the arena, which I thought would be a good thing but realized it was a very very bad idea. We were stuck in tons of traffic just trying to drive about a mile. THEN, when the GPS finally got us to the address, we found no such restaurant existed. At least the GPS couldn't find it. It brought us to a deadend. This calls for another Greeeaaaat. Again, why didn't this article-writer check the facts before posting it for all the world to see?? I was annoyed.

We decided to just go to the first restaurant anyway, even though they wouldn't have music. Traffic cleared up as this one was a bit further away. By the time we got there, I was extremely cranky. I was tired, frustrated and starving. Plus, Nik was passed out next to me, so I felt I was all on my own. I woke him up and we went inside. We were Just in time for them to tell us that they were closed. It was 9 o'clock. Wish I would have asked when I called, but really, what restaurant closes at 9??

At this point I was ready to just breakdown and cry. Again, really tired, really really hungry, and all alone taking care of a drunk person :-( I was debating driving back to the hotel and giving up on dinner altogether considering we had to wake up at 5am to fly home, but I really didn't want to do that for Gwen's sake - I needed to eat. A Cheesecake Factory was nearby so we just went there.

The 45 minute drive back to the hotel was MISERABLE. I could barely keep my eyes open. Yes, it was only 10:15 or so, but New Jersey time was 1:15 and it had been a long day. When we got back, I called the front desk to ask for a wake up call, which they gladly said they would do and I went to bed as fast as I could get myself there. Sadly, Nik was up half the night throwing up. I told him he should take it easy on the beer, but what do I know I guess.

It was still dark out when I heard Nik get a text message and asked him what that noise was. We were both partially awake due to all of the throwing up. He got up to check his phone and naturally I asked what time it was. To my surprise, it was 5:30am. But how could that be, I thought? I asked for a wake up call at 5am. Apparently, the hotel doesn't care if we make our flight or not. Thank goodness we had no problems getting ready and out on time, but this was just another thing to add to my list of grievances.

I'm on the first leg of our flight home right now, even though I will likely not post this entry until at least later today, maybe even tomorrow. So far the trip home is ok. I am exhausted and not looking forward to getting up for work tomorrow while still jet-lagged. But, I am anxious to see my baby girl and get home. For this flight so far I'm not feeling sick. I hope it stays that way.

A recap - all of our attempts at experiencing Arizona failed, but it was still nice to be there I guess. The weather was sunny and warm. I enjoyed the landscaping and I'm glad we went, just wish it could have turned out a bit different. I've never been on a trip where I've encountered so many things that made me angry. Is it just me? Between Hertz, flights that aren't non-stop, wakeup calls that never
happen, and online articles that shell out completely out of date or just incorrect information, I've never had so many hiccups (if you want to call them that). Chicago airport gets two thumbs up soley on the basis that they have a Macaroni Grill. Oh, and I found this cute ring at one of the jewelry stores. That was nice too. I've learned my lesson about letting NIk plan trips, so next time hopefully it will be better.

Now I am exhausted just thinking about the fact that four days from now I will be flying yet again. This time, with Christina. We didn't get her a seat on the plane because money is tight, although I said last time that I wouldn't do that again. I don't know where she is going to go. The plane seems too tight and she too big to fit on my lap. Plus, how in the world am I going to entertain the kid when she can't even sit still for a minute. She gets upset when we keep her indoors for too long, let alone stuck on a plane. This one will be fun. Thank goodness I have reinforcements - three whole people will be flying with me (and four on the way back) that can help to manage and entertain her throughout the trip. That is priceless.

UPDATE: I didn't get sick on either of the flights on the way home (thank goodness), but our second flight was delayed for about two hours. That meant that we didn't make it home until 10:30 or so and then I had to get up early the next day and considering the 3 hour time difference, it wasn't fun.

Here are some pics from our trip:

around our hotel -















by the mountain reserve-







wrestlemania (Nik is a big HHH fan, in case you were wondering)-





Sunday, March 28, 2010

Phoenix, Arizona

While NIk is taking a random nap at 9:15 a.m. (Arizona time), I thought I would take this opportunity to write a little. Tell me, why is that this time around I feel like a pregnant woman is restricted from doing just about everything? The first time around I didn't feel like I missed out on much. I didn't drink, and I couldn't go on some of the rides when we went to Universal Studios, but that is pretty much it. I guess being away on vacation and in a place that I have never been to before, my restrictions are more obvious.

Since I did absolutely zero pre-planning for this trip (soooo not like me), I have been researching since 7am trying to figure out what we should do today. Since Nik booked the trip and it was specifically for Wrestlemania, I didn't really get interested in planning anything else. Plus, I was just way too busy at work anyway.

So . . . I'm searching about everything that Arizona has to offer and I find that I can't take part in most of it. Actually, half of it is because Nik is just a huge P.I.T.A and doesn't want to do many of the things I want to do, but also because I'm pregnant so I can't do several of the activities.

Let's see,
-museums and anything historic are out because Nik would be bored to tears.
-Anything outdoors he isn't interested in but I really would love to go hiking, unfortunately I can't because I'm pregnant and I'm not suppose to do physical activity that is above and beyond what I'm use to.
-The hot air balloon over the desert sounds awesome, but no, Nik is afraid of that.
-I'd love to go to the spa but I can't do the sauna, the jacuzzi, body wraps, etc. all because of little Gwen that can't get heated up in my belly here.
-There is an amuzement park (which I'm not all that interested in anyway), where I wouldn't be able to go on any of the rollercoasters or some of the other rides.
-There is paintball, but nope that is out because of my precious bundle in my belly.
-So far the food here sucks, so I'm not all that interested in restaurants and
-it seems like the shopping is very blah except for the high end area which I'm not interested in anyway.
-We can't go to any nightclubs because Nik doesn't have the proper shoes, plus of course I can't drink so the night would mostly end up with me just taking care of drunk Nik (not that fun in my book).
-Oh, they also have horseback riding which I would love, but can't, again because I'm pregnant.
-There are a couple of awesome drives through the area that are suppose to be beautiful and have really cool windy roads, but Nik is nervous to do that with a rental car that we are not familiar with. I think we will probably end up doing that one anyway though.

Overall, I sound like a pretty big downer huh? Really everything is fine though, we are basically only here for today because we have to leave the hotel at like 5AM tomorrow. Since Wrestlemania will be for like 6 plus hours tonight, we don't have much time to do other things anyway. I'm thinking that we should take one of those drives, then go out to lunch, head to Wrestlemania, and then afterwards, go to a bar/restaurant near the stadium, then head back to the hotel. I think I found a nice restaurants with a fun environment for lunch and there are a few places within walking distance that we could choose from for dinner, so I guess it will be ok.

So far the scenary is beautiful and the weather is warm. That is a good start. I won't even tell you how yesterday was pretty awful. I'll have to give you a full report on that another time. Gotta run! Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Definitely in need of a vacation

I have been working every day, day and night, for the last three weeks. I've been really busy. But, tomorrow, Nik and I leave for Arizona. We are taking a little vacation, more for Nik than me since we are going for Wrestlemania, but still it will be fun I'm sure. Neither of us have ever been to Arizona, so it should be interesting. I'm mostly looking forward to the weather being warm because all of a sudden it is cold here in New Jersey.

While we are gone, Christina will be staying with my Mom and Step Dad. Christina has been doing so many new cute things lately that I'm excited my Mom and Step Dad will get a chance to see it. She is saying so many new words that I can't even keep track. Plus all of the words she has been saying, she is now saying more often and more clearly.

There are so many cute things I'd like to tell you about, but really I'm just too tired. Anyway, it will be better if I can get it on video. I was able to get this one which I find absolutely adorable:

Monday, March 15, 2010

Terrible Two's

There is no such thing as the terrible two's in my book. It really should be called the Terrible Toddlers, or something more clever.

Christina has been throwing temper tantrums since 15 months old, which is way before two years old. Even though Christina is basically the most perfect child you will ever meet (duh!), she really knows how to throw a fit! Boy oh boy does she ever, and it is getting BAD!

This little one is like her Mama, she wants to be in control at all times. So she throws fits whenever she can't get what she wants. It could be as small as wanting to go into the kitchen, wanting to take both baby dolls out of the house with her, or it could be as big as refusing to eat something she doesn't want, or refusing to take a nap. She'll kick, she'll scream, she'll throw things, she'll throw her body on the floor or just flail her body around. She basically goes into a complete RAGE! (I think she gets that temper from my Dad, sorry Dad)

I have to say that the worst part about the temper tantrums is not the screaming and carrying on (in my opinion), but as a parent, it is not knowing what to do, when to give in, if I should give in, etc. I have always tried to keep a happy medium between what she wants to do and what I think she needs to do. Now I'm starting to think I need to be more strict.

She hasn't been taking naps on days when she is home anymore and tonight she threw the ultimate fit because it was bed time. She NEVER does that at bedtime! But tonight, she really didn't want to go to bed. On the one hand I sort of understood where she was coming from. For one, because of daylight savings, she is technically going to bed earlier than normal. Second, she doesn't get much time with me or time to play when we get home because basically it is already bedtime by the time we make it home. Third, she always keeps me guessing as to whether she has eaten enough.

Considering we are still struggling with her weight, I HATE to put her to bed second guessing whether she ate enough. Of course I offered her everything under the sun, but still, I know that doesn't necessarily mean that she is not hungry. I just can't help wondering if there is an underlying reason for the temper tantrum. I am probably over thinking it. Is she just pissed because I am making her go to bed, or is there a REAL reason that she doesn't want to go to bed?

The whole food thing is another reason I'm always questioning my choices as a Mom. I probably shouldn't be offering her a million things to eat. I probably should be sitting her down in her highchair, putting something in front of her, and if she refuses to eat it, well then, she doesn't eat. You would think she would get the idea and start trying new things. But, I just can't bare to do that because the poor kid needs to gain some weight. I would feel like I'm moving in the wrong direction if I do that.

Lately I've been giving in more, a little here and there on several different fronts and I think I realized tonight that I need to stop that. I guess we are just entering new territory with her age and I need to find that happy medium again. It isn't going to be the same as when she was an infant and I knew that I couldn't give in at nap time, otherwise she wouldn't take a nap for the next few days. I just have to figure out what works for us now at this age. Of course I should have expected this. It is just when you start thinking that things are going so easily that the little one decides to throw a curve ball.

Ggggrrrr, why didn't anyone tell me that parenting wasn't easy? :-)

Friday, March 5, 2010

Christina Videos

Christina loves music, as I have said before, and she loves to dance. I have been able to catch her on video a few times and her dancing is definitely post-worthy. I don't know where she gets her moves from, but they are pretty amusing. Take a look. Oh, and you can ignore all of the laughing in the background :-)









Here is a cute video. Christina insisted on having Nik put all of her bibs on her, one on top of the other. I wish I had started recording earlier, because it was really funny watching her bring each bib out to him and making him put it on her. But, this is pretty good too.





Ok, now here is a funny video that Nik took. Christina loves to shake her head no, but obviously it doesn't always mean no. Take a look . . .




So of course I think Christina is like the cutest thing ever and she is so funny in these videos. Am I just being a Mom? What do you think?

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Catch All Picture Post

I've got ultrasound pictures and belly pictures, Christina and more! Actually, I think just the first three, but I got excited :-)

Enjoy!

Baby Gwendolyn at the 12 week Ultrasound



Baby Gwendolyn at the 20 week Ultrasound


Baby Gwendolyn in Mommy's tummy at 20 weeks (I'm getting big!)


Isn't Christina just the cutest?








Wednesday, March 3, 2010

We are having a . . . .

GIRL!!!


Very exciting! Another little Princess! Christina will have a little sister - Gwendolyn.


Everything went well with this morning's ultrasound. The baby looks very healthy. It was really cool to feel her kick and watch her kick at the same time.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Tomorrow is the big day!

Tomorrow morning I go for my BIG ultrasound. It is known as the BIG ultrasound because this is the one that hopefully will show us whether we are having a boy or a girl. I still can't believe I'm far enough along to be getting this ultrasound.

I have been feeling the baby move lately and that makes me even more excited for the ultrasound. I can't wait to see the little one! I know I never posted a picture of my last ultrasound (sorry!), but hopefully I will post that one and the new one by the end of the week.

The last ultrasound the baby wasn't moving that much. This was very different from the first ultrasound with Christina. She was bouncing around. She also sat up and put her arms in the air like she was showing me her muscles. This baby doesn't seem as roudy, but we'll see if that changes.

I'm soooo interested to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl because of how different this pregnancy has been from my first. Last time I had morning sickness for 5 weeks, this time I had it for 10 weeks. Last time I started gaining weight immediately and even though I wasn't "showing" until my fourth or fifth month, I was still bigger than I am this time around. This time I was loosing weight for so long, I've finally hit my pre-pregnancy weight. Last time when the morning sickness ended, I was feeling great. I had back pain towards the end, but it wasn't bad. This time I've got all sorts of complaints (I say complaints instead of symptoms because Nik always says I just complain too much - thx Nik). Among the one's I've already mentioned (headaches, back pain, etc), I've also had indigestion and heart palpatations. In fact, I've had heart palpatations with shortness of breath almost everyday. I had occassional heart palpatations the first time, but nothing like this.

If I'm having a boy, this will all seem to make sense to me. If I'm having a girl, then who knows! I know "they" say that every pregnancy is different, but I still feel like I need some explaination as to why my pregnancies are so different.

If I'm having a boy, it will be pretty cool because it seems like more of a new experience. If I'm having a girl, it will be exciting thinking we'll have another little princess. Of course, as with every pregnancy being different, I know that every child is different. I could have a girl that is the complete opposite of Christina. I could have a boy that is just like Christina. Anything is possible. But of course I can't help but pretend I have some control over this whole thing. Well, I guess control is the wrong word, I guess I'd like to pretend that I know what to expect. (Let's not even think about how crazy things are going to be around here just from having two children - no matter what sex they are)

When it comes down to it, finding out the sex of the baby really only means two things. One - I can expect to know which name we are going to use (Nikolaos or Gwendolyn) and Two - I can expect to either buy a whole bunch of clothes and baby related "stuff" or I can pull everything out of storage.

Ok, so now that I've been rambling for several paragraphs, I'm going to leave you with this - with my luck, the baby probably won't even show us the goods and then I'll be back where I started.

Monday, March 1, 2010

18 months old

Christina is a year and a half old! My little girl has grown and changed so much.

I know I'm not posting this on her actual 18 month birthday, but her half birthday falls on leap year. So technically, the day she turned 18 months old never actually happened, it only passed. Today's post will have to do.

New Words
She says yes and no consistently now. She also says Dirty. She will point out things that are dirty and do a little hand motion along with it. She says belly button, no more, and night-night(not sure if I mentioned those last time). She signs "more" and sometimes will say it while she is signing it.

Things Christina Loves
All of the old stuff still applies: baby dolls, blankets, remote controls, cell phones, water bottles, her jacket, her gloves, her hat, macaroni and cheese
New stuff: bubbles, running, dancing, music, balloons, waving

Other New Things going on with Christina
- She gets a kick out of walking around any place other than at home. She loves it that I let her walk out of daycare herself instead of carrying her. The other day I found her running up and down the halls of daycare when I came to get her. It was the cutest thing and she was so happy. It was also really weird to see her running around with the big kids. The big kids are always running wild at the end of the day.
- She loves to give kisses and will randomly just come up to me or Nik and give kisses. She even has this book that has an Elmo hand puppet and for some reason she can't help but give Elmo a kiss whenever she sees the book.
- Christina knows there is a baby in my belly. Well, sort of. But the other day, she pulled up her teachers shirt and pointed at her belly saying "baby". Oops. I sort of hope she thinks there is a baby in everyone's belly rather than the alternative, which would be that she only thinks it is in the belly's that have a little extra room to spare. I felt really bad when her teacher told me what she did. Luckily she laughed about it though.

Other Updates
Christina's healthy streak is over unfortunately. Luckily she only has a cold and nothing more serious. I am crossing my fingers that this is as bad as it will get.