Who dat??

Saints fan, anyone??

Lucy feels like a new woman

She finally got to have a grooming appointment today and she really needed it. She had to have her chest totally shaved due to all the matting. It must have been at least 2 months since her last grooming and we spend a lot of time at the dog park. The short of it is that homegirl needed help and she got it! Beautiful :)

When I picked her up, the groomed told me she was very well behaved and looked and acted like a show dog! My baby!! She went on to say that Lucy was one of her favorite dogs that she has ever groomed and she doesn't usually like schnauzers. I was proud AND relieved that she was on good behavior today.

There is a man who is always at the dog park who is a professional dog trainer. I was chatting with him about Lucy and how she doesn't seem to be the brightest animal. He was quick to point out that I have the best kind of pet because she is so kind and patient with Jacob. She doesn't respond well to commands but she is a loving family pet and he's right, I couldn't ask for more.


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Banana milkshakes

I may have mentioned my love for Checker's banana milkshakes a time or two but I just have to say it again. They are the best and I would drink it until I got sick if given the opportunity. Yes, that's me, making that obnoxious sucking sound long after the last drops are gone and no, I will not stop until I am good and ready!!! Ahem. And apparently, I'm not the only one who likes them...


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Key West Aquarium

One thing I really love about Key West is how good it is to the locals. I don't really feel like a "local" but apparently, I count as one since I live here and all... Everyone says it must be nice, living in paradise, but when you live in a full-time vacation hot spot, the appeal starts to wear thin. Plus, going on vacation involves spending lots of extra $$$ that you probably wouldn't put down in your day to day living expenses. Deciding what to pay for and what to skip can become challenging, especially when we can't agree on the thing at the top of the list. Thankfully, Key West, this wonderful island we call home, offers tons of local and military discounts, as well as free admission to many of the tourist attractions on the first Sunday of the month. So, we don't always have to agree, we just have to wait till that 1st Sunday :) We went to the aquarium in January and had a lot of fun. Jacob has been to the aquarium in Dallas with his Nana so I was interested to see what he thought of everything. He's at a really neat stage where he is not only soaking everything up, but it is starting to come back out in the form of talking (or attempting to...) and responding to simple instructions. I am totally amazed by all the developmental milestones he has conquered in his short life! Anyway, the aquarium was small but really neat. Jordan and I got in free, Jacob was free no matter how you cut it. But paying those adult admissions can add up! And they didn't have a gift shop. I found that refreshing.

This little pond was full of rainbow fish. Jacob wasn't too interested in it. He was more into what was behind that railing.
Baby alligators. He wanted to show us what he found and it was hard to pull him away.
Jordan went around to the other side of the pond and called Jacob over, trying to get him interested in what was going on in the water. He joyfully ran to his dada but he never did pay much attention to those fish.
In fact, when he grew tired of looking at the alligators, he wanted to go up and down these little steps over and over again. At this point, I was thinking: A. We could do this at home. B. I'm glad we didn't pay to come in here. C. I wish you would hold my hand (finger) more often.
This Great White Shark is 16' long and the sign says that it could have grown 4' longer. Luckily, it WON'T.
Jordan got to feed the nurse sharks. They would just suddenly pop out of the water and snap the fish off that pole before you even realized what was going to happen. I jumped when it ate Jordan's fish. I watched this show about some people that survived shark attacks recently and I have a new-found fear of sharks. I've lived my whole life without this fear but I can't seem to shake it. I'm not sure I will be going out on any boats while we are here.
Jordan took this beautiful picture. Good camera? Good photographer? Maybe both! (He actually took all of the pictures except the one of him feeding the sharks.)
The nurse sharks were all huddled together in a mass in the tank before the feeding began. This is gross, gross, GROSS to me.
Jacob was really into these creepy eels. He is really fearless and I don't want to discourage him from being confident to check out new things. I've been working really hard on not acting squeamish around him or freaking out when he picks things up that I think are gross because I don't want him to adopt my feelings about things without discovering it for himself.
Aaand the grouper. He's not that impressive looking but I like him. He seems harmless.

While we were out that day, we also decided to go to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. Unfortunately, Ripley's doesn't participate in the free admission for locals deal so we paid to get in. It was interesting but somewhat of a let-down. I was expecting way more gross, way more crazy. It was the first time I had been to one and Jordan said he felt like, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. I have now seen ONE, in Key West, FL. And, I would say it was worth it, for my 1 time.

So, my travel tip is to check out the aquarium and skip Ripley's. Unless you've never been to a Ripley's. In that case, go, if you are into that sort of thing. I think the appeal of going on vacation is checking out something you can only see where you are.

This coming weekend is the 1st of the month so we will be going to the Home Depot Kid's Workshop on Saturday morning (for FREE!) And taking advantage of that free admission again on Sunday. I don't know where we are going yet but I'll keep you all posted.

Bedtime with Lucy

It's bedtime. It could be anywhere from 8pm to midnight depending on how the day went, what we had for dinner, and whether or not Jersey Shore reruns were on. Jacob has been sleeping peacefully in his crib since 7-ish. Teeth are brushed, pj's are on and we are tired.

However, I traded in my baby for a miniature schnauzer to fill the "bed partner" role. Sure, I have my husband, who is snoring way over there, but I needed someone to be right up in my business. That someone is Lucy. She is aiding in helping me meet some unwritten motherhood requirements. The kind where I have a lifetime of chiropractic issues to deal with due to curling my body in an unnatural way around whatever child (or animal) happens to be snuggled up against me. God FORBID I move a muscle and awaken this sleeping babe. Oh no! I will just lay here in a state of semi-consciousness, still as a corpse until the sun rises.

Come to think of it, that might have been my main motivating factor for putting Jacob in his crib. Co-sleeping sounds like a good idea until you realize the only person sleeping is the baby and you and your spouse are living on different planets and WHY can he sleep through all the kicks/grunts/screams?!? But that is not the point here.

Lucy is new to Key West. She has been living with my MIL for the last year and has had constant canine companionship. When we got here, she was lonely. What an understatement. She wouldn't eat and was generally despondent. I felt for her. Getting another dog is not an option so I just try to give her as much attention as I can throughout the day. Oh, and she sleeps with us. Isn't that what I am trying to get to here?

So, it's bedtime. Jordan and I are worlds apart on either side of our king size bed, just like I like it. Look, people don't sleep all spooned up like they do in the movies. And anyway, I just got the baby out of my bed so let me breathe! I suppose I do enjoy a little cuddling before I'm ready to sleep but LOOK! Lucy and Jordan are spooning! UGH! Fine, you two can stay over there and cuddle all you want. ... I'm talking to myself, in my head. I start to wonder what my baby is doing. I lay very still and don't hear a peep. I then start to think about why Lucy seems to like Jordan better than me. Come to think of it, Jacob likes him better too. How did this happen!? Never mind, I'm tired. I'm ready to sleep. But did I put those clothes in the dryer? I won't bore you but some questioning of my day goes on at this point when suddenly, the sheets rustle and Jordan has rolled over, turning his back on Lucy and me. He's asleep. He's snoring. Lucy needs somewhere to go. Alright! I'll snuggle you. Lucy rolls over on her back and puts her head on my pillow like a little human. A baby. She has somehow managed to pin my right arm down. She is snoring. I don't move. I wonder why I bothered to move Jacob to his crib.

And there I will stay until the sun rises.

Our 1st Week in KW

Our first days back on the island were a lot of fun. We had yet to move and no one was sick or stressed out. Jordan got Jacob a little skateboard for Christmas and he has been fearless with it. (That's why he is attempting to skate on the rug...)

Jacob has been his daddy's shadow from the start. Here he is taking Jordan's cues in playing a little Super Mario.

I thought it was hilarious how intent he was. He's a very serious guy.
I had nothing to do with this set up. He is looking at a little activity book he got at Home Depot. He climbed up there and looked at it intently for 5 or 10 minutes. (The book isn't upside down. It's in English and Spanish. The English side is right side up.)
The first Saturday of every month, Home Depot hosts a free kids workshop where they get to do a craft and wear a very official Home Depot apron. Jacob wasn't quite ready for what we built this month so Jordan built the whole thing with little to no interest or participation from Jacob. He was more concerned with the other children there and taking things off the shelves. We will be going back next weekend and will continue to attempt the workshops each month to see how he does.

I have seen huge developmental changes in him in the short month we have been here so I am interested to see if he is more engaged at the next workshop. He will be wearing his apron again. It even has his name on it. Maybe he has a future as a Home Depot employee. ;)

Key West fast food

I haven't been in Key West that long so I can't really comment on all the tourist-y things to do here...YET. What I can tell you ALL about is the fast food selection here. This is important because there will come a point in your vacation where you feel so over this island and the $40 plates of seafood you have been eating. You just want a little taste of home, right? A Big Mac and some TV in your hotel room and Dear God when is my flight leaving? So, for your last night in Key West, let me suggest a nice fast food meal and some Jersey Shore re-runs.

This is in order of arrival to Key West. When you dead end and turn right onto Roosevelt getting into Key West the first thing you will see (on your left) is:

McDonald's! I have nothing bad to say about Mickey D's. I will admit that we ate McDonald's at least once a day the whole week of our move and umm, we are still eating it maybe twice a week. This is always our top breakfast pick and their coffee selection is very impressive! It's like the poor man's Starbucks. They have this new drink called a frappe (pronounced frah-pay...I know, I was corrected..) which is like a frappucino (duh???) and it is DELISH. Yes, you can get these anywhere in the country/world but I'm just telling you the Key West McDonald's is clean and delicious. If you need fast food breakfast or coffee any time of the day, hit it up!
*SIDE NOTE: There is a Starbucks in Key West located on the corner of Fleming and Duval. There is no parking and it is difficult to get to unless you are on foot so I have been to Starbucks a total of 1 time. It was a delicious time and I miss you, Starbucks but I can't go through all the trouble to get to you on a regular basis. McDonald's is my new coffee spot.

Wendy's. In my experience, this Wendy's is sketchy. There has been something missing from my order EVERY TIME and I'm talking, fries, nuggets...the good stuff. C'mon! The food is okay but my real beef with this Wendy's is the FROSTY-CINO. OMG. Jordan bought me one of these the other day, thinking it looked like the McD's frappe so it must be good, right? NO. Wendy's lost my patronage forever when I tasted that frosty-cino. It's so wrong. I can't even think of non-vulgar words to describe it so I won't. But please, do yourself a favor and NEVER order a frosty-cino and actually, I would steer clear of this Wendy's all together. Especially if you have a Wendy's in your hometown that you actually like. Just don't do it!
*SIDE NOTE: There is a Wendy's at the corner of Duval and Eaton that I have not been to. It might be better but I can't vouch for it. The one I am referring to is on Roosevelt in the Publix shopping center.

Quiznos. This is also in the Publix shopping center. It's good. It's Quizno's. Nothing special about it. Further down the road is a Subway in the K-Mart shopping center and it's good too. Again, nothing special. If you like either of these places in your hometown, you'll be good here. Of course, we all know Quizno's is more expensive and has more options so keep that in mind. You can easily double your bill at Quizno's vs. Subway.

Checkers. This is a Florida thing. Might be a dirty south thing. I'm not really familiar with the fast food geography of the US unless it is TX, FL or somewhere in between but I KNOW they are in Florida and it is GOOD! Jordan claims that Checkers has the best french fries. I disagree, but we'll get to that in a minute. They have an amazing banana milkshake that is the bomb.com! I would drink that thing every day if I could. If you don't have a Checkers where you came from, I would definitely recommend checking it out. They have a really friendly staff, too.

Burger King. BK has the best fries, in my humble opinion. This is true of any BK and the one here doesn't disappoint. I would choose to eat here just for the fries. They also have a good breakfast selection but I wouldn't choose it over McDonald's. The Mocha Joe is good and comparable to McD's iced mocha. I wouldn't say one is better than the other. AND OMG they have a cupcake milkshake! We only got it once. I drank all of mine and then half of Jordan's. ... *crickets chirping* ... I don't wanna talk about it! BUT it was really, really good and if your BK offers it, get one!

We ARE alive!

I'm failing miserably at my resolution to update this blog regularly! 2010 has been jam-packed for us so far and I haven't had the time or energy to write an interesting post. We are totally moved into our new house and *almost* totally unpacked. We are now are on a serious hunt for a couch and some other miscellaneous furniture to make this place more home-y. The day we started moving (January 5), Jacob came down with a cold. I followed suit and soon after that Jordan got sick too. That certainly put a damper on the moving process. Jacob is thankfully all better now but Jordan and I still have lingering symptoms.

Jacob's room is the only completed room in our house right now and it looks really cute! He is sleeping in his crib for about 12 hours each night. This morning, I went in to get him at 7 and he was standing up in his crib but he was in a cheerful mood. Usually, he cries in the morning and then is grumpy and wants to be held for awhile. What can I say? I'm not a morning person either... but good mornings like these keep me optimistic for the future! :)

Over the weekend, Jordan built this amazing work bench from "scratch" or, I should say without any instructions? A blue print? He bought this wood at Home Depot and built a table out of it with just an idea in his head! It turned out way better than he was expecting it to and I was shocked and amazed because when he said "work bench" I certainly wasn't picturing this end result! It is really big: Jacob can walk under it with room to spare and he is about 32" tall. Jordan has been coating it in polyurethane for the last few days and he is nearly done. I will post some pictures of the finished product. I'm really proud of him!

We are really enjoying having a 1-story home. I can do my chores and let Jacob run free. He has gotten much better at entertaining himself and sometimes Lucy will run around with him if he isn't being too rough.

Moving in

We are totally moved out of our old house! It's time for all the fun stuff now...unpacking and decorating. I can't wait to make this house a home! Jacob and I both have colds. I tweeted a few days ago that Jordan was sick as well but it seems that was a 1 day thing. Lucky him! I will be taking Jacob to the doctor in the morning.


He wore this hat for a good chunk of the afternoon. He has had it for awhile but never wanted to wear it. He's a funny one! (and yes his nose is running, forgive me)


This is the living room right now. Ummm....
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Moving update

Here is Jacob reading some books in his old room.


Hey everyone! We are back in Key West now, suffering through some unseasonably cold weather ;) It is moving week for us and Jacob conveniently caught a cold yesterday. He has been clingy and generally unhappy the last 2 days. So moving hasn't been much fun! We (mostly Jordan) have accomplished a lot already and hopefully will be done moving by tomorrow so we can get the old house cleaned up by the weekend. Whew! Moving is tiring and stressful! I can't tell you how relieving it is to know we have a (somewhat) permanent home for the next year and a half. Once we get the Internet up and running I will post some pics of the things we have been doing since we got here. If you are my friend on facebook you may have already seen these pictures. Back to packing for me!

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