No Mistakes Allowed!

Yesterday, I had something happen to me that really scared me, and really got me thinking. I was driving home from work headed to the gym. Our old governor had installed speed cameras on the freeways, and since then everyone drives 10 miles under the limit, so I was trying to get around some people, and when I moved over I cut off a truck (I DID NOT see this guy, I don't go around cutting people off for fun). So this guy honks and proceeds to tailgate me all the way to the gym. I pull into my parking spot and he stops his truck behind me so even if I wanted to I couldn't get out. He comes to my window. I decided when he continued following me off the highway that I was going to play dumb and just apologize, because I really didn't mean to do it, and wouldn't have moved over if I knew he was there. The conversation goes something like this:

Me: Yes?
Guy: You cut me off back there.
Me: Did I? I'm really sorry. I didn't see you.
Guy: You didn't see me? I laid on my horn. You've got kids in the backseat.
Me: Look, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. I've got this . . . (intending to say something about my carseat and my blind spot, which is really big)
Guy: Yeah, you've got that. You almost took my front bumper off, then you're weaving all over like a moron.
Me: (I'm getting irritated now) I didn't see you. I'm sorry, now if you'll excuse me. (And I roll up my window.)
Guy: You should apologize to the kid.
Me: (very sarcastic) You know what, I will.

And that was it, he walked away. It's not saying much for him that he followed me for a good 5 miles or so, probably going out of his way, just because I cut him off. And he had someone in the car with him that looked like a young person - maybe a teenager, maybe early twenties or so, female. That says a lot about him by doing that in front of what could have been his child. Anyway, I go into the gym and have John come outside with me (he was already working out). I'm shaking like crazy and almost crying because I'm totally freaked out. I told him what happened and he gets pissed. My anger hit me later on. He wishes he would have been outside when it happened, and I do too. John is much bigger than this guy was. But it's probably better that he wasn't. Of course, I am not the best on my feet, and am now constantly thinking of things that I could have said to him. Most of them are smart-ass remarks, so it's definitely better that I didn't say anything to provoke him.

It also got me thinking about other things, especially about the world in general. I'm not going into some deep philosophical thing, but it just makes me wonder if we're allowed to make mistakes anymore. Seriously. People mess up. It's not intentional. Why do we have to get so upset by it? Just let it go. Don't live your life all hopped up on anger. I used to be the kind that would get so mad when someone did that to me, but now I stop and take a breath and just let it go. I am a much calmer and happier person for it.

This is just another reason why we want to get out of Arizona. I know that this could happen anywhere, but it seems like the people here are just much more unfriendly and rude, both on the road and off. I've thought that almost since the moment I moved here.

So the moral of this story is this: If someone makes a mistake or upsets you, stop. Take a breath and try to see where they were coming from. Maybe they really didn't mean to.

BRAT

No, I'm not talking about the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) that you give your kid when they have diarrhea. I'm talking about my daughter. In the last couple of months she has really started to show her true colors, if you will. While the majority of the time she is a wonderfully happy child, and is well-behaved, we've really started to see her personality when she is not happy. She has a very short temper (just like her daddy) and she is not afraid to show you her disapproval of something. What?, you say. This sweet little face?
Yes. This sweet little face. Apparently at daycare, so I've been told, she gets angry and will yell if another of the kids touches her. She also will throw toys if she is not happy. We see this all the time. She'll be upset, so we'll try to distract her with something. She will grab that item and throw it down. If it makes noise, even better. She wants her way, and she wants it now. We think she may even be a bully. How is that when her mom was such a sweet child? It takes two, people. And from the stories I've heard, she gets this from her daddy too. The daycare people also tell us that she takes another kids pacifier and doesn't want to give it up. Luckily, they laugh and think all of this is funny.

The pictures above were from the hockey game we went to last week. She really seems to enjoy the games, even though we can only stay for the first period because it gets too late for her. We also took her to an organic farmer's market on Friday. She wasn't quite sure what to think of all the people talking to her, but she looked awfully cute in her ladybug stuff.

I love this picture. I just wish it wasn't blurry.

Olivia is not crawling yet, but just this weekend she started pushing herself backwards. She doesn't get up on her knees so she looks kind of like a seal, but at least she can move. Unfortunately it's backwards so then she gets frustrated as the toys get further away. She'll figure it out. Now I just need to get her to hold her own bottle on a consistent basis and we're set!

Liars

Yes, I know. I am woefully behind on blogging. But really, nothing has been happening out here. Olivia is getting bigger, the Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl. Wait, what?! It must be a cold day in hell because it's true. How it happened, no one really knows, but it is pretty exciting. I hope they do well, and if they don't win, I hope they at least make it a game.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Olivia. One of my coworkers got her the shirt she is wearing below. It is her very first Polo shirt. It's a 12m. She is only 7 1/2 months. She is wearing anywhere from 9-18 month clothes depending on the brand.

She is not crawling yet, but we don't think it will be long before she is. She scoots around on the floor and when she reaches out for something in front of her she almost does the splits. She is halfway to the crawling position and John and I think that one day she will accidentally fall into it. When that happens we are in trouble. So is Elvis.

Olivia was also sick again. Yes, again. We can't seem to keep the poor thing healthy. It's that daycare. She had a fever, cough and runny nose which led to a trip to the urgent care place and then her dr.'s office. Luckily it wasn't RSV or the flu. She is doing much better now, but I think we're all just waiting for the next round.

She still loves her baths and she has graduated to not using an infant tub. It is just her and her toys splashing around in the tub.

You know that old saying that kids make liars out of you? Well it's definitely true. I think that I mentioned before that Olivia literally gagged when I gave her sweet potatoes. I am going to clarify that. She gagged when she ate the sweet potatoes that I MADE for her. I decided to try some jarred ones to see how she did because sometimes it takes them a while to get used to a flavor. She ate them all with not one strange face. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that she didn't really eat any of the food that I made for her. I can't explain why - maybe the texture or something - but she eats everything else. And she likes everything. Watch - she'll not like the next thing I try to give her.

A Celebration of Busha

My grandmother, Busha as we call her, passed away on December 18th. She was an incredible woman - a nurse, first generation American, mom, and grandma. She was with us much longer than anyone, least of all her, ever expected and all of us are extremely grateful for that.

John, Olivia and I had planned on spending a quiet Christmas at home but those plans changed. We flew into Austin on December 21 where we stayed with my sister and brother. We had a really good dinner at Shady Grove (awesome - if you ever get to Austin you should go). On Monday morning we drove to San Antonio where we met my parents at Garcia's restaurant (check out another blog I contribute to for more info: http://friendstraveling.blogspot.com/). The funeral Mass was held at 2:30 on Monday. It started with a beautiful Rosary led by my cousin MaryBeth. Father Jimmy, who performed the Mass was awesome, as always. He did my grandfathers as well and is an adopted member of the family. John and Noel were the designated babysitters and I give them so much credit having to entertain a 7 month and 14 month old for almost 2 hours in a church. Thank you!

After the funeral we headed to my Uncle Rich and Aunt Sandra's house where ALL OF US (all 23 people) were staying for the night. My family is the best so we were all so excited for this. And I was not disappointed. We all get along so well. Aunt Sandra made her incredible gumbo and there was plenty of other food and drink to go around. Here are some pictures from the night:

We just wanted to get a shot of the way Danny was sitting. Hmmmm.

The cousins. Rarely are we all together so it was special that we could be, especially at Christmas time.

The following day was Busha's burial at Fort Sam Houston Cemetary in San Antonio. She is buried with my grandfather. The interment ceremony was short but very nice and afterwards almost everyone piled into Garcia's (yes, two days in a row for us - it's soooo good). They barely had room for all of us but we made it work. Garcia's Specials and Big Red (almost) all around.

Olivia's second taste of Garcia's. She wanted what Mom and Dad had on their plates.

After Garcia's we drove back to Austin where we stayed at Ryan's house for a couple of days. We attended Christmas Eve Mass at Ryan's church, St. Thomas More, and then went to a nice dinner at Cool River Cafe. I, of course, had an appletini (I can't help it, I'm a sucker for those) and nice steak, but Olivia got fussy toward the end so no dessert at the restaurant. The picture below is pre-dinner on Christmas Eve. She is wearing my Coyotes sock hat and is missing a shoe. Olivia has started gnawing on things a lot more than she used to. I'm hoping that means that her teeth are going to come through soon.

On Christmas day we went to my Uncle Larry and Aunt Laurie's house for dinner. Uncle Larry made pheasant and it was delicious. Of course, we had snails as well, as it is a Glomski family tradition, though some who married into the family still don't get it. My Aunt and Uncle have a great view of a golf course from their back patio and it was a beautiful day to sit outside and watch the deer come up to the houses and watch Olivia laugh hysterically at Ellie and the dogs. We flew home the evening of Christmas but it was all worth it. We had such a fun time with family honoring and remember Busha and what she and Dzia Dzia (pronounced Ja Ja) did for all of us.

Elmo was a gift from Jason, Noel and Ellie. She loves him!