Nicole Tasker Woods

Holding him while we rock in the chair around 9pm each night is my favorite part of his routine. He’s so soft and clean and warm after his bath. His hair smells super sweet.

Although I’m tired, my body aches and I still have a long list of things to do around the house before I can lie down and relax, this time with Aidan is so special to me. I love talking to him about his day and what he will do & see the following day.

I do not like when he holds up his milk cup and says ‘done’ because I do not want that moment to end. When he’s done with his milk, he’s so anxious to grab his blankie, slide off my lap and run into his room so he can jump into his bed (giggling the whole way).

He says ‘covers’ but doesn’t really want covers. He wants me to hold them up above his legs as he lies flat on his bed, and right when I lay the covers over him, he lifts his legs up over his head. This game goes on about 6 or 7 times until Cali comes in to see what the ruckus is about. When he finally allows the covers to drape over his body, I kneel down on his bed to give him a hug and a kiss and tell him I love him.

I do not like closing the door and leaving him in his room – even though he does not mind at all. I’d really like to scoop him up and sit with him a little longer.

So on those rare evenings when I hear him cry an hour after I’ve put him to bed, I’m not upset. Ryan may go in to rescue Aidan from whatever bad dream he had, but he still calls for me and says ‘rock’ – and in that moment, I’m always happy to oblige.

BREAKFAST: McDonald’s Egg McMuffin (without the egg), hash brown, orange juice, yogurt parfait.

LUNCH: Hamburger with mayonnaise, pickles, tomatoes – french fries smothers with Parmesan cheese & garlic aioli.

SNACK: Two (count ’em – 2!) chocolate chip cookies from Mrs. Fields.

DINNER: Not for my fat @$$!

I’m convinced that I’m going to win it big playing Monopoly @ McDonald’s.  I’ve already started collecting those game pieces. You may be laughing at me now, but when I’m rollin’ in my new Fiat or speed boat, you won’t be laughing then, now will you?

Momma comes to California in 3 weeks for a short stay and then to steal my son! Woot woot!!!

I’ll admit, I’m a tiny bit excited about Aidan spending some quality time with his Grammy Di & Grampa Jeff. Ryan & I are looking forward to a week off. We love Aidan and we have so much fun with the little dude, but we are tired. We need to regain our strength. We need to not have parental responsibilities for 7 days. That’s all.

I have this grand idea about who I’ll be hanging with and at what clubs I’ll be rockin’ at when I don’t have the A-man at home waiting for me to return.  But knowing me, I’ll spend each and every night in bed, eating bon-bon’s, drinking ginger ale. You know why? Because I can! No wet diapers to clean, no snot to wipe up, no hugs to give…sniff, sniff…wow, I think I might miss the little guy! Love you Big A!

My kid is obsessed with having us cut tags off the inside of his shirts and shorts. Even if a tag isn’t there, he will grab at the fabric and say, “tag?”

He had one really itchy tag and now he is laser focused on every single stitch of clothing he puts on and whether or not it has a tag.

He will also walk around holding a juice cup to his mouth with one hand and the other hand will be down the backside of his diaper.  WTF?!

I told you about my speed-demon ways last week and I finally took my Traffic School internet course a few days ago. It’s supposed to be an 8-hour course, but it’s really just a lot of reading and then some mini 5-question quizzes after each chapter. These quizzes are to prepare you for the final exam of 25 questions, which is timed for 60 minutes. You can review the chapters throughout the final test to make sure you answer every question correctly, but a lot of them are confusing or have multiple answers and ‘All of the Above’ is the most correct answer. I hate multiple choice. Always have. Always will.

In order to pass the mini quizzes, you need to get a score of 70% or better and then you are allowed to move on to the next chapter.  I only got a 60% on the first quiz and realized I couldn’t just skip the reading. So I went back and paid a little more attention, but still skipped some chunks along the way. I have a job to do! I’m a busy girl! Hence the speeding…

When all is said and done and passed at 70% or better, the site sends your completed course credit to the DMV and squashes the record of the ticket so your car insurance is not adversely affected. This would be good news for me after I got a score of 92%, but my 2nd speeding ticket WILL affect my car insurance so I’m screwed either way. That’s neither here nor there.

I just thought I’d mention that I sped through the final exam in about 27 seconds and still got well over the minimum score. Take that traffic school!

The A-man has started to pronounce 2 syllable words very well. First it was TABLE, then the other day he said HIPPO, ZEBRA and RHINO flawlessly. I couldn’t believe it. Ryan & A were watching Madagascar and this was helping him brush up on his animal names. Right before my eyes he is growing up from a baby to a little boy.

But whenever I ask him, “Are you a baby or a big boy?” he says “baby!”

He is my baby boy – I don’t ever want him to grow up and leave me. Stay young forever my son.

It’s official – Aidan & I are going to Aruba! It’s been years since I’ve felt the warm sunny rays of the Aruba sun and I can not wait to share this extraordinary beach experience with my son. Just me & the Big A. Yay!

We fly out on my birthday, January 24th and then fly back on February 1st. It’ll be a week of warm bliss, vacationing with my folks. I’ve wanted to visit them on their yearly Aruba trip for some time now and I finally get to go! Aidan will be such a fish, he’ll be one beautiful baby-prune for 8 straight days. We won’t be able to get him off the beach or out of the pool. He’ll be in little boy heaven.

I decided to surrender my usual travel plans during the Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays and opt for a week in Aruba. I think I made a good decision!

Tonight, Aidan & I (along with friends of ours, Tim & Katie) will fly from Burbank to Sacramento. Ryan is going to meet us at the airport after driving up north from Los Angeles Thursday morning. He will pick us up and we will drive to Amador City where we will check into our hotel. We will not have any cell reception and very sketchy wi-fi so this weekend will be a true vacation away from work and all of our daily obligations. I’m looking forward to the inability to check my cell phone and reply to work emails.

Friday morning, we will get up at the crack of dawn, get rafting-ready in our swimsuits and sunblock and drive to the river. We will hopefully survive the white water rapids and surely be sore by the end of the day.

Saturday is a free day for everyone without any set plans. I intend to spend it with my son, exploring the town, shopping and eating ice cream. If that’s not the perfect way to spend a Saturday, I don’t know what is!

Then Sunday, the four of us will fly back to Burbank and then Aidan & I will load up into our car and drive home.

I’ll admit, I like to drive fast.

I’ve gotten two speeding tickets in the past two months. Insane, I KNOW!

I had no idea I was such a reckless driver until I got the 2nd ticket. After the 1st one, I was convinced the cop was being a jerk, but after the 2nd…well…maybe I should slow down?

Now, when I head to work and get on the freeway, I get cruising at 70mph and set it in cruise-control. I sit up straight, both hands on the wheel and both feet flat on the ground. My posture is much better since this new, slower me has emerged. And when I’m on the city streets with the limit of 35mph, I hover right around 30. I refuse to get another ticket! I think one more and they might suspend my license. No bueno!