Happy 11 Month Birthday Tyler!

Happy 11 month Bday Tyler! I can't believe that in just one month our little Tman will be a year old! Plans for his Winter ONEderland celebration are in full swing! I cannot wait for the party!

Tyler is trying REALLY REALLY hard to walk these days. He's into anything and everything! I'm hoping he'll be taking those first steps by December 18th but if I've learned anything over the past year it's that kids do things when they're ready...not when we're ready.

The past couple of weekends have been a lot of fun. We've stayed here in ATL and done our usual Saturday morning walks to Dunkin Donuts and Waffle Sundays.

The weekend of the 13th I attended Roberta's Bridal Luncheon and we had Steph and Pat over for dinner! We also watched the SC vs. FL game which clenched South Carolina's chance at an SEC Championship for the first time...in forever! I'm so excited for my Gamecocks! Sunday's play date to the zoo was derailed by the pulled muscle in my back...you should have seen Ben, Tyler and I walking into the ER at 6am decked out in our PJ's! But a few muscle relaxers and I was back to business within a day or two.

Last weekend Nana and Papa came to visit so that Ben and I could go see Harry Potter! We tried Studio Movie Grill...a bar, restaurant, movie theater kind of deal. It was neat, and convenient for those of us that don't want to stay up too late (lame I know). We were fed, movie'ed, and in bed by 11. That's what happens when your up at 6am everyday!

Saturday evening we went over to Steph and Pat's for chili. Andy and Angela were also in attendance and it was nice to catch up with them! Tyler had his first ear infection on Saturday though, so we called it an early night.

Sunday Tyler and I went shopping while Daddy watched the Skins play.

Next blog post will be Tyler's first Thanksgiving!!! Happy Turkey Day to us all!!!

Frustrations

That's exactly how I feel right now...frustrated! For those out there that know me, you know that I'm quite the organizer "Type A" personality...I'm one of those people that likes to have all of my ducks in a row! For things to be out of whack...well it bothers me...a lot!

Forgive me while I vent, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want! I do know that the Sullivans are very VERY blessed. We have a beautiful home, friends and family that love us, a happy marriage and a healthy son! But when you are jobless...or jobless effective Jan 1st, the pressure to find something fast is a bit intense! We will be fine financially for a while but the stress of "will I find the perfect job again?" is looming in the air.

I've definitely gone through the different stages of grief over losing my job...

Anger, depression, denial...all that good stuff. Thank goodness for Ben and Tyler! Having a son and husband that love you have really helped me through this. And it's times like these that you know who your true friends are!

I think what some people don't realize is that losing your job (something that takes up 40+hours of your week) is a huge loss! Not to mention the friendships with coworkers that (let's face it) won't be the same once you don't speak with each other everyday.

But now that I'm actually getting interviews things have started to get better! A lot better!

However, I never knew such physical ramifications that can come with stress once you pass 30! Yes, I'm blaming it on age...I certainly don't remember these types of things happening when I was studying for finals in college!

In the past week, I've popped a blood vessel in my eye and thrown out my back...not to mention the fact that I'm breaking out like a 13 year old!

Goodness gracious, I'll be glad when I can look back on all of this as a learning experience!

But until then, I know that I have family and some good friends to get me through!

Bachelorettes and Birthdays

The Sullivan clan laid pretty low after Halloween but we did have some fun last weekend here in Atlanta!

Friday night was what we've designated as "Family Pho Night"!!

Tyler has made friends with all the waitresses in the restaurant...they love him!

Saturday Ben stayed with Tyler so that I could attend the Bachelorette party of our good friend Roberta. Ben had just been to Vegas for her fiancee Mike's party, so he was on Daddy duty for the night while Mommy hit the town.

We had a great time! The night included dinner at Loca Luna and stops at The Three Legged Cowboy and Swinging Richards....no I'm not lying...that's their names!

Sunday I wasn't feeling so hot, but we still managed to make it out next door neighbor's birthday party for their daughter Maddie. She turned two and her mom Melanie created a "make your own" grilled cheese sandwich buffet. Tyler had a great time hanging with all the babies and tore up his first grilled cheese sandwich!

Happy Halloween!!!

What a fun Halloween weekend for us! It was Tyler's first Halloween and he had a blast!

Our week started off with a work trip for me. I was gone to Raleigh and Fayetteville on Monday and came home Tuesday night.

I met with some executives about job leads...now I'm just hoping and praying constantly that I get a bite before the end of the year.

Wednesday night I made stuffed peppers and we carved pumpkins...correction...Ben carved pumpkins. But he did a GREAT job and we had some of the coolest pumpkins on the neighborhood block! Thursday Ben headed off to Vegas for our friend Mike's bachelor party! He was there for two nights and had a great time gambling, sleeping in, drinking, watching sports and visiting the store made famous on Pawn Stars! He also brought me home a gorgeous necklace and two onesies for Tyler! I'm a very lucky girl.

While Ben was playing in Vegas, Tyler and I had some great quality time together. On Thursday night we met our friend Emma and her little girl Isabella at Gymboree for a Halloween party! Saturday morning we met our friends Jill and Josh for breakfast at Flying Biscuit in Buckhead. They were in town from DC for the weekend and it was great to catch up. After breakfast Tyler and I headed to Spartanburg for trick or treat in Nana and Papa's neighborhood. We all dressed up as chefs and went around the neighborhood collecting treats. Tyler was fully decked out in his lobster costume and loved every minute of it...which really surprised me. He normally HATES things on his head but had no problem this time! Aunt Kelly came along too dressed as a pirate! We got lots of compliments on our costumes and my parents ran out of candy from the massive amounts of kids who came by the house.

Sunday, we went to church then Tyler and I hit the road back to Atlanta. When we got home daddy was there to greet us!

Sunday night Roberta came over to hand out candy to the trick or treaters so that Ben and I could take Tyler to our neighborhood Halloween party and go trick or treating as a family. It was a great night, and we too ran out of candy from the massive amounts of kids in the neighborhood!

So, Tyler's first Halloween was a big hit! We had so much fun with him...I'm already brainstorming ideas for next year!

PS- I would be the worst friend ever if I didn't give my friend Amanda a shout out! She came home for a visit from Chicago last weekend and I completely forgot to update everyone on our fabulous lunch in Historic Roswell on Friday (we ran into Steph and Pat too) and her visit with Tyler on Sunday! We miss you and love you Aunt Amanda!!!