Random Bits

I Spy Book {kid crafts}

2012-02-02T11:20:00.000-06:00

My mom sent Ophelia an I Spy book about a year ago. She loves it. She flips through the book, pointing out different things on the pages. The I Spy books are really big, though, and certainly not suited to air travel. I'm a crafty girl and I had an idea in mind before one of our long plane trips last year. The original book kept Phee entertained for quite a while and that would be quite useful for the plane. So, I got my magazines and scissors out and started finding little pictures to make Phee her own little I Spy book.

It took a lot more pictures than I thought it would. I had to go back twice to find more things. I also needed very small pictures- lots smaller than I'd originally thought.

So, here's what I did.

I created a 6 inch x 6 inch text box in Publisher. Then I found some pictures of things I didn't think I'd be able to find in magazines: Elmo, baseballs, footballs, a zamboni (she likes sports!), Fraggles. Those photos were printed on the 6 x 6 pages. Then, I just started gluing the magazine cut outs onto the pages.

I made sure there was white space around every image and that none were touching. That way Phee has lots to look at, but the pages don't get messy with images running together.

After the pages were finished, I created another 6 x 6 page and made a cover for the book using printed images. I laminated the pages and used rings to bind the book.

Ophelia loved it! She looked at it for most of the two flights we had for the trip last year. It's a car book for her now and she discovers it in her basket of car toys every few weeks. She'll still look through it for long stretches at a time. It's not as big of a hit as it was a year ago, but it's still fun. And, for the great entertainment and quiet time it provided on the plane last year, it was definitely worth my time to create it for her.

Wordless Wednesday {balloons}

2012-02-01T09:01:00.000-06:00

Growing Pains

2012-01-31T08:44:00.001-06:00

Ophelia loves her school. She has such fun and she's learned so much. And she adores Ms. Sadie, her teacher.

But, we've been looking into a French immersion Montessori school for her. French is the only other language Doug or I can speak. He's decent. I understand what he's saying sometimes. Ophelia understands him quite well when he speaks to her in French. She also generally ignores it which means she's capable of ignoring us in two languages now. Ophelia has a growing collection of French books and a set of DVDs which she asks to watch all the time. I'm learning along with her, which is a huge benefit of all these materials. Sadly, my pronunciation is less than stellar and makes Doug shake his head more often than not. Still, I'm trying.

Saturday, we went to an open house at the French school. Ophelia walked right in, took off her coat and started playing. She barely surveyed the room before she dove right in. Parents were milling around while kids played. Usually, with that many adults around, she's a little more prone to stay close to us. Not Saturday! I stepped into a different room to sign in and grab some info and when I came back, Ophelia was hugging the director's leg. We think that she thought it was me, but even when she saw me come out of the other room, she just looked up at the director, smiled and then yelled, "Mommy!" and we played some more.

In the end, she didn't want to leave, asking to play "two more minutes." (And, big success, she used a regular potty and not a small training potty while we were there!)

I've been somewhat apprehensive about sending Ophelia to another school. I'm spoiled- her current school is on the campus of the church where I work. There's no extra drive time in our day since she gets dropped off and I just have to walk down the parking lot to my office. We had the opportunity to enroll her in the French school for January and in the end I decided that I wasn't ready. I don't want to give up another hour of time with her every day with the extra driving. I already feel like I don't have enough time with her some weeks and I hate to cut into what we do have. I know that she'll flourish at this new school, though, and that she's up for the challenge of learning a second language. The decision simply came down to the fact that I'm not ready.

But she was so happy and excited on Saturday. I don't think I'll be ready even in September, but, as it's been with most big changes, Ophelia will drag me along with her. And it will be fine. She's ready for these changes and challenges. I know that. I know that she relishes the opportunity to learn and explore and I have no desire to hold her back.

Mostly, I just want to hold her. It's hard to do that with such and independent child, though. So, I'll be preparing to hold her hand while we run into the next big adventure this fall. I know it will be fun and she will enjoy it. In the end, I think I probably will, too. As soon as I get over those "first day of school" tears.

Sugar Scrub {diy}

2012-01-26T13:29:00.000-06:00

My hands get terribly dry in the winter. Painfully dry. It's mostly the weather, but working in an office with lots of paper all day doesn't help. I hate it! I'm a lotion snob and can't stand anything the slightest bit greasy. I also can't stand to have any on my palms, so after I rub all the lotion in, I have to rinse off just my palms so they don't feel wet and slimy. I'm a little OCD, I know, but what're ya gonna do?

A couple years ago, as part of my plan to make some Christmas gifts, I came across a few different recipes for a sugar scrub. Based on those, I came up with my own recipe: olive oil, turbinado sugar, regular sugar and lavender essential oil. I love giving it away as gifts, but I'm always sure to keep a jar in the bathroom for myself. I love it! It makes my hands so smooth and soft.

It's hard to measure this recipe, but it's super easy to make. Find a jar that you want to reuse. Wider mouths work better, but as long as you can get your fingers into the jar to scoop some scrub out, you're all set. Fill the jar about 3/4 full with turbinado sugar. Add a couple teaspoons of regular white sugar. (Or skip this step. I only add it because it makes the whole thing a little sparkly and I like that.) Dump the sugar back out into a bowl and start adding olive oil a few drops at a time. Thoroughly mix the oil into the sugar until you get a wet, but not soaked, consistency. Add a few drops of your choice of essential oil and stir again. Scoop the scrub back into the jar and you're all set for smooth, soft hands!

Wordless Wednesday {pure joy in silliness}

2012-01-25T16:32:00.000-06:00

New Year Planning

2012-01-24T14:21:00.000-06:00

Goals, resolutions, planning...at some point early each year, most people give some consideration to these things. With the new year comes inspiration and hope. And, if you're lucky, you got some Christmas presents that spur you on to organize, de-clutter and make those changes you think about all the time.

It doesn't matter what you call it- setting goals, making resolutions- it's a plan to better yourself. The key to that is accountability and consistency. I'm working on those myself this year.

I want to be healthier. That's a multifaceted task that people get frustrated with and give up on quickly every year. I'm trying to take it slow, in small steps in order to realize this goal. I'm spending more time planning meals and snacks, menu planning for the week and finding recipes full of fruits and veggies. The consistency of those weekly tasks is working itself into a habit. Exercise will follow. It gets worked in where it can right now. I'm still trying to figure out the way to work it in regularly with a full time job, side projects and a growth-spurting toddler who just moved into her new bed. I know it will fall into place soon and when it does, I will have a good foundation of healthier eating in place.

I want to use my master's degree. That's another multifaceted, nebulous project. I'm brainstorming right now and starting some networking activities and research. As much as I always thought I'd be a children's librarian, I don't think a traditional librarian career is how it's going to shake out for me in the end. And I'm okay with that (finally). I'm exploring what a non-traditional role might look like and how I will define it for myself. Whether this research turns into a career is entirely up to me. I'm making myself work on it every day, at least a little bit, so that the business of trying to create a business becomes a habit and constant part of my life. The continual learning, reading and dreaming is what's going to grow my big ideas. I have to hold myself accountable for making it happen.

This blog is going to be a way for me to keep track of ideas, follow my growth, share business. I've had many blogs before. Each, including this one, was updated with varying regularity. All eventually tapered off to nothing. Though I enjoy blogging, real life has gotten in the way quite often. Or I've lost inspiration. I want this blog to help me with my planning for my goals and ideas. This will be my record of success for the new year. So, welcome back to my Random Bits.

Coffee Filter Wreath

2011-06-30T22:34:00.001-05:00

I started a coffee filter wreath about six months ago and just finished it in the last week. It's really a pretty simple project and it turned out pretty well.

I have finished pictures, but not pictures of the process. I'll put the materials and basic directions below, but you can find this project all over the internet with pictures of the process and different or more detailed directions.

Materials
*foam wreath form- size and shape are up to you
*coffee filters- white or brown, your choice
*hot glue gun
*ribbon for hanging the wreath if you choose
*bow, decorative details- whatever you might like to add to your wreath to finish it
*pins or little floral stakes to affix the decorative elements to the wreath

Directions
Essentially, you just "crunch" the filter up, sort of folding it in on itself and then hot glue the bottom of the filter to the wreath form. And repeat about 100-150 times. If you plan on hanging this with ribbon, tie the ribbon around the wreath form before you begin gluing the filters.

I discovered that one row of filters around the wreath form isn't enough to cover the entire form. That's what I did to begin with and you could still see the green wreath form from the middle and sides when it was hanging on the door. So, be sure to do a couple rows on the wreath form so that the wreath is full.

After you've filled in your wreath form, add whatever decorative elements you'd like to the wreath. I used fabric flowers I found with the scrapbooking supplies at Michael's. Depending on what you choose, you may need some pins or little stakes to stick them on the wreath.

That's it. It's a fairly fast and easy project. The hardest part is not burning yourself with the hot glue gun. At least it was for me.

Mr & Mrs

2011-06-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

Zach and Monica got married on Saturday!

We flew out last Wednesday evening, hoping that evening flights would mean a sleeping Ophelia. Ha. She was absolutely amazing, though, reading books, looking out the window and playing with us for the longest leg of the trip to Ohio. Then we were delayed in Chicago for hours and didn't get to mom's until 4:15 Thursday morning. And Ophelia didn't feel like sleeping for more than a couple hours. Not a good start to vacation.

The wedding activities went well, though we were exhausted. We were busy running around Cleveland, but the rehearsal was good and the wedding itself was beautiful. Zach and Monica planned a very nice ceremony and very fun, festive reception. Everyone had a fantastic time. And Ophelia was the life of the party. She was the only kiddo there so she had the run of the reception- literally. We got tired of chasing her and just let her run around since everyone knew who she belonged to. She was amazing and spent the evening making friends with all the adults. Not once did she flip out or worry about anything. She ran around, danced, ate cake and talked to everyone.

Once we got back to mom's house we got a little more sleep. And then on Monday afternoon Ophelia was playing with uncle Rob... we ended up in the emergency room for 3 hours. Six x-rays later, Phee's diagnosis was nursemaid's elbow and a sprained shoulder. The kid was a trooper through the whole thing. She got a teeny tiny little arm sling to wear and if possible, it made her 47 times cuter than normal. See.

The moral of the story- don't lift a kid up by their arms/wrists/hands. It doesn't always work out.

Tuesday morning she woke up ouchy and complaining about her arm. After a nap, she apparently forgot that it hurt because she spent the rest of the day playing as usual, carrying big toys around, climbing, holding herself up and generally being a silly kid. I guess the sprain wasn't as bad as she made out on Monday. Works for me. Though the sling really was adorable.

(Also, we didn't take a single photo the entire weekend. We're at the mercy of family members who did. All I have is this cell phone pic Doug took. I'll post wedding pics whenever I get some.)

Brought to you by the letter...

2011-05-23T09:22:00.000-05:00

This is Ophelia's new favorite thing. We watched it 47 times yesterday. And again this morning.

As soon as the song finishes, she's signing and saying "more, more, more." It's adorable. Luckily, it's a cute song so I don't really mind having it stuck in my head all day. Every day.

Happy Days

2011-05-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

Ophelia got tubes in her ears last Thursday morning. She was a trooper and did a fantastic job. She was only slightly groggy and unhappy afterward and spent most of her day playing, though she was quite exhausted. After a good weekend, we're starting to see the effects of the tubes already. She has noticed some quiet sounds and some far-off sounds which we've never seen her acknowledge before. And, while she's always been a talker, it's starting to be a little less gibberish and a few more words every day. Things are becoming a bit more clear and it's quite cute to listen to her.

In other news, I just finished a short basic book repair class through the Austin Museum of Art. It was a lot of fun and I repaired a Shel Silverstein book. Sadly, I didn't think to take pictures of the book before or during the process. But, the book looks as good as new and it was very interesting to learn about the process and gain a basic understanding of what it takes to repair books. It's something I think I'd pursue as a hobby if I didn't already have 27 of those that I have no time for. And, if it didn't require a whole set of tools I don't currently possess. Like I said, it is nice to know about it though, and it was a neat class.

Poor little Phee

2011-04-19T09:40:00.000-05:00

Ophelia has been battling ear infections for the last 6 months. The poor kiddo got her first one at the very beginning of November. We were clear for a few months, and then it started up again on Valentine's Day. That one didn't get fully resolved with the antibiotics she was taking and she had to go for round 2 of meds that time. And this latest ear infection started two weekends ago. She's almost finished with this round of meds.

Next Monday we have an appointment with an ENT. Tubes are almost definitely in Ophelia's future. She's been bumped up to stronger meds and I don't want her to continue to take antibiotics every couple months. And, this last time, she screamed for a while on a Saturday night and then was mostly fine on Sunday- just a little whiny and tired. I really hate that she handled it so well, because that means she's getting used to that pain and discomfort.

So, the ENT was recommended by Phee's doctor and has good reviews online. Whether he recommends tubes or not, I just hope we can resolve these infections for Phee.

Bummer

2011-03-24T16:07:00.000-05:00

I was hoping to be able to say I had another interview or even a new job soon. Another teen librarian spot was posted and I applied. I found out yesterday when I ran into one of the children's librarians, that I didn't even get called for an interview this time around.

So, apparently, I'm where I'm supposed to be right now. I just don't know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing here. It's frustrating.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T14:05:00.000-05:00

Success!

2011-02-21T14:22:00.000-06:00

For the first time, we've managed not to get sick after Phee's been sick. A huge success in my book, especially since the latest thing was a nasty virus with a sore throat and high fever.

It all started last Monday afternoon and she ended up being out of school for the rest of the week. And we were at the doctor's office Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. Between Wednesday's appointment and our spur of the moment visit late Thursday because of her sudden lethargy, the poor kid had developed a double ear infection. Luckily, after a couple doses of the meds, she was feeling much better Saturday morning. And by this morning, she was more than ready to get back to her normal schedule and go back to school.

In other news, Doug and I are exhausted after last week. Not that that's news.

Winter? Snow?

2011-01-31T09:28:00.000-06:00

It seems that pretty much everyone who reads this blog is pretty much firmly stuck in the middle of winter. (Except for Nadia. Hi Nadia!) I see there's more snow on the horizon for New England, NYC and Ohio. I'm not sure where you guys are putting it all, but I am slightly jealous. Not crazy jealous like I usually am, just a little bit. When it gets to be the epic snowstorms you're all dealing with, I don't want to shovel anymore. A couple inches? No problem. 3 or 4 feet? I'm out.

Besides, it's been 75 here the last 3days. And it's going to be warm again today. Which is fun, because it means Phee wears cute stuff like this. So, I guess I'll take the Texas winter.

Another milestone

2011-01-26T16:46:00.000-06:00

It seems that Ophelia and I are on the brink of another milestone. Since around Thanksgiving, we've been slowly weaning. The process has mostly been led by Ophelia, though I initiated the entire thing after she wouldn't quite biting me. She's pretty much completely lost interest in nursing altogether. For the last couple weeks, we've been down to two sessions a day, one first thing in the morning and one right at bedtime. Yesterday morning, she decided she'd rather play than nurse. I was surprised! This morning, she did the same thing. So, I guess we're down to just bedtime.

I've thoroughly enjoyed nursing. I didn't have a whole lot of info going into it. I did some reading and research, but nothing extensive. I never took any classes. Phee latched on right away in the hospital and nursed for 50 minutes. (That should have clued me in, but I'm still amazed at how much she can eat sometimes!) We had some issues in the first few months, but we managed to work through them with a little more research on my part and a great deal of patience. Once we figured out she had acid reflux and got her some meds, things really improved. I even managed to avoid mastitis until just a couple months ago.

We're old pros now. Not for long though, I guess. I'll be sad to see our cuddly nursing time go, but Phee's always on the go, so it's not all that much time anymore anyway. Even at night now, she only nurses for a few minutes before she's pointing to her blanket and the crib. Independence rules at our house! Not a bad thing, of course, as this frees us both up and anyone can put her to bed. It's just hard to believe she's such a big girl already.

Happy Birthday Ophelia!

2010-12-07T11:59:00.001-06:00

Ophelia, you are 1 today! Happy birthday to you!

You are such a funny kid. You always have a smile on your face, usually a scrunch-faced smile like this one. Or your weird "surprised" face that we can't seem to capture on film. You will do just about anything for some cheerios. Or yogurt. Or meat. But, definitely cheerios.

You love your monkeys and most especially all your books. You have more books than we do and you love to read them all. You've been turning the pages yourself for months and your pace is so much more fun than our pace. Although, the story at your pace is always a little wonky. Our favorite books to read are Sandra Boynton books. They always make us laugh!

Right now, your favorite thing is carrying toys around. You carry your box of blocks or your new picnic set. Or your shape sorter. Or my lunchbox from the kitchen. Or maybe the tv remote.

Happy birthday baby girl. You are amazing and we're looking forward to your next wild year! We love you!

Guilty until proven innocent

2010-11-15T21:45:00.004-06:00

The TSA is performing appalling pat downs across the country as I write this. New screening procedures have gone into effect. At some airports across the country, you go through full body scanners, some of which emit low level radiation as they take x-rays so that TSA can "see beneath clothing." This essentially renders you naked to the TSA screener who is viewing the images in another room. If you choose to opt out of the full-body scanner, you will find yourself subjected to a very invasive pat down which includes screeners using open hands to pat down your entire body, including up your inner thigh and your genitals, your butt and across women's breasts.

In an interview on the Today Show this morning, the head of TSA said that this type of pat down is not required for children under 12. What is the difference between a child of 12 and a child of 13? We tell children that only mom, dad and doctors should touch them in certain places in certain ways. What makes it acceptable that TSA agents should be added to that short list? Why should mothers carrying breastmilk for their babies be subjected to such invasive measures? We are not a country full of suspected bombers, terrorists, criminals.

How has it come to this? Security in the US hasn't been proactive in a long time. This is purely a reaction to incidents like the 'underwear bomber' of last Christmas. Last Christmas. And these screening measures have just gone into effect. I certainly don't believe that violating the rights of citizens is the way to ensure the safety of those same people. As I read earlier today, the government is essentially counting citizens guilty until proven innocent under these new screening rules.

There is justifiable outrage over this new, invasive, absurd screening procedure. Just do a quick Google search or watch the news today. The number of articles, blog posts and grass roots groups grows by the hour. Do your research. And then get busy writing letters. Write to the airlines. Write to senators, representatives, governors. Still angry? The number of industries which profit from air travel is extensive- hotels, rental car companies. You can write a lot of letters. You can speak up. You can make a difference. You can put an end to the travesty befalling us this very moment.

Here is the letter we've sent to all the major airlines. It's an edited version of one I found earlier today. Feel free to use it. Addresses are easy to find for the airlines, but this message board post has the major airlines listed in one place. There is a link to find your senator and representative. Please, take the time to fight this and to stand up for yourself, your family, your rights.

Sample letter to airlines regarding new screening measures:

Dear (airline executive),

I know that the TSA is not directly under your control. However, I am certain that the (airline name) has a greater influence on the policies of the TSA than do I. I believe that it is important that the (airline name) exert whatever influence that it may have with the TSA to prevent what may be the cause of a significant reduction in future revenues as people choose to drive or not travel in response to the new policies of the TSA. Of greatest concern are the full-body scanners, and the intimate physical pat downs, which include genitalia, that are the result of opting out of the full-body scan or used to resolve anomalies found in the scan.

I am shocked, appalled and disgusted and I know many of my traveling companions are as well. I am taking steps to severely reduce and/or discontinue my air travel and interaction with TSA. I believe that the scanners are a substantial invasion of privacy and the intimate pat downs are criminal. In addition, some of the systems needlessly expose passengers to x-rays. The delays these machines create are significant. The scanners are slower than metal detectors and the often unnecessary pat downs delay passengers further and create back ups in security.

I will not be flying at all until sanity returns to checkpoint screening. I may not be able to influence the draconian security procedures, but I can choose not to fly. I can and will urge my friends and family to do the same. I believe I am not alone in my sentiments.

Sincerely,

(your name)

Sample letter to senators and congressmen regarding new screening measures:

Dear (senator/congressman),

I am writing to you today to voice my absolute displeasure over the new screening measures implemented by the Transportation Security Administration. I was shocked and disgusted to learn about the new full body scanners and pat down procedures that are required. I see no reason why my body needs to be on full view for a stranger with no probable cause. I also see no reason why, if I choose to opt out of the full body scan, I should be subjected to an open hand pat down of my self including my (breasts,) buttocks and genitals.

I find it appalling that citizens are being treated in this manner, essentially considered guilty until proven innocent. I certainly do not relish the thought of flying and being compelled to undergo to such screening measures.

I will not be purchasing any more airline tickets until these measures have been resolved. I can and will urge my friends and family to do the same. I believe I am not alone in my sentiments. I will urge my fellow citizens to use their votes to encourage our representatives and civic officials to hold the TSA accountable.

Thank you for your time. The Constitution guarantees all Americans freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and an invasive procedure which clearly violates the spirit of this cherished document should not be implemented lightly. I urge you to look into what is going on with security at our airports. I agree that security is important, but our basic right to be secure in our person and effects should not be easily overridden by a federal agency acting outside of its defined powers.

Sincerely,

(your name)

But mom...

2010-11-11T11:14:00.000-06:00

Ophelia has been getting up early all week, after not sleeping very well. That darn Daylight Savings is not welcome in our house anymore. She doesn't know she's getting up at 5:15 am, well, I guess I can't prove that she doesn't know. So, we've been up early.

This morning, we had enough time to take a walk before we had to leave for school and work. When we came back, I still needed to put my makeup on. I settled her in her room with some books. I went into the bathroom, not 5 steps away, to finish getting ready. Seven minutes later, I found her, not with books scattered around, but with wipes all over the floor. She is obsessed with the cloth wipes and taking them out of the open container we leave them in. She's quite giddy when she realizes she has a container of actual wipes to get her hands on.

Like this...

We'll be using wipes out of gallon bag for the next few weeks.

Waiting, waiting...

2010-11-08T14:49:00.000-06:00

I had another job interview a month ago. Just last week, they interviewed the last candidate. Apparently they had a tricky time scheduling interviews for all 10 candidates they chose. Anyway, my interview went well, I think. It was easier going into it since I've already gone through the process once post-graduation and once pre-graduation for the internship I had. It helps that I know everyone in the children's department, too. Now, the actual waiting game begins. At the interview they said that they hoped to be notifying people in the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed that I get one of the two positions this time!

In the meantime, three more youth librarian positions were posted so it's conceivable that if I don't get one of these, I could get yet another interview. It would be awfully nice to start using my degree, though.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T17:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!!

Illness strikes again!

2010-10-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

Well, last week was quite the week again. This time I was the one that got sick. Mastitis. Unusual, but not unheard of at this point in the breastfeeding game. Boy was I miserable last week! Luckily, I got a prescription and by Thursday was mostly feeling normal again. Which is good because Monday and Tuesday were excruciatingly painful.

In addition to that, I was racing the clock to get Ophelia's Halloween costume finished. Which I did, about 30 seconds before I ran out the door to get to her Fall Festival on Friday afternoon. But, she wore the costume and was adorable. And I know what adjustments I have to make tonight so that she can wear it Friday for her school party and costume day. There will be pictures, don't worry!

I posted some great new videos of Phee on YouTube. She's walking like crazy. More walking than crawling, unless she really needs to get somewhere fast. Or she's trying to outrun me when I notice that she's eating my flip flop or playing with a remote. Her teachers are already talking about moving her up to the next class early since she's walking so much.

This week, Doug heads off to Seattle to visit Nate. I'm jealous of the weather he's going to have and the fact that he gets to see water. Phee and I will be making the trek up to Ft. Worth again to see Heather & Andy and the boys. I'm sure we'll be having all kinds of Halloween fun! And hopefully this time we'll be able to venture out and actually see something. It was about 327 degrees outside the last time we went to visit and so we just stayed in the house and played all weekend. No one was up to braving the sun and heat! This time it should only be around 80.

And, we're starting to plan Phee's birthday party- just 7 weeks away! I can't believe it in the least. She's going to have a really fun birthday party and rumor has it, Santa is going to make an appearance. The child is fearless in everything so we'll see how she fares with the big guy. I'm sure we'll get some great pictures out of it!

Fall decorations

2010-10-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

I have yet to actually get my fall decorations out, as much as I want to. Other things keep getting in the way, like Ophelia throwing up last Wednesday. And then Doug and I getting sick, too. It was a fun weekend at our house!

Anyway, I've recently come across a couple easy, cute fall decorating ideas and last night I finally had a chance to make one of them. I found this project via a blog I follow. I haven't put a bow on it yet. Mostly because I don't have any good ribbon and I'm no good at tying bows even if I did have ribbon. I like the chocolate brown ribbon in the tutorial I found so I may see if I can find some at the craft store and then find someone to make the bow for me.

The other project I happened upon involves hurricane vases and I don't think our house and the tiny hands within are quite ready for those yet. That project will have to wait for another year. They're really pretty though and would certainly dress up the house for fall.

Smoosh

2010-09-15T21:16:00.000-05:00

I went out to water plants on the patio one evening a few weeks ago. When I turned to come back into the house, I was met with this.

I went back in to fill up the watering can and grabbed the camera. Ophelia hammed it up while I took photos and tried to get back into the house.

Band Nerd

2010-09-15T14:17:00.000-05:00

Kate & Helen at band practice

via the Norwalk Reflector

I was a band nerd in high school. All through school really. Although I wouldn't say nerd so much as I was just in the band. And I loved it! (So, yea, maybe the nerd part is apt.) Anyway, over Labor Day weekend Phee and I went home for a visit and so that I could be in the Alumni Band again, this time with Kate.

What a riot. Kate and I had such a fun time. We laughed a lot, we had happy meals for lunch, we (well, I) half played the music all through practice. I was way more a screw-up than Kate since she didn't graduate all that long ago. I was worse than our cousin Chris who hasn't ever done alumni band. She rocked! I marched the wrong way, I couldn't hardly play one of the songs, the high school kids practically ran all the way to the field from the school. So, yea, I'm 30 and it was pretty obvious to me.

Performance time was awesome, though, and as usual, the band really rocked. The alumni are spectacular and sound so amazing out on the field. I finally was able to play that one darn hard song when it was time for the halftime show. It really was a lot of fun. I hope it's not the last one.

So, here, for fun, are some videos of the practice and performance.

And away we go

2010-09-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

Ophelia and I fly out by ourselves in the morning. She's made two trips already, but those were family trips. This time, it's just us girls. I'm sure we'll be fine, but the prospect of flying alone with a baby is a bit daunting. Luckily she mostly wants me to hold her all the time anyway so the plane rides shouldn't be too bad as long as I can keep her entertained.

Saturday is alumni band at my high school. Kate and our cousin, Chris, will be there, too, and it should be a riot. We might not get through a whole song for all the laughing there's sure to be! It will definitely be a fun weekend!

Road trip!

2010-08-13T11:21:00.003-05:00

Ophelia and I are about to take off on our first road trip. Doug's gone to NYC for a long weekend to hang out with some friends he hasn't seen in ages. Phee and I are heading up to Ft. Worth to see our friends Heather & Andy and their two little guys, Wyatt and Reed. Phee had a lot of fun with them over my birthday weekend and I'm sure she'll love having someone to play with.

I don't know that she's been in the car for more than an hour at a time, tops, so far. She's into the bigger car seat so she's more comfortable now which is good. As you can see, she kicks her foot up on the side of the seat. Most of the time she rides like that right now. Actually, she does that a lot no matter where she is. She nurses like that now, too, a lot of the time. Not always easy to manage, but it makes her happy. She's also taken to throwing her toys over the side of the car seat, though, because she can. I have a bin full of toys that's going on the front seat so I can hand toys back to her when she runs out. I got that little tip from a book Doug's parents got him for Christmas.

Luckily, she'll be due for a nap not too long after we take off. She was up insanely early this morning and then wouldn't go back to sleep so hopefully she takes a nice long car nap. I'm doubtful since that would be ideal, but fingers crossed anyway. Mostly, I just hope we can make it up to Ft. Worth with minimal tears and only one stop to nurse. And no bathroom breaks! Because really, how do you do that when it's just you and the baby? Exactly.

How Did I Get Here?

2010-08-10T14:38:00.003-05:00

Ophelia was sick all weekend, but feeling better yesterday afternoon after a couple naps and a trip to the doctor.

She played all afternoon, crawling around, playing with toys, following me around the kitchen. At one point, she was in the living room and came over towards the kitchen with toys. I could hear her on the other side of the bar. When she started to whine and fuss, this is what I found. I had heard her move the bar stool, but have no idea how she did this.

She looks happy, but believe me, she was not. It's a grimace, not a smile. That face is the face of a whining child on the verge of tears.

Run of the House

2010-08-04T08:53:00.003-05:00

A quick hello from Phee.

She has the run of the house now. She can pull herself up on everything and if she's in the right spot, she'll furniture surf.

If I leave her in her room for a minute and go to do something else, I quickly hear little hands following me on the tile. She follows me into the kitchen when it's time to make dinner. It's pretty cute. And she's fast!

A Fantastic Party!

2010-08-01T19:35:00.000-05:00

The birthday party was so much fun! Everyone dressed up, at least a little bit, which I did not expect. I was quite excited. Our friends Andy and Heather and their two little guys, Wyatt and Reed, came in on Friday and Heather helped me decorate. I had a couple posters- Don Johnson, Alyssa Milano, David Hasselhof- and then printed out some movie posters and album covers. We actually referred to one of the movie posters at one point last night to find an actors name.

Party Outfits

2010-08-01T19:30:00.001-05:00

We got some great outfits for the party! Even Ophelia was dressed up as baby flashdance with her Madonna tshirt and striped legwarmers. She stayed up far too late, but was the center of attention and had fun.

Birthday Cake and Toys

2010-08-01T19:25:00.001-05:00

Doug was quite sweet and made me a birthday cake from scratch. He's never baked before and this cake turned out great! It was pretty pink and very yummy.

We had a bunch of 80s candy, too- pop rocks, ring pops, pixie stix, laffy taffy, fun dip and more. I also had a couple Rubik's cubes, some slap bracelets, jelly bracelets and Garbage Pail kids cards for everyone to play with. Those were all a big hit!

It was a really nice party and I definitely had a wonderful 30th birthday!

Ophelia's Baptism

2010-07-30T09:51:00.004-05:00

Just a few photos from Ophelia's baptism weekend at the beginning of July. She talked and talked all through baptism and poor Eric had to keep getting louder to be heard over her. The water didn't bother her, although one more dousing and she would have started fussing because she wanted to be standing up. Baptism was really very nice. Almost everyone came up and stood around the baptismal font or on the stairs. It was wonderful to have so many friends and family there.

The party afterward was ridiculously hot. Ophelia spent some time in the wading pool, but even that didn't keep her happy for long. She was short on naps all weekend, but she was a trooper. Mostly, she just didn't want to miss anything so she fought sleep so she could play with everyone. Or make me lose at May I. Either way, she got to stay up.

Birthday week!

2010-07-27T14:42:00.005-05:00

It's birthday week! I love my birthday. A lot. And I've had some really great birthdays over the years.

In junior high, I had a surprise party at a fantastic ice cream place in town. We got to do a blindfolded "guess that flavor" game. It was so much fun!

For my 16th birthday, another surprise party, this time with a scavenger hunt! My mom split my friends up in groups, rented Polaroid cameras from the library and sent everyone to find things like our last name, the number 16 and cake & ice cream. I still have the photos and they're a riot.

When I was a kid, we used to ride the ferry to Cedar Point. We didn't actually go to Cedar Point, mind you, I just liked riding the ferry. Sometimes when I was a kid, we would be on our yearly vacation to Michigan and we would ride the ferry to the Copper Harbor lighthouse instead. That was even more fun than the Cedar Point ferry. The lighthouse is so darling.

When I was very young, Grandma Helen would decorate my angel food cake as a dress and stick a Barbie doll in the center so it looked as though the doll was wearing the dress. I adored those cakes.

This year may top them all. I'm quite excited.

I love the 80s!

2010-07-22T06:58:00.000-05:00

I love the 80s. Seriously. I listen to 80s New Wave music at work. All day. Every day. I don't find the fashion of the 80s all that terrible. If I'd been in my teens and 20s during the 80s instead of in single digits, I would have been living it up big time.

So, for my 30th birthday party this month, we're having an 80s party. And I am so loving it! I've got my outfit set (mostly). I'm working on hair and makeup now. Doug's got a good outfit going, too. And even little Phee will be rockin' a Madonna tshirt that I found at Target today. She will be adorable.

We've got lots of 80s goodies and candy ready for the party. I've got some awesome decorations planned. It's going to be amazing. I am so totally excited! Stay tuned for some photos in a couple weeks- you will not be disappointed.

A couple firsts

2010-07-21T11:44:00.004-05:00

Ophelia created her first artwork yesterday at school. I believe they must have gone for a walk and collected some leaves. And then they all finger painted these adorable little tree scenes. As you can see, this is proudly displayed on our fridge.

On another front, Ophelia is nearly crawling. When I went to pick her up yesterday, Miss Theresa tried to get her to crawl, but in her haste to get to me, Phee just flopped on her belly. She tried again once we got home, though, and I captured some of it on my phone. The quality is lacking, but it's the best I've got right now. If you turn up your volume, you can hear her making what sounds like monkey noises.

Only a few tears

2010-07-15T16:34:00.002-05:00

We're just about through our first week of daycare. The first two mornings, Ophelia didn't cry at all when I left. Yesterday and today, she did. I know it doesn't last long, though, and that she spends most of the day playing, chattering and learning how to do new things. Monday and Tuesday evening when I picked her up and got her home, she was a ball of energy and spent a great deal of time climbing around Doug and me on her bedroom floor. She's been sleeping great at night, too, as she wears herself out during the day!

Monday morning was much better than I expected. I sat her down with some toys and unpacked all her stuff in the classroom. She never fussed, cried or even looked for me. I said goodbye to her and all was well. I was nearly in tears as I walked down the hall, but luckily needed to stop into the office to pay for the month so I refrained from actually bawling my eyes out.

When she started the week, she still wasn't scooting or crawling or anything. She tried hard on vacation, but still didn't have it figured out. Yesterday morning, she inched her way across our bedroom floor doing a weird inchworm-army crawl hybrid. This afternoon, rumor has it that she was on her hands with her butt in the air.

Methinks crawling will commence any day now. Time to get some outlet plugs.

Separation Anxiety

2010-06-17T16:44:00.003-05:00

Ophelia is an amazing kid. She's much too smart for our own good (as Big Doug said). She pulls herself up on the arm of the couch now. She can hold your hands and without any help from you, other than support, she can pull herself up to standing. She regularly tears through a couple veggies and a big bowl of cereal at dinner.

She's also a momma's girl. Big time.

Jane flew in for a long weekend today. Her Christmas present to us was coming for a weekend when we were ready to go away for a night or two. So, here we are and we've arrived at that weekend. I'm pretty sure I can handle it. Phee, on the other hand, may not. She is in this weird phase where she doesn't necessarily want me to hold her all the time, but she'd better be able to see me at the very least. Mostly, she'd like me to be holding her, though.

When we get back from vacation in early July, she'll be going to daycare. I'm only slightly sure that I'm ready for that. I know she's ready. She wants to play with kids. And she need to be around kids and other adults, too, at this point. Plus, she's much too active to stay in my office any longer. The last couple weeks have been quite tricky and result in her being held far too much.

It's awfully nice to have her with me, though. We have great fun. She's such a character with her funny faces and constant talking.

Are you getting a sense of my back-and-forth feelings about all of this? It's a little crazy. I assume all mom's go through this when their kids are getting ready for daycare or school. Or even when they're just going away for a night. I'm hoping to make it through all of this without tears. Well, without many tears...

Silent Auction Monday

2010-06-11T10:32:00.003-05:00

I'm a member of the National Police Wives Association. It's a fantastic group of women who have a lot of fun while being supportive of each other. We all understand the crazy schedules, department politics and baggage that can come with the job.

We also are well aware of the inherent danger of the job, although we don't often discuss it or even really think about it. Starting Monday, June 14, we'll be holding a silent auction for a member and her husband who was recently shot in the line of duty. He's had a couple surgeries already and will have a couple more, but he's doing better every day. He is also expected to make a full recovery. Thank goodness!

The silent auction will be held on the NPWA blog, http://npwablog.blogspot.com. Anyone is welcome to come bid on the items. We have had some fantastic donations so far- everything from handmade baby booties to some DVD box sets.

Please help us make this auction a success for one of our members and her DH who was recently shot in the line of duty. Feel free to pass on the blog link and spread the word about this great silent auction!

Not this time

2010-06-02T10:09:00.003-05:00

I finally heard back from the library at the end of last week and I did not get the job. But, that's ok. I was a little bummed about it, but it just means that there's a better job out there for me somewhere.

In the meantime, I'm taking over the library committee at work. The church has a library which hasn't been used much in all the time I've been on staff. There hasn't been a committee leader for at least 3 years either, if not longer. So, I'm going to take it over. I'm going to try to jump-start the program and see if we can't get the library cleaned up, get some new books in, get organized and increase awareness and use.

I'm excited about it just for the fun of working with a library. But, it's a good resume builder, too. So, if I can't be working in a library as my job right now, I'm going to do what I can to keep learning and to improve my resume for the next job opening.

NYC News

2010-05-26T14:06:00.003-05:00

Zach, my brother, and Monica, his fiancee, have a cute little apartment in Brooklyn. I've seen a few pictures they took before they started working on it and I've seen a couple since they painted and bought new furniture.

Well, they had engagement photos taken a couple weeks ago and that fantastic photographer took some pictures of their apartment, too. She liked them so much, that she contacted Apartment Therapy. This morning, Zach and Monica's apartment was featured on the Apartment Therapy New York page! The pictures are really fantastic and the before and after sets are just amazing. They really have done a lot of work on that apartment and it's such a bright, comfy space now.

Also, some engagement photos and some more photos of the apartment.

Who You Gonna Call?

2010-05-19T08:51:00.002-05:00

I just saw this video on the Pop Candy blog. Hilarious! It also makes a good point at the end... libraries, even in NYC, are facing budget cuts. Go visit your library- check out a book, use a library service, go to a program!

Some Phee videos

2010-05-11T14:28:00.003-05:00

Here are a few Phee videos. They're a little shaky and a little blurry sometimes. I took them with my iPhone and the video gets a little messy sometimes. Plus Phee likes to grab for my phone. And she's all arms and legs.

Phee rolling, rolling, rolling

Talking to her toy

Phee laughing on the couch

Phee May 2010

2010-05-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Monica is a Star!

2010-05-07T09:35:00.004-05:00

My soonish-to-be sister-in-law Monica was on tv out in Vegas. She's in beauty PR in New York and was on a morning show out in Vegas talking about summer hairstyles. She's so cute!

Maybe she can help fix my hair in July when the family's all together...

Thanks!

2010-05-05T10:02:00.002-05:00

Thanks for all the well wishes! The interview went well yesterday morning. I knew all 3 interviewers so that made the whole thing a lot more comfortable. Plus, I've already done one of these panel city interviews before, back when I got the internship at the library. I was a little nervous going into it, but it really wasn't that bad. It was pretty standard questions which I'd mostly prepared for. The couple that I hadn't thought about weren't too bad and I was able (I think!) to give a decent answer.

So, now we just wait and see. There are more interviews next week and then they'll make their choice. It has to go through library and city HR (love those city jobs) before they can do anything. They'd like to have someone start in June, though, so hopefully things move quickly. We'll see!

Interview!

2010-04-28T16:31:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned before, I have an interview next week for a teen librarian position! I had to create a program plan and prepare a booktalk. Program plans are fun and easy- I had to do some of those for classes. Plus, I like writing outlines... something about the whole organization freak thing... The booktalk was another story. I had a good book in mind that I read and liked when the library got it. I've been so busy with school and everything that I haven't had time to read any YA books in quite a while, so I decided to go with this book rather than try to get another one read. I just finished writing the booktalk and I think it's ok. Fingers crossed that the interviewers think so, too!

My practicum work is going really well. I've been weeding the fairy tale collections at a couple different branches and I'm going to do a couple more branches in the next two weeks. It's a lot of fun to see an entire collection at one location like that, but also to see it across a handful of branches in a big system. I've learned some interesting things.

And, as always, it's just nice to be working in a library.

Almost finished!

2010-04-19T11:09:00.005-05:00

I just have two weekends (three weeks) left and then I am finished with grad school! I can't hardly believe it. I still have lots of work to do. I need 35 hours still at the library for my practicum and I finally got around to starting my final paper yesterday. But, everything is going well and I'll be able to relax soon! Especially since mom's coming down April 29-May 3 and then she's sending Kate down for a couple weeks after that to help out while I finish the semester. Family is an amazing thing!

Phee is just as perfect as always. She weighed in at 14 lb, 11 oz at her 4 month checkup. She's 26 inches long now, too. She constantly has us laughing and she's always checking out something new. Yesterday she went to the art museum for the first time and she loved it. She chattered the whole time and just couldn't get enough of the colors. We'll be making many more trips to the museum and sculpture garden this summer.

In other fantastic news, I have an interview for a teen library position at the beginning of May. It would be perfect and I'm quite excited about it!

My bad

2010-03-15T21:02:00.004-05:00

Dear blog,

I'm sorry. Really. I swear I'm not breaking up with you. I'm just cheating on you. But, I can explain...

See, she's so cute. And I just want to spend all my time playing with her. I'll be back, though. Soon. I promise.

Reality: part-time

2010-02-10T06:47:00.002-06:00

This morning Phee and I head to work for the first time. I'm not sure about her, but I'm certainly not ready for it. Luckily we're only working part-time for a few weeks so we can ease into it. We went last night to set a few things up. And just now, Phee woke up right before my alarm went off. At least we're in sync!

Wish us luck! It's going to be a hectic day to say the least.

Back to the library

2010-01-26T09:47:00.001-06:00

This is my last semester of grad school. All I have to do is my practicum and my portfolio and I'm finished!! I met with my practicum site supervisor last week and today I start working on my project. I'm going to be doing collection development work and I'm quite excited about it. Primarily I'll be weeding different sections of the youth nonfiction collection at the main library (where I was working before as an intern). It will be great to have this experience when I get a job because I've only seen it on paper so far. It can be a difficult process so the experience will be beneficial down the road. And hopefully that road leads to a job here when the city lifts the hiring freeze!

Giggle

2010-01-25T22:00:00.001-06:00

Whew! Time flies...

2010-01-18T20:37:00.003-06:00

I can't believe January is half over already. Mom just left after her second visit. Dad comes later this week. My semester starts tomorrow. My last semester! I meet with someone at the library tomorrow and will hopefully be finalizing my project for this semester and putting together a work schedule. I have to work around my job and Doug's schedule so it might be a little tricky. Hopefully the library will be just as wonderful as always and they'll be able to work with me on a flexible schedule.

In baby news, Phee had her first bottle this weekend. Doug fed her and she gulped it down with no problem. That was a great improvement over last week's feedings when we couldn't get through a feeding without Phee screaming. Turns out she has acid reflux. She had medicine which has helped greatly. I didn't realize that infants could get meds like that. I was surprised, but quite grateful. She still has the symptoms, but they don't bother her so much.

Doug is back to work now. It's odd not to have him home all day. We miss him. It's a bit depressing because it means I'll be going back to work myself shortly. I'm considering working out a schedule of partial work weeks to extend my time at home a little bit. Hopefully that works out. I'd rather not work at all, but it just isn't possible right now. Phee will be going to work with me though so I guess it isn't all bad. It'll take some manuvering and adjusting to make it work but since it's a small office and I have my own office I don't see why it won't work out. Mom and I just got some bigger clothes out for Phee and found some cute outfits she can wear to work with me. And she got some great little shoes for Christmas, too! She'll be quite a hit with all the ladies at work!

Alone again

2010-01-08T16:31:00.002-06:00

We have been a prime vacation destination for the last month. It's been quite fun to see everyone. My mom was here for 2 1/2 weeks before and after Phee was born. One of my brothers popped down for a quick 36 hour visit. Then, all of Doug's family came for Christmas. My other brother and my sister just left after a visit.

Next week, mom is coming back. And the week after my dad is coming down. We're party central!

Christmas was fantastic. We had a great time with Doug's family. The day after, we all dressed up and had family pictures done just like we did last year with my family. We haven't seen the pictures yet, but it certainly seemed that some great pictures were being taken. Phee was a doll and slept through the whole photo shoot. She was awfully cute, though, and it was the first day she wore actual pants.

In other news, it seems that we're finally getting some sort of schedule down. Well, perhaps not really a schedule. I guess I should say that we're figuring out how to operate normally with an infant in the house (as normal as that can be). We have mastered getting laundry done and the kitchen cleaned up while juggling Phee. We have also mastered frantic cleaning, picking up and showering while she's napping. We're still working on meals.

Phee

2010-01-04T21:47:00.007-06:00

Ophelia Jane Bertha
8 lb, 15 oz
21 1/4 in
6:13 pm 12/7/09

I never posted any pictures or anything after Phee was born. It was a little crazy and I'm still not on the computer very much. I do everything on my phone for the most part, especially since I can use the phone with one hand while she's nursing.

Short version- labor lasted 19 hours. Contractions started the night before I was supposed to be induced. It was a very long day. I lasted 13 hours and then had to give in and get an epidural. Having only slept an hour the night before, I was exhausted and couldn't do any more. Turns out, by the time I got the epidural I was already at 9 1/2 cm. So, I did most of it naturally.

Phee is just perfect. She eats like crazy and is getting quite big. She sleeps pretty well at night, generally for a couple 3 hour stretches, sometimes longer. She's more alert every day and she's smiling for real now.

We're quite in love with her.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T03:25:00.002-06:00

December certainly flew by! I've neglected the blog in favor of the baby and life lately. I'm going to try to get back into posting more regularly again as soon as I can.

Our holidays were fantastic. Doug's family was with us for Christmas and we all had a really wonderful time together. More of my family
comes this week and next. Everyone just loves little Phee. And really, what's not to love?!

I hope 2009 ended with a bang for you all. Here's to a happy 2010!

Update

2009-12-07T14:55:00.002-06:00

Well we are still waiting. I did get an epidural after 13 hours though and I'm at 9.5 cm and waiting. All is going well and the baby is fine. And I'm feeling much better now. Hope to have a baby and pics in the next couple hours!!

At the hospital!

2009-12-07T04:28:00.002-06:00

Well Little Miss decided that she'd like to come on her own after all. Contractions started around 11:45 pm and by about 2:30 am they were around 3 minutes apart. We got to the hospital at 3:00 am and we're doing pretty well so far. So much for the induction!! We'll keep you updated. Keep checking the Twitter feed over there on the left.

Still waiting...

2009-12-02T22:56:00.003-06:00

Had our last appointment this morning. Nothing's changed, yet again. They hooked me up and did the fetal monitoring for about 20 minutes this morning. The baby is totally healthy and clearly very comfy in there. So, we're scheduled for an induction at 6:00 am Monday morning. Unless she decides to come on her own before then. I doubt it though, the way things have gone so far. We'll see, though.

Mom was able to make arrangements to stay through next weekend. We've been having great fun playing games, running errands, finishing up the nursery and hanging out. She's read about 6 books already, too, I think. We're going back to the library tomorrow. So, we get mom for another week and a half which is quite lovely.

We'll keep you updated.

November 28- 2 days overdue

2009-11-29T18:23:00.002-06:00

Quite large. As mom says, you can practically see how the baby's all curled up in there...

Gobble, gobble

2009-11-26T08:55:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you're all having a very happy, fun Thanksgiving day. We're not cooking, but we have been invited to have dinner with our friends Ken and Nadia and their family. It's fun- we end up trading Thanksgiving back and forth with them depending on who has family in town and who's traveling. And Ken fries their turkey which is quite tasty!

Mom is flying in this evening. We ended up telling her to just take the flight since she already had the ticket. I'd hate for her to cancel the ticket and then for us to end up at the hospital at 7 tomorrow night when she would have been here anyway. Besides, Doug and I both feel like the baby is coming soon. (Quite frankly, I'm writing this Wednesday night so for all I know, I'll be at the hospital already when it posts.)

So, happy Thanksgiving to you all. I hope you're having a really wonderful holiday with your families and friends. Enjoy those turkeys and all that pie!

Due in 3 days

2009-11-23T12:51:00.001-06:00

Another appointment late this morning. Not much has changed. Doctor says everything is in place, everything is ready, we're just waiting for Little Miss to decide that she's ready. She really doesn't see me going much past my due date at all. Quite frankly she sounded quite surprised that nothing had happened yet.

But, just in case, we're scheduled for an induction on December 7. If we go much past that date, I have a better chance of needing a c-section which I really do not want.

Everything else is great, though. Still feeling good, although huge. Sleeping fairly well which is nice. It's amazing what not having to go to work will do for your disposition.

Hope everyone is having fun getting ready for Thanksgiving! If Little Miss decides to come tonight/tomorrow, we'll get to come home on Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed!

In other news, today is Doug's last day from work. And, he should be home any minute now which is quite lovely. Gotta love those training days!

Thanksgiving TV specials

2009-11-20T13:00:00.002-06:00

Just found a list of Thanksgiving/Christmas specials on TV beginning today and running through the end of the month. Check it out! I'm sure there's something in there for you. Some are special episodes of regular TV shows, some are marathons (like SyFy's Bond marathon on Thanksgiving Day!), some are just weird.

Sadly, with no cable, I won't be watching hardly any of these. Although, after perusing the list, most of it looks weird and not necessarily holiday themed. I can wait for December. When I find a list of Christmas shows, I'll post it for you.

Nursery!

2009-11-17T18:49:00.007-06:00

We had another appointment today. Nothing's changed. We're just waiting for Little Miss to decide she's ready to come meet us.

Any day is fine with me at this point.

We worked on the nursery when we got home this afternoon. We're having the house cleaned tomorrow so we had to get all the extra stuff off the floor in that room. The crib is going to go where the desk is when we move it back into the nursery from our room in a few months. And the swing will move around the house. Eventually Pam, who helped me sew the blanket and did the bumper, is going to recover the chair cushions for me. We ran out of time (and I haven't picked up the fabric yet anyway). We'll also eventually get around to decorating the room, too. We have some decals for the walls, we just haven't put them up yet. Nor have we gotten to the show poster project. Soon!

Last day of work!

2009-11-13T09:05:00.002-06:00

This is it. I have 8 hours to get through and then I am on ~~vacation~~ maternity leave.

I've been training someone since last Thursday. I have written out directions for weeks, trying to cover every major thing I do. I have worked ahead for 2 months to get things finished and ready to go so that there would be less work for a replacement to do. It will be interesting to hear how the next 12 weeks play out in the office.

8 hours!

Kim

2009-11-10T10:19:00.003-06:00

Just had to share these pics. You may have seen Kim, Doug's sister, in the shower pictures. She has really, really long curly hair. Super long, gorgeous hair.

We got an email from her yesterday with these pictures. She cut it! A lot of it- 18 inches! How crazy is that?! But, it looks really fantastic. Kim is beautiful anyway and this haircut just looks amazing on her. I can't wait to see her at Christmas!

New pics

2009-11-09T05:08:00.003-06:00

Here we are all dressed up for the opera. This being Austin, we were of course dressed perfectly. As always, there were people quite dressed up, as you would expect at the opera, but there were also people wearing jeans. We fell right in the middle of the clothes spectrum as did most of the crazy people we saw.

And, of course, a big belly picture.

Anniversary!

2009-11-06T16:49:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow is our 6th anniversary. 6! We have big plans for the weekend. Tonight we're heading out to dinner and a movie- Doug's choice. I'm not sure what he's decided yet, but I do know we're going to see The Men Who Stare at Goats. It looks pretty funny.

Tomorrow night, we're off to the opera! It's the season opener and we're going to see La Bohème. It's my favorite opera and I've never see it before. I'm quite excited.

Hope you all have some fun plans for the weekend, too!

Unmotivated

2009-11-03T20:49:00.004-06:00

I have so much homework to do right now, but I'm so unmotivated to do it. Instead, I'm watching my belly move as the baby has quite the workout this evening. The school projects are interesting and I'm enjoying them. I think I'm just too tired to deal with them today. I've at least gotten started on the paper I'm writing and I have my references lined up. I just need to think through the rest of it and actually write it. Luckily, I've been able to work ahead a little bit, too, and get some of the smaller projects finished up for both classes. I've got one to go and then I can focus more on the big projects.

In other news, I'm only working for another week and a half. I haven't been sleeping very well lately and so Doug has imposed a stop-work date. Which is fine with me. November 13 is my last day at work... just 8 days to go. Hopefully at some point this week, there will be someone for me to train to fill in while I'm on maternity leave. They've had months to prepare at work, but no luck yet. I guess we'll see what happens.

I'm looking forward to my time off and hopefully getting a little more sleep. Or at least a few naps!

Baby Shower at Work

2009-10-29T19:43:00.004-05:00

Today my sweet friends from work- Pam, a coworker, and Lea, a volunteer- threw me a baby shower. They invited tons of ladies from the church- volunteers, people I work with a lot, friends... lots of people.

It was so much fun! We played a bunch of games and had some laughs. Pam made an absolutely fantastic, gigantic cake. And some tasty little mints. They had some little appetizers and really yummy punch. And I opened so many presents.

Let me tell you, this little girl is going to be the best dressed little girl you've ever seen. We got so many cute outfits today in a bunch of sizes.

It was fun to close the office for the afternoon and all have some fun together. I said we should get together and play silly games far more often. And close the office, of course.

The countdown is on!

2009-10-28T14:33:00.004-05:00

The baby is due in a month! Now, let's just keep our fingers crossed that I get to have at least most of November to work far ahead on school work and get her room a little more cleaned up!

We had another appointment this morning and we're on to weekly appointments from here on out. The only crappy thing about that is that I didn't have any choices on the times so Doug won't be able to make any of the last appointments. A bummer because he remembers everything the doctor says and I don't always. And, well, it's just a bummer anyway since we've done all the other appointments together.

So, anyway, the update. I'm 1 cm dilated. Little Miss is still carrying very high, which I could have told you since I can't breathe half the time. We'll have to wait and see if she decides to drop or not and go from there. The doctor thinks she'll probably weigh in the high 7 lb to low 8 lb range, depending on how long I carry her.

For fun, I'm going to put a little box over there on the right and keep track of weight/height guesses. So, if you'd like to venture a guess, leave a comment and I'll add you to the list. We'll see who's closest. The winner can have a free phone call from the baby at a time and decibel of my choosing. :)

Work on the nursery is progressing. I've gotten the bigger sized clothes packed away. Some extra things in the house have been posted on Craigslist so we can get rid of some of the clutter. Stay tuned for pictures of the progress.

The nursery

2009-10-26T16:10:00.003-05:00

Everyone keeps asking about the nursery, so I thought I'd share some photos with you. No, it's not ready. It might not be ready by the time Little Miss gets here. I'm okay with that (now). The crib is set up in our room so she has a place to sleep. We did get the changing table out of the garage and cleaned up this weekend and I washed her clothes. I got some of the other clothes packed up and ready for storage.

I plan to do an hour or so every day or two and get all this stuff cleaned up as much as I can. I feel better having a few little things finished up and the rest will get done at some point. Which I am fine with now. I have decided not to stress about it. She won't know the difference and I won't enjoy the last month if I worry about this all so much, so I'm just not going to.

She's due one month from today! :)

Oh joy

2009-10-20T15:26:00.003-05:00

I've got a toothache. It's not pleasant. I don't do mouth pain.

I was able to get into the dentist at lunch time today. Turns out it's infected so I've got antibiotics now. And I have a root canal to look forward to on Friday morning. We knew I needed some work done, but were putting it off until after the baby. Well, my luck has run out and now I have to get this taken care of. A crown will be coming sometime after the root canal.

Poor Doug. He's never had to deal with me through any of my teeth issues. Pretty much everything I've had done, and there's been plenty, happened in high school. I've had teeth pulled numerous times. I'm hoping that perhaps I've grown up a bit since then and I won't be a blubbering fool complaining about how much my mouth hurts. (Like I said, I don't do mouth pain. At all.)

If not, at least I have all weekend to quit acting like a baby before I have to go to work. And lucky Doug... he's off all weekend, too.

Baby Shower

2009-10-19T20:27:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, my dear, sweet friend Nadia threw me a wonderful baby shower. My friend Erin helped out, too. Nadia's house looked fantastic with lots of cute pink decorations and favors. We ended up with a nice little crowd.

We all just hung out for a while, chatting and having some snacks. Then we had brunch with some fabulous quiches and roasted potatoes. It was all quite yummy. After that I opened up presents. We got a nice mix of fun stuff and practical things we really need. And everything is just adorable!

It was a really lovely baby shower and I had a really wonderful time with all the girls. It was so nice to have everyone together; it's usually so hard to make that happen what with our weird schedules and the husband's weird shifts. Nadia and Erin outdid themselves and the whole afternoon was just perfect.

Doug's sister, Kim, came down for the shower. It was fun to have someone from the family come. I know everyone wanted to, but we just couldn't make it happen. I wanted you all here just as much as you wanted to be here. But, I know you'll all be here soon, and you'll have the baby to play with!

Shower pic

2009-10-19T10:19:00.001-05:00

I haven't had time to post pics from yesterday's baby shower, but I hopefully will tonight. In the mean time, here's a cute one of me and Doug that Kim took after the shower.

Halloween fun!

2009-10-16T09:41:00.004-05:00

Looks like the Halloween tv fun starts tonight. I just came across this listing of Halloween specials, special episodes and movie marathons. Sadly, I get pretty much none of these channels. And I own It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown so I can watch it as many times as I want.

One thing to note- The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror is this Sunday. They started that season earlier than usual this year and I'm not sure why. Usually they wait until baseball is over. Whatever.

So much for sleep

2009-10-15T07:07:00.001-05:00

I got up five times last night.

I think the baby is laying on my bladder.

34 weeks... not much longer now!

2009-10-13T13:45:00.002-05:00

We had our 34 week check up this morning. It was our fastest appointment yet. We're both still healthy and everything seems to be fine. Her little heartbeat is just as strong as ever. I've gained 18 pounds total now. The doctor said I probably wouldn't gain a whole lot more at this point, which is just fine with me. It'll be easier to lose it this way!

Little Miss did give me a slight scare last week. It seems she has finally started to run out of room in there so her kicks and movements changed last week from the big, hard kicks I'd been getting to more fluttery, rolling movements. To me, it seemed she wasn't really moving Wednesday and Thursday last week so I called the doctor on Friday morning and was assured that this was a normal change in movement. Little Miss apparently thought that scaring me was quite funny because she started moving around a lot and kicking about 10 minutes after I got off the phone with the nurse. She proceeded to move a lot all weekend. I informed her that I did not appreciate being scared like that and could she please not do that again. She is stubborn, however, so we'll see how the next 6 weeks go.

Next appointment the doctor is going to see what position Little Miss is in and give us a guess as to what she weighs. And after that 36 week appointment, we'll be going every week until Little Miss graces us with her presence!

I can't believe how quickly this is all going now. Doug and I were talking about it all on Sunday. It's going to be weird to not be pregnant anymore since I've spent most of this year pregnant. The whole thing has been a fantastic experience so far and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Most women get through labor and have that newborn in hand before they say they want more kids, but I'm already looking forward to more.

Last day at the library

2009-10-10T19:25:00.002-05:00

Today was my last day working at the library. I have so enjoyed my internship for the last 14 months and I really hate to give it up. But, I can't keep doing everything. Stopping now will give me some time to work ahead on school work and to do some more things around the house. And get the nursery put together, too!

I got dressed in my favorite pink tshirt and headed out for my shift on this cool, overcast day. Perfect weather in my mind! I worked with the teen librarian who was actually the intern coordinator when I started. It wasn't too busy, but was a very nice day today. I did some shelving, helped a bunch of people and generally just had a lot of fun.

I was surprised by a basket of baby presents from a bunch of the teen and children's librarians. They are all so sweet, kind and fun and I've really enjoyed getting to work with all of them. It's really been a nice way to get a feel for working with parents and children. Observing so many librarians interacting in various capacities has certainly taught me a lot and I will be forever grateful for the time I had with them. Anyway... back to the baby stuff. There were books, a CD, cute little outfits and an adorable knitted penguin that one of the girls made. Plus some other little things, too, all in a cute pink and white basket that will be fantastic in the baby's room.

I'm sad to leave this job, but I know I'll be back soon, in some library, one way or another.

Whew! What a weekend!

2009-10-05T13:18:00.002-05:00

We just had a very busy weekend. Some friends, Corinne and Fiona, came in for the Austin City Limits music festival. Doug was going Friday and Sunday, but ended up selling Sunday's ticket since a bunch of good bands dropped out. The friends were going to Friday and Saturday. Well, turns out a friend of Corinne's works for one of the company's involved the whole ACL thing and she was on the VIP list. She also managed to get Doug and Fiona guest passes, too, so the three of them had all access (mostly) passes for the whole weekend. They had a fantastic time, despite getting soaked Saturday afternoon watching Flogging Molly.

I got to hang out with everyone a little bit. No shows for me. I did, however, tag along to a couple bars after we had dinner at Stubb's Saturday night. Always fun to take a pregnant girl to a bar.

It was a busy weekend with lots of driving back and forth between home and downtown, but we had quite a bit of fun. And lots of sleeping in, too, which is always nice.

32 Weeks!

2009-10-01T22:06:00.002-05:00

We had another appointment on Tuesday. Every two weeks now. Everything is still looking good. I'm measuring average so Little Miss has grown, but she hasn't had a giant growth spurt. Still small for now. I gained a little bit of weight in the last three weeks... I think I'm just about up to 10 pounds total.

We took the hospital tour last week and it was great. The hospital is fantastic and I'm even more excited about everything now. And we both feel better knowing where we're supposed to go at what time of day. Always good to know that info.

As you can see, I still have a belly button, but it's quite stretched out now. And some days it hurts. I keep waiting for it to just pop.

I've been feeling good. Starting to get tired again and some of my weird food things from the first trimester have come back. The other symptoms are still pretty mild and run-of-the-mill. This has been a great pregnancy!

Sure it's sturdy, but it doesn't offer much in the way of decor

2009-09-29T13:47:00.001-05:00

I work at a church. We got a lot of people calling for financial assistance and walking in looking for the same or for food. Lots of transients.

Today takes the cake though.

Our morning volunteer called when she got home this afternoon. She tried to put her paper in our recycling bin and said there was a man in the dumpster. So, I walked out there and sure enough, there's a guy just chillin', having a smoke in the empty paper dumpster. I told him he had to leave, he couldn't be in there. He wasn't pleased.

I don't know why he thought the dumpster was such a great place to be... it's not like it was dry even...

So strange.

A great man

2009-09-26T20:14:00.003-05:00

No posts for a while, I know. Sorry about that. It's been a long, busy few weeks since I last posted. On September 11, my uncle Jeff passed away quite unexpectedly. He was just here in July with my mom, brother and sister to bring us all sorts of great baby stuff. I'm so thankful and happy that I got to see him then and show him our house and Austin. I'm sad that he won't get to meet his great-niece, but he was here, playing cards, when I felt her kick for the first time.

Jeff was a great man. Giving, caring and fun. Always fun. Always with corny jokes and one liners. And always up for playing some euchre.

Doug and I were able to go home for the funeral. I was just a couple weeks short of not being able to travel anymore and I'm really glad that we could go. It was good to be there with the family and to see everyone.

HAY Jeffrey H. Hay, age 48, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, September 11, 2009 at Doctors Hospital West. He was the co-founder of the Dublin Furniture Banc. Member St. Cecilia Catholic Church. Member Knights of Columbus and was a JCI Senator. Board member Hilltop YMCA and Cleveland Furniture Bank. Jeffrey was extensively involved in community service and always tried to help people in need. Preceded in death by parents Herman and Helen Hay, brother MIchael Hay. Survived by wife, Laura Hay; son, Jarrod; sisters, Carolyn (Jack) Meyer, Mary Jo Buchanan, Marty (Dave) Nighswander and Grace Whitehurst; brother, James (Bonnie) Hay; numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

7 month update

2009-09-10T13:41:00.002-05:00

I had another baby appointment this morning, along with my glucose test. While the stuff you drink might not be as bad as it used to be, it's still fairly gross. Luckily mine was fruit punch flavored and I don't like fruit punch anyway. So, no flavors were ruined for me today!

The doctor said that Little Miss is doing just fine and so am I. They saw everything they needed to see with that last ultrasound in August. Little Miss, at that point, weighed in in the 37th percentile so she's not going to be gigantic at all. (Unless she has a huge growth spurt.) I didn't gain anything since the last appointment, so I've gained 8 pounds total. The doctor said that as long as I'm eating and eating well that's okay- the baby's getting what she needs and it appears that everything I eat is going right to her.

So, if the glucose test is bad, we'll hear from them today or tomorrow, but other than that, everything looks fine and we go back in 3 weeks.

A tiny project

2009-09-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

I completed a very tiny project for the nursery this weekend- fan and light pulls. It's just a tiny detail for the room, but something that we needed for the room. The two pulls that were there before were just chain and very short so I was always having to go up on my tiptoes to pull them. Not the best idea while holding an infant I suppose. So, I painted these plain wooden ones that I found. They'll match the blanket and bumper and I think they turned out quite well.

Need a little support?

2009-09-08T07:22:00.002-05:00

Police families lead a strange life sometimes. Strange hours, opposite schedules, weird work stories... it all works together to make for a life that can be hectic at some times, lonely at others and just plain confusing most of the time.

It hasn't been that bad for us over the last 5 years. Doug had been doing shift work before he decided to apply to the PD so that wasn't something new to us. Plus, until now, it's just been the two of us so scheduling wasn't always the issue that it can be for families. On top of all of that, Doug doesn't bring much of it home and I think he views the job a bit differently than most police officers. Or, at least most that I've met. He likes it, but it's a just a job. That has all made our experience a bit more normal I think.

But, that's not to say that I don't appreciate getting together with other wives. In person, the job isn't something that we wives talk about very often at all. Plus, it's hard to get everyone together anyway! I did discover a fantastic online support site a few years ago, though: National Police Wives Association. It's been a fantastic resource. There is a huge group of women who understand all the crazy aspects of this life and this job. They've all come together for different reasons, from different avenues and from all over the country and even the world. It's not all business on the site, either. We have quite a bit of fun, too. We're expanding the site and focusing on our mission right now by working on some fundraisers and a membership drive. With funds and a large membership base we'll be able to bring some of our great brainstormed ideas to life on the site.

Police wives, girlfriends, fiancees, come check us out. You're bound to find some great information and some wonderful friends at NPWA. Feel free to email me for some more information if you like. And if you do join, tell them I sent you- HallieK.

Depeche Mode!

2009-09-07T13:53:00.005-05:00

Well, it took me a week, but I've got a few photos from the Depeche Mode concert in Houston last week. We didn't take the camera, but Doug's phone is pretty awesome and he emailed me a few during the show.

We grabbed a few snacks and a pillow and hopped in the truck around 4 last Sunday to head down to Houston. The concert was actually at the Woodlands Pavilion which is north of the city. The drive wasn't too bad. There's a lot of nothing between here and there, though. There was a little bit of traffic once we hit the exit for the Pavilion, but that was it. The venue is awesome. The covered seating area is huge and they've got nice big fans going. The lawn is a lot smaller than I thought it would be- certainly smaller than other lawns from which I've watched shows. Plenty of legroom in the covered seats, though, which was really great for Doug, especially once I started dancing. We had really fantastic seats, too, center stage a couple sections back.

Doug took both of these last photos during Personal Jesus. The light show was amazing and that gigantic screen was awesome. There were two smaller screens off to the sides, too. We left after Personal Jesus which started their second encore. We heard the last song while we were walking out. Turned out to be perfect timing for us. We got right out of the parking lot and right onto the highway with no delays and made it home by 2 am which is better than I thought!

Overall, it was an absolutely fantastic surprise from Doug. We had a lot of fun and poor Doug really learned a lot about Depeche Mode... he thought the music was going to be more like Duran Duran or Pet Shop Boys. He was a trooper, though, and said he had fun, too.

Getting bigger

2009-09-01T20:30:00.004-05:00

I discovered today that I could have been taking pictures of myself in the mirror all along. Oi. So, at least I can be doing that for the next 3 months in addition to whatever pics Doug takes.

Getting bigger every day... It seems that Little Miss has totally flipped her schedule. I haven't been feeling her as much during the day the last couple weeks. But, the few times I've been up late, she's been kicking a lot. She used to be awake when I was awake for the most part, but now I think she's mostly awake at night. She's kept me up one night so far. This evening she's been having a bit of a dance party again, too.

Fun, fun, fun

2009-08-28T11:03:00.002-05:00

So, last weekend was fantastic. This weekend has shaped up to be 10 times better! We have fun plans for today to just hang out together. Tomorrow night we're on a party boat with a bunch of friends.

And Sunday... Sunday we're going to the Depeche Mode concert in Houston! Doug called me up last night and said, "You're going into work late on Monday." He got tickets from another guy in the department who was getting rid of them because his wife couldn't go to that show.

I am beyond excited! I have no idea where our seats are and I really don't care. I get to see Depeche Mode. How cool is that!?

What a weekend

2009-08-23T15:35:00.004-05:00

Doug and I had an absolutely lovely weekend together. Friday, I got off at noon and he was off all weekend. We packed up some pool stuff and headed out for a fun afternoon. We had lunch at Austin Java (love the french toast!) and then went to Barton Springs pool. I hadn't been yet and that pool is amazing! It's a teeny bit chilly, but you get used to it quickly. We ended up not staying all that long because in my packing up, I forgot the sunscreen. So, we came home, showered, read and napped for a while. Then Doug made a really tasty dinner and we watched the Dodgers. Excellent Friday.

Yesterday, we hit the farmer's market and the co-op for groceries. I worked at the library in the afternoon. Then, we went out for pizza with friends and went to see District 9. It's a pretty good movie. You end up rooting for the aliens in the end. We also got free tickets because the sound was messed up at the beginning of the movie for about 10 minutes on and off. This psycho woman a few seats down from us kept yelling "Someone go tell the manager!" but she didn't get off her butt to go do it herself. She must have done that three times. Good thing I wasn't sitting next to her...

Today we had a tasty blueberry pancake breakfast, stopped by the garden plot and hit the grocery store for a few more things. Then, Doug had some things to do and I got busy in the kitchen. I've made 3 freezer meals of ham and scalloped potatoes and I've got 2 meals of Hungarian goulash nearly finished. I just need the meat to defrost so I can cut it up. In a bit, I'll be making up some taco meat for the freezer and probably some breakfast muffins or bread. And a coffee cake for this week. Then, I have a really fantastic dinner planned for Doug- tomato pie. Right up his alley.

It's really been quite the nice weekend and we don't usually get to have these on a very regular basis. School keeps me too busy generally. And depending on Doug's schedule, we're often playing catch up on housework and cleaning on the weekends. So, these full weekends of fun are always a very welcome change of pace. We're going to try to get one more in next weekend.

Baby's Quilt

2009-08-20T20:47:00.005-05:00

Last Friday I spent a number of hours with my friend and coworker, Pam, beginning the sewing projects I want to accomplish for Little Miss. I did a lot of cutting, ironing and learning on Friday, with just a little bit of sewing. Last night, I went back over to Pam's and we put together the quilt. I'm proud to say I did a great deal of the sewing. Pam helped with the corners and did the first side to show me what I was doing. She was also kind enough to sew together all the bias tape so we could start right in on the quilt when I got there.

I really think it turned out fantastically. I love the way it looks. The pink that we chose for the edge really pops with the black and white and it's just perfect. I love it with the mobile, too.

We initially were going to make an actual, albeit easy, quilt, with a patterned top fabric and solid colored bottom fabric. Then, while we were at JoAnn's we found this already thinly quilted black and white fabric that I immediately loved. It's reversible and both sides are quite cute. I prefer the black side. Mom preferred the white when she was here and saw it. Either way, it's going to be great.

A close up of the pink with the black side. I'm just so happy with this!

Top 3 best Family Guy episodes

2009-08-19T12:21:00.002-05:00

One of the best Family Guy episodes ever, the Surfin Bird episode, is streaming on Hulu again. Here are my top 3 favorite episodes. These aren't the best clips from these shows, but they'll have to do. I can't find decent copies of the clips I want.

Season 4, Episode 11 "Peter's Got Woods"

Better known as the "Oo, piece of candy" episode in our house.

Season 6, Episode 9 "Back to the Woods"

Totally did not see the ending of this one coming, even though the first James Woods episode is my favorite.

Season 7, Episode 2 "I Dream of Jesus"

How can you not love "Surfin Bird" by the Trashmen?

Police Wives Fundraiser

2009-08-18T11:56:00.006-05:00

The National Police Wives Association has a fantastic fundraiser going on right now. One of our board members has made homemade salsa and pickles and we're selling them! They're going fast so if you'd like to enjoy some fresh hot salsa or bread and butter pickles, stop by and grab a jar before they're gone!

Baby update

2009-08-15T18:16:00.004-05:00

Little Miss had a great time on vacation. At least I'm pretty sure she did. From what I can tell via kicks she loves Doritos, pasta salad and the beach.

We had another doctor's appointment when we got back and all is well. Our second ultrasound is this Tuesday so we'll probably have more pics to post this week.

I started working on some more baby room stuff. Last night I made and put together the mobile for her room. I also spent quite a long time working on the sewing stuff with my friend Pam. We got all the fabric cut and got most of the pieces put together. Wednesday we're going to sew the blanket and next week we're going to do the bumper.

Vacation!

2009-08-14T18:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry it took me so long. Vacation was fantastic, but I had to do a final and finish a project when we got back. Then work was crazy this week so I just haven't had much time for the blog.

Anyway... We did my birthday dinner when we got to NH. Then Sunday we went to the beach, but it was chilly and overcast so that didn't last long. Doug and I would have happily stayed all day because we loved the weather. Then, the rest of the week, we hung out at the house, grilled, went to a baseball game, spent a day in Boston and then hit the beach on a better day.

It was a really fantastic, relaxing week. We got to watch lots of baseball and play lots of cards. I got lots of great sleep... Doug not as much. I had the AC cranked down and it was too cold and loud for him most of the week. Quite nice.

Beach day, the second take. This was Thursday. Top pick is Doug's parents, his sister Kim and us. We got lots of lobster all week, too. Lobster rolls and chowder on the first beach run. Lobster ravioli in Boston's North End on Tuesday. Lobster roll at the ball game in Manchester on Wednesday night. It was all amazingly tasty.

This is the world's fattest cat. Seriously. It was a stray and Doug and Jane adopted it. When they went to the vet, Jane thought it was pregnant, but they discovered it was actually a 20 pound malnourished cat. Got only knows what he weighs now. We all think he's Shadow reincarnated. He doesn't have a name and most of the time is called something that involves the word fat. Although, by the end of the week I think it was decided that perhaps we'd take a page from the Simpson's and call him Shadow 2.

This was on the way home from beach day. I can't remember the name of the place. I'll have to look it up later. We did see some porcupines up here, though, which was kind of weird. I haven't seen those anywhere except Michigan and they hadn't seen them before either. The porcupines were pretty content to ignore us and eat whatever they were eating.

And this is Doug and me outside the Boston Public Library. Tuesday we went to Boston and spent the day at the contemporary art museum and wandering around the library. We saw some really cool exhibits at the library and I explored the chidren's and young adult departments. After, we met up with friends and had dinner, then hung out for a while.

We're off!

2009-07-31T17:14:00.002-05:00

We're off for a week in NH tomorrow. I'm quite looking forward to it. We get in around dinner time tomorrow and then I believe we're grilling at the house- bbq chicken for my birthday! Sunday is a beach day and some friends are going to meet us up in Ogunquit, ME, too. Should be quite a bit of fun and I'm certainly looking forward to one or two lobster rolls from the Lobster Shack in Perkins Cove. Best. Lobster Roll. Ever.

I'll blog with pictures when we get back!

Busy, busy

2009-07-27T11:54:00.001-05:00

I've been MIA, I know. My uncle, mom, sister and brother drove down last week with a car load of baby stuff for us from my aunt and uncle. We have tons of stuff now!

Uncle Jeff left Thursday.

Mom and my brother left Saturday.

My sister leaves tomorrow morning.

My mom painted a dresser we'd gotten off of Craigslist for the baby. Then we papered the drawers and put clothes away. And they cleaned and set up the crib, too. So, the baby's room is starting to come together a little bit.

I'll blog as I can this week. I have tons of end of the semester work to do and we leave on Saturday for a week in NH with Doug's parents. Hopefully I can get a lot of school work finished this week so I don't have to do too much while we're on vacation.

Saturday's Surprise!

2009-07-20T10:23:00.003-05:00

Zach proposed to Monica Saturday night! We're quite happy to have her for a sister/daughter-in-law... I think we all thought of her like that already anyway. She certainly fits in well with this crazy family and we love her!

Congratulations!!

Victor Borge

2009-07-14T10:21:00.003-05:00

I caught a Victor Borge special on PBS last night. Again. I will watch these, in all their forms, not matter how often they're aired. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen a particular sketch, I still laugh hysterically. Even when I'm by myself like I was last night. Not only was he a great comedian, he was an absolutely amazing pianist. I could listen to him all day, comedy or not.

This one starts right after Marilyn Mulvey has said the title of the song she's going to sing:

And, from The Muppet Show

This one just cracks me up

Tiny shoes!

2009-07-08T14:56:00.001-05:00

We got these sweet little shoe-socks from one of my dear friends at work. They're much pinker than this photo shows and they are absolutely adorable!

We're working on the baby registry and we'll send the link out soon. Hopefully we'll have a chance to go look at some diapers this weekend so we can decide what exactly we like. It's hard to tell online sometimes, but I found a great store just north of us in Round Rock that carries a bunch of diapers. They have a freebie bin so people can try out different types, too, which is really neat. We can try that out if we need some more diapers or different diapers once the baby's here.