Happy Halloween from our little Monkey!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Week 2
Week 2 of Working for a Living.
Well I took Friday off if that gives you any indication of how my week was. 4 days was all I could handle. Plus, Kurt came home this morning on the red eye so I wanted to spend a little time with my long lost hubby. Go figure, he goes to San Francisco and the Bay Bridge collapses. It's a sign. Not sure what it's saying, but it's definitely a sign.
So now that I'm settling into the routine of work it's starting to get better. And if you buy that, there's a bridge in Northern California I'd like to sell you. It is still a daily struggle to leave this little girl every morning and march off to the cube farm to talk about "important" things like project plans and change requests. blaah. Sarah Beth has way more interesting things to say these days. She is a total riot. It's not just the sounds but her facial expressions that slay me. I think she could be the next e*trade baby. Or at least the e*trade baby's smart, beautiful girlfriend.
As I mentioned, Kurt flew the coop for a few days, leaving Mommy and Baby with two crazed dogs to deal with. Savannah was absolutely distraught over her Daddy's disappearance. Every time she heard a car door slam she was checking the window, only to be let down when he didn't show up. She was pacing around the house for 3 days literally crying for Kurt. Ridiculous. Moose, stepping in as man of the house, wouldn't let me walk two feet without his escort. Lovely except his CLOMP-CLOMPING down the hallway while I was trying to put SB to sleep in her crib was not really helping me out much.
Tomorrow is baby's first Halloween! We are so excited to get her all dressed up and go to our friend's neighborhood party. Hopefully the forecasted rain will not make an appearance. Pictures will be forthcoming and rest assured the cuteness factor will be through the roof!
Well I took Friday off if that gives you any indication of how my week was. 4 days was all I could handle. Plus, Kurt came home this morning on the red eye so I wanted to spend a little time with my long lost hubby. Go figure, he goes to San Francisco and the Bay Bridge collapses. It's a sign. Not sure what it's saying, but it's definitely a sign.
So now that I'm settling into the routine of work it's starting to get better. And if you buy that, there's a bridge in Northern California I'd like to sell you. It is still a daily struggle to leave this little girl every morning and march off to the cube farm to talk about "important" things like project plans and change requests. blaah. Sarah Beth has way more interesting things to say these days. She is a total riot. It's not just the sounds but her facial expressions that slay me. I think she could be the next e*trade baby. Or at least the e*trade baby's smart, beautiful girlfriend.
As I mentioned, Kurt flew the coop for a few days, leaving Mommy and Baby with two crazed dogs to deal with. Savannah was absolutely distraught over her Daddy's disappearance. Every time she heard a car door slam she was checking the window, only to be let down when he didn't show up. She was pacing around the house for 3 days literally crying for Kurt. Ridiculous. Moose, stepping in as man of the house, wouldn't let me walk two feet without his escort. Lovely except his CLOMP-CLOMPING down the hallway while I was trying to put SB to sleep in her crib was not really helping me out much.
Tomorrow is baby's first Halloween! We are so excited to get her all dressed up and go to our friend's neighborhood party. Hopefully the forecasted rain will not make an appearance. Pictures will be forthcoming and rest assured the cuteness factor will be through the roof!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Moose and Milk Issues
The downside of Kurt’s new job is the fact that he will have to travel now and then. Now started today. As luck would have it, a few minor catastrophes have coincided with his trip. First of all, Moose somehow contracted a skin infection resulting in this wound on his shoulder blade. He has to get it cleared up before he can have the hip surgery. The surgeon specifically said no skin infections – what are the flipping chances he’d get one for the first time in his 8 years right before scheduling the procedure? We took him to the vet and, in addition to his Rimadyl for hip pain, he’s now taking an antibiotic 2x/day and he also needs a topical spray antibiotic applied every 4-6 hours. We can sneak the pill in with some cheese, but as soon as he sees the spray in your hand he runs for the hills. How does he know what it is? It doesn’t hurt him, but I swear our “dumb” dog is secretly a genius because he knows when we’re up to something from a mile away. Fortunately, his hiding place isn’t that sophisticated; he sits very still on his dog bed in our room and tries to blend in with the surroundings as if we’ll perhaps overlook his 50 lb, brown, furry self. If he could whistle nonchalantly and read a newspaper to provide further camouflage he would do it. Hasn’t worked yet, Moose, but I commend your efforts.
The other drama was a literal meltdown last night. I opened the freezer drawer in our less-than-a-year-old beautiful stainless KitchenAid refrigerator to find 3 months of stored breast milk quickly defrosting. Holy cow I about flipped out. I didn't spend countless hours with my boobs hooked up to a portable machine for nothing! It would have been absolutely devastating to lose it all, as I’m now using a lot of the frozen supply to satisfy baby’s milky desires all day long. So my stockpile and some frozen halibut were rushed over to our friends across the street. Kind of weird to ask neighbors to store bags of my breast milk in their freezer, but it was an emergency and they were nice enough to make room. Back to our fridge. As does anyone in the computer age when something malfunctions, we think, “reboot” and unplug it, then replug. Lo and behold, it works and the temperature is back to zero. Great. However, WTF happened, Kitchenaid? We didn’t spend $1800 on a new fridge for it to screw with us 13 days away from the expiration of the 1 year warranty. So I call them up today from work. The Customer Support (and I use that term loosely) hotline is designed to make you give up and go away. First they ask you if you are calling to buy a small appliance like a toaster or mixer. What? Uh, no, why would I customer support to buy a toaster? Next you have to run the gauntlet of options that you have to speak to answer - no button pushing here. This remarkable technology never works and I spend at least twenty minutes repeating my answers. “Refrigerator” “Re-frig-er-a-tor” “REEEE-FRIDG-ERRR-AY-TOR” AAAAHHH! Finally, I get a real live person who kindly informs me that not only do I need the Model number but I need the Serial Number before they can help me. The serial number is located on the inside wall of the re-fridg-er-ay-tor which is in my house, naturally. Dangit! Round One goes to Kitchenaid. I’ll be back.
To top it all off, sweet angel baby who has been sleeping through the night for weeks decided to wake up at 3AM today for an early breakfast. Kurt woke up at 5AM to catch his early flight. Mommy didn’t get much sleep but no rest for the weary; baby slept in ‘til 11AM. I was at work by 8:30. Whoohoo. Let me tell you how into merger integration I was today.
I bet you are anxiously awaiting Halloween photos. Well, we ran out of time on Sunday so we’ll have to do it later this week. Our little monkey is still the most delightful girl in town. She has discovered a new love in Freddie the Firefly who rattles and crinkles and tastes delicious, apparently. Her favorite thing is my water bottle. It’s a greenish-yellow plastic (BPA-free of course) that completely mesmerizes her. She has animated conversations with this bottle. It excites her almost as much as her Daddy does. Glad we spend all this money on fancy toys carefully designed by Master Educators to stimulate infant brains when all along she’d rather talk to a container. That’s my girl!
The other drama was a literal meltdown last night. I opened the freezer drawer in our less-than-a-year-old beautiful stainless KitchenAid refrigerator to find 3 months of stored breast milk quickly defrosting. Holy cow I about flipped out. I didn't spend countless hours with my boobs hooked up to a portable machine for nothing! It would have been absolutely devastating to lose it all, as I’m now using a lot of the frozen supply to satisfy baby’s milky desires all day long. So my stockpile and some frozen halibut were rushed over to our friends across the street. Kind of weird to ask neighbors to store bags of my breast milk in their freezer, but it was an emergency and they were nice enough to make room. Back to our fridge. As does anyone in the computer age when something malfunctions, we think, “reboot” and unplug it, then replug. Lo and behold, it works and the temperature is back to zero. Great. However, WTF happened, Kitchenaid? We didn’t spend $1800 on a new fridge for it to screw with us 13 days away from the expiration of the 1 year warranty. So I call them up today from work. The Customer Support (and I use that term loosely) hotline is designed to make you give up and go away. First they ask you if you are calling to buy a small appliance like a toaster or mixer. What? Uh, no, why would I customer support to buy a toaster? Next you have to run the gauntlet of options that you have to speak to answer - no button pushing here. This remarkable technology never works and I spend at least twenty minutes repeating my answers. “Refrigerator” “Re-frig-er-a-tor” “REEEE-FRIDG-ERRR-AY-TOR” AAAAHHH! Finally, I get a real live person who kindly informs me that not only do I need the Model number but I need the Serial Number before they can help me. The serial number is located on the inside wall of the re-fridg-er-ay-tor which is in my house, naturally. Dangit! Round One goes to Kitchenaid. I’ll be back.
To top it all off, sweet angel baby who has been sleeping through the night for weeks decided to wake up at 3AM today for an early breakfast. Kurt woke up at 5AM to catch his early flight. Mommy didn’t get much sleep but no rest for the weary; baby slept in ‘til 11AM. I was at work by 8:30. Whoohoo. Let me tell you how into merger integration I was today.
I bet you are anxiously awaiting Halloween photos. Well, we ran out of time on Sunday so we’ll have to do it later this week. Our little monkey is still the most delightful girl in town. She has discovered a new love in Freddie the Firefly who rattles and crinkles and tastes delicious, apparently. Her favorite thing is my water bottle. It’s a greenish-yellow plastic (BPA-free of course) that completely mesmerizes her. She has animated conversations with this bottle. It excites her almost as much as her Daddy does. Glad we spend all this money on fancy toys carefully designed by Master Educators to stimulate infant brains when all along she’d rather talk to a container. That’s my girl!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Playtime
Today we were supposed to go up to Pilot Mountain to attend Avery's Pumpkin Party and visit some of our favorite people, Ouida and Greg, but it rained all morning so we decided against making the trip. Having a baby makes you not want to leave the house with her when the weather is yucky and roads are slick. Naturally, the skies cleared and sun came out right around the time it was too late to go. Sigh. Next year, Avery, we are there, rain or shine.
So not to make a waste of the whole day, we had lots of playtime with SB. Playing in her jungle gym, playing in the bouncy seat, and playing at the park. It's so much fun now that she's interacting with the world, grabbing toys (and Mommy's hair), and talking up a storm. She discusses current affairs with Vibrating Chicken a lot and has deep personal conversations with her little Monkey friend. My goodness that girl has a lot on her mind. I can't quite make out her stance on the Economic Crisis or how she feels about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but I do know she is Pro-Milk and a strong supporter of Pampers. Here are a few pics of her morning playtime:
So not to make a waste of the whole day, we had lots of playtime with SB. Playing in her jungle gym, playing in the bouncy seat, and playing at the park. It's so much fun now that she's interacting with the world, grabbing toys (and Mommy's hair), and talking up a storm. She discusses current affairs with Vibrating Chicken a lot and has deep personal conversations with her little Monkey friend. My goodness that girl has a lot on her mind. I can't quite make out her stance on the Economic Crisis or how she feels about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but I do know she is Pro-Milk and a strong supporter of Pampers. Here are a few pics of her morning playtime:
Jungle Gym - she loves this thing!
She used to get mad at the Hippo but now they are friends.
As I mentioned, we went to Freedom Park this afternoon and took some great photos of our girl. Mostly with her Daddy. Some nice woman offered to take a picture of us all together but I said no thanks. Why? Because I am crazy and did not want some strange person getting Swine Flu germs all over my camera. I know, it sounds totally psycho but it is really scary to think of this precious angel getting sick, and the world is a dirty filthy place. The country had to enact a "National Handwashing Day" a few weeks ago. Do we really need a special "day" to encourage basic hygiene? Apparently so. Which reminds me, what is the matter with people who come into work sick? We had someone in our office come in the other day with a fever after having been exposed to H1N1. Are you trying to cause an epidemic? I am walking around the floor looking like a lunatic pulling my sleeves over my hands so I don't have to touch a door handle. Please people, stay home and keep your germs to yourself if you are ill. I don't want them and I assure you neither does my baby. Whoops...went off on a tangent there. Back to the park. We had a great time. Baby was alert the whole time, checking out the scenery. Here are some photos. I know there are quite a few but I took 273 pictures today so by comparison this is nothing...
Staring down her Sassy Bug toy
Sigh. That camera again, Mother?
Dancing on a table with a little help from Daddy
So Sweet! (Love those dang leggings!)
Flying Baby
Pretty
Mommy on the other side of the lens
Beautiful Freedom Park. Our favorite place to spend an afternoon.
I don't know how it's possible but I swear that baby gets prettier every day. She glows. Her skin is like porcelain. I'm going to spend the rest of my life chasing her down with SPF 70. Maybe a burqa isn't such a bad idea. Or we could cover her with a blanket like Michael Jackson did with his kids. We won't be dangling her over any balconies, however. Anyway, it is going to be my mission in life to keep her away from as much sun damage as humanly possible without the other kids thinking she's a vampire or something.
So wish us luck - tomorrow we are going to attempt the monkey and two bananas photo shoot. This should be interesting. Kurt may want to videotape this because I can't imagine it's going to go smoothly. Stay tuned...
Friday, October 23, 2009
Working 9 to 5
As week 1 draws to a close, allow me to share my insights on going back to work.
It just sucks. There's no other way to say it. Leaving my sweet beautiful baby while she's still sleeping and not seeing her little gurgly smiles all day is just awful. I've heard from quite a few working Moms who read my last blog entry and cried along with me. Knowing I'm not alone doesn't make it any easier. She is growing and changing every minute and it makes me sick to miss out on any of it. Already she is showing some preference for the bottle which makes Mommy feel like total crap. We had such a good thing going, she and I. And now this bottle is coming between us. The one fail-safe method to make her happy has been upstaged by a BPA-free plastic bottle from Target. Now before you say, but wait Jen, didn't you spend countless blog entries hoping and praying that SB would take to the bottle? Yes, I did, but I didn't think she would like it soooo much. Be careful what you wish for. Of course she's still eating breastmilk, which means Mommy has to continue the supply even if baby would rather chug from a bottle instead of the tap. Which means pumping. At work. In my car at the moment. There's a mother's room in our office building but I haven't gotten access to it yet so I thought the car was a better alternative to a yucky restroom. It actually works out fine and only takes like 10 minutes total, but I am just waiting for the parking deck security man who tools around in a little golf cart with flashing lights to screech to a halt wondering what suspicious activity is going on in the back seat of my car. Wouldn't he get a surprise! Fortunately, the windows have a dark tint so it's next to impossible to see in the back seat. Sooner or later though I'm sure I'll get busted, so I'd better get card access to the nursing room soon.
In other news, Kurt finally, officially, got on full time with Wachovia, make that Wells Fargo. Yay Kurt! He's been contracting for 5 years. For about 3 of those years they've been telling him he's going to be brought on permanently, so you can imagine his skepticism when they approached him this last time. But it's for real. Whew. Good thing because his days were numbered at his current gig. He's still going to be working in a cube farm, but we are just happy that he will be gainfully employed with benefits and paid vacation. Unfortunately, his boss and most of the team are out in San Francisco, so he'll have to leave behind his beloved wife and daughter to travel occassionally. Not looking forward to that - we haven't had a night without Daddy yet! Good thing we have Moose around to protect us. (Speaking of Moose, you may be wondering how he's doing. We haven't scheduled the surgery but we're planning on doing it the week before Thanksgiving. That way we'll be on vacation and can tend to our poor dog while he recuperates. Needless to say, Turkey Day is going to be slow and simple at our house this year.)
Anyway, I'm coming to the realization that my day now starts when I get home and hold baby in my arms. That's when the sun comes up for me. Everything that happens between 9-5 is just stuff I have to do. When work is done and our little family is home all together - that is what it's all about. What did we do with ourselves before she came along? I can't remember. One of my favorite songs to sing to baby is the Bill Withers classic "Lovely Day." I found myself singing it in my head all week. I think it kept me going. Sing along - she likes this one.
It just sucks. There's no other way to say it. Leaving my sweet beautiful baby while she's still sleeping and not seeing her little gurgly smiles all day is just awful. I've heard from quite a few working Moms who read my last blog entry and cried along with me. Knowing I'm not alone doesn't make it any easier. She is growing and changing every minute and it makes me sick to miss out on any of it. Already she is showing some preference for the bottle which makes Mommy feel like total crap. We had such a good thing going, she and I. And now this bottle is coming between us. The one fail-safe method to make her happy has been upstaged by a BPA-free plastic bottle from Target. Now before you say, but wait Jen, didn't you spend countless blog entries hoping and praying that SB would take to the bottle? Yes, I did, but I didn't think she would like it soooo much. Be careful what you wish for. Of course she's still eating breastmilk, which means Mommy has to continue the supply even if baby would rather chug from a bottle instead of the tap. Which means pumping. At work. In my car at the moment. There's a mother's room in our office building but I haven't gotten access to it yet so I thought the car was a better alternative to a yucky restroom. It actually works out fine and only takes like 10 minutes total, but I am just waiting for the parking deck security man who tools around in a little golf cart with flashing lights to screech to a halt wondering what suspicious activity is going on in the back seat of my car. Wouldn't he get a surprise! Fortunately, the windows have a dark tint so it's next to impossible to see in the back seat. Sooner or later though I'm sure I'll get busted, so I'd better get card access to the nursing room soon.
In other news, Kurt finally, officially, got on full time with Wachovia, make that Wells Fargo. Yay Kurt! He's been contracting for 5 years. For about 3 of those years they've been telling him he's going to be brought on permanently, so you can imagine his skepticism when they approached him this last time. But it's for real. Whew. Good thing because his days were numbered at his current gig. He's still going to be working in a cube farm, but we are just happy that he will be gainfully employed with benefits and paid vacation. Unfortunately, his boss and most of the team are out in San Francisco, so he'll have to leave behind his beloved wife and daughter to travel occassionally. Not looking forward to that - we haven't had a night without Daddy yet! Good thing we have Moose around to protect us. (Speaking of Moose, you may be wondering how he's doing. We haven't scheduled the surgery but we're planning on doing it the week before Thanksgiving. That way we'll be on vacation and can tend to our poor dog while he recuperates. Needless to say, Turkey Day is going to be slow and simple at our house this year.)
Anyway, I'm coming to the realization that my day now starts when I get home and hold baby in my arms. That's when the sun comes up for me. Everything that happens between 9-5 is just stuff I have to do. When work is done and our little family is home all together - that is what it's all about. What did we do with ourselves before she came along? I can't remember. One of my favorite songs to sing to baby is the Bill Withers classic "Lovely Day." I found myself singing it in my head all week. I think it kept me going. Sing along - she likes this one.
When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind
Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day...
When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way
Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day.....
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Doomsday
first day back at work.
The dread started the night before while snuggling with my sweet warm baby thinking about leaving her in the morning before she even woke up. She fell asleep around 12:15 and I stayed up 'til about 1am getting things ready and secretly hoping for a miracle. Woke up at 6:45. No miracle. I checked on sleeping baby. Got baby's milk ready for the day. Checked on sleeping baby. Took a shower. Checked on sleeping baby. Got dressed. Checked on still sleeping baby. I thought maybe I was making enough noise to rouse her but no dice. Just as well I suppose because if I saw those big blues looking up at me my heart would have broken thus rendering me completely useless. So off to work I went leaving my snoozing munchkin behind to start the day without her Momma. My mind can't stop thinking that while she is greeting the world with big gum-baring smiles, I will be sitting in a meeting discussing merger integration. I am going to cry, no, throw up, wait, maybe both. Tears welled up as I said goodbye to Kurt and got in the car, dropping my stuff next to the EMPTY car seat base. Lord help me. I maintained my composure as I drove to work by taking deep breaths and telling myself I would be ok. I held it together and sure enough was sitting in a conference room right around the time my bundle of joy was delighting Elaine with her grinning face. Shoot me now. I managed not to call until after 11am which I thought was very impressive and did not go home for lunch as I had initially thought about doing. Honestly I did not trust myself to return to the office if I did that. It's easier to focus on work and not think about missing her. Except for the fact that everyone keeps coming over to ask how I'm doing and wanting to see pictures of my sweet baby. If people would stop reminding me about it I may be able to make it through the day without that clenched up feeling creeping up my throat. I actually had to look away as folks flipped through her little photo book as I could feel the tears starting to form. When I got home and scooped up my little girl I wanted to cry all over again because it was 5PM and the first time I held her all day. I may have to start waking her up so I can make it through. Is that selfish? I can't decide what the best thing is for her and for me. At least I know she is well taken care of in the safety and comfort of our own home. God help me when she goes to daycare.
So in an effort not to be a total downer (the Doomsday title is perhaps a little over the top), I will list a few good things about the day. (1) My work people were happy to see me. They even sent a little bouquet of flowers to welcome me back. So thoughtful! Which leads me to (2) I have new people to accost with baby pictures. (3) The chick at the coffee shop remembered me and asked about the baby AND they had pumpkin spice flavored coffee. Mmmm...good. (4) I discovered that I did not lose as many brain cells as I thought during my hiatus. I was a little concerned when I couldn't for the life of me remember the floor I worked on for the previous five months, but I think that was due to a psychological block rather than stupidity. (5) Baby was a particularly wonderful girl tonight. She chatted on the phone to her Grandparents and splish splashed with glee in her whale tub during bathtime. She's sleeping soundly now and she's the best thing ever. Being away from her makes me appreciate every silly noise, every wide-eyed smile, every touch of her little hands, every single moment all the more. Great. I'm getting weepy again. Time to go to bed and do it all over again in the morning. First on the to-do list...buy lottery ticket.
The dread started the night before while snuggling with my sweet warm baby thinking about leaving her in the morning before she even woke up. She fell asleep around 12:15 and I stayed up 'til about 1am getting things ready and secretly hoping for a miracle. Woke up at 6:45. No miracle. I checked on sleeping baby. Got baby's milk ready for the day. Checked on sleeping baby. Took a shower. Checked on sleeping baby. Got dressed. Checked on still sleeping baby. I thought maybe I was making enough noise to rouse her but no dice. Just as well I suppose because if I saw those big blues looking up at me my heart would have broken thus rendering me completely useless. So off to work I went leaving my snoozing munchkin behind to start the day without her Momma. My mind can't stop thinking that while she is greeting the world with big gum-baring smiles, I will be sitting in a meeting discussing merger integration. I am going to cry, no, throw up, wait, maybe both. Tears welled up as I said goodbye to Kurt and got in the car, dropping my stuff next to the EMPTY car seat base. Lord help me. I maintained my composure as I drove to work by taking deep breaths and telling myself I would be ok. I held it together and sure enough was sitting in a conference room right around the time my bundle of joy was delighting Elaine with her grinning face. Shoot me now. I managed not to call until after 11am which I thought was very impressive and did not go home for lunch as I had initially thought about doing. Honestly I did not trust myself to return to the office if I did that. It's easier to focus on work and not think about missing her. Except for the fact that everyone keeps coming over to ask how I'm doing and wanting to see pictures of my sweet baby. If people would stop reminding me about it I may be able to make it through the day without that clenched up feeling creeping up my throat. I actually had to look away as folks flipped through her little photo book as I could feel the tears starting to form. When I got home and scooped up my little girl I wanted to cry all over again because it was 5PM and the first time I held her all day. I may have to start waking her up so I can make it through. Is that selfish? I can't decide what the best thing is for her and for me. At least I know she is well taken care of in the safety and comfort of our own home. God help me when she goes to daycare.
So in an effort not to be a total downer (the Doomsday title is perhaps a little over the top), I will list a few good things about the day. (1) My work people were happy to see me. They even sent a little bouquet of flowers to welcome me back. So thoughtful! Which leads me to (2) I have new people to accost with baby pictures. (3) The chick at the coffee shop remembered me and asked about the baby AND they had pumpkin spice flavored coffee. Mmmm...good. (4) I discovered that I did not lose as many brain cells as I thought during my hiatus. I was a little concerned when I couldn't for the life of me remember the floor I worked on for the previous five months, but I think that was due to a psychological block rather than stupidity. (5) Baby was a particularly wonderful girl tonight. She chatted on the phone to her Grandparents and splish splashed with glee in her whale tub during bathtime. She's sleeping soundly now and she's the best thing ever. Being away from her makes me appreciate every silly noise, every wide-eyed smile, every touch of her little hands, every single moment all the more. Great. I'm getting weepy again. Time to go to bed and do it all over again in the morning. First on the to-do list...buy lottery ticket.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Great-Grandma, Great Pumpkins, and a Vibrating Chicken
Pooped Pumpkin
We had a very special visitor this weekend. Great-Grandma flew all the way from New Jersey to meet our little Sarah Beth in person. It was such a wonderful moment to have 4 generations of women all together on one couch soaking in the joy that is our baby.
Great-Grandma is one impressive lady. Dealing with Newark Airport at any age is a major headache, but it's a really big ordeal for Great-Grandma. We're so thankful that made the trip. One should never reveal a woman's age, but I will say that she is over 85 and has more energy that anyone even half her age. She bought Sarah Beth a play gym and got down on the floor with her. Are you kidding me? She also looks great. I mean hair done always put together in a nice coordinating outfit kind of great. I hope I inherited some of her spunk and style.
Pretty Ladies!
As I mentioned, Great Grandma got a little jungle play gym whoosywhatsit for SB. This thing is crazy - a colorful play mat to lay on while gazing above at a crisscross of dangling animals, mirrors, music and lights. It's like a baby disco. Wow. A little overstimulating for me but SB really likes it. She played for over 20 minutes before getting bored and that is like 7 hours in baby time.
Check this out
Grandma brought her a new toy too. A yellow chicken that has a clear plastic bubble in it's belly with confetti in it that vibrates when you pull the string. Who comes up with this stuff anyway? What are they smoking to arrive at "Vibrating-Chicken-Confetti-Belly Toy" idea? Whoever they are, I would like to thank them because Sarah Beth loves that dang chicken. Who knew?
Baby and Chicken
We had a really nice visit with the Grandmas. They oohed and aaaahed over our munchkin as only Grandmas can. We started talking about Great-Grandma's father (that would be Great-Great Grandpa) and how he came over to this country from Ireland by himself when he was only 10 to live with relatives after his parents died. Went through Ellis Island and everything. My dad's father Raymond had a similar story of being passed to relatives when his mother died. His father turned 2 of the 4 brothers over to family in Massachusetts and then took the other two, Raymond and Jimmy, on the train to drop them off with diffferent relatives in NJ. They missed the stop where Raymie was supposed to end up, so the family that took Jimmy ended up raising both of them. Fascinating to think about our roots and how mistakes like missed train stops changed the course of our lives and as a result we end up with wonderful creations like Sarah Beth here. I have got to write down all the family stories I have heard over the years to pass down to our daughter. The ones my Dad tells of being a police officer in a small NJ town in the fifties are laugh out loud funny. A grittier version of Andy Griffith if you will. If you ever run into my Dad, be sure to ask him about the time he and his partner jumped out of a moving police cruiser due to loose raccoon in the back, or the time he got shot during a traffic stop but then saw the perp later that same night and caught him. Thankfully the guy had bad aim and my Dad had good reflexes or I would not be sitting here typing this blog.
Notice how I'm not talking about going back to w-o-r-k tomorrow? I'm in denial, I think. Surely divine intervention will strike and I will be able to sit at home with SB and watch the Sprout channel while we sing songs and make funny faces at each other. If I believe hard enough it will happen...I believe I believe I believe. Say it with me people. If believing in fairies can bring Tinkerbell back to life than surely believing I can stay home forever will make this little tiny miracle occur.
At any rate, work or no work we are planning a fun filled Saturday trip to see Aunt Weedie and Uncle Greggie in Pilot Mountain. Yes we are traveling up to Mayberry territory to attend the Linkous Pumpkin Carving and Halloween Extravaganza. (Hmmm...2 references to Andy Griffith in the same post? How weird. I don't even like Andy Grifitth. Or Matlock for that matter.) Now this is a very important occasion because not only will it give us an opportunity to dress SB up in her monkey costume, but we will also be introducing her to Mr. Avery, her future husband. Now Avery was born in February so he is much older and wiser than our little girl, but we think he will be charmed by her good looks and sparkling personality, and they will hit it off immediately. We took baby to the pumpkin patch around the corner yesterday to pick out her very own pumpkin. It was cold. She's never experienced cold weather so I think she was a little unhappy about the whole experience. Mom and Dad dressed her up in the warmest thing she has, a fleece pram with teddy bear ears. Not sure how she felt about that either, but she looked awful cute and only a little annoyed, don't cha think?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Dinner Date and Random Photos
Last night, Kurt and I had a long overdue first post-baby dinner date at our favorite restaurant Fiamma. Oh how I have missed that place! We had our rehearsal dinner there. We trade baby pictures with the wait staff. It is our place, and 3 months has been way too long. Salmon tartar for starters followed by seafood risotto for Kurt and prosciutto-wrapped filet mignon for me. Sorry vegetarians but there's something wonderful about meat wrapped in other meat that warms my heart. Or maybe that's just the sensation of my arteries clogging. The 2 glasses of red wine I drank surely cancelled out any negative health effects of the beef, right? Wine is good for your ticker. All bets are off however when it comes to the delicious chocolate tart, melting the dollop of vanilla ice cream with its warm, chocolatey, oozy goodness. If it is possible to capture LOVE and put it on a plate, that is what they did with this dessert. Enough about our gluttonous feast, but if you are in the Charlotte area and have never been to Fiamma, I suggest you treat yourself to the best, most reasonably priced Italian food in town.
Here are a few random pics from the past few days...
Here are a few random pics from the past few days...
Love this outfit! It's cozy warm. We had to break down and turn on the heat the other day. Typical Charlotte weather - goes from summer to winter in the matter of a few days. She looks awfully cute in fleece though so we'll be ok with colder temperatures. We got this at Target by the way. Target rules.
Another cute outfit. This one from Linda and Clay.
Here she is working it with the monkey in our bouncy seat.
Closeup of the adorable socks.
The bouncy seat workout is exhausting...
Baby hanging out with Aunt Elaine. Check out those chins!
Slobbery Moose kisses for Baby
Another cute Halloween outfit. Trick or Treat!
Here's a preview of how we are going to humiliate our dogs on Halloween.
We have one for Moosey too. The costumes come with banana hats, but they resemble something you'd see at a Klan rally so I think we'll skip the headgear. We're going to do a photo shoot this weekend. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Poor Moose
Poor Moosey. He had a rough day on Monday. It started with the drive to Raleigh. He stood up the whole way. 2 1/2 hours. Kurt drives a Honda Element, so Moose can stand between the driver and passenger seats and see out the front. He doesn't want to miss anything. Sometimes he helps Kurt drive by sticking his head on the armrest, nudging Kurt's arm and subsequently nudging the steering wheel if Kurt isn't careful. It's very nice of Moose to try to help, but there's a reason dogs aren't allowed to drive.
After the long trip, they arrive at the vet and Moose has his examination. They kept him for the afternoon so they could sedate him to do x-rays, so Kurt had to wander around Raleigh for a few hours looking for a Starbucks WiFi connection. He returned to pick up Moose at 4. Apparently Moosey was still rather doped up because when they brought him out, he saw Kurt through the glass partition next to the door and WHACK walked right into it like a bird into a window, causing a collective groan from everyone seated in the waiting room. Poor Moose. Good thing he has a hard head.
So the good news is that Moose is a candidate for the hip replacement. He's healthy and his skeletal frame is big enough to support the bionic hip. I wish blogger had sound effects so I could play the nananananana sound from the Bionic Woman whenever I say bionic hip. Whatever happened to Lindsay Wagner anyway? Did her career wither away and die on Lifetime like Meredith Baxter Birney and Melissa Gilbert? If you want to watch something funny...check this out. Bionic Woman on Hulu Weren't the 70's hilariously cheesy? They also have Fantasy Island on Hulu which was one of my favorites when I was little. Just to see Tattoo ring the bell and say "De Plene, De Plene" again is worth the visit to this site. What was the deal with that show? There was some really weird crap that happened on Fantasy Island. Maybe it was just Ricardo Montalban's accent but I always felt like I was getting away with watching something naughty.
Back to Moose. After a long drive home, Moose and Kurt arrive to much fanfare from Savannah, who has been sulking all day. Poor Moose walks in the kitchen stoned as a hippie at a Grateful Dead concert. He just stood there in the middle of the room kind of swaying for a few moments before he made it over to the water bowl. He was very suspicious of us (again, much like a stoned hippie would be), refused treats and dinner and managed to 'hide' in the bedroom on his dog bed most of the evening. He wasn't back to normal until the next morning when he realized how hungry he was.
Oh the other piece of good news is that he only needs one hip replacement. He had already had a femoral excision (where they remove the hip ball) 6 years ago and the doctor felt that once the other hip is fixed, he'll get enough strength from that hip to compensate for the other one. Whew. Great for Moose and great for our bank account. It will only cost us the expense of a European Vacation for 2 instead of for 4. We didn't want to go on vacation anyway. Sigh. We haven't scheduled the surgery yet; we're trying to figure out when is the best week to do it. They only do surgeries on Thursdays and we'll have to pick him up on the following Saturday. He'll be pretty miserable for the first few weeks and won't be able to walk downstairs to go outside in the backyard. We'll have to walk him on a leash out front which should be fun since he goes bananas every time he sees the leash come out. I'm sure Savannah won't exactly be Florence Nightingale either. One of her favorite pastimes is to grab his back legs while he's walking up the stairs. Such a little stinker, she is.
So keep Moosey in your thoughts as we get him scheduled for his big operation. It was such a miserable experience for him (and for me) 6 years ago that I'm dreading it, but he'll be a much happier, pain-free dog 8 weeks later who will finally be able to give Savannah P. Dog a run for her money! Nanananananana...
After the long trip, they arrive at the vet and Moose has his examination. They kept him for the afternoon so they could sedate him to do x-rays, so Kurt had to wander around Raleigh for a few hours looking for a Starbucks WiFi connection. He returned to pick up Moose at 4. Apparently Moosey was still rather doped up because when they brought him out, he saw Kurt through the glass partition next to the door and WHACK walked right into it like a bird into a window, causing a collective groan from everyone seated in the waiting room. Poor Moose. Good thing he has a hard head.
So the good news is that Moose is a candidate for the hip replacement. He's healthy and his skeletal frame is big enough to support the bionic hip. I wish blogger had sound effects so I could play the nananananana sound from the Bionic Woman whenever I say bionic hip. Whatever happened to Lindsay Wagner anyway? Did her career wither away and die on Lifetime like Meredith Baxter Birney and Melissa Gilbert? If you want to watch something funny...check this out. Bionic Woman on Hulu Weren't the 70's hilariously cheesy? They also have Fantasy Island on Hulu which was one of my favorites when I was little. Just to see Tattoo ring the bell and say "De Plene, De Plene" again is worth the visit to this site. What was the deal with that show? There was some really weird crap that happened on Fantasy Island. Maybe it was just Ricardo Montalban's accent but I always felt like I was getting away with watching something naughty.
Back to Moose. After a long drive home, Moose and Kurt arrive to much fanfare from Savannah, who has been sulking all day. Poor Moose walks in the kitchen stoned as a hippie at a Grateful Dead concert. He just stood there in the middle of the room kind of swaying for a few moments before he made it over to the water bowl. He was very suspicious of us (again, much like a stoned hippie would be), refused treats and dinner and managed to 'hide' in the bedroom on his dog bed most of the evening. He wasn't back to normal until the next morning when he realized how hungry he was.
Oh the other piece of good news is that he only needs one hip replacement. He had already had a femoral excision (where they remove the hip ball) 6 years ago and the doctor felt that once the other hip is fixed, he'll get enough strength from that hip to compensate for the other one. Whew. Great for Moose and great for our bank account. It will only cost us the expense of a European Vacation for 2 instead of for 4. We didn't want to go on vacation anyway. Sigh. We haven't scheduled the surgery yet; we're trying to figure out when is the best week to do it. They only do surgeries on Thursdays and we'll have to pick him up on the following Saturday. He'll be pretty miserable for the first few weeks and won't be able to walk downstairs to go outside in the backyard. We'll have to walk him on a leash out front which should be fun since he goes bananas every time he sees the leash come out. I'm sure Savannah won't exactly be Florence Nightingale either. One of her favorite pastimes is to grab his back legs while he's walking up the stairs. Such a little stinker, she is.
So keep Moosey in your thoughts as we get him scheduled for his big operation. It was such a miserable experience for him (and for me) 6 years ago that I'm dreading it, but he'll be a much happier, pain-free dog 8 weeks later who will finally be able to give Savannah P. Dog a run for her money! Nanananananana...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tatt-oops
October is a good month for us. We conceived little Miss Perfect last October. Kurt and I met on the rooftop of The Gin Mill, a bar here in Charlotte, 4 years ago this month. The first time I saw Kurt he was wearing a tight black vintage looking t-shirt, tight rockstar style jeans and black boots. He had longish thick hair and tattoos almost hiding under his shirtsleeves. In a sea of boring bankers in the Charlotte "uniform" of blue button-down untucked with khaki pants or cargo shorts and flip-flops, he stood out. I thought to myself, now there is an interesting guy - clearly not boring banker material. As fate would have it, I caught his eye too, and we started talking. Within minutes I found out that he was indeed a banker, but not the boring variety at least. He also was in a band, the lead singer as his buddy Chris pointed out several times...what a good wingman he is. In addition to both working at THE bank (as opposed to the OTHER bank - you Charlotte bankers know what I mean,) we found out we both went to UNCG at overlapping times. We both had dogs. We both had been married before. We hit it off immediately. I will not say that I took him home with me that night because my Mom reads this blog and that would clearly be an unsafe move for a single gal, but the bank does do background checks so I knew he at least wasn't a convicted felon. Anyway, we've been together ever since.
Flashforward 4 years...the band is no longer together. We haven't seen the inside of a bar in ages, and the rockstar jeans (both his and mine) are retired. All that remains of the glory days for poor Kurt are the tattoos. Oh dear, the tattoos. Well, one is pretty G-rated. An asian style tiger. Colorful. I'm sure Sarah Beth will like it. But the other one...well...it's inspired by japanese anime and it's a lovely young lady scantily clad, clutching an AK-47 or some kind of weapon. Uh-oh. We have a problem. I think Kurt first realized that this tattoo and children wouldn't work when we visited my niece and nephew in New Orleans a few years ago for Thanksgiving. They were 10 and 8 at the time and caught a glimpse of his tattoo. "What's that on your arm?" "It's um, a dolphin..." -Kurt answered. "A dolphin? Doesn't look like a dolphin" -they said suspiciously, followed by a slight wrestling match to reveal the full tattoo at which point my nephew declared. "That's NOT a dolphin! That's a butt! You've got a butt on your arm!" Which turned into the talk of the weekend. "Dad, did you know Kurt's got a butt on his arm?" "Grandma, Kurt's got a BUTT on his ARM!" Oh lordy they would not let it go. So sadly, Kurt will soon have to go back under the needle to get a longer skirt tattooed on the lady that adorns his arm. One more sacrifice for our beautiful daughter's sake, but clearly necessary. There's something a little unsavory about having our precious angel baby draped over his arm sucking away on a tattoo of the butt of some chick holding an automatic weapon. Kids, let that be a lesson to you when you pick out your tattoos!
Flashforward 4 years...the band is no longer together. We haven't seen the inside of a bar in ages, and the rockstar jeans (both his and mine) are retired. All that remains of the glory days for poor Kurt are the tattoos. Oh dear, the tattoos. Well, one is pretty G-rated. An asian style tiger. Colorful. I'm sure Sarah Beth will like it. But the other one...well...it's inspired by japanese anime and it's a lovely young lady scantily clad, clutching an AK-47 or some kind of weapon. Uh-oh. We have a problem. I think Kurt first realized that this tattoo and children wouldn't work when we visited my niece and nephew in New Orleans a few years ago for Thanksgiving. They were 10 and 8 at the time and caught a glimpse of his tattoo. "What's that on your arm?" "It's um, a dolphin..." -Kurt answered. "A dolphin? Doesn't look like a dolphin" -they said suspiciously, followed by a slight wrestling match to reveal the full tattoo at which point my nephew declared. "That's NOT a dolphin! That's a butt! You've got a butt on your arm!" Which turned into the talk of the weekend. "Dad, did you know Kurt's got a butt on his arm?" "Grandma, Kurt's got a BUTT on his ARM!" Oh lordy they would not let it go. So sadly, Kurt will soon have to go back under the needle to get a longer skirt tattooed on the lady that adorns his arm. One more sacrifice for our beautiful daughter's sake, but clearly necessary. There's something a little unsavory about having our precious angel baby draped over his arm sucking away on a tattoo of the butt of some chick holding an automatic weapon. Kids, let that be a lesson to you when you pick out your tattoos!
Bumbo Everybody
The Bumbo seat is a riot. Just look at her. How cute is she? I don't know who came up with it but it's pure genius. Must be from Sweden or some Norweigan country - looks like a chair you'd buy at Ikea. She's not quite sure what to make of it but I think she appreciates being able to sit up on her own and swing her arms and feet.
What is this thing Mommy?
I can wiggle my feet!
Look at this big girl holding her head up!
In other news, today is the day that Moosey goes to the vet college in Raleigh to see if they can turn him into a bionic dog and replace his hips. Kurt took him this morning and I'm sitting here awaiting the report. If he's a good candidate they may go ahead and do the surgery this week. Poor Moosey. He's already been through one surgery when he was just a young pup and it was traumatic for both of us.
Moose in Action
He'll be a brand new dog after this though and will be able to chase after Savannah with gusto. Savannah won't know what hit her; she's so used to flying by Moose, taunting him with her speed. Boy will she be surprised! She is, by the way, very depressed today without Moose around. She saw her Daddy taking him in the car this morning and about had a meltdown. She's had a rough few days herself. Daddy gave her a bath outside on Saturday and apparently the water was too cold because she ended up with Limp Tail syndrome. Yes that's a real thing. It happens when the dog is in cold water and the muscles or whatever at the base of the tail are temporarily injured. She kept us up ALL NIGHT wimpering and trying to get comfortable. I know it was painful but she was quite dramatic about it. It was awful. Just when we get one baby to sleep through the night our other "baby" keeps us up. Oh the irony.
Puppy Playtime
Stay tuned for updates from Moosey's day at NC State. Kurt said they were going to cruise the campus afterwards for young co-eds - I'm hoping Moose doesn't pick up any sorority girls while he's there...the only lady allowed in his life is his Momma!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Open Letter to Miss Sarah Beth on her 3 Month Birthday
Happy 3 Month Birthday sweet Sarah Beth!
We can't believe how quickly time has flown by. You have completely captured our hearts, little girl. Every day you are growing and changing and becoming your own little person, and we are so blessed to watch you. Already you have mastered the art of grabbing the hanging animals from your bouncy seat. You've expressed preference over the monkey in particular. Much better than the hippo, evidently. We think we've figured out that you're left-handed like your Momma. You have delighted us with your big gummy smiles and bubble-blowing and laughter and have cracked us up lately with all the new sounds you're making. You spent the longest time trying to stuff your whole fist in your mouth and ended up with fingers in your eyes and your nose. Now you are sucking that thumb like a professional. You used to like being cradled in our arms, but now you want to sit up and see the world with your head proudly held high. You are such a strong girl already - a grip of steel grasping onto a baby handful of Mommy's hair -ouch! You are now sleeping through the night - you've come such a long way from feedings every 3 hours. You can eat from the bottle now, even for your Daddy. You can even sit like a big girl in your bumbo seat. Is it really possible that you're fitting into 6 month outfits now? All those Christmas-y sleepers people bought for you are being worn before Halloween! Everyone who sees you is shocked at the length of the gorgeous lashes framing those big blue eyes of yours. I can't believe our good fortune to have such a wonderful baby. You have changed us too, from footloose and fancy-free Jen and Kurt to diaper-changing, spit-up wearing, over-the-moon in love with you Mommy and Daddy. Never did I know how much pleasure I'd get out of changing a full diaper or getting a boogie out of your nose or just watching you sleep. We can't wait to see what you have in store for us for the next 3 months, baby. We love you more than words can say.
Love always,
Mommy
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The "W" word
D-Day is approaching. I am actually going to have to leave my baby and go to w-o-r-k. This is terrible. I knew it would be bad but the very thought of if makes me want to start crying, no, sobbing. I've always been a modern, independent kind of gal. Never did I dream that someday I'd be longing for the "Leave to Beaver" type of arrangement where Dad goes of to work every day while Mom stays home with the baby and does the cooking and cleaning. Now, before I make a certain demographic of my friends run for the commode to upchuck or call a psychiatrist for me, let me assure you that I wouldn't be fulfilled darning Kurt's socks all day. I don't even know what "darning" socks means. I would definitely need to have a side career, like photography or hmmm...maybe writing, to be satisfied with my life. But it would be awfully nice to have that flexibility so I could hang out with our dear girl most of the day and teach her all sorts of wonderful things about the world. But alas, it is not to be. At least not this year. Maybe someday.
I am thankful that Kurt's sister Elaine will be taking care of SB while I'm off to work. It makes it slightly easier to leave knowing that baby will be with someone who loves her like we do. Slightly easier. She has been here nearly every day for the past 2 weeks. It's harder for me, I think, than for Sarah Beth to adjust to having another caregiver around. There are times when I want to rip her out of Elaine's arms and scream "give me my baby!" but SB is perfectly happy and Elaine is very patient with both of us, thank goodness. I'm getting better. I've left the house a few times without crying or rushing home. I even managed to catch up with my friend Jenny for a few cocktails the other night. Which brings up a whole tirade that those not in Charlotte probably won't care about. So out-of-towners, please talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes while I indulge myself...
After driving around aimlessly for a few minutes, Jenny and I decided to head to Elizabeth Avenue to grab a drink at one of the restaurants over there. Imagine my shock and horror to discover our favorite cheap Mexican restaurant, Mexicafe, (the site of SB's FIRST dinner out) and its sister restaurant NOFO have closed down! Tragedy! Where am I going to get delicious cheap fish tacos??? Where will Kurt get a delightfully refreshing but not too overpriced mojito??? It is all the City of Charlotte's fault and I for one think this travesty should not go unnoticed. The stupid aforementioned City of Charlotte decided to SHUT DOWN Elizabeth Av for the past what, year and a half in order to put in a TROLLEY LINE. Really? A flipping Trolley Line? Apparently construction wasn't supposed to take that long. They started digging or whatever and then realized that the soil was unstable and it took like twice as long. First of all, why a trolley? Do you really need in-ground trolley tracks running down Elizabeth Av? Secondly, didn't they test the soil to make sure this whole cockamamie idea would be feasible? Did they not realize that this fiasco would completely destroy the mom and pop businesses on that street? Every time you drove anywhere near there you needed a GPS and a navigator sitting in the passenger seat to figure out how to get close enough to park and even then chances were you had to jump over construction cones or a ditch to get to the poor business you were trying to patronize. The street is now open but evidently too little too late for our favorite mexican place. If the Elizabeth Creamery goes out of business I'm going to have to stage a protest. The city should compensate these business owners for the hell they've been put through. Maybe take some of the money Charlotte has set aside for artsy trash cans (that's right, decorative waste bins- what were they a few grand a pop?) and reallocate them for a Mexicafe grand reopening. We will be first in line.
So what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the "W" word. I should at this time point out that I am incredibly grateful to my company for the generous Maternity Leave policy that it offers. I've been off work since July 1 and have not had to skip a paycheck. That is an amazing benefit. Not to mention the nice touch of a silver spoon that our company founder sends to every new baby born. Isn't that thoughtful? I know I bitch and moan about working, but there are very few companies out there that support employees in such a way so once again in the grand scheme of things, we are very fortunate. Time to pay it back and start billing some hours again soon. Although I'd much rather pay it back from my Powerball winnings...only 3 more drawings left, people. We're really cutting it close here!
I am thankful that Kurt's sister Elaine will be taking care of SB while I'm off to work. It makes it slightly easier to leave knowing that baby will be with someone who loves her like we do. Slightly easier. She has been here nearly every day for the past 2 weeks. It's harder for me, I think, than for Sarah Beth to adjust to having another caregiver around. There are times when I want to rip her out of Elaine's arms and scream "give me my baby!" but SB is perfectly happy and Elaine is very patient with both of us, thank goodness. I'm getting better. I've left the house a few times without crying or rushing home. I even managed to catch up with my friend Jenny for a few cocktails the other night. Which brings up a whole tirade that those not in Charlotte probably won't care about. So out-of-towners, please talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes while I indulge myself...
After driving around aimlessly for a few minutes, Jenny and I decided to head to Elizabeth Avenue to grab a drink at one of the restaurants over there. Imagine my shock and horror to discover our favorite cheap Mexican restaurant, Mexicafe, (the site of SB's FIRST dinner out) and its sister restaurant NOFO have closed down! Tragedy! Where am I going to get delicious cheap fish tacos??? Where will Kurt get a delightfully refreshing but not too overpriced mojito??? It is all the City of Charlotte's fault and I for one think this travesty should not go unnoticed. The stupid aforementioned City of Charlotte decided to SHUT DOWN Elizabeth Av for the past what, year and a half in order to put in a TROLLEY LINE. Really? A flipping Trolley Line? Apparently construction wasn't supposed to take that long. They started digging or whatever and then realized that the soil was unstable and it took like twice as long. First of all, why a trolley? Do you really need in-ground trolley tracks running down Elizabeth Av? Secondly, didn't they test the soil to make sure this whole cockamamie idea would be feasible? Did they not realize that this fiasco would completely destroy the mom and pop businesses on that street? Every time you drove anywhere near there you needed a GPS and a navigator sitting in the passenger seat to figure out how to get close enough to park and even then chances were you had to jump over construction cones or a ditch to get to the poor business you were trying to patronize. The street is now open but evidently too little too late for our favorite mexican place. If the Elizabeth Creamery goes out of business I'm going to have to stage a protest. The city should compensate these business owners for the hell they've been put through. Maybe take some of the money Charlotte has set aside for artsy trash cans (that's right, decorative waste bins- what were they a few grand a pop?) and reallocate them for a Mexicafe grand reopening. We will be first in line.
Ok I'm done. I feel better. Non-Charlotteans, thank you for your patience.
So what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the "W" word. I should at this time point out that I am incredibly grateful to my company for the generous Maternity Leave policy that it offers. I've been off work since July 1 and have not had to skip a paycheck. That is an amazing benefit. Not to mention the nice touch of a silver spoon that our company founder sends to every new baby born. Isn't that thoughtful? I know I bitch and moan about working, but there are very few companies out there that support employees in such a way so once again in the grand scheme of things, we are very fortunate. Time to pay it back and start billing some hours again soon. Although I'd much rather pay it back from my Powerball winnings...only 3 more drawings left, people. We're really cutting it close here!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
She's a Maniac...
....And she's dancin' like she's never danced before.
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As promised, the cutest baby ever in the cutest leg warmers ever. I can't stand it.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The sleepinest, most bottle-eatinest baby around
Drumroll please......we have a new sleeping record. Sarah Beth slept almost 9 hours last night! From around 1AM to almost 10AM. We checked on her several times to make sure she was still breathing, of course. She was just wiped out apparently. Oh and even better news, in the ongoing struggle of the bottle, the BOTTLE IS WINNING! And when the bottle wins, everyone wins. She took it twice yesterday and drank down 3 oz - the whole bottle this morning. Yay baby! The Avent botle seems to work the best so Mommy went out to Target and bought some more. Mommy also bought striped LEG WARMERS for baby! How flippin' cute is that. Rest assured, we will be sporting those and singing the Flashdance soundtrack soon. Pictures to follow. In the meantime, here are some shots from this morning of our snoozing baby.
Delicious Thumb
Her "oh I have a headache" pose
Stretch it out baby!
- Kurt has a horrible case of poison ivy. He worked in the yard on Sunday ripping out some of the ivy that covers our property and the ivy fought back. It looks like he took the poison ivy in his arms and hugged it. Icky.
- Great-Grandma is flying in on Friday all the way from NJ to meet our little girl here. She is a very classy pretty lady and I'm sure Sarah Beth will just love her.
- I spent 70 dollars on baby's first halloween costume, including shipping and handling. And rush delivery so Great-Grandma can see it when she visits this week. Fiscally irresponsible of me but oh will it be worth it to see our little monkey all dressed up.
- I ordered a bunch of photos from the shutterfly site (ok, I ordered all of them) and just so you know our baby is even more beautiful in glossy print then she is on the computer screen, if that is even possible. Totally unbiased opinion.
- I will tease you with these words. Moose and Banana Costume.
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