Ms-Volks

Mullet

2012-01-24T05:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Bella's local stylist "Daddio" at "Jeffery's Salon" decided to trim her bangs. He got a little enthusiastic with the scissors and the results were mullet-ish. As I was watching this transpire, I was laughing so hard, I was crying. Bella kept saying, "Mommy sad!"

We made an emergency appointment at Kid's World for a haircut. Although her bangs now extend halfway back her head, her hair looks much more "managed" now. She was a great client. She only flinched a few times, even when the hair dryer came out. Dora was on a small TV in front of her and a row of televisions extended down the wall so there was no shortage of things to look at. I'm sure the highlight for her was a sucker and sticker at the end of the hair cut. (Clearly my camera is on the fritz, but these are the only pictures I have of the haircut!)

(Mullet: before)

(Super scary side pony + sucker: after)

A New Year's Tale

2012-01-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

It’s New Year’s Eve, your first New Year’s Eve out of the house in 4 years. Your toddler happily plays with another couple’s toddler while you engage in adult conversation and card games. There are snacks and sparkling fruit beverages to drink. You make it past midnight with a kiss and the promise of a better year ahead.

Then you hear your child crying from across the room. She has fallen from her chair. She is gagging. Is she upset or is she choking on something? You call your husband, who tries performing the Heimlich. You call the hostess, a midwife, who tries vigorously smacking your child’s back. Your child is crying and wheezing. Her face is red. She’s having an allergic reaction, but you don’t know what she ate. You race to the diaper bag and dump its contents on the floor. This is no time to be tidy. You grab the Epipens and hand them to the midwife: “will you do it?” You ask. She doesn’t know how to use this kind. You take out the safety cap and jab your daughter’s leg with the first pen. “You’re supposed to hold it in her leg!” your husband exclaims as the midwife jabs the needle back into your daughter’s leg and holds it there. The Epipen has been wasted and no medicine dispensed. Your husband takes the second Epipen and jabs it into your daughter’s other leg. She continues to wheeze, to cry. He holds the pen in her leg for a long time. You holler for the host to call 911.

The steps to take in the case of an emergency reaction are there, carefully memorized, carefully documented and retold to caregivers, but in the terror of the moment, the information comes in bits and pieces to your frazzled mind.

The people at 911 are slow. They ask too many questions, relayed to you by the host. Send an ambulance already, you think! The host tells 911 that you will drive yourselves since you are near the hospital. You ask the midwife to drive so you can sit and talk with your daughter in the backseat of the car.

Naturally it is snowing out; snow on top of the freezing rain from earlier in the evening. The car slips and slides and the trip takes longer than it should. Your daughter is still wheezing, but she responds in a small, clipped voice to questions about the Woody movie (“Toy Story”) and Evie, her favorite friend at school.

The hospital is nearly empty. You frantically tell the security guard at the desk that you have a child who is having an allergic reaction. He’s in no rush to find someone to help you. You realize you are a bit wild-eyed and panicky as you wait only minutes before inquiring: “is someone coming to help us?” The Epipen only buys you so much time. What if your child passes out while the security guard is doodling on his notepad and the ER personnel are waking from their post-midnight stupor?

You are taken to a room where, amidst much renewed crying and frantic clinging, a monitor is placed on your child’s toe. Her oxygen level is good. Her heart rate is fine. A doctor listens to your story and sends in a nurse with a nebulizer. Other nurses blow bubbles and cheer for your child as the nebulizer nurse holds a mask to your daughter’s face. She struggles to push the mask and its strange vapors away. It’s another moment where you find yourself apologizing for the hard, sometimes painful things that you have to let happen to your precious child.

The nebulizer is done and the original nurse comes back in with an assistant. They are going to wrap your child up “like a burrito” before inserting a port into her arm. More misery as your child struggles against being wrapped, against being stuck with the port, and wails as the nurse administers 3 different intravenous drugs – a steroid, pepcid and Benadryl.

Everyone leaves, and as you hum and stroke her forehead, your daughter falls asleep. Too short a time later someone comes to get you. It’s time for a chest X-ray. You are pregnant so you have to wait in the hall and listen to the wailing as your husband helps hold your daughter in place.

Back in the room again and your daughter falls asleep. The doctor wants to monitor her for a few hours, so the lights are turned out. It’s nearly 2 AM and the long, long night of waiting begins. Your husband climbs into bed and cuddles your child. You watch the end of a Reese Witherspoon movie on television. The doctor comes in to check on your daughter. She is red and sweaty. It is a reaction to the steroid. She continues to sleep. You watch Piers Morgan interview Beyonce, listen to “Snow Patrol” on your IPod and update your 2012 calendar. The doctor comes in every hour. Finally, your daughter is released.

At 5:45 AM on New Year’s Day, you bundle your sleepy child into the car and make the slippery drive home.

4 months to go!

2012-01-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

Three Christmases

2011-12-26T19:01:00.001-08:00

Christmas started with a week visiting my parents in Iowa before Christmas. We celebrated Christmas with them on the 22nd. Bella is into the presents part of the holiday this year. She was ready for "more toys" as soon as she opened one gift, it was on to the next. We'll have to work on that for next year.

On Christmas Eve in the morning we stopped over at my sister's house to see baby Issac and play with Benjamin and Andrew.

We spent Christmas Eve evening at Jeff's dad and stepmom's house. They make a ton of delicious appetizers and have Jeff's grandparents, his brother/wife/family, and stepbrother/wife/family over. It makes for a full house. We got a great impromtu shot of them with all of their grandkids in front of the Christmas tree.

On Christmas morning we opened the gift Santa left for Bella and enjoyed biscuits with jam (Bella) and cinnamon rolls (Jeff and I) before heading to Jeff's mom's house for another celebration.

Another cousins picture, this one at Jeff's mom and stepdad's house on Christmas day.
The merriment continued into the late afternoon...

Christmas Program / Macy's

2011-12-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

While I have been a terrible blogger this month (and for the past several months), I have done an excellent job of taking pictures of Bella. Lots of photos in this post and more to come.

On Bella's last day of school before the holiday break, there was a holiday program to attend. Our first school program! Bella sat in the front row next to her teacher and shook her jingle bells through all three songs the toddlers sang. I'm pretty sure she was supposed to stop after they sang "Jingle Bells". Her mouth didn't move during the program, but it turns out she does know the words and melody to the song because we have been treated to bursts of "Jingle Bells" for the past few weeks (complete with little hands "shaking" imaginary bells).
I was delighted to see that Bella and her favorite friend, Evie, were wearing the same dress! It works when you are 2, not when you're 15.

While Jeff studied for finals on Saturday, Bella and I went with Grandma Rose to see the Santaland display at Macy's in Minneapolis. It was mostly scary for Bella, unfortunately, but she did enjoy shopping and snacking with mommy and grandma for the rest of the morning.

Baby Isaac

2011-12-14T18:13:00.000-08:00

My sister's fourth son, Isaac James, was born last night at 8:35 pm. He's a big boy, 9 lbs, 10 oz and 21.5 inches long. Bella and I are excited to "borrow" him so that we can practice mothering/being a big sis so we are ready for our new baby this May.
And I have to mention: Issac means "he will laugh" - what a wonderful name!

"I baking"

2011-11-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

My Bella is now a cook. Baking/Cooking is a tad messier with her as my sous chef, but so much more enjoyable.

Winter Stylin'

2011-11-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

The Magic

2011-11-22T04:46:00.000-08:00

I think Bella has already caught on to the magic of Christmas. She is completely enamored of the Christmas tree and the lights. The ornaments are new, favorite playthings. We're working on being very gentle with fragile items and she's done very well so far.

On Reading

2011-11-20T18:55:00.001-08:00

This summer I read "Unbroken". It would be more accurate to say I devoured "Unbroken". The book languished on my reserve list at the library for months, from the time in January or February when I heard an interview with its author, Laura Hillenbrand, until August. By then, I had borrowed my parent's copy. I stayed up late, lolling in a rocking chair on their porch for several hot summer nights, breathing in the tale of Louie Zamparini.

There has been a bit of a drought in the reading department since then. Then, voila, this week not one, but two books I put on my reserve list at the library came in. Two books recommended by Parade magazine sometime this summer, books which I had eagerly put on my list back in the days when I, bolstered by coffee, enjoyed an hour of "me-time" before Bella woke up. It's much harder to get up early now, particularly on cold, dark mornings without the promise of coffee. Instead, my prebed ritual this week finds me curled up on the couch, beside the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, reading Ann Pachett's "State of Wonder". If I'm fast enough, and Bella takes long naps over the Thanksgiving break, I might also get through "Wonder Girl" before both are due back to the library on December 3rd.

The dishes might not get done. And we may keep digging for socks in the unfolded baskets of laundry, but too bad! Reading, oh how I missed you...

I-O-W-A

2011-11-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Jeff and I got to take a day trip to Iowa City to see some of my girlfriends while Bella spent the day with Nana and Boppy. We met up with Bonnie, Melissa and Anne at a tailgate at 9 AM. Some people had been there since 6! Not much has changed in game day tailgating since I was a college student. Except now I'm the 30-something in the dated Iowa sweatshirt at the tailgate. Jeff went to the game (a real stinker!) with Melissa's husband, while the gals headed back to Anne's house to 'watch' the game and catch up. It was a bit of whirlwind, but totally worth it to get to spend some time talking and laughing with friends.

Avoiding nap

2011-11-09T07:03:00.001-08:00

Bella has many ploys to avoid naptime (and bedtime) these days. Last Thursday she merrily adorned herself with the contents of one of my drawers. I think instinct tells her that if she seems occupied and isn't bothering us, maybe we will forget we were trying to put her to bed?

Halloween! better late than never

2011-11-02T08:24:00.001-07:00

Bella is still talking about the Elmo pumpkin which was, unfortunately, "scary". Since we carved the pumpkin she has requested that Mommy or Daddio lay down with her at bedtime. Shoot.

On Saturday night, Grandma and Grandpa held their annual Halloween party. Jeff and I were party-poopers this year. Instead of finding costumes, we wore our Hawkeye/Gopher gear since Iowa was playing Minnesota in football (we won't discuss the unfortunate outcome of that game...).

Bella got a second year out of her ladybug costume from last year.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-24T12:26:00.001-07:00

We made it to the pumpkin patch! I'm a room parent at Bella's school and one of my responsibilites as room parent is to, along with my co-room parent, Jacki, organize an outing for the Toddler class families. We thought an apple orchard/pumpkin patch outing on a Sunday in October would be perfect. Unfortunately, we did not check the Vikings schedule for the weekend. We're pinning the blame for poor attendance (meaning it was just the room parents, our children/spouses, and lead teacher who attended) on the Vikings/Packers game that took place at the same time as our outing. Ah well. We got some apple cider and cider doughnuts out of the experience anyways.

Coming up for air

2011-10-13T12:29:00.001-07:00

It's been a while. A busy fall with two scholars in this house starting school, and one scholar teaching by night and working by day makes for little time to blog. But my teaching term is OVER, and I'm coming up for air. There will be apple pie a la mode to celebrate tonight!

Not much happened outside of our comings and goings to one school or the other, but a few notable events occured:

We made our first "couple" friends, ever. In our nearly 5 years together our couple friends all started out as friends with one of us first. This fall we have befriended the parents of a little boy in Bella's class and enjoyed what will hopefully be the first of many shared dinners with them.

Bella has made her first friend, a little blonde named Evie. She is the daughter of one of the assistant teacher in Bella's classroom (good thinking, Bella!). Whenever we ask Bella what she is going to do at school that day, she says "Evie". I guess they danced together one of the first few days of class and have been bonded ever since.

Jeff got in a car accident, but he was uninjuried and not at fault, so we have been driving a rental for the past 2.5 weeks and thanking our lucky stars for small favors.

This past week was glorious. The trees were golden; the sky clear and blue; and the temperature mid-70s to mid-80s for over a week. Minnesota's last hurrah before winter sets in. Don't be surprised if reports of snow from this neck of the woods comes before too long.

Bella is learning how to cook:
She looks great in Jeff's cowboy boots and is ready for our next visit to see Auntie Maggie in Dallas:

The "peak" fall colors hit just in time for my Auntie Vicki's visit from California. Last time she was here in early October, it snowed. This time it was in the 70s and 80s. Go figure!

No time...

2011-09-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

...for blogging, just a quick hello from your favorite Elmo-lover:

Twins

2011-09-08T12:47:00.001-07:00

Last year, when Target Field opened, we were thrilled. Outdoor baseball in Minnesota - what a treat! We promised my dad tickets to a game (hopefully versus his favorite, the New York Yankees) for his birthday/Father's day present last year. We never managed to scrounge up tickets, so this spring we finally got tickets for a Twins/White Sox game for the day after Labor Day. (Tickets are still a hot commodity; maybe we'll get to a Yankees game next year).

My sister graciously hosted my parents for their visit since Jeff, Bella and I have been living with his mom (who also babysat so we could have a toddler-free game night experience).

We rode the light rail downtown from Fort Snelling, something I should really do again. It takes away the stress of freeway driving and gets me into a CITY without driving/flying to Chicago.
The stadium is beautiful. Our seats were in the nose bleeds. As in the very last row in the upper deck, but we were able to sneak down a few rows and snag some empty seats from no-shows.

Jeff had a great time, but said this is how he felt after spending the past 6 days slaving away in our basement.

Como Zoo

2011-09-05T19:21:00.001-07:00

On Labor Day, a crisp, cool, sunny September day (perfect, actually), Bella and I joined my parents, Sarah and her kids at Como Zoo for the morning. I thought for sure that since we read a book about the zoo before bed every night Bella would have lots to say about the animals, but she was Sober Sally with little to say. She did thoroughly enjoy riding in Sarah's wagon whenever she was fast enough to climb in before one of her cousins. There were 4 adults, 4 children, 2 strollers and a wagon, so we were in good shape to herd our group through the zoo.

50th Birthday Party

2011-09-04T07:06:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Jeff's stepsister, Beth's, 50th birthday with a big family bash on Saturday. Bella had a blast playing with her cousins.

Beth, aka Tee-Ta, surrounded by her nephews and neices. Bella loves Tee-Ta. I forsee a trip to Madison to visit her in our future.
Most of the gang huddled for a group picture after cupcakes and candles.

Utter devastation

2011-09-02T18:33:00.001-07:00

Two words that describe our formerly lovely family room/basement: utter devastation. The flood took its toll and this week we finally had a little time to access the damage and deal with it.

We became nomads this week too, when we saw what a mess the basement is and the messy work that would be required to clean it up. Fortunately we have lots of family who live nearby and are kind enough to host us. With my return to work and Jeff's return to school, I wonder how long it will take to get this space into water resistent, working order. Until then, you will find me plugging away from my sister's, my mother-in-law's, my brother-/sister-in-law's or a coffee shop. It's good to be mobile.

Riding the Red Line

2011-09-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

This poem is so Chicago...

Riding the Red Line

by Eric Nixon

On the subway
On a hot summer night
Riding the Red Line
Outbound to Alewife
So is everyone else
Standing in the packed car
Staring blankly at the
Reflections in the window
Stealing looks every so often
At the pretty mid-20-something
Sitting on the seat near me
Noticing that she is
Glancing sideways
At the paper the person
Next to her is reading
Well not so much reading
Since he's got his eyes
Looking to the side at
Someone else behind me
Everyone is pretending
To look somewhere neutral
Everyone is experiencing
Ulterior motives checking out
Everyone else around them
Trying to be all sneaky about it
With each stop
The people change
The dynamics change
Keeps the subway car
Fresh and interesting
Just as long as she doesn't leave
I'll be happy standing here
Packed among strangers
With wandering eyes
And stealing glances
Alongside them
On this hot, hot night
"Riding the Red Line" by Eric Nixon, from Anything But Dreams.

Four years and a First

2011-09-01T18:49:00.001-07:00

Four years ago today I became a MN resident. Amazing. You cross a state line in a U-haul with your boyfriend and suddenly you call a new state your home.

And yesterday, Bella had a first day of Montessori school. A whole 15 minutes of "Phase-In" fun. She came out with a tear on her face, but I'm sure before long we will be dragging her from the building at the end of the day.

The Great Minnesota Get Together

2011-08-30T06:40:00.001-07:00

An added benefit of taking my stay-cation the last week in August: we could attend the State Fair on a week day. Monday was perfect, weather-wise, and all aspects of our morning outing went smoothly. I'm sure it helped that on Saturday Jeff diligently mapped out our route using the food finder and fair map. We had to make sure to hit all of our 'regulars'. First up: mini-donuts and coffee (for me) and a Pronto Pup (for Jeff).

Then we tested out the kiddie carnival rides to add some pleasure to Bella's outing. She got to enjoy 3 rides, the carousel with Daddy:

She rode the "Choo-choo" with Mommy:

And the big slide with Daddy:

Then Jeff needed a mid-morning snack, aka a foot-long hot dog:

We were delighted to learn that the "World's Greatest French Fries" (truly quite delicious, especially with an icy cold root beer) were fried in vegetable oil and therefore Bella-friendly.

We also discovered that the salt water taffy (a bargain at $2 for 8 pieces) is a Bella-friendly food. She loved it!

And after 3 hours of heavy eating we were all ready to go home and hit the hay. Some of us didn't quite make it.

Staycation starts now

2011-08-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

Never ever would I have thought that the idea of staying home for 10-days worth of vacation time would sound so amazing. But it does. I am delighted to be up on my porch with my coffee, family sleeping, as I compose an extensive "to-do" list for my stay-cation week. The yard needs weeding, the basement needs fixing, Bella school bag needs packing, the list goes on and on, and for once, I will have time to do it all. Happy heart!

Big Girl Bed

2011-08-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

It happened last night. Bella refused to go to bed in her crib.

A few weeks ago we brought a twin mattress into her room to get her used to the idea of sleeping in a different bed. We play and read stories on the bed. Well last night, she desperately wanted to sleep on the bed. We've tried this before and ended up with a little person out in the hallway over and over again. This time, she stayed put. She slept all night through. No tears. In fact, it's 7:50 am, she's sitting up in bed right now, and she hasn't called out for me yet.

August

2011-08-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

August has just sort of happened to me. Here we are, the 24th of the month, and I have about 5 blog posts rattling around in my head, along with a slew of pictures that need sharing. I'll start with the most recent, my two-part trip to Chicago.

My colleague, Holli, with whom I have worked very closely (via telephone) for the past 3 years decided to go back to school and get her MBA this fall. We hired a new team member and I was asked to come down to Chicago to help with training.

Chicago in August? Sign me up!

My mother-in-law, Rose, also a lover of Chicago, signed on to be Bella-care in the city. I give her loads of credit for this. I'm not sure even I would have wanted to spend 4 days with a two-year-old in downtown Chicago. But she did it, with pleasure.

The trip came in two parts. I went down for a solo, two-day stint during Holli's last week. I got to enjoy morning runs by the lake, a trip up north to meet my friend Heidi's baby, and "good-bye to Holli" drinks with co-workers after work on Friday.

One view from my lakeside morning run.
Heidi and Leia.
I loved seeing a huge Marilyn statue surrounded by tourists on my walk to work each morning. That doesn't happen in my real life.

Then I hopped a plane and headed home for 40 hours, shopped, did laundry, repacked, before returning with Rose and Bella.

Bella caught sleep when and where she could.

Being in the office was great. After being a satilite office all by myself for so long, working from the office, networking and talking with people who I've known for years, and meeting new people, reenergized and refocused me (workwise).

Socially, we kept busy too. We enjoyed eating at a few of my favorite restaurants and shopped Michigan Avenue.

At the Disney Store we met many stuffed friends who would have really liked to come home with us.

Dining in for breakfast at the hotel. She's already quite worldly.

On Monday night we met my friend Elizabeth and her daughter Bea at Ben Pao downtown. The spicy peanut noodles and seasame chicken they serve are my all-time favorite Chinese dishes. As if I didn't love the place enough already, they cooked the seasame chicken to order, allergen-free, so that Bella could eat it too!

Tuesday night, Elizabeth graciously volunteered to drive downtown, during rush hour, to pick Bella and I up at work; hosted a Bella-friendly dinner at her house that our friend Robin and her son Teddy could come to; and then drove me back downtown again. It was a delightful night of chasing babies, giggling, watching them dance together, and dreaming of longer visits together where we get to watch these children grow up as friends. (Unfortunately my phone/camera was dead that night, so I didn't get any pictures of the kids together.)

Wednesday night we met my friend Leslie, her husband Matt, and their daughter Charlotte for a concert in Millenium Park. Our conversations were mildly hilarious as one of us tried to feed a roly-poly 10-month old and the other tried to chase down or hold in place a wily 2-year-old. But we caught up. We enjoyed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. We watched the sun go down over the skyline. It was an absolute treat. Sigh.

The view from the State Street bridge on our walk home from Millenium Park.

Poor Bella ended the trip with a 24-hour flu that started early Thursday morning.

I love love loved these trips to Chicago, but it was really good to be home.

For Maureen

2011-08-17T08:40:00.001-07:00

Today I’m wearing a lovely fushia shirt with a shiny satin bow. This shirt, borrowed from my sister, belonged to her sister-in-law, Maureen.

A few weeks ago, I raided my pregnant sister’s closet, looking for suitable “professional woman” clothing for a business trip to Chicago. She carefully lifted this tidily-folded pink shirt from the stack, and offered it to me. “Do you want to borrow this? I don’t want to stretch it out by wearing it anymore.” I remembered how lovely my sister had looked in this shirt when she wore it to my daughter’s 2nd birthday party, so I added it to my stack of borrowed items and took it home.

I’m wearing this shirt today with a black pencil skirt, a skinny grey belt, and black pumps.

A few months ago, after I complimented my sister on a cute shirt, she mentioned that it had belonged to Maureen. She said Maureen’s husband offered the clothing to her before donating the rest to a woman’s shelter.

I’m wearing this shirt today while I train my new colleague and attend team meetings in my office on Michigan Avenue. I’ll be wearing this shirt tonight, to an open-air concert in Millenium Park, surrounded by the skyline of the city of Chicago.

A few days ago, my sister called me and asked: “did you have a plan for wearing that pink shirt of Maureen’s?”

“No,” I said, “not yet.”

“Could you wear it on the 17th”, she asked.

“Sure,” I said, “but … why?”

I’m wearing this borrowed fushia shirt today, because today would be Maureen’s 33rd birthday. I’m 33 years old and I’m wearing this shirt today to honor Maureen, who never got to be 33 and never got to see her child’s 5th birthday, and whose memory should be kept alive, especially today, by everyone who knew her.

Gal pals

2011-08-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of gal pals who go way, way back to when my age was still a single digit. We try to get together as a group at least once a year. It's getting more complicated as more babies join our ranks, but since none of our parents have left our home town, we have a convenient meeting-point, complete with babysitters, for the late night part of the getting togther.

Amazingly I had not seen my friend Bonnie, to whom I used to be attached at the hip, since she stood up in my wedding 3 years ago. And Jamie, who came with her husband and 3 kids, I have not seen since her wedding, 10 years ago. I'm a bit blown away by how that much time has passed.

Melissa and her husband played hosts at Melissa's parent's house. They made us a Mexican feast (Bella-friendly food!), set out the kiddie pools, and dished out snacks of watermelon and juice boxes. It was perfect on a hot, humid July afternoon.

I got to meet/kiss my friend Anne's new baby, Teegan; chat with Jamie's son. Matthew; push Melissa's son, Camden, on the swings. Bella was Miss Independent, enchanting people with her funny little deep voice.

Let's do this again next year, Ladies!

L-R: Anne, Bonnie (holding Anne's daughter, Teegan), Melissa (holding Camden), Jamie (holding Drew), me & Bella (back); Keely, Samantha, Matthew and Bella (front)

Grandma and Grandpa

2011-07-24T18:56:00.001-07:00

It's 4 pm on a Sunday afternoon and Bella is napping. I'm standing downstairs in my demolished basement looking at the work that has been done to clean up after the flood. Jeff's Grandfather has been down on his hands and knees cutting an inch-high piece of drywall from the base of the two exterior walls of the main room so we can find out if the insulation in the wall is wet and therefore, on it's way to molding. Jeff's Grandma is pushing a flat edge tool across the floor, scraping up flakes of wet Kilz paint from the cement. I've been hauling bags of debris up the stairs and out to the garage while Jeff hacks on a crowbar pulling up the narrow, sodden pieces of wood that line the edges of the basement. Did I mention Grandma and Grandpa are 85 and 86? It seems they were worried about us after hearing us tell our basement story at a going-away party Saturday night. So they did a slow cruise by our house earlier this afternoon to see if we were home; came in to inspect the basement; and offered their help with finding out how much damage was stuck behind the walls of the basement. A lot, as it turns out. Now the whole west wall of the lower level is torn out up to hip level. Pools of water stood at the base of those walls, hidden by the trim, and was slowing being absorbed up into the insulation in that wall.

So, today, I am amazed again by how fortunate we are to have people like Grandma and Grandpa in our lives. To have people who worry about us and who willingly offer a hand and several hours on a gorgeous afternoon to slub around in a stinky basement. I get goose-bumps and a little teary watching Grandma and Grandpa work. I hope that's me in 50 years, helping Bella's son or daughter out with some home repair. I'll make sure my kids and grandchildren know they came from good stock and that the lesson in this family is you lend a helping hand whenever you can.

Dear Lake Tahoe

2011-07-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

You are so beautiful. Wish we were there again this year...

The Beast

2011-07-21T08:18:00.001-07:00

Some call it a bug; I call it a beast. It's that itchy-itch that makes some of us unable to sit still in the same place for too long. It says: Hit the road! Hit the skies! Get out of dodge! The beast wants to see new places, to travel.

This body houses a beast.

Today, my beast is longing to be in Paris, where a big work meeting is taking place. The beast is roaring because two colleagues of mine left last Thursday for France and have been "working" in Paris all week. The beast is not happy.

However, the beast recently learned that a trip to Chicago is in the works for August. It's no Paris, but this snack should tide the beast over for a bit.

Flash flood

2011-07-16T19:03:00.001-07:00

A flood passed through last night/this morning. It turned the golf course into a lake, our backyard into a river, and our basement into a pond. That makes three "freak" occurences that have left us with a sloppy wet basement, and damaged or ruined carpet. Three strikes, you're out Mr. Basement.

Minnesota, we are outta here!

If you look closely, you can see how high the water was on the window.

Now the basement looks like this:

Janet

2011-07-11T04:41:00.000-07:00

When Bella was 3 months old, I returned to work and Bella started going to daycare two days a week. We found Janet through sheer luck. I ordered a list of daycare providers from the county and starting with the A's, made a few calls. We met with several in-home daycare providers and centers, and after much discussion, referral calls and a second visit, decided on Janet.

The first thing that sold us was the space. It's downstairs, entirely separate from Janet's living space. The space is huge,bright and airy, with it's own kitchen, bathroom, and a big shaded patio and jungle-gym outside the back door.

While Bella was in her care, Janet was unbelievably flexible with us and always took great care to abide by all of the weight- and allergy-related feeding guidelines. She also gave me a lot of good child-rearing tips over the past two years. This spring we decided to end our contract with her and it was a surprisingly emotional decision for me. When I picked Bella up for the last time, I brought Janet flowers and I cried. I suppose it was just one of the many milestones in Bella's life that will choke me up.
...but the good news is Janet doesn't mind if we come back for visits. So we're going next week!

Elmo's World

2011-07-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

"La-la la-la-la, la-la la-la la, Elmo's World!" It's official. I'm the parent of a toddler. On Friday Bella was sick with a high fever, which we later learned was being caused by a bad ear infection. She was a sad little case. All she wanted to do was lay and stare, her hot little body snuggled up to Mommy or Daddy.

The last time she was sick, during the weekend we didn't spend in Dallas, we discovered - with joy! - that our Netflix streaming has Sesame Street on it. (It truly is fun for the whole family). Since then, Bella has become a huge fan of that furry red monster, Elmo. (What is it about that guy that is so endearing to children? I haven't figured it out yet.) "Elmo" is one of the words she pronounces most clearly. On Friday, when she was feeling so crummy, barely drinking, eating, or talking, she would give us this beseeching looking and croak out "Elmo" while pointing at the television, and who were we to turn her down?

We watched a LOT of Sesame Street on Friday.

This brings me to the point of this post: television-watching for children. Sigh. I used to claim, rather loudly, that I thought those DVD-players that people have in their cars are ridiculous. "My sister and I read and played games when my family drove to California," I said "why do we have to plug our children in?" I asked. I laughed a little when a kindhearted soul handed down some Baby Einstein videos: "we probably won't need these, but we'll keep them just in case."

Well, why do we plug the kids in? Because now, I say to that loud, childless woman: when my sanity is at risk, when my kid is sick, when my kid is screaming and it's 1, 2, 3 in the morning, when I desperately need to just do the darn dishes and not sit on the floor and stack another block - at those moments I need some parenting help. I'm not asking Sesame Street, or Bella's beloved Baby Einstein movies to babysit my child, and I will still shrilly defend limiting Bella to 30 minutes a day (with exceptions for sickness and allergy-pain-related-night-screaming) a day. Maybe this means I'm a lazy parent, but I'll stick with Elmo. I could have kissed his furry little head on Friday and I'm sure we will find his services useful again before long.

Meeting Sintayehu

2011-07-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

It's been several years since my friends Leslie and Jake started talking about adopting a baby. In 2008, they came up to stay with us while attending some classes on adoption. Sometime that spring I wrote a letter of reference for them as part of their adoption application. I gave them a glowing report. I consider them family, so I was quite happy to get to tell the people in charge that any child would be very lucky to be placed in their home. The path to this adoption was never smooth for them, but it was with great joy that they finally brought their then-15-month-old daughter, Sintayehu, home from Ethiopia this past April.

The build-up was worth it; she is an absolute doll:

Starting about a week after they returned from Africa, Jeff and I started discussing when we could visit. We managed to keep our distance until last weekend. Restraint was required.

Leslie is a better blogger than I, and in her post about our visit she mentioned we have known each other for 15 years. How can it be that someone I met during my first week of college has known me for a decade and a half ? If only I had an digital picture of us, circa 1996, to put right here. Instead, one of me and our daughters will have to suffice. Did I mention we're already planning a trip to Paris for the 4 of us ladies?
Our visit was lovely. Oliver (7) still remembers that he and I used to spend lots of time together in Chicago and he bothered to hold my hand on a walk during our visit. Such a sweetie! He and his brother, Eli (4.5), are getting so big.

In this picture, I think Bella and Sintayehu are deciding who's driving when they take Dad's car for a joy ride later. Jake and Jeff will both have white hair before these two are through with them:

Then Sintayehu decides chewing on the keys would be a lot more fun than driving a car...

Leslie and Jake treated us to some delicious vegan fare during our stay. It was so good, I will be calling them for recipes for us to enjoy and share with company in the future. We also enjoyed some good porch-sitting on our visit. There was wine, chatting, and sitting on Saturday night, and coffee, chatting, and sitting on Sunday. Kindred spirits!

The grand finale of our visit was watching the fireworks from the roof of the YMCA (Jake's Dad is the CEO, so he has some pull). We had perhaps the best hour of Bella's life before the fireworksm when we got to run around and chase balls in the Y's gym. The girl loves to run, so she ran and ran.

Luckily I did not have to be too sad when we left on Sunday morning since we will be treated to a return visit from this fabulous family early next month. Hip hip hooray!

Yellow is my new favorite word

2011-07-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

This is probably only interesting to me, as something to look back on later, but here is a wee Bella update:

Bella says 'yellow' now, and 'rain', 'apple', 'water', in addition to lots of 'mommy-daddy-uh-oh-owie-baby-dolly' and many many more words. We're having a word explosion. It is very long-awaited and very welcome. Bella calls my dad 'Boppy', an interesting manipulation of the name 'Bop' that Samuel, his first grandchild, bestowed on him. My mom is 'Nana' and some version of that also applies to a yellow fruit packed with potassium that this family enjoys on a regular basis.

Bella climbs up into the green recliner in our living room and "reads" to herself when I'm doing dishes or otherwise occupying myself, testing her ability to self-entertain. She says 'Elmo!' with glee and sticks stickers in her Elmo's World sticker book.

Bella runs, very fast, and has made my heart nearly stop on several occasions when I feared Jeff or I would not have the speed to catch her before she encountered the myriad dangers that face toddlers in this big scary world.

Bella learned somewhere that it is smart to do what is asked after the person asking reaches the number '3'. I read somewhere once that toddlers react passionately to being removed from things they are actively engaged in, or from having things removed from their possession without time to process, etc. Because of this, I have been trying to tell Bella what I plan to do, or what I want, after I count to 3. We're batting about 75% success with this little trick, so I like it, and I will keep pulling it out of the tool bag to try to avoid screaming fits.

At her two-year doctor's appointment, Bella was 33 inches tall (2 more and we must move her into a toddler bed... a day I dread since I have finally started to get multiple uninterrupted nights sleep every week). She is, sadly, still peanut material, weighing in at 22 and 3/4 pounds and very capable of fitting in many of her 12-18 month clothes. But she held her growth curve, and she is no more picky then most toddlers, I hear, so we'll keep plugging away and trying to pack on the pounds.

First Guests of the Summer

2011-06-22T05:36:00.000-07:00

The second week of June brought visitors from California to the Midwest. My cousin, Scott, and his wife, Tammy, and their daughters drove out for a visit to Iowa and Minnesota. For the past two summers we have done a week at a cabin with them and our extended family (my parents, aunt, sister etc), but this summer we decided to save some cash and make it a regular old home visit.

We met them in Waterloo and then proceeded to Dyersville to show them one of Iowa's only claims to fame: The Field of Dreams. That makes 2 visits to the site in Bella's short life. She enjoyed snagging a baseball and running the bases. She has gotten quite fast, and slow to begin with, I am getting slower with age. This is not a good combination.
Bella and Macy, Scott's 2 year-old, played ball and, too cute, laid on the pavement together.

After Dyersville, we headed to Dubuque to spend a day and a half checking out my mom's (and Scott's dad's) roots. We visited the house where Mom grew up; the park where she once played; and paid our respects at the cemetery where our grandparents are buried. Mom has spent a great deal of time doing genealogical research since she retired, and it has been fascinating learning the roots of that side of my family; seeing where those family members once owned land; and visiting their graves.

The girls enjoyed playing around each other. Bella is not yet at the "playing together" stage.

We took our guests to one of Minnesota's claims to fame: The Mall of America!

... and we met up with Sarah and her brood at LEGO land...

What a crew!

On Bella's birthday we drove over to historic Stillwater and enjoyed a visit to the park ...

... and lunch by the river.

Then we celebrated Bella's birthday with Elmo cake and 30 of her favorite people...

It was a wonderful visit complete with nightly bonfires and much roasting of marshmallows and good food.

Happy 41st Anniversary

2011-06-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

... to the cutest couple I know!

My parents are celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary today. My cousin was visiting last week and he said to me: "I know I'm prejudiced because they are my aunt and uncle, but your parents are just the nicest people". I said: "I agree."

Not only are they genuinely nice, caring people, they have a marriage that is standing the test of time.

Once, when I was young, my parents must have been snapish with one another because I became convinced they were going to get a divorce. In order to help facilitate a reconciliation, I blasted Celine Dion's "The Power of Love" from my boombox.

I needn't have worried. My parents are still very happily married. I catch them holding hands while we are out for walks alll the time. They were my safety net while I was growing up and very generously let me be a third wheel for most of my twenties when I still really needed them. Now I still need them for many many things, just in a different way. My parents are on speed-dial when crisis, real or imagined, ensued. They have talked me down off of more ledges that I can count.

Congratulations Mom and Dad on 41 fabulous years of marriage!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

2011-06-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

Our baby is TWO and what a celebration we had for her birthday. A Mexican fiesta, a Bella-friendly chocolate cake, 12 kids, 14 adults, oh my, what a night we had!

Helping Bop prep for the party:

Blowing out the candles on her Elmo cake. Bella recently learned to purse her lips and blow when things are hot. It came in handy on her birthday. After she blew out the candle, she signed and said "more?" So we did it again!

A few of our nephews Drew, Nathan, Matthew, and Jake:

Opening presents:

My cousin's daughter, Macy (2.5 years), enjoyed pushing Bella around in her new Cozy Coupe:

Bella's boyfriends, Teddy and James, get some practice on the sit-and-spin:

Summer fun!

2011-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

Dallas Weekend

2011-06-03T05:43:00.001-07:00

We squeezed in our make-up trip to Dallas over the Memorial Day weekend. Amazingly we found a better, cheaper hotel and only spent an extra $6 on the flights. I love Southwest. If only we didn't have a layover pretty much everywhere I want to go when we fly them.

Bella was a crazy woman on the flight down. We had an extra seat on the first leg of the flight, from here to St. Louis, which was wonderful since she didn't want to sit on either of our laps and enjoy any of the great distractions I brought. The Sesame Street sticker book held her attention for about 10 minutes. The fruit snacks, 2 minutes. The play dough, which she can spend nearly an hour on at home, 5 minutes. Oy! Anyway, we survived and were safe and sound in our hotel by 11 pm, 4.5 hours after take off.

Maggie, Jon, and their 7-week old, Theo, live in a cute neighborhood in Dallas with trendy, boutique-type shops nearby, and (love love love) Starbucks. How could you not make a habit out of Starbucks when it is literally across the street?

Maggie and Jon were terrific hosts. They fed us and sent us off to the pool daily. Theo was an incredibly well-behaved newborn. I barely heard him cry. He let me snuggle him daily. I am sure it helped that I have dark hair like his mom and he can't see very well yet.

On Saturday afternoon, we took a trolley from their townhouse to downtown Dallas and walked around. It was a hot and humid 95 degrees and windy:

Mags, Bella and Theo bond while waiting for the trolley home:

Daddy and Bella strolling in downtown Dallas:

Taking a peak at Theo by the pool:

Bella and Daddy had fun in the pool:

Twin boys go to Bella's daycare, so she has had some exposure to babies this year. She liked to push Theo in his swing (or just push the swing). She liked to pat him (gently, Bella, gently!). And she really liked his stuffed animals.

Our gracious hosts:

On Monday afternoon during while Bella napped at Maggie's, Jeff and I snuck off to the Book Store Depository/6th Floor museum. Jeff took a lot of good pictures of the area, but I particularly like this one. X marks the spot:

The view looking down the road from the Book Store Depository:

Here Bella is holding Theo's hand and his stuffed puppy.

Theo was a dream candid for a photo shoot one afternoon:

What a doll!

One afternoon we looked at two neighborhoods within Dallas where Maggie and Jon are considering home buying and another afternoon we took a trip out to Frisco to see some model homes in a subdivision. Jeff and Bella look good in front of this home, no?

The girls had a group hug before parting ways on Monday night. Bella got right into

it. Our only family photo from the adventure:

It was SO great to get away, have a family vacation, and spend some quality time with my gal pal. I miss you already, Mags!

After

2011-05-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

Something bright and cheery to look at in my yard:

Not in Dallas

2011-05-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today should be the start of our family vacation in Dallas where we planned to visit with my friend Maggie, meet her son Theo, and let loose after a long, busy winter/spring. Instead, I'm blogging from our sunporch. Last night, in the midst of packing, Bella started throwing up. Impeccable timing. So here we are. We slept in and watched movies while it rained this morning. Bella was still feeling punk after her nap so I took her for a long stroller ride. We passed several parks and she didn't point or squeal. That's when I know my kiddo is a sicko.

After the stroll and a little snack, she perked up. We took advantage of the spell of sunshine before new storms rolled in to get outside on the driveway and play.

We go to the mall

2011-05-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

That's the end for me. I now go to the mall for entertainment. There. I've said it. The mall. Oh how I hate the mall. Oh how it makes me wish for Michigan Avenue or the corner of Clark and Diversey. I would brave gail force winds off of Lake Michigan and stare down hideously high prices in the Gold Coast to enjoy the delight of shopping in Chicago again. I would walk down the sidewalk with my stroller and my coffee and how Bella and I would shop. Looking, but not buying, of course. That's the name of the game.

But instead, we go ...to... the mall. And I walk circles in the mall. For exercise. Bella snacks on dried cherries and pretzels and points at things and squeals. Then she gets her first ride on the carousel - not smiling, but absolutely loving it. We ride the elevator for another thrill. The side facing the center of the mall is all glass so you get quite a view riding it up and down. Quite a view. It's no Magnificent Mile, but it's close to home. And after a long cold winter, on a cold rainy day, I'll take the mall.

May days

2011-05-15T18:37:00.001-07:00

Spring fever has hit hard in this house of mine. Yesterday, on an unseasonably cold and rainy day, Jeff went out in the yard and reshaped the garden and tilled the soil. That's back-breaking work if you ask me. I did it last year, when Jeff was recovering from his surgery, and I'm pretty sure it took me about 3 different days to get the whole garden day. But I digress. While he was out in the cold accomplishing things, I was in a warm, fragrant kitchen baking allergen-free goodies for my family. Applesauce muffins, fresh bread, and cherry pie. Yum! And during nap time, I worked at cleaning out our closets. I am amazed at the number of perfectly wearable shoes and coats that Jeff and I together posses. And I hope that all of the outcasts will find new and happy homes when I finally get around to taking them to Goodwill.
Today, though windy, turned into a fantastic day for yard work. Jeff worked on building a patio right outside the sun porch. Meanwhile I weeded a few jungle-looking areas of our landscaping, and planted impatiens in the front yard AND vegetables in our garden. I whiled away a lot of spring and summer afternoons in my 20s writing, daydreaming and drinking iced coffee. I think the spring and summer afternoons (nap time!) and twilights (post-bedtime!) will be the time when I cultivate a new passion for gardening and maintaining our yard.

And last, but not least, a "before" shot of this beautiful bench that has been given a fresh coat of paint and is going to live it's second life as an ornamental decoration/plant holder in our backyard. Stay tuned for the "after" shot.

As you can see our yard is littered with beautiful dandelions. Jeff loathes dandelions. I loathe chemicals being applied to people's yards and seeping into our ground water. As the dandelions will attest, my loathing is still winning. Winning!

Pump it UP, Phoenix and Bluebells

2011-05-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

The first week in May brought a birthday party for our nephews, Nathan (7) and Matthew (5), at Pump it Up. Unfortunately my pictures of them were blurry :-(
Bella had a ball. Truth be told, Bella and I both did. Despite the fact that I was leery of hauling her up a step, squishy "staircase" to slide down a long, steep slide in a potato-sack-type thing, we did it. Over and over and over again. Then we got to shoot hoops in a big bouncy thing. Score!

Here we are with Bella's cousins, Joe and Livy.

She's trying to escape me so she can get back into the action!

The party was on a Sunday morning and that afternoon I flew to Phoenix for work. I volunteered for this trip so I could see my friend Melissa, who lives south of Tucson. She drove up Sunday night and took the day off Monday so we could hang out. (My work commitments for this trip were minimal - another good reason to volunteer!)
If you ever want to plan a vacation in Phoenix, I highly recommend the Arizona Grand Resort. It was amazing.

Jeff was a stellar husband/daddy and took good care of our baby girl while I was away. As soon as I got back on Tuesday, we hit swimming lessons. Go Sea Lions, go!

Then it was time for Daddy's break. I drove Bella and I down to Iowa on Wednesday and we hung out with Mom and Dad until Sunday. I feel very fortunate that I can work from home from anyone's home and that Bella's Nana and Bop could take good care of her while I worked on Thursday and Friday. Thanks Mom-o and Daddikins!

Friday during my lunch hour we went for a walk and saw these lovely bluebells.

My parents are too cute. 41 years of marriage this June and still holding hands on walks.

I celebrated Mommy's day morning with my mommy; Mommy's day afternoon with Jeff's mom; and Mommy's day evening with my beautiful family. Perfection!

On running

2011-05-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

I used to be a runner. Or I used to say I was a runner because I consistently went out to trot around for timed intervals, and because I survived a few road races in my day. I'd like to be a runner again. In fact, my husband and I are telling people that we are going to run a 1/2 marathon this fall. So the pressure is on.

I went out for a trot today and I could tell I have a long, long road ahead of me. The reason people do not like running, I believe, is because they never get past the way I felt today. It's a slow creaky start. I could feel my shoulders up near my ears, and the muffin-top I'm trying to whittle away flounced up and down like a ruffle in the wind. Each footfall jarred my body. I huffed and I puffed.

Strangely though, despite the fact that I am in possibly the worst shape of my life, as the minutes went by and I stopping thinking so hard about the jiggle of this and the wiggle of that, the steps started to feel pretty good. My shoulders stopped feeling like they hung from ears. I started to daydream, and the blocks slipped past. Perhaps I'll become a runner again, or at the very least, a more seasoned "trotter".

Finally!

2011-05-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

Glory be, it was sunny, hot, muggy - in fact - today. Spring is here and summer is on its way!

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

Where to begin... I didn't get up at 3 this morning to watch the coverage, but I have it on as I write. I turned on the televison after the first glimspe of the dress, the vows, the double-kiss on the balcony, but as I watched a little montage of the events of the day, I admit it, I got goose bumps.

I wanted to sit Bella down and drink my morning coffee while enjoying some of the news coverage of the big day. I thought maybe she would remember the royal wedding of a prince and a "commoner". It seemed like a nice Mommy-daughter kind of thing to do. Oh well.

I'm not a big bride-y, dreaming of Prince Charming kind of a gal, but I enjoyed the romance, the royal-watching ... just for a day.

Busy week

2011-04-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

The end of April brings many celebrations in our household. First, Daddy's birthday. We invited Jeff's grandparents over and celebrated with a Mexican fiesta followed by Jeff's favorite - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Yum!
Last Tuesday, Bella started her first swimming lessons. She's a "sea lion" at the local YMCA. Jeff is pretty excited to join her in the water and I don't mind staying out of my bathing suit and taking pictures to document the experience.
This child is the best dressed sunbather around. She has four, that's right, four swimsuits (including a bikini) and two cover ups. What can we say, Grandma likes to shop for our girl!

Snuggle baby. Post-swim.

My parents came up to Bella-sit on Thursday and Friday. Among other things, "Bop" and Bella enjoyed one of her favorite past-times, looking at pictures and video on his camera.

A rare smile captured before she grabbed for the camera...

Big slippers to fill.

On Easter we went over to Aunt Amy and Uncle Steve's for an Easter egg hunt. Bella enjoyed taking the eggs out of her basket and putting them back in; playing on the swingset and swinging more than she enjoyed the actual "hunt" for eggs.

The required photo op with cousins, Nathan and Matthew. Matthew was a trooper despite feeling really crummy from a bout with the flu. Nathan was an excellent helper, directing Bella to find many of the eggs that were located at her eye level.

"Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps"

2011-04-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not looking forward to the day I have to start confronting this issue. (Thank you Beth for posting this article on FB!) As if we don't have enough to worry about, raising girls in the world today. I guess I'm going to have to be a bit of a Tiger Mom...

Life before strep

2011-04-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last week, when it was spring-like out, we got to enjoy some swinging and running around the playground across the street. Then we got hit with a high fever, strep throat, and the temperature outdoors plummetted. Wah wah waaaahhhh (insert the sound effect from 'Peanuts' here). We've bounced back though and tonight Mommy and Daddy get to go out on a date to celebrate Jeff's birthday. Three cheers for Grandma Rose babysitting!

Communication

2011-04-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

In the morning when I go to get Bella, she can be found standing up in her crib, signing "all done". That "all done" sign is a fairly all-purpose sign; it works for meals, activities, tickling, stories, diaper changes ("no thank you; how about I stay in this diaper for a while longer") etc. At least we have one solid method of communication. I have a feeling we will be waiting until she is 2 to hear that little voice peep up any real words, and then we will be off to the races.

Another ploy that our little darling has learned is to pitch everything out of her crib and say "uh-oh" with increasing volume until one of us comes to find out what she needs.

Last but not least, screaming seems to be the latest, unattractive method of communication Bella has embraced. Perhaps we are entering the terrible twos a bit early. Last night there were at least 3 instances that resulted in a full-blown scream-feast between the time Bella came home from daycare and the time we ate dinner. She may have been hungry, but it also could just be a sassy girl trying to assert some control in her world. Guess what Jeff and I are working on in earnest now? BOUNDARIES. When I'm losing my mind because the screaming is breaking the sound barrier, I try very hard to remember that it is I, in fact, who is charge.

Best dressed

2011-04-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

It was 78 degrees and partly sunny on Sunday in Iowa! The fleece pants I packed for Bella to wear simply would not do, so we put together this little ensemble for our afternoon walk and visit to the park.

Sunporch

2011-03-30T08:43:00.001-07:00

My sister told me the other day that I need to stop rearranging things in my house so I have time for other things... like scrapbooking. Well, I have another project in mind. It involves one of my favorite rooms in this house: the crumbling sunporch that looks out on "our" golf course. Ideally we would gut the thing and build a 4-season porch that is twice the size of it. Until we win the lottery, the next best course of action is to put in some new flooring and paint the side of the house that makes up one wall of the porch. The floor tiles are pink and crumbling, and the wall is pink and well, PINK. So the plan is to put in indoor-outdoor carpeting that Casey can make messy and Bella can play on. And the wall will soon be a nice sunny shade of yellow like the basement and the office. In the interim, a remnant of the carpet from our basement and some colorful, foam-y mats are doing time on the porch floor.

An interesting milestone

2011-03-28T12:54:00.001-07:00

This weekend we celebrated Jeff's heart re-starting last March 28th. Our big night out included a trip to Famous Dave's with our friends, Kelly and Chris, and their sons James and Teddy. A full rack of ribs; a beer with friends; this is what life celebrations are made of! It's hard to tell from this picture, since they all look the same size, but James (left) just turned 3, Bella is 21 months, and Teddy is 16 months. I think this crew will be thick as thieves before we know it.

It was nice.

2011-03-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

We're on the 5th straight day of low-30s here in MN. Yes, that means the view out the window is much more arctic than spring-like. Apparently last year at this time it was in the mid-70s. I can't complain for too long though, I got a nice dose of summer on a short business trip to Tampa last week. I savored ever minute of the 42 hours I got to spend in that marvelous place where it's 80 and sunny in March. An added bonus: I got to spend a few hours with one of my best friends and her family (they happened to be spring breaking a mere 45 minutes away).

Love them.

2011-03-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Really, I do. I am a cloth-diaper junkie now. And look, they double as a toy. Or protective head-gear.

March 16th

2011-03-17T11:28:00.001-07:00

True, it was 50 degrees out yesterday, but please note, my mailbox is still 70% covered in snow. In mid-March. Not cool, Minnesota, not cool.

Change 3 Things

2011-03-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

So I'm back on my cloth diapering kick. Not that I ever stopped using the 4 measly cloth diapers I purchased before Bella was born, but at best they were used 3 times a week, saving 12 paper diapers. I kept looking at cloth diapers online. I kept thinking about how I needed to buy more. But they are so darn expensive; I couldn't commit.

Then in January I visited my friend Leslie in Chicago. She has a beautiful supply of 24 colorful, BumGenius diapers that she has been using on her baby, Charlotte, since she was born. Leslie committed; she bought enough diapers; and she's probably saved a small section of a landfill in Chicago through her efforts. How wonderful!

I got back home from my visit and thought about diapers and priced them on the internet for a few more weeks. Then, finally, I pulled the trigger and we are now the proud owners of 6 more, BumGenius, snap-front diapers. I've read the directions for washing and I am determined to use these diapers often and maintain them so that Bella doesn't get a crummy diaper rash on cloth-diapers-day (which I hope will be most days). I even became a follower of the Cotton Babies blog (they are the creators of BumGenius and some other cloth diapers). Now they are running a campaign called "Change 3 Things". They are asking people to commit to changing 3 cloth diapers a day. I'm working up the nerve to commit...with these goals in mind, why wouldn't I?

Our goals are:

100,000 parents committed to change 3 cloth diapers per day.*
30-50 million pounds of prevented landfill waste*
100 million disposable diapers not purchased.*
$24 million of combined savings for participating families**

I've had it!

2011-03-02T07:31:00.000-08:00

It's March 2nd. It's -2 degrees outside with a -19 wind chill. We're supposed to get another "winter storm" next Tuesday and this winter might surpass the snowiest winter on record.

Get me outta here!!

Conundrum

2011-03-01T07:08:00.000-08:00

On Friday, the midmorning show that I listen to on MN Public Radio was about getting back into the workforce after staying home with one’s children. This topic is near and dear to my heart as I have battled the question of what is best for Bella on a daily basis since I returned to work when she was 3 months old. What opportunity am I providing and what experiences am I missing? Most importantly what, if anything, is she missing?

This article by Katy Read tackles the question from the perspective of a woman who did “opt out” and stayed home with her children when they were young. Now Read is living to regret that choice. According to the expert on the radio program, opting out of working full time for one year results in a 20% decrease in that person’s lifetime earnings. Opting out for two to three years means a 30% decrease in lifetime earnings. The expert was quick to qualify that this is a generalization based on various factors, but the statistics are sobering all the same. And I see the truth in it. If I take the chance one day and opt out, I anticipate a struggle to find a new job. I will lose time working toward that next promotion and that next pay raise in my current field. My retirement savings will undoubtedly take a hit. Are these selfish reasons to continue working full time and leave the daily grind of caring for my child to someone else? Or is a smart economic choice? Is it a calculated, financial decision that takes all of that subjective, touchy-feely-I-want-to-finger-paint-and-play-at-the-park-with-my-child urges out of the equation? How do you make an objective decision when you know you are fighting the clock? Your child will grow up, whether you are there for the first steps and first words or not. Someone else can, and will do your job, should you choose to vacate it.

In the piece, Read talks about how she continued working part-time, kept her skills fresh, and grew creatively. I always thought that was the best of both worlds: keep your foot in the door by working part time, but take some time off to shepherd your child toward kindergarten.
I am certain that there is not one right decision that fits all families. For many families there is no decision to be made at all – both parents have to work, so both parents do. But when this issue can even be considered, the decision has to be based on calculated risk: the risk of leaving the work force or leaving your child in someone else’s care. I know for my part it is the hardest decision I have ever made and it is a decision I make over and over again on a near daily basis.

Is it spring yet?

2011-02-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hard day at the office

2011-02-27T13:06:00.001-08:00

Fridays are "daddy days" for Bella. This is Jeff at about 6 pm this past Friday:
Earlier in the week we managed to play with playdough for almost a full hour! I was amazed and have since tried it with no success. The "all done" sign came out after about 10 minutes.

Nana suggested that I try giving Bella oatmeal for breakfast (like I ate when I was her age). She took an experimental bite and then generously offered it back to me, before vigorously giving the "all done" sign.

I tried, Mom!

Bella now enjoys sitting on Casey. It's all fun and games until Casey decides to get comfortable and rolls over onto her side, scaring Ms. Bella to death.

Two of Bella's favorite things: Baby Eistein videos and dogs

Family Night

2011-02-20T19:01:00.001-08:00

Jeff's Dad, Gary, and stepmom, Shaun, have a great tradition of holding a "family night" on the third Saturday of the month, most months of the year. The idea is to stay consistent with the date so that our family, Jeff's brother, Steve, and his family, and his stepbrother, Tony, and his family can all get together with them at minimum this one time per month for dinner and socializing. Steve and Tony's kids are all around the same age, so there is a lot of rowdy play while the adults referee and talk. Bella is closest in age to Tony's youngest, Lauren, who at 3 and a 1/2 is smitten with Baby Bella. She wants to help feed her, and hugs her at every opportunity. It's sweet and I remember feeling exactly that way as a little girl. Bella tolerates the attention as long as it doesn't interfere with her wandering and getting into things. Bella is a very busy girl these days. On Saturday, two of the boys set up a game of hockey in the hallway and Bella wanted to get in on that action. You have to wonder how much of an indicator any of her actions are at this point, but of course I thought "she's going to be a tomboy".

I did not do a very good job of capturing the night in photos, but I got a few:

Lauren, Jeff and Bella
Grandma Shaun playing a horsey game with Bella

Bella and Mommy

Happy Heart

2011-02-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

This card; my hubby; my Bella; it really doesn't get better than this for a birthday girl.

On Valentines

2011-02-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

Being born on Valentine's day was a real drag while I was growing up. In fact, I lamented it well into my 20s. Other people got gifts and candy on my birthday?! Other people might want to go out to dinner and celebrate love with a significant other on my birthday?! (Wow. Selfish, much?) Anyway, sometime over the past few years it has stopped bothering me. I'm sure finding someone with whom I could permanently share the Valentine's day holiday had a tiny bit to do with that. And now, I am finally ready to share the party with others, without any resentment.

I've idled away two evenings and an afternoon nap working on Valentine's for Bella's cousins, grandparents and the kids at daycare. I hear that the heart cut-outs that I have pasted onto pink paper and written on with red ink are quite behind the times. but a mom has to start somewhere. I think the hand-crafted ones are much better than the glossy "You're cool" and "You're great" butterfly-covered ones that I bought at the store for the daycare kids. Jeff informed me that Bella's future popularity depends on how cool the cards are this year, so I tried sprucing up our lame, CVS-store-boughtness with some smiley-face stickers and swirly writing. I think the stickers will win over a few kids, but I'll bet sticking a sugary treat would have done a lot more to pave the way for my gal.

Mark was right

2011-02-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Zuckerberg that is.

Seriously. Sarah called me at 8:00 yesterday morning to tell me about Maureen and as I drove Bella to daycare I thought about how I should post the news on Facebook. I wanted to let my people know. We are social creatures with a desire to share.

Last week I was pinging around on some different pages and found a class picture from 7th or 8th grade that had been posted on a classmate's page. Through it, I could see the comments posted by other people in my class and access and view pictures of them now. Creepy. Voyeur. Stalker. These are the words that come to mind.

Why is it that we want people to know what we are thinking and doing at a given point in time? Why do we want them to know what we like or where we are drinking coffee? I'm not sure, but clearly I feel that desire. Here I am typing up my creepy little stalker thoughts, and posting pictures of my family and all of our doings.

Maureen

2011-02-09T08:10:00.001-08:00

Last night, Sarah's sister-in-law, Maureen, died.

She was my age. She has an almost 5 year-old son, who shares Jeff’s birthday. I don’t have all of the details, but what I know is this: she was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer 2 years ago. Since then, she has suffered through several surgeries and rounds of chemotheraphy. In late January she began to retain fluids, and two weeks ago an ambulance had to be called in the middle of the night because her pain was so severe. Last Saturday, she made the decision to stop being fed and people began making trips to the hospital to say their good-byes.

I’ve known Maureen for over 10 years, but my relationship to her is peripheral at best. I shared numerous meals with her during family celebrations for our nephews’ birthdays and dedications. One of the last times I saw her we played Scattegories and you would never have guessed she was sick. I know that at one point she read this blog. She sent me a note after Bella’s birth, when I was having trouble nursing, and offered some words of empathy, because she had similar troubles nursing her son. She sent Bella a pair of adorable pajamas covered in green recycling symbols, because she knows I am tree-hugger.

Despite shared family, and paths that have crossed for years, I don’t know enough about Maureen to pay proper tribute to her in this post. All I know is that my heart breaks for her, for the pain she suffered, and for the years of life and experiences with her family and friends that she will miss. My heart breaks for the pain that those who love her continue to suffer now that her pain has ended.

Winter fun

2011-02-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went out in our "backyard" to take Bella sledding. She had a blast and cried when we came inside. It's supposed to "warm up" again (meaning be above freezing) by the end of the week, so we will go out for round 2 next weekend. Hater of winter that I am, I love playing outside in the snow with my family.

The snow is so deep, the poor kid can barely walk in our real backyard, but when we got her out on the cross-country ski tracks on the golf course, she took off.

Who wins the award for the silliest hat?

Nephew night

2011-01-30T17:49:00.000-08:00

Last night we had an impromptu nephew night. Sometimes it's really nice to be the kind of person who has no plans on a Saturday and therefore can be called at 5 pm and asked to help out with some emergency babysitting.

In the past week, all of the kids have been hit with the flu that seems to be sweeping the country. Benjamin was still feeling crummy and probably missing his mom and dad the most, so we let the kids cozy up in the living room and watch "Cars" after dinner. This is how 3 of them chose to watch:

Andrew and Bella enjoyed a graham cracker snack together at Bella's table. It's nice to keep a safe distance between them since they are both in that phase of being a toddler where indiscriminate swatting/hitting is a method of communication.

Earlier in the day we played with Bella's new favorite toy: Mega Blocks!

Bella's baby mullet was in fine form after her afternoon nap:

American Idol

2011-01-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

I never watch American Idol. I think it's because I know I would become a total junkie. I have always loved singing and music, so what better than hearing amazing singers get their amazing voices discovered? Well tonight I was doing some grading with the television on, randomly tuned to American Idol, for background noise. The last singer who tried out in Milwaukee was a man from IL who told the judges about his fiance, a woman who he's been engaged to for 4 years now. They had intended to get married 2 years after he proposed, but 2 months before their wedding, in the fall of 2009, she suffered a traumatic brain injury. She survived, but is confined to a wheelchair and he and her mother are her caregivers. The man told the judges: I was about to make vows of "in sickness and in health" to her, so what kind of person would I be if I didn't stand by her after the accident? Them he sang, with an amazing voice, and the judges asked that he bring his fiance back to meet them. They all hugged her and told them both the great news: that he was going to Hollywood! Tears all around in that room. Tears from me. It was such a touching moment. It made me reflect on what a baby I can be about a minor little hernia repair; a flooded basement; a vacation ended early; and any number of other things, and thank my lucky stars for all of the blessings in my life.

More Christmases

2011-01-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

I've been very bad at blogging of late. We had two more Christmases, both in January. The first, on January 2nd, we celebrated with Jeff's dad and step mom. I forgot my camera so there are no pictures to share, but we had a wonderful afternoon chatting and eating appetizers.

A week later we celebrated with Jeff's mom, step dad, his siblings and our nephews and niece. The highlight of the night was when Bella entertained the whole group by dancing for about 10 minutes. She spun in circles, did the high step, clapped wildly for herself, and was oblivious to the fact that two video cameras were capturing her every move.

Down for the count

2011-01-22T15:07:00.000-08:00

I've been in bed for 3 days now. I don't think I have ever spent this much time on my back in la-la-land. It seems recovery from a hernia repair is a tad more painful than I expected. When my doctor said people exercised the day after surgery, I thought "no biggie". I didn't call in the troops; schedule extra hands to help; pre-clean the house; or make lists. I didn't prepare extra food for Jeff and I, much less for poor Bella. Her diet, always repetitive, has been worse of late, since Mommy has been MIA in Chicago or MIA in bed taking large doses of pain killers. If there was ever a time I wish we could feed the poor kid macaroni and cheese and scrambled eggs, it's this week. So the lesson is this: there is no surgery so small (ie, a nickel-sized hernia) that it won't slow you down. I will never again schedule any sort of medical procedure after being away from home for 3 days. I will never again schedule a medical procedure without a babysitter on call and a back-up for my on-call babysitter; and I will never again have a medical procedure of any kind without first: 1) grocery shopping, 2) inviting my parents up for the week, and 3) cleaning the house.

TGIF

2011-01-21T05:57:00.000-08:00

Reset

2011-01-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

I’ve lived a whole other life over the past 3.5 days. I’ve talked and talked, and laughed, and eaten. I’ve seen several of my dearest friends. I learned about groupon and apps and joined Facebook. This is what it is to return to my city life, my city self, my city, for 3.5 days.

I planned to bring the family. I urged Jeff to come, to bring Bella, to participate in Chicago fun. He agreed. Then we both rethought the trip. Taking a 19-month-old would be tedious. There would be the issue of little-hand management in un-baby-proofed homes. There would be flight times and El times and pushing the stroller down icy sidewalks and hauling it up steep flights of stairs. And so the trip became a solo trip for mommy. A trip to reconnect with old friends and put in face time at the office. I dreaded it, in some ways, for the absence of my sweet baby girl and my wonderful husband. Once I arrived and the whirlwind began, it was easy to see that we made the right decision. I had freedom to lounge in the various rooms of Leslie’s house, gabbing about babies and BumGenius diapers. I didn’t have to feed anyone chili at lunch time or find an alternate to our pizza dinner. I could focus on conversation with Leslie, Leslie and Maggie, without watching for little fingers to place something, anything in her little mouth. We went out for coffee and talked about faith and what to teach our children; how to raise them and what we hoped they might believe.

I enjoyed Pad See Ew at Penny’s Noodles on Diversey with Leslie and her family before parting ways on Sunday afternoon. Robyn, Robin and I enjoyed a drink at Acre on Clark in Andersonville. I held and kissed baby Charlotte on Saturday and baby Teddy (8 months already!) on Sunday. Then there was dinner at Uncommon Grounds on Devon in Rogers Park with Heidi, Elizabeth and Robin.

My friends are such gracious hosts when I come back to the city. Leslie, mother of 3-month-old Charlotte and recently back to work, made vegetarian and meat chili for lunch on Saturday and quiche for breakfast on Sunday. Heidi sent me off to work on Monday morning with fresh slices of banana bread with chocolate chips. Elizabeth hosted a lasagna dinner on Monday night, complete with salad (pistachios on top and homemade dressing) and lemon bars.

The sun did not peek out from behind the clouds once for the duration of my stay, but I did not notice. I felt, as I always do, like I had come home. I felt the warmth of my friends embraces, their smiles, the laughter and conversation we shared. I felt a part of a community again, both with my friends and when I went into the office. I felt like a full-fledged participant of a team again, when I shared lunch with the 3 colleagues with whom I work on an Alzheimer’s drug.

Now I know I need to send Jeff off on a rejeuvanating weekend retreat like this. I remember one time, shortly after Bella was born and he went golfing with a friend. He got home and said he felt like he had hit reset. In a way, I hit the reset button these past few days. I said goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011. For me, today feels like January 1 – the beginning of an amazing new year.

Of course I forgot my camera, but I snapped some pictures of Bella's future pals on my cell phone:

Baby Charlotte and Oliver:
Baby Teddy

Hippie dreams

2011-01-10T09:32:00.001-08:00

I went to Whole Foods the other day and this is what I have to say about that...

Whole Foods, how I have missed you. I am truly a hippie at heart. I'm a tree-hugging, organic-loving, vegan-wanna-be. I need a Prius so I can drive, guilt-free. But I'd rather walk, with my baby in a sling or a pack on my back. Or bike, pulling a yellow burly behind me as I go; a big 1950s-style basket balanced on the steering column. Really, I should live somewhere warm, or at minimum someplace where the sidewalks are shoveled so I can walk on them year-round. In fact, sidewalks on all roads everywhere would be nice.

Bella kisses

2011-01-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, for the first time, Bella pulled out her pacifier and planted a big wet baby kiss on my lips. I wasn't sure if she had just accidentally collided faces with me, so I said: "Can mommy have a kiss?" And she did it again!

So then we found Jeff so she could perform her new trick for him too.

This is love. Sloppy wet baby kisses with no smooch to them.

New Table

2011-01-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos of Bella and Jeff bonding the other day while building her new table. We call those blue pajama's Jeff is wearing his "Mad Men" look. I feel like he should have a martini in one hand and a cigar in the other when he wears them. Note that he is wearing his pajamas while Bella is still dressed. We go comfy around here a lot of the time.

Reflections

2010-12-31T12:41:00.000-08:00

On the last day of 2010, it's time to look back at the year, reflect on the good and the bad, and move on.

We are determined that 2011 will be an amazing year.

Every year I read Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It contains daily reflections, some much more relevant and interesting than others. One of the reflections for the end of December is to write down the bad things that happened during the year on pieces of paper, put them in a box, and place the box in a fire. We don't have a fireplace, or I guarantee I would do that. Perhaps I will flush my "bad moments" down the toilet instead. It seems fitting. Either way, I plan to write down and reflect on the bad, then incinerate, flush, or trash them, and focus on to the new year ahead.

I would be remiss if I didn't also reflect on, and savor the wonderful things that happened this year. Of the many, many small and big things that happened during the year, all of which make me feel incredibly blessed, there is one that matters most of all and is the only one that I'll mention here. This is the year that Jeff's heart stopped and STARTED AGAIN. I will never ever forget that unbelievable moment and stop being grateful that Jeff was at the hospital when it happened.

Happy happy new year!!

Very Merry

2010-12-31T12:12:00.001-08:00

It was another Merry Christmas for this crew. Bella was pretty sick most of last week (a high temp of 103.7 Monday night), but we still managed to make it to Iowa for Christmas. We did very little on Christmas Eve aside from food prep for Christmas day. Bella felt pretty crummy, so there was a lot of rocking and Baby Einstein. After she went to bed, we watched "The Family Stone" (the second time for Jeff and I this season, apparently we like that movie) and Mom, Dad and I went to Christmas Eve "midnight" service at 10 at our old church. I used to really enjoy the service, the lights, the music and all of the people, but it was a bit of a disappointment this year. Many people had probably stayed home because of the dumping of snow the area had received that day (beautiful, giant flakes of snow that I enjoyed sitting and watching fall while rocking Bella earlier in the day). My friends who return to spend Chrismtas with their families also have small children, so they either skipped mass or went to the 5 pm service, so I didn't get to see them. And the music was pretty sad.

Sarah, Jay and the boys came up on Christmas day in plenty of time to enjoy a big dinner, snacks, present opening and a friendly game of "Settlers of Catan" after the kiddos went to bed.

"Santa" came early to our house with a Little People farm. Oohh. I might be more excited about it than Bella...

Sick baby

The Sit and Spin was a hit with Bella and Andrew
Family photo

Proud grandparents

Until later

2010-12-28T19:56:00.000-08:00

I'll get back to blogging about the holidays, etc., one of these days. Until then, here's Bella in another cute hat:

18 months old

2010-12-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

Bella turned 18 months this week. Wow. I'll go ahead and say the standard line: where does the time go? The past 18 months have zipped past despite the moments, here and there, that plodded by.

At her check-up this week, Bella weighed 20 lbs 3/4 ounces. It is an acceptable weight and we are not required to come back in 6 weeks for a weigh-in. Naturally this is a huge relief. Of course there are always things to worry about. At 18 months children "should" be saying 18 words. We sort-of have 3 words. "Da-da", which she has been calling many, many things for nearly 10 months, is now almost exclusively used for Jeff. Rarely will she say "Ma" or "Ma-ma", but "Neigh-neigh" seems to be Bella's special name for me. Then there is "Casey", or what we believe to be Bella saying Casey's name, when she hears Casey in the hallway or trots over to pat her. The inflection is there anyway, if not the entirely accurate sounds. Though she is not in the "normal" range for speech yet, we are told not to panic.

These days Bella identifies the animals in her puzzles by pointing, and runs to the high chair when I tell her it is time for a snack. Last week I watched her "water" the floor, a toy box, and a few other items with an empty Gatorade bottle. Yesterday, she carefully place Little People on her drum, and then swiped her arm triumphantly across the top of the drum, sending the Little Peeps flying. She looked quite delighted with herself and then did it again. So I know something very interesting and creative is going on in that little head of hers, she is just not ready to reveal it to the world yet.

The "non-no-no's" and "I'll do it" are coming, to be sure, but so, I hope, are the joyfully ridiculous exchanges that one gets to have with small children. It will be nice when Jeff takes a night class next term, for Bella and I to dine together and make small talk over vegan dishes.
Pure joy last week when Grandma Rose put Bella in an empty diaper box with some furry friends and started pulling Bella around in her "sleigh". This has become a daily activity and the box is getting a bit worn down.

Breakfast with Santa

2010-12-16T18:53:00.001-08:00

Two weeks ago Grandma Rose and Grandpa Larry took the grandkids (and their parents) to breakfast with Santa. Bella got as much out of it as you can expect from an 18-month-old. The older kids enjoyed getting their faces painted; telling Santa what they wanted; and knew what was going on when they took a short sleigh-ride in the parking lot. Bella, not so much. But she was a good sport. She wanted nothing to do with the man in the red suit. She held on to daddy for dear life when he tried to inch her close to Santa, but there were no tears. And thankfully, the breakfast included lots of Bella-friendly bacon and sausage. (Ick!)

Making records

2010-12-12T09:25:00.001-08:00

A few photos from the dumping we got yesterday. I think we are guaranteed a white Christmas :-)

That's our sunporch!

The view from inside the sunporch.

Today the sun came out and I think we hit 5 for a high.

Weather report

2010-12-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the weather outside is frightful this weekend. In fact, the weather folk are predicting more snow than the area has seen since 2007, when I still lived in Chicago (where I BET there is no snow on the ground). We will be hibernating until Monday morning. Did I mention the temperature is expected to drop tomorrow culminating in a delightful high of 0 for Sunday and Monday? Ah, I so love my adopted state!

For Jeff, our state of hibernation means he will dedicate the weekend to studying for and taking finals. One of the perks of taking online classes this term is that he can finish early and not slog through the snow to get his tests out of the way. Bella, who is sick, poor kid, and I will be using our weekend to get some holiday baking done. I wonder how much help a sick 18 month old will be...

I am looking forward to the day she can stand on a chair or stool beside me and "help" measure cups of flour (for cookies) or Chex (for Chex Mix) and then enjoy the fruits of our labor. I suppose I will need to spend the next year searching out and testing recipes for holiday treats that don't involve butter or eggs.

Thanksgiving Etc.

2010-12-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

We spent our 4-day Thanksgiving "vacation" in Iowa this year. While we were there I read the novel "Still Alice", about a woman with early onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). I work in marketing for an Alzheimer's disease drug, and even with all of the reading I do about patients and caregivers, and the reality of how many people will be affected by AD, this book made it all so much more personal and devastating.

AD aside, the holiday was great! Since I'm too lazy to write, the pictures will have to speak for themselves.

Last night the cities got another dumping of snow. Before the temperature plummets, we decided to bundle Bella up in her $2 garage sale snowsuit (Tommy Hillfiger no less!) and introduce her to the snow. The cameras were trained on her. What will she do, we wondered?

Nothing.

She just stood there and stared at us. She couldn't move, either because of the bulk of her suit or the depth of the snow. I guess we'll save snow angels for another day.

The season begins

2010-11-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season always seems to fly by so quickly. Since I love it, and since the hustle and bustle of the season often takes over, we decided to start the season before Thanksgiving this year.

During Bella’s nap on Saturday I put a lighted garland on the banister of the stairway. Bella noticed it immediately. “De-de-de-deeeee!” she exclaimed when she saw it. (Each “de” gets louder and squeakier). I think this meant: “what the heck is this cool lighted thing in our otherwise boring hallway?!”

I keep telling my sister that I look forward to the day Bella “speaks English”. But in the meantime, her strings of non-sense have become much more entertaining of late.

Luckily the garland is just out reach of her sticky little fingers. She has to be lifted to touch the lights with her pointer finger, a la E.T. I hope she does not grow enough in the next month that she can reach the lights and take a taste, since that is her favorite way to experience the world.

We also put the tree up downstairs and pulled out a few of Jeff’s “Santa Bears”. Any new stuffed animal in the house is greeted with absolute delight. Another nose to chew on! Stuffed ears to taste! The joys of the season abound.

On Sunday, I introduced Bella to the Nutcracker I received years ago for Christmas. She thought the faux chomping of her fingers was great fun.

I think I will decorate the tree tonight. It may look funny, with all of the ornaments on the upper limbs of the tree, but I would rather not pry ornaments from her hands and mouth for the next 5 weeks.

November Project Update

2010-11-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

This challenge may get the best of me. It is day 17 of the November Project and I am on page 22 of my writing. Oh my word. It is too, too easy to take a pass on snuggling up to my computer at 8 pm after 8 hours of "bonding" with it during the day.

So, if were to write 100 pages before the end of the month, I need to write 6 pages each day.

SIX pages.

I just laughed out loud.

First snow of the season!

2010-11-16T05:45:00.001-08:00

It snowed like crazy Friday night and all day Saturday. We got about 8 inches of snow, resulting in snow emergencies all over the metro area. The snow, wet and heavy, was gorgeous. Even though I hate the duration and cold of winter, there is something absolutely magical about snow, especially the first snow of the season.

Monday morning, the clouds were low and the sun started to try to shine through. Casey and I went out on the golf course to catch some pictures of the dreamy, foggy morning.

View from our back yard.

Teddy's birthday bash

2010-11-16T05:24:00.000-08:00

Bella, already the social butterfly, had a birthday party to attend on Saturday. Her friend, Teddy, turned 1 a week ago. She is actually pals with both Teddy and his older brother, James. James and Teddy's parents are Jeff's high school friend, Kelly, and her husband, Chris. We love them.

Kelly did a great job with the birthday party. She made a delicious lunch of turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls and corn (we were 2 for 4 in Bella-friendly foods, very good odds for a kid birthday party). All of the little attendees at the party got a goodie bag. Again,a few Bella-friendly items were enclosed. It makes my heart hopeful for the birthday parties of the future!

We had to leave the party early for nap time, so we missed singing happy birthday. The birthday boy had already fallen asleep.

The birthday boy!

Little pals.

Bella always finds a new stuffed toy to love at every home she visits. Saturday, the toy was a small white bear.

The Facebook

2010-11-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

Instead of keeping up with people on Facebook, I blog. Unfortunately, that means other people know what is going on in my life, but I have no idea what is happening in theirs. Unless they use that old-fashioned method of communication called “email”, or better yet, a phone call.

Whatever happened to sending out snapfish photo albums with loads of photos of family vacations, or baby’s first ( insert action here)? I didn’t realize quite how out of the loop I am by being a Facebook holdout, until my friend at Sweet Home Chicago had a baby last month. I received the text “my water broke; heading to the hospital”. I got the “baby was born at x-o’clock, weight and height” information, and then I waited for the photos that never came. I asked a friend, who is naturally on Facebook, “did she post pictures of the baby?” Why yes she did!

So what I am hearing from friends is that email as the main internet-based mode of communication is very passé, and in fact may become obsolete. The horror! Must I join “The Facebook” to see pictures of my friends’ children and learn all about their comings and goings? It seems I might.

My husband, the computer guy, is highly opposed to me putting all of my information “out there” on a social networking site like Facebook. That’s why I’ve held out for as long as I have. But…I hear there are people out there who start an account with a fake name. I am considering that option. I’m not so sure I want to be found, and “friended” by people I haven’t spoken to in years. If I am Ms. Anonymous, known by my fake name to my real friends, at least I will have an opportunity to be a voyeur in their lives. Don’t tell me the next step is that I start Tweeting!

This again.

2010-11-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

I’m going to sing that same old song about being tired here today. We’ve been up a lot in the middle of the night lately. Two hours seems to be the lucky number and this little “phase” has lasted for about 45 days. When does it end?

In the middle of the night, while I’m rocking my baby, or letting her climb on me/flop around beside me in bed, I count nights of solid sleep since June 14th, 2009. We’re not doing so hot in that “solid” sleep category. I’ve gotten to sleep through 30 nights, if I’m being generous, of the past 17 months worth of nights. I have to wonder how much of it is our fault, my fault really, for not wanting to let her cry. There is always something to worry about. Is it gas from all of the beans or the broccoli she ate? Was that small amount of soybean oil in the bread enough to upset her tummy? Are the molars that are coming in hurting really bad? Is she going to cry so hard she pukes in her bed? Is her arm or leg stuck in the side of the crib? Is she going to be insecure, or have abandonment issues, or not trust me if I leave her to cry alone in the dark? Am I neurotic for worrying so much about each of these things?

She seems wide awake most of the nights when she wakes up. She wraps her little arms around me and clings on, like a monkey, making me wonder if she is afraid of something I can’t see or feel. If only she could tell me.

Well, last night I had enough. I can’t plan a morning workout anymore. I actually dread bedtime, because I never know when I will be awakened by the crying, or how long it will take to get her back to sleep. I’m so tired in the evenings, I can’t get any house projects done, and on the weekends, naps of my own kill off most of my “free” time when Bella is napping. So when she woke up at 1 and I rocked her back to sleep only to be awakened again 45 minutes later, I said no more and I steeled myself against the crying. After checking on her, hugging her, telling her I loved her, I put her back in the crib and left the room. I sat in my bed and played solitaire on my phone as the moments slowly ticked past. After 15 minutes she quieted, but then she heard me creeping around, ready to go in and cover with a blanket so I could get back to sleep. Weak-willed woman that I am, I picked her up, soothed her, changed her diaper, told her I loved her again, and this time I shut my door and turned up the fan as she ramped up the crying again. She’s fine, she’s fine…I muttered to myself. I didn’t time this bout of crying. It was shorter than 15 minutes. I didn’t stay up to go cover her. I wrapped myself around my body pillow and hoped for sleep.

Tonight, I will be prepared for round II. Jeff will sleep downstairs so one parent can get some sleep. I’ll go to bed early. I’ll use my lunch hour for a nap tomorrow. We will win this battle for sleep!

November Project

2010-11-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

I've taken a pledge to churn out 100 pages of written word in the 30 days of November. I'll be honest; I'm off to a rocky start. It seems I'm so tired at the end of the day that typing for over an hour is more work than it once seemed. I'm a morning writer, a coffee shop, scone-eating, lazy writer. I like assignments and while it's good to have a goal of quantity of words/pages to produce this month, the details of what should fill those pages is a little murky. The good news is I am working on a new blog idea, set for unveiling in the new year.

Road Trip

2010-11-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, it's nice to scratch that itch telling you to "escape" your real life. That's what Jeff, Bella and I did over this past weekend.

We decided that due to time and work restraints we couldn't get too crazy with the road trip. So, though we considered Dallas, and I would dearly love to visit my friend Maggie's new home town, we opted for the safer, shorter trip through Iowa.

Our first stop, Thursday night after work, was home. How could we pass through Iowa without visiting my mom and dad? Despite the late notice, we were able to convince them to join us in driving to Dubuque on Friday. Jeff has always wanted to visit the Field of Dreams, so we stopped in on our way. It doesn't look quite the same without the corn fields, but there were still plenty of photo opportunities.

Mom grew up in Dubuque, and I spent many weekends there, visiting my grandma when I was growing up. I had not been back since her funeral, 14 years ago. We didn't have a lot of time, but Mom and Dad took us to all of the sights I wanted to see: my grandmother's apartment - where she lived for most of my childhood; the house where my mom grew up; the cemetary where my grandparent's are buried; and Eagle Point Park, where we enjoyed many summer picnics (continuing the tradition from my mother's childhood).

Mom and Dad had to get back home, but Jeff, Bella and I stayed at the Grand Harbor Resort and took Bella to her first indoor water park. It took her a little while to warm up, but eventually she decided it was a pretty fun place to be.

Snuggling at the hotel on Saturday morning:

This is one of Bella's new favorite faces; usually she gets the eyebrows into a little more though.

On Saturday, we drove down to visit Anne, one of my best friends from childhood, and her husband and daughter, Tim and Keely. I gave her almost no notice about our visit, so I was delighted that they were available and willing to host us overnight. The football fans in the house enjoyed watching the Hawkeyes crush Michigan (State?). You can tell I wasn't paying much attention to the game, though I hear it was an important one. I enjoyed following Bella around as she discovered all of Keely's wonderful toys. Poor Keely must have felt very invaded by our little wanderer, but she handled the taking-off and slobbering-on of her toys very well.

My lovely friend (who is 5-months pregnant, I might add) made some fabulous beer cheese soup and spinach artichoke dip for dinner. After dinner we dressed Bella up in her ladybug costume, and we all went downtown to the Ped Mall. We were hoping to see more people in costume; instead we saw a lot of Hawkeye fans who had clearly been tailgating for much of the day.

Bella had a fabulous time playing on the playground. I've never heard so much giggling and shrieking out of that little peanut.

Sunday morning we drove down to visit Bella's godmother, and one of my best friends, Leslie. Leslie, her husband, Jake, and their sons, Oliver and Eli, drove up to see us in January for Bella's baptism, so this trip was long overdue. It was anothe gorgeous day, to round out the lovely weekend. We played on another playground, indulged in two fabulous meals (goat cheese and tomato quiche, and french onion soup - delish!), and savored a long evening around the dining room table talking.

Bella and her godbrothers look like three little peas in a pod.

We finished the trip with another stop at my parent's house. It was the perfect way to round out the trip.

Thank you so much to our hostesses and hosts this weekend. This trip was much-needed and thoroughly enjoyed by all!

One Pound!

2010-10-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

All that fabulous bacon, sausage, and deep-fried goodness has done it's job. Bella gained a pound this past month.

Visitor from California

2010-10-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

This will be a pictoral post of some highlights from my cousin, Scott's, visit last week. We had a terrific time showing him around the metro area, and spending a lot of time talking and drinking coffee on our sunporch.

A miracle! Three kids looking at the camera at the same time.

I like to call Scott, "Jeff's brother from another mother" :-)

A view of the beautiful St. Croix river from a park in Stillwater, MN.

San Francisco

2010-10-17T15:50:00.001-07:00

A month ago I took a 2-day business trip to San Francisco. Allow me to indulge myself with a post, written during my travels, and a few photos of this lovely city:

I left on a Sunday night at 9:10 pm. Perfect, because I got to put Bella to bed and she was actually quiet and restful, though not actually sleeping, when I walked out the front door. My flight was swift and uneventful. I gratefully snuggled into my bed at the Marriott by 1 AM PST.

On Monday I had the day to myself. Sure, I could have flown in that morning, but the AM flights were 3 times the cost of my Sunday night flight. I stratigized that I would miss two days in the life of Bella, two bedtimes, and on Wednesday morning she would wake up to a Mommy who always says “Good morning! I missed you while you were sleeping!”

So Monday morning I put on my city-self, a persona that hangs in the closet at home, right next to my business suit, and comes out only infrequently anymore. I needed that girl too, because a street person started serenading me as I ate my breakfast at this darling faux French bakery down the road from the hotel. I learned along the road with my travels that if you stride along purposefully and don’t make eye contact, you rarely are bothered. So I walked out of the Marriott, took two rights and walked, as if I had a clue where I was going, or a destination in mind. My goal was to find breakfast, and soon. I’d nearly sold out and saddled up to the nearest Starbucks when I lucked upon the French bakery. I over-indulged, on the company dime, and got granola with yogurt and fruit, and a croissant with my latte. The yogurt was dense, like cream cheese, and came with honey for sweetner. The granola, hearty, rich, and loaded with nuts. I stowed half of the granola/yogurt concoction in my purse for later.
After breakfast, I walked. I walked and walked. I love to learn a city by walking it. I had no map; no idea which way was East or West; no destination in mind. I felt such a grand sense of freedom. Time that was not spoken for by chores, work or baby-care. I walked up and up Powell Street, past Union Square. I paused at the corner of Powell and California to enjoy the views of the cable cars trundling pas,t and the far away bridge (which one?).

As I strode purposefully (still not knowing which direction I was headed) through Chinatown, I called Jeff for help getting to Fisherman’s Wharf. He directed me to Columbus Avenue, a diagonal street that took me past some lovely Italian restaurants and coffee shops that beckoned me to stop. I strolled through a small corner shop with hand-made jewelry, pausing over a pair of silver earrings until I noted the price ($82), and left.

Eventually I made it to Fisherman's Wharf, where I took a few photos. The main sign (be sure to read the ones in the background) was placed beside an enormous plastic noodle. The purpose of this noodle, if not for climbing, is anyone's guess.

I bought 5 taffys at this delightful candy store. This was a poor choice, since I ate 4 of them and could only offer 1 sad little taffy as a souvenir to the darling husband who stayed home and cared for our child while I was away.

That's Alcatraz in the distance. I hope to make it there for a tour on my next visit. Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist trap if I've ever seen one, and certainly a place to be avoided if you hate kitsch or crowds of people.

My Aunt Carol, who lives in the Bay Area, met me for some shopping and dinner at a cozy little Italian restaurant near my hotel. Naturally, I forgot to snap a picture of our evening together.

On Tuesday I worked a little, but in between working a little, and working a bit more, I walked down to the Port of San Francisco for another delightful outdoor breakfast.

...and an amazing view.

Work Around

2010-10-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

The work to fatten up my child continues. Given the scope of her allergies, and the typical temperment of little children, this is proving very challenging. The first week of intense hot dog-, sausage-, and ham-eating was fairly successful. But then those salty, high-fat and high-protein meats starting landing on the floor. Bella is a bean-eating machine and she likes her carbs too, but I have begun trying to find ways to sneak meat and more fat into her diet.

The other night, after days of watching her suck on pieces of hot dog and then spit them out (does she like the flavor, but not the texture?), I decided to create my own version of pigs in the blanket for her. Since she can't eat refridgerator crescent rolls, or even traditional biscuits, I modified a biscuit recipe with oil and rice milk, diced some hot dog up into tiny pieces, stirred them in, then baked it all together. No pieces of that have landed on the floor...yet.

I've also found that I can make oatmeal pancakes by substituting applesauce for the eggs and rice milk for the regular milk. They take a loooooong time to cook, but they are pretty tastey. And if I cover them with syrup or honey, and chop pieces of sausage up really small, she eats the whole mess without noticing that she's devouring - gasp! - sausage.

Aside from the pigs-in-a-biscuit success, the protein source I am most proud of is a little invention I like to call "Bella-cakes". I blend black beans with sweet potatos and occasionally some brown sugar. Then I make patties out of the mixture, dredge them in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and fry them in canola oil. Sounds kind of nasty right? Well I tell, you fry almost anything and it will taste pretty good. Bella loves them.

My sweeties

2010-10-01T08:12:00.000-07:00