Tagged

So I was “tagged” a few days ago but have been swamped at work and a bad blogger. Here are some facts about me:

1) I think ordering a salad in a restaurant as your main entrée is stupid. [Almost] Anyone can assemble a salad but I think it takes true talent to cook and prepare “real” food.

2) My favorite color is sapphire blue (the color of my bridesmaid dresses from my wedding)

3) Some foods I wouldn’t eat as a child but now eagerly will eat as an adult: mushrooms, enchiladas, corned beef hash, cucumber, mango, black beans, spinach…

4) After watching the democratic debate this week, I am more than ever Anti-Hillary. I do, however, have a larger respect for Obama (much to Lisa's delight I'm sure).

5) I'm a strong advocate for Thank You notes and make mental notes (not grudges) when I don’t get one for something I “should” (ie a wedding present)

6) Static cling is quickly growing on my list of biggest pet peeves

7) I'm embarrassed at how messy my desk is at work- I have no idea what’s even on my desk there are so many random things. At the same time though, I think it accurately gives a visual indication as to how busy I am and that I like.

Tickle me Nicole

Per Katrin's request... I won't have a video for every day, but here's another from Wednesday night!

Nic-Knack Updates

Nicole's getting bigger! She weighed 18lbs. 6 oz. wearing her nightgown last night. She has also upped her eating to include mangos, black beans (which look really weird to feed a baby but they are so healthy I can't skip feeding them to her!), peaches, and graham crackers.

She’s learning more how to manipulate her environment. This little piano (borrowed from her friend Ryan C.) makes her look like Linus when she plays it!

Watching the video of Ella almost crawling made me wonder how far behind Nicole was. I'm thinking now that she might just skip crawling and go right to walking. She has no desire to assume the crawling position (on her hands and knees) though she will push up on her arms like a walrus. We can let her sit and pull herself up to a standing position dozens of times in a row and she’ll still want to do it again. Normally she’s not quite this wobbly when she’s up.

She has also learned to screatch. When you don't feed her fast enough, give her the amount of attention she wants, or put her down when she wants to be held she screams in short bursts at you. Not cute. She does this to the babysitter too and she (the babysitter) and I are trying to explain to her that screaming is not an acceptable form of communication to get someone's attention. I'm not sure my 7 month old understands our logic...

I had lunch with Sarah W. yesterday and she graciously accepted the responsibility of being Nicole's Godmother. She'll join my little brother Greg in the moral upbringing of my baby! Wait, maybe I should have reconsidered.... Just teasing.

Kickin' Back

Nicole likes to sit in her high chair but has a habit of relaxing and putting up her feet (well, one foot anyway, her right). Here she is with her "Happy Hippo" kicking back after some mangos and rice cereal.

Weekend of 2/22/08

Friday: we had a blissful night off – had a late dinner, put Nicole to bed, finished Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix (C) and started Balls of Fury which I fell asleep during!

Saturday: Hours and hours of errands. Literally we left the house at 10:00 and didn’t get home until 4:30. Insane. Chris F. and his girl friend (girlfriend?) came down and we went out to dinner and watched American Gangster (B+).

Sunday: Chris and Jessica left to go back to Spencerville, Jim and I had lunch, and we went to Meijer. The lady in the fish department went on and on and on about how beautiful Nicole is. “I see lots of babies and yours is one of the prettiest,” she claimed. She was exalting her so much that the meat guy came over to make friends. I never get tired of hearing how great my daughter is, of course, but by the time she went into how Nic should be in commercials I was feeling rude to interrupt and actually order my cod!

I think we won all four of our bowling games – I was above average each time!

Work has been SWAMPED with meetings today and I haven’t gotten very much done it seems. More went on my desk than off of it… :(

Guilty Pleasure

There are a lot of things that I know aren’t “great” but I really like anyway. One of said things is Carrie Underwood’s new song “All-American Girl”. It’s about the epitome of country and it’s really not that good of a song (even the video is bad!). For some reason though every time it’s on I smile and I downloaded it to my work playlist yesterday.

Side music note – did you hear New Kids on the Block are reuniting??

Splish Splash

Bath time is a good time, even if everyone gets wet in the process!

Fortunately my big belly hides all the essentials!

Weekend of 2/15/08

We spent the whole weekend with my family – Friday night cards with my parents and brother Greg, Saturday at my aunt’s celebrating Jonathan’s birthday, and Sunday Jim went bowling with mike (while I went to church!), bought a ping pong table with Greg, and went to a movie with my dad. I played with Nicole, took a nap, and made (pureed) LOTS baby food. What a weekend!

One comment that’s stuck with me was made during shang hai at my folks. We were talking about the tax refund that Bush is giving and griping that $300-600 in free money is also going to each illegal alien. While this alone is enough to send me into a tizzy of frustration, my mom followed it up with this statement: “if we know the addresses of the illegal aliens to send them a check, why haven’t we gone to said address, rounded them up, and deported them back to their home country?” Um, yeah. Why haven’t we done that?! Why hasn’t this been publically addressed?

Update on the house: we’re waiting for the form that we (Jim & I, each child (heir) and their spouse = 9 people!) have to have signed and authorized by a notary. Where is this form? With the lawyer who found the initial error. He said he’d have it drafted by Friday close of business; we still don’t have it. Which of course means it's not signed nor is there a date/time for us all to get together and execute it. I'm now $100 in debt on a second mortgage more than I should be with no end in sight…

Nicole's Eating

Now I'm sure only a few care about the below information (especially in such detail!), but thinking about it was very thought-consuming for me and I want it down for record and later reference!

I spent a lot of time worrying about Nicole’s food intake this weekend. She’s now a very eager eater and has only turned her nose up at two things recently: my homemade spaghetti squash (which I think is a texture thing) and Gerber peas (which is odd since she eats the peas I prepare for her).

Anyway, Jen in my office suggested that I go to gerber.com to get some menus for Nic. My intention was mostly to see what the recommended quantity of food she should be eating is. Getting this right would be easier if she was a jar-fed baby where the ounces are right on the lable, but I try to make 90% of her food myself. After many calculations of tablespoons to ounces to ice cube treys to half and quarter cups, I think I’ve got it down.

1 tablespoon = ½ oz
1 ice cube tray spot, full to “appropriate ice level” (not overfull)= 1 oz
9 tablespoons = ½ cup
½ cup = 4 full to the brim ice cube tray spots

Can you see how my mind was swirling with how much to give her?! Here was the recommended meal amount according to Gerber.com for my “independent sitter” (this was the lighter of the two suggested menus but I can’t imagine feeding her as much as the other one suggested- her tummy is still little!):

Breakfast: milk + 3 tablespoons cereal
Lunch: milk + 3 tablespoons cereal + 3 tablespoons veggie
Dinner: milk + 3 tablespoons cereal + 3 tablespoons veggie + 3 tablespoons fruit
Snacks: milk

So, I decided that her new eating routine is:
7:00: milk + 1 full cube fruit + 1 dry tbsp. cereal (makes about 2 tbsp. prepared)
10:00: 1 4oz bottle
1:00: milk + 2 full cubes veggie or fruit + 1 dry tbsp. cereal
4:00: 1 4oz bottle
6:00: 1 full cube fruit, 2 full cube veggie, 1 tbsp. cereal + 1 4 oz bottle
8:00: milk to sleep
Milk = me

Really my concern is that she’s not getting enough as she used to gain one oz. per day in weight but that pace has drastically slowed down. Granted she’s moving and playing a lot more than when she was 2 months old and is therefore burning more calories, but still. I know there isn't a "right" but there certainly has to be "wrong". As always, the goal is to not kill her. Being mostly facetious of course! : )

the two day headache

Patience is not always one of my strongest virtues. I'm doing everything I can right now to stay calm and not act rashly.

Summary of my last two days:
We were supposed to close on our old house yesterday at 4:30pm. On Wednesday we received an update that there might be some problems with the closing because of paperwork that was done erroneously when Jim initially bought the house. In a nutshell, the lawyer drafted the paperwork to sell the husband’s portion of the house to Jim but NOT the wife’s. Technically therefore the wife has owned half of our house for the last seven years.

To make things more complicated, this woman died last week. Her share of our house was then transferred to her heirs, her four children. These adults need to sign paperwork stating that they give up their ownership to us so that we can close and sell the house to our buyer. Should be simple, right?

Except it’s not. These people are “exploring their options” when it comes to their rights of the house. As a result, they did not sign the paperwork, we could not close, and our buyer, who flew in specifically for this closing and flew out again this morning, couldn’t do his half either. When Jim talked to the lawyer who screwed up he said he’d do what he could. When he talked to one of the four children (who we have bought propane from for the last seven years and who attends our previous church!) the guy was very evasive and would not commit to when they were going to have this wrapped up.

They now have to deal with me. I'm not as nice as my husband. They will be notified this morning that if they intend to pursue this gaining from our sale we intend to pursue collection of half the mortgage, interest, taxes, etc. on the property – an amount that’s over $35,000 when the only stand to gain $15,000. Of course I don’t really want to sue anyone. I want them to sign off on this, let us close on the house like a normal transaction and be done with it.

It’s so frustrating that they appear to want to take financial advantage from someone’s honest mistake. It’s totally unethical and disappoints me (again) how lousy some people in this world are.

All the things I "should" do...

There are so many things I "should" be doing.... Here's my progress to date:

Weekend of 2/8/08

Friday: Jim was sick and off of work all week so we canceled plans with the Childers so that no one would catch any lingering traces of his flu. This lead to a 7:45 bedtime for one tired, no-nap-taking baby and a 8:20 bedtime for her tired mother.

Saturday: Jim worked on the Kay Dr. house getting the final touches (fire-proof door in garage) finished for the closing on Thursday. I took Nicole shopping where I bought two pairs of pants for me and her a pair of pants ($2.50 at Children’s Place on clearance!). I was mostly satisfied with my purchases- not thrilled because I have to hem one pair and when I tried the other on this morning they were too big. I'm afraid to return them because they will probably fit when I gain some weight back post-nursing. UGH. This means I still have only two pair of pants that fit me really well and it’s too *@(! cold to wear skirts.

We did gussy up for Kelly and Teddy’s vow renewal ceremony (10 years) that evening. They looked so happy and it was nice chance for us girls to catch up. Even Rina came!

Sunday: we went to church at Hyde Park UMC and hit up their contemporary service, The Park. I was really impressed. They had loud, upbeat music (a band) and a very relatable sermon. I could see myself going there more often. It’s 20 minutes away from our house which isn’t preferable, but I keep in mind that a lot of people (the Polleys, the Vetters, etc.) drive about 45 to get to theirs. Further, they would probably be more accommodating for Nicole’s baptism and it’s sweet that it’s the same church we got married in 3+ years ago. Hopefully this decision will be made SOON- I want to be settled!

Laci, Jim’s stepsister and her daughter Nicole came from Columbus to visit that afternoon. Laci brought LOTS of summer dresses and outfits for our Nicole- most of which were right up my alley style-wise (I love little girls in dresses!!). We cut our visit a little short so we could go suck at bowling (won ¼).

We also caught up on LOST which means we’ll be eager and ready for Thursday’s new episode! We need to learn who’s on the boat and if Claire gets in the helicopter!

LOST

Jim and I don’t watch any prime time TV but we do try to follow some series via DVD. Lost is one of the five shows we picked up and last night we finished the third season. I am totally sucked in. I think about it when I'm not watching. I metaphorically sit on the edge of my seat during the shows. How will I ever patiently wait a week for another episode – the DVD format spoils me!

I can’t wait to start up with the fourth season (showing now on ABC) and see how it all plays out. As a result, I’ve joined the ranks of the rest of America and I want the dumb writer’s strike to end so I can get more than just 8 episodes!!

*Yawn!*

I’ve gotten used to sleeping through the night; as a result, I'm really running on empty today with only about 4.5 hours of sleep. What kept me up? Almost anything that could….

Nicole got scared because of the booming thunder and sheeting rain and woke us up crying. An hour later she somehow wiggled out of BOTH legs of her jammies and cried until I came in to fix her. An hour after that she woke up because she wanted Jim. I picked her up and let her have a drink of water but she kept crying and looking at the door like she does in the mornings when he comes to say good morning to her. When Jim finally did get up to see what was the matter she was all smiles for him and wanted to be held.

Jim can’t hold her because he’s sick. Not quite as bad as he was with that puking virus of a couple months ago, but he’s running a fever, aches all over, and has a sore throat. My dad had it for two days too and was MISERABLE.

Apparently the sirens (1/4 mile away) went off due to the weather around 1:30 but that was between two of Nicole’s episodes and I slept right through it. My mother is now worried about this and claims she’s going to call me from now on whenever they go off.

I think I’d feel better today if my sinuses weren’t still clogged – maybe they’d be better if I had remembered to take my amoxicillin this morning…

Weekend of 2/1/08

Friday: When I went to visit Nicole over lunch I got a painful surprise – she has a tooth coming in! Its on the bottom left and the little nub has just broken her gumline. I was surprised that she’s getting it as she hasn’t shown any of the “classic” signs of teething (being overly droolly, cranky, not sleeping, etc.). She’s fine if you want to feel it but she hides it with her tongue if you try to look at it.

Saturday: Nicole and I went over to Ryann’s house to celebrate Mike’s birthday. Hooray for black forest cake two days in a row! We cleaned up around the house the rest of the day and spent the evening watching two REALLY GOOD episodes of Lost (3rd season).

Sunday: Jim cleaned and Mom and I worked on the curtains for my bedroom which we didn’t get done in time for my party. The housewarming was just that – made the house very warm and friendly. We had about 40 people come through for the first half of the day and a big chunk of that crowd left around 5:30. With only about 10 minutes of “down time”, the second wave of super bowl friends came in and we watched the big game with about 30 people. I spent the whole first half cooking and visiting. Miraculously all the food was finished at the same time and when the dinner bell rang, people came! We had plenty to spare so I sent things as much as I could home with others. We opened our presents before Mom, Dad, and my grandparents left and people were too sweet. We went to bed around midnight – not too bad!

One thing I love about my daughter – she’s really easy-going. The kid got passed around to all kinds of people, even some she never met, and she’s friendly and lovey with everyone. My boss’s girlfriend was holding her for about a half hour and when I stopped by to say hello Nicole was kissing her on the cheek. Debbie, of course, was soaking up every minute of it.

Ode to Valentine's Day - Part 2

I attended an all-girls high school and as you can imagine, Valentine’s Day was a big deal. All the boyfriends and admirers were either coached or coerced into buying flowers for their girlfriends and, of course, having them delivered to school. I firmly believe that the point of sending overpriced roses is not so much for the sweetness factor, but so the girlfriend can be the envy of her peers and boyfriend get a better chance for “a little sumptin’” for initiating the ensuing jealousy.

And so, on February 14th the bouquets start piling up. The administration caught on to this charade pretty quickly as you can imagine and started holding all the flowers in the principal’s office until the end of the day. This accomplished a few things- 1) lots of rubbernecking of students as they passed by the office FILLED with roses, 2) built up the suspense of who got flowers all day, 3) reports from students who had a reason to go to the office and spy on the love notes to see who was getting a bouquet.

Personally, I never got flowers at school; not even one in four years. This is not to say I didn’t have boyfriends during the holiday or that I didn’t hope all day that there would be a bundle for me. Really it was that the guys I dated thought Valentine’s Day was a Hallmark holiday and they felt no need to drop any amount of money on “something that will die in a few days anyway” as I recall Mike C. explaining it. This, apparently, is my type of guy, as I don’t recall EVER receiving a significant (more than $10) V-Day gift. Nor have I ever given one either…