Ho Hum - Yawners from Life

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

With my parents pending move to the country for their retirement, we’re coming into some furniture (downsizing!) soon. Pieces included a bedroom suite for Molly that is perfect for her room - antique white with gold leaf trim. There are two dressers with a shelf-hutch and a corner vanity and a headboard for a full size bed. I think there’s a night table, too. The headboard and night table will be stored until Molly is ready for the big girl bed, but we plan to take the other pieces as soon as possible.

We also inherited some paint. One color is a lovely light sage green that we used to paint Molly’s room on Saturday. Her room was yellow, but I didn’t want to bring in the white furniture to that harsh colored room. It’s now a lovely, soothing green and the white furniture will look very pretty in there. I also bought this vinyl wall art (in brown, with some extra butterflies in pink - click on the second picture in the listing to see the art itself) to put on the wall where her crib is and the bed will eventually be. It shipped yesterday, so I’m hoping it arrives before the weekend so that I can put it up. The extra butterflies will appear in other places around the room, like at the door and window. I’ll wait to put some of them up after we get the furniture into the room.

I also bought this vinyl wall art for Jesse’s room, in red. We’re keeping his walls white, but his bedding is primarily blue with red and yellow in it. Since he loves Little Einsteins’ Rocket, who is red, it seemed appropriate to get the art in red, too. He was curious about the painting we did and wanted to decorate his room, too. Since I’m reluctant to put any framed art in his room because of his destructive nature, this seems like the better option. My mother asked if I was afraid that he’s pick at it and I guess that is a concern, but I’m hoping he’ll think it’s painted on there.

And the great thing is that the art comes off the walls easily when we move. It’s not reuseable, but it’s cheap enough that I can live with trashing it when the time comes.

I’ll post before and after pictures later.

Monday, February 22, 2010

It’s my last week in this job and it’s going to be stressful. I need to finish the desk manual. I need to clean out my office. The admins are taking me to lunch on Wednesday (hello, Indian buffet at Raaga!). We’ve postponed the official farewell luncheon in the office because all management is on travel this week. So I get to go back in mid-March for a pot luck in my honor. That will be nice.

I report to HQ on Monday morning. From the email I got, I think I’ll spend most of that day there. Not looking forward to that commute at all, but at least it’s just one day.

I’m going to try to get to my new office on Thursday to take my personal crap over there early. That will depend on how well I’m able to complete the little tasks that need doing.

I’m excited. I’m nervous. I alternate between the two frequently during the day. I think the next couple of weeks are going to be mentally exhausting.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I am back at work in the office today. I was on “snowcation” for roughly 10 days and aside from a 15 minute test drive last week to see what the roads were like, I didn’t really leave my house. It was sort of weird to put on make-up this morning.

Fortunately, the commute was pretty easy this morning. I’m guessing it’ll be not so easy tomorrow and the next day as things really get back to normal.

There are 8 foot piles of snow on the sides of the roads in places. Those will be there until sometime in April for sure.

I’ll be happy for no more snow this winter, but there’s something in me that thinks we’ll get more in March.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Adding insult to injury, Mother Nature has decided she is ready to unload another batch of the frozen white stuff on an area that already has plenty, thanks.

My zip code is expecting another 7-14” on top of the 2 feet we got over the weekend - starting tomorrow afternoon and ending sometime Wednesday evening/night. My parents’ zip code (a mere 15 minute drive and maybe 5 miles) can expect 10-20” on top of the nearly 30” they got.

I took an experimental drive today to get a feel for how awful the roads are in my neck of the woods. The road leading from my neighborhood to a main highway looked better than last time, except for the standing water on the visible pavement that had nowhere to go because of the snow/slush and enormous piles. That stuff is a sheet of sheer ice at this point - we have temps in the teens tonight. Tomorrow morning that would make for a nasty commute.

The good news (safety-wise) is that the Federal Government is closed again tomorrow. As a taxpayer, it’s annoying. As an employee I’m grateful - it’s not safe to be on the roads yet. Add new snow to the mix and it means your government will be out of commission here in DC for most of the week.

As for the work not getting done - it will get done. Trust me, it will get done.

In the meantime we’re working on a really excellent case of cabin fever.

2/6/10 - 7am - 14” on the ground.

About 10:30am - 17” on the ground. Note the tricycle handlebars - this is the constant.

About 1pm - no measurement. Tricycle.

The two cars with the wipers up are ours.

About 3pm - no measurement. Tricycle.

About 4:30pm. 22” on the ground. Tricycle.

Sunset that same day. Beautiful.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

We took a bunch of pictures during our 24-36 hours of blizzarding here in our neck of the woods.

We ended it all with a couple of feet of snow - measured on the deck at 22”.

We have piles that are enormous in our front yard from Beau’s shoveling efforts and neither one of our cars is completely in the clear yet. Thanks to the kids next door, the clear sidewalks that he worked so hard on are now covered again with nicely packed snow that I couldn’t shovel away after they were done playing.

With temps in the single digits tonight and a cold week ahead, this stuff will be around for a while. And we’re supposed to get a “wintry mix” Tuesday into Wednesday. Fun times.

This winter is far worse than any of the five winters I spent in New Hampshire for snow.

Friday, February 05, 2010

I’m working from home today. The Feds are shutting things down early today. The courthouse closes at noon. And yet I have to work the full day without getting the free time off because I opted to telework. Ah, well…

Here’s the forecast:

... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST SATURDAY…

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST SATURDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… HEAVY SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS… STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 20 TO 28 INCHES.

If we hit that 28” mark, DC will set a new record for seasonal snowfall. The record was last set in 1898-99. OK.

We are snug. We have plenty of food, including this in the crock pot. I’m doing the first version. Beau will be making the rolls tomorrow for the sandwiches. I’m very excited…

We already have snow - the really wet stuff. I’ll post pictures as we proceed.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Three years ago at this very moment my baby boy was pulled out of me in a hospital operating room. He arrived 4 weeks early and after I had spent nearly 8 full weeks on bed rest (most of which was in the hospital), but weighed in at a healthy 7lbs, 5oz and measured 20.25” long.

Then…

I remember that before I woke up in the middle of the night because I was bleeding, I had spent a quiet evening in my hospital room watching the premier of that season of 24. If I recall correctly, that was the “day” that a nuke exploded in downtown LA in the middle of the morning rush. I remember, also, that the following evening I was blissfully happy to have my baby safe, although sad that he was in the NICU. I spent that evening with empty Mama’s arms, holding my sore belly when I laughed at the first night of new season of American Idol.

Yes, my memories are tied to TV. If you had been stuck in the hospital for weeks, your memory of those days would revolve around the little bits you did or saw. For me, it was a lot of TV to alleviate the boredom in between visitors, nurses doing their thing, and sleeping.

Anyway, this post isn’t supposed to be about me!

Now…

Jesse is the light of my life and such a joy. He’s a tender-hearted and affectionate little boy. He’s smart, articulate, hilarious, sweet, active, curious, boisterous, and inquisitive.

He loves to be with. It doesn’t matter where or how, he just wants to hang with one or both of us all the time.

He loves to read (even though he can’t really read) - I love when I catch him lounging on the sofa holding a book, much like his Daddy does.

He loves stories - his current favorite seems to be The Three Little Pigs.

He often remembers to thank God for his food - I love when I put his lunch in front of him and I hear his little voice saying, “Thank you, God, for the peanut butter and the bread and the honey and my milk. Amen.”

He has a huge vocabulary, but mispronounces words like any toddler/preschooler - my favorites are milk (nulk) and balloon (barroon).

He speaks backwards - for instance he’ll push the cat or one of us out of his way when he’s running around, but he’ll say, “I’m in your way!” He calls Molly his “big brother” and has referred to himself as “little sister.” If his clothes or shoes are too small he says they’re too big and vice versa. He does this often and consistently enough that I plan to mention this to the pediatrician when we go in a couple of weeks. It may be nothing, but I don’t want to brush it aside if it is an indicator of something.

He is excited about his birthday. All week he’s asked for candles (we had candles on Beau’s birthday cake the other night). We’re trying to teach him about the days of the week - Saturday is his actual birthday. His party (just with my family) is on Sunday. He’ll get his barroons and candles on Sunday.

We’re doing a breakfast party - the original plan was to go to IHOP, but we decided to do it at our house instead. I’ll be cooking up mini omelets (I found a recipe on a WW recipe blog that I read, so low Points - bonus!) and breakfast potatoes, bacon, and a coffee cake (there must be cake!). Jesse will get his candles on the coffee cake and then we’ll surprise him with presents (about which we have said nothing - he has no clue. Beau’s presents are being held until Sunday AM as well). Should be a fun time. Pictures will follow, of course.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

remember the fiasco of the too large Crocs? Now we have the fiasco of two pairs of better fitting Crocs to replace!

I bought a pair of navy blue Crocs on my way home from work last night. Marmie bought a pair of orange (woo!) Crocs for Jesse’s birthday (which is Saturday).

I’ll just keep the blue pair for Molly for when her feet fit in them - I know that Jesse probably wore them all day today, sans socks. And the tags were tossed into the trash. There’s no way I can return them in good conscience.

And I should have called my mother before I made the impulse purchase.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Jesse has a pathological love of his Walmart cheapo fake Crocs. Despite the fact that his toes are crunched painfully (I can only assume) because they are too small, he insists on wearing them still. Prior to Christmas we were only letting him wear them around the house, like slippers.

Aside: He has an equal pathological hatred for socks. We have no idea where it came from, but it is a battle nearly to the death to get them on his feet. We compromise and only require them when we know he’s going outside, since it’s winter and we seem to be in The New Ice Age.

Anyway, I put a pair of real Crocs on his wishlist for Christmas - orange, because it’s his favorite color. You may have seen the pictures of him wearing the shoes while also astride his orange bike.

We noticed that his feet seemed awfully close to overlapping the heel, so I dug out this size chart that I had printed so that we could actually measure the boy’s foot. It seemed silly to keep guessing at his foot size, clearly we weren’t keeping up with his growth. He obediently laid his foot on the sheet and his toe hit the line at size 11.

Wha?!

The shiny new Crocs are 8/9. Oy vey.

I promptly hopped on the computer to find larger shoes for the kid. There are no orange Crocs to be had in his size. And then I noticed the fleece-lined versions, which seemed a better way to go with his socks phobia. I read that it was wise to get the next size up if opting for the fleece lined shoes, to accommodate socks. Knowing that there would be days when we insisted on socks, this is what I ordered. In brown - his beloveds are brown with an orange stripe.

They arrived yesterday and they are HUGE! He came down to the basement with them on and he looked Bozo. It was obvious that they were way too big - even with socks. There’s easily one full inch at the heel and when I felt for his toes, there was about that much empty space there, too.

Ah, comedy of errors.

Aside: Beau bought mittens for the kid last week. He carefully measured the boy’s hand to make sure he bought the right size. Like me, he opted for the next size up since his hands measured .25” less than the minimum of that size (medium). They are enormous. So he’ll be set for shoes and mittens next winter, at least. *sigh*

We figure his feet are probably size 10. So now the question, do I bother to order a pair of size 10 Crocs for him, too?

Went to see my dentist yesterday to get my temporary crown put in and also a filling in another tooth. I was there for over 3 hours. I managed to watch The Wedding Planner 1.5 times. “Watch” meaning it was playing on the screen next to my chair and ran throughout the procedure of drilling and shots and drilling and shots. When I sat down I caught the last 10-15 minutes and the first 5-10 minutes of the movie. And then I was laid back and hung out that way for about 90 minutes of torture - I could hear the movie, but I couldn’t see it. Then, when he was done with the drilling I sat there watching the last 15 minutes and the first 5-10 minutes again while I waited for the temporary crown to be molded prior to insertion into my mouth.

It’s a little disconcerting to hear that drilling sound behind you when you’re at the dentist.

1.5 viewings of The Wedding Planner = way too much J.Lo. But it also = still not enough Matthew McConaghey. So does that make it a wash?

Anyhow, 3+ hours and 3 shots of novocaine later I spent the afternoon trying not to chew off the right side of my lower lip (somehow it got slightly mangled as the day went on). I go back in 2 weeks to get the permanent crown and then I’m done with the dentist for the rest of my life. No, that’s not true. I have been asked to go back in 3 months for a cleaning that didn’t get finished since it had been 8 years since my last trip to a dentist’s torture chamber.

Monday, December 28, 2009

I hope that Christmas was merry and blessed for all 3 of you that still read the blog. Ours was full and festive, spent at Marmie and Pop’s house from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day.

For Jesse, it was fun for us to watch him enjoy his CootieCousins, unwrapping his gifts, and seem to get the magic of it all. Thanks to the grandparents (Santa) and Uncle Bill for the awesome gifts for him - he loves his Strider Bike and Handy Manny Tool Truck above all other gifts. We are holding the Little Einsteins and Bingo games for when he seems to get bored with the tool truck.

Molly’s favorite gift is the jumper, hands down.

It’s now back to reality. Back to work for me and back to the daily routine for Beau and the kids. I start the week with a trip to the dentist this morning, which may end in a crown on one tooth.

What we have to look forward to is our 4th anniversary on Thursday and another 4-day weekend. We plan to go out (sans kids), but the weather may not cooperate (there’s a possibility of snow/ice Wednesday night into Friday). Either way, we will do something to commemorate the occasion.

Monday, December 21, 2009

We survived the weekend of snow.

Our final total snowfall was 21”.

Post snow play hot chocolate.

Molly Ann peeking at Daddy’s boots.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Monday - somehow managed to scratch my right eye enough to generate pain for most of the day. Turns out it was just an irritation of the outer corner and not the cornea, but still. Missed a day of work and sported an eye patch until about 4pm. Not a cool black, pirate-type eye patch - just your every day gauze and tape patch.  But it did the trick and by late afternoon the eye was no longer painful.

Tuesday - Spent the morning at work and then went to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Patriot Center. That is a very cool show. Both kids loved it. Yes, Molly Ann was enthralled and stayed cheerful and engaged until about the last 30 minutes. I took her up to the tunnel where I wore her and we watched the end. Throughout I felt the scratchy throat of an oncoming cold.

Wednesday - woke up with more intense scratchy sore throat, but went to work because I felt fine otherwise. By the time I got home, I was worn out and not feeling so hot. Went to bed early.

Thursday - started in the middle of the night when the congestion invaded my sinuses and interrupted my sleep. Spent a restless night fighting to breathe. “Woke up” in the morning convinced I was dying, called in to inform my boss** that I was staying home to save them from the plague. By the evening, the cough had settled in quite nicely and it was an effort to speak. I’m sure Beau appreciated this new aspect of my illness.

** My new boss is now Amazing One. She was promoted to that slot when My Boss retired this month. She is not to be confused with my real New Boss when I transfer to the New Job. That hasn’t happened yet. Are you all properly confused now? Good.

Friday - awoke this morning to the wracking cough. Interestingly, the congestion is much diminished although my sinuses still feel like each is about 10 lbs. I’m really hoping I don’t have a sinus infection. The barking cough is enough for now. I can speak, but it is an effort at times. Stayed home - again, for the good of the people at my office. No need to share my germs with them the week before Christmas.

I’ve spent the past two days hiding from my children. That part really sux, but I don’t want them to be sick at Christmas either. Jesse is a sweetheart - very concerned that I take my medicine and offering to sleep with me, although that is code for jumping on the bed. Where that boy got the gift of mercy is a mystery - although his father seems much more merciful than I.

And then we get to the snow part - we basically have a blizzard headed this way. I’m bummed because I have two Christmas parties this weekend that I was really looking forward to attending. I’m thinking the one for Sunday with my small group ladies will still happen since by that time the snow will have stopped falling. But the one for tomorrow night is a no-go, at least for me. I still have not gotten word from the hosts on any plans to cancel or reschedule - imho, it would be odd to expect people to show up at a party when we’ll be getting better than a foot of snow.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Wow, my last post was on November 30th? That’s just sad. Ye olde blogge is sorely neglected.

Is anyone still checking in?

Here’s a load of random stuff from the past couple of weeks:

1. Watched Night at the Museum 2 - not as good as the first, we laughed in places probably not intended to be funny. Hank Azaria was not funny. 2.5 stars out of 5. Next up: Julie & Julia. Amy Adams, yet again, in all of her perkiness.

2. We have beef. A large quantity of it. It looks very good - nice and lean. We managed to screw up in our order of the cuts wanted, which resulted in a lot of ground beef, but that was our fault. The first to be eaten will be t-bone steaks on Monday or Tuesday.

3. Jesse is entering the challenging 3s. I loved 2. He’s just shy of 3 and there are times when I wonder if he’ll make it to 4. The problem is his insatiable curiosity and intelligence. My fear is that he will figure out how to dismantle the DVD player (or something similar). Yesterday he decided to decorate his room with Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. I won’t go into further details, except that attempts at clean up involved Orange Glo furniture polish. I’ll be breaking out the OxiClean tomorrow. Truthfully, I haven’t had a chance to investigate the whole situation yet because I haven’t been in his room in daylight since it happened.

4. Traffic is killing me this week - it took me 2 hours to get from work to our church last night, which is actually closer than if I had gone home. I had band practice, so I had to be there.  Got no dinner and I didn’t get home until after 10pm. If Beau hadn’t brought the kids to the pot luck lunch at work I wouldn’t have seen either of them at all yesterday. Boo.

5. Why is December so freakin’ busy? I have worship team this weekend. Then next weekend I have a worship arts team Christmas party at our pastor’s house on Saturday night (with the departure of our worship leader in the spring, we’ve been lead by a team of folks in the interim. Supposedly we’re supposed to hear the vision at this party. I have heard bits and pieces from various staff that trouble me.) On Sunday night my small group ladies are having a Christmas pot luck. I’m not sure if we’ll then have our regular Monday night meeting or not, but I know the plan was to be finished with the Meyer book before Christmas, so I think we well.

6. On the Meyer book, I have mixed feelings about it. The general principles are good and the encouragement to go to Scripture is well needed and excellent. However, I have issues with a few of the things she has said - not major theological things, but things that could be taken wrong if out of context.

7. Still no word on a date for my transition to the new job. It’s beyond frustrating. I’m sure my stuff is sitting on some drone’s desk waiting for action, while said drone is out on his/her use-or-lose leave.