Ah been fixin' to...

As they would say in Texas, where I just spent the last five (hot, humid) days, I've been fixin' to update this here blog but ...sidetracked?  Let's just say that some semblance of Summer has FINALLY crept into our lives and suddenly there is so. much. to. do.

-At work, I got a new office.  Yay!  It's the first one I've ever had all to myself and I'm really enjoying the privacy.   (And the rockin' view of the parking lot.)  I don't have much up on the walls but I'm kind of enjoying the non-cluttered feel of it. 

I need some bobble-heads a'la The Office, no?

-Over Memorial Day weekend,  the Husband and I got a much needed weekend away thanks to his kind parents who stayed with the Kiddo.  We ran, biked, ate sushi and mexican (not at the same time) and drank WAY TOO MUCH tequila.  We got a nice hotel and just really enjoyed eachother's company if you know what I mean wink wink.  It was the first time we'd both been away from Otto overnight but everything went without a hitch.  It's all to easy to become disconnected from each other during the day-to-day grind and we needed some time to remember WHY we're in this crazy boat together.  Yes?

-And as I mentioned, Otto and I just got back from Cemetery Day in Texas.  The flight out was infinitely better than 2 years ago which was the last time we went.  There was food, visiting, lizards in coffee cans (see below), cousins in kiddie pools and general merriment.  It was HOT, though.  I busted out a 10K race on Saturday morning and it was 82 degrees when the gun went off at 7am.  Ouch.  (Got 3rd in my age group though- 52:35!!  Another medal for the rack!)

It's a REAL LIZARD, Mom!

And now, we're back, facing mounds of laundry and full in-boxes.  Fortunately, we've got another week off scheduled for around July 4th.  Summer, I love you!!

Trippin'

I'm hitting the road tomorrow for work.  A 7 hour drive, a 1 hour meeting and then 7 hours back.  Best use of resources?  Probably not.  But I do know that the folks I'm going to see really appreciate someone making the effort to come out.  And as long as I don't run into snow (knock on wood), it should be a gorgeous drive.

I'm prepared with a couple books on CD from the ol' public library, water, gum, snacks, and breakfast plans with a friend along the way.  And while I'll miss my boys for the 2 days I'm gone, I've gotta say that the open road and time with my own brain sounds pretty attractive. 

The only thing that's really annoying me is that I need to leave at like 7:30am tomorrow morning.  And somehow I need to fit in a 3-mile run AND a strength workout.  So I guess I'll be up at the butt crack of dawn, sweatin' it out before I hit the road!

Its a Bummer

We took a couple days off this past weekend to spend some time with the in-laws in the wilds of central Wyoming, otherwise known as the small town my husband grew up in and in which I lived for a very short time. (Long enough to meet him, anyhow. )

It was relaxing and badly needed- a long, quiet car trip though beautiful frozen vistas of partially snow covered sagebrush, deep ravines and craggy rock paired with an icy, crystal blue sky... a couple days of sledding, food, and reading (yay Kindle!) and then a day at home to catch up on shopping, laundry and rest. And some more reading. Heh. I should make a note to always take a President's Day/Valentines Day break because it restored some sanity I wasn't even aware was missing.

After 4 days off the grid, however, its good to be back, catching up on blogs, twitter, news...I love reconnecting with my internet buddies. And the best part? Its Wednesday already! :-)

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In other news this awards season, I am apparently up for the Worst Mother Ever award (yet again). The little guy has had a nasty red bum for the past week and a half or so. We tried everything that usually works on diaper rash: blow drying/air drying, keeping it super clean, good cream, even cutting out acidic foods for a couple days...NOTHING worked. If anything it kept getting steadily worse.

Finally, yesterday, I broke down and took him into the pediatrician. $80 later and we have a diagnosis of Strep. In his butt. The Dr. said its super painful and not very common although he does see it a couple times a month (that's not common?) where the strep bug bypasses the tonsils and settles in the, uh, other end.

Of course, I felt horrible that I hadn't immediately noticed that something was really wrong but he reassured me that we did everything right and yada yada yada...Still, mom-guilt has set in and Little O can pretty much get away with murder at the moment because I feel so bad about abusing his poor, sore behind with creams and blowdryers all week.

Live and learn, I s'pose.

Cemetary Day

So. The whole reason for our trip to TX (including the fabulous vomit covered airplane ride) was for Cemetery Day. Which is a kind of weird, yet cool thing that my family and others have been doing since the American civil war.

By the end of the war, Walton Cemetery- a small graveyard in the middle of the woods in east Texas-was the resting place of sons, brothers, fathers and others who had passed on. To ensure that the graveyard was maintained, it was decided that each year on the first Sunday in June, the families would gather there to do upkeep: Make sure the headstones were taken care of, grass cut, greedy, overgrowing greenery cut back. They would spend the morning working in the cemetery, have a church service to remember the dead and then have a big picnic lunch before it got too hot.


This tradition has evolved into what it is today-and really it hasn't changed much. We got to the cemetery around 9 am and spent an hour or so looking at graves and hearing stories from the old folks who remembered who was buried there and why. My grandmother is there. And next to her grave is a plot reserved for my grandfather, for when his time comes. All of my Granddad's family (parents and 7 siblings), are there excepting his sister Aileen who is still living. We saw the grave of his little sister Flossie- who died at age three during the great depression because she swallowed a nail. We saw a graves of little babies born and died more than a hundred years ago, and the grave of my great uncle who just died last year. We saw the graves of civil war soldiers, their headstones worn and weathered from over a century in the hot Texas sun.



Around 10, we all went into the little chapel where after some singing of old timey hymns, they got down to business- no joke. We were all given a financial report of the cemetery- how much they pay the groundskeeper, how much it cost to remove graffiti some local idiots painted on a couple of headstones. How much was spent on lawn mower repair.


After the business meeting, there was a short church service. You all know that I'm not one for religion, but I'll confess, I did enjoy the singing.



The godly stuff out of the way, it was time for LUNCH and what a lunch it was. Fried chicken, potato salad, watermelon, casseroles, cookies, sweet tea...tables and tables of food. Little kids ran in the green grass under the big leafy trees, squealing and laughing while the adults crowded around tables in folding chairs and talked of Cemetery Days past, bragged about their kids, and remembered the loved ones who lie just a few yards away.


It was a somber, yet joyful day. One spent hearing stories and looking at old, weathered faces smiling down at young new ones with pride and love. It was awesome and I'm glad we went. Puking and all.

You Can Stop Holding Your Breath

We're back safe and sound, from a whirlwind trip to TX to visit with my grandparents, parents and extended relatives. The four days were full of airplane rides, car rides, warm, humid weather, fried chicken, watermelon, sweet tea, inflatable outdoor pools, and lots of visiting, visiting, visiting. For the most part, it was fabulous.

Again, for the most part, the kiddo busied himself with stickers, watching PBS videos on my Zune, nursing, reading books, and generally being quite pleasant.

Except. (And its a BIG "except.")

The flight there was sort of completely, totally awful. We had a horrible night the night before we left so I was running on about 4 hours of sleep. Never a good thing, even on the least demanding of days. We made it to the airport fine, to the plane with no problem, and then ALL BLOODY HELL BROKE LOOSE. There was screaming, crying, thrashing...it was really quite funny, now that I look back at it but at the time all I could think was " DEAR GOD PLEASE LET THIS FLIGHT BE OVER AND PLEASE LET ME NEVER EVER EVER SEE ANY OF THESE POOR SOULS AGAIN OR I WILL DIE OF SHAME."

Looking back, I think it was a combination of being too tired, getting a tooth and probably ear pressure, but my child was INCONSOLABLE. Would NOT nurse/eat/sleep/play/read books/watch videos...nothing. Finally, he'd been crying so long and was so upset that he started gagging and throwing up. On the airplane. Oy Vey. He was covered in puke, I was covered in puke, it stunk to high heaven and I only had back up clothes for him. Nice.

And so, we showed up in Dallas, covered in vomit and completely depleted of the sparse energy stores we had started the day with.


The good news is, that for whatever reason, it was smooth sailing from there. We slept like we were dead that night and the kid was a completely different child the next day. Our flight home was uneventful, and dare I say even pleasant? probably thanks to the small dose of Tylenol I provided to the little nut and us both being considerably better rested. I'm not one to randomly drug my child, but I felt justified as my nerves could not handle another hell flight.

I'll post more about the trip, including the reason for it (Cemetary Day) sometime soon. It's a pretty fascinating tradition and I learned a lot about my heritage and East Texas this weekend that I'd like to share. Plus I have photos if I ever have time to upload them. (The 2 in this post were taken with my phone.)

"....And the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'....

...Ah don't know if Ah'll see tomooooorooooorow!"

Ah, Journey. Is there really any of life's moments that cannot be captured in a Journey song?

Otto is going through some kind of sleep regression (probably the 18-21 month one that Moxie writes about) and we've been up a lot in the night. And you know how when you're awake late at night and the house is all still and quiet, your brain can kinda veer off into strange territory? I've been up nursing the boy at 2, 3, 4am and I've been thinking all kinds of weird shit, laying there in the dark. The past couple nights its been the passage of time and how some things can seem to take forever and some things are over in the blink of an eye. Doesn't sound that trippy in the light of day, but at 3am it will fuck with your head.

* * * * * *

This week is going by in a blur. Feels like my brain is in several places at once: At work, at daycare, at home, mentally packing a suitcase. The kiddo and I are flying out on Saturday to visit my grandparents in Texas. I'm looking forward to the heat, strangely enough. The warmest its been here lately is 63 degrees (yesterday, the high was 46) so I won't mind a couple of days being able to wear flip-flops and short sleeves.

(Although I'm actually going to do 3/4 sleeves because my new tattoo goes right down to my elbow and while I don't care if my parents/co-workers/strangers see it, my granddad has very old fashioned views about this sort of thing and he's so old that he deserves to be spared the stress of worrying that his only granddaughter is the spawn of Satan. Or something. Its just that we're only going to be there for 3 days, who knows when we'll see him again, and I just don't want there to be drama.)

I think I've got all my ducks in a row for the plane trip: books, toys, snacks, coloring books, sling, umbrella stroller, extra clothes in the carry-on (for both the kid and me), ibuprofen (for my inevitable airplane headache)...what am I missing?

* * * * * * *

Lastly, I'll leave you with some photos taken on our trip to our hometown over Mother's Day weekend. It was a chilly, clear day and we had a great time hiking and throwing rocks in the river.

Jiggety Jog

Made it up to the hometown and back again in one piece this weekend. Spent time with the inlaws- hiking, eating, talking, eating, watching a toddler roll around in the grass like a crazy person, and eating. The weather was cool, but not cold, cloudy but with a little bit of sun. It was a study in paradoxes.

So that's an achievement.

For Mother's Day, the husband got me $$ for a new tattoo and a very lovely card. YAY! I've already got an appointment booked and everything. I'll let it be a surprise, but its going to be classic, sailor-y, and incorporate my kid's name because I love that little turd factory SO much.

All in all, it was a nice weekend and now I'm back at the daily grind which seems grind-ier than normal because I got all used to sleeping until 7 and eating my weight in chocolate chip pancakes and stuff like that just doesn't happen during a 'work week.'

"It Would Be So Funny If He Drove a Miata..."

*In annoying sing-songy voice:*

ITS MY FRIDAY. OH YEAH. ITS MY FRIDAY.

For reals. We are taking a 4 day weekend and driving to our hometown to visit the husband's parents for the weekend. I'm actually looking forward to the mini-road trip and the change of scenery for a couple of days.

But.

Since it is my Friday, here's a humorous treat. JUST FOR YOU.

And warning: its a teensy bit racy so it might not be safe for work, unless you work in a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Like I do.

Enjoy.

Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

Jiggety Jog

Home again.

Our trip was absolutely fantastic. Otto was a DOLL on the plane (i.e., he slept the whole way there, slept/chattered/played on the way back. ) He totally entertained all the passengers in our near vicinity and had people laughing and cooing at him. It was borderline ridiculous, really, but kind of fun. Navigating the airports was also just fine. The Ergo was a LIFESAVER. I was so glad I opted for that instead of a stroller.

Once we arrived, we found that Missouri was warm (but not too warm), humid (but not too humid) and lovely with the lush foliage and beautiful blooms. The forest surrounding my folk's house up in the Ozarks was positively teeming with wildlife; humming birds, turtles, wild turkeys, songbirds...Otto was totally fascinated every time we stepped out onto the porch. (The only downside: I got a tick on me but eh, you know, it wasn't so bad.)

My grandad (my 83 YEAR OLD grandad) drove 10 hours EACH WAY to see us. My dad played the piano for Otto just like he did for me when I was little. My mom snuggled and nuzzled him and read him stories.

Perfect.

Now we're back to reality and its really not so bad. My "Monday" was really Wednesday and a short week is always nice.

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

...and I have to admit I'm just a leeeetle bit nervous. We are leaving tomorrow to spend the long weekend at my parent's house in Missouri. The Husband is staying here because he has band obligations (they are playing a biker rally, of all things). So its just me, the boy, and the good folks at United Airlines.

True, its only a 2 hour flight from Denver to St. Louis BUT. There's the 2 hour car trip to Denver. (And the getting through security, blah blah blah...) Then the 2 hour car trip from St. Louis to my parents house. So it will be a looooong day of travel.

I do, however, think I'm as ready as I'm gonna be. The game plan is this: I will wear Otto on my front in the Ergo, have a backpack serving as diaper bag/purse, have our rolling duffle in one hand and the car seat in the other. Oila! A one-woman traveling circus.

Wish us luck and bon voyage!