February Favorites: Family

Yeah.  Duh.  I love my family.  But, truly they are my favorites (as I am forever reminding them) and I had to include them.  I mean, really.

The handsomeness!!!  (is that a word??)

This picture was taken yesterday, after a family trip to snowshoe/ski.  It was a crystal clear, sunshiny day...you know, one of those days where the snow looks all glittery?  No wind, not too cold.  Bliss.

Yule be sorry!

...and we're back!  One of the benefits of working where I work is that we get 11 days off for "Winter Closure" which effectively covers Christmas through New Year's.  What's more, its paid and we don't have to use any sick or vacation time.  A fabulous perk.

This year's winter break started off amazing.  We hopped in the car, laden with gifts and cookie tins and snowsuits, skis, etc. and headed to the Mister's hometown.  Once there, we ate, laughed, played, opened gifts, ate, laughed, ate...well you get the idea.  We got some cool stuff but the best present, really, was getting to play in glorious fresh snow with the grandparents and uncles. 

On the sleddin' hill.  It was cold, but fun...all kinds of fun!

Skiing through the trees near sunset.  So amazingly beautiful.

After a couple days of this debauchery, we headed home, only to find an unwelcome guest waiting for us:  the stomach flu.  Or whatever you call it...I guess its not technically a flu?  A bug?  Well, whatever it is, the Mister and I were completely miserable and yet Otto seems to have escaped relatively unscathed (knocking on wood.)  It trashed at least 3 precious day of our break, though, which sucked with a capital SUCK.

By New Year's we were mostly back to normal and enjoying eachother's company and our cozy house.  We played some games, put together some models, went ice skating, saw some movies and tried to make up for lost time.

The boys, reading a book before dinner on Otto's new "big boy bed"

All in all, our Yule coulda been worse, coulda been better.  And now, suddenly, here we are back into our routine of work, preschool, home and its both sad and comforting, if that makes any sense. 

I'm hoping to come back here soon with some ideas for the new year...who else still does resolutions?

Love.

This picture makes my heart feel like its going to bust right out of my chest.

"You think dogs will not be in heaven?  I tell you, they will be there long before any of us."  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Both

We have the same hair, the same eyes. 
 We cry at the end of disney movies. 
Blue is our favorite color. 
We both have weaknesses for anything chocolate, thrift stores and cute animals.
We run.
We play piano.
We'd rather get some dirt and seed than a bouquet of already grown flowers.
We love hummingbirds.
We love our children.

We are both mothers.  And damn awesome ones, at that.

Happy Mother's Day, Mama.

Bring it.

So far this new year has been fast and furious- I have a new boss at work and we are SUPER busy.  Lots of meetings, phone calls, work piling up.  BUT.  The work is challenging, engaging, and dare I say...fun in a lot of ways.  So it could be worse.  And I'm actually surprised at the amount of overtime I haven't had to put in, considering.

Also in the first week of the new year I:

1. had the toenail on my left big toe removed because it was dead and gross (from in-grown toenail surgery 2 years ago and from being a runner) and

2:  confirmed that I have hearing loss in my right ear- mostly in the higher frequencies.  The loss isn't bad enough to warrant a hearing aid (yet) but  I might need a better phone at work and to learn how to read lips a little in situations with lots of background noise (which I already do.)  This makes me feel old.  Pout.

We have, thankfully, been able to carve some time out for fun stuff.  We got the kiddo a pair of snowshoes for $18 on sale and we took him out for his first real trek last weekend.  He did so great!  We were out there for an hour and a half and there was no complaining, crying, being too tired...nothing!   I think he road in the sled up a couple of steep hills and that was it.   A good time was had by all.  Evidence:

It wasn't super cold- especially with our new wool socks we all got for Xmas.  Still, once we got back home, hot chocolate and popcorn were deemed necessary :) 

As an aside:  I LOVE living so close to National Forest areas.  This system of ski and snowshoe trails is 12 minutes from our house.  12 MINUTES!  And we have more National Forest recreation areas 30 minutes the other direction.  And there's no traffic, no crowded parking lots at the trail heads.  Heaven!

As far as other fun activities, (and this one's for you Dandelion Trail) we've had fun lately making homemade toys out of cardboard, paper sacks, toilet paper rolls etc.   A ship for Buzz Lightyear, for example:  (and yes, someone is really into Toy Story and grandparents are obliging by purchasing every related piece of apparel they can find.  But hey- free clothes are free clothes!)

Notice the dog emitting lasers from her eyes.  I'm pretty sure Otto was making her play the role of the evil emperor Zurg the other day.

Never a dull moment but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Bring it on, 2011!

About Face

Yesterday was One Of Those Days.  It began slightly after midnight.  My kid woke up screaming and crying and refusing to go back to bed.  It took me 30 minutes to coax him out of whatever dream/night terror state he was in and convince him to get into bed with me.  At last he fell back asleep- but guess what?  I was wide. awake.  And just laying there, my brain swirling around in my head, digging up the dregs of old to-do's and worries.

I decided to get up and go do something else for a bit- maybe reset my brain back into sleepy time mode.  For some reason, I grabbed our little Flip video camera and decided that I would get the baby videos off of it that have been on there for, say, 3 years.  So, at 1:00am, I plug it into my computer and attempt a download.  YOU NEED AN UPDATE it says.  THIS CAN BE DONE WITH A CAMERA WITH VIDEOS ON IT, BUT IT WILL TAKE LONGER it says.  This is fine.  I have all night!

I begin the update and everything seems to be going fine.  I feel sleep creeping back up and go to bed.

Fast forward 4 hours or so and I'm up, checking on the camera.  CAMERA HAS BEEN UPDATED. Goody!  I check the camera after I (safely) remove it from the computer and...(I'm sure you can see where this is going) the videos are gone.  The thing is wiped.  Empty.  Ready to Record!  What. the. fuck. 

I have what basically amounts to a very ungraceful panic attack, searching my hard drive, the camera, for the missing baby videos.  I download and run recovery software, to no avail.  I'm crying, remembering the precious footage of Otto's first day crawling, his first steps, singing Twinkle Twinkle.   Otto's looking at me, confused.  "We're sad about baby movies, Mama?  But I'm a big boy!"

I go to work upset and sad.

Work is work, only times a MILLION because shit is hitting the fan and we're super busy and I have, like, 87 meetings scheduled and everyone is pissy and etc. etc.  And the entire time, I'm on the edge of a melt down, thinking about the fucking baby videos.

Finally, the day is over and I get home.  The Husband, bless him, has carnitas in the crock pot and a six-pack waiting for me.  It is at this point that the day begins to slowly turn back towards the light.  We have an amazing dinner, I do the (minimal) dishes and decide to call a good friend for a little venting session. 

We have a good talk about woes, parenting, books, work (love you, L!) and I hang up feeling more centered than I have all day.

At this point, I get a text from the Husband, who is downstairs with the kiddo that says, "You can't find us.  Hahahahahahahaha!- the Potzula Gang."

Laughing, I go downstairs to see that an elaborate fort has been constructed with an old quilt and two pairs of shoes are poking out, one little, one large.  Copious amounts of giggling emanate from under the fort.  "FEE FIE FO FUM, I SMELL THE BLOOD OF AN ENGLISHMAN"  I boom, as I thump down the stairs.  The giggling intensifies.

After playing a bit, while the Husband is doing jammies/brushing teeth/reading stories duties, I turn once more to my computer.  Sighing, I log in to check my email, resisting the urge to throw the stupid Flip camera across the room but also realizing that its not the end of the world.  While videos, pictures and keepsakes are nice, I have awesome friends, an amazing family and I get to LIVE in these moments. 

Suddenly, on my desktop, I notice a folder way down in the lower left corner that I haven't noticed before.  Flip Video Backup, it says.  I click.

And yeah, you guessed it.  The missing baby videos.  All there.  All beautiful.  All not lost.

I go to bed happy, loved, realizing that losing those little movies wasn't the end of the world.  But I'm glad I have them back.  We all sleep through the night, waking up to a new day to cherish and new memories to record. 

They come and go....they come and go-oh-oh-oh

A shameless plug:

My (not so little anymore) brother wrote a children's book!!  If you have time, please click the link to check it out.  You can preview the entire book online.     He is an amazing photographer and the pictures are just stunning.  I just ordered little O his very own copy.  Super proud big sis, here. 
 

P.S., I am also the one who suggested the name for his chameleon.  . Boy George 4EVR!!

Digging Myself Out

I did it.  Somehow, I made it through last week's Insane Work Craziness and came out the other side relatively unscathed.  There might be some delayed decompressing but right now I feel pretty fucking amazing.  I accomplished a lot, had many meetings, threw one enormous event (about 600 attendees) and am still almost not crazy.  You know what I mean.

Here are a few of the things that are helping me dig myself out of the stress-trench I've been trapped in the last 10 days or so.  I'm stoked that I have time to read books, play with my kid, cook, and surf the net again.  Life is...well...better.

1.  Donkeys.  OMG how I love looking at pictures of sweet little donkeys.  I've always loved them- they have such personality!  My grandma used to love to tell this story about a little Family Circus moment I had when I was young:  She and I were driving in the Kansas farm-country when we saw a sweet pasture of little gray donkeys.  "Those donkeys remind me of Jesus!" I declared.  Obviously, I was very young and smack in the middle of Catholic Ed. but even now...Donkeys kind of remind me of Jesus.  But in a good way.




2.  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a fucking fantastic book.  I loved Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride Predjudice and Zombies, as well.  Just totally awesome.
I especially love how he weaves the source material with the monsters so seamlessly...I'm simultaneously really interested in story while laughing my ever loving ass off.  Leave it to me to discuss Jesus, Abraham Lincoln and Vampires in the same post.

3.  This recipe for Black Bean Burgers with Mango Salsa.  We've made it once a week for probably the last month.  And none of us are sick of it yet.  Otto absolutely loves it.  Its wonderful "we wish it was summer" food.  (And no, it is not yet summer here.  Cold, windy, high temps in the 30's and 40's.  To paraphrase Steve Zissou, "Sonofabitch I'm sick of this weather." )

But seriously, you should make this dish because it is awesome.  The only thing we do differently from the recipe is we cook the burgers on our big ol' non-stick griddle instead of baking them- we like the crustiness the griddle provides and it seemed like baking them just kind of dried them out and made them fall apart a little bit.

4.  Hangin' with my homies aka my family.  They are awesome.  Otto is super into cutting pretty much anything with his little green scissors these days so I put him to work on some coupons.  Heh.   And yes, that ad for tampons features a busty lady in a sports bra. 

 

Top O' the whatever to ya

My mom is here visiting this week from Missouri, which is wonderful because she's saving us a week's worth of daycare costs. (Our daycare charges by the day, so if you're sick or absent a day you don't have to pay for it.) Of course, its also wonderful because she's my mom and I hardly ever get to see her because she lives so freaking FAR AWAY. And she does the dishes. And Otto loves her with a burning hot fire that is fourth only to his love of Buzz Lightyear and Spiderman and cookies (in that order.)

So far, we've had a lovely visit full of walks in the park, window-shopping and coffee outings, and of course lots of time pretending to "web" each other, jumping, coloring, and generally basking in the company of a sprightly little two year old.

I've taken some mornings off work this week to spend with Nana and Otto and its been lovely to sleep in, go for a long run and then hang out with my mom and my boy. The poor husband has been securely stuck in the daily grind, however, and I feel sorry for him. Sort of.

The weather has been cooperating as well, surprise of surprises, with 50 degree sunshiny days and now that we're getting used to the cursed daylight savings time, the extra light is sort of fantastic. I feel cheerier and less likely to swear under my breath at random strangers who do stupid shit while driving, crossing streets, etc.

So while I won't be out drinking green beer and making fun of people in stupid green plastic hats due to familial obligations, if that's your destination, have a sip for me will ya?

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! :-)

* * * * * * * *

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.

Hold Me Closer, Tiny Thanksgiving

Every year we go to the husband's aunt's house for Thanksgiving. I don't mind, really. His family is close- mine is far away. They drink alcohol and tell poop jokes. My mom would faint at the thought. They DON'T watch football which is awesome. It works.

But.

The food? The food is good, don't get me wrong, but you know how when you are growing up the things you have at Thanksgiving just become, in your mind, what Thanksgiving IS? They just don't have those things that ARE Thanksgiving to me. They have their own things. The things they grew up with.

Examples:

My family menu growing up had a very southern influence:

-Turkey (of course) usually cooked with big thick bacon strips carefully laid over top which simultaneously baste the bird in succulent pork fat and fill the house with the best smell in the world...BACON,

-Cornbread DRESSING (crispy and cooked in its own pan-NEVER stuffed in the bird. Gross),

-creamy mashed potatoes with turkey gravy

-Candied yams with marshmallows (hello DELICIOUS),

-white dinner rolls,

-green beans with almonds and/or green bean casserole (you know, with the french fried onions?),

-and finally, pumpkin AND apple pie.

It may appear to be a little WT but its what we did. Its what I grew up with. Its what I came to think of as Thanksgiving.

The husband's family is Italian. They do things differently. AS IS THEIR RIGHT:

-Salami stuffing INSIDE the bird,

-antipasto,

-corn casserole,

-sweet potato rolls with RAISINS in them (really, WTF),

-pecan pie.

Its not that bad (in fact, I'm sure some of you think it sounds infinitely better), but I'm always left unsatisfied, as though I haven't really had the TRUE cuisine of the holiday. I need my bacon fat and brown sugar, people.

So this year, I'm making my own mini Thanksgiving meal, just for our family. Tomorrow. I'm calling it Tiny Thanksgiving and I'm goin' all out. I'm making all the stuff we had when I was a kid- the dressing, the bacon-y bird, the marshmallows...the whole 9 yards. Maybe this way, I'll achieve a sense of satisfaction this year...a feeling that YES. I experienced Thanksgiving.

I'll also probably gain 5 lbs or so but that bacon basted bird is SO worth it. Believe that.


Question:

What things did you have for Thanksgiving when you were a kid? Do tell.

IT'S SHARK WEEK...

...and I have yet to watch any of it. My days have recently been stuffed with parties and YES I know there are worse problems to have but OMG when you have 3 days in a row of parties when you are used to maybe 1 every 6 months it is EXHAUSTING.

This morning I had the audacity to attempt a work out and my body was all "OH REALLY, BITCH? CRUNCHES? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I thought drinking beer and eating cake was the new workout...? NO? WELL FUCK YOU!!!" And I was all "OH NO YOU DIDN'T! DROP AND GIVE ME 20 YOU CAKE EATING WHORE!" True story.

Two of the party nights were totally awesome, a going away party I co-hosted and then my husband's birthday party the next day. Fun fun fun. A copious amount of alcohol was drunk and there was plenty of food and cake to go around. Good music prevailed and the summer night air felt awesome.

Sunday, however, was a COMPLETELY different story.

The husband's cousin got married and OMFG it was the WORST wedding I have EVER been to. Seriously. Horrible. The ceremony was at 4pm. It was over by 4:15pm. The reception was at 6pm in the same room in which they'd had the ceremony. Therefore, they expected everyone to "socialize" in the hotel lobby for AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES with no refreshments or seating. The poor little grandmas were feeling it. Hell, I was feeling it.

When we finally got into the reception to sit the fuck down, we were treated to the most obnoxious DJ in the known universe and some fantastic nursing home food. Think mashed potatoes, over cooked meat, white rolls and iceberg lettuce. Oh and make-out sessions between the bride and groom every 3 minutes. While we were eating. Barf. Not at all feeling guilty for leaving early.

The sad part is that these people (or their parents- I think the bride and groom were 21 and 20, respectively) probably dropped an enormous wad of cash for what was easily the shittiest Sunday afternoon I've spent in a long time. I'm wishing them happiness and all that but good lord people. Have a little freaking dignity. Classy does NOT have to be expensive. I'm no wedding expert, but I do know that there are plenty of websites/magazines/books with lots of information on throwing a great shindig on a tight budget.

Could be that I am just a snob and maybe this was their perfect, ideal, dream wedding complete with the slutty garter toss and dollar dance and drunk bridesmaids writhing around and screaming along to "Baby Got Back." But please kill me if I ever have to sit through anything like that again.

I'd rather get eaten alive by a shark.***

Which reminds me...where's the remote?


*** Of course, I'm totally kidding about rather getting eaten by a shark. Shark attacks are very serious things and I in no way mean to take them lightly. Really. I'd rather shoot myself in the face with a nail gun.****

****Nail guns are also very serious. I am in no way taking victims of nail guns' lives lightly. I'd rather get run over by a very large semi-truck carrying a huge shipment of dildos. Really.

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.

Fantasmagorical

Last weekend so farking awesome, its taken me until today to process it effectively enough to write a blog post. That's how great it was. Strangely, there is no one big reason but rather a bunch of little ones that when compiled together, added up to two fantastic days.

Saturday, my kid got up at the butt crack of dawn (what else is new) and after hanging with his little ass from 5am until 8am, I was all "YOU KNOW WHAT?? I'm going out garage sale-ing. BY MYSELF." And so I did.

Garage sale-ing summary:

Purchased:

1. Huge bag of 2T clothes, including pajamas, jeans, jean jacket, shirts
2. Toddler sandals
3. Little People toy fire truck
4. Little people barn with huge Ziploc bag full of accompanying farm-y toys
5. Dresser for our bedroom (v.v. light yellow with pink knobs which I replaced with natural wood knobs purchased at hardware store)

Money Spent: $15.00

I AM A GOLDEN GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And this amazing feat of bargain shopping domination was just the beginning. That night, we took the kid to see Monsters v. Aliens at the cheap theater and OMG we had so much fun. Not because of the movie, really (Pixar totally kicks Dreamworks' ass- the jokes were SO lame..that said, I DID like the message that Susan was cool staying giant- that its OK for a woman to take up space in the world and that she didn't need a man to make her happy or give her a sense of purpose) but rather because we were there, together, as a family, eating popcorn, sipping root beer and having a grand ol' time just hanging out with each other. Otto watched the movie for about an hour while gorging himself on popcorn, nursed for a few minutes and then promptly fell asleep on my lap. Bliss.

Sunday, we spent time redecorating our bedroom (inspired by the "new" dresser - the husband remarked that it now seems as though actual adults sleep there as opposed to two wildly disorganized college freshmen. Heh.), grilling out the most delicious chicken and making root beer floats. (Can you tell we were on a root beer kick this weekend? For a family that almost NEVER buys soda, the occasional bubbly drink is sure a treat. And I love that you can get HCS free soda at the regular ol' Safeway these days.)

So you see what I mean? There was no one, fantastic, weekend-making event...It was just...good. Happy. Satisfying. Loving. Perfect.

(Do you think I used enough parentheses in this post? Because I could totally use more.)

"....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.

With a Bang

Hi! Miss me? Well dry your weeping eyes because I'm back. Yay!

And a little the worse for wear, I'm afraid. The holiday break started out nicely...time at the in-laws eating, opening presents, and generally making merry. Then it was back home, one lovely day with just the 3 of us, and then a stolen day for just the Husband and I...

But then. A phone call. My little brother had a skiing accident and was in the hospital in Denver. As the closest relatives, Little O and I hopped in the car and headed down to the big city to see what we could do.

There were insurance questions and surgery related decisions to be made and, get this, he didn't want our parents to know. Gah! I finally convinced him to tell them and my mom arrived a couple days later.

After major back surgery, he is going to recover but it will be a long, hard road and require a major life-style change, i.e., no more skiing off 30 ft. cliffs. Um...duh.

So yeah. That was my holiday break. Now, I'm on to thinking about New Year's goals and trying to get the hang of being back at work. How are you?

NewsBrief

* It's warm. Supposed to be 80 degrees today. Naaahsss.

*There is some exciting news to share: I got a promotion at work! This is good because a) we could DEFINITELY use more money and b) I was getting a little bored and it will be fun to shake things up with some new duties etc. So GO ME!

My interview was nerve wracking in the way that interviewing for good friends that you work with while pretending that you are not all good friends who work together can be. Yeah. Confusing.

*On the home front, we're having lots of company in the next couple of weeks: the husband's folks, my folks, my folks again, the husband's folks again...I daresay Otto will be grandparented- out after so much consecutive ooooohing and ahhhing and OMGHE'SSOADORABLE-ing.

The husband's folks were actually here last weekend and babysat so we could go out. (What is this you say, "go out?" I had pretty much forgotten the meaning of the phrase. ) I was, however, quickly reminded and also reminded that I've been over "going out" for quite some time. Hanging out with totally wasted retards slurring their words and sloshing booze all over someone's nice hard-wood floors is not really a good time. Well. I guess is can be, but I was NOT in the mood. And the husband and I had been fighting before we even left the house. That and we got a call at 11pm that Otto was up and royally PISSED so we had to go home. All in all, it was not the best time.

* Today is our 8th anniversary. We are going out to lunch. Romantic, I know.

* Otto is 9 mos. old today. He's been out as long as he was in. Heh. Letter to follow.

Flurries of....activity.

Things are just beginning to settle down now after a harried holiday. My parents got here last Thursday and we had a wonderful visit (even if my Mom tends to drive me a wee bit crazy). Friday, we drove to Ft. Collins for some shopping- I scored some new flip flops, 2 nursing bras ( I am now a total hoochie in a D cup...too bad my belly dwarfs them so bad, because my ladies are quite magnificent at the mo') and a clearance maternity top. Was on the look out for used kids stuff (pack n' play, jogging stroller, and the like) but no dice.

Saturday, we built a picnic table "together". Well, technically, I let my dad rock the power saw and pretty much all the tools and work and stuff, I made myself useful by holding things when I was told and, uh, handing him tools and stuff when I was not sitting in the shade drinking lemonade. Anyhew, the table and benches are made of redwood and turned out so pretty. I foresee many a drunken BBQ with the table taking center stage. I think the dog appreciates it too, as it gives her another shady spot in the yard- we've been roasting the last week or so.

Sunday was our Baby Q (Baby Shower + BBQ). It was a total hoot and we got a lot of great gifts: clothes, blankets, boppy pillow, rocking chair, handmade quilt, bathtub, 24 packs of Pabst and other assorted goodies. Just about everyone we invited showed up (40+ people!) so there was lots of socializing and eating great food. And drinking Pabst. If you ask me, that's the way to do it. I think The Husband actually appreciated being involved, and his buddies seemed to have a great time. With their Pabst. It was so much better than an all-girl thing with stupid games. (No offense, if you're into that sort of thing...)

I spent most of Monday and Tuesday helping The Husband get ready for a two week long tour with his band (I tried to emphasize that soap and deodorant are as important as guitar picks and strings...what would he do without me? ). And then on July 4th I just sort of collapsed in an exhausted heap of hot pregnantness on the couch. I had some invitations to hang out with buddies, but honestly, I was enjoying the quiet. Of course, the house feels a bit empty now, after all that activity. But I've got the pets to keep me company and this little mexican jumping bean in my tummy.

Speaking of, HOLY CRAP does this kid like to boogie. Evenings seem to be the most active time and its entertaining to just lay back and watch my belly do the Alien Ressurection thing. And like a good horror movie, things are a little fun and a little scary...September is fast approaching and there are still some things to work out- like how we are going to afford the car seat, stroller and co-sleeper we still need to get. And whether we will get into a daycare...and how bad would it be to get drunk in the hospital. (I'm talking for The Husband, not me...I'll be high on Life, I'm sure.)Ack! Deep breaths.

Random thoughts and plans. In no particular order.

-Finally, we are having summer weather! Yipee. Its been in the 80's all week. The Husband complains of being too hot, but I love it. I especially love riding my bike to work without freezing my ass off. Such a nice change.

-The Mother-in-Law dropped off a crib, changing table, and other odds and ends yesterday. And we received a box of baby toys from my mom. All of a sudden THERE IS BABY STUFF AT MY HOUSE. This is almost too weird to even wrap my head around. And the kid is going to be here so soon...I'm already in the 3rd trimester- 3 months to go. Eeeep!

-Last night, there was a fabulous punk rock show that I just couldn't stay away from. I was out way to late and am pretty tired today but it was so worth it just to be out on a warm summer night, hanging with friends and hearing great music. Besides, this summer may be my last chance to do this kind of stuff with minimal worry and fuss for a while. So I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

- We have a busy weekend ahead: Tonight, we are headed down to Ft.Collins (CO) to meet the in-laws for dinner. Tomorrow, I'm having lunch with a friend to finalize the plans for the baby shower BBQ which is next weekend and both tomorrow and Sunday I hope to make more progress on getting the kid's room set up. Sunday is also our 7th wedding anniversary. Which is just strange.

-Next week, my parents are coming to visit and I'm so excited. They live so far away now that I rarely get to see them...maybe twice a year. My dad and I are going to build a picnic table together. Should be lots of fun. Yay summer!!