Friday

Well, today is Friday. The end of yet another long week in the month of July. I honestly tried to post for the last two days, but just didn't get there.

Not like I have a lot to say either. It's been one very long week of grind at work. Boo's been coughing a lot, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him much. He's almost walking, until he realizes what's going on.

Anyhow, the weekend should be fun. Gak and I are getting Kat to watch Boo tomorrow evening so we can go to the Tiki Bar with Barb and some others. That'll be fun. Wednesday we've got a service dinner, so again, Kat will be picking up the boys so I can go.

Other that that, life is just kinda here at the moment. I did get dragon pictures on Monday, but they're still on the camera.

It does appear that our plumbing problems have been fixed for the moment, but I'm giving it one more day to be sure. Then I have to scrub the ever-living daylights out of Boo's old tub. Ick!

Anyhow, gotta get moving. Gak's got to work all day and I think the boy may be waking.

Peace to all and may you have a good weekend.

Tired

Well, it was a successful holiday weekend. I enjoyed almost every minute of it.

Friday was a fun day spent with GrammaSue and PopPop. After dropping off Gak at work, Boo and I went and did laundry. Right on schedule my little boy decided it was nap time. The laundry was piled into the back of the car and we took off for GrammaSue's.

We hung out there for a little while and then went over to the Nature Center. The staff were off for the day as well. Unfortunately, this meant I didn't get to say hi to anyone, but it did mean we weren't tripping over 100 or so campers. We took an enjoyable walk around the pond instead. We didn't get to see any frogs, but we heard a couple and saw a handful of turtles. And lots and lots of lilies and duck weed. By then we were all hungry and Boo was tired again. So, we head off to get something to eat. Of course, my son falls asleep on the way over. We waited for about 10-15 minutes in the car while he took a little snooze. It was probably a good thing. He was much happier for it. He must have really played hard in the morning because he ate about 3/4 of a grilled cheese sandwich, a couple of french fries and about 1/3 of his apple juice! That's almost as much as I eat for lunch.

After lunch we went over to GrammaSue and PopPop's shop since we were almost right next door. It was very good timing again. PopPop had been arguing with his accounting software and was beyond ready to take a break. Therefore, we all piled into out cars and headed to the park near their house. PopPop finally got to push his boy on the swings. There is also a very nice play area for little kids that has this neat rubber flooring. We played hard for about half an hour or so before heading back to their house. We hung out at the house for a bit with my son entertaining everyone with his silly antics. Of course, this did involve him rasperrying while drinking out of his sippy cup... much to my dismay but my mother's glee. (Of course, she was the one wearing the apple juice by the end of it all...) We ended up calling it a day and going and picking up Gak at work.

Saturday was a very laid back day for us. We fiddled around in the morning. Then, after Boo took his first nap, we went out and did the most American thing there is... we were Consumers! Gak was looking for a case for his new iPhone. He's not 100% happy with the one he's got, but it was the best of the ones he could find.

When we got back, we were in for a bit of a surprise. The ceiling in the bathroom was dripping, like a waterfall almost. I'd seen some water on the floor previously, but I didn't think much of it. Well, this time it was raining in our apartment. From all appearances, it looks like a drain pipe upstairs is blocked/leaking and causing issues. At least I don't think it's a supply line because it's not happening all the time. I really feel for my landlady... this is the second plumbing problem in a month. But... that's the cost of owning an older building.... just like owning an older car, or an older anything really, including body.

We ended up not doing much of anything that evening. The most exciting thing we did was walk down the street to Rita's. On our way back we walked through the park and bumped into a guy Gak used to work with and chatted for a bit. It was a beautiful evening. If Boo was older, I think I would have suggested staying in the park to watch the fireworks. (It turns out it was a good thing we didn't... the display was cut short when one of the young guys working for the company got severely injured, and later died, shortly into the program.... so sad.) Boo was home and asleep a bit before 8 because he hadn't napped much and was tired. (I don't blame him, I was tired too... and crashed early.)

Yesterday was quite a fun day. Very long, but very relaxing as well. Andy and Zoe had already gone up to Knoebles on Saturday (or Friday?) night. Everyone else was heading up yesterday (by noon!). Well, since we weren't camping and noon is a horrible time to try and travel with Boo, we told them we were heading up in the morning when he was ready for his nap. This means we left the house shortly after 9. I decided to take the Turnpike up instead of up 78/61/54.... It takes about the same amount of time but it feels faster because you're not stuck in lights and stuff. We got up there about 11:30 or so. (Yes, I took a wrong turn that cost us about 7 or 8 miles... oops.) It was another beautiful day. The park really wasn't that crowded at all. It was much more so the last time we went. It was very nice. We got some lunch and went on a few rides with the boy. I went down the big slide with him (there's one very embarrassing photo on Flickr.....) and we took him on one of the the merry-go-rounds. I don't think he was thrilled with either and he was more than ready for the merry-go-round ride to end by the time it was over. We also went on one of the trains. About 1/3 of the way through that he was more than done and was very unhappy about being held hostage on my lap.

About then we got a message that everyone else was about a half hour out and what camp site they were going to be at. The three of us got some ice cream, picked up some stuff from the car and headed over to the campground. Boo was supposed to fall asleep in the process. He didn't. We got there right around the time that Kat, Joan and the kids got there. We had fun setting up the site. Boo got to explore his first tent. Can I tell you exactly how much I wanted to be staying there last night? It would have been a perfect night for it.... the weather was beautiful and the company would have been priceless. Andy's dad, step-mom and baby (ha... baby... she's 18 now!) sister also came out. Gak and I took the kids back down to the park for a bit while everyone else finished setting up camp and getting dinner together. Let me tell you, leaving after dinner was very tough. (I didn't even get a s'more! We weren't even to the marshmallows when I realized the time and how late it would be when we got back. *pout*)

Anyhow, I've got all kinds of great pictures over on the Flickr from the weekend. Take a look and enjoy.

On a side note.... I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but my left heel has been killing me for about a month or so. Well, it turns out that it's heel spurs. Nothing more, nothing less. My doctor said if the anti-inflamatories she gave me aren't working in a week or so to see a podiatrist. (I'll have to call and get a recommendation... I've never needed one before....)

Anyhow, my lunch break is over and I'd better get back to work.

Peace to all and may your weekends be long, the weather beautiful and fun and friends be plenty.

New Phone and Long Weekends

Well, we went and did it yesterday.

Gak and I got our new phones. I won't deny that his iPhone is very cool. I want one, but only because it's a really cool toy and is shiny and neat.... and.... Oh, wait... where was I?

Anyhow, this is a picture of my new phone. It's the LG CF360. I tried out 3 or 4 yesterday. This is the one that I'd been looking at the last time I was there. I kept handing them to Boo to see if he would/could slide them open. Well, the first one I handed him he dropped in about half a second flat. I guess he didn't like it. There was one or two that I didn't even bother to hand him. The next one he held onto for about a second, but didn't deem it worthy either. This one, however, he held onto and happily shook until I had to take it out of his hands. I think he liked it. No, he never did try and slide it open or chew on it. We'll see how boy proof it is when I leave it sitting somewhere within his grasp.

So far I'm happy with it. It fits easily in my hand, sounds good and has just enough options to make me happy. It's got the phone, the camera, it will actually send photo messages instead of blanking out on me... It's got a calendar I can use to put reminders and things on, an alarm clock and several other useful little features. It's just what I need and not too much more. I can do more with it, but it'll cost me an arm and a leg because I don't have a data plan, other than my $5/200 message adder. That thought alone will keep me in check.

I'll let you know how everything goes in a couple of weeks... if I remember. If I don't, it's because it's become a ubiquitous part of my life and I'm just not paying attention to it, and that's how a phone should be.

Anyhow, this post wasn't supposed to just be about my new phone.

Today is the beginning of a 3-day weekend for me! Yay! And Gak actually has both Saturday and Sunday off! I like that thought. Unfortunately, he has to work all day today.

Today the game plan is for me to drop Gak off and work and then for Boo and I to head off and get the laundry out of the way. Then we'll be on our way down to GrammaSue's. (I think Boo is actually saying Amma and meaning Gramma these days.... so he's up to Momma, Dadda and Amma....) I was thinking of heading over to Tyler Arboretum this afternoon, or maybe just the Nature Center. I'm not sure. It depends on Boo and the weather I'm guessing.

Tomorrow is still a bit up in the air as to what we're doing. I don't think anyone has real plans yet. Maybe I'll see if Kat/Scott/Joan etc. want to just throw some dogs or burgers on at her place and sit by the fire for the evening. Although, in order to see the fire works, all I have to do is sit in my kitchen. I'm not sure how Boo will do though... last year he was well asleep by the time of fireworks and it was pouring anyhow so there weren't really any to go see. I'm sure he'll be fine... but maybe not if we're watching from home...

Sunday will be another grand adventure. In only the way it can be with my group of friends. (So yes, that means inject a HUGE dose of chaos right about.... here.)

To make a long and confusing story a bit shorter and hopefully make a little more sense... Kat and Joan were going to take the kids camping this weekend from Saturday through Tuesday. Well, after surviving the normal chaos that surrounds all we do... it turns out that We're going up to Knoebles on Sunday and while Gak, Boo and I are going to come home Sunday evening, everyone else is going to camp overnight there. I wish we could, but there is no way I'd be able to take off Monday. (See previous post about reporting month...) Oh well. There will be other weekends this summer.

Anyhow, I'd better wrap this up. It's getting a little long winded and if you've stuck with me this long, you either really love me, or more than likely, you're really bored. *laugh*

Anyhow, peace to all and may your weekends be good and your phone work.

Brain Melt

First things first... No, I didn't get dragon pictures yesterday. Yes, Boo turned 13 months old and it was even sunny out, but I just didn't get the photos. He was a tired, cranky boy and so I put him down in his crib for a bit. He didn't actually sleep, but he was content to just lie down for a while and unwind I think.

Now, on to other things. Like my brain melting. I've been staring at numbers all day and they're all getting a little bit blurry. There were some changes made recently to the reporting software and checking software and so, that means a lot of double checking and stuff on my end. And my brain hurts. It feels like it's about to turn into a puddle at the base of my skull. I wonder if I tilt my head to the side if it'll leak out my ear. I hope not. I need it for a while yet.

Other than being very busy and hectic here at work, it is going well. I'm not sure if I said anything, but one of my buddies who was a contractor here left at the end of last week for a permanent position. He'd only been here for a short time, but he was a good guy, who seemed to be trying hard and was fun to have around. I'll miss him. It also turns out that George, the contractor who's been here for a bit over a year now and I had doing a good bit of the training is going to be the new training manager. I'm actually pretty excited about that. Less training that I'll have to do to get him up to speed and I know he's going to do a great job at it. It doesn't become truly official for another two weeks or something like that yet, but close enough. In reality it wouldn't really happen until closer to August anyhow, with it being reporting month and all. I already told him and the rest of the group I don't care if they throw out everything I did and start from scratch. In many ways the whole training program could use that. It needs a major overhaul by a fresh set of hands with lots of new ideas. I just hope that he doesn't get bogged down and his ideas squished flat.

Well, I'd better check on the evaluation I was running while typing this. Wish me luck. This is try 3 or 4 with this set of reports.

Oh, Gak and I are heading over to the AT&T store this evening. He's getting the iPhone. I still haven't made up my mind quite yet. I like the one I was playing with last time, but I'm not sure if there aren't some other features I'd like to have as well. I know I'm not getting any kind of smart phone. I so don't need the distraction. If I was still traveling all the time, that would be a totally different story. I'd pick one up in a heartbeat. It would be a bit of a life saver really. Oh well.

I'm off... my rocker maybe, but I'm off.

Peace to all and may your brain not melt.

Blink

Where did the time go? Last I looked it was still Wednesday and I had the rest of a long week ahead of me and a weekend to look forward to. Now it's Tuesday again already. Uh.... did I blink or something?

Anyhow, I guess I should recap some of the highlights from the last week. Gak worked his butt off all week open to close. Some days were buys, some days not so much. Boo had a good week at day care. It seems he doesn't like hot dogs any better at school than he does at home. I'm lucky in the fact that if you get it into his mouth, he'll swallow it about 99% of the time.

Let's see... I know I've missed some boy milestones recently. He's using his Tonka truck that PopPop gave him for his birthday like a pro, even giving Trey a ride from time to time. He's really Mr. Squirmey when it comes to butt changes. He's drinking regular milk about half of the time in the day. I still pump in the early am most mornings and he nurses first thing and last thing (if he's awake when I leave...). At school he gets some regular milk with lunch and bottles of momma milk in the afternoon. He's also started eating shredded cheese all by itself. I'd tried to get him to eat it before, but suddenly Saturday night he decided he did like it. He's up to 4 teeth up top... and maybe a molar coming in back, but I really don't know. He really hates it when I stick my fingers in his mouth.

On Saturday our friend Chris was having a yard sale. I took over a ton of clothes Boo couldn't fit in any more. Yes, I kept several things back for me, but I still had tons to take. The biggest news of the day was watching Boo put an entire strawberry in his mouth and chew it up. That boy loves his strawberries! I made one whole sale for a quarter. I blame the advertising, Dianne forgot to put the baby stuff in the listing. Oh well. It all went to Goodwill after. I promised myself that none of it would be coming back into the house. We've got enough crap clogging up the spaces.

Other than that, a low key weekend. We wandered around a bit. We had to replace Boo's copy of "Very Hungry Caterpillar" as it finally broke in two. Sorry Becca, I think... but it just goes to show how much he loves that book! We also shopped phones some more. It looks like Gak is going to get the iPhone and just give me the extra for the data plan. I've decided an iPone is a very bad idea for me... especially at work.

In other news, Boo got us all sick. He had a bit of a cold over the weekend and yesterday, Gak and I both came down with it hard. I have a doctor's appointment this morning for my allergies and asthma, so that's all good. I also plan on talking to her about my foot because I've had an "ow" issue for a while now and should probably get it poked at. And maybe I can talk to her about my sleep, or lack there of... I can get to sleep just fine, but staying that way for more than an hour or two at a shot hasn't happened much in a very long time. It's not Boo related, he's been sleeping through since he was about 10 weeks old... that's almost a year ago now! (Eep! When did that happen????)

Anyhow, I'd better pay attention to my boy. He's trying to steal the mouse again. Oh, there are new pictures up on Flickr.

Peace to all and may time not disappear on you.

The Powers of Technology

A few odds and ends first. Mom is still dizzy, her ear is healing very slowly. Hopefully she'll be doing much better by the end of the week. Also, this week has been a bountiful week for gifts of fruit. Monday Gak was given a jar of homemade peach preserves. It's more like chunky pureed peaches in juice. I had some this morning on a bagel with cream cheese and boy was it yummy! Then, yesterday Gak was gifted with a pint of fresh, organic, locally grown blueberries. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them, but they look really yummy too.

Work is going well. I'm finally beginning to transition into my new role a bit, but haven't been able to give up my old role quite yet. I've been doing several demos of our new product offering over the past week or so. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing them from time to time... but... it really isn't in either of my roles. But, it's small potatoes to complain about and I figure having myself, who is knowledgeable in reporting requirements and our system, doing it is better than some options. I mean, we are trying to sell a product here after all.

Anyhow, the real reason for this post. Ain't technology grand? And Doesn't life work in funny ways?

A little back story here. Waaaay back in the summers of 1994/1995 I worked at a Girl Scout camp. I loved it. I made many friends amongst the other staff members, including several who were from overseas. But... I'm a lousy letter writer and was in college as well so within short order, I lost track of all of my friends.

Fast forward to this past year. Boo starts going to daycare. The daycare is run by someone that is very involved in the local GS Council and her daughter was in Scouts with Kat.

Here's where technology enters the scene. I have a Facebook account. (Unless you already know me, no, you're not getting an invite...) So dose Kat, thanks to me and some others. Kat found Cathy, daughter of the daycare leader and mom to Mikey and Joey. Joey is only about 6 weeks older than Boo. Cathy has some of the people I worked with at camp as friends on Facebook. Of course, I don't realize this until one of them makes a comment on a post from Cathy. Since "real names" not "camp names" are used in Facebook it's a little hard to find people you only remember as Lynx, or Blessa or Diver or Droopy or Wolf or any other one word moniker that may or may not have any relation to a given name.

So, in a long, weird way... I found 3 of the people I used to work with at camp over the last few days.

Yes, I'm now back in touch with Lynx who's originally from the Netherlands and now resides in Ohio. She's one of the few internationals who came back for more than one year. Actually, she came back for several. She and I bunked together during pre-camp our first summer. We also got the joy and pleasure of working together several weeks the two summers I was there. My favorite memory was when we were sitting through some lecture or something and I glance at her paper to see if I wrote something down right and had no clue what was on her paper. She was writing in Dutch. She caught me glancing and we both had a good laugh about it.

I've also found Blessa. For someone who never took horseback ridding in her life, I sure got a lot of horse units the one summer. Blessa was one of the equestrian staff. I ended up sharing a tent with her for about half the summer. She was always good to me and we were able to laugh at how little I knew about horses, yet here I was leading horse units. She definitely acted as a mother hen to us wayward cubs. Of course, when I first saw her name come up all I could think of was "Heals down! Elbows in!". I think she was saying that in her sleep for weeks after she returned to England after camp. I know I probably was.

And, in a further strange twist of fate, I get a call just before starting this post from Gak. He found his former roommate, and the man who performed our wedding ceremony, Bruce. We hadn't heard from him since about a year or so after the wedding. Apparently he's doing just fine, has divorced and remarried. I'll know more when I get home and get a chance to look him up myself.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg really. I've reconnected with several people from OK that I never thought I'd hear from again. And a couple from high school too. (I just got my 15-year reunion invite. The evening thing is a $35 a head appetizer buffet and cash bar affair, but they're doing a free family picnic, bring your own, the next day. I doubt I'll go to the evening bash, may stop by the picnic just because it's about 5 minutes from my parent's house...)

So, yeah, ain't technology grand? Life really does work in mysterious ways. I'm so happy to have reconnected with my long-lost friends. (That and the fact it hasn't rained since Sunday doesn't hurt... although, looking out the window it might start up again any moment...)

Peace to all and may you find the ones you love and have pleasant surprises thrown your way.

Belated Father's Day

This was a good and busy weekend. It's going to be a very long week for poor Gak (and Boo too... since he'll be at day care all day all week, including today.)

Saturday was a little busy, but not much. We ran some errands and had a good day overall after Gak got off work. It was mostly a normal Saturday, with sill more rain. (Can I tell you how sick I am of rain?? Really, I thought I was sick of it before, but nope... that was nothing.)

Yesterday was the busy part of the weekend. We got a nice early start to the day by heading down to Ikea. We got there a little before 10, but that's OK. They were giving free breakfasts to dads in the cafe, so we took them up on the offer. (I had a piece of their yummy apple cake for breakfast.) We were there to look at and/or buy a couple of things. Well, we got everything that was on our list and only one or two small things that weren't. I call that a successful trip, as opposed to my last trip where I went to look and spent money anyhow.

We got Boo a new high chair. Yes, he already has one, but it's way too big to put into the kitchen and we just don't use the dining room table that often. This one is much more compact, doesn't have it's own tray and is designed to just pull up to the table. It fits great, folds up to get out of the way if needed and looks good too.

The other thing we were looking at was a new desk chair for Gak. He's a big boy and hard on chairs. He's had this one just about 4 years now and well, if he sneezes funny I think it'll fall apart around him. We were originally going to just look and pick something up in a few weeks when Gak gets a nice paycheck after this loooooong week. Well, he found a chair that he really liked and it was on sale for $60 instead of $80. That worked for us. It turns out it was his Father's day gift. Because, as usual, I'm lame and late about getting gifts. (I was going to do it last Monday, but my little boy wasn't about to cooperate in the slightest.)

As if our Ikea adventures weren't enough, we then headed further down to my parents'. You see, PopPop's one request was to see his grandson on Father's day. We had sandwiches for lunch and just hung out for a bit. Gak and I escaped to the book store and Trader Joe's (I wish we had one of those up here!) for a little bit. The only down part of the day was the off and on rain in the morning and the fact that one very tired little boy decided he did not want to nap. He did very well though. We ended up staying for dinner and then came home.

Oh, side note, never go through the Drive Through at Dairy Queen here in Quakertown. (Either that or always, always, always check your bag!) The store is good at messing up orders to begin with. But last night, we wanted some ice cream and had a sleeping boy, so stopping at Rita's was out. I got a sunday and Gak got a large Blizzard. Well, when we get home we find out that he got the right flavor, but not the right size. The Blizzard in the bag was a small. Funny, that's not a large.

Well, I've got a boy wanting attention and work to get ready for.

Peace to all and may your weekends be good, your families happy and your ice cream right.

Two More...

Two more things I missed earlier this morning. One big, one not so big.

Little news: My mother is officially dizzy. You see, Monday she called and said that she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be able to take care of Boo. No big deal, these things happen. She said she was feeling very dizzy. It didn't get better so she ended up going to the ER on Tuesday. Well, it turns out that she somehow managed to tear her inner ear. Nothing a little time and a little Valium won't fix. She should be all better by the end of the week. But, in the mean time, I officially have a dizzy mom.

Big news: I'm school debt free!!!!!!! Yes, that deserves an explosion of exclamation points. I was checking my bank balance yesterday and noticed that my school loan payment went through Monday but was only about half of what it normally was. So, I went and checked the loan balance. It was down to $0.01. Why, oh why, didn't they take the last penny out with the payment, I'll never know. So, I promptly scheduled the one cent payment for today.

Now, if only I could say that about the credit card debt (Gak and) I wracked up in our "younger" and more careless days. Oh well, paying off the school loan gives me almost $15o a month extra breathing room that will be taken up by the daycare increase next month. Boo doesn't change to the toddler rate until he's 18 months old, which is December. In the mean time, the annual rate change goes into affect July 1. Therefore, for the next 6 months or so, we'll be paying a bit more than we have been. Not too much, but enough to make you go ugh.

Anyway, back to work now. Just thought I'd share the two bits of news I forgot in my half-awake state earlier this morning.

Odd Assortment

Well, it's Thursday already. I haven't really posted because, well, there isn't much to post.

I do have some work rants, but I think I'll sit on most of them for a bit. There's no use getting pissy over some of these things, they're just annoyances that will be dealt with. I will say, though, that there hasn't been any kind of transition yet. *sigh* But, on a good note, we have been at or below the 100 service request mark for over a week now. That's really pretty impressive considering we've had two people out all week and two others who were each out a day. It'll spike in a week or so when we create a bunch of requests for contract reporting stuff, but they'll be closed pretty quick. Here's hoping we can end July around the same number we start it. (Yes, I'm already looking at July and we're just barely over halfway through June... July will be here before I can turn around three times.)

Gak will be working open to close starting Friday through next Saturday. That's going to be an ug and a half. It'll be horribly long hours and Boo will be in full day daycare (although, I really don't think he minds too much...) for 5 days running. Yep, that's right, he'll be in all day on Monday because GrammaSue gets to go to the beach and visit some friends that are up from Georgia. How I wish I could take the day off and go with her; not only to get to go to the beach (I haven't been since I was in St. Croix) but because I haven't seen these people in quite some time and it would be nice to see them again. But, I can't. I don't have the days to spare. *sigh* again.

Boo is thriving and growing like a weed. He's back to eating about twice as much as Zoe, who's 8. Then again, we're lucky to get Zoe to eat much of anything. I can count the girl's ribs... that's just not right. It's not her mom's fault, Kat tries like crazy to get her to eat... Zoe just doesn't want to eat. Aargh.

Anyhow, back to Boo. He's getting stronger and stronger each day. He's beginning to figure out how to stack things. He was successfully in stacking a few blocks for Gak yesterday. He's also becoming more and more attached to Trey. Especially if he's having an off day. Yesterday when Gak went to take his plate back to the kitchen after lunch, he nearly had a heart attack. All of a sudden Boo let out this tremendous scream. All Gak could think of was "oh, no! He got into the fan!" (The fan in his room has vents too close together for him to actually get his fingers into... but you never know.) No, it just turns out that Trey was in the crib, Boo was out of the crib and couldn't get Trey out as well. (Boo hadn't started out in the crib... he's not climbing quite yet...)

Anyhow, I think this is enough rambling for now. I'm still jealous of my brother and Becca while they're in Australia. We've got a busy weekend planned though. Saturday Gak works. Then we might just go phone browsing again. Sunday we're heading down to Ikea in the morning and then to GrammaSue and PopPop's for lunch. PopPop has decided that for Father's Day he wants to take his grandson to the park and the playground near their house. Who am I to argue?

Anyhow, I'm off. Peace to all and may your weeks be drama free and your weekends fun.

Katchup Eddition

Oops. Looks like I fell off the planet again. It was an action filled couple of days.

All in a good way, don't worry. No ER trips or sick kiddos or anything like that. Nope, just good old busy.

Friday was our company picnic. We all had our doubts about the weather, but Dave said he ordered sunshine for noon, and sure enough, right about noon the sun came out and decided to stay out. I think it was just about the best day we've had in about a week or so! Anyhow, the picture at the top is from the picnic.

Family wasn't invited this year and it wasn't catered. I wish families had been invited, it is so much more fun that way (that and it gives me an excuse to go pick up my boy and spend the entire afternoon together). I like that we did it ourselves this year. Everyone brings so much food even if they don't sign up and there is such a variety it's all good. (That and I'm sure it cost us a good bit less... although we've been self-funding our activities committee with a semi-weekly 50/50 drawing... which is fun in and of itself...) I ended up being drafted as photographer since I was the only one who had a working camera. The activities committee person who was doing it had her camera die about half an hour in. Not dead batteries die, refuse to work die. That's sad.

Anyhow, Saturday we went on a Quest. It was mostly a fruitless Quest, but it was a Quest none the less. You see, we're in search of just a cabinet door. Why, do you ask. Well, it's because little fingers find Dadda's computer way too interesting. The desks we have are great with a nice open shelf area for the computer. It is also just the right size to close off the front (without affecting the computer's access to air in general) with a door. This door can then be latched when little fingers are awake and active. But, unfortunately, most places sell whole cabinets, not just replacement doors. We were given a web site to check out (which I almost remember, but I'm sure a quick Google search will set right...) and that was about it. I'm also going to check with a friend that just might have one lurking about with all the odds and ends that he's got.

Anyhow, after that fruitless search, we ended up heading south to Babies R Us (on another fruitless Quest... for new sandals for Boo... he ditched one on the ride to day care the other day....) We did pick up diapers and a few other needed things. We also did some phone shopping. Our phones can be replaced next month and as neither Gak nor I are very happy with the quality of the ones we have... we're looking. We're sticking with AT&T since all the plans I looked at cost about the same and if we switch carriers we've got to wait until January. And no, we can't afford iPhones and the data plan to go with them. (If anyone out there is using AT&T without a data plan and has suggestions for phones... let me know!)

We did have a successful trip to Toys R Us though. We got Boo a new boat (er... ship if you ask Gak... even though it's just a small fishing boat...) He also got a new wooden race car that was on sale and a DVD that has 4 or 5 Eric Carle stories on it, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's cute. All of this was thanks to Aunt Andy's birthday money for the boy. He's still got a little more to spend, but I may just tuck it into his savings. And yes, the boat is just as interesting now that we've got it home and he's taken it into the tub. I'll try and get pictures next bath time.

Yesterday was mostly low-key. We went to lunch at Red Robbin (we've got to stop doing that... financially and calorie-wise....) We then went to Target and finally found sandals for the boy. (I hadn't found any there earlier in the week and ended up getting him a pair of sneakers to keep at school....) We also found a few other odds and ends. We tried the new grocery store that just opened up there, Aldi. It's a little hit or miss. The prices are all dirt cheep, but the quality in many cases matches. I mean, I could get a gallon of ice cream for under $2, but if you read the ingredients list, no thanks! I'll stick to Bryers, I can pronounce all of their ingredients.

Anyhow, I'm now just about running late for work. I have a love/hate relationship with this 7am start. I'd best get dressed and out the door.

Peace to you all and may you have good adventures.

We di

One Step Closer

Well, I'm one step closer to finally getting a resolution that will work well for both me and my family and the business as a whole.  You see, this morning I signed an offer letter to change positions.  Starting Monday I will technically no longer be training manager, but a software service and parts specialist.  On paper it's a step or two down, but in my eyes, it's a step sideways into a slightly new role that I'm already good at most of (I've never really worked with the parts end of things before).  This will give me some new challenges to meet, keep my knowledge in the business and give the business a chance to get someone who is much better at the management and drive end of training in.

Yes, I will still have to travel, at least a little bit.

No, it will never be 60-08% again.

The only thing I'm worried about is the actual transition.  I mean, it looks great on paper, but I just hope we make it work and work quickly.  Management couldn't post the training manager position until I signed the offer for the service/parts position.  This is the first time we're combining service and parts work, so that'll be a bit of a bumpy road at first.  Since we don't have an actual training manager starting Monday, I'll still have to do a good bit of that until we get someone and get them up to speed I'm guessing.  So, this won't be an instant transition.  It's not like I'm leaving company A and taking a brand new job with Company B.  I'm not even moving desks.  I'll still be carrying around a bit of baggage from the "old" job.  I just hope I'll be able to put it into someone else's capable hands soon.

We shall see.

My good attitude still prevails.  Of course, this job "change" doesn't hurt... and neither does the butt kicking we've been doing in general in service.  We finally reached a goal that was thrown out to us a year ago about backlog.  We're all feeling pretty darn good about it, I just hope we don't get over confident and let it slide.  Of course, the incentive of a dinner or some other celebration provided by management doesn't hurt.

Well, back to the grind.  Just thought I'd give you a quick little update with some new information.  So, yes, I'm beginning to really see the sun through the clouds.

Peace to all and may things move in the right direction for you!

Hi-ho, Hi-ho It's Back to Work We Go!

Ok, Ok... lame title but it's the best I could come up with.

We're finally beginning to get back onto a bit of our normal schedule again. Boo has started eating again, which is a good thing. I think I said Thursday (?) that he had a blood draw to check his iron and any lead levels. Well, the iron came back a little low. The doctor just suggested making sure he gets more iron in his diet. I'm guessing the problem stemmed from him not eating well much of the last week in general and the fact that somehow we'd managed to all but cut out his cereal. You don't realize how much iron is in fortified cereal until you actually read the box! Just one serving should ensure he's getting enough iron with everything else he eats, especially if he keeps downing the mini-burgers I made him. (I made my almost normal meatloaf and made it into chicken nugget sized burgers for him. They're already cooked and whoever is giving him lunch or dinner just has to warm them up a bit. He downed two for GrammaSue today for about 1.5 oz of beef.)

I can tell he'd been suffering from a serious lack of schedule. His nap times have been all over the place and his eating was way off. He's started nursing again for the most part... there are some times he refuses, but I think it's more tired than anything. I almost couldn't keep him from nursing yesterday actually. I think he was making up for lost time. We have started giving him normal whole milk, but right now only mixed with cereal. Probably by the end of the week we'll start giving him some in a cup to see how he likes it "plain". He loves yogurt and ice cream, likes cheese as long as it's melted in something and will gladly take the whip cream (and strawberries) off my spoon. I hope this is an easy transition. I don't want to give up nursing, but I'll be glad to give up pumping. I also don't want this to turn into an emergency if I have to go on a trip and we run out of milk in the freezer. We'll see, I'm trying to take my cues from Boo as much as possible, but he's a fickle one-year-old and doesn't quite know what he wants moment to moment at times. (Not like I'm much better some days...)

Anyhow, that pretty much wraps up the Boo update. He's doing great, going 100+ miles per hour and growing like a weed. He will never cease to amaze me.

Saturday we managed to get Nana to the airport with little hassle and little traffic. That is a good thing. As much as I enjoyed having her visit, I don't enjoy Philly traffic and avoid it if at all possible. I'm glad she was able to come up for her grandson's birthday and get to spend so much time with him. I wish we'd been able to do some more things out and about, but that's OK.

I went back to work Thursday. Like I posted then, I think things are going to work out and while I really do need to make sure my resume is in order, it's not an emergency any more. Everything still isn't finalized, so, like I said Thursday, I'm not going to say much more unless I jinx it.

Everything has been going well though. The department as a whole is doing well and I'm beginning to enjoy the work again. I think it might have something to do with the daylight I see poking through the thunderheads that were looming and not a tornado. It's amazing what a little bit of positive can do to your attitude as a whole. Just before I left the office for Memorial Day I was complaining that my attitude sucked and I just couldn't see a way to get myself out of it and back on track where I need to be in order to kick some serious butt and prove that I am worthy of my job and find a solution that will benefit everyone involved. (I truly think we found it... at least no one will truly suffer for it... well, I still might for a bit... there are a few things I'm on the "wait and see" team with and have my fingers crossed and I'm trying not to over-think or panic about...)

It really is amazing how much you can get done when your attitude isn't all doom and gloom and "why me??" and "this sucks". It's also amazing how much better you feel as a whole when your attitude isn't in the depths of hell. No, I don't think I suffer from depression, since I can and have gotten myself out of it, but after the last few months at work, I feel even more so for those that do. (I've seen that monster up close and personal attacking some very near and dear people to me. I'm sorry guys, but that's as close as I ever want to get. It's hard enough trying to help you fight the monsters from the outside...)

This is turning into a very disorganized and fragmented post. Oh well, I've got several days to ponder and you should all know by now that I can't think in a straight line if you paid me to. Maybe that's why I'm good at what I do? Who knows.... I surely don't!

This weekend was a good, if busy one. Boo and I dropped Nana off at the airport Saturday early afternoon. We'd gone to the dinner first for lunch, brunch really, and that was nice. Boo actually ate about 1/3 of a scrambled egg. He won't pick it up to eat it and will eat at least some off a spoon for me, but not much. Since I had about an hour to kill between when I'd get home and when Gak got off work, I made a slight detour to IKEA. I'm constantly amazed at what I can get there for so little. I got an entire shopping bag (and the bag itself) full of things for just under $25. I got some kitchen tools, new kitchen towels (mine are constantly in the wash due to baby-face wipes and are getting a little dingy...) new mats for the bathroom and some other odds and ends. I went there on a scouting mission. Gak's chair is about to fall apart. At the end of this month he's got almost two full weeks of working open to close. He's going to take a bit of that extra money and splurge on a new chair. I'm impressed, he's had this one about 3 or 4 years now. At one point he went through at least 2 chairs in the space of a year. (Hey, he's a big guy and he sits in his desk chair a lot and leans back in it... not the easiest thing on chairs... it's also hard to find one that's comfortable for him in the first place!) I also found a neat "high" chair for Boo. I didn't buy it because I am short on money this week. It's really nice, it'll slide right under the table so he can sit with us big people and it folds up for easy transport and storage. Because, like it or not, his Bumbo is getting too small. I'll miss that little seat of his. He's had it since he was about 10 weeks old.

One last random bit. (And no, I have no segue for anything tonight...)

My brother and Becca left for Oz yesterday. Becca's foot is a lot better and they're hoping to get in a good bit of the walking that they originally had wanted to. We will see. I just hope they take plenty of time to rest and relax as well. (Of course, I'd be right there with them wanting to hike everywhere and see everything and just go go go!) I hope they enjoy their trip. They've got some house hunting appointments when they get back. They didn't get the one they'd put an offer in on, which is a bummer.

Well, Gak just walked in from Warhammer and it's now just past 9. I guess I'd better wrap this up and go curl up with my book for a few before I crash.

Peace to all and may your outlook be bright.

Cranky But Good

Let’s see here…. Where to begin?  Needless to say it has been an eventful few days around here.

Nana’s visit is slowly drawing to a close.  She will be heading back to Oklahoma on Saturday.  It’s been good for her to get so much time with Boo this past week.  I know it she has enjoyed it.

We kept Monday pretty low-key as Boo was exhausted after the party on Sunday and not taking long enough naps.

Tuesday was yet another full day for the boy.  It started off with a visit to the doctor in the morning.  He’s been moving and grooving so much more lately that he actually lost about 6 oz from his last visit a few weeks ago and was down to 21 lb, 2 oz.  Still, not too shabby considering he was only 8 lb even just one year ago!  He grew 9 inches this past year and is now 29.5 inches tall.  He’s my growing boy!  He was tired and fussy through the whole ordeal and really didn’t enjoy getting his three shots.

But the day wasn’t over then!  Not by a long shot.  After getting him home and fed he went down for a good nap.  GrammaSue came up and it was then bath time for the boy and a trip to get pictures done.  As always I bought too many.  I know I get them all on CD, so why do I get as many as I do?  There are two poses I’m thinking I could have done without purchasing and one that I’m only half in love with now.  Oh well, that’s OK.  I’ve got plenty of wallet size and some others to send off to friends and family.  As always, not enough of the right size of the one I really love.  Anyhow, some of you far-flung readers (all three of you) should be looking for little notes in the mail soon.  (That is, as soon as I get off my butt and get them together and Gak remembers to take them to work with him…

Overall, Tuesday was a good day.

Yesterday we had Mr. Cranky boy.  He was tired.  He’s been on a nursing strike for the most part since Sunday or Monday.  I think his teeth are bothering him.  He’s also on a bit of an eating strike… or maybe just wanting “comfort” food.  I really don’t know what’s going through that little head of his most days.  He napped a lot yesterday.  He also had blood drawn.  His doctor likes to run iron and led tests on the one-year-olds.  Not a big deal really, as he’s a “good bleeder” like his Momma.  The problem was that he was clutching Trey in a death grip with his left hand that they used his right pointer finger to do the draw.  Unfortunately, this is one of the two fingers he always sucks on for comfort.  He did settle down quite quickly though, which is a good thing.  He did nap a good bit yesterday, which is both a blessing and a curse.

It seems that most kids finally learn to sleep through the night by the time they’re one.  Ours, on the other hand, turned one and has forgotten how to sleep through.  (Either that or it’s teeth… I’m hoping it’s just teeth and this is just a phase we’ll have to go through.)  Last night starting around midnight he was up every few hours being a little fussy, sometimes going back to sleep in a minute or two, sometimes screaming his fool head off until we got him up.  But don’t try and nurse him, oh no, that makes it even worse.  He may eat something for you, but he doesn’t want his teether to chew on.  And he doesn’t want down, but he doesn’t want to be held either.  We finally got him to go to sleep for real around 6am after his last wakeup around 4:30.  I crash for about an hour and then rush to get out the door to work.  Poor Gak was pretty zonked too.  I just hope tonight isn’t a repeat of last night.  Oh well, he’ll only be at this age and stage once in his life.

Today and tomorrow Nana is watching Boo in the afternoon while both Gak and I are at work.  I hope he doesn’t run her too ragged.  We’ll see when I get home in a little bit.

 

Speaking of work, things seem to be going in the right direction.  I’ll have more info in a few days and hopefully positive results in a few weeks.  We shall see.  I don’t want to say too much more at the moment, lest I jinx something.

 

And can I tell you how jealous I am of Jon and Becca?  They’re going down to Australia for 2 weeks or so.  Becca’s brother is getting married down there to his Australian bride (they’ve been splitting time between the US and Aus for a couple of years now…).  I so wish I were able to take the family on a trip like that.  Unfortunately though, Becca is still recovering from a fracture to her right foot.  This means most of the hiking and climbing she wanted to do is out.  That really stinks in my opinion.  Oh well, I’m sure they’ll find plenty of fun and interesting things to do and see while they’re there that won’t involve so much walking.

 

Well, I’d better get a few more things cleaned up before I head home.  I hope the boy (and Nana) have had a good afternoon.

 

Peace to all and may your teeth not hurt and the days be good.

First Birthday!

Happy Birthday my baby Boo!  One year ago today you came into this world.  Wasn't he so tiny?!  Wasn't he so little, and doesn't Gak look so terrified?

What an amazing year it has been.  I still can't get over how far we've all come in this journey and how far is yet to go and how fast it has already gone by.  There are some things I remember with crystal clarity.  I remember the rainy trip up to the hospital.  I remember the joy of hearing him cry for the first time.  I remember coming home and not being able to move well or get much sleep the first few days.  I remember first baths, eye contact, smiles giggles and so much more.  Some of it is already beginning to fade into distant memory... was he 8 months or 9 months or maybe 10 when he got his two top teeth?  I couldn't tell you the day he started going dadadada all the time, or the day he started going mamama... but he does.  I can tell you exactly how it felt to leave him at daycare for the first time, but I can't tell you when I finally accepted it (and I have...).

Amazing.  And so many more amazing things to do and discover on this journey, for both him and us, his parents.  Just amazing.

Yesterday was a terrific day.  We had perfect weather (other than about a 20 minute sprinkle that was mostly wind and bluster...).  We had lots of friends, plenty of food (I always panic about this...) and good times.  Boo wasn't sure what to make of his cake, but he did explore it in his cautious way and did seem to enjoy it eventually.  He got lots of neat presents from all of our friends and family.

I think the most amazing part was the fact that I had both Andy and Michelle in the same place, at the same time!  This hasn't happened since my wedding.  Michelle surprised us all by calling us at about 7:30 in the morning saying she was about to get in the shower and drive up.  She might not be able to stay long, but she was coming.  I nearly cried when she said that.  (I did cry when she left... I hate not knowing when I'll see her next and her being so far away.... I miss being able to get together with her every month or so at the most.)

I have lots and lots of pictures.  I posted over 60 of them from the past two weeks up to the Flickr account.  See, there are a few of them over on the side bar.  Go, look, enjoy.  I would post more here, but Blogger isn't very fun to post multiple pictures in a post with, so you'll have to make do with only two.

Yep, this picture was taken today of my big One Year Old Baby Boy.  I can't believe how old he looks.  There are times, like when he's sleeping, that I still see that 8 lb little smidgen of a boy.  Mostly I just see a boy growing like a weed and wrapping himself tighter and tighter around my heart if that's even possible.  

I would have a good dragon picture from today, but at the time that we were ready to do them, he just wasn't having anything to do with it.  He was a bit of a cranky boy most of the day, as he played way too hard and didn't nap near enough yesterday.  That's OK.  We didn't have anything on the schedule really.  Tomorrow he's got a doctor's appointment in the morning and a photo appointment in the evening.  After this I'm thinking we'll do this once a year.  Although, it's hard to decide if it'll be birthday time or holiday time, since they're opposite on the calendar.  I'll make up my mind on that later.

Anyhow, I'm going to go enjoy some me time.  I've got a sleeping boy, a sleeping Nana and Gak is off at Warhammer.  I've got the house to myself and I think I'm going to enjoy some quiet time.

Peace to all and may your memories be more sweet than bitter and may the adventures be good and many.

Ok, Ok, so I had to post 3... (of course, I've made a mess of it twice not...) This is from yesterday.

Vacation? What Vacation?

Sorry for the silence, but it's been a busy few days around here.

I can't believe that a year ago today my due date came and went and Boo wasn't here yet.  It's amazing that it has been a year already.  So many things have changed and still many things are the same.  It's been amazing to watch this little boy turn into a "real" boy from a teeny-tiny newborn.  (Actually, he is only tiny by comparison... he was actually about average size for a newborn...)

Anyhow, tomorrow we're having his birthday party.  It's over in Memorial Park here in town.  We've got a pavilion rented and tons of people are coming.  If you're thinking about it, you really should stop by.  We'll be there most of the afternoon.  I'm looking forward to it, if only because it gives me an excuse to both show off my boy and have a picnic.  It should be lots of fun.  And yes, I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures.  I know, I know, I haven't posted any in way too long.  They're on the camera and will be downloaded soon I promise!

Technically I've been on vacation starting Thursday.  I don't have to go back to work until Thursday the 4th.  It'll be very nice to have been out of the office almost 2 full weeks!  It just won't be a very restful vacation I'm afraid.

Not only is Boo's birthday party tomorrow and his actual birthday on Monday (eep!), but his Nana is in town visiting.  She got here Thursday afternoon after some minor adventures and we've been busy ever since.

Friday while Gak was at work, Nana, Boo and I did a BJ's run to pick up some needed everyday things and some of the party things.  As usual, I didn't escape there for under $200.  Oh well.  I only bought one or two things that weren't on the list.

Today, I took Gak to work and did laundry while Nana watched the boy.  Then, Uncle Alan came over with his daughter and gave Boo his birthday present.  Unfortunately, they won't be able to make it tomorrow because Uncle Al has to work.  This is what stinks about him working 2nd shift and Tuesday through Sunday... and mandatory 10-hour days right now.  Oh well.

After Gak got off work we took a family trip over to the Q-mart.  This was to pick up the veggies for tomorrow as well as the burgers and dogs and a few other odds and ends.

The rest of the evening Boo spent half happy boy, half cranky boy.  Last week some time his 5th tooth came in.  I'm thinking that number 6 isn't too far behind with the way he's acting.  Only time will tell.  The boy actually went down for the night (almost) by 7:45.  He woke up for a few minutes around 8, but only long enough to fuss his annoyance at being awake, roll over, grab Trey and go back to sleep.  I know those wakeups.  I get them all the time.

Well, it's now almost 10:00 and I've got a very full day ahead of me.  Here's hoping it all goes well.  I'm off to bed to crash.

Peace to all and may time not fly too fast and the celebrations be good ones!