Mobile Monster

I was getting dinner ready and Oli had been playing on the living room floor, when he fell on his belly. Usually, he'll try to get up and then get frustrated, start screaming after a couple minutes. He didn't scream so I went out to look at him. He was on his knees and hands, going in circles!!! I started screaming for Jeff to come out and see him, then we are both screaming about where our camera was. I grabbed my phone, tried to get a video and SPLAT! Oli was on his belly. We tried to get some shots but he was done by then. I have some photos that show his movement. I see more grey hairs in my future! This is exciting, and scary at the same time. I already feel bad for Smokey.

Can you see his progression a little bit? I know they are blurry but I got the photos off of the video we tried to take.

he would get up off his belly like this

scoot other leg forward

and move a step

Oli in the bathtub

Ch ch ch changes

My old cube all packed up

There have been a couple of changes around here.

The boxes in the photo are mine. I moved from where I sit yesterday. This is very bittersweet. I got a promotion a couple months ago, which takes me away from the team I have worked with ever since I moved to MD in May, 2006. (What's funny is we never got on those duck tours) This is a good move for me, and even for my old team (maybe possibly most probably), but it's still sad to move away from folks you've worked with for over 5 years. For the last couple months, I have been working on both teams, I was left sitting with my old team but I guess they want me to start transitioning into the new role. So, yesterday, they moved me closer to the folks I'll be working with now.

Other big change is Jeff is finishing his first week at a new job himself. For the last almost 2 years, he's been commuting to Arlington from Elkridge. The driving directions say 1 hour 40 minutes but if any of you have driven the DC beltway, that's not true at all. Hi didn't drive anyways, he took public transit, which consisted of:

• drive to the BWI/Amtrak station 15 minutes away
• get on MARC train from BWI to Union Station, DC
• get on first Metro train at Union station
• change to another train somewhere
• get to work 1.5 - 2 hrs later

Some days, it took him 3 hrs to get home. If it was too hot, the ACs in the trains would break and they'd drive at half the speed. In the winter, the snow caused issues. Then, last year, they had 2 horrid crashes on the Metro line. This was hard on us before but since having Oli, it was horrible. Jeff would get home to see Oli for maybe 5 minutes befor ehis bedtime, and sometimes, Jeff would get home after Oli was asleep. So, he started looking a few months ago and thanks to some wonderful friends who had leads, he's now working 15 miles from home. He's actually working in the same town as me. No, we don't carpool. I go into work at 6:30, he starts around 8/8:30. But, I drop Oli off and Jeff picks him up. This way, Jeff has an extra couple hours in the morning to sleep in and I have an extra hour or so at the end of the day to run errands, get groceries, cook dinner before my boys get home. And, we have a few hours together before Oli goes to sleep. And after that, we have an hour to ourselves.

Y'all, I started and finished a book in 3 days!!! Last time, I started and finished a book like that was before I had Oliver. Some 7 months ago. And Jeff gets to play video games. Or we watch a movie. The options are endless!

Got the best news I could right now!!!

I am turning 34 next Saturday. Not a major milestone or anything but Jeff asked what I wanted to do and I said I have missed having friends over at our house. We used to have people over once every couple months, nothing fancy, just Rock Band, some DDR, good food, good drinks, great conversation. We had a party for Super Bowl this year but Oli was still pretty young and he puked on my head and I'd like a re-do, thank you very much. So, Jeff set it up as a Facebook event, because as we know it, if it's not on there, it's not a real event. He invited my sister. Now, everyone who knows us well, knows she's in Wilmington, NC, doing her residency and I am thinking how is she going to come up for a weekend for a party. Well, guess what folks? It so happens she has a week off starting next Friday and she'll be here!

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD SQUEEEEEEEEE and now it's a real party!

My little baby sister, I cannot wait to see you. We might not always get along, specially when we live under the same roof. We might not believe in the same things or have the same ideas. In the end though, all of that is trivial, because you are my favorite sister (haha you are my ONLY sister) and I love you!

I can't wait to see you next Friday, even though I am pretty sure you are coming to see Oli ;-)

Teach Your Children Well

Another song from our baby shower CD, by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young:

You, who are on the road must have a code that you can live by.
And so become yourself because the past is just a good bye.
Teach your children well, their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams, the one they picked, the one you're known by.
Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.

And you, of the tender years can't know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your years, they seek the truth before they can die.
Teach your parents well, their children's hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams, the one they picked, the one you're known by.
Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.

Look at my 7 month old, look at that precious face. I really hope that I do a good job of mothering so after his terrible twos and threes (and maybe fours, who knows?), after his hating me teen years, through his dating years and beyond, he knows that I love him. 

How can I not look at that face, that smile that appears when he sees Jeff or me and not believe that he loves us? I hope, in the same vein, he can look at us and know that we love him. Unconditionally.

Babies don't keep!

 Written by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton and first published in The Ladies' Home Journal in the 1950's:

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is this mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo.

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

look at him so big!

Fluffy butt

It's so true. I remember my tiny baby. He's still tiny to me but he's growing so fast. He has two teeth. He grabs a sippy cup and brings it to his mouth. He eats everything we do. He doesn't seem to like bananas too much, but yesterday, he ate a crabcake, a couple meatballs, chewed on some bread and a fry, tried some tilapia and yams. It seems like daily, there's something new about him and something old that he's let go. 

I am so happy to see him growing, yet I wish I could hold on to his tinyness forever too.

Thoughts, prayers and marrow donors needed for a friend's daughter

I remember, when Oli was in the NICU, we had such an outpouring of love and support from family and friends all over the world. I remember the heartache and the worry I, and Jeff and our families went through, waiting for Oli to come home. I remember taking some solace from those words of wisdom and stories of experiences that y'all shared.

I have a friend who's gotten news about her daughter that would shake anybody's core. Her daughter was diagnosed with a rare (as in less than 100 in the world) genetic bone marrow disorder.

You can read about sweet Kate's diagnosis on her mom's blog.

More than that, you can keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Even more than that, if you are healthy and able to and want to, please consider registering to be a bone marrow donor at Be The Match. It's free and who knows? You might save a life someday.

P.S.: If you think or know of somebody who had a terrible experience with marrow donation, this is not the forum to tell me that. Everyone who's an adult can read the risks associated with this donation on their own and make up their minds. I will delete any comments that are negative. This post is just to ask for prayers and help for Kate and her parents.

Warning, injured finger photos inside

It doesn't look too bad, now that it's clean and the skin isn't flapping around ;-). Of course, Smokey manages to be in all my photos.

One side of the blade went around the finger in a spiral & the other side hit the finger right under the nail.

That was the flap of skin that was just flying around

A finger + sharp blades = the ER

Most of you have already heard this via phone, email or Facebook. But, I thought I'd blog about it and then I couldn't decide if it belonged on the cooking blog becuase it did happen while I was cooking. In the end, I decided blood related info belonged here.

Looks so harmless, doesn't it?

Lost a battle with these blades

I was in the middle of making a lasagna, a chicken pot pie, some cake balls and pureeing broccoli for the kiddo. The photo on the left is the blender I was using. I was watching tv, some funny movie.

I was holding the blender in my right hand and I decided to scrape some broccoli stuck under the blades. You can see those bad boys in the photo on the right. I stuck my left index finger under the blades, something funny happened on tv, I laughed, jerking my right hand which hit the power switch. You get the idea.

So, the lesson learned this weekend? Order out and dine out instead of cooking :-P. No, seriously, unplug any electrical appliance, specially the ones with sharp pieces, before attempting to clean it.

Next post will have photos of the damaged finger, I will post a warning in the post heading so all you queasy, faint-hearted, passing out inclined types can stay out.