My favorite memories from...today

Today was a really normal day. And it was awesome! I can't even explain what made it a good day. Just lots of little things that, when added together, made for a wonderful day. Such as:

After Elijah woke up, he wanted lots of hugs. We had a nice breakfast together, he ate everything I offered him (he's been going through a slightly picky phase, so this was nice), and he played nicely by himself in the high chair for long enough for me to eat and clean up.

My wonderful husband, who was sleeping in a little bit, then watched Elijah for an hour while I went back to sleep. An extra hour of sleep was an unexpected gift. While I was sleeping, he then prepared our dinner (in the crock pot). Another nice gift.

Elijah played happily until lunchtime, ate a decent amount of food, and was finding joy in using a spoon successfully. Such a simple thing, and he clearly thought it was cool that he's improving.

After lunch, I asked him if he wanted to play some more, or go straight to naptime. He laid his head down on my shoulder and held on tight....clearly wanting a nap. Unusual, but he has a little cold and played HARD today. :) We grabbed his teddy bear, and I got one very long hug before naptime. Ahh....then it was MY naptime. Again. Two naps in one day! Yay.

After finding that his laptop wasn't working (not nice), I got the nice surprise that he was coming home early since he couldn't get any work done.

Just before Daddy got home, Elijah was still in a cuddly mood, and then after that, initiated a game of "run into Mommy's arms." Over and over. He would run away, then turn, grin, I'd fling open my arms, and he'd run to me with a huge smile. I don't think it gets much better than that! This is one of my favorite things about being a mom.

After Daddy got home, we continued the game, this time with Elijah running back and forth between the two of us.

Then laughter ensued when I went to get a snack (I forgot to eat lunch): With Elijah on my lap, I started eating a tortilla. Elijah grabbed it, sneezed all over it, took one bite, and then put the tortilla down. I don't want it now! So I let him eat it. That's one way to steal mom's food, I guess!

Mmm, I want some!

How much of this can I get in my mouth at once?

Mom: "You're so cute."

Elijah: "I know."

We ended the day with a family trip to Target, a yummy dinner, and bedtime.

A totally normal day. Average. Didn't do much. And yet, it was great. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Being Called "Kiddo"

There's an older gentleman I know who always calls me "kiddo" when he sees me. "How ya doin', kiddo?" I think it's kind of funny. If it was anyone else, this might bother me. But it made me wonder, how old would I have to be for him to stop calling me that? Is it a compliment (he thinks I'm younger than I really am) or something he says to everybody (under age 60)? Now that I have a "kiddo" of my own, this is particularly funny.

Speaking of my kiddo, here's a recent photo. (This is right after his very traumatic first haircut!)

So long, warm weather. We will miss you.

I am coming to terms with the new, very fall-like weather we are having. I am looking outside at some very sad-looking trees and wet pavement. I love the fall color when it's warm and sunny, but somehow on a day like this, everything just looks dreary.

So, in light of my displeasure at the current scene outside, I am posting some pictures from our last trip to the park. It was a glorious, sunny day, and Elijah was exploring, and getting quite dirty in the process. For some reason, he also wanted to crawl down the sidewalk instead of the grass.

I'm hoping for just a few more beautiful days! I think he will have a blast once the leaves have fallen from the trees. He still tries to eat leaves, and once there are thousands of them to choose from, he just may not know what to do.

I just pulled out all of the long pants and long-sleeve shirts, ready for fall. E has also outgrown his previous size, so it's very convenient that I only have to switch his stuff out once this month! Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that he will stay in this size all winter, so I don't have to find cold-weather gear in the next size up. (Side note: I went to an awesome children's sale on Saturday and found several great bargains, including a snowsuit. Normally I would buy an extra size up, but I couldn't pass up the deal...so, little dude, please don't have a massive growth spurt until AFTER the snow is done falling, whenever that may be!)

Video from Today

Today, I awoke full of energy, which for me, a non-morning-person, is very rare. I got up, got some things ready for Elijah's breakfast, and then got him up when he awoke. Did the whole routine, and had some fun play time.

The energy has continued throughout the day, for the most part. You wouldn't know it by looking at my home, but I've been able to get a lot of things done today. We had another fun time this afternoon, right before his nap time, and I managed to catch our new game on video. When I don't have a video camera in my hand, I get a LOT more laughter out of him...possibly because I can be a bit crazier, move a bit faster, etc.

I also love hearing him say "Mama." I'm sure there will be a day when I'll hear "mommy, mommy, mommy" eight thousand times and be annoyed by it, but for right now, the sound of it makes me deliriously happy!

So, I'm amazed that I was able to shoot, edit and post some video all on the same day! Here it is.

Up, dressed and reading the mail

Our morning was a bit of an adventure...I didn't notice the, um, mess when I got Elijah up this morning. I got the sippy cup and he was drinking milk before I noticed that my arm felt damp. That can only mean one thing. Sure enough, his sheets were a mess, as was I, and for all I knew, every part of his body. I got him in the bath, and went on from there. By breakfast, I was pretty tired! I don't know why he's not sleeping right now; it's nap time, he's in his bed, and still talking to himself and yelling now and then. He looked so sleepy, but this is looking like it might be a one-nap day. Oh, well.

Time for some coffee!

Hi!

Moving things out of reach

Guess who discovered he can pull papers off the fridge? I had to
quickly move everything to higher ground.

In the children's book section:

Cute book with a very eye-catching title!

A Boy and His Car

Labor Day Weekend

We had a very low-key weekend; no specific plans. It was our last weekend before the new church launches! (Soooo excited about that; more about it sometime later.) The only adventure we had involved Elijah falling and chipping one of his front teeth. Yikes!

It's hard to see here, but here it is:

We didn't even have a dentist for him yet. But a quick call to the pediatrician (they were actually open on Saturday morning!) got us 2 referrals, and both dentists called back right away. By 10 a.m., we were holding him down for his first dental exam and X-ray. No major damage, fortunately! But the dentist recommended that we come back in on Tuesday to have it bonded.

(Side note: we did discover something unusual: he has 2 extra front teeth---baby teeth---behind the ones that are already there. So it's possible that he may have other extra ones, or missing ones somewhere. The dentist said around age 3 we may have to have these extra ones removed because they're growing up and back, and they could interfere with his permanent teeth when they come in. Darn!!!! I feel sorry for him already...dental work is no fun. Not to mention expensive. Maybe we'll have dental insurance by then??)

So, on Tuesday I entered the dentist's office with much trepidation, not knowing whether they were going to have to give him drugs or what...but they weren't kidding---it was a really fast procedure. From the moment we walked in the door until we were back out at the car was about 5 minutes. We had to hold him down on the chair (I had his legs, the hygenist had his arms, and the dentist had his head), but they just painted on the plastic bonding material, cured it with a UV light, and we were done. No restrictions on activity, eating, or anything. Amazing.

Poor little dude...he did NOT like being restrained like that. Afterward, he hugged me tight...held on to me like never before. Fortunately he let me put him in the car seat. Here's to hoping he's not deathly afraid of anyone in a white coat from now on.

And here's the "after" photo:

It looks just like it did before, though the bonding material made his tooth slightly thicker. And it's funny, in this photo it looks like a slightly different color than the other teeth, but it doesn't look like that in person. Must be the flash on my camera.

So now I just have to pray that the tooth is healthy and doesn't turn gray at any point...I'd love for him to have his baby teeth until they're supposed to fall out!

I'm hoping for NO more adventures for a very long time. But with him heading into his toddler years, and being a boy, I'm not too optimistic!

Ugh, not now!!!

In the midst of one of the busiest weeks of my life (ok, I exaggerate; I'm sure there have been others), I am coming down with a cold. I have been burning the candle at both ends, which I'm sure is the reason. Plus, the little dude has had a runny nose for a couple of days. (I would add a photo, but I have a thing about photographing him with all those boogers. Grosses me out. Wait a sec, did I actually just write "boogers" in my blog?)

So I have at least six design projects to finish (some haven't been started yet....shhh, don't tell anyone), plus a rehearsal for worship team and I fear that I'm losing my voice. Noooooo!! I am chugging the Throat Coat tea (I swear by that stuff...it tastes bad but does the job), downing the Airborne, etc., and lots of water. The only thing missing is sleep. So, with that....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Make Your Own Street Signs!

While designing some street signs for the elementary school environment at our new church, I stumbled upon a really great website that allows you to type in your text, click a button and download a PDF or an image of a street sign. Then I was able to open the PDFs in Illustrator, make some final tweaks, and voila! Kindergarten Street on up through Fifth Grade Drive were done in a flash.

I'm kind of a font geek, so I already have 20+ street (and highway) sign fonts. And I could have done it myself. But this saved me SO much time. Here's a link, in case you want to try it!

And oh my goodness, Wigflip.com has lots of other fun little tools, too! I could waste hours here. But I won't...lots of other graphics to crank out tonight!

Ten Things

Another little thing I make myself do to (try to) keep the house clean is to put away ten (or five) things whenever I enter a room. Even tiny little things that are out of place count---doesn't matter what it is. It just matters that I'm putting stuff away. Sometimes it's pieces of clothing that go in the laundry, bath toys strewn on the edge of the tub, or the hundreds of ballpoint pens that seem to multiply in the strangest of places.

I can't always do this when Elijah is awake, but when he's napping or in bed for the night, I try. Though as you can see from the previous post, there area often quite a few more than ten things out of place in any given room. I've done this on and off for years, and it keeps me in a "put things away" mindset. Or, it keeps me sitting in one place so I don't have to pick up anything. (Ha, ha!)

Cleaning Out the Tupperware Cabinet

He took it all out; since I have to put it all back in, I might as well re-organize it in the process!

Another cleaner little area

Given our lack of a spare bedroom, office, basement, etc. I had to get
creative with the location of our file cabinet, printer and network
components. This little corner in our bedroom serves that purpose
nicely, and there is also room for the laundry sorter, ironing board
and drying racks (also needing a home since we don't have a linen
closet or laundry room). A bigger house would be lovely, but I'm
getting pretty good at small-space living!

So this area is a dust magnet, but it is also now CLEAN!

One Clean Spot

This may not look like a big deal, but this dresser has been piled
high with papers, clothes and other miscellaneous items (plus lots of
dust) for weeks, maybe months. And now it is clean. I even cleaned the
light switches. The dresser is full, but organized.

I'm still trying to keep up with my goal of cleaning out or organizing
one little spot in my home every week. I also re-hung some drapery
hardware today. Two projects before 10:00 a.m.! I'm on a roll. Time to
get moving again!

Little Cubs fan!

This is the little Cubs outfit my dad bought for Elijah. So cute!

Loving this stage

Every more-seasoned mom out there may laugh at me, but I am just taking a moment to marvel at Elijah's growth and development over the past 11-1/2 months. I was watching his little legs holding him up as he stood next to the sofa. Yes, stood! He's been doing it for a while, but it struck me how amazing that is. That teeny baby grew into this little person who can go get a toy to play with, go pretty much wherever he wants, and is constantly trying new things. And one day he decided to use those little legs to stand up. I didn't teach him how, really, just helped him along. One of these days, he's going to see what happens when he steps away from the furniture without getting back down to crawl away...and walking will open a whole other world to him.

I don't know if I'll be less in awe at these simple things when we have another child (someday! not anytime soon!). But right now, everything amazes me. His love of airplanes, and how he points up to the sky when he sees or hears one. His giddy little laugh when something strikes him funny. How he wants to be independent and go off on his own, but sometimes still just needs a hug. Watching him grow amazes me.

And now, he's playing with something he probably shouldn't, so I have to go!

It's Hot!!

Here is what I saw on a time & temp display near my house:

Flooding

I'm taking a quick break from working to comment on some amazing people around here (at church).  In addition to preparing for VBS, the biggest event of the year (I know VBS is a big thing at many churches, but it's off the charts around here), everyone is scurrying around dealing with flooding.  Several staff members and volunteers have serious flooding in their own basements at home, and they're cleaning out the basement-level multipurpose room (gym) and kitchen at church, PLUS helping some elderly church members who need help dealing with flooded basements. I am in awe.  The only way I can describe it is a relentless pursuit of service to others.  Way to go, everybody!

Today

Other than taking a couple of insanely short naps, today has been a very happy day for Elijah and me.  (He doesn't seem affected by the short naps, but I certainly have been.  I could have used some sleep.)  

He has been happy and smiling, giggling and squirming all day long.  Even when we had lunch out at a nice restaurant.  He had crackers, and all was right with the world.  

So he is teaching me to take joy in the simple things, and enjoy every moment.  Here's a picture of him from this morning.  

Have a wonderful day!

Moving on...

It is finally hitting me that even though we're not leaving town, that we are moving on from our church home (for those who don't know---we're helping to start a new church).  And this will be our last Sunday at our church.  Mixed feelings, of course---sadness, but excitement for the future.  When we started attending SPC eight years ago, I had been out of college for less than 2 months, married for 3 weeks, and living in Park Ridge for one week.  It was the first and only church we visited.  We have changed a lot since then, and I'm looking forward to what the next eight years will bring!  

Laughing like crazy!

In case you didn't see this already on Facebook, here's a cute video of E giggling with my dad on Memorial Day.  

It's amazing, in 24 hours, he went from this to inconsolable and having a high fever.  Ear infection in both ears.  Poor kid!  I think there was something else going on, too, because he didn't want to eat, either, and uh, "gave back" the food that we did try to feed him.  So gross.  So we were a little hesitant to start him on solid food again.  But by today, he's totally fine, back to his giggly self, and I'm sick.  I really hope my illness is the same thing he had.  I'd hate to have him get sick again soon.  

So hopefully the giggles will continue and we will be illness-free for a long, long time after this.  SO not fun!

Safe

Having a quality, properly-installed infant car seat took on new meaning this weekend.  We were involved in a 3-vehicle accident, including a semi-trailer truck, on I-65 in northwest Indiana on Friday.  I'll start out by saying that we are all ok (though as my dad pointed out, some injuries don't show up until 72 hours later, so we will find out for sure in a day or two).  

After a couple of anything-that-can-go-wrong-certainly-will days, our smooth sailing out of the city abruptly came to an end at a construction zone, with miles of not just slow but stopped traffic.  Just when the lanes had finished merging from two into one, there was a rest stop adding additional merging hazards into the mix, bringing the speed down suddenly.  Fortunately, no one was going over 20 miles per hour.  A semi rear-ended an SUV which rear-ended us.  I realized later that I had never been in a highway accident before, and was shocked at how hard the impact was.

Right after the impact, after my head hit the headrest, I whipped around to see Elijah's car seat moving a bit, and he screamed and burst into tears.  Not knowing if he was hurt, when the car stopped I jumped out and into the back seat next to him.  He was moving around just fine, apparently just very scared.  Poor kid!  It was quite a jolt, and a very loud noise.  

No one in any of the vehicles was hurt.  There were paramedics on the scene, but everyone was ok.  Lots of information to be exchanged with each other and the police.  I think we were there for more than an hour.  I wasn't sure which was safer, sitting in the car holding Elijah or walking way off the road (we were right near a rest area).  But he was not tolerating sitting in the car, so we walked off and found some shade under a tree.  It was incredibly hot in the sun.  

We finally go to our destination 2 or 3 hours later than we had hoped (we did catch the very end of our niece's birthday party, though).  But we got there, alive, and with relatively minimal damage.  

I'll have to post some pictures of the car.  I don't think it'll be totaled, but it's an older car so who knows what it's worth.  The bumper is damaged, the tail lights work but popped out, and the trunk is dented in.  (The car behind us was much worse...not drivable at all.  Strangely, they live near us...just a couple of suburbs over.)  We stopped and got some duct tape to re-attach the lights.  I'm hoping it's an easy repair.  This was my grandpa's car, that we received after he passed away, and I don't think I'm ready to part with it yet.  Plus, the thing is proving itself to be pretty tough.  It had a run-in with a deer a couple of years ago, and sustained minimal damage then, as well.

This holiday weekend is turning out a little differently than planned.  But it has caused us to reflect on what's really important.  And when installing our new car seat (always supposed to replace them after an accident...I knew that, and the state trooper told us to, as well), Will said that adjusting the seat seemed a whole lot more important than the first time around.

I have a lot of reasons to be thankful.

Playing at the park

Earlier in the week, when I put Elijah down in the grass in a nearby park, he didn't seem to know what to do.  He would put his hand down to crawl, then pick it back up and decide not to go anywhere.  I think the grass was a little too pokey for him.  I also realized that he hasn't really been in grass before.  We don't have a yard, and he hasn't been crawling until recently, anyway.  So we've stuck to the stroller for the most part.    

Today, Will took him to the nearby little league diamonds on a walk, and he LOVED the grass there.  It was a lot softer than in the other park.  He was out there, playing happily, for almost two hours.  I met them there for a picnic lunch.  Ahh, so nice to be outdoors.  

Clapping, his other new skill.  

I love this hat.  But he's not a fan.  That's why they make chin straps.

Oh, to spend all day in jammies.  And to wear them in public.  

Baby on the Move!

Elijah learned to crawl a couple of weeks ago, but it's just been in the last few days that he discovered he could go all the way across the room, instead of just to a toy a few feet away.  The other day, he was playing contentedly on the floor in his room, then took a look at me, turned, and crawled out the door.  He went all the way into the living room.  Today, he went from the living room, down the hall, through our bedroom and to the bathroom.  

One by one, objects on or near the floor are disappearing.  And I'm noticing how dirty the floor is, since I'm sitting down there all the time now.  Ehh, oh well.  I've lowered my standards quite a bit in the last year.

In addition to crawling, the little guy is starting to pull up on things.  Not quite standing yet, but getting there!  Between now and when he figures out how to open drawers and cabinets, I need to consolidate all of the dangerous stuff into a few places and install some locks.  I'm not going to go crazy and put locks on everything, but I figure we should probably keep him away from the cleaning chemicals.  

Wow, busy week!

I haven't posted much in a while...basically, I'm juggling even more things for now.  I took on some freelance work, because, well, the extra income is always nice.  But mostly, I want to keep doors open for the future.  So this week I'm trying to cram in this work between my regular 25 hours of work, plus all of my non-paying work that I do every day.  :)  (Though I know it's not really very nice to refer to the baby as "non-paying work."  But it's sorta true.)

So I'm surrounded by piles of laundry, piles of mail, piles of work, piles of toys, and piles of emails...but remarkably, I'm still in a pretty good mood.  Just really tired.

More later.  :) 

A Big Week!

This has been a big week for our little guy...he learned to clap his hands, to crawl, and to sit up by himself (go from laying on the floor to sitting up).  At this rate, he will be walking by next week....and I will be woefully behind in the baby-proofing department!  Actually, I think if we had furniture that was easy for him to pull up on, he would be doing that by now.  Now I'm glad we removed the coffee table: he would be running into its sharp corners.

Cute LIttle Hands...

Perspective

“

Personally, when we're feeling exasperated, we like to think in terms of "the last time"--as in, there will be a last time for everything. When will be the last time I give her a bottle, or the last time I put her to bed in her crib, or the last time I can actually cradle my son in my lap, or the last time he will let me hold his hand in public?  It's amazing how quickly that puts things in perspective.  One minute we're thinking we'll have to shoot ourselves if we have to dress her up in a princess costume again, and the next we could cry because soon enough we'll be shopping for prom dresses.

” 

-Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile, in I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids.  

It's a great way to think of things, when I get caught up in the repetitiveness of wake up, feed, change, play, nap, wake up, feed...  There will be a day when Elijah doesn't wear cute bibs or pajamas with feet.  There will be a day when I don't change him anymore, which will also mean there will be a day when we don't share giggles while he's laying on the changing table.  There will be a day when he won't give me huge, slobbery kisses, and I will miss it terribly.  There will certainly be a day when I can't pick him up anymore, and a day when he will be taller than me. 

Live in the present, and enjoy the moment for what it is.  

More organizing

This may not look like a big deal, but the photo below represents hours of hard work, cleaning and organizing our closet full of tools and cleaning supplies.  This half-closet (below the heating unit) is our only place to keep tool boxes, power tools, glue, duct tape, brooms, a ladder, and a variety of cleaning products.  

After living in our condo for 5 years now, we'd accumulated quite a few specialty items that were tossed into a couple of large bins, completely disorganized.  (There were 2 kinds of silver cleaner, and 3 bottles of WD-40!)  There's something about a messy closet or corner that makes my blood pressure rise whenever I see it, or actually, when I have to find something that has descended into its depths.  So we bought a shelf, took everything out, sorted, cleaned, and put it all back.  And there's all sorts of extra room now, and hopefully we won't fill it up too quickly!

Gettin' crafty

This week we are taking a "staycation" and on Monday, I was able to do some things I've been wanting to do for a long time...mostly shopping and errands totally by myself!  It's amazing how much I can do without a baby in tow.  (I went to 8 stores in 3 shopping centers in a couple hours...completely amazing compared to most outings these days.)  

Another thing I did on Monday was start and finish two different projects I'd been wanting to do for a while.  The first, which I haven't photographed, is an oversized hooded towel for Elijah.  His baby hooded towels are too small, and a bath towel doesn't cover his head (though I suppose I could have gone and bought a giant bath sheet).  So I found a 6-piece towel set on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond for under $10, and then sewed a hood (made from a hand towel) onto the main towel.  I think it'll work well.  It's pretty boring...plain, solid color...but the only place I've seen these for sale is the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, and I am NOT paying $25 for one towel.  

My other project was to make some new baby bibs.  Someone gave us a homemade one that was better than all of the store-bought ones we have (covers more area, very soft, adjustable size), so I bought some fabric, traced a pattern, and made 4 of them for myself, for about $6.  If I would have been content with whatever fabric was available in the bargain bin, it would have been dirt cheap, but I was going for both cute and functional.  Here it is (funny expression on E's face!):

Not quite what I planned...

I've been on a home organization/rearranging kick for a while now, and today I decided to remove the coffee table from the living room.  It's rather sad, actually...it's a really cool table that I made myself out of an old door and some IKEA table legs.  I love that thing...but it was getting really unstable, and had sharp corners just waiting to injure Elijah whenever he starts moving around.  So we dismantled it, and it cannot be easily put back together again.  Someday, I will rebuild it, but for now we are going to store the pieces.  

I thought I found the perfect deal on a storage ottoman today (cheap to begin with, $20 off on sale and another $9 off because I found a minor defect), but when I got it home, it was way too small for the space.

So I have no coffee table, and no ottoman.  I really can't afford to spend the money on a "real" ottoman from a real furniture store.  So now I'm getting used to having nothing in this space.  It's not a terrible thing to have more open floor space.  Just not what I planned.  Oh, well!  

I am pretty proud of myself.  I decided a while ago that in order to get and keep my house organized, I was going to pick a spot, any spot, each week to completely clean and organize.  Usually, it's a very tiny area like one bathroom drawer, one closet shelf, etc.  And so far I'm doing one each week, or more than one.  I take everything out, decide if there's anything I don't need (hello, expired medicine!), anything that should be stored elsewhere (goodbye, maternity clothes!), clean thoroughly, and put it all back in an organized fashion.

Now I'm selling some things I found on eBay, doing lots of recycling and packing up for thrift stores.  It's not an overwhelming thing to clean out one little area each week.  I highly recommend it.

All of this stuff was $20!

Major score on Craigslist today.  I had to drive all the way into downtown Chicago, but it was so worth it.  I got 58 articles of baby boy clothing in E's current size, and next 2 sizes, for $20.  This, plus a few things that I just bought using a $100 Old Navy/Gap gift card (from our credit card reward points!), took us from nothing to fully stocked for the summer, and probably the fall & winter, too!  Amazing.  

Another really amazing deal was a whole freezer full of Omaha Steaks.  The combination of a really good sale price plus more credit card reward points means that we have more than 60 servings of meat in our freezer for $40!  And it's good stuff, too.  I missed Will's grilling over the winter.  :)  

The weekend

This has been a very full weekend---and a very good one.  I can't really even remember everything that we did, but Saturday was pretty low-key.  We did a few cleaning tasks around the house, but for the most part just enjoyed a day off.  Then we had a wonderful dinner with good friends.  And to top it all off, Elijah was very pleasant--happy and smiley--all day.   

Today there was church, then I spent all afternoon running errands (more on that later), and then the church Planting Team meeting, which was really powerful and motivating.  I had a nice long chat with each of my brothers (happy birthday, B!). 

Perhaps the weirdest thing that happened all weekend was my accidental encounter with a major event in Skokie.  At first I had no idea what was going on, just figured something big was going on because there were remote parking signs everywhere, parking shuttles, and major roads were closed.  And THEN after navigating through a detour, I saw a small group of protesters holding Nazi and other flags.  OHHHHH....it clicked, finally.  The new Holocaust Museum in Skokie.  There were police everywhere.  I was just watching the news and discovered the other reason that everything was barricaded, detoured, etc.  Bill Clinton, Elie Wiesel, and others were there for the grand opening.  Hopefully I can get over to see the museum sometime.  Anyway, I don't have anything charitable to say about the people who were protesting, so I'll leave it at that.

Elijah has been handling the schedule interruptions very well; overall, he's a very happy little guy.  Sundays are always a little hard to figure out, when we have to squeeze in a couple of partial naps.  But he's not nearly as upset by this as he usually is.  And I suppose having a pretty consistent routine on the other 6 days a week helps a lot.  

All in all, a very interesting day.  And a very good weekend!  

Recent video...

I already posted this on Facebook...thought I'd add it here, too.

I'm a sucker for cute baby photos of all sorts, including this one of
a rare leopard cub. Awwwwww....

Yummy ducky!

Mmmmm....wood toys.

Smiles & Giggles!

What a Week

Is it really only Thursday?  Really?  Somebody please tell me I have the days wrong.  

The week started with me dropping--and exploding--a gallon of milk at the grocery store.  E has had a cold all week, no big deal, but he's had a fever for the last day or so, and has been really grumpy and crying for no apparent reason.  So off to the doctor we went, since last time he had an ear infection.  Not this time, at least so far.  Which is very good.

But the doctor did notice that in addition to the tooth that came in earlier this week (first one on the top), he has 2 or 3 more on the way.  Ouch.  Which could easily explain some of the discomfort.  And the chewing and drooling.

I have so many design projects in the works right now; it's crazy to think about.  I'm wondering how I'm going to get it all done.  I see many late nights in my future.  And it's looking like tomorrow will be a very busy day at work.

Eek, I have to finish up a bunch of little things before Elijah wakes up from his nap!  Gotta go.

He looks like he's going for a walk.

That's not too far into the future, I'm sure. He's starting to scoot backwards on the floor, which is funny and cute but also very frustrating for him because he keeps moving farther from where he intended to go.

Look out, house!  And look out, Mom and Dad....time to babyproof!

I just got this in the mail.

Instant coffee from Starbucks.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm a bit skeptical. I'm not too much of a coffee snob, but I just can't imagine this being as good as brewed coffee.  Has anyone tried this?

I still remember my mom ordering decaf coffee at fast food drive-through  windows when I was a kid...and telling them if it was instant coffee (Sanka), to forget it.

Just Elijah, Being Cute

Redecorating....

....my blog, because I can't afford to redecorate my house!

Ok, Citi....get your act together (take 2)

After 2 days of missing the UPS lady, I finally got the package from Citibank. (Yesterday, I jumped out of the shower when I heard the doorbell, but didn't get there in time. So I had a wet floor, a woken-up baby, and no credit cards.)

I opened the envelope today, and found only one credit card, with Will's name on it. Gaaahhhh! I called them on the phone, and the lady said they would gladly send me another card....in 7-10 business days. Or overnight, for a $15 fee. But I never asked to replace my card to begin with! I think there was something being lost in translation (literally), so I asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor fixed the whole situation, and also discovered that the first agent had activated my new card, without my asking her to do so. OOPS! So today Will's walking around with an invalid credit card. Maybe I should call and tell him?

So now I'm going to spend the rest of the day memorizing my new card number. Because I really don't feel like calling everywhere that we have automatic billpay set up to give them the new number. Another day.

At least this time, there wasn't an actual person impersonating me, buying Harley Davidson merchandise online!

Ok, Citibank, get your act together...

So, there was some sort of internal security breach at Citibank, and our credit card account number was "compromised." Of course they didn't call us to tell us this; I just tried to log in to pay our credit card, and I was informed that I would no longer have access to our account online, that they were issuing us new cards, and on and on.

Seriously. No phone call? No email?

So now I have a long to-do list that includes waiting for and activating new cards, setting up all of my automatic payments again, and reinstating all of my rewards points. Oh, joy.

You might think I'm overreacting, but this happened 18 months ago, and it took me a couple of months to get everything straightened out.

Darn. I'll have to memorize a new account number now. Ehhh, oh well.

I can't believe it's only Monday. This is going to be a long week.

Baby smiles...

....always brighten my day! I happened to capture a few today. Elijah was laying on the floor, happily babbling to himself. Ahh, those are nice moments. When he is perfectly content playing by himself, isn't crying...doesn't need anything. Then, I just get to enjoy him.

Elijah Eats...Everything Else!

In addition to food, Elijah puts everything else in his mouth. He got his first 2 teeth when he was four and a half months old; perhaps another one is on the way? Or maybe not. (Sorry, the video is kind of long...)

Elijah Eats....Food!

Elijah started eating solid foods recently, and it's always kind of amusing to watch.

I can't handle any more tragedy.

For whatever reason, this week I've stumbled upon blogs of several people I don't even know who have gone through the most unimaginable tragedies. Loss of a child....suicide of a parent...illness of a child...cancer...cancer...cancer... many are so very uplifting in their attitudes and their faith through it all. But I can't take any more of it right now.

Maybe because our own family tragedy is still so fresh, and creeps up on us at the most unexpected times (like today).

Or maybe it's because I'm so tired that I just don't have the emotional energy to cope with sad stories right now. I don't know.

Plus, this evening we watched a movie that we thought was going to be uplifting and heartwarming, but it was just heart-wrenching all the way through, and had a completely unsatisfying conclusion that left us wishing we hadn't watched it in the first place.

Whatever it is, I'm now going to seek out only funny things to read and watch. Call it escape, call it a break....I guess I just need to laugh!

Smiley Boy

I love all of his little expressions. This one is from the other day. I just happened to capture one of the only non-fussy moments of the morning.



And here are 3 pictures from today. He loves the toy on his Bebe Pod chair! He probably played with it for 20 minutes before he noticed me sitting there and looked up.





Cheesy smile!



Sometimes I still can't believe how big he is! He's not sitting up unassisted yet, but he can sit in his chair without slumping over now. Where does the time go? As I've said many times before, sometimes every day feels interminably long but the weeks and months go by in a blink.

Amazing video...

This was part of our pastor's sermon last Sunday; he warned everyone ahead of time to grab some tissues, and I'm repeating that warning here.

Perhaps it is my new status as a mom, but I absolutely lost it when I saw this for the first time. And the second. And the third. One of the most amazing stories I've ever seen. Watch for yourself, you'll see what I mean.

Put some Windex on it

So sad the photo is blurry but you get the idea. Target is selling Windex "classic" in the old-style spray bottles. As seen in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I have been on a quest for purses that will hold some baby essentials but don't look like diaper bags. And it turns out that my cute Harrods bag that I bought in London actually fits the bill. Yay! I can fit my personal stuff plus a change of clothes and diaper stuff for Elijah in one little bag. :)

Ugly Sweater Day!

Today I went to Best Buy because we're getting an appliance replaced...it's under warranty, so I just had to talk to someone about getting a new one. But when I walked back toward the appliance department, I couldn't find any employees anywhere. Then I walked to the computer section. Same thing. Where were all of the blue people? I walked all the way to the front of the store, to the customer service desk and asked for help.

He told me there should be someone back there--- but it's ugly sweater day and everyone is wearing an ugly sweater on top of their blue shirt! He pointed me to someone wearing a Cliff Huxtable-type sweater who led me back to the appliance guy in a horrible green sweater. Each person I talked to told me enthusiastically that it's ugly sweater day... apparently one guy is wearing a women's sweater.

I'm glad they're having fun at work. Even though it did make them blend in with all of the customers. :)

The Bucket List

So I've never actually composed a list of things to do before I die, but I have "borrowed" this list from my friend Alysa. The things I've done are in bold. Not quite as many as I'd thought!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (not sure if anything I've climbed counts as a mountain, but oh well.)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had malaria
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (I think so...not totally sure though.)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset .
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling – both.
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London - nope; we missed it. Darn!
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (only if working for an attorney counts!)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Married the love of your life.