Happy Friday :)

Little honey bear is sleeping soundly right now.....while the rest of us are preparing for a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. I think its a pretty darn cool museum...perfect for us Nerdy types. They have a fantastic model train display, which is the main reason we're going because Pat Sr. likes model trains. In fact, they have a really cool G size (Garden.....pretty big) in their back yard. I'd like for Pat to have one someday too, but it will have to wait until we have a basement.

We don't have much planned for Mom & Dad O'Brien's trip this week. They said they just wanted to relax and spend time with Liam, and we've been doing pretty much that since they got here Wednesday night :)

Oh, and please say a little prayer for Karli girl. She's in surgery right now as we speak to reconstruct her ACL. I'm sure she'll come out good as new, but its still surgery and scary nonetheless.

Good Morning!

Its me! Up at the ass crack of dawn again.

When Liam got up in the middle of the night tonight - I decided to let him Cry It Out. I'm just so sick of getting up between 1 - 3 AM, know what I mean? So, he started rousing at about 3:30, crying at about 3:50. I kind of did a modified Ferber method.....just going in a couple minutes longer than the previous visit, and in about 20 minutes he was sleeping again. Boy can that kid wail. I felt pretty bad especially when he started choking cuz he was crying so hard......and got myself so worked up that I can't go back to sleep. *sigh* I hate not being able to go back to sleep. I'm TIRED people - why can't I sleep!?!??!

Hiatus

You know, I figured with this stay at home Mom stuff I would be blessed with oodles and oodles of time to find the end of the internets and in general play all day.

HAHAHHAHAHAHAA

not so much.

I'm having a great time, truth be told, it just has reduced my computer time quite a bit, and I haven't figured out how to balance it just yet. I'll figure it out eventually, so I don't anticipate another month long absence.

So much has happened! Liam has become a LIGHTENING fast crawler....and yes, he's taken his first steps!!! A week before his 9 month birthday. Sniff. I don't think I was emotionally ready for that LOL. Here's the video proof!



We have his 9 month check up today, so I will post stats after we get home from the doctor.

Liam and I have also been enjoying many mommy meet ups through meetup.com - going to the beach, farmers markets, zoos, playgrounds and peoples houses! Its difficult sometimes, and I get frustrated with having to take the bus everywhere, but for the most part its been pretty fun. Liam is getting less and less shy, and starting to enjoy hanging out with other kiddos. I've also joined a photography meetup; my first meeting with them was at 4:15AM on Saturday to catch the sunrise on the lake. It was pretty amazing!





More photos on flickr at Sunrise Photo Set

Other news - we've put our condo on the market as of today, I think. Everyone cross their fingers and we'll see how she goes!!!!

Moe watching Michael and Seamus

They're an active couple of boys, aren't they??

Funny Pic O' the Day!

I find this photo hilarious. Over half of my photos when I shoot without a flash are like this - and I have a tendancy to delete them, because they're not "good". But I really love this, I think simply because it epitomizes Liam's stage right now. He's doing a lot of climbing and grabbing. AND a lot of falling. This is just my little man fallin' on his butt right as I take the photo....notice he still managed to keep grabbing onto the play thing though.


So I had an impromptu trip to Saginaw, from Monday to Thursday. The rouse was to watch Karli play in her last softball games, but she was all banged up and unable to play. I'm pretty sure she f'd her knee in the A, but I don't think she's had an MRI to confirm/deny these suspicions. It was a great trip anyway. It was nice in general just hangin' out with the fam. Dad, Liam and I even went to the Saginaw Children's Zoo on a cool, Wednesday morning.

Here's Liam checkin' out a moo-cow :)

The cool part was that I finally mustered up the courage to try train travel, and rode the friendly rails with Amtrak. It was cheaper than driving (not by much, cuz I got the expensive tickets, but it can be as cheap as $60 round trip to Flint!!). It was actually a great experience, even though we were quite delayed on the way in, and doubly so on the way back. But Liam was fantastic - very minimal fussing, he mostly was content to either sit on me, the chair, the floor and stand or play. He also liked looking out the windows and banging on them whilst laughing at the trees. Totally cute! Really, it was nice to have 6+ hours to devote to him - no phone, computer, tv....just me and the little man.

He actually made my heart *almost* explode a couple of times, when he would just sit on my lap and play, and then all the sudden just look at me and smile, then snuggle his little head on my chest for a second before returning to play. *sigh* I suppose that's what montherhood is all about, right?

Now I'm home just long enough to unpack, repack and head out to Indiana tomorrow to hang out with Pat's family! Should be fun :) Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!!

Weekend Fun

Friday night was a party all night kinda night for us - we played a game of chess (it was my turn to choose) and then watched a documentary about the City of Chicago from the beginning 'til 1871 (the year of the fire). It was actually pretty damn awesome. I know, not a very exciting night to most folks, but I love having nights like that with my man. *sigh* Even if he did fall asleep half way though :)

Yesterday Pat and I went to the Lion House for a dinner function at The Lincoln Park Zoo. VERY cool :) The food was awesome, and the conversation was fantastic - and it was just sooooo cool to have conversation interrupted by Lions roaring right next to you. Really neat-o burrito.

The babysitter we had last night was also fantastic - it feels good to start building a network of people I can trust to care for Liam when we want to go out and about. So far, we have two - and I'd like to add two more to the mix......we're still wading through applications and such on SitterCity.com - but I know we'll find some more good people there.

Today, we went to the Nature Museum using a Passport from the Chicago Public Library. Basically, you check out this passport and you don't have to pay general admission! They have it for zoo's, museums, Shedd, any Chicagoland public attraction. I can't wait to use it more often! You can only check them out for 7 days, but really, to save $30 on admission is totally worth it!!!

Anywho - the Museum was kind of lame-o, but we did manage to have a good time and get a few good photos :)

Here's Liam exploring a fish tank filled with - well, bubbles.



Little man with Daddy on the slide:

Awww - Liam's just soooo cute :) Even if he can't really crawl yet through the tubes!


Liam and Daddy waiting to exit the butterfly haven. Daddy doesn't really like bugs. Even if they are pretty.

Ooohhh - pretty bugs.

Other big news - Liam is a crawler! I can't believe it - he's sooo cute about it too. When he tries to think about it and crawl, his little legs get all jumbled up.....but, when he drops a toy and it rolls away, BAM - he's after it like lightening!! Without even thinkin' about it. I can't believe how much he's growing (I know, cliche, right?). He's also still quite the standin' up pro too - even lets go and stands on his own for a couple of seconds. And pulling up is a piece of cake now. Baby stuff :) We really need to baby proof now.....here's some video I *tried* to catch of him doing it....he'll go a good couple feet now!



Liam and I are going to visit Mema & Papa and the rest of the family tomorrow for a couple of days. The whole plan was to go watch Karli's last softball games of the season, but turns out she sprained her knee, and who knows if she'll actually be playing. It will work out well though, because we won't see them again until July.......so the train fare will be worth it either way! I hope the ride goes smoothly! It can't be worse than driving alone with him.......:) I hope!

Good Morning!

We've had a few days full of milestones lately for our little man. Not crawling quite yet - but he is soooo sooooo close! He has been a climbing machine!! Pulling up on everything and anything he can get his little grubby paws on :) Primarily, after getting home from daycare, he's been using Mommy and Daddy as his own personal mountains :) He just grabs and crawls and climbs all over us - quite adorable actually.


Also in the mobility department, he's also figured out how to get into the sitting position all by himself! He did it yesterday for the first time, and then this morning when I went in he was sitting up, smiling and just waiting for me. *sigh* he's so sweet! I went to get my camera, and when I came back in - I walked in to this:


I was impressed with the sitting - doubly so with the pulling up to standing :) Good thing we lowered the crib mattress a few days ago! I can't believe how much he's grown!!!

As you can see - his hair is also quite short. Mommy got a little over exuberant with the clippers again. Well, actually, Pat tried to cut it, but took a big chunk out of the side of his head - so I just evened it out. All over. Eh. It will grow back.

We also moved into the meat department of solid food yesterday. I made turkey and chicken.....although while it was cooling on the countertop I came to find a certain little small cat snacking on the chicken. *sigh* So, turkey was the only thing I was able to puree. Liam tried it yesterday and did NOT like it. At all. I don't blame him. Turkey is kind of gross all plain by itself. And pureed.

On the healing front - my nose is feeling pretty good. Slowly but surely weaning off the vicodin :) It still feels like a nasty boogery-scabby mess up there, but nothing I can do to fix it right now. No blowing. No picking. No nose spray. No nothing. Just putting up with it. Doctor's appointment is Thursday, so hopefully I'll have some more relief by then.

K - bed-y-bye time for Karin. Have a fabulous evening!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wanted to take a couple pics of my little man and me today.....these are the best of the bunch :) I realize today is supposed to be a day to give thanks and show appreciation to the mother, but for me, I just want to thank and give appreciation for those who MADE me a mother :) Namely, Pat and Liam. I'm just so thankful and grateful for where I am right now - its an amazing feeling!

Oh, and I'm incredibly grateful for the other mother's in my life, friends, family, my mom and mother-in-law, and grandma - you've all given me a great template to follow :)

So what did I want for Mother's day? Not much - just an all day Jammie Day and breakfast (yummy pancakes, dyed pink even!). I did want to go to the zoo, but its super craptastic out, so we'll have to wait another day for that. The rest of today will probably be spent watching the Indiana Jones Trilogy, which I've never seen in completion (we're on Temple of Doom right now). Its been an amazing day - I can't wait for many mother's day's left to come :)

Doh! My Dose.....

that is Dose rhymes with nose.....as in my dose is all stubbed up.........

I had my surgery on Wednesday and all went pretty well - officially called a septoplasty and turbinate reduction. The staff of Northwestern Memorial was amazing, as were the facilities. Everything was all nice and new....private pre-op rooms, private recovery rooms....it was just about as enjoyable as a surgical experience could be.

I went in at about 8:30AM - surgery was around 10:00AM - and we were home sometime around 2:30 ish. General anesthetic, but I didn't get all woozy after because they gave me a "Barf B Gone" patch. Basically a little patch to put behind my ear so I didn't get nauseous after the anesthetic wore off. Worked like a charm! They did still give me a barf bag for the way home, just in case. It was pretty funny looking. Resembled a blue horse / elephant condom. Weird right? But you probably have a good visual of what it looked like :)

Wednesday I spent pretty much the rest of the day doing nothing - Pat took care of me and the boy, I was hopped up on vicodin. The pain did suck, but it was manageable. Mostly the pain was in my teeth, and around my sinus area. I also had a lot of bleeding through my nose, but not much swelling or bruising or anything. I just had to have a gauze pad rolled up and taped under my nose to catch the blood - then I changed the gauze every hour or so. I spent most of the time on the couch, not completely reclined - cuddled up with a kitty or two on me. Funny how they know just when you need some love :)


Thursday I felt better, I was a little more mobile, but still had the gauze....I even wore it on Friday too, even though it was more for mucus than blood. Friday I felt well enough where Pat and I took in a movie - we saw Iron Man (great movie - definitely see!).

I felt yet even better today, so much so that Pat left for the day to go help a friend attach his mast to his sail boat, so Liam and I were on our own today (well, at least until about 3PM when our friend Kelly came to visit). It was tough caring for Liam by myself, because I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than a milk jug for two weeks. And yes, Liam is about 3 milk jugs (the little chunk a monk!). I'm not supposed to do any strenuous activity, or drink through straws either.....all of those restrictions are in place to help prevent my nose from bleeding again, I suppose.

We survived though - I did pick him up a couple of times, as gently as possible....the only tough time I had was when the pain started getting bad again, and I didn't want to take a pill and knock myself out as I was the only responsible person there! I took the pill anyway, and fought through the sleepiness, at least until I was able to put him down for a nap.

Now, my most recent pill is beginning to kick in, so I will bid adieu :) Hopefully next time I write I will be breathing more freely!!!!

It's Official

I am officially car-less. I turned in the vehicle, my keys, my telephone and my computer today. That really made this all seem so, well, final.....even though its been a couple of days since I was let go. I ordered my Chicago City Pass last night, so hopefully I'll get that soon. In the meantime, I'll just be using the disposable cards we have to use public transportation.

Of course, all this really isn't that big of a deal, because Pat still has his vehicle....and the majority of couples in the city have one car (if they have a car at all). Its just kind of a big deal for me since most of the transportation in my life has been by car.....driving......my four wheel office. I actually liked driving hours on end. Now, its time to get used to a new way of living.

I guess I should start by breaking down the transportation system here. There is the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) and they operate the buses and trains (the "EL" - colored lines - red, blue, orange, etc) in the City of Chicago. Then there is PACE (not sure what that stands for) which operates buses in the suburbs, and The Metra, which is the commuter trains from the suburbs as well....there are many different lines that go from Milwaukee to Joliet, and a zillion stops in between.

I started off on this new foot by taking public transportation today from the office. Deerfield, IL is about 20 miles north of where we live. Driving it takes about 30-40 minutes or so door to door (closer to an hour now that the Eden's is all F'd in the A). I took the Metra from Deerfield to Edgebrook, walked a block, then took the 84 Peterson bus all the way home. It was super easy, took only about an hour total, and cost about $5.00 - not too shabby.

The relative ease of it all actually had me thinking that I might come to enjoy this.......but I should probably wait to make that assessment until I travel with a wee little one a time or two. One of the things I really enjoyed was being able to really look at the city. I mean, REALLY look - the style of homes, the streets, the people. It was pretty cool. Especially the people part. I think I heard at least 5 different languages on my way home. I LOVE that about the city. One of the big reasons why I would like to stay here for a while - I think its great to expose Liam to that kind of mix instead of being in a super suburb where its all super white bread (not that there's anything wrong with white bread.....its just so...well, bland). It was especially nice because everyone appeared to be happy and social and in a good mood....it was a beautiful day outside, no doubt that was the reason.

So, I will be reliant on public transportation here for a while anyway. If we were to get another vehicle, it would most likely be only if I went back to work somewhere not accessible by the vast network of buses and trains here, or if we moved out into the 'burbs....and all that is up in the air right now.

And, as a wise friend once said "Sometimes the unknown is much greater than the known". Indeed.

Stash Sale :)

Here's what I have advertised over at TheBabyWearer :)

I really tried to find the RS/MT love, but alas, I am a wrap girl, and am loving the two that I’m keeping for my stash. Feel free to make me an offer on prices, I’m still pretty new to the sale/trade gig so I don’t have a great feel for good pricing, but I tried my best to price the items fairly :) Also, try my on for trades….I’m really right now just into wraps – looking for a fun, colorful shorter GSW, (4.6 or shorter)……maybe an extra long strap MT, masculine or gender neutral colors…..or maybe perhaps an Ergo :) Try me out :)

TaylorMade Wine Duponi Silk Ring Sling – Size M. Purchased from a sweet mama in January, tried it on for about 5 minutes, and that’s it. Beautiful color, really soft and broken in – no snags or damage that I can find. Original seller mentioned that the bottom rail had frayed and was fixed, but I can’t find it LOL - $40

Enchanted Snuggle MT – Detroit Lions – Extra Long Straps 92 inches)! Purchased from same sweet mama, super soft and cuddly, padded top straps, very supportive, but the size just doesn’t work for us. Great MT for any daddy, lions fan, or if you don’t like the Lion’s you can just use it for a “I don’t care if this one gets too dirty because its hella durable” spare MT - $35

BBO Calaveras/Zebra – 2^nd owner, purchased in January. LOVE this pattern, fun and funky – always get lots of compliments on it, and used it quite frequently. Washed a couple of times. I just really need extra long straps to make it work perfectly, so I don’t reach for it as much as I should! Its hard to see, but the Alexander Henry Calaveras fabric has gold shimmer throughout – it really is gorgeous - $70

EllaRoo Kristen Size M – Just over 4.6 meters (without the fringe) – I’m the original owner. This was my first wrap after graduating from a Moby LOL :) Loved her – wore her constantly, just really don’t need so many choices, and I reach for others first. She’s freshly washed, but definitely broken in and nice and soft. No damage/snags to note, other than the EllaRoo tag is hanging by one side - $55

Last but not least, fabulous colorgrown Didymos Lars Size 8 – it was sold to me as a size 7 – but actually measures 5.7 meters. Purchased from original owner locally in Chicago – great condition! I wore it only once for a walk around the town, and it’s really just too long for me! The color is more beige-y than sage-y (if that makes any sense, LOL!) Comes with original brochure and DVD - $150

I will happily accept all types of Paypal! Prices include Priority shipping with insurance to anywhere in the US, but definitely willing to ship international if you cover the extra postage. We have a smoke free home, and two fabulous furry kitties - I do my best to keep the carriers completely clean, but don’t be surprised if you find a stray hair or two :) Please note that I do measure my wraps and look them over, but I’m not the most anal retentive person in the world so if I’m off by a centimeter or two or if I miss a very small flaw, please accept my sincerest apologies! Cheers!

New Beginnings......

I've written this post in my head a thousand times over the past couple of days. Its hard to know where to start, what to write, what to cover. Complicated and simple I guess.

Here's the short and simple version. I lost my job on Wednesday.

And the long version. I had just gone to get a manicure and pedicure at Lunch time on Wednesday. Just a little treat to make myself feel pretty. Indeed, it worked. I picked a pretty different color for me. Kind of a translucent blue with purpley-pink shimmers. Really pretty - even Pat liked it :)

On the drive home I got a call from our HR manager. In so many words, he said my position had been eliminated due to recession planning. Basically, our company is freaking out because the economy is crap, pricing is crap, we're not selling much of anything, and we're not making as much money as we would like to. Honestly, I have no doubt we're still making money. All these cuts in spending and personell will ensure that, and I suppose thats good business sense. I knew that in the event something like this happened to our company, that my job would be at high risk of being cut, because its pretty much non-essential to the business. It does create value, it does provide a important service....but when it comes down to it promotion costs money, and doesn't directly contribute to the bottom line.

And, I had a feeling that this was coming when I caught word that another co-worker, in a similar promotion based position was being let go. I figured it would be a matter of time.

A matter of time is now.

So, I was caught off guard - I was upset - sad - betrayed - blah blah blah. I even cried for a bit on Wednesday day night (after too much wine, mind you). I even cried because Jason Grilli was traded to the Rockies.....(I vaguely recall babbling between drunken cries "But, what if Grilli misses working in Detroit? What if he misses his work buddies?" sob sob - that GOODness he's gone, really, he was a terrible relief pitcher......but it was pretty funny I was upset about it). But now, I really felt good about the whole thing. Yes, its sucky, but really we are in the best possible position to be in if this were to happen. I'm just going to put the following benefits / options in list form, just because that's how they seem to be coming out in my mind.....

1. I got a pretty darn good severance package. I can't talk about the details (I signed something saying I wouldn't - along with saying I wouldn't sue the company) but lets just say I feel adequately compensated.
2. Overall, we're in really great financial health. We've got substantial savings, and our only debt is a small balance of my college loan, and our mortgage. That is a great place to be.
   
3. We had contemplated me staying home with Liam for some time, we most likely can flourish on one salary with lots of adjustment in our spending of course - but that would be a great situation.
4. Maybe we want to make more babies :) Soon :)
   
5. Of course, if I want to find another full-time career related job I have no doubts with my qualifications, experience and dazzling personality that I would be able to find a great job with out much problem, even in this economy.
6. Maybe this will be an opportunity for me to work part time at something I really enjoy doing.....like retail, or some kind of fun direct sales gig. Not necessarily for the money, but for the social aspect and to get me out of the house.
7. We're still not quite sure if we're going to try to sell our place to look for a new house yet.....but now that we're going to be stopping daycare, it opens up our options a bit. Oh yeah, that's another thing. I was soooo sad to tell Josefina that we wouldn't be brining Liam after the next two weeks. We're continuing for two weeks just because when we signed our daycare agreement, we said we would do so - and it just seems like the right thing to do. I just know how much she loves Liam, and I don't want to put her under any financial hardship either....I'm thinking maybe I can help her find another little one to care for.
8. After next week, I won't have a car.....and I have to get a new phone. As long as we're in the city, its not that big of a deal. Public transportation is ample, and we won't need to buy another car. If we move to the 'burbs though - that might be a different story.

So, thats pretty much it. I'm in a really good place right now. Calm. Excited. Ready for a new begining. When Pat and I busted open a bottle of sparkling wine on Wednesday night, we toasted to a "New Chapter". New beginnings. I like the sound of that! I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful and supporting husband......having a partner like him makes going through something like this a million times more bearable. I LOVE YOU PAT - no matter what decision we make, I know we will be just fine. Everything will work out - for the best!

Lego my Legos

I had the wonderful opportunity to reminisce and act like a child this weekend. Whilst we were visiting our family, my nephew Michael invited me to come downstairs and help him find a Lego guy that had gone inexplicably missing.....a Lego Luke Skywalker. Not being one to turn down an opportunity to help a child, I followed down the steps and began searching through the multiple boxes of Legos intertwined with a slew of miscellaneous other toys in search of this little guy.

As I was searching through the boxes, an old familiar sound danced around my ears. The sound of my hand sweeping through an immense mound of resin toys, pushing them out of the way in hopes that I could find "The Piece" I was looking for. Except rarely does one actually ever find the one piece. But along the way, as in many days gone by, I found many other interesting things....Lego pants, light sabers, body-less heads, hats, hair, arms......teeny tiny pieces of toys that are always buried along the edges of the boxes. I wonder why that is? Some derivative of Newton's Laws of Gravity?? Newtonian Laws of Legos....yes, I like the way that sounds....

We did not find Luke. But, I did pick out every Lego Person and body part I had come across, and decided to make them my collective Lego Army. Even after assembling the troops, I continued to search through those boxes. This time to help build a Lego house. Once again, I was greeted by the sound of Legos gently clinking together as I pushed through in search of "skinny" pieces to build the walls.

That sound is so familiar to me - and it was so surprisingly comforting. I can't even begin to tell you how many countless hours my brothers and I spent hovering over the giant Lego box.....searching, building and creating.....fighting over hard to find pieces (like the "waterbed" ones - or the cool Lego people)....making a huge mess and always losing pieces in the process....or following the wordless directions trying to build a cool new kit, before it was lost in the mass, never to be built step by step again.

Even as a young adult, my parents (oh, I mean, ahem. Santa) put mini-kits in our stocking, and I always loved opening it up and building it early Christmas morn'! I still have the last couple, which were a front end loader and a knight and ferocious dragon (the Medieval kits were always a favorite with me). I had them proudly displayed above my monitor in my office. To this day I don't think there is any character more cute than a Lego person. I actually enjoy watching Michael play Lego Star Wars (and hopefully Lego Indiana Jones in the future) on Wii because the little guys are sooo darn adorable!

Its not surprising to me now, when my nephew Austin gets a new set of Legos, to see my brother Kyle rush over to "Help" him build the new set. I know what he's really doing :) Reminiscing. And I can't wait until Liam gets a bit older so we can do the same!

7 months and countin'....

I can always tell when its been a while since I've blogged, and not just by the absence of posts (yes, I realize that's obvious), but rather when Pat tells me its been a while. I find it rather cute. Yes, he lives with me, but I kind of like that he reads the blog anyway :) Makes me feel loved!

The 24th marked Liam's 7th month on earth. Man, he's growing growing growing!!! Now in 12 month old clothing....seems to be losing some of his chub and stretching out a bit.....but I still love zerberting that little belly! His new favorite pastime is sitting up and playing, but he certainly does not enjoy staying stationary - although he doesn't yet know how to crawl/scoot/move, which causes him some inner angst. He tries his hardest though! Writhing about on the floor, moving often into "downward facing dog". He almost knows that he can move about by rolling.....but he hasn't quite connected those dots yet. We really need to baby proof....but probably won't until he's totally mobile.

Liam is also enjoying the nice weather. Josefina takes him to the park daily (weather permitting) and he's getting some sun. Even with SPF 50 his nose and cheeks get a bit rosy. I think he likes playing in the dirt, because Josefina always changes his outfit after they get home. I find that adorable....I can't wait until we get to make mudpies! I'm so excited to have a little boy!

Right now, Pat and I are kid sitting in Indiana......Kristen surprised Mike with a trip to MI for his 40th birthday. They stayed in the RenCen and went to a Tiger's game. Tig's lost, but I'm sure they had a good time. We'll find out sometime soon when they get home. The kids were/are good for us too, which is always nice. We didn't have to knock any sense into anyone :) LOL! Not that we anticipated any issues, they are good kids....but you never know what will happen when the parents aren't around, you know?

Lets see, what else. Oh, we contacted a realtor about putting our house on the market. Haven't made the decision yet though.....we'll have to sell for a little less than we had hoped, but more than what we paid for, so we should be OK. We can't decide where we want to move to though....which is another issue. Just need something bigger. 3 bedrooms. Hopefully a single family home.....but not sure if that's feasible to still stay in the City. *sigh* sometimes I wish I had mad cash and could afford the $750,000 single family homes around us. It would be nice to stay in the area we live now....but that's not going to happen.

I'm feeling pretty good, and getting busy with work, which is also very good......

That's all for now. Now I'm off to hunt for a Lego Luke Skywalker...........wish us luck!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Here's to 50 more :)

Huzzah!!

We had a fabulous night last night!!! We were actually able to keep a surprise from my mom, and presented her with her birthday present, a trip to see Wicked and stay one night in a swanky hotel downtown :) She was pretty impressed, especially since it was all my Dad's idea. He's so cute sometimes. Anywho - the girls all loved it - not sure if I can say the same for the guys......but still a must see in my book. Here's the crew on the way out of the Oriental Theatre:


Then today was a pretty huge day because we got new countertops finally!!! I was kind of nervous that the color I picked wouldn't go well with the floor and the cabinets, but it looks INCREDIBLE!! The people did a great job, and I will be sure to recomend them to all my friends :) We ended up going through Costco, and I'm so glad we did. Great experience! Here's what it looks like (sans faucet - the plumber is on his way to hook up that and the garbage disposal).


The only bad thing is that Pat had something come up for work, so instead of shopping on the Mag Mile with my family I stayed home with the contractors, but worse things could happen.....

Keith and Heidi are on their way over as well tonight, so it will be a full house. Funny story about that - Keith bought tickets to what he thought was the Tigers / White Sox game at Comerica Park - last Saturday. But they were actually for tomorrow, Here, in Chicago. It works out OK because everyone will be here for my Mom's actual 50th birthday, but it looks like its going to be a giant suck fest as far as weather......the forcast is 40 and snowy/rainy. Poop-ola. I was able to snag my company's tickets last minute though - so if nothing else we can hang out in The Stadium Club and stay warm. Hey man, we can't let the tickets go to waste if our customers don't want them!

K - time to go pick up the boy....who, by the way has two front teeth now!!! They are so cute :) I haven't been able to take a pic yet, but trust me when I say they are the cutest teeth you've ever seen. And I'm not at all biased. Here's a couple photos of him anyway....sitting up like a big boy and chillin' in his sweet shades. *sigh* what a doll :)

Liam Update - 6 months 2 weeks

The doctors visit at the end of March went pretty well.....I was concerned more for me than I was for him. It was the first visit with shots....WITHOUT Pat to do the holding :) I held up OK, and he stopped crying pretty quickly. Liam's growing well - but more slowly. He's no longer at the tippy top of the charts in height and weight. His six month stats were:

Weight - 18 pounds 3 oz (75th percentile)
Height - 27 1/2 inches (90th percentile)
Head - 17 1/2 inches (50 - 75th percentile)

He's noticibly stretching out as of late, with less baby chub to fill him out, so he seems pretty skinny :) I suppose that means he's had a growth spurt, at least in the height department. He's growing out of the 9 month clothes we have, and racing into the 12 month old size.

Foods are going well - he's tried carrots, avacado, green beans, sweet peas, butternut squash, sweet potato, oatmeal, rice, pears and apples. I've got bananas, mangos and yellow squash on deck ready to go, but we've gotta wait a couple days in between new introductions. Carrots are pretty fun for him to eat, because it makes him poop orange. Not sure why I find that amusing, but there are stranger things, eh?

The most significant developmental achievement is sitting up! He's getting pretty darn good at it, not so much of a weeble wobble now anymore (although he does still do the occasional face plant). Liam much prefers sitting down and playing as opposed to tummy time. Go figure - he HATES being on his belly. He rocks back and forth too, which is cute...and making his legs stronger! He is really trying to pull himself up to stand, but we don't have much furniture for him to practice, so its just in his crib and changing table.

He also loves to laugh - he cracks up when other people laugh at him, and he likes to bang on things too. OH, and he also knows how to splash in the bathtub now as well - should make for lots of soakin' wet times :) He also laughs out loud and squeals whenever the cats come close by to him....he loves them!!! They come close to check him out, even give him a snuggle or two, but I'm pretty sure they don't love Liam yanking on fur & ears. He's learning though, and so are they. And they seem to have somewhat of an understanding as Liam is learning :)

For the most part, he's sleeping through the night more often than not, and generally has a pretty happy, sweet, smiley disposition. These statements are completely null and void during times of sickness and teething though :)

No more doctor visits (and no more shots! Hooray!) until 9 months....so, until then.....

A new day

I didn't get nauseated from the meds this morning, so that's a good thing. I seem to be a bit more clear headed, which is also nice.

Went to Target with Mom & Liam.....my slippers were shot so I had to buy a new pair.....and $60 worth of other stuff I didn't really need :) Target has a way of doing that to you! Anywho - I bought a new pair of BUNNY SLIPPERS!!! I've never owned a pair, and I must say, they make me smile when I look at them. Really, Target didn't have a whole lot of slipper selection right now (seeing as how we're entering flip flop weather....hopefully soon) so, it was either the bunnies or sock monkeys. And frankly, sock monkeys freak me out. So really, it was fate. I was meant to have bunny slippers. They even have a cute heart shaped nose and a foo foo tail on the back.

Liam appears to be in much better spirits today. He's currently sleeping with Grandma on the couch. They seem to enjoy their afternoon nap together.....there really isn't anything much sweeter than a sleeping baby on your chest (unless of course, its the ONLY place he sleeps....then it can get kind of tiresome). Its nice to see him laughing and playing, and not constantly cranky.

That's about all for now. I should have a fun update after this weekend. Mom is turning the big 5-0 on Saturday :) Dad, Karli & I think Kyle and Austin are coming down tomorrow, Pat comes home tomorrow night, and I even think Keith and Heidi will be here for the day on Saturday.

Interesting times.....

I've been on Meds now for depression for, oh, about three months. Started on zoloft, changed to wellbutrin in the hopes that my sex drive would come back......it did, but so did a whole slew of obsessive/compuslive thoughts, and I was soooo irritable and crabby - and really couldn't focus or concentrate for beans. So, we just switched again to lexapro. I'm crossing my fingers that this works! I just want to be a normal, functioning human being again!!!

Pat has been traveling a ton this past month, and last week without him was HOR-RI-BLE. I was pretty sure that Liam was teething like a mo-fo, and he started to get sick too. Double Whammy. I think I was already PO'd because Pat was gone, then irritable because of the meds, cranky because of all the medical procedures I've had done, and ON TOP of all that, Liam did NOT want to sleep. At all. Until 4AM. Oh, and he was screaming. And he didn't want to let me sit down. Wow - that was incredible. I lost it at around 3AM, just put him in his bed, screamed into a pillow, banged my head against the fridge (gently, but you get the point) and let him cry. Then he started throwing up because he was crying so hard about 30 minutes later....but thankfully I was calmed down enough to take care of him more patiently and lovingly. He feel asleep shortly after.

All I have to say is thank the SWEET LORD for wraps and slings, because if I didn't have those I know I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did!

Anyway, I recovered......but vowed to never EVER ever be alone with him again. EVER. Of course, it was just the emotion of the day after, but I arranged for my mom to come visit while Pat was away on his next trip (he left this morning). I was so happy she was here.

Liam is still sick, so mom and I took him to the doctor today to make sure he didn't have an ear infection or pneumonia or anything horrible. He just slept pretty shit-ily last night, and didn't really want anything to do with his bottle today. Lucky for us, he's A-OK...just a cold, and DEFINITELY some teeth coming in (hooray!) You can even start to see them sprouting now :)

So we leave the doctor and go to the grocery store to pick up some stuff. All the sudden, Liam starts SCREAMING and I see blood in the corners of his mouth. ACK! I flipped out!!! It wasn't gushing mind you, but it wasn't a little bit of blood either. I have no idea what happened. My mom thought a tooth broke through, or maybe he scratched his mouth or something......so we left our full grocery cart in the isle and go to the car, and by time we get him in the car seat the bleeding stopped. I still called the doc, and they're like, well.....if its gushing, take him to the ER, if its not, you can come in after hours in about three hours......We didn't have to go back though - he was his ol' perky happy self shortly thereafter. I still have no idea what happened.....

Definitely freaked me out though. I don't know what I would have done if my mom weren't here......I don't have a whole heck of a lot of confidence in my patience or parenting skills right now.....I know that it will come back eventually as the intensity of these events fade, but I just feel like I can't do much right at the moment!

*sigh* It feels good to get that all out. Well, out to some venue other than my therapist :) actually, I think that's a good sign in of itself. When I'm feeling really down and out, I rarely feel like blogging. So, the fact that I am blogging means I'm feeling better already!

More health news...

I'm really starting to get my health affairs in order, and have officially made appointments with the Dermatologist, Ear Nose and Throat guy, and Allergist. 2 out of 3 are now done, and 2 out of 2 had me experiencing a whole lot more than I expected at an initial visit.

The dermatologist scooped a couple moles off of me - on my belly and on my ear. The one on my ear was pretty darn painful. Not the actual cutting out of the mole, but the injection of the anesthetic. OWIE ZOWIE! I didn't pass out though - the medical assistant was a pretty cool guy and kept me talking through the whole thing.

And, well, you can read about my ENT debacle in the previous post.

So, I'm assuming there won't be any surprises at the Allergist - I've done the testing before, so it will be lots of poking and prodding....but nothing that should make me pass out.

Its good to have it all out of the way. Individually, they aren't big health issues, but it certainly does add up and take a toll.