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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** This is my family updates blog. I'm sorry to say that it's moved to Facebook. If you would like to continue to read about my life, you need to be my Facebook friend.  |
Don't you just hate bad books?  Read is supposed to be so worthwhile and relaxing, and then you just get a bad apple. I just finished two really wormy nasty apples!FREAKONOMICS:
I'm sure you have seen it sitting there on your way to the checkout in the bookstore. It looks interesting and cute. Don't buy it!! Don't do it!! It isn't worth it! Really it's the tone of the book that gets me. These guys act like they know everything and they didn't even do the research for the studies in this book. Their conclusions are supposed to be surprising and new, but I came away feeling like they were only half substantiated. It's a house of cards. I'm used to real nonfiction books, not this dumbed down rubbish. THE HISTORIAN:
Oh, this book is a mess! You can read my review if you want to know how bad it is. I actually wanted to throw this away when I finally finished it. I don't think a book has ever been that bad for me before. LOL If you read them, don't say I didn't warn you! I have been SO sick. I mean morning sickness sick, although those books probably didn't help. I didn't have this much nausea with Jack. It would maybe come every once in a while and stay for an hour. Then I wouldn't see it for a week. And after the 1st trimester, it was completely gone. THIS TIME...on the other hand, it's every day, all day. Ugh. I have gone vegetarian to some degree because meat just makes me want to retch. Ah well...maybe it's because it's a girl this time. |
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| The other night (Tuesday night) we were getting ready for bed when we hear this honking in the parking lot. We live in a relatively small apartment complex. Each building is three stories with only 12 apts in it. Our bldg faces an identical one and in between is a small parking lot where we have assigned parking spaces. There are visitor spaces on the sides. So here it is 10:30 pm and one of our neighbors (he's pretty new to the bldg) is sitting in his truck, parked behind a car (a visitor) that had unknowingly or uncaringly parked in his assigned spot. He honks four or five times...waits...honks again...waits. This goes on for ten minutes. Then he starts walking around his truck and the other car, obviously waiting for someone to come out. Who would go out there to be confronted? Then he goes back to honking. I'm thinking, why would you make such a big deal about it? I mean, sure I get kinda mad when someone parks in my spot especially when I have to haul up Jack, his carseat, and all his baby stuff. But I don't flip out or anything. It was like 20 degrees out there. Why would you want to stay out there and waste your time and energy being mad about something like that?? So how does it end? Well, one of the other neighbors comes out and asks him what he's doing. Hehehe... he says, "Someone parked in my spot!" Like this is something hasn't happened to all of us and he is somehow particularly slighted. The other guy just tells him he's making a lot of noise and he should just park in a visitor spot until that person moves. And even though Chris and I were secretly hoping for something more climatic, he drives away and parks somewhere else. Of course, as soon as he does, the people who were parked in his spot (a bunch of college kids it looked like) ran out and moved their car. LOL Chris says the offenders were probably our new upstairs neighbors. THEY ARE SO LOUD!!! I mean, we have been in the same place for three years at least, and people have moved in and out. These are the loudest upstairs neighbors we have ever had. It's like they own a herd of elephants or they're always moving furniture. They shake our roof so bad our lights go on and off. Come on - that's bad!! We stopped turning them on because I started feeling a little unhinged when they flickered all the time. Hehehe...it was like living with a poltergeist. Chris says Maryland is filled with freaks. Hehehe...well, probably not any more than anywhere else, but boy they have their own special rude crazy version of freak here. A lot of people left really lovely messages on my last entry and I'm feeling less shell-shocked in general about the big news. CHUBS for all!! |
I seriously thought something was wrong with me. I was looking up all of my symptoms on WebMD - dizziness, nausea, excessively tired, unmotivated, fuzzy headed. I thought I had a tumor lodged just under my brain leeching all of the blood from my nerve center...or some slow-bleeding fissure in my intestines...or perhaps everything was finally getting to me and I was coming down with a bad case of "major depression." Or perhaps it was a combination of the three!!  It didn't hit me until last Friday...I was leaving work and I grab my briefcase and go to say goodbye to one of my colleagues. "Hey, John, I got your email...blah blah blah...have a good weekend." Halfway down the hall I realize I don't have my keys. So I go back to my desk, pick them up...oh hey! I didn't lock up my desk. I do that and walk back out. "Really, losing my mind" I tell my boss. This time I get all the way down the stairs to the front door and realize...shit, I forgot the baby's milk. I glumly go back to the elevators, back to the fifth floor, and back to my desk where my little milk cooler is sitting right there next to where my keys were. *sigh* At this point my boss who sits next to me whips around and says..."My god Becky are you pregnant?!?!" "NO!!" I immediately say. Um...but that would surely explain a lot, huh? So how silly of me. Just because you are breastfeeding your eight-month-old and just because you haven't seen one single sign of a menstrual cycle and even if you are taking birth control pills, you may not actually be dying (YES!)...you could simply be pregnant. I'm here to say...it happened to me!! And it could happen to you...if you are as freakishly fertile as we are. It's a miracle!! Perhaps. I mean, what makes a miracle? Is that something that is so rare that it is thought to be impossible? Is that something you pray for really hard everyday and finally is granted to you? Well, I can tell you it's not a miracle from the standards of the latter. We didn't want a baby this soon. Guess what we're doing in nine months? Hehehe...oh yeah, getting out of the Navy and moving across the country! Wow, let's make that as hard as possible! No, that's not a miracle. Maybe the first possibility...not sure how impossible it is... So yeah, at first I was mad. This isn't like the first time when I was lazy and didn't get a refill on the pills. I was doing it right! But I should have known. Those silly pills they give you when you are breastfeeding have to be taken at the same time everyday. What kind of BS is that?!?! I mean, I tried doing that but I can't say I got it at the exact same time every single day. Maybe it really does mean down to the minute. Whatever!! But now I'm getting used to the idea. Chris says we can get through anything...and at least I'm not dying! So booyah! I literally found out for sure today and they don't even know how far along I am because they have no menstrual cycle to date it by. I have to make a whole nuther appt to get them to do a separate test for that. *sigh* So yeah, don't ask me yet when it's due - some time between July and September. So back to the baby that is already here. Jack is moving around good, and Chris being the safety officer has now equipped the apartment with safety gates and other doodads. He is even doing some table foods, and we haven't had any weird allergic reactions since the Cheerios. And really we have retried those with no incident. Go figure!! His excema has improved greatly because of the ointments we have. It's just so cool to see him get bigger. I really need to post some new pictures. |
| It's been hard to get back into the swing of things. I have been pretty unmotivated lately. I can't believe it but this is my first full week back at work since...before Orlando I think. That's pretty scary! I've been unmotivated to do anything. I'm just now getting to laundry that's been sitting around since we got back from Seattle. Tonight is my writing night. Monday nights I decided I was going to sit in my bedroom and just write, read, not watch tv or play video games. I hope this resolution lasts...and maybe extends to other nights. I forget how relaxing writing can be, and I have been pretty stressed lately. The whole job search thing has been stressful and I have barely started yet. Jack's daycare drove me crazy last week. They were all upset that on Tuesday he had an allergic reaction to Cheerios of all things. His eczema got worse because of it and he kept scratching and bleeding. We saw the dr. again on Fri and they gave us more ointments. I was pessimistic, but these actually worked! His face looks completely normal now. We also found a soy formula that he can digest, so that's good news too in case I completely dry up. Other than that Jack has been doing well. He's crawling everywhere and cruising. He will be walking really soon. He already tries to step away from the couch, but doesn't quite have enough balance yet. I have a little video of him working at it. The crawling he has been working at for a while, but the cruising has been a development in the last week. This Friday he will be 8 months. I am writing on my(our) new MacBook Pro. Yea!! It is so awesome! I used to have an iBook back in the day and it died a couple years ago. I have been hinting to Chris how awesome a new Mac laptop would be. Well, last night he crunched the numbers and decided we could afford it.  This one is much better than my last one with the widescreen and DVD player and all. Chris is funny once he decides we should get something. He decides he wants immediately. So last night it's like 4pm, snowing, dinner cooking, and all, and he says we should go get it in. Hehehe...I was like, I think we can wait a day. And we did...just barely! So now I got my writing laptop and all my docs on my new jump drive I got for Christmas. It's a pretty good setup.  |
| It smells like evergreens here...of course. Today all the firs were dusted with snow. It was quite pretty, although I saw on the Seattle local news that traffic was at a standstill due to the snow. We didn't have that problem, but we were without power last night. Yesterday fierce winds knocked out power on Whidbey Island (they're power lines are still above ground). It was a cold night. We had Jack in our bed last night to keep us all warm. It was funny because I didn't realize how much he tossed and turned...and snored. LOL Chris's grandma was quite happy to see us on Sunday. She seemed weak, but not cowed by the chemotherapy. She actually ate more than I have ever seen her eat...since I met her two years ago. They have her taking medicine to increase her appetite. I hope she makes it through because she is so fun and feisty. The rest of the time has been spent with Chris's dad and step-mom and half-brother on the Island. Tomorrow we head back into the city (hoping the roads are better) to visit with his other brothers and hopefully some other friends. I tried to get in touch with my aunt and uncle but no luck yet. I have had a hard time relaxing on this trip. I'm not sure why except maybe because it was so sudden. I'm feeling a little nervous about moving here also. Just so much to do before August. Then there are the dogs...Chris's folks have a lot of dogs too - like four of them. That's a lot of dogs for me. I didn't grow up around dogs, so I have never been comfortable around them. I would like to have a dog one day, but it's like one of those pipe dreams of mine. I don't know what that would actually entail. Maybe we'll have time to drive around and look at some houses before we leave Saturday. Just to see what's out there. The prices aren't as crazy as in Maryland...except maybe in Redmond. We were also thinking of looking at getting a lot and one of those manufactured houses. We were looking at some of those today and they were really impressive. I mean, they looked like real houses. I'm sleepy and it's only a quarter to eight. Perhaps I just never adjusted to the time change and that's what my body is all upset about. The next time I write, I'll probably be back in Maryland. |
When it rains, it pours with Jack. We have been doing so good keeping his face lotioned. The whole time we were on vacation, we were keeping his face pretty well oiled. And then Tuesday night he scratched his face all to hell. I mean, it looked bad. Chris came to me at nine last night and said, "I think we need to get Jack up and clean him off." I was like, "ooo-kay?" And then he brought him out... Jack looked like some vampire baby who had just cut his first teeth on someone's neck. Blood all over his face and down his pajamas and all over the sheets. It wasn't as bad as it looked...thank god! But seriously... So we cleaned him up and put some neosporin on where he had broken his skin. I cut his nails...I swear! But since that's not working I decided to file them as well. Of course, daycare flipped out and made me get an appt with the doctor to get more antibacterial ointment (they lost the last stuff I gave them). Now I'm glad we got him an appt tomorrow morning because tonight we tried to give him formula. He gagged, barfed, and broke out in hives almost immediately. He was a little tomato with puffy lips. I felt so bad for him. So tonight we gave him Benadryl and breast milk and he was out pretty quickly. (No time to scratch his face up tonight.) Sometimes I feel bad for my blog. It has to hear all my baby puke stories. New Years was pretty uneventful. We went over to our OCS friend Sterling's house. His son Alister is a month younger than Jack...and boy is he a bouncer. I mean, all he wanted to do is stand on someone's lap and jump. He must have done that for the better part of three hours. LOL Jack was on his best behavior, being quiet and looking around. They were like, he's so sweet and nice. Hehehe...he was showing off, I think.  I mean, he's sweet but he does a good bit of squirming around and screaming too. |
| My mom and brother have been in town for the last week, and it's been such a good time to have them here. Christmas was nice and easy-going. We didn't go anywhere. My mom helped me make the turkey, and it turned out really well. It was the first time I tried to make a turkey for myself. I feel my culinary talent growing slowly but surely. In fact, today I used the bones to make real soup broth. The first time I have used homemade broth for soup instead of the canned stuff. It also turned out very good. We have been playing a lot of card games and board games. We have a lot of WoW trading cards now because we ordered a box. Chris and I can pretty much create a deck for any kind of character we want. We were thinking of entering the tournament that is in a couple of weeks, but we will be going out of town. (We are going to Seattle because Chris's grandma has been diagnosed with cancer that is expected to be terminal. Since she hasn't met Jack, we felt that it was important to go soon.) Jack is crawling now. Well, he's doing a wobbly crawl, but he can get from A to B if he wants to. It's pretty impressive how just within a week he has improved these skills. We had to put his crib mattress down a little bit too because he's starting to pull up on things (mostly me). Tonight we watched the latest Netflix offerring - Little Miss Sunshine. It was pretty enjoyable. It was about a little girl in a beauty pagent who is obviously not the beauty pagent type. My mom and I were discussing how it was like that time we both answered an open call for runway models. Hehehe...it was kind of joke. While we were waiting to walk the runway for the casting folks they showed us footage of all these models walking the runway and we were joking the whole time about how they looked like Holocaust victims. It was funny because there were so many other people who were so serious about it. Sometimes you have to do those things to prove to yourself what you aren't. I'm glad I'm not a model or an actress or even a real writer. I like the substantial reality of my regular job. I like going and being tasked and finishing things and getting paid. It's a good deal. I like coming home and not having to worry about whether I am going to MAKE IT. I just chill our and play games and have fun with the baby. Maybe in ten years I'll be ready to own my own comic book/gaming store where nerds can come play Magic. And maybe in another ten years I'll be ready to really get serious about writing. I mean, I do it. I write poetry and I work on my novels. But I am not in a place where I can suspend reality long enough to believe in the possibility of other people reading them. Maybe I'm just not ready for that kind of scrutiny. Or maybe it's like walking the runway - it's all a big joke. It's all fun and games unless there's a real paycheck involved. I know that may sound depressing to some people, but I'm not depressed about it. I would rather live life than worry about living life. |
| I'm in full-blown Nutcracker mode! I got my iTunes pumping out the familiar Christmas melodies. Oh it's a wonderful time of year! Just yesterday, we bid goodbye to the darkness - the denisen of passion and mystery, secrets and sleep. The rebirth of light just makes my heart happy. Hello to the new sun! And to the other Son as well! And to everlasting oil! Chubs for everyone! The Agency put a Christmas tree up in front of the Building, and hired a band to play Christmas carols during lunchtime in the cafeterias. Everyone has been in a jolly mood. And nothing is more telling a denizen of the Holidays then laziness. Laziness in the best sense of the word. The kind of laziness that happens when half of the workforce goes on leave and the other half holding the fort has pig-ins and potlucks. Everyone gorges themselves on cookies and cocktail meatballs and other potluck fare. It's lovely! I find myself not just in the Christmas spirit, but in a good mood. Those are not the same thing, as many people are stressed out by the holidays. To me that's crazy. I am done with shopping for presents. The home has long been decorated. I'm genuinely looking forward to the next couple of days. Of course, tomorrow and Sunday I have to do some cleaning and cooking, but I genuinely enjoy doing those sort of things so I do not feel stressed out or anything by it. I am looking forward to eating good food and having a straightened house. I feel bad for the people who do not find the magic in these wonderful events! Not just Christmas but all those other holidays. If you celebrate because you feel obligated to, that's just no fun. And it amazes me how many people do those sort of things, the poor things! Chubs to them too. Maybe one day they'll loosen up and appreciate even the kitschiest singing Santa. And if not, then I hope they receive Chia pet presents every year. Hehehe... Happy Holidays internetland! |
| When I was at the Holiday Party for the Wardroom I was sitting at a table where everyone else's wives were housewives. I was taken aback. I didn't realize this was still so prevalent. Maybe that's why I relish talking with the other working Mom's that use the Nursing Mother's Room at work. I do not think I would be a good stay-at-home Mom. I wouldn't say I was depressed while I was on maternity leave...just deprived of chances to get out of the house, chances to have adult conversations, chances to be productive. I guess reproduction is productive in a way. Hehehe... But that's not what I mean. Chris says he would like to be a stay-at-home Dad, so maybe that's the daycare solution once we get to where we can survive on a one-person income. That's the other thing - I grew up in a two-income family, and I just assume that's the way people live. But I suppose that's not the case sometimes. We are both looking forward to taking time off next week. Even though we just came back from leave, that was a very energetic vacation. Disney World is like Las Vegas was last year - after a few days, you just have to get away. Last year I was sitting in the airport praying that someone would just unplug all the slot machines because the ding-ding-ding noise was starting to get to me. By the time I left Orlando I was pretty much done with Mickey ears for quite a few years. Phew! Going back to the Christmas party which was a couple weeks ago... I guess the CO had all sorts of things he didn't like about the party because I got a list of the things that needed to be changed for next year. I heard the BOG meeting with him while I was gone didn't go well, and we are not getting all his needs met or something. He acts like a king who thinks he can turn off gravity. Sometimes your demands are impossible. Hehehe... I find it kind of amusing. He can't really squeeze much more out of me. I'm not on the BOG to kiss ass since I'm getting out of the Navy. I just want to have fun. Booyah! CHUBS to that! |
| So there's not many better places to be in the middle of December on your birthday than Orlando...which was where I was on the 12th when I turned 27. Ah...upper 20s, that's a little scary. It was absolutely lovely down South! 80-degree weather and nice and clear...for the most part. We went swimming everyday. I miss swimming. I think Jack enjoyed himself...as much as a baby can in a place like that. Here's a recap: Sunday - flew in, spent evening at Epcot and dined at German restaurant. We even got to stay see the fireworks, which Jack tolerated well considering he probably thought the sky was exploding. Monday - half of the Magic Kingdom. Got there later than expected and Jack wasn't up for riding too many rides, but still enjoyed looking around. Afternoon swimming. Evening Epcot again. Ate at Mexican restaurant which had one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. Tuesday - took a break from Disney and went to Sea World which was excellent!! I was really impressed. Jack watched the animals curiously. The Dolphin show was great, but Shamu was a bit anti-climatic. Ate at Bahama Breeze which was right next to our hotel. Wednesday - second half of Magic Kingdom. Got there early and Jack enjoyed riding all of the rides he could go on. We pretty much dominated Fantasyland. A little rainy, but cleared up by the afternoon so we could go swimming again. Last night spent at Epcot again where we ate at the Norway Banquet Hall. Norweigen food was different but pretty good. Chris is still there for a conference...which is why we decided to go in the first place - the government was paying for him to fly and getting us the good-rate at the hotel. It was a little hard coming back by myself with Jack on Thursday. In fact, everything is harder when Chris isn't here. I can't wait for him to come back tomorrow!! Oddly enough, I thought I saw an old boyfriend of mine at Magic Kingdom. I practically ran into this guy. Looked just like him but I couldn't be 100% sure. Not sure what the hell he would be doing there. I was horrified that it might be him though. Isn't that weird? Why should I care? Maybe it's just that I am not who I was then....or maybe life isn't what it was then. Nor do I want it to be. There's no space in the now for the past...except in stories and poems. I'm pretty sure it wasn't him anyway. |
| I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging again, but it hasn't been easy. So many distractions, plus our internet has been iffy since the cold weather hit. Comcast is being really rubbish right now. When we move next year, Chris wants to get fiber optic cable installed in our new house. This weekend is going much better than last weekend. Last weekend Jack passed a stomach bug onto us. What only set him back for an evening laid us up for days. Sunday was the worst because both Chris and I were throwing up and sick. We were dehydrated and weak and feverish....and we had to take care of a happy, healthy baby who wanted to squirm and play and move. The double-parent sick is not a good time. Fortunately, Monday we could bring him to daycare and sleep all day. I recovered quickly after that, but Chris was still feeling yucky up to Wednesday. It's interesting that a bug that was only mild in Jack could give us such problems. My theory is that we aren't getting as much sleep as Jack (14 hrs a day) and may be under more stress, and therefore aren't as able to recover as quickly from those illnesses. That's my hunch. Last night we went to the Wardroom Holiday Party which went much better than the Halloween Party - better turn-out, better venue, better food, etc. I had fun seeing everyone outside of uniform and in a festive mood. We found out one of our friends is headings to SERS school tomorrow. This is the survival training you have to take if you are going to be flying Navy planes. After a couple weeks of classroom training, there's a week where the instructors strand you in the woods with a partner and then mimic a capture/torture scenario where you actually get beaten up a little bit. Our friend is going to SERS school in Maine. It's 29 degreed here in MD, so I can imagine it's going to be quite frigid the week he'll be out in the wilderness. Brrr... I used to what to fly myself because cryptologists on spy planes sounds like awesome mission...and it is. But I've gotten older and gotten a family. Tomorrow we fly for Orlando where it's a balmy 75 according to weather.com. I can't wait!! We got our Disney tickets, and we're all ready to show Jack the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to blog any more within the next week, but when we get back I imagine it will be pretty chill. We're just hanging around the house for Christmas and with everyone else gone it should be quiet at work. I found out my Mom and my brother might come up here to visit, but that's still pretty low-key. Plenty of time to sit around with cocoa and catch up on all my favorite blogs. *Christmas chubs* |
| Wow...I almost forgot this place was here. I have been really busy...and really lazy at the same time. I haven't even checked my email here since the 17th. Hehehe... Oh wait! I remember what happened. I got really sick around that time. I had this crazy headache/nausea combo which was absolutely awful. I almost thought I was pregnant again, but I double-checked - that's not it. I have been getting weird vertigo too when I look down a flight of stairs or something. It's crazy. But it went away right before Thanksgiving so never did figure out what it was. We went down to Atlanta to see the Fam. Jack actually tolerated the drive pretty well. On the way back he was much more savvy and not as willing to put up with the 12-hr drive, but we made it back to the Crab Cake State on Sunday without running into too much major traffic. With 15 folks at my Mom's house and all major game players we had a great time! I learned some new games, my favorite being the Mexican Train Game. Chris and I brought our new Wii system. That's right, folks! We didn't have enough video games.  Chris stood in line at Target on the 19th to get the new Nintendo. The Wii Sports is pretty awesome. I particularly love the golf game. You have to swing the controller like a real golf club, so you never know - I may be good at actual golf. But anyway, everyone enjoyed the interactivity of the games on the Wii. Even Grandpa was up for quite a few games of Wii Bowling. Jack is sitting up on his own now. He mastered that right before our trip. Now he is working on a vital skill for babies - crawling. He has a bit of a scoot right now, but isn't as fast as the cats yet - a source of major frustration for him. LOL Yesterday was his 6-mos well-baby, and he weighed in at 17.1 lbs, 28.5 in. He's getting taller and skinnier. |
| Trish is my new friend. I hope she is at least. When I am around her, I feel weird. I feel so uncool. It's very much like, "Please be my friend. Please." I don't know, she's just so fun. I hope we get to hang out more. I'm such a dork. Her son is a month older than Jack, so that's cool too. Hehehe...it's like being in middle school again. My mom came this weekend. It was a good time even though we didn't really do much. Jack was teething this weekend, so he was sleeping kinda crummy Fri and Sat night. He wasn't really his usualy perky self for his grandma, but they had fun regardless. Now he is feeling much better it seems. He slept really well last night, and he's eating more today. Today we had a uniform inspection, which SUCKED! It took an hour and a half! And the room was so hot. It was right before they got to the officers that I felt really faint, so I stepped out. The Corpsman said that my blood pressure was 85 over 50, which is pretty low. I didn't feel right until after lunch when I took a walk over to another building. The fresh air and exercise got my blood flowing and my brain working again. There must be a better way to do these inspections. It's not like they look very hard at the officers anyway. I was able to step back in and the XO came by and just said, "good job." Hehehe...I was like, gee thanks! I got the book "What Color Is Your Parachute" because I want to learn about myself and if and how to make a career change. So far so good. I can't say I have learned much new stuff yet. The writing style is very corny too. "You are a flower and you have to find the right place for your flower to thrive." PUH-LEEZE!! Actually, the author wrote "puh-leeze" in there which I thought was pretty bad. Quoting a Full House character - puh-leeze!!  But if you can get around all that, the exercises are pretty cool. |
| It seems like things are either really slow or really busy. There's never a day when there's the perfect amount of work. LOL Yesterday was one of those slow days. Today was a busy day. On slow days I really wish I had unclassified computer that I can actually get stuff done while my operational job is quiet. But alas, not the case. Even though I have been doing this job for three years now, I still find it frustrating I can't bring my iPod or cell phone in to work. Arg! I just could be such an awesome multitasker if only... Today the afternoon was taken up with a retirement ceremony. I had to be a part of the flag detail. I love the flag passing ceremony, but I was rather ambivalent about the rest of the ceremony. The congratulatory speeches were rather confusing to me. The honoree was someone who I didn't know well, and who I didn't have a very high opinion of. Apparently, he was a great guy and was awesome to work with and work for. I didn't see any of that. My experience was that he was formal, stiff, and (the worst) patronizing. People who are patronizing are probably my least favorite kind of people to talk to. I hated being talked to as a child when I was a child. Now that I'm an adult I pretty much will ignore anyone who acts like I have only half a brain. And they'll be on my shit-list until they recognize that I'm at least intelligent enough to get myself dressed and count my fingers and toes. Chris and I are pretty tired. Jack had a little bug this week with a fever and everything. Chris took Tuesday off, and I took Wednesday off. He's perfectly fine now, but because it messed his sleeping up, it messed our sleeping up. And you know how it is - you can't really catch up with sleep until the weekend. *sigh* He's SO CLOSE to sitting on his own. That will be great!! Right now he wants to be upright so he can play with his toys sitting up, so that pretty much means we have to prop him up or steady him ourselves. It will be nice when he can do it on his own. SO CLOSE!! It will make baths easier too. A couple weeks ago he outgrew his baby bathtub, so we have been climbing in to the tub with him since he can't sit on his own. He loves being in the big bath tub with more water to splash around in. He's going to be a swimmer I swear!! Excited because my Mom's coming into town this weekend, and we'll get to have a short visit with her. She hasn't seen Jack since he was a week old, so I can't wait for her to meet him now. Here is Jack in his Tigger costume for Halloween: Invalid Photo #1005815 Invalid Photo #1005816 |
| I suppose blogging once a week is better than not blogging at all. I am beginning to wonder if I'll ever go back to those days in high school when I could sit down and write for hours...where nothing made me happier than a blank notebook. Alas, now distractions abound! Many many things seem to provide the same fulfillment as writing...although I must say...with writing I do feel like I am more productive. This week I did do a bit of writing at work because it was extraordinarily slow at my desk. Things have been going right...or they're being worked but I'm waiting to hear back from someone. Ya know, that sort of thing. 75% of my job is fixing problems so when things are working, I have time to read magazines. The Navy hasn't let up though. Of course, now that the Halloween party is over plans are underway for the Holiday party. This time it's easier, though, because I have lots of help. Yay! On top of that though I have gotten stuck with being the khaki representative for Saturday Scholars. This is a great program for tutoring local kids, but I just have too much. The LT in charge went to Cuba to be some cell block officer at GITMO. Now I'm hoping to hand it over to someone else, but we'll see. It's just a lot of paperwork because the group is in the process of getting recognized by the command as a Navy-sponsored function. Jack is eating all sorts of foods now....apparently. We didn't start him on anything but the rice cereal, but day care said that they started giving him fruit and veggies this week because he saw the other babies eating it and he looked like he wanted some. He's eating fine, so I suppose that's okay...although they did say that they wouldn't start him on foods until we had tried them at home first. Hmm...oh well...I guess we need to go out and buy more baby food. We took him to get pictures taken last night. A family portrait, baby in overalls, baby in his Tigger costume. So I'm looking forward to getting copies of those and disseminating them. Sunday we are going to the Zoo Boo with a number of other nursing moms that I know from work. We decided to do that since trick-or-treating is rather ridiculous with babies, but getting them dressed up in costumes is still fun...for us at least. |
| This weekend has been as crazy as the rest of this month has been, but hopefully, the world will start spinning a little slower now. I pulled off the first event after being elected to Events Coordinator. The Halloween party was tonight, and I feel like it went well. The turn-out was just enough to make it fun without being crazy huge. The pumpkin chucking was hilarious to watch! Everyone said I looked good as a hippy. Hehehe...mostly because I am kind of a hippy. And sure enough, my whole costume was made up of stuff I had lying around. Phew....all that work though...and now it's done. I got home and poured myself a stiff rum and coke to wash away the crazy. The other half of this weekend has been with my grandparents who are visiting. They came all the way from California, and have been making stops along the East Coast. Most of the other cities have included American Revolution history stops. Maybe we should have taken them to Fort McHenry today which was where the Star Spangled Banner was written. But we didn't. No, we decided instead to see the Flugtag, sponsored by Red Bull. If you have never heard of it, it is a sporting event/competition. Five man teams build flying contraptions and go running off a flight deck to see how far the crafts go. So they did this today in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Most of the crafts didn't go too far. A couple got stuck on the runway. Hehehe... It was pretty crazy and hilarious to watch. It was a mix between the XGames and Jackass. So busy weekend so far, but I don't feel like I have hit that wall yet. The Run and Coke is doing wonders for my mood. Plus my Schatzi brought a piece of cheesecake home from the Cheesecake Factory for me. Mmmm...oreo cheesecake. Yum! |
Sorry Mr. Blog, but I just haven't felt like visiting you lately.  Haven't really felt like checking my email either, so I was surprised when intuey  dropped this off in my inbox. Look how spooky it is:** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hehehe...that gives me chills!! Actually "Piglet" looks a little French to me when I look at this sig. Like maybe we should all say "Peeg-lay." Ooh, je sui tres chic. Hmmm...chic was the only French adjective that I could think of. Hehehe...much better at Spanish. Actually, according to the French-English dictionary, pig in French is cochon...which makes me a cochonette. This is almost exactly like cancho/chanchita (Spanish). Not so much like porco/porquita (Portuguese). But even the Portuguse sounds much better than the German word for piglet which is das Ferkel. Ha ha ha!! And the Swahili word is just hard to say - nguruwe. There's more fun words than that in Swahili. Well, folks that's all the languages I have ever studied. I did a Goodle search on "cochonette" and it looks like it is also a Belgian beer as well as a "wooden device" used to see who goes first in petanque (bocce ball in America). Huh? So there you have it folks! Love that they finally added WritingML fonts. Coolness! |
| Up until this Wednesday I thought that October was just going to roll me over, but by the middle of this week things actually started to slow down to a manageable pace. Phew! I actually got stuff done. I started to get my groove back. It's just been awesome the last couple of days to finally finish off those things that have been hanging over my head menacingly. The Halloween party has pretty much come together for one. Thank god that will be over in a week or so! I think I want to dress up as a cat...like the Cheshire cat. Hmm...or maybe a eighties punk rocker. That would be fun. I got Jack a Tigger costume, mostly for my own personal enjoyment in getting pictures of him taken. Me and a couple of the other Moms that I pump with at work are going to take our babies to the Halloween festival at the zoo, so that should fun. I know it may sound weird to people who don't have babies to make friends with people you pump milk with at work. Hehehe... But it's like a club that you can retreat to during the day and you don't have to talk about work, just about how cute the babies are and comparing notes. Another good photo op will be his first tooth. It is coming in, nice and sharp. Jack is taking it in stride pretty much, which is a blessing. He's also getting the hang of the baby rice cereal. I think he still gets a little impatient with the spoon. It's like he wants the constant drip of the bottle. But at least he knows what to do with the food, and he doesn't just push it back out. So...what else is new? Um...our Xbox 360 broke. This is the third one we have had to send back to Microsoft to be replaced. It's something different each time too. Chris says it's because the production process is still new. They're replacing it for free, so I can't complain too much. Wow, so now that I have gotten my life back in order, I guess I should start writing some stuff again. I kinda got side-tracked, but there's plenty of stories to finish. |
| Sometimes when sucking your thumb is not enough, you got to suck your big toe. Jack knows this now that he can put his toes in his mouth. I don't think I have stared at my feet in a while. I didn't know they were that interesting. And...let me see...well, they aren't really...but babies can stare at their own toes for a whole thirty minutes and be perfectly entertained. I'm entertained watching him entertaining himself. Here's Jack grabbing his toes: Invalid Photo #1005507 |
| Sometimes I like to imagine what life would be like if I lived in different centuries. What I would be doing, what kind of house I would live in. Usually it's more fun to imagine what Chris would be doing since guys were allowed (or had the opportunity) to do more stuff in past eras. I like to think that I would have been one of those women who did what she wanted no matter what the social mores, but who could know that. Who knows if I am what I am because the most recent feminism-inspired socializing of girls. In the Middle Ages a woman had to be rich and a nun to be educated. If Chris and I lived back then, he would most likely be a knight of some sort. A lesser knight with maybe a modest estate. He would be a "sir" and I would be...something...what are the wives of knights called? Ladies? I think so. Lady Rebecca. If you went solely by my occupation, I would be a knight as well, but ladies weren't knights. It's funny to think of all the customs and courtesies that our Navy has have come from that history. Calling officers "sir/ma'am." Saluting seniors. That sort of thing - all a product of ancient social class. It's weird being called ma'am by the sailors. Three years and I'm still only kinda used to it. Last night was the Navy Day Ball to commemorate the Navy's birthday. Chris and I didn't go. I went last year, so I don't feel like I missed anything. It's very formal - parade the official party, toasts with glasses of port, that sort of thing. I hate to sound dismissive, but I've been a bit Navy'd out lately. Friday I actually got to do my operational job and catch up on all of that. It was a nice break from the onslaught of all things Navy. When I first graduated from OCS, I was all into that military stuff. I thought it was cool, and felt honored to be a part of it. That feeling has faded a bit. I wonder if it would have been different had I spent the last three years actually on a ship doing Navy stuff 24/7. But I haven't. I spent a year waiting for a clearance, three months on a ship, and the rest of the time working a civilian job in a uniform. Go figure! |
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But I am happy about those Cardinals! The same Cardinals that I'd written off as possibly the worst playoff contestant in history just three weeks ago. Now look at 'em! I'll be pulling for them in the Big Game!
Stupid Ravens.
