The month of March was a real treat for our household. I was so ready for it to be over! So far April has been hard emotionally, but not financially like March. Just prior to Mark coming home for the remainder of March, the house and life seemed to fall apart around here.
The first thing was the dog. Whiskey just wasn't acting right. I couldn't put my finger on it, he just wasn't right. So, I took him to the vet while Mark was gone. (He's Mark's dog for the record. Which means that if anything happens to him, Mark falls apart.) The vet did blood work etc. and found that his liver was not working properly. So, we put him on medicine, changed his food, cut out all snacks and added more exercise. He seems to be feeling better. He goes back for more bloodwork next month to see if the medicine needs to be adjusted or changed to bring the liver panel back towards the normal range. It was a very tense time waiting to find out what was wrong because I decided not to tell Mark until I knew the test results. I figured Mark had work to deal with, there was nothing he could do and he would just worry about something he could not fix. It was really tough not telling him because I tell him everything and this is his dog afterall. I told him the day before he came home because I finally had the test results back. I felt so much better after that, but he was a little mad at me for holding out on him. He's over it now, but I was warned not to do that again.
Ian chose the month of March to finally cut his two top teeth. He spent most of the month drooling, chewing on everything and cranky. When did they come thru: The day before Easter! But, it make the month of March really fun dealing with the buckets of drool and crankiness!
Meanwhile, a piece of the ceiling in our living room started coming down! I walked out of our bedroom one morning and found drywall pieces on the floor. I looked up and realized that we had a big, big leak around our fireplace. With the help of my parents, I pulled a piece of drywall down to make sure that the water was not getting to the light fixture nearby. I decided this too was not worth letting Mark worry about because he couldn't fix it from Florida. As soon as he got home, we got a roofer to fix the leak. But, we still need to fix the ceiling! I am sure that is going to be a major event too!
In addition to that problem, the roofer informs us that the shingles on our house are a faulty product. So, we have to send a sample to the manufacturer to see if they will help with the cost of replacement of the ENTIRE roof. Yep, you heard me, the entire roof needs to be replaced less than 10 years after it was shingled. Bill for that adventure: $7500!
Meanwhile, I moved the fridge to clean under it and found that we had a leak there too! Apparently, the water supply line to the dispenser was leaking in the wall. After discussing this one with Mark, I called the plumber and let him fix that problem.
Next on the list, everything started breaking. During the month of March, I replaced the following items in our house:
Clock/Radio in Ian's room
Diaper Genie (Diaper pail to hold the stinky diapers for those that don't know.)
Toaster
Ian's bottle warmer
I haven't replace the microwave yet, but it's giving me fits too! I am sure it's the next appliance purchase for our household.
Then comes the washer and dryer.... We had a washer that had been given to us 12 years ago and it was quickly giving up the ghost. It was having problems spinning all the water out. It was making funny noises and it couldn't stay balanced during even the lightest loads. So, we bought a new washer and dryer which of course didn't fit in the laundry room. We had to make some minor adjustments to make it all work, but the new set is a dream to use. I feel like I am running a NASA sub-station just to do a load of laundry because there are so many lights and settings!
Next up: the passenger car window in my car. I left the house on a rare warm Spring day in OH and rolled the windows down. Well, the one window wouldn't roll back up! We can't have this in OH in March. So, off to the dealership it went for a new regulator. And, Mark begs me not to touch anything else, especially his truck!
Finally, when we switched to Daylight Savings Time, our satellite received did not. After repeated calls to DirecTV, we were moved up to their higher level tech support team. They sent us a refurbished receiver which was no better than the one we had. This really made me angry! I paid for a new one just a few months ago. It's not my fault their equipment can't download the proper software. So, why should I have to settle for a refurbished unit if I paid for a new one! So, after more calls, we finally got the old one working and sent back their refurbished piece of junk. But, in the process of downloading the software, we blew our phone line transmitter. Yep, had to replace that too!
In a pre-emptive strike with the Easter holiday coming up, we decided to have our septic tank pumped out. The toilets weren't quite flushing correctly so we decided to act before we had to pay the holiday weekend premium for someone to work on it. This means digging a hole about 3 feet square in our FRONT yard though. So much for hunting Easter eggs there!
On a really funny note: We should have taken notes during March and not purchased any other products. But, we didn't learn our lesson. We decide to purchase a new safe to keep valuable documents in, etc. We lug the very heavy box home. Use a cart to wheel it to where we want it in the house, and we open the box to discover that all the documents, key and combination are locked up INSIDE the safe. By this point, I am laughing hysterically and Mark is worrying about committing me. What else can you do but laugh? Life just kept throwing us lemons in March and we made so much lemonade our tongues were sore from drinking it all. Laughing was better than crying at that point!
I'm so glad it's April.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Peas and Potatoes
Peas and potatoes,
potatoes and peas,
are not for me.
So, says Ian! (Forgive me for the bad poetry, if you can even call it that!)
Overall, Ian is a really good eater. He doesn't eat a lot at any one time, but he seems to like everything I give him. Except for peas and potatoes. I asked the Dr. yesterday at his 9 month check if the peas were a huge issue since he eats everthing else. He suggested other ways to get him to eat them. I have tried everything he suggested and some other ways with absolutely no success. I mashed them. I pureed fresh peas. I gave him canned peas. I tried baby food peas. I hid them in with carrots. (He ate the carrots and spit the peas out!) I mashed them in with his beloved Pears and Chicken. Forget it! The boy will not eat peas. If you put a spoonful in his mouth, he will not swallow. He simply lets it dribble out of the corners of his mouth. And during my attempts to get him to eat peas, I always get the same look. The "I can't believe that you actually expect me to eat that!" look. So the Drs' final decision was that the peas were not crucial to life as we know it, but keep trying.
As for potatoes, he does not care for them either. He doesn't show quite as much hatred for potatoes as he does peas, but he clearly does not like them. He either spits them back out or vomits them up along with whatever else he ate! This is not a good showing of the Irish blood in his veins, but like the peas, I will keep trying.
The only other thing he doesn't seem to really like is juice. He will drink water anytime you give it to him. But, if there is juice mixed in he is likely to push the sippy cup away. That's the other thing he has started doing. If he doesn't like something, he uses both hands to push it away from his face! It's really cute until it's a spoonful of peas flying at ya!!
What will he eat, you ask?? Pretty much anything besides peas and potatoes. He really likes tofu, yogurt, carrots, sweet potatoes, toast and bananas. (Yep, I said tofu!) He loves most fruits including papayas, mangos and cantalope! He loves the baby food mix of pears or apples with chicken. Which sounds gross, but tastes mostly like the fruit instead of the meat. All other veggies are great, especially green beans. He likes them anyway he can get them: baby food, from the can or off my plate! He doesn't care as long as they are green beans. (Before you ask: I mixed peas in the green beans and he would not eat them! :-) He seems to really like cheese and pasta as well. Basically, if Mark and I are eating it, he wants it. So, if it's soft enough and can be cut in small pieces, he gets it. It's making meal time really fun. He gets really upset if we don't have anything he can eat and he is stuck with just his food. The only thing that saves us is: he wants to feed himself so that keeps him busy! Messy, but busy.
Well, the pea hater is waking up from his nap. I will post some pictures later if I have time. We are off to dinner with Kieren for her official 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Kieren!!!
potatoes and peas,
are not for me.
So, says Ian! (Forgive me for the bad poetry, if you can even call it that!)
Overall, Ian is a really good eater. He doesn't eat a lot at any one time, but he seems to like everything I give him. Except for peas and potatoes. I asked the Dr. yesterday at his 9 month check if the peas were a huge issue since he eats everthing else. He suggested other ways to get him to eat them. I have tried everything he suggested and some other ways with absolutely no success. I mashed them. I pureed fresh peas. I gave him canned peas. I tried baby food peas. I hid them in with carrots. (He ate the carrots and spit the peas out!) I mashed them in with his beloved Pears and Chicken. Forget it! The boy will not eat peas. If you put a spoonful in his mouth, he will not swallow. He simply lets it dribble out of the corners of his mouth. And during my attempts to get him to eat peas, I always get the same look. The "I can't believe that you actually expect me to eat that!" look. So the Drs' final decision was that the peas were not crucial to life as we know it, but keep trying.
As for potatoes, he does not care for them either. He doesn't show quite as much hatred for potatoes as he does peas, but he clearly does not like them. He either spits them back out or vomits them up along with whatever else he ate! This is not a good showing of the Irish blood in his veins, but like the peas, I will keep trying.
The only other thing he doesn't seem to really like is juice. He will drink water anytime you give it to him. But, if there is juice mixed in he is likely to push the sippy cup away. That's the other thing he has started doing. If he doesn't like something, he uses both hands to push it away from his face! It's really cute until it's a spoonful of peas flying at ya!!
What will he eat, you ask?? Pretty much anything besides peas and potatoes. He really likes tofu, yogurt, carrots, sweet potatoes, toast and bananas. (Yep, I said tofu!) He loves most fruits including papayas, mangos and cantalope! He loves the baby food mix of pears or apples with chicken. Which sounds gross, but tastes mostly like the fruit instead of the meat. All other veggies are great, especially green beans. He likes them anyway he can get them: baby food, from the can or off my plate! He doesn't care as long as they are green beans. (Before you ask: I mixed peas in the green beans and he would not eat them! :-) He seems to really like cheese and pasta as well. Basically, if Mark and I are eating it, he wants it. So, if it's soft enough and can be cut in small pieces, he gets it. It's making meal time really fun. He gets really upset if we don't have anything he can eat and he is stuck with just his food. The only thing that saves us is: he wants to feed himself so that keeps him busy! Messy, but busy.
Well, the pea hater is waking up from his nap. I will post some pictures later if I have time. We are off to dinner with Kieren for her official 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Kieren!!!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Ian's New Adventure
This is the view I had when I entered Ian's room the other day.
See the little face peering at me OVER the top rail of the crib!
As I got closer, he began smiling at me. He was so proud of himself!
Side view to show you that the mattress is at the lowest setting,
but he still stands so tall over the rail!
Ian says: Look at me Mom!! See what I can do!?!
Mom says: UGH!!!!!!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Some days I just feel evil....
I am having computer problems and wrist problems, so I apologize for the lack of blog postings and pictures. You can take the link at the right to Sam's blog for some recent pictures of Ian. She got some really great pictures of him and Kieren destroying her family room the other day. Also, he sees the Dr. on the 19th for his 9month (Holy Cow!!!!) check up. I will let you all know the latest stats after his appointment.
Why do I feel evil some days? I don't really know. But, some days it just comes over me and I unleash the beast within. Unfortunately for my clients, this usually happens at work. Some days our clients do or say the most annoying things. After13 years of listening to their usually mundane problems, I can't always keep my mouth shut. So, some days I just tell them what I think. Anyway, the other day I was feeling particularly evil and the following happened:
I was approached by a woman who was 50-60 years old. I have never seen this woman before, she was drawn to Ian in my shopping cart and started talking to me. It all seemed rather normal until she said "You seem like an older Mom." I replied that I am in fact in my late 30's. (Which unfortunately, is considered "older" for being a new Mom.) She then said........."Why did you and your husband wait so long to have children?" I replied, "Well, we just kept practicing until we got it just right." She turned and walked away.
WTF!!!! How obnoxious can someone be? What business is it of hers that we didn't have Ian right after we got married!?! Some people just need to be kept away from others. (Wait, maybe I need to be kept away too?!! It's definitely something I need to consider.) I have to admit I am proud of myself for my very quick reply to her incredibly rude question. Hopefully, her walking away was due to her figuring out she was a rude bore. I will never know, but some days it feels really good to be evil!!!
Why do I feel evil some days? I don't really know. But, some days it just comes over me and I unleash the beast within. Unfortunately for my clients, this usually happens at work. Some days our clients do or say the most annoying things. After13 years of listening to their usually mundane problems, I can't always keep my mouth shut. So, some days I just tell them what I think. Anyway, the other day I was feeling particularly evil and the following happened:
I was approached by a woman who was 50-60 years old. I have never seen this woman before, she was drawn to Ian in my shopping cart and started talking to me. It all seemed rather normal until she said "You seem like an older Mom." I replied that I am in fact in my late 30's. (Which unfortunately, is considered "older" for being a new Mom.) She then said........."Why did you and your husband wait so long to have children?" I replied, "Well, we just kept practicing until we got it just right." She turned and walked away.
WTF!!!! How obnoxious can someone be? What business is it of hers that we didn't have Ian right after we got married!?! Some people just need to be kept away from others. (Wait, maybe I need to be kept away too?!! It's definitely something I need to consider.) I have to admit I am proud of myself for my very quick reply to her incredibly rude question. Hopefully, her walking away was due to her figuring out she was a rude bore. I will never know, but some days it feels really good to be evil!!!