A moment with the Mans Family

Me:  Hey, what do you guys want for Christmas?  I'll just have it shipped to you.

Jeff:  A box of "no arguments".

Well said, my friend.  Well said.

Stories

Hey everybody.  I'm back!  Christmas has exploded at our house! Actually, all over our house. Along with all our other belongings.

And some other stuff happened too, that I just haven't had the time to write about.  Or really even think about, honestly.  But next weekend the REAL Christmas festivities start, so I thought I'd take a minute and tell some stories so e'erbody is updated.

1. I went to Ft Lauderdale/Hollywood for a conference.  The conference, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (It sounds smart, yes?), was nice. I got lots of great feedback on my poster from all the gods in my field.  But Ft. Lauderdale?  Yuck.  Not going back there again if I have a choice.  There are so many crabby people there-I would be so happy if I lived at the beach-what is wrong with these people??

Also, I evidently accidentally rented a "timeshare apartment" instead of a hotel room. Talk about creeptastic. And it was in dire need of updating.  Add that to the fact that I had no idea until I arrived; I just knew I had gotten a really good deal.  It had wifi, though.  It also had a kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom suite, huge closets and two bathrooms.  I could walk to the boardwalk and a nice beach from there, but it was kind of in a shady part of town, where evidently businesses go to die. So after dark I didn't do a whole lot of walking around alone.  And I was traveling alone, so that was a challenge. But it was only a 1 mile walk from the conference site, which was super ritzy. Anyway, there will some pictures of my weird abode.  After I manage to fanagle them off my dumb phone.
I'm convinced it (the timeshare, not my phone) is secretly owned by the mafia. 

2.  Our fridge picked a great time to break, and our dairy products lived on our porch for about 3 nights last week, since it was about 30 degrees anyways. And our frozen goods have been living in the freezer in the kitchen at my lab for a week. I perhaps was overly worried about the cranberries thawing and ruining any future cranberry bread, but I am happy to report that everything turned out fine. And Em has ate TV dinners made specially for toddlers because I am a freak about food safety rules when it comes to her. For about three days. The landlord said we needed to defrost it and then call him if it doesn't work after that.  Let's just say that I am not optimistic. And also what happens next time it needs defrosting?  It's SUPPOSED to do that automatically.  I'll be damned if I'm defrosting it every week or so. So I guess we will see. An update on that front:  The fridge seems to be doing fine after its vacation. Perhaps it will live until 2013.

 Yep.  We are those people.
I thought this was not one of my worst ideas, actually.

3.  It is Christmas!  It took 5 days from the time we bought our Christmas tree to getting it actually decorated. Partially because we realized on the night we planned to decorate the tree that we couldn't find the lights.  Then Rob had to go back up into the attic.  Anyway, the tree finally got decorated, but I am not feeling very optimistic about the stockings being hung up anywhere this year.  About the tree, though- every time Em sees it, there is pure magic on her face.  It's amazing.  

Em sees our decorated tree for the first time:

See, I told you.  MAGIC.

And she got to meet Santa last weekend and see some of her (2nd) cousins! And Aunt Beth and Uncle Gary! She was not too sure about Santa, but he gave her a book which she loved so she didn't cry when he held her on his lap.

 Em thinks this Santa guy must be pretty important if she gets to stay up this far past bedtime.

Santa gives Em a book.  One of us looks a little too excited.

Wow, she loves Gary.  Ran right to him when he walked in. 

Also, we have opted to use our "christmas chicken" as a topper this year.  Rob bought this for me as a random gift the first year that we decorated a tree together.  Those of you that have EVER been to my house know that it stays out all year round.  On the piano, kitchen table, mantle, wherever. Christmas Chicken just happens to have a hole up his butt, perfect for the placement of a Christmas Tree.

Mr. Homie.  A gift to us all.

Today, I spent ALL DAY BAKING.  I used about 31 eggs, 12 pounds of flour, 10 pounds of sugar, some butter, you know...the works.  I got 4 big loaves of cranberry bread, 9 big loaves of pumpkin bread, and many many mini-loaves of pumpkin bread out of the deal.  And about 8 dozen cookie dough (choc chip/oatmeal) balls for our freezer, you know, for emergencies.  And guess what.  Those were all for Christmas gifts. Not the cookie dough.  And I still have more to do!  And baking to do for our own Christmas!  Anyway, the little gift breads turned out so cute, wrapped with green curly ribbon, a hand-made tag, and the recipe for the goodie.  I call this a win.  And everyone can stop giving Rob a hard time for not helping, because he basically was on baby duty all day so I could do the baking for our friends and co-workers.  

It's tragic how far behind I am on present-wrapping. But I am slowly but surely getting there. I'm blogging because Christmas is making me want to vomit a little bit right now.  And I would give my big (pedicured) toe for a glass of wine right now.  But I suppose I'll have tea.  Mighty tea.

4.  I have a new hair guy.  Not really new.  I got my hair cut about 5 weeks ago.  But my other hair guy quit doing hair and I was traumatized by having to get someone new so suddenly.  So now I'm telling the story.  The new guy's name is Kain Dove.  He majored in theatre and moved to New York to become Johnny Depp.  But what he ended up doing was working for Betsy Johnson (who got bought out by Steve Madden) and he met Johnny Depp once.  And also I learned that Johnny Depp is really short and loves dogs and is a very nice person.  Anyway, then he started doing hair.  The point of this story is that I think Kain Dove is a fake (stage?) name, but since he has only cut my hair one time I don't feel like we have the type of relationship where I can just ask him that.  So, when I go back in 2-3 weeks I will hopefully be asking him.

5. Em has decided a couple of things.  The first is that she enjoys scarves.  Especially this one that Abby made me for Christmas one year as a trick.  The trick being that she told me it was someone else's scarf, and she knit it while we watched TV together.  We were roommates at the time. She also really enjoys her books now, which thrills me until I have to pick them up.  But it's so cute when she brings me her books to read.  She has two definite favorites, "Hello, Bugs!", and "Hello Kitty Goes to Town".

Yes, that is the plug to my hair dryer she is holding.  

Also, Abby gave her this outfit!  

She also prefers naked. Or just wearing socks.  Can't say I blame her there.

The little scholar reads ALL THE BOOKS.

One of those must have been a cookbook. Look at that concentration!

 My feet hurt!  I'm going to bed now.  More later, everyone!  Hope you have a great week!

Estrogen, Attack!

Em will be getting a baby sister, due on (or around) Mother's Day!

We will name her Harper Lilyan.

Of course Granny Mans is completely thrilled that we are using her middle name (Lilyan), and it carries on a nice tradition we started by using my grandmother's and mom's first name (Joyce) as Emerald's middle name.

Yay baby sister!

Emerald is getting a baby _________

brother or sister?  We find out later today!!


Lots of other things to update on too, so be on the lookout if you're remotely interested.

Hugs

Christmas Jams

Em got some Christmas pajamas (yeah you can admit that you saw the word "jams" and thought I was either going to sing or cook you something, right?), and I have spent the last three days trying to get a decent picture of her in them.

And now they are dirty because she choked on her milk this morning and coughed it up all over her new pajamas.

So I'm here to report what I have so far.

First things first:  Em is happy all the time, especially when doing her "work".

Check out the background.  Rob is without ottoman cushion because 

Em needed to push it around the house in a laundry basket.

And now a series of failed attempts to photograph Em in her new pajamas:

Attempt 1.  Back her into a corner.

Attempts 2 and 3 also failed: The action shots, and building with blocks shots.

I finally settled on TV, which resulted in some zombie-like poses of Em watching 

"World Animal Adventure":

This was the end where the kids dance like animals.  "What a great show!"

I also have a couple of videos.  The first demonstrates how fast Em can move when she realizes that the baby gate to the laundry room is open. You also can hear some pretty damning evidence that we were watching the New York City Tree Lighting Ceremony on TV.  

The second is pretty long and kind of boring, but it involves her stealing a box from the cat. She was pretty driven to succeed.  I have to say "be nice!" a lot when it comes to Em interacting with the animals.

Enjoy, and Happy Thursday!

"Maple Glazed Pork Chop" Day

We had marvelous plans to go and spend Thanksgiving in Florida, visiting with Rob's family and friends.

But...usually sometimes things just don't work out like you plan for them to.

Emerald has walking pneumonia.  We found this out after 4 straight nights of a 102 fever and her coming dangerously close to dehydration because she wouldn't drink anything.  I am a very stubborn person (no way!) and refuse to go running to the doctor at the first sign of illness, so I had the whole family convinced it was probably just a virus.  But after a couple of days and no improvements, I started to wonder otherwise.  Em had a few really bad nights, and one in particular where no matter how much medicine we gave her, her fever remained 102.  And she wouldn't sleep unless one of us was holding her.  Chills, body aches, crying, the works.

We canceled our trip on Wednesday as we were heading to the pediatrician.  Guess what sucks more than going to the pediatrician the day before Thanksgiving?  Not much probably.  But after a couple of hours and lots of waiting, we had our answer.

She is on the mend now, just coughing a lot and very tired.  Fever has been gone for almost two days now. And Rob and I finally got some sleep too.

So we had a last-minute Thanksgiving at home, and were thankful to be getting our happy healthy baby back.

I cooked pumpkin/chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and for dinner we had maple-glazed pork chops, green beans, yeast rolls, sweet potato casserole, and cranberry sauce.

Also, we took a 3 hour nap yesterday and went to the park with Em and Bells.

AND.  I fell asleep on the couch at 8:30 p.m., before I had a chance to make dessert. It was a pretty good day.

Here are some pics we took to document the past few days.

After Em was feeling somewhat better, everyone finally got a good night's rest:  

Em recently learned to play by herself in her room...

 On Thanksgiving morning, we enjoyed some pumpkin & chocolate chip muffins:

After our 3 hour nap, we took a trip to Railroad Park.

First trip down the slide:

Love the static hairdo the slide gives!

Water break

Exploring and making friends:

Hope everyone had an equally relaxing Thanksgiving Day!

A moment with the Mans Family

Let me just preface this with the following:

No one should ask me what I want for Christmas or my birthday.  I won't be able to think of anything. You  might get lucky and I'll list some books or whatever, but in general I'm terrible at this game. I'm surely thankful that people think enough of me to get me a Christmas gift, but I love shopping for others so much that I use all my brainpower on that every year.  Sounds sappy, but it's true!  I love giving presents.

Although, now the answer to "What's on your Christmas/Birthday/Groundhog Day List?" is pretty much always going to be, "free babysitting".  But since our family lives far away, that doesn't count for anyone who isn't my coworker, good friend, or neighbor, so everyone else gets nada when they ask what I want for Christmas.  I don't really need any more stuff, and since I am a "grownup" now (using THAT term loosely...) I just go out and get stuff that I really want. 

For me, free babysitting and a gift card to a restaurant translates into an evening that will not end with marinara in my hair or on my favorite shirt. NOW THAT'S A GOOD NIGHT.

Anyway, here's an actual conversation between Rob and I last night (he has been asking about my Christmas list, but I don't know why because he is awesome at shopping for me when I give him no clues):

Me:  You know, today I thought of something I wanted for Christmas this year.  But then I forgot what it was.

Rob:  Was it a notepad?

Me:  What?

I just had a baby five minutes ago.

In six short months, we will bringing home a new baby.  I feel like I JUST SAID THIS, LIKE, FIVE MINUTES AGO.  Rob and I tentatively have a name picked out for a boy and for a girl (it's still a secret, just until we find out what we're having), but otherwise there doesn't seem to be a lot of time to think about the new baby at the moment. That looks horrible now that it's just sitting there in black and white. But it's the truth. Guess there is no honeymoon phase for the 2nd pregnancy.  I'm just content to go to my doctor's appointments and hear that everything is fine.

I have to admit I have some anxiety and a few mixed feelings about the situation.  What in the world is it going to be like with a 19-month old and a newborn?  

How will I love anyone as much as I love Emerald?  Is there room in my heart for TWO BABIES?How will I make sure Em gets all that she needs and deserves without completely ignoring a new baby? And vice versa? How do I manage to have two kids that close together and not compare them at every turn?  To remember that every child is different?

I know that none of these are new concepts-every parent has them, but not all care to admit it.  I'm not scared to say that I'm nothing short of petrified.  Excited to meet Em's new baby sibling.  SO excited to see Em become a big sister, to watch the two grow up together.  SO VERY EXCITED to be DONE HAVING BABIES.  Which, done we will be, as soon as this one is out.  Then I can drink every day for the rest of my life if I want. And I might need to.

I kind of feel like I'm joining a brave group of parents-those that have two babies under the age of two. Whoa.  Not that all people who choose to become parents aren't brave, of course. Sometimes it takes  a hell of a lot of bravery to get out of bed and see what in the heck my darling baby (toddler!) has in store for me today. And I know from talking to many of my friends that the challenges never stop, no matter how many kids you have.

But you know, I had lots of anxiety about what it would be like with one baby, and somehow you just make it work.  You just do what has to be done. And it feels right once the baby has joined your family.  So I'm just going to count on that. And remember to take at least half as many pictures of new baby as we have taken of Emerald.

A breath, at last

This weekend Rob and I actually got to do something together!  Without Emerald!  (You know we love her, but she is a toddler, after all, and everyone needs a break from a toddler sometimes.) Joy & Charlie (and Aidan) were nice enough to have Em over to spend the night on Saturday night.  They went to the mall and out to eat at The Olive Garden.  Probably a lot more fun than she would have had with me and Rob anyways.

I made them some homemade chili as a thank you.

So on Saturday with all our extra free time, Rob and I drove to Nashville to see Stephen Lynch, one of our favorite comedians.  We ate at Chili's and no one threw salsa in my hair--guess Rob was feeling especially well-behaved? Anyway, Stephen Lynch is a great musician and his whole show is music.  He has a whole crew of super talented musicians that perform with him. But it's hilarious.  Oh, and sacrilegious, irreverent, filthy, completely offensive (ok, so he can sing about Anne Frank and make it funny-but you really just have the be there) and a lot of fun. He's had a couple of ComedyCentral specials, and you can find some of his videos on YouTube ("Craig" and "Dr. Stephen" are two of my favorites), but I wouldn't if you are easily offended.  Or maybe not even if you have ever been offended by anything.

We got back home at 2 a.m. Sunday and slept until noon.  

It was glorious.

Sunday night we had Alex over for dinner and finally got to catch up with him. 

And the best part?  We don't have any obligations for this upcoming weekend either.  It's nice to have a break for a change, especially before the holiday gauntlet! 

Winning the Election is the Easy Part

Well, election day has come and gone.  

I have to say that I LOVE election day.  It's so exciting, so many opinions, so many people SURE that they are right (ok, so in this way, election day is similar to all the other days on the calendar).  Everyone gets to cast their vote.  I mean, the electoral college kinds of squishes the excitement of casting your vote in an All-Red or All-Blue state, but you at least get the chance to make your voice heard.  I love it.  I know, so patriotic of me!

Last night in Alabama, our fantastic population voted to keep segregationist language in the constitution as it relates to public schools.  I find this a big fail.  Really, Alabama?  THE SITE of the Civil Rights Movement?  But we also voted to keep our Wildlife Preservations funded and protected for the next 20 years.  There were some other things we voted on too, but those were the big things, other than the obvious.

So just in case you get all your breaking news from my blog, President Obama has been re-elected.  As in 2008, he has a long list of challenges to work on. What president doesn't? I have to say that I am happy with our country's decision to re-elect Obama, but I also have a lot of faith that things are going to be okay no matter what.  People find a way to survive, if not thrive. Obama's ideals and goals just line up a little more evenly with mine than those of Mitt Romney. SO EVEN THOUGH I HAVE OPENED A HUGE CAN AND THERE ARE WORMS EVERYWHERE (!!!), that's as close to "political" as you'll ever see this blog get. 

A tangent: In most situations (close friends aside) I think it is incredibly rude to talk politics, religion, and how busy you are.  You never know who you will offend with the former two, and it is safe to assume that most conversations will offend EVERYONE. And as for the latter, how self-absorbed does a person need to be to assume that they are the only busy person in the world? I am SO VERY GUILTY of this type of self-absorption-I know everyone is busy, but I still like to complain about my own "To-Do" list. I've done it on this blog! Perhaps a New Year's Resolution is in order...or maybe a November 2012 Resolution. 

Anyway, I'm not here to tell you my political opinions.  I'm only here to make one simple point.

Like "getting into" medical/graduate/professional school, "getting voted in" was the easy part.

Here's to a productive 4 years.  

Birthday Baby

Em had a great time at her Strawberry Shortcake themed birthday party! We had tons of family come into town, she got a play shopping cart that she is constantly using to move things around the house,  a singing rocking horse, a baby-sized piano, tons of clothes and books, and some other toys too.  I have to admit that I put a few things away for "Santa" to bring this Christmas.  I figure I can get away with that this year and next year, depending on her level of observation.

Anyway, my parents, godparents, and Rob's parents all came to town, and helped me decorate for the party while Em was taking her nap.  She was completely amazed by all the decorations in the living room when she got up, and was particularly smitten with all the balloons.  She's still playing with the mylar ones that haven't deflated yet.

We had catering by Chick Fil A, a super adorable birthday cake, a "smash" cake, and perfectly coordinated decorations, none of which Emerald is going to remember, but at least I have photo evidence.

She was in a good mood all day, and here she looks pretty intent on explaining that it's her birthday and she's very excited for her party:

A healthy birthday lunch before the high fructose corn syrup overdose:

Birthday cake and decor:

Proof that Em had a good time at her birthday party:  the Smash cake.

Some of her guests:

Don't be fooled here:  She got so many presents that we had to spread them out over three days.  It was like a Hanukkah-themed birthday.

Overall, a happy weekend. I have to admit that by Sunday morning, I was DONE.  Done Done Done.  SO exhausted I wished I could die. I'm glad we did it big, though.  You only have a 1st birthday once, and we certainly made some great memories.