Hurry! Post something!

So we have our bundled cable, phone and internet though RC* and for the last week we've had internet, then not had internet, then had internet.

The problem started on August 22nd. Today is August 28th. After scheduling an appointment with the threat of a charge of $49.99 if we had the technician come if the problem were already solved, we cancelled our scheduled appt. for today because we actually had internet access last night. Silly us. We thought that they'd somehow solved our problem from their end. Oh how wrong we were.

Today Su was home with Danny and got a free moment to log on. Nothing.

Crap!

She called the cable company and of course they were so apologetic blah, blah, blah...

Long story short, their customer service did not exceed our expectations. Until they replace the modem (I think in the year 2019 or so?) we can expect intermittent access. Okay. I'm exaggerating. But I'm typing as fast as I can because we won't see them until September 5th and only our higher power knows when "the internets" will smile upon us.

How does that song go? "I fight technology, technology always wins."

Have a great weekend everybody. Please forgive us if we don't get back to you right away in the next week or two. Argh!!!!! -Monica

P.S. We are weighing our options.

It’s true – I don’t help

Oh don’t get me wrong. I’m like to think a very helpful person for the most part, but in one particular area I am no help whatsoever.

You see I’m a hummer. “Hmm, hmm, hmm.” And worse yet, songs get stuck on repeat and even though I don’t even notice, it is apparently noticeable to basically everyone else.

I can remember years ago one of my sisters asking me “who sings that?” and when I happily replied, “Bette Middler”, her response was, “well why don’t we just let her sing it then okay?” Okay, okay. I get it.

But you see, my most recent problem with the humming is interconnected to Danny’s recent recuperation. Five days home with a little guy whose “get up and go, just got up and went” made it perfect for a "little" TV viewing.

With lots of free shows on our Video on Demand he settled in quite nicely for some mini marathons of Bob the Builder, Roary the Racecar, Micky Mouse Club House and his absolute favorite—Fireman Sam. Oh who am I kidding. It was not a mini marathon. It was a 26 miler.

The problem is that all of these shows unfortunately have catchy little tunes and I find myself humming them all the time.

Which is bad.

Because now that he’s better, he can’t watch TV all the time.

“BOB, BOB” he cries (which means TV in general), followed by “MOTE, MOTE” (you guessed it—remote).

Once we calm him down and distract him with a book or toys all is well until “something” makes him suddenly cry “BOB, BOB!”

I stop humming mid hum. “What?” Uh oh.

Hmmmm…what to do, what to do…hmmmm….??? Birds do it. Bees do it. Why oh why can't I?

Crackaroni and Cheese please!

Seriously. There must be something in this product that causes children to inhale it.

Danny's a pretty good eater for the most part, but when we went out to lunch yesterday to a place that served Kr*ft Macaroni and Cheese, he almost ingested my arm when it got too close. Geez.

It was good to see him with an appetite. The reason we had lunch out in the middle of what is usually a work day, is that we were back to his pediatrician's office for the second time in 4 days.

Looks like a fever that led to a rash that the doctor thought last week was probably a virus, is most likely a bacteria, and he's got many very nasty scabs to show for it. Our poor boy is now on a broad spectrum antibiotic until the culture comes back later today.

He's very brave. -Monica

Couch potatoes (or perhaps hot peppers?)

We found out Susanne was pregnant with Danny in October of 2006, and one of our favorite things to do at night was to snuggle up on the couch and watch mindless TV. We'd just lounge there chatting excitedly about our little baby inside her, all cuddly and happy during those cold winter and early spring months.

From my vantage point, I could feel the baby growing until it reached a point that there was not enough room for Su, the baby (aka the Dannymeister) AND me to sack out. Or let's just say it got harder and harder for Su to be comfortable in any position so I'd find another chair or whatever.

With this pregnancy beginning in April, I can report that the hot days of June, July and August DO NOT lend themselves to this kind of closeness. We try not to use the AC too much so for the most part cuddling is not in the mix. Oh don't get me wrong--I get my hugs and wonderful moment feeling the baby kicking, every day (even though apparently I am hotter than a furnace).

I will admit I'm looking forward to the fall though. Hmmm may have to acquire a bigger couch. Room enough for me, Su, our little baby inside, and big brother Daniel who always wants in on cuddling! ;-)

-Monica

No he didn't!

So what did your guitar have for breakfast this morning?

Mine had several pieces of whole wheat bagel.

Sigh.

Oh Baby

Well the baby (who really will not be named Bob in spite of Danny's fervent protestations) is doing great according to the results of Su's recent ultrasound. His or her heartbeat is steady at 150 (which leads me to think it's a boy but I've been wrong in life before. ;-)

We got to see organs and limbs and adorable profile (I'm not going to say exactly who the baby's profile looks like, but since I only have one other baby to compare it to, perhaps you can guess?)

We found out he or she is measuring a tiny bit big which may or may not mean that we'll have a big newborn. We were tempted this time to find out the baby's gender but when the moment of truth came, we decided to wait. After all, finding out that our first child was a boy was like "Christmas in May" as I've written about before. This will just be more like "Christmas at Christmastime!"

This weekend we (Susanne) planned out an entire basement reorganization and we are now officially "weekend warriors" (Danny too) until it is done. I told Susanne that this planning seemed an awful lot like nesting but I was assured it was not.

Alrighty then. Back to work I go! -Monica

A face only two mothers could love!

I'm Crumpy!

Oh dear. I liked the name Crumpet for the baby because it was a nice play on the words "Crown and Rump" which I thought was a pretty funny way to measure a developing baby.

But I just read this today on BabyCenter:

"For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe."

Aw rats. We hit 20 weeks last Friday. So now I have to find some new play on words for "head to toe"?

Well Su is having an ultrasound on Friday. Perhaps once I see the little tyke I'll be inspired to come up with new name. Until then, see you Friday Headytoey. -Mommy

Oat Cheese anyone?

This boy of ours cracks me up. The other day when I made him oatmeal for breakfast, I mixed in some yogurt and I don't remember what else. Something good for him no doubt.

He took one bite, looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and exclaimed "cheese!"

This was very good news indeed. Danny loves cheese. He proceeded to eat his "oat cheese" ravenously, and I patted myself on the back for being perhaps the most clever mom ever.

Until I tried it again the next day and he pushed it away, forcefully yelling "NO, NO!"

Dang! And I was going to patent my new "cheese" too. I even had a tagline..."Eat oat cheese, it's better than goat cheese!"

Sigh. Back to the drawing board. -Monica

Feeling, hot, hot, hot...

DC in August. It's no Paris in springtime. Just the dog days of summer. Ugh... (100 sticky and muggy degrees expected today.) -M

Night Night

At night time Danny likes to hear us read the same stories over and over. They are, in no particular order: Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Sesame Street Firehouse and his new favorite, Curious George.

We mix it up some, and then after about 10 or 15 minutes of reading we turn off the light and "rocky rocky" in the rocking chair. He has his blanket, a drink of water and then he starts to drift off (usually).

If I'm the one putting him to bed, this is the time that I like to recap his day for him, reminding him of all the fun things that happened and also tell him all of the exciting things to come tomorrow. (For example his Nana is coming today and he's very excited.)

The last thing I do before kissing him and laying him down is to tell him that his mama and I love him more than anything. "We're always gonna love you and we're always going to take care of you--I promise" is what I used to say.

Then about a month ago I had this vision of him at age 27, living in our basement yelling "Hey ma, get me a beer will ya? You promised!"

So our new night night mantra is "We're always going to love you and we are always going to be there for you".

Whew. I know I'm sleeping better at night now ;-)

Have a great weekend everybody! -M

Happy Day!

Today Susanne and I celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary, and what a wonderful four years it has been! I wanted to try and convey here the many reason why I love this beautiful woman, but I’m pretty certain that my words could never capture how I truly feel.

So instead, I thought I’d share something from that special day four years ago that reflects our shared interest in peace and justice. Not just for us—for everyone.

Su and I both love the positive intention of this poem by Judy Chicago, so we had different guests at our wedding stand and take turns reading the lines out loud. They all knew when to stand and say their line, but the others in the crowd were taken by surprise. It was very powerful and moving.

And Then

And then all that has divided us will merge

And then compassion will be wedded to power

And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle

And then both women and men will be strong

And then no person will be subject to another's will

And then all will be rich and free and varied

And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many

And then all will share equally in the Earth's abundance

And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young

And then all will cherish life's creatures

And then all will live in harmony with one another and the Earth

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.

Happy anniversary my love. I do indeed cherish the magic that is you. -Monica

Seriously...

Apparently Danny takes his camping (and his bubbles) very seriously. We had a wonderful time with our neighbors at Matthew's Arm in the Shenandoah this weekend, on Danny's first ever camping trip, and the best part was that he slept like a baby. By that I mean a good baby who didn't wake up once. He must love those cool evenings in the tent wrapped up in his sleep sack.

We broke out one of his birthday presents--this bubble gun--while there and he was delighted. Not too keen on guns as toys for the boy, but this seemed like fun. Although he looks serious in this pic, he spent most of his time laughing and chasing the bubbles!

We'll try and get one more camping trip in this season. Nothing like the great outdoors! Smores. Yummy! -Monica

A very good omen for a dentist

Our search for a pediatric dentist who participates in our health insurance plan has led to a very interesting discovery...

Seriously. How could Danny not love a dentist who has the same first name as his favorite Sesame Street character? We'll let you know more after his first visit next week. Ciao! -Monica

There's no crying in parenthood! (Oh wait...)

Tom Hanks made the line "there's no crying in baseball" famous in the movie a League of Their Own and I thought about it the other night while two year old Danny sat on our porch watching me with the most worried look you can imagine.

You see I was crying and he didn't like it one bit.

We'd been outside saying hi to neighbors when I took Danny's hand to take him home. We said our "bye byes" and walked up the sidewalk towards the house when I felt a horrible pain in my foot. I was barefoot and had stepped on something. At first I thought it was a nettle or a thorn but it hurt so much worse than just a pucture. I saw something hanging off my toe and as I jumped up and down screaming in pain Su got to me and let me know it was a yellow jacket and it was still stinging me. I managed to swat it off, but the pain was really localized although there was nothing that could be seen, it felt like with every heartbeat searing pain would surge at the site of the sting.

I'll make a long story short. Su and our neighbors got me ice and Benadryl and motrin and, clearly I lived. (It took about two days for the ache to go away, but the first several minutes after I was stung were intensly painful.)

I didn't want to worry Danny but it hurt so much I couldn't stop my tears. He'd crawled up onto a chair on our porch and curled up, sucking his thumb and watching me as intently as he'd ever watched anything. After a few minutes I held him and told him I had a boo boo and that everything was going to be okay. He seemed somewhat unconvinced and remained subdued that evening.

But as much as it hurt I am so glad that it was me and not him that got stung. The yellow jacket sting I could bear. Danny in that much pain? I'm not so sure. -M