Jen, Rebekah, and I had a fun weekend this past week. It all started on Friday with the Trunk or Treat at church. I had been to one before but I was part of the planning and had to make sure everything ran smoothly so I was never really able to enjoy it. Plus this year I had a 17 month old toddler to go with. Everything seems new when it's seen through her eyes. For those who aren't familiar with the concept of the trunk or treat, I will explain. This is an activity in which people decorate the trunks of their cars, set up in the church parking lot, and pass out candy to the children who come by. You know all the candy is safe because it is coming from people at church who also have children, and the environment is safe because you don't have to worry about you child being run down on the street by some drunk coming home from a party. Jen and I decorated our trunk like a haunted forest. It was really fun and I wish I had remembered to take some pictures to post here because we did a great job. As I said previously, Rebekah was little red riding hood and looked VERY cute. She even carried around a little straw basket to complete the look. Jen and I went as trees and we were disappointed that almost none of the adults dressed up. We didn't really care because for us we were having fun. Jen made the costumes by herself and they came out awesome. I didn't know my wife was so crafty. All in all, we had a great time and enjoyed ourselves immensely. I know Rebekah did too since she didn't get to sleep until 9 (bedtime is usually 7).
For work on Friday I went as a nudist on strike, which didn't turn out as funny as I would have liked, but again, I don't really care since I just did it for me. It was a busy day for sure.
On Saturday morning, we all went out for breakfast at my favorite place: Cracker Barrel. If I could afford to eat there every day, and I didn't have to worry about my health, I would. After breakfast, we went to Rebekah's gym class. It was bring a buddy day, so we had one of Jen's friends from work come with us with her 10 month old daughter. I think they both liked it, so hopefully next time they'll come with us again. It was nice to be there with Jen and Rebekah though since every other week it's just me and Rebekah. The festivities continued (after a nap) with going to the Greater Gulf State Fair. I capitalize only because that would be the only thing that was big about this fair. I don't know what people around here consider a large fair (as Jen was told it was), but this was far from that. There weren't very many exhibits, the petting zoo consisted of a few goats, a camel, and a yak. They didn't even have cows or horses on display for everyone to look at. Now, I didn't expect it to be as big as the New York State Fair (capitalized because it is that big) or even like the south Florida State Fair. But honestly, a few booths that sell funnel cakes, corn dogs, pizza, and cotton candy do not make a fair. After the disappointment of the fair, we hoped that trick or treating at our house would go well. While we didn't get an overabundance of children, we did have quite a few. It was about what we expected since we don't really live in a big neighborhood and the next neighborhood over is a retirement community. So now we have a whole lot of left over candy which we get to eat!
Then on Sunday, we had a very relaxing and spiritual day at church. What a great way to end a weekend.
So I promised a review of the new Creed CD, Full Circle. It is actually quite good. While you can definitely tell its Creed, their sound has evolved some since their last album almost 6 years ago. We saw them in concert and it was a great show. The album has some slower power ballads, as you would expect from Creed, but there are some heavier hitting songs as well. The drumming has gotten more complex as well. This is because Scott Phillips is growing as a drummer and he is still one of my favorites. The lyrics are empowering, and about starting new or overcoming adversity. This makes sense considering what Scott Stapp has been through the past few years. The guitar work is a technical mastery and Mark Tremonti is amazing. So my grade is A-. Overall very good and it will be a long time before it leaves my CD player.
Also, I am about 150 pages into the new WoT novel, The Gathering Storm. One word: Awesome. Can't wait to see what happens next!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sickness, coldness, holidays, and geek news
So I just thought it was time for an update. Things have been very busy around here and I haven't had much time to blog. Today I had to call in sick to work. I don't call in sick to work very often, almost never actually, because if I am away for a day I get so behind on grading, students don't get taught on rotation, and patients don't get seen in clinic. A whole cascade of things happen when these tasks don't get done, ultimately resulting in much more work for me. So having a day off because I am sick doesn't really make me feel better, it just keeps me from getting others sick or killing someone. Sleeping last night didn't really occur as much as I'd like, so that, in combination with the illness did not make for a good morning. Also, remind me to NEVER go to the doc in the box again. I don't need to go into the particulars, but trust me on this.
Rebekah is being her usual boisterous self and keeping us very busy. She has been running, saying a lot more words, and understanding more commands. She is still going to the gym class on Saturdays and loves every minute of it even though she doesn't really follow along and just plays on the equipment. Jen and I went to an Auburn game a couple of weekends ago when they were playing Kentucky. We drove up to Atlanta to drop Rebekah off and gramma and grampa's house and then drove back to Auburn for the game. It was cold. Auburn played horribly and lost. It was cold. Wait, I said that already. What I should have said was "it was darn cold for a southern boy like myself". Jen was cold as well and we wish we were more prepared for the weather, but who would have thought a sweatshirt, 2 t-shirts, and a coat weren't going to be enough to keep the elements off us? We are going to the Alabama vs. Auburn game after Thanksgiving and hopefully since it's a day game the weather will be a bit warmer. We are going to have to drive up to Atlanta on Thanksgiving day (after Jen gets out of work), but it'll be fun.
This weekend is Halloween and it is my favorite non-religious holiday. I love getting dressed up and eating pumpkin seeds and candy. This year Rebekah is going as Little Red Riding Hood and Jen and I are going as trees. So that she is walking through the forest, right? I think it's a pretty good group costume and I am excited for it. For work, I am going to be a nudist on strike. I am wearing my regular clothes and hanging a sign around my neck that says "Nudist on Strike". I wanted something easy and not overelaborate, but different as well. I think that fits the bill. Last year I went as Peter Griffin from Family Guy. No one got it. I don't think I hang out with the right people for that costume to make sense. And work just thought I was wearing my normal clothes. We are also decorating our car for the trunk or treat at church as a spooky forest and graveyard. It's going to be fun. So we have a busy weekend ahead of us, but we are thankful for it.
Since it's almost Halloween that means its time to think about Christmas for me (the stores have had Christmas stuff out for a while, which I don't really like or understand. Does having Christmas stuff out in September really boost sales that much?). For gifts this year, Jen and I are just getting each other hardwood floors. No other gifts for us. Well, something from Rebekah for each of us, but that's it. Unless we get other things from family and friends. This year it is all about Rebekah. She has a gift list a mile long and as this is her second Christmas, we want to make it even better than the first. I guess it doesn't really matter though because 10 years from now she won't remember it. Heck 10 minutes after she opens the presents she'll forget about them. But it'll be a good winter since my entire family is coming for Christmas and Jen's entire family is coming as well. I say good, but what I really mean is hectic and enjoyable.
So my favorite series of books is the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. Unfortunately, he died about 2 years ago with the last book unfinished. Brandon Sanderson was chosen to use RJ's notes to complete the last book which is actually going to be 3 books. BS is a great author in his own right and I am excited for this 3rd to last book. It's called The Gathering Storm and was released today. I did preorder the book of course, but through a bookseller in Utah so I could get the book personalized and signed by BS (that's where he lives). So it may not get here for another couple of days. I am really looking forward to reading it. I'll give a full review once I finish, but the ones that have popped up online are very favorable. Also, in an unrelated, but still important to me news item, the new Creed album dropped today so I picked it up from Best Buy. I'll give it a good listen on the way to work and let you all know what I think. Not that anyone cares, but you must have some degree of interest in my opinions, otherwise the 5 of you who read this blog wouldn't bother.
Well, that's enough for now. More updates later. Have a good week.
Rebekah is being her usual boisterous self and keeping us very busy. She has been running, saying a lot more words, and understanding more commands. She is still going to the gym class on Saturdays and loves every minute of it even though she doesn't really follow along and just plays on the equipment. Jen and I went to an Auburn game a couple of weekends ago when they were playing Kentucky. We drove up to Atlanta to drop Rebekah off and gramma and grampa's house and then drove back to Auburn for the game. It was cold. Auburn played horribly and lost. It was cold. Wait, I said that already. What I should have said was "it was darn cold for a southern boy like myself". Jen was cold as well and we wish we were more prepared for the weather, but who would have thought a sweatshirt, 2 t-shirts, and a coat weren't going to be enough to keep the elements off us? We are going to the Alabama vs. Auburn game after Thanksgiving and hopefully since it's a day game the weather will be a bit warmer. We are going to have to drive up to Atlanta on Thanksgiving day (after Jen gets out of work), but it'll be fun.
This weekend is Halloween and it is my favorite non-religious holiday. I love getting dressed up and eating pumpkin seeds and candy. This year Rebekah is going as Little Red Riding Hood and Jen and I are going as trees. So that she is walking through the forest, right? I think it's a pretty good group costume and I am excited for it. For work, I am going to be a nudist on strike. I am wearing my regular clothes and hanging a sign around my neck that says "Nudist on Strike". I wanted something easy and not overelaborate, but different as well. I think that fits the bill. Last year I went as Peter Griffin from Family Guy. No one got it. I don't think I hang out with the right people for that costume to make sense. And work just thought I was wearing my normal clothes. We are also decorating our car for the trunk or treat at church as a spooky forest and graveyard. It's going to be fun. So we have a busy weekend ahead of us, but we are thankful for it.
Since it's almost Halloween that means its time to think about Christmas for me (the stores have had Christmas stuff out for a while, which I don't really like or understand. Does having Christmas stuff out in September really boost sales that much?). For gifts this year, Jen and I are just getting each other hardwood floors. No other gifts for us. Well, something from Rebekah for each of us, but that's it. Unless we get other things from family and friends. This year it is all about Rebekah. She has a gift list a mile long and as this is her second Christmas, we want to make it even better than the first. I guess it doesn't really matter though because 10 years from now she won't remember it. Heck 10 minutes after she opens the presents she'll forget about them. But it'll be a good winter since my entire family is coming for Christmas and Jen's entire family is coming as well. I say good, but what I really mean is hectic and enjoyable.
So my favorite series of books is the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. Unfortunately, he died about 2 years ago with the last book unfinished. Brandon Sanderson was chosen to use RJ's notes to complete the last book which is actually going to be 3 books. BS is a great author in his own right and I am excited for this 3rd to last book. It's called The Gathering Storm and was released today. I did preorder the book of course, but through a bookseller in Utah so I could get the book personalized and signed by BS (that's where he lives). So it may not get here for another couple of days. I am really looking forward to reading it. I'll give a full review once I finish, but the ones that have popped up online are very favorable. Also, in an unrelated, but still important to me news item, the new Creed album dropped today so I picked it up from Best Buy. I'll give it a good listen on the way to work and let you all know what I think. Not that anyone cares, but you must have some degree of interest in my opinions, otherwise the 5 of you who read this blog wouldn't bother.
Well, that's enough for now. More updates later. Have a good week.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A dog who gets sick isn't fun
I figured I needed to update the blog this week, so this will be a quick one. Jen and I have been pretty busy the past few days. Rebekah is getting more and more active and now that the weather has cooled off (finally!) it will be nice to get her playing outside. She has been doing well with walking while holding Mommy or Daddy's hand and not running off. She is understanding so many words and can actually follow basic commands, like "can you bring daddy's shoe to him?". Soon enought we'll be having conversations and she'll be talking back. Oh I can't wait! Rebekah is still going to the "Little Gym" on Saturdays and she is actually starting to participate. It's good that she is getting exposure to other kids and some exercise at the same time. Most of the time though, all she wants to do is dance to the music. She dances all the time, any time she hears the music. It's really funny. Visualize a toddler shaking her shoulders and jumping up and down. Quite the sight.
Jen and are having to get the carpets cleaned. We have been resisting doing it because we're planning on putting in hardwood floors. However, this hasn't panned out yet and it's still in the "planning" stage. In other words, I don't know when (or even if) this will happen. So we broke down and are getting them cleaned this week. They haven't been cleaned in a long time. Here is the story that finally pushed us over the edge. Jen and I had just put Rebekah down to bed and we were sitting down in front of the TV for dinner. Dinner was ready and I had just laid it out on our coffee table (which actually lifts up so its more like an actual table). Then we hear a retching sound coming from the other side of the table. Well, lo and behold, Perrin, our 8 year old Beagle, is vomiting up the entire contents of his stomach onto the carpet around and underneath the coffee table. So I get up and throw Perrin outside (not literally, but it was close), only to have to clean up the vomitus all over the carpet. I didn't know a dog had this much stuff in his stomach. Perrin was fine; the carpet, on the other hand, was not. The throw-up was mucus-y and membranous and disgusting. It was sticking to the carpet and it did not want to be picked up even with the copious amount of paper towels I was using. After almost a whole roll of paper towels, the carpet was still stained a nasty brownish-red color. We cleaned it up as best we could with some spot remover, but it's just not enough. Now this entire time, you would think Jen would be helping me clean up, right? Wrong. She was so grossed out by it she refused to even get near it. She said the smell was making her nauseated and the sight and smell of the vomit reminded her too much of a patient who threw-up on her counter a few months ago. Yes, you read that right, ON her prescription counter. You'll have to ask her about that some time; it's a hilarious story. Needless to say the dogs will not be present while the carpets are being cleaned. So that's a long way to say this is why we are having the carpets cleaned. That and the months of wear and tear on the carpet.
We also went to the eye doctor the other day and I am going to see if I can get contacts. I'm kind of over glasses. Anyway, that's all for now.
Random quote from an actual patient chart this week: "Patient is a particularly average looking middle-aged woman." Does this mean she was so average looking, it beared mentioning? While it is an accurate description of the patient, it does seem kind of weird to write it in that manner. Also, it could be kind of wrong. Still funny, but maybe wrong.
Jen and are having to get the carpets cleaned. We have been resisting doing it because we're planning on putting in hardwood floors. However, this hasn't panned out yet and it's still in the "planning" stage. In other words, I don't know when (or even if) this will happen. So we broke down and are getting them cleaned this week. They haven't been cleaned in a long time. Here is the story that finally pushed us over the edge. Jen and I had just put Rebekah down to bed and we were sitting down in front of the TV for dinner. Dinner was ready and I had just laid it out on our coffee table (which actually lifts up so its more like an actual table). Then we hear a retching sound coming from the other side of the table. Well, lo and behold, Perrin, our 8 year old Beagle, is vomiting up the entire contents of his stomach onto the carpet around and underneath the coffee table. So I get up and throw Perrin outside (not literally, but it was close), only to have to clean up the vomitus all over the carpet. I didn't know a dog had this much stuff in his stomach. Perrin was fine; the carpet, on the other hand, was not. The throw-up was mucus-y and membranous and disgusting. It was sticking to the carpet and it did not want to be picked up even with the copious amount of paper towels I was using. After almost a whole roll of paper towels, the carpet was still stained a nasty brownish-red color. We cleaned it up as best we could with some spot remover, but it's just not enough. Now this entire time, you would think Jen would be helping me clean up, right? Wrong. She was so grossed out by it she refused to even get near it. She said the smell was making her nauseated and the sight and smell of the vomit reminded her too much of a patient who threw-up on her counter a few months ago. Yes, you read that right, ON her prescription counter. You'll have to ask her about that some time; it's a hilarious story. Needless to say the dogs will not be present while the carpets are being cleaned. So that's a long way to say this is why we are having the carpets cleaned. That and the months of wear and tear on the carpet.
We also went to the eye doctor the other day and I am going to see if I can get contacts. I'm kind of over glasses. Anyway, that's all for now.
Random quote from an actual patient chart this week: "Patient is a particularly average looking middle-aged woman." Does this mean she was so average looking, it beared mentioning? While it is an accurate description of the patient, it does seem kind of weird to write it in that manner. Also, it could be kind of wrong. Still funny, but maybe wrong.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Why I didn't like New Orleans or Uneasiness in the Big Easy
So Jen and I went to New Orleans this past weekend for a concert. Before I let you all in on how awesome the show was, I wanted to expound on the title. I have been to New Orleans (NO) only one other time before this weekend. That was after a hurricane last year (I don't remember which one it was) to perform service for the people there who had had their homes destroyed. Then, I didn't really pay all that much attention to my surroundings since I was there to do a job and not sight-see. Plus, I was in some suburb that wasn't all that devistated so I didn't get to see the city. So this time around I was much more in tune to what was going on around me and taking in all the "beauty" of the city. First, when we drove in all we could see were abandoned buildings, shanty towns, and garbage. In fact, we could smell the general funk through the car, even though I had the windows closed, and the recycle inside air was on. Yeah, that bad. It was even worse when we were walking around the city. Maybe I was super sensitive to the smells because I haven't lived in a city for so long, but Charleson, Mobile, or even Albany NEVER smelled that bad. I guess it could have been the swamps surrounding NO on all sides, but I have lived near those most my life and it didn't smell like that either.
So anyway, back to the general appearance of the city. While some parts did look OK (really nice apartments next to a hollowed out shell of a building), the majority was dirty. It looked like they still haven't fully recovered from Katrina 4 years ago. Now, don't get me wrong, I know how long it takes to rebuild after a hurricane. I did live in Florida for most of my life and lived through Andrew in 1992. Maybe I was just acutely aware of the fact that they are still rebuilding and I was looking for things to complain about. But this was all secondary to the general uneasiness I felt there. I don't know why; I can't really put my finger on it, but I didn't feel comfortable there. Maybe it was the dirtiness, or maybe the stories of crime, or maybe the smells, or maybe the outlandish drunkenness and depravity and general disregard for human decency on Bourbon St., or maybe the parking ticket I got after being there only 2 hours. I don't know. Maybe it was a combination of all these things, but I just didn't feel OK. Don't get me wrong, I slept fine, because our hotel was clean and neat and everything you expect from the Ritz-Carlton's cheaper, sister hotel. Well, except for the spot of fresh blood on the shower curtain. THAT wasn't cool. We even stayed only 1 block away from Bourbon St., but it was still nice. I have been to big cities and not felt this general unease. I am not knocking NO at all, it's just not for me. There didn't seem to be much to do other than drink and gamble. Neither of which I am a fan.
It was really nice to spend time with Jen away from the stress of home. We missed Rebekah, but it was really great to have Jen's parents come and watch her for us. It was good to reconnect and get some us time. The concert was great. We had amazing seats about 100 feet from the stage. Creed rocked the house and really made me remember why I like them so much. They started off with the song Bullets complete with pyrotechnics and fireworks. Of course they played all their hits (ending up with Higher as the last song of the encore), but I really enjoyed hearing the B-sides from their earlier albums (Faceless Man, Say I, Ode, Unforgiven). Scott Stapp does look a bit older, but Scott Phillips (drummer) was awesome as usual. Mark Tremonti (guitar) is always impressive, but it was something else to see him live. I have seen Creed a couple of times before and each time they get better. Their new CD isn't out yet, but I will be sure to pick it up when it does hit stores at the end of October. StainD was also really good. I have probably seen them over half a dozen times, and they were just as good now as they were back then. Again, I enjoyed their older stuff more than their singles on the radio, but on the whole it was a great show. The only down side was the people sitting in front of us had obviously been pre-gaming and were completely drunk. They were probably in their early 40's and looked only a little out of place. One lady even passed out completely before Creed even took the stage, then continued to sleep through the rest of the show. Our tickets weren't cheap, so I couldn't understand wasting all that money only to sleep. Like I said though, it was a good time.
Quick update on everything else: Rebekah is doing well and is learning more and more each day. My job and Jen's job are going well. Basically status quo around here.
Here is the disease state of the day: Delusions of parasitosis. Had a patient with that the other day in clinic. I love my job.
So anyway, back to the general appearance of the city. While some parts did look OK (really nice apartments next to a hollowed out shell of a building), the majority was dirty. It looked like they still haven't fully recovered from Katrina 4 years ago. Now, don't get me wrong, I know how long it takes to rebuild after a hurricane. I did live in Florida for most of my life and lived through Andrew in 1992. Maybe I was just acutely aware of the fact that they are still rebuilding and I was looking for things to complain about. But this was all secondary to the general uneasiness I felt there. I don't know why; I can't really put my finger on it, but I didn't feel comfortable there. Maybe it was the dirtiness, or maybe the stories of crime, or maybe the smells, or maybe the outlandish drunkenness and depravity and general disregard for human decency on Bourbon St., or maybe the parking ticket I got after being there only 2 hours. I don't know. Maybe it was a combination of all these things, but I just didn't feel OK. Don't get me wrong, I slept fine, because our hotel was clean and neat and everything you expect from the Ritz-Carlton's cheaper, sister hotel. Well, except for the spot of fresh blood on the shower curtain. THAT wasn't cool. We even stayed only 1 block away from Bourbon St., but it was still nice. I have been to big cities and not felt this general unease. I am not knocking NO at all, it's just not for me. There didn't seem to be much to do other than drink and gamble. Neither of which I am a fan.
It was really nice to spend time with Jen away from the stress of home. We missed Rebekah, but it was really great to have Jen's parents come and watch her for us. It was good to reconnect and get some us time. The concert was great. We had amazing seats about 100 feet from the stage. Creed rocked the house and really made me remember why I like them so much. They started off with the song Bullets complete with pyrotechnics and fireworks. Of course they played all their hits (ending up with Higher as the last song of the encore), but I really enjoyed hearing the B-sides from their earlier albums (Faceless Man, Say I, Ode, Unforgiven). Scott Stapp does look a bit older, but Scott Phillips (drummer) was awesome as usual. Mark Tremonti (guitar) is always impressive, but it was something else to see him live. I have seen Creed a couple of times before and each time they get better. Their new CD isn't out yet, but I will be sure to pick it up when it does hit stores at the end of October. StainD was also really good. I have probably seen them over half a dozen times, and they were just as good now as they were back then. Again, I enjoyed their older stuff more than their singles on the radio, but on the whole it was a great show. The only down side was the people sitting in front of us had obviously been pre-gaming and were completely drunk. They were probably in their early 40's and looked only a little out of place. One lady even passed out completely before Creed even took the stage, then continued to sleep through the rest of the show. Our tickets weren't cheap, so I couldn't understand wasting all that money only to sleep. Like I said though, it was a good time.
Quick update on everything else: Rebekah is doing well and is learning more and more each day. My job and Jen's job are going well. Basically status quo around here.
Here is the disease state of the day: Delusions of parasitosis. Had a patient with that the other day in clinic. I love my job.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
I'm back
Yes, I know it's been a while since I have written on here. I have been so busy and haven't had the energy or time to write. What have you been doing, you ask? Unfortunately not too much other than living life. Jen and I went to Portland, OR, had a blast, really enjoyed our time there without our Rebekah, and learned that Portland is apparently the strip club capital of the world. Yeah, I didn't believe it either, except I saw these establishments (from the outside obviously) and how numerous they are.
School has started back which means I am super busy again. I really enjoy my job (both teaching and clinic work), but it is quite tiring. The teaching part is not only rewarding, but also fun. The clinic part is also rewarding and can be even more fun, when the patients don't get up and storm out on you. Or maybe because they do that, it's fun. I don't know. The was a fire at my clinic during the night a few weeks back. Thankfully no one was injured and the only thing that was damaged was an entire wing of the clinic. Luckily not the wing where my office is. THAT would have sucked. So the clinic still smells vaguely of smoke which is an improvement over what it smelled like the first few days after the fire. Jen is working still as well. No changes there. She still likes where she works, but she wishes she could stay home with the toddler.
Speaking of the toddler, Rebekah is doing really well. She's running (usually head-long into things, or diving head first onto the floor), talking (well babbling, but her vocabulary is expanding every day and she can actually understand most of what we are saying to her now and can do some basic sign language (I mean VERY basic)), and generally being a 16 month old. She is full of vim and vigor and LOVES to get into things she's not supposed to. The other day I had given her my keys to play with and she decides it would be more fun to throw them into the dogs' water bowl. So, as I am getting up from hearing her do this, she starts to splash in the water as if it's a bath. Then, as I am running toward her, she decides to completely flip the dogs' bowl on her head, soaking her and the kitchen floor all at once. This happened all in slow motion to me and all you need to picture me saying is "Nooooooooooooo" while diving uselessly onto the kitchen floor. Needless to say she got a bath right away and I dried my keys off as best as I could, then put them in a small bag of rice to really get the moisture out of them. Normally keys are metal and this isn't an issue. So what if they get wet, right? The problem with my keys is that I have an electronic remote door opener for my car which I figured at this point was ruined. Thankfully, after a night in some rice, the remote still opens my door. She got her fluy shot this past weekend and she was a little trooper. Rebekah only cried once the needle was in her and then stopped right away. She was a very good girl. Then after the shot, we got to go to the Little Gym and have fun playing on the equipment, chasing bubbles, and playing with balls. She really likes going, but isn't so much into any kind of structure. So she basically plays the whole time with me doing all the activities by myself. It's OK. Hopefully, she will learn soon enough that having structure can be fun too. Then again, I am not one much for structure either (this is evident after knowing me for like 3 seconds), so this may be an ongoing problem.
Jen and I are going to see Creed (with opening act StainD) next weekend in New Orleans. It's oly 2.5 hours away and Jen's mom is coming down to babysit for us on Friday night through Sunday so we can spend some more quality time together. We'll probably see a movie on Friday and go to the church for some adult volleyball, then get up on Saturday and drive to New Orleans. Don't really know what we are going to do there, since we don't drink, but I'm sure we'll find something. We got a hotel in NO so we don't have to drive back after the concert. I am excited since I haven't seen Creed in a more than a few years and it's their reunion tour, so I'm sure it will rock. It's awesome of Jen's parents to come babysit for us, but I am sure they don't mind since they'll get to spend a lot of time with their granddaughter. Jen will like the concert, but I'm sure she'll miss Rebekah, as will I. We also have season tickets to Auburn Tigers football games, but we will only go to 2 games this year and sell the rest. I am excited since it looks like, so far at least, this will be a better season than last. But then again, we have only played 2 very weak teams. Next week it's West Virginia and we will see how they hold up.
Anyway, that's enough for now. Hopefully I will be posting more regularly so I don't have to write so much all at once! One more thing: Congrats to a couple of our Charleston friends and a couple of our NY friends on their pregnancies! (not together, each couple is having their own child, of course)
Quote for the week: "Being manic isn't fun; it's kind of like a medical emergency."
School has started back which means I am super busy again. I really enjoy my job (both teaching and clinic work), but it is quite tiring. The teaching part is not only rewarding, but also fun. The clinic part is also rewarding and can be even more fun, when the patients don't get up and storm out on you. Or maybe because they do that, it's fun. I don't know. The was a fire at my clinic during the night a few weeks back. Thankfully no one was injured and the only thing that was damaged was an entire wing of the clinic. Luckily not the wing where my office is. THAT would have sucked. So the clinic still smells vaguely of smoke which is an improvement over what it smelled like the first few days after the fire. Jen is working still as well. No changes there. She still likes where she works, but she wishes she could stay home with the toddler.
Speaking of the toddler, Rebekah is doing really well. She's running (usually head-long into things, or diving head first onto the floor), talking (well babbling, but her vocabulary is expanding every day and she can actually understand most of what we are saying to her now and can do some basic sign language (I mean VERY basic)), and generally being a 16 month old. She is full of vim and vigor and LOVES to get into things she's not supposed to. The other day I had given her my keys to play with and she decides it would be more fun to throw them into the dogs' water bowl. So, as I am getting up from hearing her do this, she starts to splash in the water as if it's a bath. Then, as I am running toward her, she decides to completely flip the dogs' bowl on her head, soaking her and the kitchen floor all at once. This happened all in slow motion to me and all you need to picture me saying is "Nooooooooooooo" while diving uselessly onto the kitchen floor. Needless to say she got a bath right away and I dried my keys off as best as I could, then put them in a small bag of rice to really get the moisture out of them. Normally keys are metal and this isn't an issue. So what if they get wet, right? The problem with my keys is that I have an electronic remote door opener for my car which I figured at this point was ruined. Thankfully, after a night in some rice, the remote still opens my door. She got her fluy shot this past weekend and she was a little trooper. Rebekah only cried once the needle was in her and then stopped right away. She was a very good girl. Then after the shot, we got to go to the Little Gym and have fun playing on the equipment, chasing bubbles, and playing with balls. She really likes going, but isn't so much into any kind of structure. So she basically plays the whole time with me doing all the activities by myself. It's OK. Hopefully, she will learn soon enough that having structure can be fun too. Then again, I am not one much for structure either (this is evident after knowing me for like 3 seconds), so this may be an ongoing problem.
Jen and I are going to see Creed (with opening act StainD) next weekend in New Orleans. It's oly 2.5 hours away and Jen's mom is coming down to babysit for us on Friday night through Sunday so we can spend some more quality time together. We'll probably see a movie on Friday and go to the church for some adult volleyball, then get up on Saturday and drive to New Orleans. Don't really know what we are going to do there, since we don't drink, but I'm sure we'll find something. We got a hotel in NO so we don't have to drive back after the concert. I am excited since I haven't seen Creed in a more than a few years and it's their reunion tour, so I'm sure it will rock. It's awesome of Jen's parents to come babysit for us, but I am sure they don't mind since they'll get to spend a lot of time with their granddaughter. Jen will like the concert, but I'm sure she'll miss Rebekah, as will I. We also have season tickets to Auburn Tigers football games, but we will only go to 2 games this year and sell the rest. I am excited since it looks like, so far at least, this will be a better season than last. But then again, we have only played 2 very weak teams. Next week it's West Virginia and we will see how they hold up.
Anyway, that's enough for now. Hopefully I will be posting more regularly so I don't have to write so much all at once! One more thing: Congrats to a couple of our Charleston friends and a couple of our NY friends on their pregnancies! (not together, each couple is having their own child, of course)
Quote for the week: "Being manic isn't fun; it's kind of like a medical emergency."
Friday, July 17, 2009
It's OK to throw a fit as long as you don't hit anybody with it
So not a lot has been going on here. Just kind of grinding through the days. Rebekah has been getting much better at walking and only falls infrequently now. These falls seem to come as a complete surprise to her, but it doesn't really phase her. She has also become more aware of her surroundings. When we walked by a bin of play balls at walmart (you know the kind that are so tall you would have to be a giant to slam dunk it), she kept saying "Ball! Ball! Ball!" over and over again until we walked over and picked one up. Now this ball is about as big as Rebekah. She can barely hold on to it, and when she does you can't see her behind it. Before you go thinking we let her have whatever she wants, we did go to the store with the intent to get her a new toy. It's not the toy we were looking for, yes. But it did keep her entertained. While checking out, we realized the ball we picked up didn't have a bar code on it. Meanwhile, Rebekah is throwing an honest conniption fit because we took her ball away to scan it on the self scanner. Yes, screaming, crying, jumping up and down in the cart, etc. ensued. It was not a pretty sight. When we finally got the ball to the car (Rebekah holding it all the way, in the front of the cart), we had to take the ball away to strap her in the car seat. You would think we were murdering the girl by the way she screamed. Then she carried it in front of her in the car seat the entire way home, didn't want to give it up to come out of the car seat, and continued to hold it while I carried her into the house. After about 15 minutes of holding the ball, she decided it was safe to put it down, and then she started to chase it around the house. This lasted another 10 minutes or so. Now the ball sits completely unused somewhere in our living room. And I thought I had a short attention span.
Jen and I are excited about our trip to Portland, OR. We are going to have some fun there and can't wait to see some old friends. There seems to be a lot to do there so I am sure we will keep busy. Since the toddler won't be with us, we will have some alone time. The first thing we are going to do: See the new Harry Potter movie. Not what you thought, right? But we can't really bring her to the movie since a. she won't watch the movie and b. she won't sit still for 2 1/2 hours in a dark room with other people and lots of noise going on and c. she's only 14 months old, Harry Potter is definitely not age appropriate! We'll also go to the museum (they have an MC Escher exibit going on) and many of the gardens and other attractions Portland has to offer. You know, do grown up stuff. This will be the first time we are both leaving the baby for an extended period of time, and we are both pretty nervous about it. I am sureRebekah will be fine (she's staying with my mother and father in law at our house, Thanks!), but she is still my daughter and I can't help but worry. We will Skype with her, but we don't really know how she will react to seeing us on the screen, but not be able to reach us. Not to mention our flight leaves early in the morning so she will go to sleep and the next day Mommy and Daddy are gone. Hopefully that won't bring up any abandonment issues. It'll be interesting to say the least.
Work is going to start picking up again soon. The students come back in a couple weeks and I start taking rotation students soon as well. I am excited though to how well this class does compared to the last class since their curriculum was slightly different. I am also going to be doing a presentation for the state mental health board, which will help increase my profile around the state and maybe get me some better paying gigs.
Alright folks, that's all for now. Enjoy your life; it's the only one you get. I know I am.
Jen and I are excited about our trip to Portland, OR. We are going to have some fun there and can't wait to see some old friends. There seems to be a lot to do there so I am sure we will keep busy. Since the toddler won't be with us, we will have some alone time. The first thing we are going to do: See the new Harry Potter movie. Not what you thought, right? But we can't really bring her to the movie since a. she won't watch the movie and b. she won't sit still for 2 1/2 hours in a dark room with other people and lots of noise going on and c. she's only 14 months old, Harry Potter is definitely not age appropriate! We'll also go to the museum (they have an MC Escher exibit going on) and many of the gardens and other attractions Portland has to offer. You know, do grown up stuff. This will be the first time we are both leaving the baby for an extended period of time, and we are both pretty nervous about it. I am sureRebekah will be fine (she's staying with my mother and father in law at our house, Thanks!), but she is still my daughter and I can't help but worry. We will Skype with her, but we don't really know how she will react to seeing us on the screen, but not be able to reach us. Not to mention our flight leaves early in the morning so she will go to sleep and the next day Mommy and Daddy are gone. Hopefully that won't bring up any abandonment issues. It'll be interesting to say the least.
Work is going to start picking up again soon. The students come back in a couple weeks and I start taking rotation students soon as well. I am excited though to how well this class does compared to the last class since their curriculum was slightly different. I am also going to be doing a presentation for the state mental health board, which will help increase my profile around the state and maybe get me some better paying gigs.
Alright folks, that's all for now. Enjoy your life; it's the only one you get. I know I am.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Are you being served?
It has been a busy week back at work. I came back and on Monday had a lot of catching up to do. Kind of like how Lucy has some 'splainin' to do. Except mine was in the form of email. See I forgot to set my "out of office". I thought I had, but apparently I didn't remember to. Oops! Silly me. So in every email I wrote I had to apologize for not responding sooner. Since they didn't know I was out of town. Other than that work has been pretty standard this week. Lots of patients needed to be seen. Papers I had written needed to be revised and reviewers needed to be responded to. While I do enjoy writing, I don't think there is anything more tedious than responding to reviewers' comments. Every little punctuation mark, comment, addition, etc. needs its own response. Now I have done that for one of the papers. Two more to go, and a book chapter. Maybe then I can take it easy for while....
Rebekah has been talking more and walking all over the place. She has a toddler couch that has Disney princesses on it that Jen and I bought her last week. She loves this thing. I don't know what it is about this couch that has Rebekah so enamored. It can't be the princesses, since I don't think she even knows what they are, and I don't really think the fact that its a couch is that novel since she has seen them before as well. One thing she has figured out is how to change it from a couch to a fold out bed after watching me do it a few times. She is so smart.
On Wednesday, we took the youth from church to tour a Coast Guard cutter. We have a member who is the captain of one of the boats that are based out of Mobile. The youth really appreciated it and they actually behaved which was a welcome surprise. I really thought it was cool as I have never been on a Coast Guard boat before. We got to ride on a jet powered raft, use a fire hose, and see the engine room and bridge. I am glad the youth had that experience. I'm sure that is something they will never do again (well, unless they join the coast guard). I was off on Friday, and since we had the nanny anyway, I went and helped someone move. You know, loading their stuff into a Uhaul, making sure it is packed well and tight, and generally sweating my butt off. Then when I was done I was able to come back home and spend the day with Rebekah. We visited Jen at work, since she was pretty slow on the day before a holiday. Then Saturday morning I was able to help with some yard work for a couple from church. They have been having some health problems lately and haven't been able to take care of their yard. Let's just say that the back yard has person high grass and weeds. Honestly, I never thought that possible, but it is. I had to leave early when we were about 75% done because Jen had to work. It felt good to help out and serve others.
Having to work on a holiday stinks, but at least Jen gets paid holiday pay in addition to her regular salary. We don't really have any plans for Indepenence Day, since Rebekah likely won't cooperate to be out late watching fireworks. We may end up at a friend's house for a cookout, but I don't know whether we'll go. We also recently bought a new refrigerator. Our old one was functional, but it was just too small. Now we have a larger fridge to put all our food in. It also dispenses water and ice from the front, which our old one didn't do.
I guess that's it for now. Have a good weekend and Happy 4th of July!
Rebekah has been talking more and walking all over the place. She has a toddler couch that has Disney princesses on it that Jen and I bought her last week. She loves this thing. I don't know what it is about this couch that has Rebekah so enamored. It can't be the princesses, since I don't think she even knows what they are, and I don't really think the fact that its a couch is that novel since she has seen them before as well. One thing she has figured out is how to change it from a couch to a fold out bed after watching me do it a few times. She is so smart.
On Wednesday, we took the youth from church to tour a Coast Guard cutter. We have a member who is the captain of one of the boats that are based out of Mobile. The youth really appreciated it and they actually behaved which was a welcome surprise. I really thought it was cool as I have never been on a Coast Guard boat before. We got to ride on a jet powered raft, use a fire hose, and see the engine room and bridge. I am glad the youth had that experience. I'm sure that is something they will never do again (well, unless they join the coast guard). I was off on Friday, and since we had the nanny anyway, I went and helped someone move. You know, loading their stuff into a Uhaul, making sure it is packed well and tight, and generally sweating my butt off. Then when I was done I was able to come back home and spend the day with Rebekah. We visited Jen at work, since she was pretty slow on the day before a holiday. Then Saturday morning I was able to help with some yard work for a couple from church. They have been having some health problems lately and haven't been able to take care of their yard. Let's just say that the back yard has person high grass and weeds. Honestly, I never thought that possible, but it is. I had to leave early when we were about 75% done because Jen had to work. It felt good to help out and serve others.
Having to work on a holiday stinks, but at least Jen gets paid holiday pay in addition to her regular salary. We don't really have any plans for Indepenence Day, since Rebekah likely won't cooperate to be out late watching fireworks. We may end up at a friend's house for a cookout, but I don't know whether we'll go. We also recently bought a new refrigerator. Our old one was functional, but it was just too small. Now we have a larger fridge to put all our food in. It also dispenses water and ice from the front, which our old one didn't do.
I guess that's it for now. Have a good weekend and Happy 4th of July!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Travelogue and other sundry items
Quick update on Rebekah: She's walking! It's official. She was doing a little bit of walking before I left for Utah, but now she is full on walking. She can actually get almost around the whole house without falling. Jen and I are so proud of her. She has also done a lot more talking. Well, talking isn't the right word. Gibberish is the right word, but it is sounding more and more like real words. It was really tough to leave her and Jen to go away and I missed them like heck the whole time I was gone. Jen was a trooper though and took care of the child care duties while I was gone and I commend her for that. Gold star! Jen and I have also decided to enroll Rebekah in a "Little Gym" so she can meet other children, have some exercise, and socialize a bit. We went for a "free trial" on Saturday and Rebekah had a ball. She couldn't have enough fun. There were balls, an air filled bouncy thingy, bubbles, songs, and free play. Basically, she was in toddler heaven. I guess we did have to fork over the money to get her in the Fall semester which will start in August. Every Saturday Daddy will be going with her and Mommy will be coming along on the weekends she has off. I really do think its a good "investment", so I won't complain too much....
So I went out to Salt Lake City (SLC from now on) and got my learn on. Some items from the flight out: 2 layovers instead of one really messes with your head. I don't care how much one stop costs. From now on I am doing a MAX of one stop. Thankfully they didn't lose my luggage, but it was still a hassle to change planes twice and navigate 2 airports. I think that if they make you pay for your bags, the airlines should guarantee that your luggage will arrive with you. Maybe I am off-base, but if this was the case, then I might not mind (as much) paying to check my suitcase. I was so sick going out to SLC. And by sick I mean ill. Really, really ill. I had the worst head cold I have had in a long time. Taking off and landing was heck on my head. I pumped myself full of Sudafed (the real stuff that's behind the counter not the crappy PE garbage you can get OTC) and ibuprofen around-the-clock to be able to function adequately. Oh yeah, and a lot of vitamin C (not that it really helps that much, since you pee out anything your body doesn't need, but it makes me feel like I am doing something). With all that medicine coursing through my veins, you would think I'd feel better. Well, it took about 2 days or so before all the junk was gone, but I am still dealing with the plugged sinuses, chest congestion, cough, and runny nose. Hopefully I'll feel better soon. When I arrived in SLC and could see Great Salt Lake it was really cool. I could actually see downtown from the plane with the state house and temple and big buildings and everything. Then I took a cab (a $35 cab, mind you) to the University of Utah to check into the dorms.
The dorms weren't that bad, considering I didn't have to share a room with anyone. I don't know why that was, but I wasn't going to complain. Especially since I had my own bathroom. There was no TV though, which was actually OK. I proved to myself that I could go a whole week with out TV. I knew I could do it though, since I had no TV for the first couple months of freshman year in college. I just had to read the newspaper. I had internet, but by the time I got back to the room after a long day of meetings, I just didn't have it in me to go on and watch TV. The problem with the dorms was that they were WAY too far away from where the conference was held. I walk fast, and it still took me a good 20 minutes to walk to the conference. Thankfully, after the first day, they had buses running and this significantly shortened my walk. Also, I had the students I was with drive me back after the sessions usually. More on that later.
SLC is a very clean city, with wide roads (which were labeled very strangely) and a back drop of the Rocky Mountains. Brigham Young said something to the effect of he wanted wagon drivers to be able to turn around in the street without resorting to cursing, which is why the roads were wide. It was very difficult, though, to find something to eat on Sunday, after our sessions. We were starving and couldn't find anything open. We finally settled on a McDonald's 24 hour drive through after about an hour of looking. I didn't think it would be THAT hard to find something open, but apparently it was. The dry air was my only complaint because it was killing me. Chap stick became my best friend and water became my drink of choice. There was a "humid" day (45%?!), but this was not humid by my standards, especially coming from temps in the upper 90's with heat indicies of 110's. The weather as a whole though was very good: not too hot or too cold and it didn't really rain. I guess this was the time of year to go to Utah.
While the conference was pretty basic on a scientific level, I did learn a lot about the different psychosocial interventions, 12-step programs, and personal stories of people who were addicted. I think addiction can happen to anyone. I did have a good time and like I said, I did gain some knowledge I didn't have before, but overall I don't think I really need to go back again. Once was enough for me and it will enable me to understand better what is going on with someone who has alcoholism or any kind of addiction. I guess I can take something from the conference and use it in my every day work: empathy.
So I went out to Salt Lake City (SLC from now on) and got my learn on. Some items from the flight out: 2 layovers instead of one really messes with your head. I don't care how much one stop costs. From now on I am doing a MAX of one stop. Thankfully they didn't lose my luggage, but it was still a hassle to change planes twice and navigate 2 airports. I think that if they make you pay for your bags, the airlines should guarantee that your luggage will arrive with you. Maybe I am off-base, but if this was the case, then I might not mind (as much) paying to check my suitcase. I was so sick going out to SLC. And by sick I mean ill. Really, really ill. I had the worst head cold I have had in a long time. Taking off and landing was heck on my head. I pumped myself full of Sudafed (the real stuff that's behind the counter not the crappy PE garbage you can get OTC) and ibuprofen around-the-clock to be able to function adequately. Oh yeah, and a lot of vitamin C (not that it really helps that much, since you pee out anything your body doesn't need, but it makes me feel like I am doing something). With all that medicine coursing through my veins, you would think I'd feel better. Well, it took about 2 days or so before all the junk was gone, but I am still dealing with the plugged sinuses, chest congestion, cough, and runny nose. Hopefully I'll feel better soon. When I arrived in SLC and could see Great Salt Lake it was really cool. I could actually see downtown from the plane with the state house and temple and big buildings and everything. Then I took a cab (a $35 cab, mind you) to the University of Utah to check into the dorms.
The dorms weren't that bad, considering I didn't have to share a room with anyone. I don't know why that was, but I wasn't going to complain. Especially since I had my own bathroom. There was no TV though, which was actually OK. I proved to myself that I could go a whole week with out TV. I knew I could do it though, since I had no TV for the first couple months of freshman year in college. I just had to read the newspaper. I had internet, but by the time I got back to the room after a long day of meetings, I just didn't have it in me to go on and watch TV. The problem with the dorms was that they were WAY too far away from where the conference was held. I walk fast, and it still took me a good 20 minutes to walk to the conference. Thankfully, after the first day, they had buses running and this significantly shortened my walk. Also, I had the students I was with drive me back after the sessions usually. More on that later.
SLC is a very clean city, with wide roads (which were labeled very strangely) and a back drop of the Rocky Mountains. Brigham Young said something to the effect of he wanted wagon drivers to be able to turn around in the street without resorting to cursing, which is why the roads were wide. It was very difficult, though, to find something to eat on Sunday, after our sessions. We were starving and couldn't find anything open. We finally settled on a McDonald's 24 hour drive through after about an hour of looking. I didn't think it would be THAT hard to find something open, but apparently it was. The dry air was my only complaint because it was killing me. Chap stick became my best friend and water became my drink of choice. There was a "humid" day (45%?!), but this was not humid by my standards, especially coming from temps in the upper 90's with heat indicies of 110's. The weather as a whole though was very good: not too hot or too cold and it didn't really rain. I guess this was the time of year to go to Utah.
While the conference was pretty basic on a scientific level, I did learn a lot about the different psychosocial interventions, 12-step programs, and personal stories of people who were addicted. I think addiction can happen to anyone. I did have a good time and like I said, I did gain some knowledge I didn't have before, but overall I don't think I really need to go back again. Once was enough for me and it will enable me to understand better what is going on with someone who has alcoholism or any kind of addiction. I guess I can take something from the conference and use it in my every day work: empathy.
In the evening, most every night (well every night really) I went out. The first night was a Sunday and other than I couldn't find anything open at which to eat, it wasn't a bad night. The next night I was able to see a friend from high school who I honestly haven't seen in person since high school. It was really good to catch up and reminisce with her. We had awesome barbeque at Famous Dave's which is apparently a chain, but I have never heard of it. Most of the other nights the students and I hung out at various places: the Olympic ice skating rink, Temple Square (which was awesome, I wish I had more time there), Einstein Bagel, and many other places. It was actually kind of nice to hang out with some of my students, even though I am still their teacher. It was an interesting dynamic and it was weird to be called "Dr. Lorenz" in public when I am not at work. I still don't really know how I feel about it. I didn't want to impose on the students, but they kept inviting me out so I kept going. It is safe to say a good time was had by all. And there were TONS of "that's what she said" jokes. I will refrain from giving any specific examples, but let's just say it got only a little out of hand.
Overall, the experience was a good one. I learned. I had fun. I was a teacher. Vini, vidi, vici. My old latin class is coming back to me... I was glad to come back home though and be with my family who I missed a lot. We had a great weekend with each other and I wish every weekend was like this last one.
I guess I can't get away without mentioning something about Michael Jackson. He was a groundbreaker and I LOVED his music when I was younger. He got all weird towards the end (some would say he was always weird) but he should RIP. I didn't even hear about it on the news; I heard it from a student who got a text message. That is one drawback to not having any TV and minimal internet access: no news. This is why I started reading the newspaper when I was in Utah. Also, I can't believe Ed McMahon AND Billy Mays are dead as well. Just weirdness.
Anyway, that's probably more than enough for now. It is time to go have some ice cream. Have a good week!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Travels and Travails
So I am gearing up to travel to Salt Lake City, on Father's Day, having to change planes twice for a total of almost 9 hours of travel. While that sounds kind of daunting (especially the long flights), I am looking forward to going for a couple of reasons. I get to attend a conference on alcohol and substance abuse at the University of Utah which will help me further my career (and the college is paying for it). I also get to visit a state and city I have never been to before and poke around. I am looking forward to seeing all the different church sites like Temple Square. But I am also really excited to visit with a friend from high school who I had lost contact with. After meeting up on Facebook, we discovered we had more in common than ever. So it will be good to catch up and hang out.
The reason I am going to SLC is really as an advisor to the 26 students from the pharmacy school who are attending the conference. I guess even grad students need a chaparone? No, probably not. I think because the material is intense and there is a lot of information given, it is good to have someone the students can go to to ask questions and what not. I know almost half the students who are going since they are at the local campus. The rest I am sure I have met, but won't remember until I see them because they are at the main campus. The downside to going and staying at U of U is that the "hotel" is really code for "dorm room". They don't make any excuses for this and we will see how I like dorm living now that I have my own house. Its been almost 10 years since I was in that situation. I guess I am going to be getting good use of my flip flops.
As my usual OCD self, I made a list of everything I need to bring in order to make it a successful trip. Hopefully I don't forget anything. You have to bring your own towels and pillows, so packing light otherwise (so I only have to pay for one checked bag) will be paramount. The only negative is having to leave Jen and the baby for a whole week, but I think it will be a nice change. In other trip related news, Jen and I are heading (sans Rebekah) to Portland, OR in a few weeks for a good friend's wedding. She was in residency with me and we have stayed in contact ever since. We have never been to Portland and are looking forward to experiencing new things. If anyone has any suggestions for what to do while we are there, we're all ears! This will be our vacation (note the lack of quotes) for the year. For next year: beach house on Folly!
Rebekah is getting closer and closer to walking. She will walk for a couple steps between Jen and I when we are sitting on the floor, but doesn't really initiate the walking on her own. It's only a matter of time before she is. She wants to play with the other kids her age at church, but they are all walking and I have a feeling she feels left out. So maybe that will get her motivated to walk. Rebekah has also been quite sick the past few days. She has a stuffy nose (which when she sneezes comes out in torrents that are subsequently wiped by her hand all over her face and everything else), a pretty good cough, and has been running a fever. With a lot of tissues, a quick hand, lots of Tylenol, a cool mist humidifier, and some cooperation with Rebekah, she has been getting better. Hopefully we are on the tail end of this illness, which we think she picked up while we were in NY and/or traveling. Otherwise, since it's been mid ninties (actual temperture, heat index mid 100's) Rebekah has been pretty house confined. We don't need her getting heat stroke on top of being ill! Indoor activities she will tolerate are far and few between, so any ideas anyone has for entertaining a 13 month old are welcome. She has also learned that she can feed the dogs with her finger foods. She takes one of the Gerber puffs of the table and puts it in her mouth and then throws another puff on the floor for Maude. We have been trying to discourage this behavior with limited success. Perrin has caught on that he needs to be in on this deal so he's been playing nice with Rebekah, which heretofore, he's been reluctant to do. Maybe the way to Perrin's heart is through his mouth? Yeah, most definitely.
Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there! I don't know what I'll be getting, but I know what I won't be: a motorcycle or motorcycle safety course registration. It seems Jen is pretty set on me not getting either of those things for a long while. And every time I mention it, she gets a little upset. So I guess Ray will be motorcycle-less for a lot longer. :-( Here's to hoping though!
I think I may start to write reviews of books, TV, music, etc. on here, but we will see if I have the ambition for that. That's about it for what's going on here. Random quote: "My girlfriend was telling me to take my medication, so I smacked her across the mouth for disrespecting me. The voices told me God would forgive me for putting her in her place. I don't see why that's a problem." Very wrong, I know. Don't ask me why he doesn't understand the need for his medication....
The reason I am going to SLC is really as an advisor to the 26 students from the pharmacy school who are attending the conference. I guess even grad students need a chaparone? No, probably not. I think because the material is intense and there is a lot of information given, it is good to have someone the students can go to to ask questions and what not. I know almost half the students who are going since they are at the local campus. The rest I am sure I have met, but won't remember until I see them because they are at the main campus. The downside to going and staying at U of U is that the "hotel" is really code for "dorm room". They don't make any excuses for this and we will see how I like dorm living now that I have my own house. Its been almost 10 years since I was in that situation. I guess I am going to be getting good use of my flip flops.
As my usual OCD self, I made a list of everything I need to bring in order to make it a successful trip. Hopefully I don't forget anything. You have to bring your own towels and pillows, so packing light otherwise (so I only have to pay for one checked bag) will be paramount. The only negative is having to leave Jen and the baby for a whole week, but I think it will be a nice change. In other trip related news, Jen and I are heading (sans Rebekah) to Portland, OR in a few weeks for a good friend's wedding. She was in residency with me and we have stayed in contact ever since. We have never been to Portland and are looking forward to experiencing new things. If anyone has any suggestions for what to do while we are there, we're all ears! This will be our vacation (note the lack of quotes) for the year. For next year: beach house on Folly!
Rebekah is getting closer and closer to walking. She will walk for a couple steps between Jen and I when we are sitting on the floor, but doesn't really initiate the walking on her own. It's only a matter of time before she is. She wants to play with the other kids her age at church, but they are all walking and I have a feeling she feels left out. So maybe that will get her motivated to walk. Rebekah has also been quite sick the past few days. She has a stuffy nose (which when she sneezes comes out in torrents that are subsequently wiped by her hand all over her face and everything else), a pretty good cough, and has been running a fever. With a lot of tissues, a quick hand, lots of Tylenol, a cool mist humidifier, and some cooperation with Rebekah, she has been getting better. Hopefully we are on the tail end of this illness, which we think she picked up while we were in NY and/or traveling. Otherwise, since it's been mid ninties (actual temperture, heat index mid 100's) Rebekah has been pretty house confined. We don't need her getting heat stroke on top of being ill! Indoor activities she will tolerate are far and few between, so any ideas anyone has for entertaining a 13 month old are welcome. She has also learned that she can feed the dogs with her finger foods. She takes one of the Gerber puffs of the table and puts it in her mouth and then throws another puff on the floor for Maude. We have been trying to discourage this behavior with limited success. Perrin has caught on that he needs to be in on this deal so he's been playing nice with Rebekah, which heretofore, he's been reluctant to do. Maybe the way to Perrin's heart is through his mouth? Yeah, most definitely.
Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there! I don't know what I'll be getting, but I know what I won't be: a motorcycle or motorcycle safety course registration. It seems Jen is pretty set on me not getting either of those things for a long while. And every time I mention it, she gets a little upset. So I guess Ray will be motorcycle-less for a lot longer. :-( Here's to hoping though!
I think I may start to write reviews of books, TV, music, etc. on here, but we will see if I have the ambition for that. That's about it for what's going on here. Random quote: "My girlfriend was telling me to take my medication, so I smacked her across the mouth for disrespecting me. The voices told me God would forgive me for putting her in her place. I don't see why that's a problem." Very wrong, I know. Don't ask me why he doesn't understand the need for his medication....
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Triumphantly I return
In the category of new Rebekah tricks, she has decided that she doesn't like to use her pacifier normally. What I mean by this is that when she has the business end of the paci in her mouth, she needs to have the ring part tucked up under her nose. It is quite interesting and slightly dismaying. I don't really know why she needs that specific configuration, but it is causing a minor blister to form under her nose.
So my "vacation" went really well. We had a great time with family and friends. All of our planning and list writing really helped make the trip a success. We only forgot one thing: Swimmy diapers, which we had to buy so Rebekah could go swimming. She loves swimming. I think she would rather be in the water than out. So swim diapers are a necessity. We initially tried to use a regular diaper, thinking "it can't be all that much different". Well, I am here to tell you it is. You see, apparently regular diapers are made of some kind of material which sucks up water. In any form, regardless of whether it is coming from inside (i.e. from the baby) or from the outside (i.e. from the pool). After using the regular diaper to go swimming it was so full and heavy there was no way it was going to be able to hold any baby urine. I have never had a diaper THAT full. Ever. I don't know what the technology is that allows swim diapers to not expand when they get wet but still absorb urine, but I thank that inventor whole heartedly.
On the plane ride up there, Rebekah did reasonably well. She was about 10 minutes away from a melt down when we landed in Rochester, so if we needed to circle the airport waiting for an opportunity to land we may have had a significant issue. But as it was, she didn't really care about any of the toys we had, or the DVDs we brought or really anything other than wanting Mommy to hold her. She was very cranky that first day since she was woken up by us at 3:30 AM and didn't really have a nap until well after noon. Needless to say, she slept the entire ride to Auburn where we were staying. Speaking of sleeping in the car, that was the only way we could get her to nap the whole trip. There was one day when I rode around in the car with her for over an hour and a half just to get her to sleep. It was a fun day. If any of you are familiar with Central NY geography. I drove from Syracuse to Oswego and back again. It was a long drive. On the flight back, I think she was so exhausted from not sleeping and meeting so many new people that she slept most of the way back. This was a serious blessing. There was only one incident when we were landing in Atlanta where she was completely inconsolable because of her ears popping. We had the pacifier and the Tylenol, but it didn't really help.
Like I said, it was good to catch up with Jen's family. We used to be close to most of them, and I guess we still are, but it is different not living in close proximity to each other. I always enjoy hanging out with her cousins and aunts; they are really fun people. The wedding was beautiful and we had a good time, except for having to leave way early because of an absolutely done little toddler. Stephanie's graduation party was fun as well. I hope she enjoyed it. There were so many people there, more than half of which I had never met or even heard of. It wasn't too hot and there was good food, drinks, and conversation. Rebekah was able to crawl around and not be fussy most of the time which was good. The coolest thing that happened was that Rebekah was asked to be a flower girl in Amber's wedding in Charleston next May. We are very excited and happy for her and Evan, and almost as excited to have an excuse to go back to Charleston (like we need one). We are probably going to be renting a beach house on Folly Beach so that will be even more awesome.
We really enjoyed reconnecting with some old friends who we haven’t seen in forever and hanging out with my old college roommate and his wife. It was also very fun seeing some of Jen’s old friends from when she lived in Auburn. You know you have good friends when you can just pick up and talk like we've been living next door to each other when in reality we haven’t seen each other in years. It’s very good to have that connection with people.
We also were able to get professional pictures of the family done for free (thanks Delia!). Rebekah loves the camera and it shows in the pictures for sure. Unfortunately, I didn't get an electronic copy of the pics, so you all will have to wonder just how cute Rebekah is (trust me she's ADORABLE). We were also able to tour some historic church sites in Palmyra. This was probably the most peaceful and relaxing time of the trip. I wish we could have stayed all day. I know when we go back to NY next time, we will block off more time to visit there.
Anyway, that’s the major part of the "vacation" experience. We were very busy and we were going non-stop for 6 days, but it was worth every second and every instance of FBS (fussy baby syndrome). When will we be back to NY? I don't know, maybe not for a couple of years. I know when we do return, we will be just as busy again! But that doesn't preclude some of our NY friends from visit us here in podunk Alabama!!
So my "vacation" went really well. We had a great time with family and friends. All of our planning and list writing really helped make the trip a success. We only forgot one thing: Swimmy diapers, which we had to buy so Rebekah could go swimming. She loves swimming. I think she would rather be in the water than out. So swim diapers are a necessity. We initially tried to use a regular diaper, thinking "it can't be all that much different". Well, I am here to tell you it is. You see, apparently regular diapers are made of some kind of material which sucks up water. In any form, regardless of whether it is coming from inside (i.e. from the baby) or from the outside (i.e. from the pool). After using the regular diaper to go swimming it was so full and heavy there was no way it was going to be able to hold any baby urine. I have never had a diaper THAT full. Ever. I don't know what the technology is that allows swim diapers to not expand when they get wet but still absorb urine, but I thank that inventor whole heartedly.
On the plane ride up there, Rebekah did reasonably well. She was about 10 minutes away from a melt down when we landed in Rochester, so if we needed to circle the airport waiting for an opportunity to land we may have had a significant issue. But as it was, she didn't really care about any of the toys we had, or the DVDs we brought or really anything other than wanting Mommy to hold her. She was very cranky that first day since she was woken up by us at 3:30 AM and didn't really have a nap until well after noon. Needless to say, she slept the entire ride to Auburn where we were staying. Speaking of sleeping in the car, that was the only way we could get her to nap the whole trip. There was one day when I rode around in the car with her for over an hour and a half just to get her to sleep. It was a fun day. If any of you are familiar with Central NY geography. I drove from Syracuse to Oswego and back again. It was a long drive. On the flight back, I think she was so exhausted from not sleeping and meeting so many new people that she slept most of the way back. This was a serious blessing. There was only one incident when we were landing in Atlanta where she was completely inconsolable because of her ears popping. We had the pacifier and the Tylenol, but it didn't really help.
Like I said, it was good to catch up with Jen's family. We used to be close to most of them, and I guess we still are, but it is different not living in close proximity to each other. I always enjoy hanging out with her cousins and aunts; they are really fun people. The wedding was beautiful and we had a good time, except for having to leave way early because of an absolutely done little toddler. Stephanie's graduation party was fun as well. I hope she enjoyed it. There were so many people there, more than half of which I had never met or even heard of. It wasn't too hot and there was good food, drinks, and conversation. Rebekah was able to crawl around and not be fussy most of the time which was good. The coolest thing that happened was that Rebekah was asked to be a flower girl in Amber's wedding in Charleston next May. We are very excited and happy for her and Evan, and almost as excited to have an excuse to go back to Charleston (like we need one). We are probably going to be renting a beach house on Folly Beach so that will be even more awesome.
We really enjoyed reconnecting with some old friends who we haven’t seen in forever and hanging out with my old college roommate and his wife. It was also very fun seeing some of Jen’s old friends from when she lived in Auburn. You know you have good friends when you can just pick up and talk like we've been living next door to each other when in reality we haven’t seen each other in years. It’s very good to have that connection with people.
We also were able to get professional pictures of the family done for free (thanks Delia!). Rebekah loves the camera and it shows in the pictures for sure. Unfortunately, I didn't get an electronic copy of the pics, so you all will have to wonder just how cute Rebekah is (trust me she's ADORABLE). We were also able to tour some historic church sites in Palmyra. This was probably the most peaceful and relaxing time of the trip. I wish we could have stayed all day. I know when we go back to NY next time, we will block off more time to visit there.
Anyway, that’s the major part of the "vacation" experience. We were very busy and we were going non-stop for 6 days, but it was worth every second and every instance of FBS (fussy baby syndrome). When will we be back to NY? I don't know, maybe not for a couple of years. I know when we do return, we will be just as busy again! But that doesn't preclude some of our NY friends from visit us here in podunk Alabama!!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Leaving on a jet plane...
So Jen, Rebekah, and I are going to be going on a "vacation" this coming week. I put vacation in quotes because I don't know if it will really be a true vacation. A true vacation to me is one where I don't have to do anything, have no obligations, and can be myself. This "vacation" we will be traipsing around upstate New York going to a wedding, a graduation party, and visiting family and friends. In other words, being very, very busy especially since most of the family in NY has not met Rebekah yet. Now don't get me wrong, just because it's not a "real" vacation for me doesn't mean I won't have fun. In fact, I am sure I will have a lot of fun. I will enjoy the wedding, and the family, and the friends, and the graduation party. It's just that I doubt I will have any real time to just relax. In addition, we will have Rebekah to entertain while doing all these things. That's actually not that bad, but a toddler who is off her schedule (i.e. not eating or sleeping properly or at her normal times) will likely be very fussy, which doesn't make for a happy Daddy.
All of that is really minor compared to the impending airplane ride(s). I had no idea how difficult flying with a baby can be. I mean, we did go to Charleston on a plane with Rebekah, but she was only 6 months old, easy to entertain, slept the whole plane ride, and the total time on a plane was only 2 hours. When we go to NY the total plane time is going to be somewhere around 4 and a half hours! And she is not sleeping as easily, harder to entertain, and much, much older. I think keeping her amused will be the challenge part and we have a variety of hints and strategies we picked up from friends and websites we are going to try out. Some of these are things like giving her a new toy, using sticker/activity books, playing with pipe cleaners, and reading new books. Well, she LOVES to read (like her mommy and daddy), so that is one thing I am sure she will like. However, I have heard that giving her Benadryl would be easiest (so she will sleep, unless she has the opposite reaction, which would be bad, so a test dose is always prudent), but Jen isn't into drugging our child. I, on the other hand, am all for it. Whatever works easiest, I say. But I think Jen is going to win this one and we will have to make sure Bekah doesn't get bored and try out the multitude of entertainment strategies. And then we get to do all over again on the way back. Fun, fun, fun.
In addition to the actual plane ride, you have to make sure you have everything you need packed in the appropriate places. For me this means it's time to make lists. I am a list person; I like them, they keep me on track and they ensure I don't forget anything I thought to put on the list. Now if I forget to put something on the list, well that's out of my hands. So we will have a list of stuff that needs to go in the diaper bag, into the carry on bag, into the checked bags, etc. The list of lists seems infinite. Making sure we have all the clothing we need, toiletries, etc. is a full time job. Usually we wouldn't go to this extreme, but because airlines are charging per bag, we want only 1 bag each not including Rebekah. This entails much forcing of baggage closed, but it should be cheapest (as long as we aren't over the weight limit). We'll be carrying on some clothing (since I have such horrible luck with lost baggage) and all of the aforementioned entertainment equipment for Rebekah. If I'm not enough of a geek for you already, Jen and I are going to make an itinerary of where we need to go when. Not that we have to follow it, or that I'll be upset if we don't get to everything exactly on time or at all, but because we are seeing so many people at disparate times it will make sure we don't forget anyone or any appointments.
So as you can see, this is going to be quite an adventure. With the traveling, shlepping around a (possibly quite cranky) baby Rebekah, and general business of the week, you can understand my trepidation about calling this a real "vacation". I will definitely be looking forward to our other trip this summer (sans baby Rebekah) to Portland, Oregon in July which I can call as much of a vacation as I am likely to get any time soon. It will be nice to get away with Jen for sure though and go to my friend's wedding there. And yes, I know we are not the first parents to have to take a toddler on a flight, but it's our first time so cut me some slack. And this is my blog and I'll complain if I want to! :-) I will have Jen to lean on and she is the much more prepared one for this sort of thing, but I'd like to think we will have a learning experience. And isn't that what life's all about?
All of that is really minor compared to the impending airplane ride(s). I had no idea how difficult flying with a baby can be. I mean, we did go to Charleston on a plane with Rebekah, but she was only 6 months old, easy to entertain, slept the whole plane ride, and the total time on a plane was only 2 hours. When we go to NY the total plane time is going to be somewhere around 4 and a half hours! And she is not sleeping as easily, harder to entertain, and much, much older. I think keeping her amused will be the challenge part and we have a variety of hints and strategies we picked up from friends and websites we are going to try out. Some of these are things like giving her a new toy, using sticker/activity books, playing with pipe cleaners, and reading new books. Well, she LOVES to read (like her mommy and daddy), so that is one thing I am sure she will like. However, I have heard that giving her Benadryl would be easiest (so she will sleep, unless she has the opposite reaction, which would be bad, so a test dose is always prudent), but Jen isn't into drugging our child. I, on the other hand, am all for it. Whatever works easiest, I say. But I think Jen is going to win this one and we will have to make sure Bekah doesn't get bored and try out the multitude of entertainment strategies. And then we get to do all over again on the way back. Fun, fun, fun.
In addition to the actual plane ride, you have to make sure you have everything you need packed in the appropriate places. For me this means it's time to make lists. I am a list person; I like them, they keep me on track and they ensure I don't forget anything I thought to put on the list. Now if I forget to put something on the list, well that's out of my hands. So we will have a list of stuff that needs to go in the diaper bag, into the carry on bag, into the checked bags, etc. The list of lists seems infinite. Making sure we have all the clothing we need, toiletries, etc. is a full time job. Usually we wouldn't go to this extreme, but because airlines are charging per bag, we want only 1 bag each not including Rebekah. This entails much forcing of baggage closed, but it should be cheapest (as long as we aren't over the weight limit). We'll be carrying on some clothing (since I have such horrible luck with lost baggage) and all of the aforementioned entertainment equipment for Rebekah. If I'm not enough of a geek for you already, Jen and I are going to make an itinerary of where we need to go when. Not that we have to follow it, or that I'll be upset if we don't get to everything exactly on time or at all, but because we are seeing so many people at disparate times it will make sure we don't forget anyone or any appointments.
So as you can see, this is going to be quite an adventure. With the traveling, shlepping around a (possibly quite cranky) baby Rebekah, and general business of the week, you can understand my trepidation about calling this a real "vacation". I will definitely be looking forward to our other trip this summer (sans baby Rebekah) to Portland, Oregon in July which I can call as much of a vacation as I am likely to get any time soon. It will be nice to get away with Jen for sure though and go to my friend's wedding there. And yes, I know we are not the first parents to have to take a toddler on a flight, but it's our first time so cut me some slack. And this is my blog and I'll complain if I want to! :-) I will have Jen to lean on and she is the much more prepared one for this sort of thing, but I'd like to think we will have a learning experience. And isn't that what life's all about?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Incredible naked baby
Rebekah has recently begun dancing to music. She swings her one, yes just one, arm back and forth in a kind of sideways "Hey! Ho! Hiphop Hurray!". It is quite amusing actually. She pushes the buttons on her many musical toys and waits until the music starts, then goes to town. The only problem is when I try to go to get her to dance with me she gets upset. I guess she already knows that Daddy can't dance!
She also has decided that being naked is fun. So this morning when I got Rebekah up for the day, I realize she had peed through her diaper, even though its one of the "overnight" kind of diapers. Weird I know. I guess her kidneys were working overtime last night. And since she peed through her diaper she also wet her pajama pants. So I change her diaper and decide that I don't really need to put pants back on her since we don't usually get her ready for the day until after her morning nap. Well, I put her in living room while I was making lunch (which I conveniently forgot, by the way) and all of a sudden, I don't hear her normal ruckus. Knowing this to be a tell tale sign that she is getting into trouble, I walk into the living room to find Rebekah in the middle of the floor waving her diaper above her head in a triumphant motion. My first thought is, "I really hope she didn't pee on the floor." I mean our dogs do that enough that we don't need to have people peeing as well. Thankfully, she didn't pee on the floor and I was able to successfully put her diaper back on. Quite the experience for sure.
Otherwise, everything is well here in Lorenz Land. I have one review article in and I am working on a second. It's nice not to have students on rotation or in class now. I can actually do some scholarship work. This is Crazy Ray and you have been warned.
She also has decided that being naked is fun. So this morning when I got Rebekah up for the day, I realize she had peed through her diaper, even though its one of the "overnight" kind of diapers. Weird I know. I guess her kidneys were working overtime last night. And since she peed through her diaper she also wet her pajama pants. So I change her diaper and decide that I don't really need to put pants back on her since we don't usually get her ready for the day until after her morning nap. Well, I put her in living room while I was making lunch (which I conveniently forgot, by the way) and all of a sudden, I don't hear her normal ruckus. Knowing this to be a tell tale sign that she is getting into trouble, I walk into the living room to find Rebekah in the middle of the floor waving her diaper above her head in a triumphant motion. My first thought is, "I really hope she didn't pee on the floor." I mean our dogs do that enough that we don't need to have people peeing as well. Thankfully, she didn't pee on the floor and I was able to successfully put her diaper back on. Quite the experience for sure.
Otherwise, everything is well here in Lorenz Land. I have one review article in and I am working on a second. It's nice not to have students on rotation or in class now. I can actually do some scholarship work. This is Crazy Ray and you have been warned.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Newness is fun
OK, so I finally decided it's time to set up a real blog so I can keep my friends and family informed on the goings-on in my life. Jen may be "guest blogging" on here sometimes as well. I used to blog on myspace a lot, but since no one really uses myspace anymore, I figured it was time to do this. I think doing this will be fun, but we will see. I don't know how often I will be blogging, probably when I have something to say. I may review books, movies, albums, bands, or anything else that tickles my fancy. And yes I just used "tickle my fancy", so sue me. Well, don't because I don't really have all that much of value and you wouldn't get much. Just a bunch of student loan debt.
Everything is going pretty well. I have been very busy with work this past semester. I had a bunch of papers to write and things to grade and stuff to do. It has slowed down somewhat now its the summer and has freed me up to do some more writing and research. I enjoy seeing my patients at the mental health center. I have been much more focused and attentive the past few weeks and it has enabled me to get a lot more done. I have a conference coming up soon in Salt Lake City and I am looking forward to that. It will be a very good learning experience for me (I hope).
Rebekah is now officially a year old. Where has the time gone? I don't know. She is becoming more of a little girl and less of a baby. She definitely has her own personality and wants. She has started dancing while sitting down and, although she isn't walking quite yet, she is getting very close. She is keeping Daddy and Mommy very busy chasing her and keeping her entertained. Our new nanny has been working out well. She is very good with Rebekah and takes her places. Rebekah has started to miss Mommy (not so much Daddy) when she is leaving in the morning to go to work, but our nanny says she gets over it pretty quickly. She has also started to say some words like mama, dada, and dog. She also has started to recognize many more words and can tell you where Daddy's nose is, and where her belly button is. She can also say "moo" when asked what a cow says. We had a birthday party for her, but it was just family and everyone had a good time. Rebekah had no idea what was going on and didn't like the cake, but I think she enjoyed all the attention. The newest adventure with her is that we are trying to cut out formula and bottles, so this will be a challenge. She had a pediatrician appt. last week and got a clean bill of health as well as a couple immunizations. She weighs in at a little over 23 lbs. and is 32 inches long (tall?).
Jen is still working for Rite-Aid and she has a new partner who seems to be working out for her. I think she likes working, but would much rather be at home with Rebekah. She is a very good mom and I am lucky to have her raising our children. Our relationship is even stronger now with the baby and we try to make some time for us to go out and have a date night. We recently saw the new Star Trek movie and it is highly recommended, even if you aren't a fan of Star Trek. Rebekah got a pool for her birthday (thanks Gramma Geri!) but it is quite large (10 ft. x 3 ft.) and we are able to get in it with her and cool off. She also got a whole host of other toys which sing songs or make noise, or sing and dance (Elmo live! is the first sign of the apocalypse and the machines are going to rise up against us. It is way too smart for its own good.). Jen and I also had birthdays which went well, but we didn't really exchange gifts. Just another year older. I only have one more year before I am officially out of my 20's. Man I am getting old.
Jen, Rebekah, and I are going to be in and around Syracuse, NY in the next couple weeks. Jen has one cousin who is getting married and another who is graduating from high school. Almost no one in Jen's family from NY has seen Rebekah in person, so it will be an adventure for her. I am sure she will be shy initially, but will eventually warm up to everyone. We are also going to see some of our close friends from college since it has been forever since we have seen them. It'll be good to catch up in person. The only part about the trip I am dreading is the airplane rides. There and back we will have to keep Rebekah entertained without her being able to crawl around. This is going to be fun!
The last couple days have been pretty rainy here, but now it has cleared out and I think Rebekah and I will go for a walk. Well, I will be walking and she will be in a stroller. But it will be nice to get outside in the warm weather.
Just two more random thoughts: You can be overwhelmed or underwhelmed, but can you ever be just whelmed? and I can be dishevelled, but what about shevelled? I don't know. Maybe you all have an idea. Also, drop me a line and let me know what you think of the blog or what you would like to see on here.
This Crazy Ray and you have been warned....
Everything is going pretty well. I have been very busy with work this past semester. I had a bunch of papers to write and things to grade and stuff to do. It has slowed down somewhat now its the summer and has freed me up to do some more writing and research. I enjoy seeing my patients at the mental health center. I have been much more focused and attentive the past few weeks and it has enabled me to get a lot more done. I have a conference coming up soon in Salt Lake City and I am looking forward to that. It will be a very good learning experience for me (I hope).
Rebekah is now officially a year old. Where has the time gone? I don't know. She is becoming more of a little girl and less of a baby. She definitely has her own personality and wants. She has started dancing while sitting down and, although she isn't walking quite yet, she is getting very close. She is keeping Daddy and Mommy very busy chasing her and keeping her entertained. Our new nanny has been working out well. She is very good with Rebekah and takes her places. Rebekah has started to miss Mommy (not so much Daddy) when she is leaving in the morning to go to work, but our nanny says she gets over it pretty quickly. She has also started to say some words like mama, dada, and dog. She also has started to recognize many more words and can tell you where Daddy's nose is, and where her belly button is. She can also say "moo" when asked what a cow says. We had a birthday party for her, but it was just family and everyone had a good time. Rebekah had no idea what was going on and didn't like the cake, but I think she enjoyed all the attention. The newest adventure with her is that we are trying to cut out formula and bottles, so this will be a challenge. She had a pediatrician appt. last week and got a clean bill of health as well as a couple immunizations. She weighs in at a little over 23 lbs. and is 32 inches long (tall?).
Jen is still working for Rite-Aid and she has a new partner who seems to be working out for her. I think she likes working, but would much rather be at home with Rebekah. She is a very good mom and I am lucky to have her raising our children. Our relationship is even stronger now with the baby and we try to make some time for us to go out and have a date night. We recently saw the new Star Trek movie and it is highly recommended, even if you aren't a fan of Star Trek. Rebekah got a pool for her birthday (thanks Gramma Geri!) but it is quite large (10 ft. x 3 ft.) and we are able to get in it with her and cool off. She also got a whole host of other toys which sing songs or make noise, or sing and dance (Elmo live! is the first sign of the apocalypse and the machines are going to rise up against us. It is way too smart for its own good.). Jen and I also had birthdays which went well, but we didn't really exchange gifts. Just another year older. I only have one more year before I am officially out of my 20's. Man I am getting old.
Jen, Rebekah, and I are going to be in and around Syracuse, NY in the next couple weeks. Jen has one cousin who is getting married and another who is graduating from high school. Almost no one in Jen's family from NY has seen Rebekah in person, so it will be an adventure for her. I am sure she will be shy initially, but will eventually warm up to everyone. We are also going to see some of our close friends from college since it has been forever since we have seen them. It'll be good to catch up in person. The only part about the trip I am dreading is the airplane rides. There and back we will have to keep Rebekah entertained without her being able to crawl around. This is going to be fun!
The last couple days have been pretty rainy here, but now it has cleared out and I think Rebekah and I will go for a walk. Well, I will be walking and she will be in a stroller. But it will be nice to get outside in the warm weather.
Just two more random thoughts: You can be overwhelmed or underwhelmed, but can you ever be just whelmed? and I can be dishevelled, but what about shevelled? I don't know. Maybe you all have an idea. Also, drop me a line and let me know what you think of the blog or what you would like to see on here.
This Crazy Ray and you have been warned....
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