Monday, April 28, 2008

Today was one of those days

One of those days when it is perfectly and wonderfully clear to me why I wanted to be a mom.

It is absolutely the best thing ever.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Our weekend with a star


DSCN1276
Originally uploaded by inning
We spent a good chunk of this past weekend with soccer phenom Kenny Deuchar. His family's been a friend of Andy's for years, and when his team, Real Salt Lake, was in town playing DC United, we simply had to go. Friday Kenny came over to Andy folks's house for dinner. And Kenny's dad and a couple of friends came over from Scotland (Erin and Drew who were delightful to hang out with as well!) to see him play.

Kenny's really fun, and we had a lovely time chatting with him. Sorry to tell you though ladies, he's taken.


DSCN1275
Originally uploaded by inning
Saturday, the whole crew of us went to RFK to see him play, and it was mine and Aidan's first professional soccer game. Aidan handled it incredibly well, and aside from a little startlement at the constant drumming, he managed to go to sleep at bedtime.

DSCN1277
Originally uploaded by inning












DSCN1284
Originally uploaded by inning
Kenny's 5th from the left in the line-up.






So if you're ever in Salt Lake, go to a soccer game and cheer on number 16, our bud Kenny!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Next dog? Totally buying the pet insurance

My beloved dog Arrow, he's a typical lab. He likes to chew, even at nearly 10 years old. He also likes to eat. Especially what he's already chewing.

Over the years he's managed to eat a number of things he shouldn't. Let's name a few of the more famous:

A pair of silver earrings
My asthma inhaler
My new skirt
Andy's sunglasses pouch
A paycheck
A mortgage statement

Not to mention the regular diet of:
Underwear, mine or Andy's, he's indiscriminate
Numerous shoes
Numerous socks
Numerous pieces of junk mail/catalogs
Numerous towels/washclothes
Any soft toy
Any rubber toy that isn't a Kong
Toilet paper on the roll, he'll eat it like corn on the cob
Garbage of any kind

You get the idea. Arrow's also very smart. He mentally catalogs items he knows he isn't supposed to have, he'll wait until you're not watching and then run back and get it. Simply see my story about the car seat.

So that's the background. Over the years we've had to take Arrow in for a few x-rays, but whatever's been in there has always managed to come out one end or the other.

On Sunday Arrow managed to grab a burpcloth and rip it up. On Monday he started to act sort of punk, and by punk I mean puking, and by Tuesday morning he wouldn't eat. And I mean wouldn't touch anything. He'd half-heartedly chew a Milkbone but wasn't gobbling it down like usual. I assumed part of the burpcloth was stuck. A call was made to the vet and in he went for x-rays.

Arrow's stomach was full of something, but the Barium they gave him was passing through so it wasn't a complete blockage. I was warned surgery may be necessary but I could take him home and watch him. $350 later that's what I did.

Tuesday night he ate part of his dinner. Wednesday he wouldn't touch anything. No breakfast, no dinner, barely ate a Milkbone.

Thursday morning I called the vet again. They said bring him back in, surgery was most definitely in the forecast.

A few x-rays later the vet called. "His is still full of something. I really need to get in there and get it out. The longer we wait the more likelihood of doing damage to his system."

Surgery it was. The vet promised to call after she was done to let me know how things went.

A few hours later the phone rings, it was the vet. "Hi, he went through surgery just fine, and is resting now. Listen, I don't know what you use for diapers, but this cloth seems almost industrial. Plus I took out a pretty large piece of plastic, I'm not sure where he got that."

Oh, but I knew. Arrow has a crate with a plastic floor and a dog bed. He decided to eat both of those things.

I pick him up from the vet's this evening. Nearly Two Grand later and my dog will be healthy again, but I'm guessing not any smarter for the experience.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks the 6th anniversary of my blog. Hard to believe I've been writing about nothing for 6 years. Thanks to all of you who've been watching, and here's to another 6 more!

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

25 Things I want to do

I was inspired by Mighty Girl's life list. I couldn't come up with 100 right away, so here's the first 25 in no particular order...

1. Become a licensed bartender
2. Become a licensed masseuse
3. Go para-sailing
4. Go to Hawaii
5. Learn how to ice a cake
6. Be an extra in a movie
7. Teach Aidan to swim
8. Host an annual girl's getaway with my friends
9. Plant a ton of bulbs so that in the early, gray days of spring I'll have some color
10. Donate a large amount of money to my Alma Mater and get my name on a brick
11. Donate a large amount of money to my Alma Mater and earmark it specifically for the swim team
12. Fill in Aidan's baby book
13. Swing on a trapeze
14. Go Zorbing in New Zealand
15. Read more classic literature
16. Frame and hang the art that's sitting in our closet
17. Clean out the storage room and donate all unnecessary stuff to charity
18. Go snowboarding
19. Take Aidan to the petting zoo
20. Do something wonderfully fantastic for my sister's 30th birthday
21. Fit into a bikini again
22. Get back to the gym regularly
23. Go to my college reunion
24. Clean up the backyard from it's current horrific state
25. Take Aidan to Scotland and search for the buried treasure his Dad left there

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Month 4

Aidan turns 4 months old today! He's started grabbing at his toys, not just batting at them. We also occasionally get a little giggle. He's also started doing this funny frantic move when he's on the changing table. I call it the "Kickin' Chicken." He'll pump his legs and arms back and forth like he's running, with his eyes WIDE open, and sometimes with a little squeak of exuberance. It is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever.

We went to the doctor on Tuesday and everything was good. Aidan's up to nearly 13 lbs, and 25 inches long. We're still another month or two away from solid food, the doc said there was no rush. If he starts seeming ravenous then we could start some rice cereal, but otherwise we're sticking to breastmilk.

Aidan also seems to desperately HATE tummy time, so I've been working on putting toys in front of him, talking to him, putting him on my belly, anything at all to get him to like it more. What I've discovered is we can only tolerate about 5 minutes at a time, in his crib.

So, for your viewing pleasure, I present Aidan and the Funny Birds.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

It's Springtime in DC

How to tell it's Spring in our Nation's capital:

1. The Cherry Blossoms are blooming and you can't find a seat on the Metro for love nor money
2. The Nats are playing, see above about Metro seats
3. The air quality has plummeted, hello pollen
4. Summer clothes are for sale in all the stores
5. You can buy both charcoal for grilling and a new snow shovel in the grocery stores