First Baseball Game

Here is an effort to document one of the fun activities from this summer. Before my layoff I was thinking about taking Heather to a Sunday afternoon Pirates game while Todd was home napping. After the layoff, I was looking at a Thursday afternoon game in September...and then once the mother of one of Heather's friends mentioned the same game it became a done deal.

Despite having worn several Reds outfits as an infant, the influence of her daycare teachers has caused Heather to think that she wants to be a Pirates fan. Luckily, for her baseball spirit, she has no idea how lousy the team has been for the past 17 years or even the fact that they lost the day we went to a game. I hope that next year I can pick a game that they win, just so she can experience the excitement of the home crowd cheering for the home team. But she still seemed to have a very good time and seemed to listen as I yammered on about the rules of the game. I will be interested to see if she retains any of it for the beginning of the baseball season in 2011.

We had a nice day and I look forward to taking both kids to a game next year!

The view from our seats. (Someone gave us a buy one, get one free coupon so we sat closer than we had planned to.)

Practicing her pirate face...

Enjoying the game with her new parrot.

What do you mean the other team scored?
Checking out the view from home plate.


Seeing more of the stadium with Sebastian.

Enjoying the food at the game.

Looking at the river before we leave.

Did I say I was ready to leave yet?

Thankful

Despite how quiet it has been here, I have been thinking about this writing space a lot. Thinking about what I'd like to be writing here and when to make dedicated blog time in my life. In some ways, posting quick thoughts to facebook has taken the place of some of my blog fodder *and* I just signed up for twitter...so I am trying to sort out what belongs where in my tiny, itty bitty corner of the social media 'verse.

My mind keeps coming back to a post that starting forming the week of Thanksgiving. Not wanting to be cliche (ha!), I have procrastinated to the point that it is more of a holiday season post than a Thanksgiving one.

I am incredibly lucky and incredibly thankful.

It feels a bit odd to say that while I am unemployed with few job prospects, but in some ways my situation is making it more obvious.

I'm thankful that I have choices. That I can choose to work and send my kids to an amazing daycare center/preschool.

I'm thankful that we're doing okay despite my unemployed status. Sure, we have to have much more frequent chats to review the finances and reign in our spending as much as possible. But we are lucky not to be in any immediate financial danger or living from paycheck to paycheck.

I'm thankful for our house and our stuff. Other than some new clothes, I don't find myself wanting a whole lot for Christmas. I'm excited for the things that the kids are going to get and spending the time with family, but I'm not feeling strongly about things that I want. I suppose our situation is making me happy with what we have, and if anything I am using some of my "free time" to pure some things. It isn't that I need our house to be perfectly clean and organized all of the time, but I would like to feel like everything has a place so that cleaning up doesn't involve moving piles from one room to another. :-)

I'm thankful for our health. Even with the string of illnesses that Todd has processed over the past few months, he has never been severely ill and mostly not much more than cranky and restless. And each of these periods has made me thankful for my ability to nurse him. Especially during his tummy bug when the nurse told me that my milk was the best possible thing for him. Proud mommy moment.

I'm thankful for my friends. It is hard to put into words how lucky I have been in the friend department. There are times that it feels hard to live up to how lucky I am to have them, but I do my best.

I'm thankful for the summer we had. Looking back at our pictures makes it clear to me that we took full advantage of lots of outdoor activities and had a lot of fun.

Back in the 'burgh

I had a great trip to Chicago last week. I don't think I can really summarize it, but I do have some thoughts brewing in my head. I will see if I can distill them into anything useful when I'm writing the seminar I have to give at work about what I learned. The end of the trip was punctuated by a less than stellar experience at the airport when we returned. Totally my own fault, but still a bummer.

We came back on an express flight, and as I was exiting the plane, I missed the bottom step. Ouch! It all happened so fast I'm not really sure how I did it. All I know is that I was so happy to be home and I was worried that a gust of wind was going to come by and blow up my skirt for everyone on the ground to see. In my hurry, I did *something* careless.

My coworker was patient while we hobbled to baggage claim, where his wife and son were waiting. He had offered me a ride home and he hadn't checked his bag. This, coupled with my throbbing foot and strong desire to see my baby caused dumb act #2 for the night. I didn't double check the tag on the suitcase when I took it off the belt. Yep, I brought someone else's bag home. :-( My wonderful husband drove back out to the airport to return the 'other black suitcase' and retrieve the one with a gallon of milk in it. It certainly could have been avoided, but I still think we need to move "luggage that is not black" up on the list of things to buy for ourselves.

Despite my troubles, Heather was thrilled to see me on Friday night. So much so that she has been very reluctant to let me put her down to sleep in the crib. I spent most of Saturday trying to get her to nap and the last two nights I've ended up bringing her to bed after nursing because she will just NOT let me leave her. I'm hoping that being home for 9 days in a row next week will help to fix some of this. Or it's going to be a VERY long week.

As Melissa mentioned, we had a lovely little knitting get together yesterday. She, Tobi and Michelle have the basics, but just need a little push into the knitting world beyond scarves...and Anna and I were happy to oblige. I found buttons for a nearly complete baby sweater and am halfway through the second sleeve of the current baby sweater (gotta love the knitting you can do during airline travel!), so I hope to get some things finished, gifted and blogged soon.

I keep thinking about writing a blog post titled "Incapable"...about how I am completely unable to follow a knitting pattern exactly as written. I was following the current baby sweater pattern to a T...until I decided to make it a pullover and added color work to the body and sleeves. And I can't even follow the pattern that *I* wrote for yesterday's knitting lesson. I was knitting along with the ladies in case I needed to demonstrate anything and I tossed the hat in my bag this morning. I couldn't resist adding cables instead of doing plain stockinette. It's a sickness, I tell you...

Busy, fun weekend

First, the Harlot. Heather and I were running a little later than planned, but Amanda had been kind enough to save us a seat in the third row and within minutes all the ladies near us were cooing over Heather's cuteness. Can't blame them. :-)

With Heather in the baby bjorn, I was able to knit while we waited for the event to start and for about the first 15 minutes of the speech. But it was a bit tiring to knit without resting my arms on the bjorn, so I didn't knit beyond that.

Stephanie was wonderful. She seemed to be a little nervous at first, but she relaxed within a few minutes when it became clear that we all thought she was funny and engaging as always. (I've read about 30 pages of the book so far, and it's great, too!) I think she spoke for about an hour, and given that Heather was asleep the whole time I would have been happy for her to speak for another hour. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while!

Heather and I had been assigned to Group C for signatures, but Stephanie requested that those with kid be allowed to jump ahead in line. Since Heather was still asleep, I didn't butt my way to the front, but we did join Group A. Of course, just as we got to the head of the line for our turn, Heather woke up. So Stephanie and I didn't have too long to chat because I knew Heather would want to eat pronto. We did get our picture taken (I'm holding Heather's knitting needles :-) I don't usually stand in profile for pictures...that was for Heather's benefit!)

While Amanda was in line, Heather ate. And then the three of us spent some time talking with Julia and Amanda got some Heather time. Even after a diaper change, Heather continued to be fussy, and that was what prompted Stephanie to come over and demonstrate the Harlot-patented "calming butt pat". It works fabulously well, and though Amanda had a little difficulty with the rhythm at first, but I can tell you that Amanda successfully calmed Heather the following afternoon with her new knowledge. :-) Overall, a wonderful evening, and Heather and I are honored to be mentioned in Stephanie's post about the event.

(Although, I admit, I'm a little intimidated to bring up the content around here. My Harlot teaser post garnered a record number of comments and it leads me to believe that quite a few people probably lurked over here from the Stephanie's link and my comments. Hopefully I can rise to the occasion!)

Saturday was fun as well. R, Heather and I attended Marcus' first birthday party. It was a fun afternoon and Heather's first party. It's great that she has a few older friends who can let us (and eventually her) know what toys are most fun. :-)

Heather and Max:

Marcus, with his parents, after eating his cake:

Heather with her Dad:
I'm a few rows away from started the Clapotis decreases. If I don't have it finished by the weekend, I'll finish it over the weekend. :-)

Now I'm off to read other accounts of these fun events!

Sleep is a Wonderful Thing

I'm concerned that yesterday's post was a bit too negative. Being tired led me to focus only on the difficulties of the past week and not any of the nice changes that I've seen. My impression is that Heather had quite a few more "quiet, alert" periods throughout the week, which are enjoyable even during a period of sleep deprivation. We are anxious for her to be more responsive to outside stimuli, but she is still pretty cute to stare at even when you don't know what is causing her various facial expressions.

With R's help during Heather's "alert" periods overnight, I got a couple more hours of sleep than the past few nights and I feel better today. We also had a nice visit from three of my knitting friends, which improved my mood as well. :-) Tomorrow will include a possible visit from Heather's PA grandparents and a possible short trip for me to my knitting group. (It's only 5 minutes from home - so it will just depend on how things pan out around here.)

Less than a month to go (probably) - My back, a party and TV catch-up

I hit 36 weeks this weekend. On Saturday, this pregnancy will be full term.

Our child will likely be born 2-6 weeks from now.

The most popular question at the moment is whether we are ready. Honestly, I don't know that anyone is really ever ready, so I just keep saying that we're about as ready as we're going to be. There are a few more chapters of a couple more books that I would like to read. There is a little more painting and knitting I'd like to get done. There are a few more things we plan to buy during the next credit card period. But really, if she arrived tomorrow we wouldn't be caught totally off guard.

(Okay, I haven't packed my hospital bag yet, and I have tickets to a show tomorrow night that I'd like to see...but otherwise we wouldn't be caught off guard. ;-)

I had a back relapse on Thursday afternoon. It never got quite as bad as it did Thanksgiving weekend, but it lasted longer and required tylenol and heat to totally go away. In this case I blame vacuuming and mopping from Wednesday night - so those are off-limits tasks for a while. Hopefully the house won't get too bad...or if it does I will be able to convince R to deal with it.

In order to continue using the heating pad and to take multiple breaks, I worked a half day from home on Friday. I completed the task I had intended and got a little straightening up done in preparation for Saturday. I had considered going into work in the afternoon if I was feeling okay, but I took a surprising 1 1/2 hour nap at 10:30 (I didn't think I was that tired...) and the possibility of going in went out the window. Especially as I sat in the cozy house watching the snow fall outside...

Saturday was the "Meet Marcus and Max Party" at our house. It was a lovely time and we actually had four small children in attendance - Finn @ 8 weeks, Max @ 5 months, Marcus @ 9 months and Vivian @ 1 year. They were all well-behaved and fun to watch. It was great to spend the afternoon with some of my favorite ladies and get to see their little ones in action. I was a little worried that it would be overwhelming and put some fear in to me about what we have to expect, but it was actually pretty reassuring. I realize that our newborn might not sleep as much as Finn seemed to or be as content being held by others as Marcus is...but even the occasional crying and fussiness didn't freak me out too much, especially since they all seemed to be so "easily" calmed by their mothers. (I put that in quotes because it might not seem so easy to all of the mothers, but it seemed like it to me!) All I had to do was straighten up the house (which has the added bonus of leaving us with a mostly clean house afterward), make the Stouffer's lasagna and clean-up afterward. Very easy, even at 8 months pregnant. ;-)

Between my recovery time on Thursday evening and last night, R and I got "caught up" on LOST and Battlestar Galactica. We finished watching Season 2 of LOST and rewatched all but one of the Season 3 episodes from the DVR (finally, we have space again!). For BSG, we had recorded the Season 3.0 marathon from 1/15, although somehow it didn't record the first three. :-( We read the episode synopses and I'll be on the lookout for them. The Season 3.5 premiere of BSG was last night, and we finished the last episode of 3.0 20 minutes before it aired. Timing is everything. :-) I didn't stay up to watch it, though I did watch the opening sequence before going up to get ready for bed just to make sure that Adama wasn't going to nuke the planet.

Both for the sake of the DVR and our sanity, it is nice to be caught up on both series. It wasn't even too confusing when we were watching alternate episodes of each one. :-) I realize I am not a "typical" female for enjoying Science Fiction, but I think it is really the genre that R and I enjoy the most together. We're each willing to watch other things that the other enjoys (TV and movies), but I think Science Fiction (a over the top comedies by Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, etc) are where we have the most interest in common. Although I'm a bit more dis-interested by series I haven't seen from the beginning. I really didn't get into BSG until we watched from the beginning, and I had a similar reaction to Firefly and LOST (though not really science fiction, I think it has elements in common).

I also think the DVR is going to be a savior when we have an infant in the house!

Shower

I feel like I don't have the time or the writing stamina at the moment to do the post that the weekend deserves.

Let me just say that my shower on Saturday was awesome. It was everything I wanted it to be and everyone who came was exceedingly generous. I feel a little more confident now that we have some of the things we need to have for Miss M's arrival, and more and more it is sinking in that this is really happening.

It was also fabulous to get to spend time with two of my friends that I have known the longest (it seems wrong to say oldest friends, since they are both younger than me). Rebecca (sadly blogless) came in on Friday night and Katie (Shades of K) drove in on Saturday a couple of hours before the shower. We do a reasonable job of keeping in touch via email, phone and blogs, but there is nothing like an in-person visit. I'm very grateful that they could come. The only thing that would have made the weekend better would have been more time to spend together, but R and I were so pooped yesterday that I don't know that we could have enjoyed their presence if they would have stayed longer. :-)

Now, the question is where do we put the things that don't belong in her room? Shall we just leave the car seat in the foyer until February...?

Confessions

1 - My iPod has been playing holiday music all week. Love those Carols for a Cure CDs. (www.broadwaycares.org)

2 - I'm fighting a very strong urge to peek at the baby registries. I know I shouldn't, and I haven't really wanted to...until I thought about it yesterday. Maybe I could just delete internet explorer from my computer for the day to diffuse temptation. :-)

3 - I frogged the fetching gloves and started over on the bus this morning. The cables in pattern aren't the right size and length for what I was going for. I started again and I'm getting the look I want now. I expect I will make more cable changes on future pairs.

4 - I have stopped caring about disturbing the cats when they are sleeping in the bed at night. When I'm feeling generous, I pet them before turning over. But it is hard enough for me to turn myself over without worrying about the comfort of two furry creatures that can fall asleep anywhere, anytime.

5 - I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend and I'm ready for the workday to be over now.

It's Tuesday (aka I can't think of a good post title)

Not a very exciting weekend to report on, overall, though it wasn't bad. It wasn't as relaxing as I had expected because I had to work on the hours I needed to make up from taking Monday off (I was out of sick days).

Friday night I started sketching on the wall area I plan to paint in the baby's room. Although when the furniture was delivered on Saturday, I discovered that the crib was wider than I had remembered...so my sketch needs some revision before I start painting. I'm now thinking that the painting won't occur until my week off between christmas and new years, because I need to spend the next few weeks getting ready for christmas without running myself ragged.

Saturday, after the furniture delivery, I reluctantly did a few hours of work. Then a friend picked me up for a knitterly meet-up. We met a new knitter at Jo-ann and helped her choose yarn for a log cabin blanket. Normally, I would think this would be too big of a project for someone who's only been knitting 3 weeks...but given her enthusiasm for the project and for knitting, I'm not concerned. She has until June to finish, and her practice knitting went on so long that she literally made three scarves...the woman clearly has stamina.

After yarn purchase, we had dinner, and then settled in at a coffee shop for the log cabin lesson and some knitting. I knitted some more when I got home, so good progress was made on the secret christmas knitting.

On Sunday, R and I went for our usual brunch and both reluctantly attempted the tasks we needed to accomplish. He ran errands. I did a few more hours of work and ran a little laundry. We went to the store and did other obligatory sunday tasks. I didn't get to work on cleaning my office at all and there is some cleaning that needs to be done before company comes this weekend. Not a deep cleaning, but the kitchen floor still hasn't been cleaned since Thanksgiving and the dusty shelves in the dining room were eyeing me while I was trying to work. :-)

Trying to get through the week is difficult when I'm so excited about saturday. I don't know if I'm more excited about seeing my OOT friends, having so many of my friends in one place or getting stuff for the baby! The presence of the nursery furniture is making it all feel more real, but the room is still pretty cold without any "stuff" sitting around (other than paint cans...), so I'm excited about beginning to fill it.