Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

Well, the anniversary of the birth of Jesus has come and gone once again, and I'm still sorting and organizing the pictures. Took less this year, whether I meant to or not, and I'm okay with that. This year I truly enjoyed the visiting I did with loved ones, so here are photos of the people I spent the last week with. #1 Well... Darth Vader counts, I think. We saw Star Wars costumes at Henry Ford Museum on Christmas Eve. And you can bet Roman was over the moon. #2 My cute kids on Christmas Day. In their new jammies and silly head gear. #3 Cousins (and assorted aunts, uncles, and grandparents) on Doug's side of the family! They live out of town and we hadn't seen these cousins since April. #4 Cousins (along with grandparents & aunt & uncle) on Amy's side! We hadn't seen them since October, even though they live just a couple hours away. E. wasn't thrilled with his picture taken, though. #5 More out-of-town goodness comes to visit! Friends Cat &...

A quick post, as I'm meant to be playing Legos or Jedi or something with Roman. Both boys slept until 7am Christmas morning, for which we thanked our lucky stars. The whole celebration took about an hour between stockings and gifts. Then Doug made blueberry pancakes but Ro was so excited to play he barely ate one. Charlie, too, was really thrilled with Santa's gift of a ride-on-and-push toy and also spent lots of time putting animals in and out of Noah's Ark. Photos are still on the camera, so I'll post those later. Santa brought me socks in my stocking, which I really wanted. Doug got a book & movie, and of course Santa brought us all our favorite candy; Skittles for Ro, KitKats for me, and Reese's Pieces for Doug. I can post pictures of Christmas Eve, where the boys each opened one present - and got special Christmas jammies to wear! Fire trucks for Roman, and fleece decorated with penguins, moose, and polar bears for Charlie. Roman took this portrait of us...

Yesterday was the pageant at church, Roman's first one (we've always been on the road before). Our friend's son Mitchell sang "Little Drummer Boy" and these three stole the show. Roman took his drumming very seriously. Today was bake & decorate day. Now, I just don't enjoy baking as my father did. I remember Saturday marathons when I was younger, Dad in the kitchen baking dozens upon dozens of cookies (it seemed like it at the time, anyway) and Jeff and I would invite a friend over and we'd sit at the counter, frosting cookies all afternoon. Well, thanks to GFS I don't have to bake from scratch. Just pop the precut sugar cookies in the oven for 12 min. a batch and they're done! Of course, there were 72 cookies and my tiny cookie sheet only held 9 at a time (we have a small wall-mount oven). So it still took awhile. Then it was time to decorate. After sampling a couple each, we had dinner. Then jammies on at 6:30pm (at least, the little boys a...

Some Christmas cheer from last night. After lots of "is it or isn't it going to happen?" debating, our church & the Co-Op preschool decided to go ahead with the "Milk & Cookies for Santa" gathering. Roman only knew one other child there, but at least it was his good friend Sammy! Roman asked for "everything Star Wars!" Santa asked him to be more specific but Roman was frozen. Then Santa opened his book of toy ideas for good little kids and Roman could point to what he wanted. Then we quickly got the poses with Santa, before Charlie freaked out! Not bad looking for a family where 3 of us are on antibiotics! (Roman=sinus infection, Charlie=4th round to kill the ear infection, Amy=strep throat)

Doug doesn't usually want me blogging about him. In general, he doesn't think the world needs to know, or cares, what he's up to. Sometimes though I get blogs practically written in my head, and such is the case today - so I asked permission to write about him. And with a heaving sigh, he said, "I guess if you feel it's necessary." He then gave me a guideline of how he'd like me to phrase things. Funny guy. President Bush has announced a loan with strings, so Doug's job is generally safe until the end of March. That really helps with a decision I was faced with, which was a possible interview & transfer to another middle school that is looking to hire for a full-time position in January. I'll stay put now, thank you, and play Russian roulette with Doug's job. He's got his resume out in the world again, second time this year. Last spring we got fed up with living in this area and realized that long-term we want to be on the "west si...

So a couple posts ago, I mentioned how I was feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed. There was more to that, of course, and now I can finally mention it. In the scheme of things this isn't as bad as many people are dealing with, but Doug got the news last Tuesday that he will be laid off. For him it's only 2 weeks, but it's the beginning of a much larger problem that we believe will continue to happen. His company is a supplier, of course. They work with all "Big 3" but very little with foreign makers. While sales were down in December, the sales are down a LOT in January. Big 3 have put everything on hold, of course, with the bailout being up in the air and not sure if GM/Chrysler can make it until a new Congress can come in. So the manufacturing arm is actually down 5 weeks, but Doug, because he works with new designs, only has to be off 2. He was even allowed to select the 2 weeks, isn't that nice? Everyone has to take one for the team - including the owners, wh...

There's one more week of school until break. What a very different point in life than this time last year, and last year I tried to imagine what life would be like today. Last year: 6 months pregnant, body swollen out of shape, feeling the baby kick, but dealing with Rebekka and her family to make arrangements over the holidays was at the forefront. We were preparing for 5 days on the road to visit family and sorting and wrapping presents. This year: an absolutely adorable 11-month-old baby, I'm down 25 pounds from my just-pregnant weight, we have no idea where Rebekka is, and we're preparing for our very first Christmas here at home (and sorting and wrapping presents). Trying to get the kids healthy, too. Charlie seems to have recovered from ear infection #2 and just has a lingering juicy cough. Roman keeps developing a low-grade temp. every couple days and is very exhausted. A couple people have mentioned mono or strep throat, my guess being strep. Doug tried to look in...

I have just written a letter to my neighboring town's District Court, fighting a ticket I received a couple weeks ago. Not only does the ticketing officer have a "mean" reputation (as in jerk, not tough-guy), this article was also in the local paper just days before my ticket. In case you don't want to read the whole thing, the clincher is this line: "The (traffic ticket) increase was even larger in small towns like Plymouth which saw the number of tickets go up from 440 to 2,500 — up 480 percent — over the same amount of time (one year). According to Detroit area police the reason for the increase is dwindling property tax revenue." So I'll line your coffers, Plymouth, but quit trying to charge me 3 points on my license. Grrr. It's been a busy week and not necessarily the events have been stressful, but apparently I'm reaching my personal breaking point. I actually was almost paralyzed by having to cook, get ready for Scooter Club at church, a...

The little bugger is darn cute. Good thing, too, so he shines right through all the hand-me-downs he gets. This doesn't bother me at all, except I realized the other day that he has one outfit in the closet that was purchased new for him, and 2 pairs of jammies because he outgrew the 12-month sizes. Everything else, from onesies & socks to his winter coat, are hand-me-downs. We have them from Roman of course, and our friend's son Perrin, and our neighbor's son Evan, and a church family's son Sammy, & a cousin's friend's daughter's son. If that made sense. The stuff I have bought "new" came from the resale shop. This was never so glaring as when people asked me if he has certain toys in preparation for Christmas. He has nothing new, people. All his toys are hand-me-downs as well, from Roman and our friend's son. And the poor boy... the idea for this post popped into my head last week, when I finished Roman's bath and we decided to j...

As I tucked Roman in for bed this evening, I said I'd tell him the story of Jesus' birth. Of course I like to embellish with modern sayings to make it a little more accessible for my 5-year-old. Well, Roman got me back this evening. Here's how it went... "...so Mary was outside of her house, getting water for the family or something, when bam! an angel appeared." *Roman giggling* "and the angel, whose name was Gabriel, said "do not be afraid, even though you've never seen an angel before!" *more Roman giggling* "Do not be afraid, because I bring really good news. You're going to have a baby!" Roman: " That's not very good news." I laughed so hard I could barely get the rest of the story out! Out of the mouth of a fairly new big brother, obviously. He also led me into some rocky areas of his adoption story this evening, too. Roman: "Babies are born in every month." Me: That's true. I was born in April. ...

...stand up and cheer again!" That's a line from one of my favorite Roger Whitaker songs. My parents have made me weird in so many ways, like a love of Roger Whitaker, for instance. I even saw him in concert when I was in college. What early-twenty-something kid gets excited about that? Exactly. And I won't even discuss my love of John Denver right now. Saw him in concert, too... but that's another blog on another day. I listen to Roger Whitaker's Christmas album every year as I decorate the tree. Have to. I've gotten flexible on when the decorations go up, when they're put away, where they go, and even when I start to listen to Christmas music... but it's always gotta be Roger during tree-trimming. Just as it always was when I was growing up, complete with a couple skips in the record. Except my copy is CD now! Roman helped, of course. He has gotten the biggest thrill out of going through our boxes this year. He pulls everything out lovingly, often sa...

Now you'd think I was talking about my wonderful boys, wouldn't you? But no, this one's all about ME. The drama with my coworkers has been solved to my satisfaction with no union involvement (whew!). Also, I finished and sent off my last paper for this semester's grad class tonight. Done until January 7! I can free up that section of my mind for a little while, and maybe remember important things... like calling that mom for a playdate this week which I totally forgot to do tonight (after telling her I would...). And doing some serious cyber-shopping for Christmas, and maybe even get a scrapbook page or four done... And lastly, one of the swim coaches stopped by school today to say hi and confirm that I am "on board" for this season and start laying out plans for getting our paperwork & signup together. Whoopee! Pictures later. I'm going to have a cookie, and then going to bed. Some celebration, eh?

Be safe and thankful. Or thankful and safe. But do both this weekend, will you?

After a trip to the university where I'm doing graduate studies tomorrow, I will have more to update. Suffice it to say I am still not considered an active student there, but they approved my request for an independent study - which I've done all the work for except one paper. There's a laptop goin' traveling with me this weekend. And it's been recommended I apply for graduation as soon as possible, even though - that's right - I'm not an active student. Hmm. Honestly, I think the entire Education department and Graduate Studies department will stand up and cheer if I ever make it across the stage to receive my degree. Drama at my work, too, unexpectedly. I became the unwitting pawn in an argument between 2 other colleagues when one referred to "the younger teachers" and the other decided to corner me specifically (as a younger teacher) and subtley threaten me. The matter has been turned over to my principal, but I don't think this is the end o...

So much doesn't seem to happen, and then - I think of about 5 different things to blog about. I sat down Saturday to compose a blog about the auto companies, and then Mitch Albom pretty much spoke my mind in his column on Sunday. Take a few minutes and go read it. On a personal note, if GM goes bankrupt Doug's job is still okay and the loss can be covered. If all three file... obviously. We're up a creek. Of course the Big 3 have made mistakes, and I really don't think they deserve a handout. However, so so so so so many suppliers will go out of business because when bankruptcy is filed, the $$ owed to them is immediately negotiable. And suppliers are way down on the "pay our outstanding bills" list. And my other thought is, you can argue all you want about how they're making gas-guzzlers but seriously, folks - it's called supply and demand. And demand went down fast based on gas prices and loan issues, too fast for the car companies to retool - it t...

I wish I could come up with catchy titles. I have that problem with scrapbooking, too. My page titles are often things like "Family Camp" (for family camp weekend, naturally) or "Hungry Baby" for pictures of Charlie eating. Yeah. Real creative. Anyway, so here's "pictures from last weekend." Roman getting his yellow belt, and the couple small projects I worked on. Ones of Ro are a little blurry, but it's a big area and Doug was far away. :)

I was getting Charlie's medicine this morning, which this time around is measured in cc. I had the brief thought that the last time I measured cc it was when Charlie was feeding through his NG tube and I was pumping only a few cc at a time myself. And Charlie was crawling on the floor near me as I was thinking this, and I suddenly was so awash with memories and emotion that I actually started to cry. Charlie as his little preemie 3# self, his wrinkly skin over his too-small bones, the tube up his nose, his long spindly fingers as he squawked like a kitten in his incubator... it all came rushing over me. I scooped Charlie up and just squeezed and squeezed him. I cannot believe how amazing he is.

I can't believe it's been a week since I blogged. Impossible. Yet, there's the evidence in the dateline. A quick update since I should be in bed but instead am surfin' the 'Net: Roman went back to the dentist today for 3 fillings, hopefully his last for awhile. He will return in March for a cleaning. He was not the brave yellow-belt we had hoped for (screamed through the whole procedure) but no more problems in his mouth. Charlie also went back to the doctor today as he's still pulling on his left ear and pretty grumpy overall. Dr. said it's hard to tell what's going on with him - his ears are still fluid-filled and dull, but he also has congestion from a regular cold & his teeth are ready to pop through "any day." Because we've just finished a 10-day course and he's still not acting like himself, we are starting another 10 day course of Augmentin this time. This house is like antibiotic central. One of us is either on medication (...

Charlie is just moving along with his development like nobody's business. We introduced actual solid foods this weekend, trying beans, pasta, chicken, ground beef, & homemade french fries. The only thing that went over well was the french fries. Everything else was about a two-bite maximum and the chicken he actually spit out. Partly he had trouble because he fists the food and then can't maneuver it into his mouth and gets frustrated. He wants to crawl all over, and he's beginning to navigate the steps in our living room. He can go from carpet up to wood floor, but more trouble with wood floor up to carpet (too slippery). I pulled out a lot of "older" toys that were Roman's and cleaned them up. Charlie took to them immediately, proving he's no longer an infant. In fact, as evidenced in the video above, he can grab a ball and shove it into the toy pretty darn well. This weekend Charlie got to know his grandparents again, as it had been awhile since he ...

A fantastic weekend - so good, there's too many pictures and videos to load up at one time. So first I'll talk about Roman... he tested for his yellow belt on Saturday and passed. Daddy took him and was awesome with the camera - got shots and videos of many aspects. Above is Roman doing high blocks and low blocks. Doug said they also were led through a 20-step form that Roman did really well on. Next Saturday is the ceremony where he will be presented with his yellow belt. Hooray! My parents were visiting this weekend and Grandpa took Ro out to lunch to McDonald's for some "just the two of them" time. Roman was thrilled. It also worked out that for most of the day, the 2 brothers got time apart - and that wasn't all bad. Ro wanted movie night on Saturday and we all watched part of "Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets." He's getting into HP now, which is okay by us. There are a couple scenes here and there that he is scared to watch, but we...

Charlie has been sick with a cough and stuffy nose that just isn't going away. Took him in this afternoon to the ped. and the pronouncement made me feel so bad for him - double ear infection. Poor guy! No wonder he's been in such a bad mood the past few days. So amoxicillin for 10 days. Poor thing wakes up coughing up a storm and is spitting up mucus at all times of the day. And instead of grabbing his ears, he's been rubbing the back of his head so it hadn't even occurred to us. Roman goes to the dentist tomorrow for another round of cavity fills. I haven't written much about this but it struck me when I was conversing with another adoptive parent the other day, I should probably mention it. Ro's teeth are in terrible condition - filled with cavities, and one was so infected he had to have it pulled. We were feeling bad (and responsible) that things had deteriorated so quickly, when the dentist pointed out his history - we have no idea of the prenatal care or ...

Doug voted this morning and waited an hour. Got in line at 6:40am and didn't get out until 7:30. I myself ended up going at lunchtime (big mistake!) and waited 1.5 hours. I didn't want to risk standing in line with Roman for who-knows-how-long, so not too bad - took a book and enjoyed the company of my precinct neighbors. Ro had a babysitter. On Monday my students and I looked at sample ballots and talked about how to cast a ballot. The kids were pretty amazed at how much was on it - I'm sure they figured it was president and maybe senators, and that would be it. We laughed a bit about "pick no more than 18" judges and that sort of thing, but one comment made by a kid cracked me up. He first stared at me incredulously and said, "how do you guys know what to do?" I said that an intelligent voter would listen, perhaps do research, and know what they felt strongly about and choose a candidate that was aligned with their beliefs. His second comment was, ...

(loosely to the tune of The Muppet Show) It's time to clear the shelves off It's time to put things away It's time to lock cupboard doors Because Charlie crawled Saturday... Yup, folks, the boy is mobile. Not very fast yet, but he's definitely propelling himself across rooms. The first official crawl was to go after Roman's candy that he was sorting on the floor Saturday morning. Charlie also has launched himself down the step toward the side door to get at my Crocs, and has gotten into our videotapes three times. He also tried to eat a dried leaf that someone had tracked in. Needless to say, the time has come - more vacuuming, small toys are spirited off to Roman's room, and once he's roaming room to room, cupboards will be locked again. Haul those gates back out of storage. Time keeps marching on... We also had returned to us a little play table that encourages kids to stand. Charlie would stand at it all day if he could, he was enthralled with it yesterd...

Above & below: Charlie at his daycare party, with his baby buddies. To go along with his namesake's job, Charlie was a dragon. Below: Roman is tempted by the candy we plan to hand out. The trick-or-treaters, ready to head out! Roman, of course, is Anakin Skywalker. Roman's haul... a good year!

1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, MP3 Player, or whatever on Shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds! If someone says, "Is this okay?" You say? Slippin' Through My Fingers What do you like in a significant other? My Blue Heaven How do you feel today? Hoist the Colours! What is your life's purpose? Basket Case What is your motto? When I Come Around What do your friends think of you? Jump in the Line What do you think of your parents? For the Longest Time What do you think about very often? I Feel Lucky That's very true! What is 2 + 2? Sinister Minister What do you think of your best friend? Winner Takes It All Huh. Interesting. What do you think of your significant other? You May Be Right ha ha ha! What is your life story? Break My Stride What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm in Love Again whoops! Wonder what that means?! What...

This afternoon & evening was a rare treat. Doug was able to come home early, arriving with Charlie about 4:15pm. We also didn't have Scooter Club at church, so the whole evening was wide open! Doug and Roman carved our pumpkin, and Roman drew scary faces on the little pumpkin meant for Charlie. We all stuck our hands in the gooey innards, even Charlie! Excitement in the next few days includes Charlie having a "baby party" tomorrow in costume with Jello as a special treat. Roman is having a pizza party in his afternoon care. Friday, of course, is the big day... trick-or-treating & it's Mama's turn to take the boys out this year. Saturday we're going to an apple orchard with a few other families from church. Totally fun!

Here's the state of affairs: I am so tired from the weekend, and I've endured so much pain over the past few weeks, that I am looking forward to my root canal in T minus 29 minutes. I will plug my iPod into my ears, they will give me relaxin' gas & lots of novocaine, and I might just get a little nap in with my pain relief. Isn't that sad?

Roman's "at risk" profile came back at - surprise! - high risk for ADHD. His teacher filled out a form, and Doug and I filled out a form. My counselors scored it and then discussed the results with me. His result even got a "wow" out of them. Basically, four categories - Oppositional, Inattentive, Hyperactive, and "total risk for ADHD." Under oppositional Roman is practically nil, although his teacher saw a little of it. Inattentive, we saw more of it at home than at school, & he is rated at a "mild" problem. Hyperactive, the teacher's score matched ours, and he was a 14 on a scale of 0-21. The total "ADHD index" on a scale of 0-36 placed Roman at a 28. That's pretty high risk. Again, not surprising. What do we do with this information? For starters, change how we approach things. We got the book "From Chaos to Calm" which discusses what types of routines & approaches work best in parenting the "chall...

I have results of Roman's "at risk" testing for ADHD, news from Charlie's 9-month dr. appt., and cute pictures to post. But since my Dad has requested more videos, I bring you Charlie in the Jumperoo. And the news that's fit to blog tomorrow. Identical to the one he fell asleep in at daycare, we borrowed this from Baby Kaelyn (who I can't really call "baby" anymore - Toddler Kaelyn?). It's a hit. This is a mild video of Charlie's raucous jumping, I'll try to catch one of his full-on jumping fits soon.

The other day I was sorting clothes, getting winter stuff out that would hopefully fit Charlie (hence the hat), and so I had him in the crib. Imagine my surprise when I glanced over to see that he was fine and discovered him practically on his knees and peeking over the top of the rail! He has done this a few more times since, both in the crib and once on the couch, attempting to pull up on the arm from a sitting position and launch himself onto the side table to get at whatever goodies are in arm's reach. I was relieved to read today on my weekly email ("your child at week 4 of 6 months") that only 1 in 6 babies at this age sleep through the night regularly. Thank goodness we're not alone. Charlie is still getting up one time a night, usually between 3:30-4:30am. We've begun to cut back on formula and just give him water in a bottle to see if it's the protein he needs, or just a "full feeling." Yes, we did that once before. I know. But I'm gett...

This may sound odd, but I love it when I can still smell my kids after they've gone to bed. Like I just rubbed my nose with my sleeve and smelled Charlie's scent. I love it. And Roman has his own scent too, which I smell a lot when I go to bed (because he crawls in there in the mornings sometimes to cuddle). I do love those kids a whole lot. We received Roman's official report which didn't conclude much, but had a lot of hints & suggestions. He was observed 2 separate times, the first on a percentage scale of on/off task behavior. I think I mentioned before, he was 30% on task with teacher redirection, 70% off. Of that 70% off task, 30% of it was verbal (blurting, asking questions at wrong times, talking to friends), 22% was "passive" (rubbing the carpet, playing with items on the shelves, staring at kids/space), and then lesser percentages for physically moving around, etc. The suggestions the consultant gave which they are going to put in place is a wigg...

This picture was taken by Charlie's daycare, when they realized they hadn't heard the Jumperoo bounce recently... He was bouncing so much, he fell asleep in the Jumperoo! Cutie pie.

We've reached that blessed time of year where nothing exciting is happening. Thank goodness. School is rolling along for everyone, no major holidays, a few doctors' appointments, but that's it. And really, there's nothing much to report anywhere. I will anyway, though - an update about nothing to update. Roman: Preliminary report from the consultant showed Roman on task just 30% of the time, *with* teacher redirection. So when left to his own devices, Roman can't even do what he's supposed to 30% of the time. We're still waiting for the full report but we were told they won't formally test him (due to young age); I'm going to demand that they do anyway. We're also trying to find a place that our insurance will cover that will test him as well. A lot of places "treat" but won't actually test. Otherwise he's loving kindergarten. He has a couple friends we hear about a lot, he loves gym & library, and wants to start walking hom...

School pictures are awesome now. Lifetouch Studios did it, and you can order a CD with a color, b&w, and sepia toned version. How cool! My big boy kindergartener.

You can tell what he's learning in school lately based on the following conversations... "Daddy, do you know what another name for a diamond is?" What, honey? "A rhombus!" "Mommy, look, I cut a triangle!" That's great, Ro! "I will cut out a trapezoid next." And here's proof of his strategical planning skills: "Mommy, you have 2 of your (lowfat) yogurts left. I am going to eat my blueberry now, and my strawberry tomorrow. So when you run out of yours in 2 days, you won't eat my yogurt, because I will have already eaten the ones you like." Can you believe that?! Doug laughed so hard, and Roman was so pleased with himself. I was a little shocked at his very detailed reasoning...and pretty shocked that he knew how much of his yogurt I snuck!

Today is a nice day at home. We all lounged in our jammies until about 11am, when Ro and I had to get ready to go to a birthday party at a local park. While he partied, I graded 4 sets of papers. It took me 1.75 hours, not bad. I already had done 2 sets on Friday afternoon. Anyway, got back home and we all lounged some more in the living room, football on. Decided to take a quick video of Charlie's attempts to crawl, when Roman decided to get in on the action too. Since my posts have been all doom & gloom lately, thought it'd be fun to share. We've been doing a lot of research and talking to lots of people about Roman's potential issue. I'll answer the FAQ here: Yes, we trust the teacher. No, she's not just trying to hyper-control him. Yes, we've seen these issues ourselves (I've verbalized and blogged about it 2-3x before this). Of course we will talk to an outside source & not just take the school's word. Of course we're going to check ...

I guess Morgan Freeman (I truly believe God looks like him) had me stay home for a reason today. I received a phone call from Roman's kindergarten teacher. And let's just cut to the chase - she's concerned about his apparent immaturity (one of the more immature in class, she says, and was surprised to see he had a June birthday), and she is suspecting an attention issue. We agreed to have a teacher-consultant observe Ro in class. I know I blogged a few months ago about suspecting some ADD in Roman (I can't find it in my archives, though) and the more research I did today, the more I'm pretty sure of it. ADHD, specifically. When looking at the generalities, Roman exhibits everything under "Hyperactivity" and "Impulsivity." Hyperactivity: Individuals who are hyperactive may appear to be in constant motion, perpetually “on the go.” They have difficulty sitting still and may squirm or fidget. They often feel restless, may talk excessively, and disp...

Even with the help of antibiotics, I had a horrible night last night. Barky cough, made my chest and throat hurt. I woke up on my own around 1:30am. Awake until 2:20 or so, just fell back to sleep, and then... Charlie was up. Over. And over. And over... we're not sure what his problem was - too cold, ear bothering him - but it was hands-down the worst night we've ever had with him. Doug finally plopped him in bed with us at 5:30am (screaming!) and once we could calm him down, the stinker slept straight through until 7:30am. Woke up in a fabulous mood, all smiles. When I first went in to check on him, he was trying to get up on his knees; he would hold the position for 10-20 seconds and then collapse, making frustrated sounds. Which is a good sign, but I'd rather him not practice crawling-position at 2:45 in the morning! We did everything we could think of... soothing, rocking, bottle, new diaper... nothing helped. Weird. Needless to say, I'm home today sick AND tired. ...

I was just thinking as I typed that title - I sure wish I had a book of good poetry. I have some sonnets, but they had a feature on NPR the other day that the Library of Congress is recording poets reading their own poems, and I liked quite a few. I could have some pithy titles of my blogs, then, too. I am sick. I also received antibiotics today. I don't feel good at all. So the diet is out the window now. Have you noticed I've been typing that too often lately? I am holding steady, "maintaining" as it were. Three of the four of us went to the doctor today; Roman is just starting his sinus problems, Charlie has the start of an ear infection, and I'm in full-blown sinus infection mode. Again. Every Fall. So the boys also have scripts but doc asked that we wait a few days to see if they get better on their own. Had a great weekend. My Grandma turned 90, with a big party attended by lots & lots of relatives, including a few I don't see very often. Very cool. ...

Avast, me hearties! Friday is International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Let the festivities commence.

Roman & I were playing lightsabers this evening, and I was Darth Vader. We tease-threaten, quoting lines from the movies & such, when Roman said - "You're the Soviet." I just about fell over from shock. He then said, "Isn't that what you call it?" Call what, sweetie? "The bad guys... Soviets?" Oh man. I'm not quite sure where he picked it up - perhaps the news, perhaps Doug and I talking. So we had to take a break from the lightsabers so I could explain the following: "Russia had a leader who turned them into "bad guys" for awhile (eyes went wide!), and they were called Soviets. But then they had a leader when Mama & Daddy were young who said, "we're not going to be the bad guys anymore." And they stopped being Soviets and became Russians again. And that's when you were born, honey - when the Russians were the good guys again." Satisfied with this, we continued our battle. Of course later in be...

I still have to Photoshop Doug's arm out of the way, but isn't this wonderful? I took it at the end of August, and came across it this evening while picking a couple pictures to go in the "Brothers" scrapbook. This one's a keeper.

Just can't party like a rock star as much as I used to. Oh, I tried, believe me. But I think the fact that my baby is just starting to sleep through the night and I'm still short sleep (and will be for the next 20 or so years) takes its toll. Bachelorette party was fun, though, and it was great to hang out with my old friends in the city I love... Yes, There Really Is A Kalamazoo! And the mayor partied with us, too. What a cool city. Anyway, I'm back to my "normal" life and I do like it that way. I was so happy to see my boys this morning, gaze upon my husband, & chill out at home. I had a great afternoon yesterday with my mom and grandma too. Because of the wedding I have to cut short our appearance at my grandma's birthday party, so I wanted to spend the afternoon with her to make it up. We three did lunch, a quick shop at the mall, a movie ("Mamma Mia!" for the 2nd time), and oh yeah... spent 40 min. in lockdown at the retirement home because ...

Well, for a moment in time, I'm going out like a single girl tomorrow night. It's a friend's bachelorette party. We're starting out calmly enough, with dinner at Burdick's (oh, how I love going back to Kalamazoo!) & then to a piano bar. But then, I hear talk of a wild "end of summer block party" and a mechanical bull. I suspect that's when my senses will leave me, too. The idea of going out makes me very tired, especially the hours I'm sure we'll keep. I'm normally in bed by 10:15pm! Let's hope I drink an equal amount of water with my beer, & I should be okay. But for now - woohoo! I'll party like a rock star one last time.

Just a quick and awesome weight update: Doug is down 35 pounds, with 34 more to go to his weight goal... I am down 25.5 pounds, with 10 more to go until my weight goal! Woohoo!

I'm going to say it. Here's the trouble: George Stephanopoulos told me in an interview how to choose a candidate to vote for. "Pick the top 3-4 issues that concern you most. Figure out how you feel about them. Then vote for the candidate that most closely aligns with your beliefs." Now that pretty much settles things. As one of my coworkers said, "I can't decide who to vote for - the person I like, or the party that I agree with." And that's where I have been. While McCain is just fine, I like the idea of Obama. I like his youth, his "change" theme, how he has gotten the young'uns interested in politics again. We needed someone to spark passion, & McCain doesn't spark passion in me. But I'm a Republican at heart. I drive down the middle most days, and I even cross the line into the left every few issues. And I'm apparently one of these people . It's not a fluke, people - I'm a white moderate Republican woman who ...

Some more pictures, of us eating s'mores! Clever, no?