Social Discretion

I read a blog recently in which the writer described a scene at the doctor's office where her daughter politely informed the boy next to her that he was black and she was white. The boy's mom did not understand that the daughter actually had jealousy of people with black skin because her favorite movie is about a black princess. The writer went on to say that in her house people aren't judged or treated differently for any reason such as race, religion, weight, etc. But she was asking for advice in how to teach her daughter that while there is nothing wrong with differences and while we should celebrate and embrace differences, we do not need to publicly announce them either. Hard lesson for a 4 year old. Her response, which I thought was precious, was "Mom, if I saw someone with pink skin I'd have to tell her because she would need to know she was beautiful". How sweet is that?

But that's a 4 year old.

I think 40+ year olds should have a little more social discretion. I'm not talking about skin color or obesity or any other social difference that commonly take attention. I'm talking about the cluster of 4 fever blisters that have claimed property rights on my upper lip.

Guess what everyone? I actually did realize Monday morning that I had a fever blister growing. And guess what? When said fever blister gave birth to 3 smaller fever blisters, then they joined forces to increase my already plump lip size 300% I was still very much aware. Had I not had the opportunity to see them staring at me the mirror, I did actually feel their presence as well. I felt my lip throbbing as they grew. I can feel them as I try to drink out of a water bottle without spilling(and fail), and as my lip literally almost touches my nose.

Yep, that's how wonderful my lips have looked this week. And yep, my coworkers were so concerned that I may not have been aware, that they chose to enlighten me.

"Wow, you have a huge fever blister!"
"Oh my goodness that's an awful fever blister"
"What is on your lip?! Did you eat something you're allergic to?"
"Tough month, this is the second time you've have huge fever blisters isn't it?"
"Ewwwwww, your lip looks painful"
"I've never seen so many fever blisters in one place"

Those are just a few of the comments that my peers have so kindly shared with me this week. It makes me very thankful that my classmates from elementary through college apparently had more tact than my well educated peers at Western Union. I do not need to be told of the abnormalities festering on my face. I see them, I feel them, but if I try hard enough I can pretend they are not there.

That is, until someone reminds me yet again.

Grab some Popcorn

This week has been so much fun and full of so many stories to share, I've just been dying to write William Wednesday! But now that I'm ready to write it finally, I can't remember all of the things I had pegged as important enough for sharing. I'll see what I can come up with though :)

A friend of mine gave me a valuable gift at William's shower called "The Happiest Baby on the Block" It is a DVD made by a psychologist that gives pointers on how to calm/soothe an upset infant. William wasn't a terrible cryer luckily, but I did try some of the tactics from the start so maybe that helped. In any case, the psychologist referred to the first 3 months of the baby's life as the fourth trimester of pregnancy, because the baby doesn't do very much and is just adjusting to being in the world. After that, though, the growth and development is like rapid fire. I swore I wouldn't be a mom who said repeatedly "I can't believe how fast they grow". I swore I'd just keep my mouth shut. And I know that everyone is aware of how quickly they grow and doesn't need my reminding...but its TRUE. Its just incredible to see the rapid changes that happen in just one day.

Last Wednesday William was trying to drink water out of Austin's glass. We let him have a couple of sips, then realized he wanted more than just that but we didn't want to hand him a glass. So I went and got a sippy cup and put about 6 ounces or so of water in it. He had a BLAST drinking it and it took him about 10 minutes to figure out how to hold it himself. By Friday he knew how to pick it up, lift it to his mouth, and put it back down. Sometimes he gets it upside down but he knows how to tilt it back on his own too. He certainly doesn't want my help with that; if I try to help him get it back upright he gets very angry with me. Yesterday morning he didn't want to leave his cup at home so I had to take it away for 2 seconds to put his name label on it for school and that little separation was torture for the poor boy. He's so proud when he learns to do something new!

This weekend we had lots of fun. Austin and I had decided we wanted to get all of our weekend to-do's done on Saturday so we had all day Sunday for football (or anything other than chores). We ran some errands, I did laundry, Austin changed door knobs and curtain rods, we cleaned - it was a busy day. It was no less busy for our little man either. We got out his little lion push-cart and raised the seat so that he could try standing up and pushing it around. The first time he stood up with it he looked at me with a concerned look on his face. He wasn't quite sure what to do. Then when he pushed and realized it moved he was even more concerned. But, by Sunday evening he was able to push it and take a few steps with it. I haven't seen him take more than 4 steps before plopping down on his cute little heiny, but he looks so big walking with a push cart. I can't believe he is actually taking little assisted steps! I told Miss Jennifer at Goddard and the very next day they had a push cart for him to play with at school. They're so awesome! She told me yesterday that he likes to ride on it too, so we may have to try that this week. So far we just had it positioned as a walker.

Also on Saturday, William decided its time he learns how to climb the stairs. We were in our entry way while Austin was changing the front door knob and he crawled over, pulled himself up, and raised his leg trying to climb up. He didn't get his leg high enough and never did get up a stair - but I know if we had let him try any longer he would have figured it out. Looks like its time for MORE baby gates. I should be in the baby gate business - those things are pretty expensive, but necessary for anyone with a mobile baby! (also comes in handy for locking an obnoxious cat downstairs or keeping a piggy dog out of the litter box...)

After the door knobs were done I started cooking (a REALLY DELICIOUS) dinner for Austin and me. William was all over the place crawling...in the living room, entry way, office, and kitchen, but when he saw one of the kitchen cabinets open he high-tailed it over there and pulled everything out. I had no idea that a food scale and 2 colanders could actually entertain a baby for 45 minutes. Literally...45 minutes! He played with those toys the entire time I cooked and while we ate. The only times he set them aside was when Reagan walked in the kitchen and he had to try his hardest to get him. I can see the determination in his face saying, "One of these days, fat boy, one of these days you're mine" as Reagan scurries away.

Sunday we went over to Mr. Scott's house again and watched football. During the first game he had his Steelers on his projection screen while we watched the Texans in his son's playroom. William quickly decided that it was his playroom. Scott's son, Jake, is 4 and lives in Colorado Springs with his mom - but he has more toys than any 4 year old I've ever seen at his dad's house alone! He has a Thomas the Train play table with a train set. The train set was put away but William loved walking along side the play table and pulling all the toys off. It was much more fun for him than trying to pull up on our coffee table and us not allowing him to pull anything off :) He had a blast! Jake also has a 3 tiered shelf with buckets that hold toys, which William proceeded to dump out all over the floor. He liked the buckets more than their contents I think!

Then Monday came and William got his first shot at fame. We got the pictures back from his 6 month photo shoot! There are a few of him with Austin's boots on, so I shared one with the Boot Campaign facebook page that I told you about a couple weeks ago. Well, the social director emailed me and asked for my permission to use William's pictures to advertise their new line: Li'l Boots. How cool is that?! Look at this face - how could you not love it?!

Last night we met my coworker Paul, his wife Janell and their 20 month old Brooklyn for dinner at Chick-fil-a. Fine dining right? We had gotten coupons for free spicy chicken nuggets and we go to the same chick-fil-a so we thought it'd be fun to meet up. The nuggets are new and only available in 5 test markets. Luckily, Denver is one of them. They're awesome! Brooklyn was a doll and she loved the cow. She kept saying "cow. mooooooo" Too cute. She also loved to imitate anything/everything that William did. William didn't notice she was there until the end of dinner, but then he wanted at her! He was trying to climb out of my lap and onto the table to get to her. That boy sure does like girls. I'm in trouble! Janell has been so nice to offer to help me with William anytime while Austin is gone, so we thought that over the next few months we could get together to get Brooklyn and William acquainted. William is used to other kids, obviously, but Brooklyn is used to having mommy all to herself. She better adjust, though, because baby #2 will be here in January!

So, that was William's week in a nutshell. A few other key points:

~he REALLY wants to get to Reagan, but so far Reagan hasn't allowed him within a foot of him. such a scaredy cat

~nancy is being SO good while William is learning boundaries. William learned that cats have claws 2 nights ago, though, because he squeezed on nancy's foot and found one!

~he love, love, loves the little boingy door stopper things that all kids like to play with. that had him entertained for a good 20 minutes Monday night.

~he thinks he needs to go outside to go potty when layla does.

With that, I'll leave you with a few more pictures from William's 6 month photo shoot. Do you see how wonderfully blessed I am?!

A Tease?

Awhile ago I wrote about how excited I was about the free fitness classes that Western Union offers. I wrote all about my fitness goals, how much these classes are helping, how I've lost weight and shaped up, etc. Not to mention the wonderful benefit of their kind of mid-day stress relief! I guess I should have mentioned that in September we were going to be rolling over to a new CEO. I didn't know that would prove to be relevant information, but it is. You see, he is currently reevaluating the benefit of the classes and debating cutting that expense for 2011.

I am all for evaluating costs and being efficient. I'm all for keeping up with where money is going and why. But excuse me for being irritated that a $50,000/year expense is being reviewed after we spent over $300,000 on a farewell lunch for our outgoing CEO. I apologize for not finding the necessity in the banners that were waving up and down every street entering/exiting our campus with the outgoing CEO's name printed all over it. I'm sorry that I rolled my eyes when I saw the expenses come through for the new employees from Costa Rica when they were visiting Denver. You see, we aren't hurting for money. We are a cash cow and the current economy is almost helping our revenue streams as international customers are migrating between countries to find work and need to send money back home to their families even more so than normal. So I'm struggling to see why this expense is being looked at through a microscope and picked through with a fine tooth comb.

A couple of months ago the instructors were asked to keep a head count in all of their classes because "the new ceo" (as they were told) is curious as to how many people are using the classes. I didn't see a problem with this. If anything I thought it could help them see the demand for various classes and maybe balance it out (for instance maybe we don't need 3 yoga classes when the attendance is never above 3 people) But apparently the head count wasn't enough because last week the instructors were asked to start taking actual attendance. This time they were told that the CEO is wanting to know if there are 200 people taking a few classes a week or 50 people taking a class every day. The overall cost does not change, but the marginal cost per employee changes. If there are 200 employees using the resources they are spending $250 per person annually, but if there are only 50 people then they are spending $1000 per person. I see the difference, but I am having trouble seeing why it matters. You either have 200 people who are moderately fit or 50 people who are very fit. Problem is, I think it's more like 50. But still!

That's 50 people who are most likely healthier than they were before. 50 people who are more productive throughout the day than they were before. 50 people who may have debated walking out of work last week never to return, but kept trying to remind themselves of the benefit of the awesome fitness classes. Ok, so there was probably only one employee in that situation last week. But it could have been 50, that's the point.

However, marginal cost seems to be king here. Well, don't let me get in the way. I'll just be Dana Anderson today, Paula Tichy tomorrow, Kathy Thiemes on Thursday, and maybe on Mondays and Fridays I'll be Amanda Wallis just so she looks like she cares more than one day a week. If all 50 of us did that, think of how much better we'd look? I'll see if I can get word out. Just can't let it get back to that new CEO of ours or he may reevaluate my salary........

Undefeated For Now

Dear Football Season,
I know it hasn't been long since we last spoke. I just wanted to thank you for another wonderful weekend of football this past weekend. After such an exciting first weekend, I had prepared myself for a potential let down but you did not disappoint. With unpredictable wins, exciting plays, and miraculous comebacks you had me captivated all weekend.

My only problem here is that I'm sitting on top. I've been to Vegas once, and I was smart enough to cash out when I was on top. I feel like that's where I am now, except we still have 14 weeks of football. Too much room for error! The aggies came back from a 14 point deficit to retain their undefeated status; the Texans came back from a 17 point deficit to force overtime, block a field goal and win. And my fantasy team, thanks to Matt Schaub's great comeback, is riding on top for another week. It's all so wonderful that I just want to be able to cash out now. Call the season. Claim my prize.

This weekend the Aggies have a bye so I'm safe there, but the Texans play the Cowboys who are desperate for a win. The Texans have it in them to win but it will be a test for sure, and the wimp inside of me doesn't want to have to face it. Its a good thing the people suiting up aren't afraid to lose like I am, otherwise they may not even show up this weekend.

So, I'm asking once more for a wonderful football weekend filled with chips, guacamole, bratwurst, coors light (or blue moon, not quite the football beer but oh well) and 3 more tick marks in the W column. Thanks again for all you've done, and feel free to continue to impress. You're the best!

You're favorite buddy of all time,
Me.

William Wednesday

It's that time again. My head has been spinning the past few days and the only thing that has kept me on track as far as what day it is has been knowing when to post William Wednesday. Sad, yes. True, yes.

You heard a bit of William's week yesterday, so I guess I wandered off the beaten path a little bit. Other than being sick, he had another really fun week! He was sick for about half of it, though, so I guess I can't say it was the most fun week we've had to date. But the older he gets, the more fun we have. He didn't do anything new this week, just fine-tuned some skills he already had. He has now taken steps along the coffee table from one end all the way to the other, trying to grab anything in reach. I think he's done this every day since Thursday, so basically we can't leave anything on the coffee table unless we intend for him to insert it in his mouth. He has also taken steps towards me as I've held his hands, but he doesn't do that one as well because if I'm that close he just tries to lunge into my lap.

Along the lines of mobility, I can't believe how much better he gets with his crawling every day. Even though he's trying to learn to walk, he's still perfecting his crawl. I've watched a few videos that we've taken over the past 2 months and it amazes me every time at how much improvement we see in such a short amount of time. Last week he usually paused once or twice mid-crawl because he was trying to move forward with the same arm/leg that he had just used. He'd stop, get confused a bit, reset himself and start crawling again. Well, less than a week later that kink seems to have been worked out. Nancy and Reagan are not enjoying this, though, because now he can quickly get to them wherever they are. I can just see the disappointment in Nancy's face as she realizes what was once her cuddle buddy is now her predator. And Reagan never has gotten on board with the whole idea of having a baby in the house, so he definitely doesn't enjoy the mobility. Oh well Reagan, you can get on board or you can go pout in the corner! That's what I have to say about that, and his choice so far has always been to pout in the corner. :)

We've been playing new games with him too. One thing that I've done since he was first able to hold up his head is to bounce him on my knee while singing "this is the way the baby rides, the baby rides, the baby rides..." and go through baby, mommy, daddy, and cowboy - each time making my bounces faster and more vigorous (I'm sure plenty of you have played this game) Well, this week I've started playing with him sitting on my hips while I'm laying on the ground, then I raise and lower my stomach/hips with the chant. For some reason this new way of playing the same game is AMAZING and infinitely more fun than the old way. He starts to get excited when I change from the way the mommy rides to the way the daddy rides, then when I do the cowboy bounce he cracks up. He squeezes his little precious fingers around my hand as tight as he can, as if I would let him fall off. It's too funny!

Another game that he's enjoying is when Austin lays him across his calves and raises/lowers him. He did it for about 5 minutes on Monday night, then he stopped and William crawled away. Less than 5 minutes later William crawled back, climbed up on Austin's feet and wrapped his arms around his legs - just waiting for Austin to get on board with play time again. Then when Austin started raising him up he buried his face in between Austin's calves and started laughing. Clearly he enjoys bouncing!

So, all in all his week was a fun one. He isn't going to let some little ear infection interrupt TOO much. And I think he's really looking forward to going back to Mr. Scotty's house on Sunday to watch some football and play with Rusty. Mr. Scotty just installed the direcTV Sunday ticket, meaning every Sunday he will have the Texans available for viewing. I think we should just reserve our seats on his couch now. Good thing William has fun too! :)

It's Only Tuesday

I feel like its Friday. I feel like its the Friday before a long-anticipated 3 day weekend. You know those Fridays - the ones where you feel like if you didn't have 3 days off coming your way you may collapse on the floor and never get up. That's how today feels - except its Tuesday. I have 3 days of work ahead of me, not 3 days off.

Last week work was pretty awful. On Thursday I was so mad at one point I grabbed my phone and my keys, walked out to my truck and called Austin. He asked me if I had my purse with me and I said, "No, because I was afraid if I brought my purse out with me I may never go back in". Obviously I knew I'd be going back in, I had no real intention of leaving. But the thought did cross my mind once or twice. We did somehow managed to make our deadline of Friday, though. Kathy was still reviewing at 5:00 Friday and Dana suggested that Paula and I go home, then she'd call and let us know if we needed to come in Saturday to clear review notes. I thought Dana's voice sounded nothing short of angelic Friday night when she called to let me know Kathy only had 2 corrections which could easily be made Monday morning. I was granted a full weekend!

The weekend was pretty good, just not very restful. Then yesterday I was home with a sick baby and up all night last night with a sick baby. I had been salivating at the thought of soon taking a day off work to be home...but being home with a sick baby is the worst. He has another ear infection which the doctor said is probably a result of the head cold/flu that he has. So he is now on an antibiotic for the infection and hopefully tonight or tomorrow morning he'll start feeling better. But there's nothing worse than an inconsolable screaming baby at 3 in the morning. I didn't mind that I was awake and not sleeping, I minded that he was in so much pain and there was nothing I could do to help him. He slept from 8-11 then from 3:30 until about 9 this morning. Had I been smart I would have gone to bed with him at 8 rather than waiting until 10:30, because that meant I got to sleep from 10:30-11 and then from 3:30-6:30. Not that my last 3 hours of sleep were restful either, though, because William was making a lot of noise and kicking and just not sleeping too soundly himself. Since I took off yesterday, Austin is home with him today and said he slept well from the time I left until he woke up at 9. That's good news.

As for me - I'm sitting here staring at my 12oz can of redbull, trying to force it down. It has to help. Because I need to open the 2 folders that are sitting next to me and actually get some work done. Then maybe I'll also muster up the energy to check my voicemails and see what people (Dana) need. Then maybe I'll make it to the workout class (the cost/value of which our lovely new CEO is now reviewing - more on that another day) And maybe I'll make it through the day, and the next 3 days, without collapsing on the floor that I'm quite certain hasn't been cleaned in the 6 years this building has been here. I realize I'm putting a lot of faith and trust in my red bull at this point. But if they can market that red bull can actually give me wings, don't you think the least it can do is just keep me functional???

I'll keep you posted on its success/failure. For now, enjoy another shot of my precious boy in his happier times at school:

New Goddard Pics

I couldn't wait until next Wednesday to share the pictures Miss Jennifer emailed me last night. I'll add more with next week's post, this is just a little taste of what he's up to at school. This month's theme is "community helpers" so they've learned about police officers, firemen, postal workers, etc. Doesn't he look precious in his fire chief hat??? I love it!

Now, back to work...

William Wednesday

This week's post isn't nearly as fun for me because I am relying mostly on information from other people to fill you in on William's week. Which means I've missed most of it, which I hate. But, I'll leave that part alone since I think I ranted enough yesterday and I'll move on to happier things.

Besides the return of William's horrible diaper rash, he had a great week! He is becoming funnier, more social, more opinionated, and just all around more fun every day. I have been working until about 8 every night so other than the weekend, I've missed it all. But Austin has enjoyed having some daddy-baby time and he's great about keeping me in the loop as far as what they're up to and what William is doing.

Thursday he had his first taste of plums which Austin said he gobbled up. Except, it looks like he lathered up more than gobbled to me:

Saturday night we went to a surprise going away (joke's on kaila cause she's really staying) party for Kaila down in Castle Rock. I worked in the morning, then I was responsible for getting Kaila out of her sister's house and back over there so when I saw William after the big "SURPRISE" I high-tailed it over to him. I missed him so much! Didn't help that the yelling of all of the guests scared him...made me need to get to him even faster so I could cuddle him and make him a happy baby again. He had fun being with all the people, and I think he especially liked the bed we built for him:Sunday was probably one of his most fun days to date. I (again) worked in the morning, then came home in time to see the 4th quarter of the Texans game. After they clobbered the Colts we went over to Austin's first sergeant's house for the rest of opening-weekend of football. I don't like to call him by his name because it feels like calling your school teachers by their first names, but for the sake of this blog I will. His name is scott, by the way. William LOVED Scott's house. I couldn't really figure out what made it so exciting - but to him it was this whole new universe to discover I think.

Usually when we go to other people's houses William likes to just be held. If he wants to play at all its just right in front of me, he doesn't want to go too far. Not at Scott's house. He was all over the place! Climbing on bean bags, climbing on the crib mattress Scott (so kindly) laid out for William's naps, trying to climb on the table to get the snacks, etc. And he thought everything was HILARIOUS. He was laughing for hours. He especially liked if he rolled over while I was changing his diaper, making me flip him back over. Apparently that's a game and not business time...which made the diaper-changing a bit of a challenge.

The best part about William's visit to Mr. Scotty's house was that he TOOK TWO STEPS along the side of the couch. He had just learned to pull himself up to standing sometime last week, perfected it by the end of the week, then on Sunday he was ready for steps. How does it all happen so fast?! Scott has a puppy who he was trying to train to stay away from William, so Rusty (the puppy) wasn't allowed to explore wherever William was. The problem with that is that William likes pets! So, William pulled himself up by the edge of the couch, looked at me with a big, mischievous grin, then he took his steps! Once he had taken 2 steps he was at the end of the couch and wasn't sure what to do. He looked back at me and then plopped on his butt to finish his adventure by crawling over to Rusty. He was so proud when he looked up at me though! I said "Yay baby! I saw you!!!" And he gave me the most prideful smile he's ever had. I wish my camera hadn't been upstairs. :( He stayed up way too late over at Scott's, but he wasn't fussy. He was just too excited to sleep! But once we got in the car and were 1 inch down the driveway he was sacked out for the night.

This week every morning I've dropped him off at Goddard Miss Kim has told me how he is just getting braver and braver and wants to stand up everywhere. I told her this morning that he even used a gliding ottoman, i.e. an unstable surface, to help him stand. Then once he was stable he released his hands and looked up at me like "OH MY GOSH I'M STANDING ON MY OWN!" It only lasted about 3 seconds, but we were both pretty proud.

Little miss Helen was sure excited to see William this morning. I don't think I've ever seen her smile and she grinned ear to ear when I walked in the room carrying him. Kim said, "Yep, that's how they are all day!" Helen took her first steps along side a railing last Thursday so I guess that's where William got the motivation. Gotta be able to chase his girlfriend wherever she goes! They've been taking a lot more pictures at school so hopefully I get those to share with you soon. You can see William the fireman!

He's had a great week, it just makes me sad that I haven't been there. But I know that next year Austin will miss every night so I can handle 2 weeks. Plus I still have the morning time, which is still probably his favorite part of the day. He's such a happy boy!!!

If I Had a Door

If I had a door, today it would certainly be closed.
My body language would say "enter and die"
I'd have avril lavigne or ashley simpson or some other screaming female vocalist blaring loud enough for my neighbor to be pissed.
But my neighbor wouldn't complain because my body language would say "enter and die".

If I had a door, I would probably add a lock.
I'd lock my door so my body language could not be misinterpreted.
I'd set my phone on the floor outside, letting callers know they will be ignored.
I'd stay logged out of my email service so that no one could reach me unless they came through my door.
But no one would come through my door because the knob would be locked and my body language would say "enter and die".

If I had a door, I'd probably also have a window. And if I had a window, I'd install blinds.
I'd close my blinds so tightly that passersby would think the light was off.
I'd keep a towel in the crack between the door and the floor so that the light couldn't escape.
I may even use headphones to listen to my pal avril so that the illusion of absence is achieved.
I'd appear to be absent, I'd speak to no one. I'd be working, for sure I'd be working.
But no one would know, because I'd have my own printer so as not to use the community printer.
A printer in my office. My office with a door. My door with a window. My window with the blinds. And the blinds, of course, closed.

If only I had a door. Then no one would see the mood I'm in. Because damn my inability to disguise my emotions across my face. My inability to pretend that when someone comes in frantic and running around as if the world is crashing down around us because we are one day behind on our soft deadling I get irritated. My inability to pretend that I actually care about the soft deadline. My inability to pretend I actually care about anything we do here.

If only I had a door.

Dear Football Season

Dear Football Season,
I don't know why you were away for so long. You seem to come around for a short while, then leave just when I'm getting addicted. Why does it take you so long to return? In any case, I've missed you and I'm glad you're back.
Austin is equally glad that you're back and that I'm glad that you're back. You see, if Austin were to play video games or watch Family Guy or baseball or do any other single thing for 8 hours in one day, I'd probably flip a lid. I'd yell and scream (or just kindly say) that he was wasting an entire day and we need to mow the lawn and vacuum the carpet and walk the dog and fold socks...really anything other than sit mindlessly in front of the tv. But, everything is different in the fall. Rules change. Now it's perfectly ok for him to turn the TV on at 10 with the first pre-game show and keep it on football until 9 when the Sunday Night game ends. It's perfectly ok, you see, because I'm right there with him.
The other things still get done, they just get done much earlier in the day and much faster. Because at 11:00 the Texans play...and although I usually can't see them on TV, I listen live on the internet while I watch the Broncos. All while folding laundry and playing with a baby. It is multi-tasking at its finest, and I'm happy to do it.
I know last year I told you that I would never play that stupid fantasy game again, because it took away from my enjoyment of your simple game. But, I'm a glutton for punishment so I joined again. And guess what? I still was able to enjoy your games while winning in fantasy too.
I won. The Aggies won. The Texans won. The weather was great, birds were chirping, the smell of fresh laundry permeated the house, and I was in fall-heaven.
So welcome back. Get comfortable. Stay awhile. You're always welcome at our house. And this year, feel free to keep the Texans around through January and even into February.
Sincerely,
A Huge Fan

Remember

Facebook is a wonderful thing sometimes. Sure, it has the power to destroy marriages if people are dumb enough (did you know that in 2009 over 35% of all divorces in America attributed some of the failings in part to facebook???) Sure it can hinder one’s ability to get a job if their employers see pictures plastered all over facebook of the job candidate plastered too. And sure, it can make people lose jobs if they call in sick and then later post, “I’m headed to my boyfriend’s football game!” But, sometimes it really is a cool thing.

Like when word needs to be spread about a good cause. Word spreads on facebook like wildfires (or wildflowers, alexis). The Book Campaign is one such cause who’s news facebook is working hard at spreading. 24 hours ago I knew nothing of it, and now I’m in love with it.

If you aren’t familiar with the boot campaign, check it out at www.bootcampaign.com or on facebook. If you don’t want to check out their site, I’ll tell you a bit about it. It was started by 5 ladies, the boot girls, in Texas (of course, what other state has more pride?) and the purpose is to raise money for organizations in support of combat veterans. Their slogan is, When They Come Back We Give Back. What a catchy phrase! They raise funds and support by selling combat boots that have their logo imprinted on the side of the shoe. They are also getting ready to release a tribute album with songs from various country music artists where all proceeds will go to the Lone Survivor Foundation and other veterans associations. They have spread their popularity through celebrities such as Gretchen Wilson, Houston Astros players, t.u. coach Mack Brown, aTm coach Mike Sherman, Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, Dallas Cowboys’ cheerleaders, and many others who have bought boots and sported them for campaign posters. People all over the country are joining the group on facebook and posting pictures of them putting their boots on. The concept is that when you put your boots on, you will be reminded of those who put the very same boots on day after day to protect your freedom. What better day to be reminded of that than the eve the 9th anniversary of 9/11.

I remember where I was on September 11. I was a selfish 17 year old girl who was irritated that my day was being disrupted. We were being held in one class for the rest of the day, extracurricular activities were being cancelled, and all anyone wanted to talk about was what we were watching repeatedly on the TV screens. As shamed as I am to admit it now, I openly shared that I didn’t see how this had any impact on me. I didn’t know anything of terrorists or people who hated our country. I didn’t know there were groups of people around the world who would love nothing more than to see us fall. I was shocked to learn that people in Pakistan were cheering at the sight of innocent lives lost. My shell of comfort, security, ignorance and possibly even arrogance was shattered as I learned of the realities in our world. I never considered myself a sheltered person until that day. Until I learned that thousands of lives would be lost not only that day but also over the next 10+ years. And I had no idea how closely this would affect my life in the years to come. I thought I was safe. I was untouchable. I was American.

The truth is that we weren’t immune to such attacks. Along with millions of others, I blindly believed that because we had been on top for so long we were invincible. I was like the foolish celebrity who thinks their spouse won’t find out they’ve had 50+ affairs. And I was wrong.

Today my brother is fighting in a war that came as a direct result of the attacks that day. Today my husband prepares to go fight in the country where our 9/11 conspirators are plotting their next target. Today I do not ask, “How does this have any effect on my life?” It effects every single day of my life. We cannot, and should not, have such arrogance to assume that we are safe from such attacks. However, the arrogance comes because we have so many selfless men and women who are willing to step in front of us and provide us that safety. They are willing to do whatever they can, give whatever they can, to protect the livelihood of their countrymen, some of whom spit in their faces as a result. After the abundance of American pride began to fade, after the flags were taken off the car windows, after the friendly smiles were replaced with their previous scorns, and after life was “back to normal” for most Americans these men and women continued to serve. They continued to salute the flag and wear the boots, working hard to defend our freedoms. As always, I am in awe of and eternally grateful for their selfless call to service. I want to say “thanks”, though “thanks” is not enough, to those people who are so willing to give their life for me.

Today, one of the boot girls wrote a beautiful blog post in tribute to 9/11 in which she encourages her readers to “put your boots on” and support and thank those who do so for you. If you have time to read it, you should. She sends her message beautifully and writes it in a way I can’t. While you’re on the site you can sift through the pictures of all the people in their boots too. Grab your tissues as you see the image of a baby not much older than William sitting next to his daddy’s boots; his hero who he never met. Stories like that are so heart wrenching that I love to think they don’t happen, but they do. And it is because that boy’s daddy had such a deep love for his country and his family’s freedoms. Whether you put your boots on or not, remember those who are laying it all down for you. Remember those innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001 and thank God that you were born into such a strong nation.

The Monster is Back

One of Austin's soldiers is having some personal issues, and I seem to be making a connection between him and my pesky little friend. This is the soldier who Austin was helping last week when I had my first near-death encounter with Rosco the Raccoon.

Yesterday Austin took his soldier to his house to collect some belongings, and he is going to store them in our garage until he gets a new place. So when Austin got home last night he backed his truck into our garage so that after William was in bed we could unload his soldier's washer and dryer off the bed of the truck. He would have kept his truck parked in the driveway, but it looked like rain and he didn't want them to be rained on.

When I got home at 7:45 I just parked in the driveway (even though my precious TB belongs in the garage) and was headed inside when it hit me: the garage door had been open all evening, and the sun was now down. There was a good chance Rosco could be in my garage, and I wasn't going to risk a rendezvous so I went in the front door instead. (I realize that may sound funny, but we don't ever use our front door - is this normal or abnormal?) Austin made fun of me for a good 5 minutes about being so afraid of a raccoon who was most likely nowhere near our house, and I just let him have his chuckles. yeah yeah, ha ha.

I had gotten home just in time for bed time with William, then Austin and I sat down and ate a quick dinner. Afterwards he said he was going to move the washer and dryer out of his truck so he could pull his truck back out to the driveway and close the garage. I asked if he needed help and he said "If I do I'll come back in and let you know"

Two seconds later he opens the door and says, "Good thing you didn't come out here with me"

I misunderstood him and thought he said he needed help. Ok, I didn't misunderstand. I just wasn't listening, but did hear that he was talking. I took the safe route in assuming that he needed my help and I went to the garage door. When I opened it he was already pulling the dryer off the truck. I said "I thought you needed my help?" He responded, "no, I said good thing you didn't come out here. The raccoon was back"

DAMN YOU ROSCO!!!

I don't know where this rodent lives. I don't know where else he gets food, but he apparently has pegged my house as a source of indulgence. Does he meander over to my garage every night in hopes that I've left it open? Does he sit on the front stoop all night long, whining and pining for a nibble of that good ol' Iams weight control (marketing gimmick) cat food?

Well, jokes on you Rosco. Rubbermaid is a wonderful invention and you will not make my fat cat Reagan starve. Go find a new sucker. As for me, I am moving one of Austin's shotguns to the door by the garage and you better beware.

**I will not move a shotgun into the kitchen. With my luck reagan would knock it over and somehow pull the trigger. or William. or layla. or even me. But don't tell Rosco. he needs to be afraid.**

Wednesday again?

Has it really already been a week? I will have to sit and ponder a little bit over the last 7 days because I am not even sure 7days have actually passed this time, much less what happened in that time! Seriously. Where did the week go? So, while I ponder, I invite you to jump into my brain and join me on this ride through the week...

Thursday - Miss Kim told me that at school they're all marvelling at how quickly William picks up on motor skills. She is "sure" he'll be an early walker because once he got crawling down, that wasn't enough for him anymore. Now he needs to pull up. He also likes to stand on his feet and hands rather than knees and hands a lot - like he's making a bridge.

Friday - Austin and William had the day off while mommy had to work. Totally fair. William had a shot, which he took like a champ with no tears, then they played at home. He is growing to really, really love his basketball game that I showed you last week. The only problem is he thinks its the perfect height to grab onto the top and pull himself up. Please see my note about light weight baby toys.

Saturday - We took William to his first girlfriend's house, Miss Corrine. Corrine is a former coworker of Austin's who got out of the Army in February. She now rents a house in our neighborhood and works as a civilian contractor. We hadn't seen her in awhile, but William didn't forget - he just LOVES Corrine. I think its her high pitched voice and how excited she gets to see him. After an afternoon of football we went down to the outlet mall to grab William some clothes for next summer. We got a bunch of stuff for an average of $2 each. What a bargain! :)

Sunday - I'm really drawing a blank here. Ah yes, Austin played golf, William fell off the bed, William slammed his head into the slats of his crib...now I'm remembering why I purposely forgot this day. Poor baby had a rough morning! Then he and I went to Target, Babies r Us, Sprouts (a produce grocery store) and I made TONS of baby food. Did you ever know "black plums" are really bright red? you learn that when you take the skins off and puree the steamed plums. Why aren't they red plums?

Monday - I had to work from home for a little bit, then we met up with the Campaign Director from Light the Night so I could get some marketing tools to hang around the office. Then we cleaned some around the house, played with William, went on a walk, and that finished up our nice long weekend. I did learn that if I want Austin to clean the house I don't have to ask; I just have to put on the tv show Hoarders! It makes him go cleaning-nuts. It rocks!

Yesterday at school Miss Jennifer said William was getting even better at pulling himself up and holding himself there, and is no long content to just sit on the floor or crawl around. Now he needs to crawl and stand up. I know people say they can't believe how fast babies grow - and I know it gets old hearing it - but its so true! I feel like he JUST grasped the idea of rolling over. Wasn't that just like last week? Or last month? Or something like that???? How did he get where he is now when I hardly even had time to breathe? Yikes. He'll be walking by the next time I open my eyes I'm sure.

Annnnnnd up go the baby gates! I have a feeling I'm about to lose some pounds on the weekends...

This Month

Is not going to be fun. I will be working frantically practically the entire month, so I'm not sure if I'll be seen on here very much. I'll try my hardest, and I will definitely be here on Wednesdays...other than that, I apologize. (to all 5 of my readers, you know)

The one thing I have to look to forward to this month comes Sept 30, and that's the Light the Night walk. A BIG HUGE ENORMOUS HEARTFELT thank-you goes out to my supporters: Ernest, Shelley, Brian, Nico, BB, Chelsea, Aunt Mandy, Pat, and Jonathan. You have helped me far exceed my goal of $500 and now I am $165 away from being a "Bright Light for the Cure" - I'm not sure what that means, but it would double my goal so it would be a wonderful milestone.

My mom and Alfredo have decided to fly up here and do the walk with us, so that will be a lot of fun. My mom's ankle will hopefully be healed by then so that she can be in charge of pushing William's stroller. We've been walking Layla lately and I'm not sure if she'll make it for 3 miles, but we'll try to work her up to that before the walk...it'll just be a decision we have to make later.

One of our teammates lost a sister in May to Leukemia and her entire family is joining our team to walk which is great. It'll be an emotional evening for them I'm sure, but I know they're glad to support LLS and walk in her memory. From what I understand she left behind a husband and two kids who will be at the walk.

I'm very excited to be a part of the walk and to be able to do what little I can in order to help those who are struggling with a battle about which I unfortunately know so much. If you haven't ever read my posts about the walk, you can find them on Sept 3, 2009, Oct 2, 2009, and July 29, 2010. It's a wonderful event and, again, I am so thankful to my supporters - financially and emotionally. You Rock!

But, Sept 30 isn't here yet. So, for now I'll get back to the tax grind. Ho Hum.

William Wednesday

You must have all sent well wishes after William's rough week, because this week he was much happier and back to normal. I'm kicking myself right now because there have been a few times this week when I've thought, 'I better write that down for William Wednesday' and then I still forgot. But I'll try to rack my brain here as I ramble.

I hear almost daily now from either Kim or Jennifer about how much Helen and William love each other. This morning, I saw it first hand. I was running a little late so Kim was already on the floor playing with a few babies, and when Helen saw William she turned around and gave a huge grin as I sat William down. Then, William leaned in towards her and giggled as he smiled at her too. Kim said "yep, that's how they are all day". Interesting.....

Did I mention one day William wouldn't stop grabbing her butt because there were ruffles on her bloomers? Yeah. Slightly concerned here. Terror alert level is at orange.

This weekend we had a blast, and we really didn't do anything. We hung out at home, ran a few errands, Austin and I went to a fantasy football draft while William stayed home with Kaila...but I had TONS of fun playing with William. He's a riot! On Saturday he painted pictures for his uncles that they should get in the mail today or tomorrow...since none of them read this, I won't be spoiling the surprise. He had tons of fun with the finger paint...it was just a bit of a chore getting it on the paper :)

On Sunday after we'd spent too much money at costco (somehow coming home with 3 new outfits for William, including his halloween costume!) I had to lay him in the crib so I could run to the bathroom. Wonderful post-childbirth bladder. Austin was on his way upstairs so I just said "He's in his crib". Apparently by the time Austin got to his room - and let me tell you our house isn't a mansion, it takes about 5 steps to get from the stairs to his room - he was on his way out of the crib. Soooooo upon my return from releasing the fury I played basketball with William while Austin lowered his crib mattress down to the floor. What a big boy!

His uncle Brandon and Aunt Dana gave him this basketball game when he was just a wee lad in my belly, and I have been itching to get it out for him! It may be hard to tell, but there are 2 basketballs, a net, 2 spinning numbers on the top, a boingy (???) cheering fan on one side, a plastic basketball that slides up and down on the other...I think that's about it. The absolute last thing he cares about on the toy is the actual basketballs. No interest in putting them in the basket, he just wants to tug on the basket so the fans cheer and clap. He loves it! Austin showed him how to slide the plastic basketball up and down while I showed him the spinning numbers, so between all of that he is gaining no knowledge of the ball-in-the-basket concept. Oh well, he has a blast!

One complaint here: why can't fisher price figure out that toys should be weighted on the bottom? Invention idea here. William now has this toy and another fisher price toy that he inherited from a coworker of mine - he loves both, he tries to pull on both and he knocks himself in the head with both. They have no weight to hold them down. Is there a reason here? Because I find it frustrating that they are making billions on children's toys yet they can't figure out how to alleviate the problem of the ever-present red mark on William's forehead. Moving on...

William has become very ticklish in the last month or two and Austin loves to tickle him. That's ok with me because he seems to tickle me less - its a win win here. William enjoys it too, which is really what matters. On Friday after Austin had finished feeding him his dinner he was still sitting in his bumbo chair (best invention ever...who needs a messy, clunky high chair?) and Austin started tickling his feet. He immediately leaned back, spread his arms wide and started laughing. Austin would stop, he'd come back to a normal seated position, then Austin would go in again and he'd lean right back into the same position. I got one blurry picture, but when I sat there longer with my phone in hopes to get a more clear image, William noticed the camera was out so he had no interest in playing tickle-time with daddy. He loves the camera! So, a blurry picture will have to do.

And with all the fun and games, its hard to get the boy to nap these days. He doesn't want to waste the time! So his naps usually come in mid-play...like when he's bouncing on daddy's lap, trying to climb on his shoulders into the chair, and then just instantly slumps into a deep sleep. That's our baby :)