Weekend in review

As many know, our basement was flooded in the crazy storms this weekend. Brian's weak attempt at playing weather man gives an accurate summary:



As we prepared for sleep at midnight, we heard a car driving through the lake typically known as our street. My heart sank when I looked out the window, knowing that our basement must be in trouble. It sort of made it funny that I had scolded Brian for not mopping up a small puddle he had found in the basement earlier that evening. All four rooms of our daylight basement were covered in about 2" of water at that time. The water had backed up through our grey water drainage in the floor, and did the same to all of our neighbors. We waded through and picked everything up and out of the water of value (mattresses, children's toys, dresser, tools, camping equipment, chest freezer, etc.) By the grace of God, we weren't electrocuted. Overnight, the water level increased to about 4". Saturday AM, in true day after Thanksgiving style, Brian busted down the door to Menard's and bought the last of the shop vacs with a water pump. We spent the day sucking up water, moving all of our stuff out to the garage, and drying out boxes and carpet. It was no fun, but now we've redesigned our set-up to make our next flood much easier to clean up.

These pics don't really do it justice - just looks like a mess!


I was too cheap to throw out all of our moving boxes - so they got to sunbathe until they dried out.


We really were quite lucky compared to other horror stories I heard - tree limbs crashing through ceilings and spearing a bed, 5' of water in the basement, and sewage backing up in a basement and ruining wedding photos. I'm counting my blessings, and planning on getting an estimate to cut our dying tree down before it not only damages our house, but hurts one of us.

Sunday we enjoyed Brian's first Father's Day up at the cottage. Charlotte got to swim in Whitefish Lake and play in her own personal pool. Quite a spoiled baby!

Charlotte and Grandpa


She's almost sitting up!

We're not making much progress on "ma ma." If only my name was "Aah."

Ask and ye shall receive

My SIL, Jacqueline, asked where is her weekly dose of Charlotte photos. Yes, I am a bit of a slacker on my blog lately. Perhaps because, as many have, I have become addicted to Facebook. I hope it's just a phase.

Last weekend we finally made it out to Lisle, IL to check out Carrie and Matt's house (which they moved in last September). Better late than never. They have a great thing going for them in Lisle. Their house is elegant, roomy, and didn't require any fixing up. I'm so jealous! And - most importantly - plenty of room for a family :)

While there, we visited the Morton Arboretum. Even if it was raining/misting, we just sucked it up and sat on towels to enjoy our little picnic. By the time we left, the sun was shining, giving us more time to check out their maze and children's garden.

Charlotte loves the new Pepsi Throwback. Mmm, real sugar.




I'm so big!


Last visit to Camp KickAss. "I want to go to there."

The Nursed-Baby Diet

Many would think that the reason why a woman can lose weight so easily while nursing is due to the extra calorie expenditure. Over the last 5 months, I've realized that there is so much more to the algorithm.

* When the baby ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Which means all of her meals are a priority over mine and I'm on call 24/7.

* When the baby is content by herself, I feel I must use that valued time for such items as showering, paying bills, laundry, sweeping, watering the vegetable garden, facebook, organizing coupons....you get the idea. It seems that everything else is so much more important than feeding myself.

* Grocery shopping trips must be short and sweet so that I don't come face to face with a hungry baby and am still in the dairy aisle. (One might realize the humor in that, but I would beg to differ.) So, faster shopping means I skipped the cookie aisle.

* Meals are small and simple since meal prep is an afterthought. So, no three course meals or dessert to fatten up on. In fact, I would go for PB&J sandwiches most nights if this didn't disappoint my husband.

* And once the day is through, baby is nursed for that last "top off" of the night, and off to dreamland, there is no energy left to fix a late night snack. Forget having your husband wait on you when you're pregnant, this is when you need it most!

Of course - weight loss doesn't equal muscle tone. But I'll take it one baby step at a time :)

Writer's Block

I haven't felt creative for blogging lately and have been a bit absorbed in Facebook (now that I've finally given into the peer pressure). So what do mommies do when they have writer's block? Why, write about their kids of course!

Charlotte is almost 5 months now. It took her about 4 weeks, but she has finally grasped the concept of eating cereal. Now that she understands how good her belly feels with cereal, she loves to finish the whole bowl. And I love it because she now (sometimes) goes to bed for Daddy and doesn't want that last bedtime snack. I know I'll miss those last little cuddles someday, but for now I'm grateful for a little time to myself.



She continue to grow more playful and talkative. She is learning to hold objects, trade them hand to hand, suck on her thumb (and toes!). She will look to you when you call to her and is always willing to give a smile.

Here is one of her new garage sale finds - very cool toy.




As you can see, she is our constant source of entertainment. Can anyone place Brian's quote?

Tis' the season

Forget the Christmas bargains, the time to get great deals is summer garage sales! Unfortunately I am working this morning, and this is the day that the upper class neighborhoods are selling their "junk" (my treasures). But we did sneak into a "preview" sale last night and found many toys for Charlotte.
At one stop we managed to get 5 great light up/noise making/balls through tubes toys and a foam bumper for the coffee table for a grand price of $5. Even if Charlotte is still entertained by her current toys, I'm bored by them, so I'm glad to have more stuff to play with. A friend of mine is a garage sale guru/addict and taught me toys and baby clothes are the best deal at sales. I hesitate to buy too many clothes right now as it is already hard to rotate her through all of the outfits she currently owns. But I'm willing to shop for my friends if they give me the thumbs-up on used clothing.

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Maggie turns 2 today. Supposedly she is still supposed to be a naughty and hyper puppy at this age, demonstrating her teenage rebellion. Quite the contrary. Maggie is a calm and dear puppy. She has been an angel since Charlotte came home. She has been more subdued, sleeps a lot, but is always eager for a walk. I would love to say she doesn't destroy things anymore, but to prove me wrong, she ate my sunglasses yesterday. (In her defense, I did leave them on the floor.) I still see the puppy in her once in a while, like after her bath when she runs laps around the house at top speed (baths are like crack to her) or when she spots a squirrel. And she hasn't met a pile of cat poop that she wouldn't like to roll in. But her good qualities overshadow her bad any day. Isn't that how everyone feels about their "children?"
Someday I would like to bring home another puppy playmate for Maggie, but we're going to need a fenced in backyard before I do that. For now she's my one and only furry friend. Happy Birthday pups.

(Maggie when we first got her - I'll never stop loving those floppy ears.)

Inside Joke

San Diego

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the week. I wasn't around for most of the photo opportunities, but I still found a few that make me smile.

Charlotte was the first to try out our king size bed - she said it was heavenly.


She and Daddy went to the Cubs-Padres game. She was mad that the Cubbies were losing.


San Diego Zoo was a must-see. We got up close and personal with the pandas...and elephants...and giraffes...and polar bears.




Although the weather was chill, the pool was heated. Charlotte is quite a little tadpole.

Weekend chores

We're glad to be back in the comfort of our home and enjoying this beautiful weather, which oddly, is warmer than it was in California! Meagan is in town this week for a wedding and finally got to meet Charlotte. Charlotte seems to like her and probably wonders who this strange lady is who looks so much like her mommy. I just realized I didn't get any pics of the two of them, which upsets me. I'll have to try harder next time...when we get a next time.

I am trying to get my garden in order. We tore out a bunch of irises yesterday because flowering weeds had invaded all of the free space creating a jungle in the garden. Now I'm trying to think of something large to plant in the big void. I already have daisies. I'm contemplating some daylilies, although they aren't my favorite since the flowers decay so quickly. Anyone have a suggestion for a favorite perennial?

Otherwise, I'm working in urgent care this morning. I'm crossing my fingers for an easy day so I can get out of here and back to work in the yard.

It's a good thing...

That breast milk is so good for babies because it is the only thing keeping me from tearing out my hair as I sit in a public restroom stall and pump numerous times this week. Forget labor, this takes away your dignity

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day. I am learning so much at the conference. I went to a 4 1/2 hour training session on joint sessions - I'm ready to go back and stick some needles in some knees and shoulders!! Anyone want to be my first subject?

Brian and Charlotte are staying busy. He took her to the Cubs game Sunday. She wasn't such a fan of all that noise during her naptime. Yesterday they went exploring in Old Town and took a tour at the aircraft carrier. Then we all went swimming in the pool together when they returned. She is hilarious in the water - she kicks like a little baby frog. I wasn't brave enough to let her go under for fear of her inhaling all of that nasty chlorinated water.

Well - back to the conference for more!

Day 1

We're safe and sound on San Diego, just feeling a little jet-lagged. Charlotte was an angel on all 3 flights- slept and played. No poop or tears! Brian is taking her to the Cubs game tomorrow while I practice joint injections. Yeah for both of us!

Time's UP

Our May budget contest comes to an end as Brian and I prepare our bags for our San Diego trip. Hopefully some of you played along in spirit. I think we did well, although I know we could have done better. It's hard to really stick to your guns when you know you have some wiggle room.

Here is our tally:
Restaurant: $66
Entertainment: $72 (not quite sure what we spent that on!)
Groceries: $231
Angie allowance (aka blow fund): $100
Brian allowance: $100
Hair Salon: $37 (for Brian)
House: $100 (gardening supplies and layaway payments on patio furniture)
Misc: $45
TOTAL: $751

Of course I'm not counting utilities/bills or fuel, just the things that we have more control over. I'm proud of us - this is about half what we spent last month on the same items. So Mom, how do we measure up?

My civic duty

When I returned to work after 8 weeks maternity leave, I received a notice that I had been drawn for jury duty selection. What this meant is that I had to reserve two mornings, one month apart, to go in and be processed for possible jury duty. They try to make it as inconvenient as possible by telling you to call the night before to see if you still have to report the next morning. So, I have to go to the trouble of blocking my patient schedule, which is not only problematic for the patients, but loses money for my office. But then I call, and they tell me I don't have to report. Last night, however, they made it even worse by telling me that I didn't need to report in the morning, but I should call at 10:30 am to see if I should report in the afternoon. Huh? What? That was never part of the bargain! And WTF - why can't you just tell me now if I have to be there in the afternoon? Why don't you know?!
Thankfully, they didn't need me (for the third time), so I'm at work and preparing for my afternoon of patients. I entirely agree that I have a civic duty to serve on a jury if need be, but why can't they get a better system?

Bubbles!

I'm 4 months old now, and although I'm not so great at eating from a spoon, I rock at making bubbles!

Brian has fallen in love with a nest of baby bunnies he found in our lawn while mowing. Luckily we have a reel mower, or a few baby bunnies would already be hamburger meat. He watches over them each night as mom shows up to nurse them. Then when mom runs away, he takes care to make sure they are placed delicately back in their nest. (Of course he wears gloves, so as not to give them human stink.)
I'm not that in to the bunnies. I suppose I have my own baby "bunny" I have to nurse and nest. Plus Maggie drives me completely bonkers as she barks and howls all hours of the evening trying to get out and harass/play with them. And then today as I planted my vegetable garden I realized what the biggest threat to those bunnies is...me, when they start chomping on my lettuce!

Charlotte's Baptism Photos

See all of Matt's great work here. Thank you so much Matt!!

Dave and Mark are visiting this weekend. They are so much fun. Charlotte is thoroughly enjoying them. Best quotes of the weekend so far.

Mark: "So, have you ever gotten drunk, pumped your milk, drank the milk and got even more drunk?"

Dave: "Your P and V make a great B."

Aah, never a boring moment with these guys.

I had a cup of coffee far too late this evening, but Grey's is almost over and I'm so glad I didn't miss it! So good!!!!

Thank you Linda!

I received a belated birthday package from Linda on Tuesday. Anytime I receive something from Linda, I know I am in for a special treat. Whether it be a felted coffee cup cozy, felted slippers, knitted ornaments, homemade caramels....or in this instance - matching baby and mommy bracelets! They're appropriately made with rose colored beads and designed with crosses and a tiny flower in the middle of Charlotte's. So sweet.



And the fun didn't stop there. She also sent me some cinnamon hot chocolate and a chocolate espresso bar from my favorite Kalamazoo coffee shop - Water Street Coffee Joint. Thanks Linda - I don't deserve a friend as great as you!

And to brighten everyone's day, here is one of my favorite pics from yesterday. She is one happy babe.

Reminder!!

Our Martha episode airs tomorrow, May 14th. Let me know if you see us!

It's a nice rainy day for cleaning, clipping coupons and shopping. Charlotte is fast asleep and too cute in her "C is for Cupcake" onesie. I just got off the phone with Amber, who is 13 hours ahead of me in Japan and settling down to sleep while I am just getting started.

Food glorious food

On Saturday I teamed up with friends Jessie and Montelle for a cooking extravaganza. We each brought along two recipes for meals that can be frozen and stored, along with enough ingredients for each of us to take home a dish. So, we each were supposed to walk out with 6 dinners, but really ended up with about 10 due to the quantity. We made sausage penne, Mexican lasagna, chicken pot pie, chili, cheesy chicken enchiladas, and stuffed shells. It took about 5 hours with all the clean-up...not bad. It really was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again soon.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the hard-working and devoted mother's out there. It's a difficult job we have, but more important than any other. Every day I know I'm doing something to make this world a better place by raising this intelligent little girl.
Today I am celebrating by relaxing and hopefully spinning a little yarn. Brian made me breakfast and is responsible for the chores today. We had some fun feeding Charlotte rice cereal for the first time. She fell asleep right afterwards, as though she had a turkey dinner.

I'm ready to eat!


I think there is more going out than in!

My sentiments exactly.

Many people ask me if I'm going to pierce Charlotte's ears. I am a definite "no" on this, at least until she's old enough to take care of them herself. Besides my concerns of infection and her ripping the earring out accidentally, there is a feeling I have about the image of piercing a babies' ears (courtesy of Indexed).


hattip Brian

Don't you just love Venn diagrams?

The novelty of Tulip Time must have worn off a bit over the couple years I've lived in Holland, because I just realized I haven't posted a single picture of a tulip, much less me eating a corn dog!

So, to keep in the spirit, a tulip up close and personal.


An obligatory wooden shoe.


Boy I am not that inspired when blogging lately.

On a funny note, I heard a radio d.j. call American Idol "Two and a Half Men." Get it? I had to laugh out loud, even if it's cruel.

Watching Bristol Palin on GMA. She's just as bad as her mom in interviews. Chris Cuomo: "How do you promote abstinence when you weren't?". Bristol: "I just say it's the best choice."
Right. That will make all the difference.

Yesterday Charlotte was baptized - and as Gary would say, she is no longer a heathen. We couldn't have had better weather if we had designed it ourselves. We had a wonderful turnout and plenty to eat. I must admit I felt a bit scattered as I tried to greet each guest, but also tried to make sure the "guest of honor" was on her best behavior. But many stepped in to help me and Brian out so that I kept my sanity.
Thanks to all that came! And thank you for so many wonderful gifts for Charlotte. 



And Charlotte in her Dutch costume!

"You make me smile with my heart"

"My Funny Valentine" ~Frank Sinatra

I'm looking forward to this sunny day off and trying to make sure I don't put too much on my "to do" list so that Charlie and I get some quality play time. Mother's Day shopping and a work meeting are my priority. Maybe some gardening??

Swine flu

No, you can't get it from eating pork.
My office has had a few calls on the swine flu, but not as many as we expected. I haven't had anyone coming in to get tested for it, but maybe soon. We have a few "suspected" cases in the county, but none confirmed.
As of now, if I see a patient with respiratory illness suggestive of flu (fever, cough, runny nose, body aches), my responsibility is to first run an in-office flu test. If the test returns positive for influenza, Type A, I can then treat with an anti-viral and send a culture to the health dept to evaluate for swine flu. I am not scared or worried at this point. I save that sort of drama for when it's actually appropriate. Hopefully all of the hype will be over in another couple weeks...

Tulip Time begins in Holland next weekend. This 80 degree weather is the perfect thing to bring the glorious flowers into full bloom. Although we aren't Dutch, I've imagined how adorable Charlotte would be in her own Dutch costume and wooden Klompen shoes. I couldn't have been more pleased when one of my patients gave me an authentic handmade Dutch dress for Charlotte. I ran around the office showing it off to anyone who would listen and even took it into her daycare that evening. It will be a little big this year, but hopefully she'll be able to wear it next year as well. My little Dutch doll!



Here's a recent video of her. She's so much more active and alert now. I remember when she just used to lie and look at her toys. She's just shy of 15 weeks now. (Maggie also makes a guest appearance in this clip.)



Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I wish I was working on the garden. Darn this rain!

The party starts here

Brian and I attended a Junior League fundraiser on Saturday night, called Bittersweet. We enjoyed sampling New Holland beer and desserts from local restaurants. We tried our luck in a few 12-bid auctions and were lucky enough to win a 6 hour house cleaning! I can't wait to see my house sparkle like it's never done before.

And just to prove anyone wrong about whether Junior League women know how to have fun, look at one of the raffle prizes we constructed. That's right - it's a wheelbarrow....full of booze! I should have hung around to laugh with the winner as he took it out to his car.

More pictures

For her 3 month pictures, we took Charlotte to the JCPenney studio. It was a very cookie-cutter experience, and photos were over in 10 minutes. (Much different from our 3 hour newborn photo session.) But in the end, I was impressed with the quality of the photos for the time and money we spent. Here are a few faves.







And an out-take!

Happy Birthday and Earth Day!

Look at my nephew! He's 1 now. He has grown so quickly, but it also seems like so long ago that I met his darling face for the first time. He is such a sweetie.



He seems pretty impressed by the candle. I'm certain he's never been that close to a flame before. I wonder where the pics are with cake smeared all over his face. Chris - do you have any?

Economic stimulus

April has been an excessive spending month. After all of my birthday events, putting new shingles on the roof, 3 month pics for Charlotte, the Carter's warehouse sale and a junior league fundraiser, I feel like my debit card is on fire. I think we have our own economic stimulus package! Brian and I are taking a challenge in May to drastically limit spending. This means no entertainment or restaurants. No new clothes (or yarn for that matter). Our only downfall will be my conference in San Diego at the end of the month. Anyone want to join us and make a friendly competition out of it? We can see who can live off beans and rice for the longest!

We're trying hard to get a real, true laugh out of her. Very hard. In fact, maybe she just thinks we're weird.

"That doesn't sound right"

That's what Brian said when I shared this news headline with him. I agree, it seems like something that would be in the National Enquirer.
A tree grows inside man's lung.

Lookin' Good

My nephew turns 1 at the end of the month. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to knit something for him. This is the "cable tank top" from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby book. I used three skeins of her self-named cashmerino to make a size 18-24 months. I absolutely love how it turned out and am so pleased it fits! The aqua matches his eyes perfectly.





Doesn't he look sharp?

Charlotte loves Randy. I was watching American Idol this morning and noticed Charlotte kept smiling at the t.v. It was Randy -or maybe his big yellow stripe.

The many faces of Charlotte

Easter was quite the busy weekend - but we really enjoyed ourselves. We hosted Brian's family on Saturday. Jacqueline pampered me with some new high/low lights and a cut. I love it and will try to post pics soon. We all went to Easter vigil mass together and enjoyed Brian's dulcet tones ;) I had to kick everyone out of the house at midnight, though, because Sunday was another big day. We drove to my parents for the day for a tasty Polish feast.

Charlotte seemed to enjoy all of the Easter festivities as well. I certainly enjoyed all of her cute Easter dresses!

"That is hilarious! Tell me more."


"Grandpa, I'm so sleepy. Please cuddle me."


"Oh Amos, you're so silly. I can't catch a ball yet!"


"I want to laugh, but I haven't learned how yet."


Down for the count.

Martha is my hero!

Sorry for being a delinquent blogger, but life has kept me busy in a very good way these last several weeks.
Our NYC trip was quite a day. Woke up at 4:45 to get dressed and pump milk, only to realize I left the major parts to the pump at home (I was then at my mom's.) Any nursing mom can sympathize with how fear stricken I was.  The situation was solved once we got to NYC and found a Target, thank the Lord.  We did get to the plane in time, but then realized I left my camera in the car. Thankfully, that was all that went wrong that day.
We got in line nice and early for the Martha show, which ensured us front row seats. We like to think they placed us in the front because we're so gorgeous, but I don't think we ever made it on camera :)  The set was gorgeous and quite surreal inside an otherwise stark and cold warehouse. The show was about family recipes, in which 5 of her staffers came to prepare old family favorites like whole wheat waffles and chicken enchilada casserole. I may make 1 or 2 of the recipes, but I'll definitely pass on the fish stew. 

I was so impressed by the amount of work and precision that goes into putting on a live show.  The camera crew, set decorators and kitchen prep staff moved around as though they were in a ballet. I thought Martha was just beautiful in person.  Her composure and authority are something I would love to emulate in my profession.

It was a long day.  We didn't get back home until 2 am, but nothing a little Starbucks couldn't fix.  I loved my birthday gift and I will never forget it.  Thank you Brian!!

See all of Bri's iPhone pics here.

Happy Birthday

I do have martha stewart stories to share, and they'll come as soon as I can get out of my sleep-deprived state of confusion. However, today the most important thing is that
it's Brian's Birthday!!!
My husband is a magnificent human being, and I don't only say that because he goes with me to musicals and the Martha show, but because he is generous, kind-hearted, creative, and oh so funny.
So today, in his honor, let's put on a suit, find a new way to use awesome in a sentence, and tip back a cold Coke Zero.
Happy Briannakuh honey.

12 weeks

Charlotte is 12 weeks old today.



I can't say a bad thing about this baby. She is a blessing to me and Brian in every way. These last twelve weeks have been pretty magical, just watching her grow and become more curious about her surroundings. Last night Brian finally figured out how to hook our video camera up to our computer. We watched the few seconds he taped of Charlotte just as she was born. It was awesome then and still pretty awesome now.
And another thing about 12 weeks, I'm pleased to see that I can tighten my belt another notch now! I'm not pre-pregnancy size, but I don't care about that.

Birthday surprise!

Brian totally surprised me today. He's taking me on a day trip to NYC on Wednesday for the taping of the Martha Stewart show! I am so geeked. In fact, I was so excited when he told me that I just about threw up. I'm sad I'll be away from Charlotte for the day since we're also apart today, but she'll be in the capable hands of my mom. Now I'm just fantasizing about who the guest may be on the show...my dream would be Neil Patrick Harris.

Birthday fun

I have a big case of TGIF this week. My 30th birthday isn't until the 11th, but with all of the holiday madness that will keep us busy, I asked Brian to spoil me this weekend. So, tomorrow he is taking me shopping in Lansing, out to dinner, and then to see the Lion King at Wharton Center. If time allows, I'd also like to visit Threadbear, a yarn shop in Lansing. Actually, from what I hear it's more like a yarn warehouse and is well worth the trip. It's not like I need more yarn, but I may just find a great skein of sock yarn to remind me of the special day.

Happy Baby

There's nothing like a baby's smile to brighten your day.

Brilliant child

I'm proud to know him. Brian says "We can only hope Charlotte is this witty."