Tuesday, August 30, 2011

My Mother, the Vandal

My mom put a "p" on the light switch with a marker. I'm sure it stands
for "porch."

To know my mom is to love her, and to love her is to accept that she
writes on everything with a sharpie. You can't get mad at her because
most of the time it's reasonable markings and conveys useful
information. She writes the dates she bought them on her appliances
and The dates when she made a recipe and notes how it came out. She
will write your name on your property for you, whether you wanted it
labeled or not.
Occasionally she labels something that I wish had been kept pristine,
but mostly I'm just grateful for the lessons on sharing important
information in writing, dating every piece of paper you ever write on,
and "If you value it, put your name it." Property she values and has
labeled includes (but is not limited to): electronics, pillows, camp
chairs, coolers, pans, shovels, strollers, buckets, books and charging
cables. If you can't write directly on something, use a luggage tag.
I have my diaper bag, camera bag, and stroller labeled this way. I
bought an engraved tag on eBay (a small pet tag) to attach to Nick's
newest stethoscope (bought to replace a missing stethoscope).


"If you value it, put your name it," will be put on her headstone some
day. But it's true. This week I found out that Nick had recovered our
stethoscope that had been missing for months. He was able to get it
back in part because he could say, "This is mine, it has my name on
it." You really can't stop thieves, but honest people can't get
something back to you unless you've put your name and number on it.
Anything you lend to someone should be marked.

Keep the information where you can use it. Today I picked up our
minivan after it spent nearly two weeks at a body shop. They must
have disconnected the battery, because the radio wouldn't work until
I put a security code in it. If you don't know the code, you have to
pay the dealership to put it in. While stopped for a train, I pulled
the users manual from the glove box- my mom had written the code
inside. I listened to NPR the rest if the way home.

Thanks, mom!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Tempus Fugit

My, how time flies. 

Nick has just started his third rotation of his second year of residency.  Two nights ago we were all in by at 9:15, but at 9:16 Nick's phone rang calling him to a North Suburb hospital for a pediatric surgery.  He got home at 1:30 in the morning, and left again about 5:30.  He just finished a rotation at the burn unit at Loyola.  He really liked his time there.

Georgia is just about three months old.  Incredible!  She rolls from back to front like a champ, throws up on everything, and smiles a lot.

Henry is using a lot of full sentences.  He is getting more jealous of Georgia's stuff and is constantly taking away her blankets and rattles.

My daily picture blog is now a year old.  I have posted a picture for every day, though sometimes I wait a little while to post them.  Most the pictures are bad iPhone pictures, but the journal aspect of the project has been really nice for me.  I looked back at several months of activities in just a few minutes.

I'm still behind on everything.  I haven't sent out birth announcements, and wondering if I've waited this long, should I just wait for Christmas Cards?  Also, I haven't been productive at all in my church calling, Primary secretary, but I'm going to dive back in this week and start to be helpful.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Before The Trauma Set In

This picture is a year old, before bath time became akin to torture. For the last eight months, every time I bathe him, I think my neighbor's might call DCFS because of all his screaming. He starts shrieking the instant he realizes the bath is coming, and doesn't stop until he's dressed.
Any suggestions out there for things I may not have tried to make it less traumatic for both of us?
Things tried include toys, varying water temperatures, bribery, bathing with him, showers (big failure there), and bubbles. I am hoping that someone out there has a panacea.
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