Last night, my protective bubble of ignorance burst. At the end of a long day, I popped in my most recent Netflix rental, a documentary film from 2004 called The Future of Food. Here I was, a few scant hours after returning home from a grocery shopping trip, and I was confronted by my own nescience of just what, exactly, I place in my shopping cart each week. Admittedly, I know very little about food. Sure, I can cook, and I know that buying organic is all the rage these days. I thought I even had a handle on what was so great about organic food - no poisonous pesticides touching the crops that would eventually end up on my dinner table. After viewing this film, however, I am horrified by what I now know I didn't know (you follow?). Outraged would be another good word for how I feel.
But before I go on, I'm sure you're all wondering: What does this have to do with Eily? After all, I know that's why you're all here. If you give me a few minutes of your time, I hope to make it clear just how important the topic of this post is for Eily and all future generations of children in the United States. After all, the use of GMOs and the biotech firms who patent them negatively impact not only our health, but also the environment, the economy, and quite possibly the future of food as we know it.
*Climbs up on soapbox*
I just spent the better part of two hours composing a diatribe detailing my outrage at industrialized agriculture in America. I've since scrapped all that work, as I think it started getting long (and rather preachy). Quite honestly, everything I have to say is in the film. So instead, I invite you to visit the website or view the film in its entirety**:
Yes, it's long. If you decided not to watch it right now, please consider giving it a chance when you have some time. For those of you who can't stand "hippies" or think that "global warming" is a figment of our imagination, I promise you will still find value in this documentary. Whether or not your eating or purchasing habits change, you will become an educated consumer of food. To expand on the old adage, nothing in this world is more powerful than knowledge.
Now for those of you who are scratching your heads and saying, "Well, duh, Jessa, where have you been?", I freely admit I haven't paid nearly as much attention to what I use to fuel my body as I should have. While I am accustomed to shrugging off nutritional concerns for myself, I realize I'm now responsible for someone else's health. I can't sit idly by and remain ignorant of the potential harm GMOs can have on both my daughter's health and the fate of the world in which she is growing up.
So while it will take some effort and research on my part, I have come to the conclusion that I need to be more cognizant of what I purchase each week. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to get all crazy Level 5 Vegan or anything. I love food far too much to go giving up whole sections of my diet. But instead of looking to save the almighty dollar and time by shopping at the big box stores, I will look to save money and support local farmers by buying fresh, local produce whenever I can. As often as possible, I will purchase foods that are specifically labeled as "GMO free," since simply buying food labeled "organic" or "natural" does not necessarily mean it's harmless. All in all, I know it's probably not feasible or cost effective for us to buy entirely local all the time, but the least I can hope to do is be more aware of what we're eating.
I still have a lot of learning to do, but I hope that even these baby steps will improve our small family's impact on the planet and our health. If anyone has advice, information, book/film recommendations to share on this topic, please feel free to educate me!
**As an additional disclaimer, I realize that documentaries like this tend to be very biased, and I do take it all with the proverbial grain of salt. Still, even just one or two of the film's arguments are enough for me to want to change some of our habits.
I think the most amazing thing about being a parent (and forgive me for getting a little cliché here), is watching Eily blossom from this defenseless, immobile, generally unaware puddle of pudgy cuteness into a brave, toddling, curious individual, complete with her own unique personality. These days, it seems she progresses closer and closer to a "big kid" at the speed of light. Case in point: yesterday morning. I set her down on her feet on the living room floor, and out of the blue she walks five steps. As if this was no big deal at all. As if she'd been doing it for years. Only after Jesse and I began shouting "Yay!" and clapping did she turn to look at us with a huge grin on her face, realizing she'd done something special.
Okay, so maybe we're falling into the typical parent trap, oooing and ahhhing over ever tiny accomplishment. After all, it's not like she just discovered the cure for cancer or anything. But honestly, spending every day living life through her eyes has made me realize just how many things most of us take for granted - like the power to support our own weight under our legs and walk across a room without toppling over. Again, falling into the pit of cliché, it's like discovering the world all over again.
What surprises me even more, however, is the tremendous leaps of faith she is willing to take as she navigates her way from unsteadily standing and letting go to lifting a foot and taking a step forward. She knows she's going to fall. You can see it on her face, no real surprise as she loses her balance and her knees buckle beneath her. And just as soon as she is down, she clambers back up again. Rinse, lather, repeat. I look at her and realize she is the perfect example of perseverance. There's a lot to be learned from our little pint-sized powerhouse.
So, with all her determination focused on mastering the fine art of walking, one would think Eily had filled her new skill quota for the day. But just to be sure she'd sent the message home that she is no longer a "little baby," she pointed out that she can say her name. It's not crystal clear, and usually comes out more like "EYE-EE!" (yes, complete with exclamation point), but she says it nonetheless.
Now I know, this is a bit of a stretch. Maybe it's just a new sound she likes to make. Maybe she just hears us say it a lot and wants to mimic, not really knowing that "Eily" is the word to use when talking about herself. We weren't sure either, so we tested the theory. When we held up a mirror, she would point and say her name. Then she saw a picture of herself and said it. I pointed at Jesse, and she said "Daddy." Pointed at her reflection or her picture again, and she said her name. Pointed at one of the cats and heard her excited whisper of "Ti-Ta" (Kitty Kat). After playing this game for a while, Jesse and I have agreed she really does recognize her name as a label for herself.
At first, I was blown away by this. The more I think about it, though, it's around age one that kids begin to apply labels to the world around them and then try to communicate using their new vocabulary. So while she's a little ahead of schedule, it makes sense that she's suddenly become so communicative. In addition to this most recent lexical entry, she signs for "milk" without hesitation and understands what it means if I sign it to her first. She made the sign for "more" for the first time that I could recognize yesterday and beamed when she got exactly what she asked for. She will wave, unprompted by me or Jesse, whenever anyone enters or leaves a room. I can practically see all the little synapses in her brain firing away with every new connection she makes. This is something I find absolutely fascinating; the power of the human brain to make the leap from simply experiencing the world to communicating ideas about the world through language.
I'll stop before I totally geek out about the whole thing (but really, it is SO cool). Suffice it to say that I am totally amazed and, I'll admit a little sad, by how grown up Eily is getting. But along with the bittersweet thought that my baby is getting big comes the excitement of being able to share the world with her and watching the light in her eyes as understanding replaces her confusion about this mysterious big world she's found herself in.
And now, as a reward for reading through all of this, here's a video of Eily saying her name this morning:
It's official - after taking my last final at 8 a.m. Thursday morning (yuck), the semester is finally over!
Kicking off the summer in proper fashion, Eily and I celebrated that afternoon with a trip to Brownsburg Park in New Hope for a picnic, followed up by a quick jaunt on the Stockton-Lambertville section of the D&R Canal Towpath in NJ.
Eily has become quite a fan of parks as of late. The park in New Hope has a brand new play area for her to enjoy. But before playing, her mean mommy made her eat some lunch.
You'll notice she's no longer eating mashed up homemade baby food. Despite a serious lack of teeth, our little gourmand has no trouble enjoying chopped carrots and sweet peas these days. Of course, allowing her to get her hands on her own food brings a new enjoyment all in itself. The one-sided food fight:
Thankfully, Eily doesn't get too bent out of shape over a little cat hair in her food. She managed to gobble down most of what landed on the blanket. The rest we donated to the birds circling overhead on that clear, breezy afternoon.
Trips like this will be many, since my boss has agreed to allow me to keep the same work schedule over the summer that I had during the semester. This means Eily and I get Tuesdays and Thursdays to go on all sorts of adventures together. It also gives us Friday afternoons to do as we please. So yesterday we hit up the local produce market to get the ingredients for a yummy Black Bean and Pepper Salad.
Eily loves the produce market. The guys who stock the rows of produce bins always laugh at the big smiles and waves she has for them. Much to my dismay, she is perfecting the art of flirting at a very young age. In addition to providing a venue to practice her feminine wiles, the market also has a decent record for playing lots of 80's pop music while we shop. Lacking the self-control to keep myself from dancing whenever the upbeat tunes carry through the air, Eily is usually witness to some bad moves on my part and a lot of shopping cart swerving as we bop to the beat. Her squeals of delight do nothing to discourage me from making a spectacle of myself, either.
You can see for yourself just how happy she gets as we wander through the aisles of unfamiliar foreign goods (of which I have become quite a fan).
A special note about the above picture: This adorable shopping cart cover was handmade by Eily's Great-grandma Bev. This was its maiden voyage, which I promised to document. Eily says thanks and she loves it Grandma Bev!
The salad for which we purchased the ingredients on the trip turned out great. And while Eily is still too young to enjoy the bell peppers, she noshed the dressing-drenched black beans for dinner last night and was pleasantly surprised by all the new flavors they offered. With lots of leftovers, she had the same for lunch today. Hers is a "special" version of the salad, as can be noted in this video:
This salad is so good, I think I'll finish this post by leaving you with the recipe. (The cheese and cheerios you see in the video are optional and not included here in the original.)
6 cups of cooked or canned black beans
1 each of red, yellow, orange,and green bell peppers seeded and finely chopped
Dressing: ½ cup fresh lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp powdered or finely diced fresh garlic, 1tsp sugar, 1-2 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp prepared mustard
Mix dressing ingredients together with wire whisk and pour over black beans and peppers. Toss until evenly coated.
This may be the first of many recipes I share over the summer, especially with the new kitchen getting closer and closer to completion!
For now, Eily and I are headed out to Scudders Falls to watch Jesse compete in the second annual Throwdown Hoedown kayaking competition. Stay tuned to find out if Jesse will defend his title as one of the top 3 all around paddlers on the water!
Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are all still alive and well. My last final is tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. Look for much more frequent posting after that! (Until my summer course starts at the end of May, that is.)
In honor of my impending liberation free time, I hope to celebrate by reading as many books as I possibly can that meet all of the following criteria:
- No summaries, reviews, or test questions at the end of every chapter - No pictures. None. My imagination has practically atrophied from lack of use while reading lately. - Must make me cry. (Not a particularly difficult aspiration for any book these days. Heck, I cried over the trailer for Babies the first time I saw it.)
2) Finish Mark Spitz's new biography on David Bowie (pictures in this one will be completely forgiven and happily consumed by my greedy eyes!).
3) Several books by Jodi Picoult , whom I both adore and simultaneously hate. Honestly, the woman is amazing. I swear she laces the pages of her books with crack or something. I can't put one down once I've started reading. On the other hand, I often feel a little guilty for getting swept up in these sort of "ripped from the headlines" kinds of stories. Oh well. We all have our vices.
If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm all ears (and eyes)!
The rest of my summer time will be spent trying to alleviate the mother guilt I feel for having spent countless hours making Eily play by herself while I study and/or work. Trips to the zoo, art museum, beach, historical sites in the area, etc. are already on the agenda to help me feel less like a bad mommy. If anyone has any ideas for an almost-walking one year old to enjoy in the area, feel free to suggest away! And by all means, invite yourself on some of our outings. This goes for those of you with or without kiddos!
Alright, back to the grind I go. This is the only final I'm not really looking forward to, mainly because I actually have to study for it. Boo!
While I know I'm long overdue for an update, I'm in the midst of final projects, papers, and exams at school. This has rendered me pretty useless in the blogging department. But I feel the need to crawl out of my cave today with a very different kind of post.
Normally, I try to keep this place filled with funny stories about my experiences as a first time parent. With the intense joy that comes with the title of "mommy," however, I realize that a similar well of sadness exists for many couples in America who are faced with the possibility that they will never have children or will need to spend tens of thousands of dollars in even trying to build a family. Perhaps this realization hits harder for me because I know one such couple. Our good friends Larry and Keiko found out last year that Keiko suffers from premature ovarian failure. She is only 27 years old, and already she has been told she will most likely never be able to carry her own children. You can read more about their experience in her blog, Hannah Wept, Sarah Laughed .
I would ask that you watch this video she and Larry made from her most recent post entitled "What IF". For those of you with children, try to put yourself in this young woman's shoes. She is no different than any of us, yet the stigma that comes with the diagnosis of infertility raises many questions of self-worth and what it means to be a "woman."
I invite you to take it one step further. Share this video with everyone you know. Post it on your Facebook status, Twitter update, or (if you're a total techno-geek) your Google Buzz.
As Keiko discusses many times in her blog, there is a shame that comes with infertility. Often, even an IF couple's closest friends are unaware of the couple's fight to build a family. By passing this video on to everyone you know, you may be helping the people in your life who secretly struggle with this diagnosis on a daily basis. Let them know it's okay to show their faces, to admit to the world that they can't have children the "old fashioned way," and that they have a support system of friends and family who don't think any less of them because of this. While none of us can change the diagnosis, we can help by promoting awareness for their cause and by making attempts to at least understand the wide range of emotional ups and downs that come with it.
I feel the need to quote the old adage, "Knowledge is power." By educating yourself about this struggle that affects one out of every 8 couples in the U.S., you can empower yourself to be a better listener, a better friend, and a better source of support for these couples when they need it most.
Larry and Keiko - we love you. We know that you will someday be the most amazing parents. And no matter how your children come into your lives, they will be the luckiest, most cherished little people in this world.
Howdy y'all! Let's kick this post off with a big shout out to Mother Nature for doing such a fine job this week. After yet another weekend drowned in rain (and a damp basement floor), the skies cleared on Wednesday and by yesterday, temperatures were hovering close to 80 degrees. With similar sunshine and slightly cooler temperatures a couple of weeks ago, we've really been taking advantage of the added daylight and getting outside as much as possible. Here's a picture of Eily riding in style during one of our jaunts out to Tyler.
The picture needs a little explanation to be completely appreciated. First, the arm perched up on the side there. Yeah, that's where she "rests" it while she's riding in the stroller. Next we have the fully extended legs. You can't quite see the one reaching out in front of her, but she hardly ever rests it on the little footrest, even though she can reach. Finally, we have the cupholder-turned-footrest off to the left of the photo. Normally, this tray would flip up and snap in place in front of her, but because she's so short the only thing it succeeds in doing is blocking her view. So we let it hang to the side. Eily is innovative enough to have noticed the advantage this poses by using it as a place to stretch and rest her foot on. So not only is this a funny snapshot from a moment during our walk, this is also how she looked during ALL of the moments of our walk. We got many chuckles from passersby that day.
But I digress. We have many important things to discuss today! And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...
(drumroll)
....Eily had her 9 month well baby appointment on Friday! That's right folks, believe or not our little sprout hit nine months on Tuesday. As Jesse put it, "She's now been on the outside for as long as she was on the inside." (Now, now, all you ladies who've done this before, let's not get technical on him and tell him you're really pregnant for ten months. Oh, and then add ten more days on top of that since she decided to stick around that much longer before being born.) I'm not sure about other moms out there, but I love these regular appointments. Eily's quite a ham and loves to "show off" at the doctor's office, babbling and flirting with anyone who looks at her. The staff is great, I've never waited more than five minutes from the time we sign in to the time we're brought into the exam room, and our two pediatricians are absolutely phenomenal. Even the vaccination at the end of each visit doesn't cause too much drama for Eily. She's turning out to be one tough little chica...but more on that later.
First, let's get our stats in order here. The official weights and measures (with comparison to 6 month stats from January in parentheses) are:
Height: 26.5" (+1.25") Weight: 17lbs 5.5oz (+ 4lbs 3oz) (+2lbs 3oz since Feb weight check) Head Circumference: 17.5" (+1")
The pediatrician was very happy with her growth, particularly since she's on the upward swing and getting close to the 25th percentile for weight again. She's at the 25th percentile for height, as well, but her head is slightly above average at just over the 50th percentile. No concerns there, she just needs all that space for that big brain she's developing!
In other news on the Eily front, we officially have forward momentum. She started crawling forward two weeks ago and has not looked back since. This has made my friend Casey's job much harder on Tuesdays and Thursdays, since her little girl Ava is all over the place as well. Casey, you get a shout out for chasing after the two of them at once!
Along with the crawling has come some creative corralling of our little quadruped. I particularly like laundry day now since it offers me two laundry baskets full of clean clothes that I can strategically place at opposite ends of the living room to keep her from escaping. Add a giant IKEA bag full of toys, the couch, the futon, and her exersaucer, and there you are - instant baby cage play yard.
The only trouble is, in the two weeks since she started crawling, she's gotten better. These days she likes to crawl through the bottom of her exersaucer or push the baskets out of the way. Thankfully, Nic has very generously offered up Liam's play yard for our use. We'll be picking it up tomorrow when we see the Shillidays at the annual Easter Egg Brawl Hunt hosted by Debbie and Gary. (That entire day is going to warrant it's own post...be on the lookout!)
Okay, it's almost 1 a.m. and I am rambling here. I'm going to wrap things up for now by mentioning a few quick updates and then leaving you with two videos. First, Jesse successfully installed the plumbing for the kitchen on his own last week. Nic's dad, Bud (shout out to Bud, woot!), moved the gas line for us a couple of weeks ago; so we were all set for the inspector to come look at all the rough work on Thursday. Long story short, we passed with flying colors and can officially move on to the insulation/drywall stage. After Jesse cuts a giant hole in the side of the house for the new door, that is.
Second quickie: I'm still very much interested in pursuing communicative disorders (fancy title for the speech therapy degree) at school and will be meeting with an advisor this Thursday to start planning out my courses. The only hard part is that the major is restrictive, meaning I have to take a bunch of core classes before even being accepted into the major. Kind of a PITA, but I'm willing to deal with it. I don't have any worries that I won't be accepted, so it's not like the courses will be a waste of time.
And third: the race is over. Eily is babbling all the time these days. She says many many things, including: yaya, baba, lala, blabla (very impressive), and *sigh* dada. That's it. No mama. Not even a "muh". Nothing. I try to console myself by saying she's saving the best for last.
Okay, I'm done blabbing away. It's even worse when I'm tired, making my writing this at one in the morning particularly dangerous. Anywho, here are the two promised videos given as your reward for suffering through all of this. I think you'll like these, although the first is a bit long (7 mins). I blame the cameraman, aka Jesse.
And this one I took today when Jesse fell asleep on the futon this afternoon. I turned around and saw Eily doing this and thought it was hilarious. Enjoy and have a Happy Easter/Happy Passover/Happy Spring Sunday tomorrow!
On a completely unrelated note to the usual posts you find here, I thought I would share some big news in my academic pursuits. (I didn't want to clutter up the Eily update with this rambling.)
So here it is:
I recently told Jesse about my plans to change majors. Okay, before I get blasted here, let me explain. I am currently an Anthropology major. (For those who aren't quite sure what this means, it is, in simple terms "the study of humans.") My real passion, however, was to pursue the specialized field of Linguistic Anthropology. Unfortunately, West Chester has a fantastic department for all of the branches of Anthropology except Linguistic. In truth, the program there is pretty non-existent. Not to mention, a degree in the humanities, no matter how advanced (think PhD here) does little to guarantee me steady employment after graduation. With the current job market, the odds of landing a gig in academia are on par with me running into David Bowie on the street in NYC. Not completely impossible, but very improbable.
I started thinking about what a background in linguistics could be used for in the real world, and that's when lightening struck. Speech Pathology. Think of the speech therapists in schools who assist children with impediments like a lisp. Speech pathology covers not only this arena, but a much wider and varied set of individuals and impediments, as well. I could assist people who have had strokes, or children born with cleft palates. I could work in a school system or a hospital, or even a private practice. No matter what path I choose, I could be making a significant impact on the quality of life for many people. How do you ignore the reward potential in something like that?
After a bit of research, I found out two very important things. 1) Speech Pathology is highly specialized and very few universities in the U.S. have SP programs. 2) West Chester DOES have both undergraduate and graduate SP programs.
Taking both of these into account, I feel like it's just meant to be. I wouldn't have to transfer schools and could still make good use of the scholarship I have to attend WCU. I may have to extend my schooling by a semester or two to accommodate the classes I hadn't anticipated needing, but I think it is a worthwhile sacrifice to pursue something my heart is telling me to do.
So that's my BIG news. I'm really excited about the prospect of doing something to help others and just had to share.
I'm not sure about the rest of you, but here in PA the sun shines brilliantly and the smell of spring tickles my nostrils every time I open the door to let one of the three cats in or out. This happens an average of seventy-five times a day, giving me plenty of opportunity to observe the effects of the sun's crossing of the equator at 2:35 a.m. EST yesterday. Welcome Spring!
Eily is already in love with the new weather patterns. We've journeyed outside for several hours everyday this past week with destinations like the swings at the local park, trail walks at Tyler State Park, and a lovely 5 mile hike along the Delaware River Canal tow path yesterday. Jesse is ready for kayaking season as well, basking in the high waters that came on last week after all the rain. As I type, he's out paddling in his yellow kayak along the Tohickon Creek. I'm hoping to get out and enjoy the sun before the rain hits again tomorrow - as soon as Eily wakes up, we'll probably hit the tow path again.
Since it's so beautiful out there, I'm sure you can't blame me for wanting to get away from this computer as quickly as possible. So instead of a bunch of babbling from me, I'll leave you with four fun videos instead. (None of these are the promised video from last week - for some reason YouTube is having an issue with that particular one. I hope these make up for it!)
First things first - I can officially remove the "World's Worst Mommy" crown for the time being. I caught Eily on video pulling herself up on the coffee table:
And here she is after learning to pull up in her crib (much to my distress!):
This was taken a few minutes later, after I lowered her mattress considerably. So much for making it impossible for her to stand.
And the last one is just to show you E's personality. (Pardon the glaring typo in the video title. I tried to edit, but it's not sticking.) She LOVES to play this game:
I hope these were as enjoyable to watch as they were to film. Happy Spring everyone!
**Note - this post WAS written on Saturday afternoon. However, the power went out in the middle of my composition, and was not back before we left for an overnight adventure at the Hartman house. I won't even begin to get into the chaos we came home to last night, after the power had been restored...let's just say we've had to turn off 4 different circuits in our electric panel in the basement. I'll post more about that as soon as we have some clarification as to what's happening there.
Here I sit on a rainy Saturday, feeling a little unmotivated to do much of anything. Which is bad. Very bad. I haven't posted in over a month (tsk! tsk!), and there is certainly plenty to talk about. The trouble is, this is the end of my Spring Break, and boy did I need every second of it! Before things go from relatively calm back to the oh-my-god-there's-not-enough-time-in-the-day-or-days-in-the-week insanity that is my life, I should really fill you all in on how things are going around here. *Big sigh* So here goes...
First and foremost, let's have our Eily update, shall we? (That way those of you who have no interest in the Big J's can hurry this up and move on with your day without having to stop to read a novel. And don't bother with, That's not me. I am just as interested in the Big J's as I am in little E. We're used to being second-rate entertainment compared to her, so there's no need to try to make us feel better. We accepted the truth long ago.)
As I began pulling together my list of items to include in today's post - believe it or not, there is a method to my ramblings - I had right at the top: "Eily is almost crawling and trying to pull herself up." As of yesterday, however, I've had to amend that. While she still isn't crawling, she is indeed pulling herself up to a stand. Great. Just when I thought it was bad enough keeping up with her backwards belly scoot, I've suddenly become "Paranoid Mommy Extraordinaire", feeling the need to be by her side every waking second as she attempts to scale the furniture. Not that I'm unhappy to see her reach such an important milestone, of course. It's just...well...life is about to get a lot more challenging. Let's face it, keeping an eye on a relatively immobile baby while trying to get some work done is nothing compared to keeping tabs on one that suddenly knows how to get to the dvd player and push enough buttons to successfully lock the damn thing and make it impossible for mommy to get it to play properly ever again. Kids and technology - I tell you, it's scary. She could probably defrag my computer already....whatever that means.
Anyway, that's the big news. She pulled herself up no less than five times yesterday. You'd think I'd have captured it on video at least once, right? Well, much like her first solid food, I've managed to miss out on the opportunity every time. Now just where did I put my "Worst Mommy in the World" crown? I know it's here somewhere.... Fear not! While I don't have video proof of her actually pulling up, I do have some footage from earlier in the week when she was weight training for the big event by pulling her exersaucer around. In case you're wondering, it weighs 300 pounds.
And while this next clip was taken before the fated "pull-to-stand," it demonstrates how ready she is to start cruising. (It's also proof that she does, in fact, cry every now and then. I know some of you don't believe it, but it's true. She can't be perfect all of the time.)
Moving further back in our time warp to last week, we had a much anticipated visit from Auntie Kiki. I, for one, wish she would just move here and become our live-in nanny. I had a lot less mommy-guilt knowing Eily had someone to play with while I worked. Not to mention, Kiara makes a mean dinner. She didn't let the hot plate and microwave scare her off; somehow, she still managed to whip together a gourmet meal for us every night. Oh, and did I also mention that I didn't do the dishes once while she was here? Not that I didn't protest and try to convince her to let me do them. I have to admit, though, having a week off from bending over the tub was pretty darn nice. So for that, Kiara, I owe you many many thanks!!
The day Kiara left was also the day our friend Jim came over to help Jesse put the new electrical wiring in the kitchen. He essentially saved us $5000 - since this is what it would have cost to pay a professional to do the job. Instead, we spent $500 on supplies plus a few bucks for beer and pizza. Not a bad deal if you ask me. So here's a combined video of the work done in the kitchen and Eily saying goodbye to Auntie Kiki after spending the week together.
The video only shows about half of the work the guys did that day. Jim and Jesse spent from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. rewiring the entire kitchen, putting in the recessed lighting units, and connecting everything to the circuit box in the basement. Jim told us to expect the electrical underwriter to be nit-picky and give us a bunch of stuff to fix, but when he showed up here on Wednesday, he gave us the all clear to move forward. Look out plumbing, here we come!
In all honesty, that's pretty much all the excitement I have to share this time around. The month of February was mostly filled with lots of snow, schoolwork, and a trip to CT for my nephew's first birthday. (Guess who forgot to bring her camera for the big event? You guessed it! I'll take that "World's Worst Auntie" crown and put it on top of my "World's Worst Mommy" one. Thanks!)
Oh, but how could I forget - there was one exceptionally note-worthy event in February. You should all sit down for this. Are you sitting? Okay, here goes.
Jesse. Remembered. My. Birthday.
I know, I can't believe it either! No, actually I can. Between the crap I gave him for fogetting last year and just about every one of our friends giving him reminders, there was no way he could forget this time around. In his defense, everyone told me that when they reminded him about the big day, he already had plans. So really, he remembered on his own. I was treated to a yummy (and rather swanky) brunch at a nearby inn, followed by a manicure and full-body massage at a local spa. Can you say pampered? It was a great birthday, and he has hereby been absolved of his past forgetfulness.
I have a few other things to share here, though there's not much of a story behind them. So let's just call this the hodge-podge collage of pictures from the past month, starting with "Funny Things We Do To Eily's Hair."
We like to call this one "Medusa"
Here's her faux hawk
And this is what I mean by having to chase her around when she backward scoots on her belly. She ends up stuck underneath the furniture and even, as in this case, her toys.
And last but not least, here's a video we took last night while hanging out after her bath. There's really nothing too exciting about it, but it gives a pretty good idea of what a regular old night is like at our house. (I know you're all dying to know what that's like, right?)****
****I'll have to give you all a rain check on this one. (Haha, get it? Rain Check?! Because our power went out due to the "rain." Laugh, or I will never ever come back and post the video you're all missing out on.) I'll be sure to put it up as soon as we can get things squared away with the desktop, where the video is currently stored.
