The End of an Era

Today, I've lost a friend. I met this friend way back in 1997 when I moved into a house with long-time friend, Cooper, and now-friend, Xabu. I think he was there right when we moved in, because neither Cooper nor Xabu takes credit for bringing him in. He was there with us, mostly hanging out in the kitchen, all the way until I bought my house in NE OH, and followed me to my new place. So devoted a friend, he even came with me to Central OH when I moved here six years ago. He has seen me find the love of my life, get married, and become the father of two beautiful young kids. But today, my friend ran out on me, and I have to say, I'm somewhat sad. It'll be very, very hard to replace you...

Anyone know where I can find a restaurant supply store in the Central OH area? I need another gigantic roll of plastic wrap...

I Apologize In Advance...

... to anyone who clicks on this link.

Stats

Before I forget or lose the little scraps of paper is a better name for this post.

We had two birthday's in the last few weeks- that means the all important trip to the pediatrician for a check up.

Poet turned two at the end of November.
She weighs in at 26 lbs. 4 oz. and is 35.5 inches tall. If the old wives tale is true I see a basketball scholarship in her future! Wow 5'11"

Happy turned one last week (wow that was a fast year!)
He weighs a respectable 22lbs. 6 oz 5oth percentile
He is 30.25 inches tall 65th percentile
His head circumference is 18.5 inches - 75th percentile.

Everyone is doing fine the doctor is happy with how they are developing.

Job (hopefully well) Done

For those of you whose eyes gloss over when the talking turns to a technical, here's an executive summary for non-nerds:

Today was my last day at my now-former company. This was a tough two weeks, and I unfortunately got done very little of what I set out to do.

Non-nerds can stop here, if you wish, as the rest of this post will describe the last two weeks of my employment. You have been warned...

I gave notice of leaving the company on Friday, Nov 6. I had planned to spend the next two weeks cleaning up (and in many cases writing) varying documentation for which I'm responsible, so that those who have to pick up where I left off could make a smooth transistion. As my main job involved testing our application, I figured on fleshing out as much of the testing plan that is rattling around in my head as possible. That plan lasted until Monday when I got to work and found that I had no internet connection. You see, one of the other hats that I have been wearing is IT Brigade member, so I set to work figuring out what went wrong. It didn't take long. Our domain controller, which for varying and sundry reasons did not have a backup, had died over the weekend. Domain logins, DNS, DHCP, all gone. And since the domain controller had died a rather permanent death, recovery wasn't going to be easy, especially since none of us IT Brigade folks actually have any idea how any of those things mentioned above really work.

First thing was first, try to restore some semblance of connectivity, at least within the office. We had no spare hardware anywhere, other than a 32-bit Ubuntu box which was designated to be a new firewall. We really would have liked to have installed a Windows server, since that had been what we'd used before, but we only had available licenses for a 64-bit server, so for the time being, we did the best with what we had. My coworker and I managed, through a lot of trial and error, to get DHCP and DNS mostly working by the end of the day, but we still had no way of getting people logged into our network. We spent part of Tuesday trying to figure out how to turn our new DHCP/DNS server into a domain controller, but ended up going out and purchasing a new 64-bit box anyway (what a bargain, managed to get a low-end system for under $300). Got the domain controller set up by the end of Tuesday using our 64-bit server license, then spent Wednesday through Friday moving DNS/DHCP over to the Windows server and trying to configure the Ubuntu box to be our firewall and VPN server. By Monday, we had most everything mostly working. Then came Tuesday.

Just before lunch on Tuesday, people started complaining that they were losing their internet connections again. We spent the rest of the day Tuesday poking and prodding everything with absolutely no success, and were finally successful in getting permission to bring in outside help. Wednesday was spent with the consultant we brought in, and by the end of the day, we'd gotten our network talking to itself again, and everyone once again connected to the outside world. Thursday and today were spent tweaking things so that the VPN worked, and the servers which need to be externally accessible still were.

So, all those tests and other documentation that needed to be written? Not so much. I was able to do a little verbal and demo-style knowledge transfer, so not everything is lost. But the coworker that is taking over for me is smart. Way smart. Smarter than I've ever been, even when I was smart. I think he'll do OK. And he has my number, just in case.

Here's hoping that the new job has no networking responsibilities for me...

Sassed!

Somewhere along the line, Poet is picking up quite an attitude. Consider this conversation last night:

BMT: Poet, time to sit in your seat and eat your dinner...
Poet: What-EVER!!!

She sounded just like a teenager...

Now, I know I didn't teach her that. I might have to have a chat with her daycare teachers...

Reason #3429 why we love our kids

Amy and I live in a fairly small house, so to conserve space, Poet and Happy share a bedroom. This has its ups and downs, but has so far worked out pretty well. Particularly well for the kids at nap time.

Often when we put the kids down for a nap or for the night, they'll jabber at each other for a while before drifting off. This afternoon, the amount of jabbering was off the charts. There was the usual babbling, there was Poet shouting "NO!" followed by giggles, there was some loud banging, but very little sleeping going on. When we finally went to get them two hours after we put them down, we weren't sure what we'd find, but were completely surprised by what we saw.

• Both kids had both removed their pants and a sock, which were on the floor next to the loveys they'd tossed.
• Poet had also removed her diaper and peed all over her bed.
• Both kids were dancing in their cribs, laughing and jabbering.

When asked if they'd had fun, Poet looked at us, smiled and said "yep!"

Normally we try not to laugh when the kids do something that they really shouldn't but ends up being really funny, but we completely failed. Maybe next weekend, we'll set up a video camera to record the action :)

Per Pap's Request

As requested by Pap...

Moving along...

After over three and a half years with my current place of employment, I'll be moving on starting December 1. The metaphorical "pastures" aren't necessarily any greener (every job has its good and bad), just different. The new position will be with another startup, which will make three out of the five jobs I've held. I'll be working with a few ex-AOLers, which will be pretty exciting. The position I'm moving on to is a contract position rather than full-time salaried, which has its benefits and drawbacks. Oh, and one big plus is that this will be a "work from home, all the time" position. W00t!

So, in summary, I wish my soon-to-be-former company the best. I still believe in the people and the product. And I eagerly look forward to settling in with the new company. Hopefully it'll be a long and profitable partnership for all involved.

This post is brought to you by the number 4

The Count says four!

4 walkers in the house (ah ah ah)!

Way to go little man!

Ahhh- vacation

Thanks to the Grandparents, Baldman and I got to spend Columbus Day weekend on vacation! We got to sleep in (aka 8am! ) and do a little geocaching at the state park. Fun times and a much needed recharging weekend.

You Know You're Tired When...

You make it to work and notice that you're shirt is inside out...

... and you're wearing a polo :P

WHERE IS MY ROYALTY CHECK?!

Longtime readers of our ramblings would note that several years ago, Amy and I went to the Ohio State Fair, and I commented on the available food, and dreamed up new creations. Well, it looks like someone down in Texas has stolen one of my ideas! Somebody needs to give credit where credit is due!

9 Month Update

I thought Amy would have posted this, but it looks like I get the honor this time :)

I took Happy in for his 9 month checkup. His stats:

• Length: 28.5 in (60th percentile)
• Weight: 21.5 lbs (65th percentile)
• Head circumference: 18.25 in (75th percentile)

He hit quite a growth spurt from his last visit, didn't he? He had two shots this time, one for polio, the other for the flu. He didn't even flinch until it was over. He kinda looked at me with a "what the heck was THAT" look, then went back to his regular happy self.

Size

So here is a new one for the household. Both kids were wearing the same size clothes today! It was a bit chilly so instead of shorts, I pulled out the stack jeans to see what would fit. Both the 21 month old girl and the almost 9 month old boy were wearing size 12 month jeans.

Additional Vocabulary

Poet learned a new word this week: "hair." So, to reinforce, we ask her where her hair is, and she'll pick up a few strands. We'll ask her where Mommy's hair is, she'll reach over and grab a few strands. We'll ask her where Daddy's hair is, she'll reach over... then smile and shake her head.

She's so cute :)

1 year ago

Time moves so fast. It was one year ago (Aug 6) that the Bambina had her cleft repaired. We are SO thankful that everything seems just fine (check up next month).

Before:

We have tried the last few weeks to get an "after" shot but she is a busy girl.

This the best "after" shot:


She is busy drinking out of a sippy cup or using a straw something you can't do with a cleft.

She is busy saying all kinds of things she couldn't if her cleft was not repaired- shoe, no, Pap, Momma, Dada, purple, cup, more, Uh-Oh, Tags, bubble and many more! Try and say the words and feel the pressure on the roof of your mouth.

She is busy listening to all kinds of music . Kids with clefts typically have problems with their ears and possible hear loss. She is a big fan of Davy Jones and Barenakes Ladies.

She is busy being a big sister, our baby girl, and the queen of the peg board puzzle.
We are thankful for your amazing recovery little girl....

Tom the Plumber

Just an update to yesterday's adventures, I went to a local mega-hardware chain at lunch and asked a seemingly knowledgable gentleman about my problem. He pointed me to a kit that ran under $4 that he said would solve my problem. I got home after work, and found that I was missing one piece and a washer to connect my new trap to the existing drain. Undaunted, I removed the piece from my old pipe and used a judicious amount of silicone caulk in place of the missing part. Installation took about 30 minutes, and now we have a fully functional bathroom sink again. Yay, me!

The Handyman (not...)

Some time ago, Amy asked me to clean the aerator on our bathroom faucet. I mumbled a "yes, dear" and promptly forgot about it until it randomly popped into my head this afternoon. Not wanting to forget again, I grabbed a wrench to dislodge it (it was pretty coated in lime). Unfortunately, I turned a little too hard, and broke the faucet. So, out to the hardware store to purchase a new faucet, which comes with a stopper piece for the drain. The faucet went in without a hitch, but while trying to remove the plumbing to install the new stopper, the drain pipe snapped in half from years of corrosion. Fun! Of course, this happened at 9P tonight, no hardware stores open in our area. So, tomorrow, I head out to pick up my drain fixing supplies. Whee!!!

Surprise, surprise...

Sometimes, life is full of surprises. Ever since Amy moved into our house back in 2002, there's been a bare spot in our front yard. Not being much in the way of a landscaper, I've pretty much ignored it, but today, since we were already doing outdoor chores, I decided to see if I could figure out what was happening. Our neighbors used to have a huge bare spot in their back yard, and when they dug the spot up they found a huge, 4'x8' piece of plywood, probably left over from when the development was.... ummmm.... developed back in the late '60s and early 70's. I figured our story would be much the same, so I pulled out the spade and started digging. I immediately hit something very, very solid, and heard a sound like metal on rock. I moved out a bit to try to find the edge, figuring I just found a large rock slab. Imagine my surprise when I peeled back the turf and found this:

Yeah, that looks an awful lot like one of the previous owners decided to remove a flagpole, but didn't want to go to the trouble of doing it properly. So, this previous owner just hacked off the flagpole as close to the concrete block as possible and filled over it. Clever! Not.

So, I get to figure out how to remove a huge hunk of concrete from the front yard. The upside is that I think I might get to learn how to use a jackhammer :)

She Knows Her No's

Following hot on the heels of our break from "no" comes its return. But with a twist. To wit, the following conversation in the car between Poet and me (keep in mind that all the names I asked her to say, she's said before when she's been in a more agreeable mood):

BMT: Poet, can you say "Dada?"
Poet: No!
BMT: Poet, can you say "Mama?"
Poet: No!
BMT: Poet, can you say "Happy?"
Poet: No!
BMT: Poet, can you say "Poet?"
Poet: NO!
BMT: Poet, can you say "no?"
<looong pause> Poet: <grins, giggles and shakes her head>

Ah, joy :)

Yes

A blog moment happened tonight- Tom asked the girl a question and she shook her head -YES! After several months of 'no" and "noooooo" and "no (with finger pointing)" and "NO!" It was a nice change of pace!

Snickerdoodles

Today I stayed home with the little girl. Yesterday, she had a fever and was sent home from daycare. She has to be symptom free for 24 hours to go back, so it was a stay at home day. She wasn't on her "A game" today but still fine and no fever.

It was a nice day we played and organized the closet and all the socks, but the best part of the day was our first adventure into baking. We made some snickerdoodles. She had a lot of fun pouring everything into the bowl and helped with the stirring. The best part was getting to roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar! I think we have the makings of a great baker in the family. Yum!

Tradition

So 7 years ago today I met a guy for dinner. Afterwards we went for ice cream and a walk around the neighborhood. It was a walk that changed our lives.

Today we continued the tradition of ice cream and a walk... Thanks Julie and Mike for coming down to watch the kids.

Another 1/2 birthday

The little man celebrated his 1/2 birthday last week. That means he had a trip to the pediatrician this morning... No shots as he is running a fever and bit under the weather. Keep him in your prayers that this fever breaks soon!

The Stats:
Weight: 18lbs 10 oz. 60th percentile
Height: 26 inches 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 17 inches - 25 percentile.

1/2 birthday

Our little girl turned 18 months today. We went out and celebrated with a trip to Greaters. She shared a scoop of Blueberry Pie ice cream with Daddy. She went to the pediatrician last week for her well check visit and vaccine shot. She is getting to be a "big girl" 23lbs. 12 oz (40th percentile) and 32.25 inches tall ( 70th percentile).

It was also a nice "birthday" surprise because we got a box in mail today from Mr. & Mrs. Redbeard. Lots and lots of clothes! THANK YOU! The sizing should work out for late summer clothes and into fall /winter and maybe a few for next spring.

Demolition Day

Today was a very special day for Amy and me. We took the day off work, sent the kids to daycare, and watched as the property next door was completely razed.

When Amy moved in back in 2002, we thought the neighboring property was just unkempt. Yeah, it was somewhat junky, but the neighbor was quiet. But, we soon found out that the neighbor had no interest in maintaining the property, and the house was rapidly falling apart. The guy actually lived there until about two years ago, then we'd only see him once a week when he came to get his mail. In the meantime, efforts were under way to seize the property and raze it. Turns out that blighted properties in our state are reasonably easy pickings for cities, but smaller communities like ours (we live in a township) had a much more difficult time. But with patience, attitudes and laws were changed, and our township took control of the property in March. It took a little while to get everything settled, but finally, everything fell into place, and today we hung out with about 40-50 neighbors and watched gleefully as the eyesore was leveled.

We took a number of pictures and put them up on Photobucket. No password is required for the gallery, so head on over and enjoy. We took some video, but it'll take me some time to go through it and put something together. Hopefully soon.

UPDATE 5/22: Added four new pictures of the empty lot. It really is much improved!

Rolling!

We have movement in the household. The boy has figured out how to roll back to belly and belly to back all in a few days. He has been a busy little man. Watch out sister, your toys are no longer safe!

I'm So Ashamed...

I have to turn in my Geek Card. My parents saw the new Star Trek movie before I did. You know what this means, of course. I'll need to atone for my geek failings by:

• getting Star Trek uniforms for the whole family
• getting phasers and tricorders for the whole family
• making the whole family go to work/daycare for a week in uniform/with props

Oh, and, of course, going to see the movie...

Two things

Two little kids equals two milestones this week.

The girl has figured out how to get up into the La-Z-Boy chair. She moves her little stool to the front of the "big chair" and uses it to climb up. She is so proud of herself.

The boy has discovered his toes! You can hear him babble- "WOW these are fun"!

Perfect Day

Amy surprised me this weekend by arranging for her family to watch Poet and Happy overnight Saturday, giving us the opportunity to have some "Tom and Amy"time, which we've both sorely missed. We went to a local winery (Perennial Vineyards), did some caching, explored the shops at the Amish Door and had dinner at the Amish Door restaurant before spending a relaxing and quiet evening and night at the Inn. I could not have asked for a more perfect day. Thanks Jane, Ed and Julie for sitting the kids. Thanks, Sweetie, for putting everything together :)

Little Man

I took the boy to the pediatrician today for his 4 month check up. Poor little guy got 4 shots! You could see the whole thought process in his eyes:

Shot 1: Ow- that hurt
Shot 2: I said OW- that hurt!
Shot 3: STOP it!
Shot 4: Ok, I am not happy and I am gonna cry for a good 5 min at the top of my lungs!

Now for the all important stats:
Height: 23.25 inches - 5th percentile (our little man)
Weight: 15lbs 4oz. - 55th percentile
Head Circumference: 16.5 - 50th percentile

Our Contribution to Stimulating the Economy

Behold the newest member of our family, Amy's sparkly new 2009 Saturn Aura. We had been considering buying a car for a while, at least since we knew Happy would be joining us, if not before. We wanted something big enough for two car seats, one of which would have to be rear facing, but small enough that we'd feel comfortable driving it. Oh, well, and it had to be pretty safe. Since we both rather like Saturns to begin with, we started there. You might remember that we very nearly bought a Vue before Happy came along, but came to our senses. Thank goodness! The rear seat of the Aura has MUCH more room than the Vue, which surprised us considerably. Happy's seat can easily fit, rear facing, without the passenger seat being uncomfortably close to the dash. As an added bonus, there's enough room that Poet currently can't kick the back of the driver's seat. Factor in that the Aura has ABS standard, plus front and side airbags, plus has a ginormous trunk, plus gets better gas mileage than the Vue PLUS costs less, well, it's a pretty good fit for us. Factor in that we ended up with about 17.5% in varying discounts that might not have been available in another few days, we went ahead and bought it. I think the only thing at this point that we don't like is that we'll have to fuel the car from the passenger side, which will be a big learning curve for both of us.

My favorite feature (dunno if it's standard in all Auras or if it just happened to be installed in the one we bought from the lot) is called "tap shift". All the cars I've ever owned have had a manual transmission, but Amy perfers automatic. Since this is Amy's car, it's automatic. But with the tap shift feature, the transmission has a "Manual" setting which allows me to control the transmission, well, manually. It's not anywhere near as fun as driving a car with a real manual transmission, and it definitely has its quirks, but it's a hoot, nonetheless.

So, the red 2009 Saturn Aura replaces Amy's red 2000 Saturn SL2, and joins my red 2002 Saturn SL1, which in replaced my old red 1992 Saturn SL 1.

Yay...

We've got conjunctivitis in the house again. Happy this time, can Poet be that far behind?

Yay...

An open letter to the lady in the blue SUV (aka a vent!)

Dear "Ms. I am SO important driving my SUV ":

I am in the lane you are merging into.. that means you have to yield. FYI- It is common courtesy to use a turn signal. Also the lines on the road - they have a purpose.- solid lines equals no crossing- wait for the dashes on the road. Finally, your middle finger looks fine... I am so glad you took the time to show it to me- wanna see mine?

Yours truly,
Amy

PS- AHHH I hate people who think they are above the rules of the road.

Pink Eye v2.0

Yep- The girl has pink eye again.
Yep- She got the pink eye all clear from the pediatrician on Friday
Yep- Children's Hospital Close to Home Urgent Care is open till 8:00pm on Sunday nights
Yep- The pink eye come with ear infection and upper respiratory infection
Yep- This is the 4 ear infection in 3 months
Yep- Tom rocks for spending the day at home with a sick 15 month old
Yep- She is still a trooper about getting drops in her eyes three times a day.
Yep- We need to add Lysol to the grocery list

Kick-@$$ Pork Chops

While Amy may not have cared much for my beef stew, my pork chops, based on this recipe is such a hit that it has been dubbed "Kick-@$$ Pork Chops".

The Players

The Hardware	9" cast iron skillet, well seasoned Meat tenderizer A flat, non-porous surface such as a plastic cutting board Tongs Whisk A piece of foil large enough to cover the skillet
The Ingredients	2 boneless pork loin chops, ~4-6 oz each, ~1/2 in thick kosher salt 1 tbsp flour, plus lots more for dusting and pounding 3 tbsp butter ~ 2 cups chicken broth

The Method

Preheat the oven to 350. Season the meat with a few pinches of salt and let stand about 5 minutes. Dust your work surface liberally with flour, put the pork loin chops on the dusted surface, liberally dust the other side of the pork with flour, then pound the bejeebers out of them with the meat tenderizer, adding more flour as needed and flipping once. Get them as flat as possible (I usually shoot for 1/4 inch or less), and in the process they'll gain a lot of surface area. I have a double-sided mallet, one flat and the other textured. I prefer to smack the chops with the textured side. Once the chops are sufficiently flattened, let rest a few minutes, while you put the skillet over high heat. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the skillet and then brown both sides of one of the chops. Remove to a plate and repeat with the other chop. Remove the second one, reduce the heat to medium, then add the final tablespoon of butter to the pan. Once melted, whisk in a tablespoon of flour, continue whisking for about a minute. Whisk in the chicken stock and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Add both chops back into the pan, making sure they're both submerged in the gravy. Cover the pan with foil, then pop in the oven. Cook for 75-90 minutes. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes (garlic mashed, if you're so inclined).

Makes 2 servings.

15 months

Time is moving fast! Our little girl is 15 months old today. She went to the pediatrician yesterday for her check up/pink eye follow-up visit. (yeah- she had pink eye last week!)

Only one vaccine shot this month and she did very well... only cried for a minute.

The Stats:
weight: 21lbs. 13 oz. -30th percentile
height: 31.25 inches tall- 60th percentile

no head measurement but she is still our little bobble head :)

Cool Site For Today

I stumbled across the site, www.befunky.com, which has sucked up inordinate amounts of my evening tonight. Here's what it does:

Take a picture, such as this freakishly odd picture of some random bald guy I found lurking around my hard drive

Upload it to the BeFunky.com website, and start playing. There are a number of preset styles, most of which have several options, and those options can be customized to a greater or lesser extent. Here are several new images I created in just a few minutes.

How cool is that? Plus, if you do something you really, really like, you can email your family and friends, and if you really, really, really like it, you can order merchandise through their site with your creation.

Duck, Duck, Goose!

A cute little story to share and remember.

Teagan has an alphabet book. It is a favorite because it is a touch and feel book. The letter "D" is represented by two ducklings. When we read the book, I have gotten into the habit of patting both on the head and saying "duck, "duck" and patting her head and saying "goose". I thought it was silly and went onto letter "E". Over the weekend, we were playing the game- Where is your nose? or Where is your belly? Later, when we were reading her book, she automatically put her hands on her head when we got to "D". Hmmm went my memory- so I asked her- Where is your goose? Up went the hands right on her hair. If you ask her where is her head is she has no clue, but if you ask her where her goose is, she consistently goes to her head. It is SO cute. We will need to work on the correct word but for now she is so proud of what she knows that I don't want to break her heart.

Skillet Beef Stew

The last time I blogged about making chili, my good friend, Joann commented that my recipe would have sounded good, if she didn't loathe chili. I responded that I thought it'd be possible to make a few changes to the recipe and get a pretty passable beef stew. Well, I finally got around to taking my own advice and giving it a go.

Bald Man Tom's Skillet Beef Stew, Take One

The Players

The Pan	12" cast iron skillet, well seasoned
The Ingredients	1 lb. "stew beef" kosher salt vegetable oil 1 tbsp butter 3 oz onion, finely diced 2 clove garlic, run through the garlic press 4 oz carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces 8 oz red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 bay leaf 1 tbsp sage 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 celery stalk, split 2-1/2 c beef broth, plus 6 tbsp 6 tbsp flour

The Method

Season the meat with a few pinches of kosher salt 5-10 minutes before cooking begins. Keat the skillet over high heat. Coat the skillet thinly with oil, then sear the meat quickly on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, melt the butter and sautee the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue another minute, or until the onions are soft. Stir in the onions and carrots, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally 5-7 minutes. Add the meat back to the pan with 2-1/2 cups of the broth, the celery and all the spices, mix and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Make a slurry with the flour and remaining broth, then add to the pan and give it a good stir. Cover the pan with foil, then place in a 350 degree oven for 75 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Notes

I would have added more carrots, if I'd had them. The 4 oz listed was all I had. If you're interested in trying this with other veggies, add your root-type veggies with the carrots and potatoes, and things like beans and peas about 15-30 minutes before cooking is complete.

The Verdict

Not too bad, not too good. Amy didn't care for it much at all, there was something about the flavor that she found off-putting. I think it was probably the sage. I didn't find it overpowering, but I think her tastebuds are a little more sensitive than mine. For myself, I thought there was something missing, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm thinking that sage isn't the right herb for this job, but I'm not sure what I'd use with beef. I'll have to do some reading. Or, if any of you out there in interwebland have any ideas, I'm open to suggestion

Lessons Learned

Lessee:

• Beef broth just doesn't have a lot of taste. I've tried several different brands and styles, nothing really works for me. Maybe that's why I felt something was lacking. I might also consider a combo of broth and tomato juice.
• I think the 6 tbsp flour was too much. I'll cut that in half next time, but I'm worried that it'll be too thin.
• The beef didn't get nearly as tender as I'd expected. I'm going to blame the "beef for stewing" package I got from my local megamart. Next time I'll buy a hunk of chuck and break it down myself.
• I need more practice...

2 month old stats

We were back at the doctor's again today.. This time for the boy's 2nd month check up, oxygen level check and the girl's 10 day ear ache follow up. I am happy to report all is well.

Now for the stats:
Weight: 12 lbs. 5 oz. -50th percentile
Height: 22.5 inches- 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 15.5 inches- 30th percentile

Happy Is Home

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. Happy was released from the hospital around 11A this morning. The virus still has to run its course, but the doctors think that the worst is behind him.

Nicknames

You'll noticed that I've started referring to the kiddos by different nicknames. Bambina and Bambino are visually too close to each other, so I chose new nicks which are the meanings of their names. The Boy's name, literally, means "happy," The Girl's name means "little poet" or "beautiful."

So now you know...

... and knowing is half the battle! *

* Do I owe Hasbro money for saying that?

Update on Happy

We'd had high hopes that we'd be writing with news that Happy was safely back home, but that news will have to wait for another day. He's spending another night here at Childrens' hospital. From what we know, the only hurdle to his release is being disconnected from the oxygen. He needs to have it off for 6 hours and have his blood oxygen level remain above 90%. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened today. Maybe tomorrow. But, he's looking better, and as long as we suction the gunk out of his nose, he is able to keep down what he's eating, which is a marked improvement. Gonna have to find one of those industrial nose suckers, they really help!

Happy Thoughts for Happy

Looks like I posted about an hour too early last night. After I put the computer away, Amy tried to feed Happy, who subsequently blorphed the little he had taken, plus most of what he had taken his previous feeding. When we changed him, he hadn't wet, and we got thinking that he hadn't had one in "a while," mostly likely 5-6 hours. We took his temp, and it was between 99-100, so we called the pediatrician, who told us to take him to the ER at Childrens' Hospital. So, about 12:30A this morning, we got him checked out. The ER doctor told us that he likely just had a cold, to feed him less formula but more often, and to check in with urgent care this afternoon for more tests in case something else was going on. He spent most of the day sleeping until we went to urgent care, and only took about 5 oz of formula in the 10 hours we were home (he usually takes 4 oz in a feeding every 3 hours). The urgent care doctor took an x-ray and did a test for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). The x-ray was negative for pneumonia, but the RSV test came back positive, so she recommended that he be admitted to Childrens'. So, about 3P today, we checked him in. He's been officially diagnosed with BSV, bronchiolitis, and dehydration. He's on an IV to help with the dehydration, and Amy just called and told me he's on oxygen, as his blood oxygen levels had dropped. Hopefully, by tomorrow, the rehydration will have helped with his appetite and we can get everyone back home. We'll keep you informed...

Toxic House

Enter at your own risk...

We've had a pretty long run of bad health here lately. Poet has had a runny nose for... about two weeks now? Her nose gets very caked at times, and she just cries so badly when we try to clean her up. Amy got something nasty on Monday, I came down with a nasty cold on Tuesday, and Amy got the brunt of the same cold on Wednesday. While we've been recovering, Happy finally came down with it something last night. He's blorphed all over me twice, not the typical "spit-up" blorph, but the "soak-you-enough-to-change-your-shirt" kind. Ugh, poor kid...

Currently Serving as the Wallpaper on My Phone

Sorry about the poor quality, but I took it with my phone's camera, which sucks mightily. But, it's a darned cute picture :)

Stats

Asher went for his one month check up this morning. No shots today, they start next month. He was a good little boy and didn't cry that much, even with the cold stethoscope.

Weight: 10lbs 15oz.- 75th percentile
Head Circumference - 15 inches- 50th percentile
Height: 21.5 inches- 40th percentile

This would have been a great post...

So around 3am this morning I had a great post written in my head. Unfortunately between then and now I have forgotten most of what was in my head. It went something like this...

Our house is quiet... too quiet. So I begin my journey:

• Baby Boy now fed and sleeping, snoring slightly.
• Little Girl in her crib, sleeping with her "tags" blanket with in easy reach, snoring slightly
• Two spoiled cats sleeping at the end of the bed taking up majority of the leg room, both snoring
  
• Hubby sleeping but so still and not currently snoring. I give him a small nudge and he grunts and goes back to sleep.

It is 3am and all is well and my blessings have been counted.

The Oddest Question I've Been Asked This Year

"Do you eat butts?"

-- Amy, while holding up a mostly empty bag of bread

Happy 1 month Baby Boy!

It is hard to believe that it has been one month since our little family expanded to four. Asher is a good little boy.

A few things to remember:

• He enjoys his naps (knock on wood!)
• He is a good traveler- He traveled several hours in the car over the Christmas holiday.
  
• He doesn't like to burb... but will be miserable for 30-60 min after a bottle.
• He likes his bottle- he is currently taking 3-4 oz every 3-4 hours
• Yes, I know it is gas, but he has a heart-breaker smile.
• He loves a good snuggle.
  
• He looks like his dad.