Com-mun-i-cate

Verb- to express thoughts, feelings, or information easily or effectively.
Sounds simple enough right? Not when your 1 and the language you speak seems to be completely misunderstood by everyone around you. Luckily toddlers learn to use 'our' language so we know what the heck they're trying to tell us.
Dillan has been learning more words; he knows mama, dada, up, down, Dora, dog, ball, cat, apple, tickle, and can make the sound of a cow, sheep and pig...though thanks to Sandra Boynton his pigs only say "la la la".
He also says more, milk, please, "go go go", NO, bye bye, yum, and map.

Happy Fall

This is my favorite time of the year. It's fall. The leaves are changing, the weather is starting to stay cold, and the holidays are right around the corner.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and the fact that it's the first holiday in fall makes it even more fun.
This year we didn't go out to the bars or give out candy like we usually do. We had a nice quiet weekend filled with friends and fun instead. I couldn't have been happier about it!

We started the fall season with a trip to Baugher's orchard to visit the pumpkin patch. They have a good sized free petting zoo and Dillan really seemed to like the sheep following us around. They also have a cool wooden train that he couldn't get enough of.
He was moderatley unimpressed by the pumpkin patch, though he did like banging on the pumpkins.
Not surprisingly he loves apple cider, so of course we bought a gal since it's super fresh.

The following weekend was Halloween. Our first event was my bff's daughter's 1st birthday party. He house was packed and D was a little frustrated that he couldn't freely run and play. We stayed late into the night and he was able to play with Sammy and her friend Brandon after all the adults left. Now that he's walking he really enjoys his freedom.
Halloween was on a Sunday and we decided to go to ZooBoo as a family (daddy had to work the night of Sammy's party). I made most of our costumes this year and we went as Magenta, Blue, and Joe from Blue's Clues. Our friends S&B had free zoo passes and while there we met up with Aunt Laura, Uncle Drew, and cousins C&E. Dillan didn't mind being in costume all day and even passed out in the stroller from all the fun!
Birthday girl!

Lockdown

That's what I was in last week.
Thursday 9/16 I was in a meeting when I received the following text @ 11:18am "Shooter incident on Nelson 8. Stay in your office or room and lock the doors until the all clear is announced. Stay away from windows. Wait for instructions."
I was with a friend/coworker and we weren't sure what was happening. We ended the meeting and joined some of the other staff in the corridor. We were on lock down.
For the next 3 hours we were essentially locked in our office suite waiting for accurate updated information. We all had the news channels on our computers and were seeing the stream of confusing and often inaccurate information that was being reported.
This is what happened. A patent's son was upset at the news he received in relation to his mother's condition. He shot the physician and returned to her room where he eventually shot and killed her before killing himself.
No one knew that he was contained to the pts room until after the incident was over. We were thinking he was loose in the hospital a la last springs Grey's Anatomy finale. Our office is in the dome building of Johns Hopkins. It's the oldest building on campus and one of the most used entrances. The back of our building faces the Nelson building. There was concern about the windows because we didn't know what side of the Nelson building this guy was on (turns out is was the other side, facing Wolfe St.).
Once we got a message that the situation was contained to N8 we were free to move about the hospital once more. Lunch was my priority at that point since it was after 2pm.
The whole thing was surreal, especially because we could hear the helicopters overhead and saw the footage on the news.
I was able to be online and let me friends/ family know that we were safe. It's amazing all the stories that people were hearing and how wrong the news was at times. My friends were thankful that I could let them know things were ok.
Just another one of those great stories I'll get to tell my grand kids one day.

The end is just the beginning

Summer's over. Autumn doesn't technically begin until next Wed, 9/22, at 11:09pm ET, but metaphorically it's over. The state fair has come and gone (we never did make it, very disappointing for me) and the weather is getting cooler. More importantly, the end of summer means it's vacation time for our family!
We have discovered the many joys of vacationing later in the season. Our favorite week of vacation begins Labor Day weekend. There are no crowds, no traffic, and prices are substantially lower. Merchants are still operating on full schedules and many offer hefty discounts to late season visitors.
Our vacation this year was a return trip to an old favorite, the Outer Banks of NC. This year we rented a house near the beach in Kill Devil Hills. The entire trip including a whole house for a week, food, entertainment, and gas was less than $1200 for the 3 of us. We had an awesome time.
I really thought that we were going to be limited in what we did because Dilly is so young and isn't walking on his own yet. I was pleasantly surprised at how wrong my assumptions were! We did everything we normally would have done, and more! I was worried about schedules and planning, but once I realized that it's vacation and time to relax everything fell into place. We got up when we wanted, ate and napped when we needed to, and went where ever the wind took us. It was the best vacation we've had in a long time.
The drive down was uneventful until about 20 min from our destination. Mike, who was sitting behind the passenger seat to keep D company, yells at me to pull the car over quickly. In a panic I pull off the road into the grass and start to frantically look around for whats wrong, thinking it's D. Turns out he saw smoke coming from behind my steering wheel and wasn't sure what it was. (back story- I'd been smelling a waxy burning smell for some time and had my vehicle in for service twice before our trip. I had been assured that it was all related to a recall, which was performed)
After sitting for a min and not seeing any of the smoke myself, I did see an office pull up behind me. He let me know that the place I stopped wasn't a good place due to the speed of traffic and the curve of the road. He escorted us over the bridge and made sure things were ok before heading off.
Mike and I were convinced that the issue was something electronic and related to the accessories in the dash. After all, I had my GPS plugged in, the XM radio on and the A/C on the entire trip. That's a lot of pull on the electrical system and all of it has connection points in the dash. Throughout the duration of our trip we systematically tested our theory and found no definitive source of the problem.
Anyhoo, back to the trip...we arrived at our place pretty late on Sat. We unpacked the car, ordered food, set up Dillan's room some and went to bed. As we expected, D didn't sleep well since he slept most of the way down. Mike ended up laying in the kids room  on the bed with him until they both fell asleep.
Sunday we decided to have an easy day and went to the outlets. I didn't pack any shorts (probably because I don't have any that I particularly like the fit of) so I was looking for some end of season deals. We stopped at Sonic for some lunch and Dillan got his first taste of our favorite fast food. He enjoyed his grilled cheese and tots with (very watered down) fruit punch. We had fun shopping all afternoon and in the evening took Dillan to the beach for the first time. His reaction to the sand was mixed. He liked to play with it in his hands and shovel it into his bucket, but he didn't want his feet in it.
Monday we decided to drive a few miles south to the Bodie Island lighthouse. We have been to the Currituck Lighthouse in Corolla, but never the Bodie Is. one. It was surprisingly close to Nags Head. When we got there the lighthouse was encased in a very intricate scaffolding while it was being reconstructed. Visitors have never been able to climb the lighthouse, not that we would have with D; the old keeper's cottage is open as a small museum though. For dinner we went to a local favorite, Dare Devil Pizza's. Dillan was unimpressed with the actual pizza, but very much enjoyed the crust.
Tuesday we visited Jockey's Ridge State Park where we walked one of the nature trails with Dillan comfortably riding in the BH OS. One cannot visit the 'dunes' without stopping at Kitty Hawk Sports to check out all the cool kites. They have a wide selection of eclectic toys, souvenirs, and fun outdoorsy things. They also have a nice selection of OBX stickers, and the one on my truck needed replacing! The day concluded for us with an evening walk on the beach where we showed D the fiddler crabs and starfish that we found along the shoreline.
Wednesday was predicted to be the warmest day of the week so we ventured up to TimBuckII in Corolla to do some shopping. Dillan had fun on the swing set in the playground. Mike and I bought some of our favorite treats at Try My Nuts...Butta Nuts and Dirty White Trash! After stopping in Duck to ogle the really big, uber expensive houses we went back to the house for a nap. We walked to the beach that night for some glow stick fun which D really seemed to enjoy.
Thursday was our only actual beach day. We got there early and after struggling with the sun cabana we borrowed had a pretty great setup! We had food, shade, and a baby pool for D to splash around in. Apparently nothing tastes better to a toddler than a Pb&J dipped in salt water. After a very long nap we had dinner then headed out for a round of mini golfing. D was delighted that he got to help by retrieving the ball from the hole each time. I think we have a future pro on our hands, lol.
Friday we ventured over to Roanoke Island; it's between Nags Head and the mainland. There's a nice aquarium there that we visited and a cute waterfront town to explore. We had lunch at the cutest cafe then did some shopping in old town Manteo. For dinner we had all intentions of going to a nice seafood buffet for the 'early bird' deals but we all over slept and they were closed by the time we made it out the door. We did find a nice, and very highly recommended, seafood restrauant. The Jolly Rodger was like walking abord a pirate ship all decorated for xmas! The entire ceiling was COVERED in xmas ornaments!!!! Needless to say, it kept D distracted enough that we were able to enjoy dinner. The food was good, but I'm glad it was inexpensive because it wasn't anything we couldn't have gotten at home.
The trip home Sat was ok. We stopped at the Grave Digger, our redneck vacation tradition. When D gets older he'll probably be more excited about it. Also on the way home we stopped to visit Uncle Drew, Aunt Laura and the wonder twins. D reached him limit of being in the carseat so we stopped by for a visit. The boys were heading to bed so we changed D and gave him some dinner. He then enjoyed playing with his cousins toys and hamming it up for his aunt and uncle.
All in all it was a great vacation.

*I did get my car checkout out. I dropped it off Sunday night after pretty much demanding they look at it on Monday. They found that the controls and wiring for the headlamp stalk (which controls the running lights, tail & break lights, turn signals, and high beams) was faulty and slightly melted. It was replaced, at no cost to me, under my extended warranty.

I'll post pictures later.

Happy Birthday!

Sunday August 1st was a bittersweet day. It was Dillan's first birthday. It's so sureal that he is one already, no longer a baby but not technically a toddler as he doesn't yet 'toddle'. We celebrated with family and friends at a local park. We rented a pavillion and cooked on the grill. My intent was easy, casual and fun. Honestly, I don't remember much of the day as I was runing around trying to get everything done and keep D happy all at the same time. Looking back, it felt much like my wedding reception. I wish had been able to sit and talk to more people and really relax and enjoy the day.
All in all though, it was a great day. The weather was perfect, mid-80's and none of the rain they had given us a 40% of.
I would like to thank all of our family and friends for coming and spending the day with our family. It really does mean a lot that so many people care about and love our little boy. Many of our family members hadn't yet met him and it was nice to indtroduce him to everyone.
In the days leading up to the party there was a bit of family drama, a rare occurance I have to say. In the end though only one person decided that Dillan was not important enough to take the high road for. It saddens me because my husband now knows he really can't count on someone he should be able to and after many late night talks, he's over it. And here I thought MY family would have caused the problems! Lol.

On a better note, I decided to scrap my idea for making cupcakes due to time constraints and bought a 1/2 sheet cake from Safeway. It was half white cake and half chocolate. I didn't have them decorate it as I had already planned to make Moose & Zee characters (from Nick Jr) for the cake. I have never worked with fondant and was surprized as to how easy and fun it was. My mom made D's "smash cake" which I decorated simply with orange and blue gel icing and a big "D". He wasn't impressed with his cake. He sort of poked at it and dragged his finger through the icing. For the first time ever, he didn't want to put it in his mouth! Figures!! Mike cut a piece and after a few small tastes, he got the idea that it was ok to eat. He ended up making quite a mess!
The other cake (for our guests) was delicious!

Thanks again to everyone who came and made this day so special for my family!!! <3

Slacker

I know, I sort of suck at this whole blogging often thing. Life kinda gets in the way when you have an 11 month old. Yes...Dillan is 11 months already! How did that happen so fast??? This time last year I was 38 weeks pregnant! I had demolished, tiled, and repainted the bathroom (finishing just 3 days before going into labor btw!). Now I am planning his first birthday party!!! We're planning a gathering with the family and a few close friends at Double Rock park. I have been working on designing the invitations and coming up with ideas for his 'smash' cake.
Speaking of work...we've been uber busy and I am really looking forward to our vacation in Sept. I just wish I knew where we were going. We're either going to Tampa to visit friends or renting a house in the OBX. It all depends on Southwest and their ticket prices. Since we'll have to rent a car when we get there we'll need to take the carseat. We might as well get D a seat and take it on the plane so we don't have to worry about damage by checking it. The whole thought of traveling with D is exciting and stressful all at the same time. I don't want to take too much but I am a habitual over-packer. *sigh* I think we're going to end up with a house in Nags Head because it'll be cheaper than the flight + rental car.
In other news, we've started a garden! Mike really spearheaded this idea. There's a neighborhood garden around the corner but we've never been able to get reliable information about it. He bought seeds and a starter greenhouse kit and planted green pepper and tomato. We decided to cultivate the 2 raised beds by the pool and a section of the unkempt area by the fence. Our idea sort of took on a life of its own and now we have hanging tomato and strawberries; in the raised beds we have red/ orange/ yellow peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, green peppers; in flower boxes we have oregano and tons of basil; and in the side garden we have watermelon, squash, and cucumber. We've gotten 2 small but tasty strawberries and we have one red pepper growing nicely. We got a late start so I'll be happy if we get at least one of each variety.

Dilly update

This is going to be short because I don't feel like typing today.
Dillan has changed so much in the 8 short months he's been on this planet.
As of 3.26.10 he:

• Babbles non-stop! He 'says' dadadadadadadadadadadada, baaaaa ba, mmmmmmmm (no ma yet, but hopefully soon)
• blows raspberries, his favorite time to do this is with a mouth full of food or milk!
• sleeps from about 10pm-8am with little to no waking (he's been doing this for awhile now)
• holds his own bottle
• eats 2-3 solid foods a day (see previous post if you're interested in what he now eats)
• rolls both directions
• sits up all on his own
• scoots backwards on his tummy
• stands when you hold his hands
• stands while leaning on something (can only do this for about a min)
• reaches for EVERYTHING!
• passes toys from hand to hand
• uses the 'pincher grasp' to get small items, such as yogurt drops or cheerios
• claps his hands together
• plays peek-a-boo with a blanket, his new fav game!
• "shares" his teethers with me

No teeth have appeared yet, but we have been able to see a small white line on his gum for about 2 weeks. We're hoping anyday now it will work its way through.

That's it for now.

Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum...

Dilly is eating just about everything…YUM!

We started Dil on solid foods at the end of Jan, just before he turned 5 months. We decided to skip rice cereal as it has no taste, no texture, and can be constipating. I made the decision to make all his food from scratch so that I could control the quality of ingredients and the texture of the purees.

I did a little research online as to what was needed to make your own baby food and found that it is surprisingly easy to do! Many people have a steamer basket, a blender and a food processor. This seemed like a lot of clean up and get out every time you wanted to make something. I like things simple. I heard great reviews about the Beaba Babycook. It’s an all in one steamer, processor, and defroster in one. Plus, its dishwasher safe and BPA free. My mom and I went to Towson Town Center to check them out at the Williams Sonoma store. It’s a nice compact size but carries a hefty price tag, $149.99. I had seen it online for less, but was hesitant to buy before seeing it in person. To my surprise, my mom bought one on the spot! I was super excited!!!! We also went to Barnes and Nobles to get a few books on making baby food. I found Annabel Karmel’s books the easiest to follow and the most comprehensive. I picked up The Healthy Baby Meal Planner: Mom-Tested, Child-Approved Recipes for Your Baby and Toddler and First Meals: The Complete Cookbook and Nutrition Guide. Another good book is Top 100 Baby Purees.

The only other thing I needed was something to freeze the food in. I found the Fresh Baby Food Stroage Trays, a 2pack of ice cube trays with lids, on Diapers.com for $12.99. Each cube is 1oz of food. (the great thing about diapers.com is that they price match any other website, plus all orders over $49 have free overnight shipping!)

After I ran everything through the dishwasher I was ready to go.

I decided that pears were going to be Dillan’s first meal. They are easy to digest, not likely to have an allergic reaction to and have a sweet favor. They also help with constipation, which Dil had been having a bit of trouble with. I pealed the pears and cut them into cubes. After adding the correct amount of water to my Beaba (it has pre-marked lines on the bowl and you add a specific amount depending on the food), I put the pear cubes into the basket and placed it in the bowl. After clipping on the lid I turned the knob to “steam”. It automatically shuts off when it is done. So easy! I removed the basket and dumped the steamed pears into the bowl for pureeing. After putting the lid back on, I blended up the fruit to a mostly liquid consistency. Then I poured my puree into the trays, snapped on the lids, pop into the freezer and viola! Baby food!

I did figure out that it’s best if you put the trays in the fridge to cool before transferring to the freezer. And now that I am making so much food, I take the frozen cubes and put them into labeled freezer bags so I can quickly reuse the trays.

In all it took me about 20 min to make 2 trays of food. Each tray is equivalent to just about 3, 2 packs of Gerber 1st Foods (the plastic containers with 2 per pack). Each of the Gerber packs is about $1.25 in the store, but I made enough food to equal 6 of those packs for about $2 total…a $5.50 savings on just pears! Not only is it better for Dil, it’s saving us money!

We fed Dil the pears diluted with just a splash of formula (more for a familiar taste than anything else) and he gobbled it up!!! It’s like he knew just what to do with the food. He didn’t push it back out with his tongue and he even tried to take the spoon and feed himself! I was amazed. I thought it was going to be more difficult to teach him how this eating thing works.

Since I made the pears I have made a freezer full of foods for him. His first foods were pears, sweet potato, papaya, banana (just mush and serve), butternut squash, fresh green beans, frozen peas, and avocado. He has also had apple, carrots, and a mixed berry medley (premixed bag of flash frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries). He’s like just about everything. He’s still iffy on the carrots and peas if he’s not in the mood for them. I have lost count of how much money I have saved by making his food. The one thing I refuse to make though is prunes! I hate the smell and would prefer to buy the organic Gerber ones for when he’s really constipated. I did recently buy a few jars of food that have meats in them: Turkey and Rice, Chicken and Apples, Vegetable Beef, and Mac and Cheese. I want to see how he likes meat flavors before venturing into making them myself. He had the Turkey and Rice last night and loved it. It smelled just like turkey and stuffing at Thanksgiving!

A great site for all things baby food is http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

Snowmageddon 2010

I changed my background to reflect a much needed sign of spring!

This is the story of the dual blizzards that crippled the mid-Atlantic region between Feb 5 and Feb 10, 2010.

Here's a rundown of the past week here in Baltimore:

• Friday 2/5: My office was closed, though I didn't know that until after I got there. At least I got to go back home for the day. Bad thing is that I drove all the way down there and I have to use a vacation day...even thought the office is closed! I made a Target run to get some baking supplies before the storm hit. Snow started falling around noon. Just a few flakes at first, then WHAM! It was coming down heavy by 2pm. We had about 8 inches when I went to bed around 11.

• Sat 2/6: Still snowing as hard as ever. By 12:30 in the afternoon we had about 2 feet on the ground. It was hard to tell for sure because it was so windy. The big pine tree across the street fell down and our trees out back are bent over under the weight of the snow. The pool also looks to have some damage, but I won't know until I can get out there later.
  By 6pm the snow had all but stopped and we were able to get out and start shoveling. There's so much of it!!! We have about 28" right now, not counting the drifts. I was able to clean off the bushes by the pool and I think they are going to live. We lost the tops of 2 of our pine trees lining the fence. After shoveling for 4 hours we got the front of the driveway cleared and a path from the front yard to the backyard.

• Sun 2/7: Mike and I got out and shoveled for 4 more hours. We cleared the driveway and got all 3 cars free. We also cleared off the sidewalk from the driveway to the front of the house. We didn't even attempt to clean the public sidewalk. Between the snow that fell and the snow that was plowed onto it, it's about 4-5 feet deep! They are calling for another bad storm this week with estimates of 8-10" of new snow. That seems like nothing compared to what we just went through.

• Mon 2/8: The roads are still pretty much impassable. Mike had to work overnight and he said coming come was a nightmare. We did some more digging out and I made Dillan an igloo, bot that he was all that impressed. They are now calling for 12-18" of new snow beginning tomorrow...great...just what we need.

• Tues 2/9: It took me over an hour, but I made it in to work today. The main roads are fine, Rt 40 wasn't too bad, it was down to one lane in some places though. When I got on Monument St it was awful! There was one lane in each direction and cars that had been dug out were parked all over the place. People were too lazy to dig out the parking spot and took to parking in the street. People were standing in the road to catch the buses, adding to the already complex maze of obstacles. The next storm system is coming...today. It started snowing around 4, very lightly at first. It started to fall faster and stick to the roads by 5:30. I left work about 5:45 and had the worst commute ever to get home. It took me about 1 1/2 hrs (I live 9 miles away). Rt. 40/Orleans St was alright, I got on 895 figuring it would be better and it was sort of. The road was clearer, but there was more traffic. The cars were all being smart about going slow, but the truckers were insane! The were throwing snow and slush everywhere as they sped by. It didn't help that I had a jackass on my bumper almost the whole way either. By the time I got home Mike had already left for work. I told him how bad the roads were getting and he left earlier than usual in case he got stuck. The latest reports were calling for more blizzard conditions.

• Wed 2/10: When I got up this morning I couldn't see across the street. The wind was blowing the snow around so hard that all I could see was a wall of white. I checked in with work and found out that a few people actually went in, then they decided to close again! Two of my co-workers decided to stay and ride out the storm. They really had no choice as the Mayor activated Phase III of the city's snow emergency plan. This prohibited any non-city authorized vehicle from being on the roads. I'm thinking Phase 4 would be the equivalent of DEF-CON 1! Mike is still at work, they are going to put him in a hotel since he can't get home. Around 7 I decided to venture outside, it was still snowing a little but the wind was making it feel like little ice razors. I only stayed out long enough to clean my bushes off again and take a walk out front. Everything we shoveled was re-covered with snow!!

• Thurs 2/11: Whats that I see??? The sun??? And blue skies??? It would be an awesome day if it weren't for the 36" of snow waiting to be moved! I normally LOVE winter and snow...but I'm done. I want it gone and I want spring.

It appears we have about 38" on the ground...not including the drifts, which are as high as 57" in places!

 
To see my pics because I'm too lazy to upload them all, go here.

Ugh, really...and you trust EVERYTHING people tell you????

A friend and I have been emailing and she's going to electively schedule her c-section because her doctor says the baby will be big...yeah and the doctor can tell you what color hair he will have too! They don't know...they are usually estimating based on fluid (which is hard to measure because the baby moves) and bone length (which doesn't indicate density or weight). They told me 7lbs and he was over 8, they told another friend 8 and she was 6, and so on...


Why would you opt for a dangerous and very serious surgery to avoid something that 'might be', epsecially when your body knows what it's doing...you won't carry a baby you can't deliver! (getting stuck due to position is a whole other issue) Women have been having babies as long as there have been women, it's a natural process, just trust your body!!! For heaven's sake...my MIL gave birth to 3 boys: 8lbs 15oz, 9lbs 8oz, and my hubby- 11lbs 3oz.

The c-section rate in this country is high...it was 31.8% in 2007, that's a 48% jump since 1996!!! I'm not against CS...in many cases thet y are needed to save the baby, the mother, or both from real danger...REAL is the keyword here.

When I went into labor and was admitted to the hospital the first thing out of the Dr.'s mouth was "Well, we'll try to do this the conventional way"...My BP was a bit high and the baby's heartrate was erratic...OF COURSE IT WAS...I WAS IN LABOR!!! Active labor, 8.5cm dilated, 100% effaced labor!!! It was my first pregnancy and I was scared and in pain...did they think I was going to be calm?!? Birth is stressful on both a mother and a baby, it's suposed to be, you're pushing another human being out of your body!

I was upset with the doctor for doubting me and rushing to conclusions before giving me the chance to try and deliver my baby the way nature intended. Luckily my hubby was on my side and told the doctor how we felt and what we wanted. He's usually very passive, so glad he found his pair that day!

I know a lot of people who had c-sections because they had no choice. My BFF had to have a c-section due to medical complications, but she was hessitant about it. It's major surgery and there are endless complications. She would have avoided it if she could have.

If childbirth were meant to be easy, it wouldn't be called LABOR.

Sorry, just needed to vent.