The smoothie monster...

(The main thing you can see is this picture is that I have no vanity. Why do I keep posting these hideous pictures of myself?)

Dexter's feeling better and has his appetite back. So much so that I can't feed him fast enough so sometimes he has to take matters into his own hands. He loved the Smoothie. (Or he's reenacting a lost scene from Lord of the Flies. You decide.)

My mom taught Dexter to share his Cheerios. It's pretty funny when he feeds them to you, but just as often he goes to put it in your mouth and then takes it away at the last second. Pretty much he is the cutest kid ever. I used to be embarrassed to say things like that. But doesn't every kid deserve to have his parents think he is the cutest baby in the world? (I'm just the only parent that is right. Haha.)

Hangin' out on a Sunday Morning

One of my recent obsessions...

Have you been on Etsy? It is a marketplace for people who make crafts. The prices are reasonable, and so far the vendors I have dealt with are nice. I am trying to do as much Christmas shopping there as possible because the idea of buying handmade gifts rather than plastic gadgets manufactured in China follows my current economic/ environmental sensibilities. (Still, if you really wanted to send an iPod Touch my way it isn't like I'd turn it down. Music IS my boyfriend.) So don't be surprised if you unwrap a gift from me and find this, this, or this. (OK... two of those were kind of a joke... but there really are some great things on the sight .)

Sickos

Dexter and I have been home sick. We had a very nice party this weekend with all of his grandparents, some of his aunties, and our neighbors. Still, the Little Man just wasn't his normal, funny self. He stuck one finger in his cake and then shoved it aside. He did love having a room full of people sing "Happy Birthday" to him.
Look at those gorgeous sickies! We both woke up feeling pretty cranky and sick on Sunday. I broke a lot of my rules about how much Little Einstein and Sesame Street I'd let him watch in a day as I laid on the couch, moaning. Mostly we just cuddled and tried to feel better.

I never had that magical movie moment when right after giving birth, the nurse hands you a pretty pink baby and you all sit there, glowing, looking at each other with a gentle tear running down your face. For me… it wasn’t love-at-first-sight. It was visceral-need-to-protect-at-any-cost,-perhaps-even violently, at first sight. I remember laying there begging, for water, as the nurse measured and administered to Dexter. At some point through the haze I picked up on a note of concern in her voice. Soon they told me Baby Boy Barr would have to go to the special care nursery because he had low glucose levels. I got to hold him for a minute and I was just scared. I worried for him, but didn’t really understand what was wrong, and couldn’t really think clearly. The next forty-eight hours were pretty surreal. Each time Joel rolled me down to the NICU, I would cry. My emotions ranged from the frantic need to fight some unspeakable battle to take care of this little one, to complete vulnerability because this was a situation no one could control. Of course, Dex ended up being fine. He was slow to eat, perhaps because of the bruise on his head, and consequently he had low blood sugar. We were so lucky, and he is a strong kid. Mostly I mention that because those first few hours were nothing like my expectation of that love at first sight I’d seen in countless films.

What I have experienced is more of a gradual change from curiosity and concern to hopeless, unabashed love for my little man. I feel deliriously lucky and happy to have spent this last year getting to know him. He smiled and laughed pretty early and hasn’t stopped since. I am surprised at how many personality traits already seem to have emerged. Dex is a class clown. He loves to do things that make people laugh and if you oblige him, he’ll keep going for the laugh. Also, much to Joel’s joy, he is a drummer. He bangs on everything with his tiny little hands, or with the remote controls as drumsticks. I love every part of being his mom. Happy birthday Little Man.

Afternoon Snacktime

Joel and Dex like their hummus. Don't get in the way.

Hey! How was your Thanksgiving? (I ALMOST wrote Turkey Day... that is one of the things that embarrasses me about myself. Yes. I am the kind of person who sometimes says things like Turkey Day. Also, sometimes, at the end of the week if I am talking to work people I don't know very well I say something like, "Hey at least it's Friday." NERD!)

After an initial hiccup, our break was great. The traffic Wednesday was horrible. Joel and I were not filled with much gratitude as we navigated the Illinois Toll roads on our way out to Wisconsin.

Thursday morning we drove the rest of the way to Minneapolis to stay with Joel's step-brother and family. It was so relaxing. I avoided Black Friday, but am going to sign off now to take advantage of the free shipping of "Cyber Monday".

I am sick with Bronchitis...and seemed to have coughed out any creative ideas I have. In the meantime, here is a picture of the CBE.

The second time's the charm...

Finally! I found out a few days ago that I achieved National Board Certification. Mostly I am just relieved to be done, and that I will get more money soon. One side bonus is that my teaching certificate is no longer called "Type 9". Instead I am an Illinois Master Teacher. That has a much better ring to it, but don't feel like you have to call me Master Barr. But if you insist...

You must be smelly and constipated...

because there are a lot of scientists and engineers making amazing advancements in pro-biotic yogurt that "helps with digestion" wink, wink, and don't get me started on Glade! Thank goodness I can get air freshening night lights and plug-ins that let in puffs of air!

Joel says I should stop playing dress up with the baby. When he brought it up the other day I summarized some of the finer points of labor with him. (He did SLEEP for part of it so I think he just needed a refresher.) I didn't have the world's worst labor, but it was still "labor". Thirteen hours of it = a minimum of 13 years of dressing him up in funny hats, right?


Pelmo, my stepdad, will probably also have something to say about the hats. But I think that is because he is only familiar with the big, white, cone-shaped hats you have to wear in a corner.

Walking baby!

Speedy Dexaroo!

Dex (mostly) manages to navigate the rough terrain of Chicago sidewalks.

Happy Birthday Rory Pants...

I hope you have so much fun and...

I will ALWAYS be your aunt.

Love,
Nora

Promise me that we'll never have to touch base to make sure we're on the same page about taking our connectivity to the next level?

Thanks.

Little Man is doing very well. His parents, on the other hand, have issues. We spent a wonderful weekend in Michigan, with a few glitches. The major one being that all of LM's bags (food, formula, medicine, diapers, clothes) got left behind. Chesterton Big K to the rescue. I guess we can prioritize because we remembered his toys.

Look at my blue eyed guys.

We had a great walk in the woods on Saturday afternoon.

Mostly I am just enjoying watching LM's personality evolve. All of a sudden he has a sense of humor. He likes to make people laugh. If he makes one of us giggle with something that he does, he'll keep doing it, and his whole body will shake with laughter. Most of this is getting lost in translation, so you're just going to have to visit and be entertained by the comedic stylings of DHB. (I am kicking around the possibility of keeping Little Man's name out of my blog... it is tedious, but maybe he deserves his privacy? Of course, I'll have to go back and do a lot of changing in entries over the last year so maybe not.)

What's Up?

Upward Mobility

So Little Man is climbing all over the place. He's able to climb up an entire flight of stairs. (Closely supervised of course.) See that look in his eyes? That is a boy who has movement on two legs in his near future.

Last night Joel and I got to go out with some friends. We had a great time with some of our new neighborhood friends. We owe our relaxing night to my Aunt Colleen. It sounds like Dexter had fun too.

How Big is Dexter????

So Big!



Yay!!!


Thanks to Grandma Jane for the pictures.
(And it looks like the September insomnia continues. Or I guess, if you go to bed at 8 and then you just wake up at 3...is it insomnia? Probably not.)

Counting down the days until his mom stops playing dress up with him...

I kind of need a life. What do I do on a Saturday night? Entertain myself and others by downloading soundtracks to Dexter's life on Rhapsody.

(Sorry it is kind of grainy.)
School is still kicking my butt. I have to occasionally remind myself of my priorities at home. Plus I am cranky and not terribly creative.

Is Dexter trying to escape his crazy mommy?

This weekend we went to Wisconsin with Megan and Christian. Little Man enjoyed large expanses of hardwood floors to crawl upon. There was also a friendly Black Lab named Bear, so I spent a lot of the weekend like Lucy avoiding dog germs, but Joel and Dex were in heaven. On Saturday we went for a hike in the state park and came across this snake. Anyone know what kind it is?

The rest of the weekend was pretty peaceful, but Joel did get caught in a speeding trap on the way home. F'in Cheeseheads. (Did I really just write "F'in"?)

Things have been a bit crazy and yet boring around the Meander household. We're pretty much going to school, eating, and sleeping. Sometimes not even at separate times.


I love my job, but it makes me kind of tired. Stupidly so. I had a hard time stringing together sentences last night at Welch family dinner. Luckily I had Little Man to be charming and social for me.

Hooray! It's the weekend and we're just hangin' out.

Awash in bodily fluids...

The sad day has come. Little man woke up sick this morning. I told myself again and again that this would happen once he started day care, and that we've been really lucky on the health front overall, but that still doesn't prepare you for how heart-wrenching it is when such a little body produces such a horrible cough. And he was so sad and cuddly and sick that it took me a few minutes to notice the yucky ooze coming out of his diaper and all over the crib. So began the day.

Joel had to stay home with Dexter since I burned through most of my sick days last year on maternity leave, so I kissed the guys and headed out. Ten minutes into my first class of the day one of my lovely juniors puked all over the floor. I felt sorry for the baby, but this kid was not sick due to illness. I am hoping that the fact that all the girls in class now think he is disgusting will dissuade him from doing that again. Nothing says "Prom Date!" like a guy who is vomiting green liquor at 9 in the morning.

Catching up

Well, I am officially back at work which means the posts will probably slow down for a while, but in the meantime, here is a quick re-cap of our weekend.

First, how many new parents does it take to photograph a social outing?
Turns out like five of us! The poor kids now know what it is like to be stalked by Paparazzi.

The next day I spent a relaxing afternoon at my Dad's. Rory decided to join Cathy for a quick reading of the Sunday paper.

Finally, I think I've already told you about Little Man's attachment to the vile smelling Joey. I purchased a few back ups on eBay, but decided that three out of four needed to go in the wash this afternoon. Dex quickly found where I'd stashed them and was in hog heaven as he tried to shove all three in his mouth at the same time. But he can quit anytime. Seriously...he's not an addict.

The Piano Lesson

Too much pressure on such a little guy?

Well, Dex is completing his first week of daycare and he's already the Teacher's Pet! The kindergarten teacher spends her mornings with the babies, and she has told me two days in a row that he is her favorite baby. She is young and very cute, so I am impressed already with his way with women.

This is the last day of my vacation. Oh oh oh... (I am cursed with always hearing songs in my head.) Yesterday was Dexter's first day at daycare. We were both slightly traumatized by the end of the day, but Joel tells me that we are all going to live through it so I guess I'll believe him. The good news is that I am in school supply heaven, although I have scaled down a bit this year. I am quite proud of my restraint, but I am not sure if Joel thinks this is very "scaled down". This year for school I only bought:
10 packs of markers (.60 a piece. I missed the really good sale at Target. That is second best.)
20 glue sticks
3 packages of pencils
1 pretty notebook
1 planner
5 blank wall charts
1 roll of bulletin board paper
1 stamper
1 bookbag
1 package of 811 stickers
No borders! No fancy pens! No motivational posters that say things like "Hang in there" with a kitty dangling from a tree branch!

I don't know how I'll survive on such meager reserves, but this is the new me. (Insert eyerolling emoticon here.)

Guess who stopped eating sand?

Word weary

Lately I see a lot of people using “can not” as two words instead of “cannot”. I have read some grammar sites excusing this and saying it is for emphasis. I think they’re wrong. I know language evolves, but I hate when it evolves due to laziness or mistakes. Another frustrating example is the misuse of the word “troops”. According to most dictionaries, a "troop" is a group of soldiers or a unit of soldiers. “Troops” are several units of soldiers. The American Heritage Dictionary even states specifically that one definition of troop is “at least five Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts under the guidance of an adult leader”. See? Five! (Well, at least when referring to Scouts.) Yet somewhere along the lines American politicians and journalists began to use “troop” to mean “soldier”. For instance: “Three troops were injured in last night’s attack.” Were fifteen soldiers injured or three? When I hear that usage on the news or radio it is as if a herd of elephants is dancing on a Styrofoam. Broadcasters on NPR and The News Hour have even made this mistake recently. On the other hand, perhaps I should save my ire for the foreign policies and political grandstanding that are keeping us in this war rather than the language used to describe it.

Edited to add: OK, I suppose there are rare and awkward instances of "can not" being correct. ("We just don't have enough money to go out to dinner this weekend." " Well, we can NOT go out to dinner this weekend.") Correct but awkward. I still say stick with cannot.

The FUN of dysfunction...

is the four cakes you get because you celebrate your birthday separately with your mother, father, mother-in-law, and father-in-law.

Another vacation???

So this week our trip was to Holland, Michigan to stay with Joel's Dad at the cottage he rented. On our way down we stopped at Culvers where Joel ordered a "Bacon Butter Burger". Ew.

Then we spent some days lounging on the beach. It was windy, but fun.