Norah got a new trike for Christmas from Aunt Susan and Uncle JM... I think she likes it!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
'Tis the Season...
Not only for excesses, but also for giving.
Each of the past 10 years or so, I choose a charity to support at Christmas time. Sometimes, it's one that requires some work on my behalf, like the Frank Iovieno Caring for Children Foundation, which was founded by a friend and former co worker in honor of his father. Sometimes, I choose something "Quick and Dirty" like the Boston Globe Santa, which requires only my credit card number and the time it takes to punch it in.
Each year since Matt and I have been together, we talk about what our Charity will be, often choosing something relevant for that year. This year, we were blessed with the arrival of Norah. Her arrival was much anticipated, and greeted with much fanfare and celebrating. But this isn't always the case when new babies arrive in the world.
The anticipation leading up to Norah's arrival seemed in stark contrast to the lead up to some other, unplanned children who also arrived in our lives this past year. It is with that in mind that we chose "My Father's House" as our Charity this year. Their Mission Statement is
Each of the past 10 years or so, I choose a charity to support at Christmas time. Sometimes, it's one that requires some work on my behalf, like the Frank Iovieno Caring for Children Foundation, which was founded by a friend and former co worker in honor of his father. Sometimes, I choose something "Quick and Dirty" like the Boston Globe Santa, which requires only my credit card number and the time it takes to punch it in.
Each year since Matt and I have been together, we talk about what our Charity will be, often choosing something relevant for that year. This year, we were blessed with the arrival of Norah. Her arrival was much anticipated, and greeted with much fanfare and celebrating. But this isn't always the case when new babies arrive in the world.
The anticipation leading up to Norah's arrival seemed in stark contrast to the lead up to some other, unplanned children who also arrived in our lives this past year. It is with that in mind that we chose "My Father's House" as our Charity this year. Their Mission Statement is
"Life Saver Ministries is a local independent, non-profit Christian Ministry that offers an alternative to abortion by providing housing, counseling and other support services, enabling young women and teens in a crisis pregnancy to become self-sufficient responsible adults, through the loving example of caring Christians and the life changing power of Jesus Christ."What's remarkable about My Fathers House, and Lifesaver Ministries is that it is an independant (ie no government funding) organization, founded and run by a husband and wife team. In these days of large scale bailouts, this is remarkable indeed!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas Relaxation
Each year I went to my parents house for Christmas, I'd invariably feel as though I was hit by a large truck at some point during my stay... I always chocked it up to the gluttony, too much of my Dad's wine, the late nights. The net effect would be a lot of time on the sofa, in my jammies, at all hours of the day.
As I've grown to know Matt's family, and become more comfortable with them, the same phenomena seems to occur when I travel to PA... again I chocked it up to the rich food, the long drive, etc.
So this year, we stayed here for Christmas, and I was totally surprised to get that same old feeling again... where did that truck come from anyway??? We've had our share of wine (sadly, not my Dad's) but nothing like in the good old days of "Grown Up Christmas" at my parents home... we had a few treats, but nothing excessive, heck, we even went for a walk the other day!
So, I am left to conclude that this feeling is not due to excesses of any sort, but rather a sign that we have, in fact, kicked back and fully relaxed.
We are very busy recharging our batteries these days, and getting ready for 2009.
As I've grown to know Matt's family, and become more comfortable with them, the same phenomena seems to occur when I travel to PA... again I chocked it up to the rich food, the long drive, etc.
So this year, we stayed here for Christmas, and I was totally surprised to get that same old feeling again... where did that truck come from anyway??? We've had our share of wine (sadly, not my Dad's) but nothing like in the good old days of "Grown Up Christmas" at my parents home... we had a few treats, but nothing excessive, heck, we even went for a walk the other day!
So, I am left to conclude that this feeling is not due to excesses of any sort, but rather a sign that we have, in fact, kicked back and fully relaxed.
We are very busy recharging our batteries these days, and getting ready for 2009.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Santa, do you read my blog???
'Cause I am not sure if you've really been watching Norah... I'm new to this Mom thing, and I'm really not sure if I am supposed to be helping you with your list, or whether I'm supposed to be covering for Norah... because as much as we love her, well, let's just say she's testing the limits...
Seems she has inherited Mom's nerdy side, as she seems to be fascinated with any manner of electronic gadget, and refuses to be fooled by the kiddie look-a-likes.... somehow she knows a remote really isn't supposed to have Elmo on it!
She must think she really has you fooled though, here she is earlier today, looking for you already!
Seems she has inherited Mom's nerdy side, as she seems to be fascinated with any manner of electronic gadget, and refuses to be fooled by the kiddie look-a-likes.... somehow she knows a remote really isn't supposed to have Elmo on it!
She must think she really has you fooled though, here she is earlier today, looking for you already!Thursday, December 18, 2008
We're Back!
Tuesday didn't start out very well... Matt got up to go to work, and on his way out, at 5:30 am, he returned to our hotel room to let me know that we needed to find somewhere else to stay that night, as 'there was no room at the inn'. I sent a few frantic emails and made a few frantic phone calls, and by 7:00 we were all set at another local hotel (and 2 very generous offers from friends!)
By 9:00, Norah was down for a 2 hour nap, and I actually did a little work, even attending a staff meeting! Around 1:00 I dropped her off at daycare so I could go home and clean out the fridge - I had to do something! I sorted through the freezer and was happy to discover that we didn't have to throw away everything! Things at the back of the freezer seemed to be still frozen solid! Then, around 1:35, the power came back on! What a sense of relief! I was starting to feel that we may be the last ones to get our power back (we're not, there are still several hundred houses in our town alone without power, and tens of thousands in MA and NH)
By 6:00, when Matt arrived home, I had picked Norah up, finished cleaning the fridge, the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom, set a Christmas scented candle burning and had some Christmas tunes playing in the background. Matt if often heard saying "I am a simple man" and I knew he would appreciate coming home to a healthy Norah and a cozy home, especially on his birthday!
All I can say is it's good to be home!
By 9:00, Norah was down for a 2 hour nap, and I actually did a little work, even attending a staff meeting! Around 1:00 I dropped her off at daycare so I could go home and clean out the fridge - I had to do something! I sorted through the freezer and was happy to discover that we didn't have to throw away everything! Things at the back of the freezer seemed to be still frozen solid! Then, around 1:35, the power came back on! What a sense of relief! I was starting to feel that we may be the last ones to get our power back (we're not, there are still several hundred houses in our town alone without power, and tens of thousands in MA and NH)
By 6:00, when Matt arrived home, I had picked Norah up, finished cleaning the fridge, the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom, set a Christmas scented candle burning and had some Christmas tunes playing in the background. Matt if often heard saying "I am a simple man" and I knew he would appreciate coming home to a healthy Norah and a cozy home, especially on his birthday!
All I can say is it's good to be home!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
It can always be worse....
As I write this, I am sitting in a warm hotel room, while Norah snores softly in her pack'n'play over in the corner. It's a pretty nice hotel room actually - king sized bed, sitting area, clean, nicely located just off of 128.
Wait, just off of 128? Why am I in a hotel room a mere 30 minutes from my home... I mean I drive farther than this to get my hair cut for goodness sake! Well it turns out we are one of the 1,000,000 households in New England without power. It's kind of strange, you can drive to the other end of town, and homes are brightly lit with Christmas lights, but back at our house the furnace is out and it's 55 deg F inside!
Norah has been sick all week, with temps over 104. We've been to the doc 3 times already and are headed back there today. Yesterday morning, they didn't have power either, though it was restored mid morning. We're still not sure what's wrong with her, but she had some blood work done yesterday (thankfully in a lab in Concord, which does have power!) and she had 2 shots of antibiotics in her legs, which seemed to help. Hopefully they will be able to tell us something when we go in today.
As bedraggled as I felt when I finally had time to log in last night, I know things could be a lot worse... we were lucky to find a hotel room (thanks Andy!!) and Norah's paediatrician's office was great, despite a reduced staff and other weather related challenges. Her fever is responding to Tylenol, and we're all together.
Norah is awake now, so I've got to go... who knows when I'll be able to post again, but keep us, and the hundreds of thousands of other folks in this situation in your thoughts and prayers
Wait, just off of 128? Why am I in a hotel room a mere 30 minutes from my home... I mean I drive farther than this to get my hair cut for goodness sake! Well it turns out we are one of the 1,000,000 households in New England without power. It's kind of strange, you can drive to the other end of town, and homes are brightly lit with Christmas lights, but back at our house the furnace is out and it's 55 deg F inside!
Norah has been sick all week, with temps over 104. We've been to the doc 3 times already and are headed back there today. Yesterday morning, they didn't have power either, though it was restored mid morning. We're still not sure what's wrong with her, but she had some blood work done yesterday (thankfully in a lab in Concord, which does have power!) and she had 2 shots of antibiotics in her legs, which seemed to help. Hopefully they will be able to tell us something when we go in today.
As bedraggled as I felt when I finally had time to log in last night, I know things could be a lot worse... we were lucky to find a hotel room (thanks Andy!!) and Norah's paediatrician's office was great, despite a reduced staff and other weather related challenges. Her fever is responding to Tylenol, and we're all together.
Norah is awake now, so I've got to go... who knows when I'll be able to post again, but keep us, and the hundreds of thousands of other folks in this situation in your thoughts and prayers
Sunday, December 7, 2008
My Girl Likes to Party all the Time!
Norah has never been one to miss a party, or social event of any kind. Well as the holiday season kicks off, she does not disappoint! Last weekend we were in PA with Matt's family for Thanksgiving. 24 Adults, and 9 kids under 7! Norah sat quietly on my lap, observing, before diving right in with her cousins, and totally holding her own, if I do say so myself!
This weekend, we had a busy Saturday - our neighbor Jack celebrated his first birthday and then our friends the Newmans had their very big annual Christmas party. In between Norah managed a short nap, and a web-cam/phone session with Nanny and Grandpa. We knew it was a bit of a crapshoot on how long we'd be able to stay at the Newmans, but it's been a tough year for them, and we really wanted to help spread some holiday cheer! We arrived around 5:45, and Norah played the crowd by willing going to whoever wanted to hold her. Around 7:00 (bed time) we had a near meltdown, but she managed to pull out of it and spent the next hour playing hide and seek with Mommy - under the desert table. Thankfully, Aunt Molly or Jess was occasionally on hand to catch her on the other side!
She rounded out the night by making an appearance in her Christmas present jammies before passing out in the car on the way home! Nice work Norah!
This weekend, we had a busy Saturday - our neighbor Jack celebrated his first birthday and then our friends the Newmans had their very big annual Christmas party. In between Norah managed a short nap, and a web-cam/phone session with Nanny and Grandpa. We knew it was a bit of a crapshoot on how long we'd be able to stay at the Newmans, but it's been a tough year for them, and we really wanted to help spread some holiday cheer! We arrived around 5:45, and Norah played the crowd by willing going to whoever wanted to hold her. Around 7:00 (bed time) we had a near meltdown, but she managed to pull out of it and spent the next hour playing hide and seek with Mommy - under the desert table. Thankfully, Aunt Molly or Jess was occasionally on hand to catch her on the other side!
She rounded out the night by making an appearance in her Christmas present jammies before passing out in the car on the way home! Nice work Norah!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Norah News: 9 month stats
We went in for Norah's 9 month check up today, and, well, no news is good news! She is doing great, meeting or exceeding all her milestones, and, as it turns out is a very good patient. She was very good (and very curious, of course!) while Dr Larry did her examination, and granted him a nice smile and giggle in addition to her intense stare!
She also had a LOT to say about her flu shot! She took the shot like a trooper, but afterwards, was a little clingy, and VERY chatty... I'm wondering what she was saying... "Mom, how could you", "What are you people, crazy?", "I know I just started eating broccoli, but I am going to quit if you ever do that to me again!", "Just wait until I tell Dad/Nanny/Oma etc about this"
Anyway she is still tall and skinny for her age, though closer to the 50th percentile in weight now (must be the big belly!!) 18lbs and 29.75"! Her head is a little on the big side, which I personally attribute to her huge brain (or genetics, Aunt Susan has a big noggin too!)
As Norah gets older, we grow to trust our instincts more - it's easy with her, as she really never gives us much to worry about. But it is still nice to have an objective second opinion now and again, even if it costs me $20 in co-pay!
She also had a LOT to say about her flu shot! She took the shot like a trooper, but afterwards, was a little clingy, and VERY chatty... I'm wondering what she was saying... "Mom, how could you", "What are you people, crazy?", "I know I just started eating broccoli, but I am going to quit if you ever do that to me again!", "Just wait until I tell Dad/Nanny/Oma etc about this"
Anyway she is still tall and skinny for her age, though closer to the 50th percentile in weight now (must be the big belly!!) 18lbs and 29.75"! Her head is a little on the big side, which I personally attribute to her huge brain (or genetics, Aunt Susan has a big noggin too!)
As Norah gets older, we grow to trust our instincts more - it's easy with her, as she really never gives us much to worry about. But it is still nice to have an objective second opinion now and again, even if it costs me $20 in co-pay!
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