House hunting

As the house hunting continues I have begun to really want to build. Why? Because otherwise we will get in to a fixer-upper. I can't stand the idea of renovating another home, It is too dangerous for Evelyn (and our other kids of the future) as Jason is not good at cleaning up after himself until a project is completed (this can take days or weeks). Most of the places that he has seen need a TON of work so we are talking in YEARS. That is years of living in a pigsty as we upgrade the house, YEARS of attention that will go to the house instead of the kid(s). I am also ready to stop worrying about the house and the long list of projects that need to be done. I didn't even live here through most of the work but what I have has been enough (not that I don't love the outcome). I am sick of worrying about the house and ready to think about more important things like my children and maybe even having fun without feeling bad that Jason will not get his stuff done. Jason seems to like the idea to some extent we just need to figure out a way to get enough of our stuff out of this house to have it in "sell able" condition.

Going on a treasure hunt...

Tomorrow is dumpster day at work which is essentially spring cleaning (who didn't figure that one out?). As such we are spending the afternoon cleaning out our desks and the company is getting rid of some of the stuff they have in storage - including some of the artwork that was not auctioned off at the wine tasting and silent auction. I liked two of the paintings (nature sceans and thought J might too so I brought them home (for $10 why not) unfortunately J was not as enthousiastic as I thought he would be. So I am deciding weather to just have him han them in the bedroom and livingroom or to take them back to see if anyone else likes them/wants them. I am thinking of keeping them since our walls have been bare forever and though he was correct in saying that we have otherstuff that we could put up we have not and these are ready to hang. and I think the colors go fairly well. he mentioned that they didn't fit the "decor" um what decor? we have 1 photo (nature scean by Jason) 1 wedding photo and my wedding sampler. that's it nothing in the bedroom to really clash with I guess I should just let them go to another home, sigh.

All dressed up with no place to go...

At work I am part of the "wellness" comity we are trying to put together activities to help motivate everyone to get more active and eat healthier. As we are still in the planing stages we went over ideas for recruitment one of them being recording a short video to show at a staff meeting. Since I had a recorder I offered to bring it in - one of the skits being me running up the stairs and a coworker trailing behind I decided that I would go in "costume" and bring some workout clothing in. I should have waited to change to be sure that we were going to record the skit because it never happened. We did not reschedule so maybe we will just do something in front of the group? I guess there was not a lot of effort involved but I was still disappointed that it did not get done, though I'm not sure why I was expecting it to get done.

I got home and was warm so changed into my workout clothing as today is supposed to be a gym day. Well Thursdays are apparently only gym days if J did not play volleyball at 10:30 last night. Though I think she is asleep now (or at least no longer stranding herself in a standing position and crying) so maybe I'll at least run. but that would be more fun if I could find my mp3 player.

Insurance companys

Have you ever wondered why you get nowhere when you talk to representative of an insurance company? Specifically medical however this may be just as true for the others, I just don't have as much experience there. I should have known I was in for a long afternoon when I tried to do a quick call before lunch and got hung up on. Once I was back from visiting evelyn I saught to start the appeal process for a denied prior authorization. This is sometimes a lengthy process at the best of times. Today I called the number and was given another number (three times) I called the last number and went through a series of prompts (I love the automated system especialy on days where my concentration is down) once through I made what I thought was the correct choices only to be told that i needed to call. I hung up figuring that maybe in my confusion of the 4 diferent numbers that I had I called the wrong one. So I call (again) go through the prompts and get placed on hold then hung up on. and again through the prompts with the same problem so I figure ok I'll try a different number in the promp system. You guessed it I got the wrong person again and instead of telling me that they needed to transfer me they just did (twice!) . I finally got a person that said gave me the phone number that I called and said that I needed to call as she was going to transfer me I told her to wait that I had indeed called that number and was getting nowhere. I then asked her what prompt numbers should I be pressing. She was unsure but said that she would call and figure it out, in to the mgical hold land i went for 10 min. She cam back was somewhat suprised at what she discovered. the two options that sounded the most promising to me (the ones that I tried) #1 got me back to customerservice - the first wrong number that i called and #3 got her back to a co worker (I can only imagine how much fun that call was). Needless to say she was verry placating and understanding of my frustration after all this took place. We ended the call with her e-mailing the department that I needed to speak with and a promise that either her or the other department would call me. The best part is that in a few days when she or the department does not call I get to start all over. Yippeeeee!

It's fixed...

and broken again. Yes already. It took me under 5 minutes. I swear all I did was touch the stupid thing and it freezes up on me. I have a very nice display of my husband and Evelyn on fathers day and no icons or anything else. I can't do anything, Sigh. I had just gotten the website that I downloaded mp3's for the wedding (I even still have a credit) so I was going to give Sarah a list of my music and maybe get some more as it is super cheap. now not only can I not do this I'm not sure it is such a good Idea - I'm not sure I need any extra bugs... I have never had many computer problems - maybe I'm just oblivious. And clearly severely overdue.

No time for bad books...

I have a book that I have been trying to finish for the better part of the month. The reading is very slow because I decided around page 10 that I didn't like it that much. The author is Patricia Cornwell who I usually enjoy so I thought I would keep going and maybe it would get better. I also seem to have a compulsion to finish books that I start. I decided tonight while I was at the library that I just don't have the time to read a bad book.

"you were right"

today while i was playing with Evelyn Jason came up to me and said "you were right". I wish I had a tape recorder. Yesterday I told Jason that he really needed to keep the apple juice in the refrigerator. His response was "nah it's fine. it's pasteurized". So my response was "if you are going to give it to Evelyn you need to keep it in the refrigerator" (I'm such a great wife as I don't seem to care if he gets himself sick but don't want him getting my daughter sick.)

So today he opened the juice to drink some and it had fermented overnight (shock) and he admited he was wrong or rather that I was right (SHOCK!). I doubt I will ever hear these words again so I needed to have them on record.

Trying again

I don't remember posting the title graduating and I have no Idea why I did it. Jason needed the computer for something and since mine is still sick I could not finish any of my thought though why I published is beyond me...

Today was a busy day Evelyn and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house where I dropped of my little girl then went shopping. I went to the burrito place for lunch since I hadn't had breakfast. The guy that put it together made a comment about me not being able to finish it I wish I could have shown him that I did, I don't know why . He also very nicely tried to get the gentleman behind me to pay for it.

I ate the burrito in the car and went to the Gem lab to try to find a pendent for the stone that Jason bought me for our anniversary. I was not too impressed with what they had (only basic settings really) I did find two things that I liked that were unrelated. both saphires so J may one day get them for me as he loves the stone. one is a bracelet that is a rainbow of saphires I'm not holding my breath on this one. the other was a pendant of Marquise cut blue saphires (the stones were not that great but I'm sure that J could have gotten others, and a dimond that was so small I don't know why it was there. the sales person made a point to make sure I saw it. I wondered why it was there if it can be that easily overlooked.

After getting back to grandma and grandpa's house we put Evelyn down for a nap.

The weekends need to be longer.

I went to bed a little late last night so when Evelyn woke up at 5:30 I was exhausted. I feed her and we played downstairs for a little while. Lucky for me she was sleepy at 7:30 so we both went back to bed and Jason got up for some reason. She hardly cried going down which is a nice change from going to bed.

After her nap we skiped and she had a great time playing with grandma and grandpa hirsch. well that and beating up dads laptop. She has been dancing her "happy dance" alot latley and showed it off for Grandma and Grandpa. It is absolutly halareous - I will have to try to post a video. After the skype we went out and chatted with the neighbor so Evelyn could hang out with masto again we reallly need a mastif... it will never happen.

During Evelyn's secound nap of the day (again she did not cry at all when she went down) I was feeling energetic enough to go to the gym and have an amazing workout. I did 30 min on my favorite machine followed by crunches and 2.5 miles on the treadmill. I was going to keep going but wanted to get home to my girl. Some how I am getting better at running, not only did I not have any problems running but I did it at an incline (only 1 but still) and had 2 * 5 minute blocks that were at a faster speed than I have run before. I may need to find one more 5K this summer so I can try to beat that goal time, I might just make it.

The rest of the day was play time though we went for a short walk. When getting Evelyn into the stroller I accidently pinched her little tummy (poor little girl will be relieved to get back to daycare so she can stop getting hurt!). It was a short walk then a long bath. Then it was bed time where she cried for 30 min before going to sleep. I need to figure out what I am doing wrong when putting her to bed for the night as she usualy does not cry (or does not cry much) for naps. Maybe I will try keeping her up later (I can't get her to bed any earlier).

Graduating

Busted

I share an office with two co-workers, one who has off every Friday and one has a meeting on Friday afternoon off site. occasionally I get lazy and decide since they are both out of the office that I will just use my desk. Today was one of those days unfortunately I started later than I usually do and the co-worker got back a little earlier. I cut the pumping session a little short and am glad that the co-worker can relate and was not upset. I guess I will not be using the office again...

Oh my beloved

gym how I have missed you. I received an e-mail from one of the girls at the gymm asking where I was etc... I decided this meant I needed to make an effort to really make it back to the gym (this was July 15th)

So Tonight I got home and J told me he tried to get home early and cook his dinner so that I could go to the gym but it hadn't worked out. I decided that we were going to make it work out. after he finished his dinner I changed and ran off to the gym. I managed to make it to class only to find a different instructor (two of my other favorites are no longer at the gym). I joined the class despite being late and was glad that I did I liked this instructor as well and will need to see if she teaches at Greece... Though I admit to thinking I can and should do all these exercises at home, as I do have weights that are seldom used. I had a decent workout and caught up with the person who e-mailed me and even managed to run a mile and a half (I really could have and should have kept going but I was hungry). I was going to make an apt for an evaluation before I left and completely forgot as I was running out the door.

Evelyn

Who needs to hear...

Really it's not that important. Jason can warn me when Evelyn is crying and if this does not go away by the time he has to travel I'll just stay on the same floor as her. I'm just not ready to give up breast feeding not even for a little bit It is about the only time latley that she is cuddly and i would miss that too much (a bottle would not be the same!). I figure she will be off soon enough anyway then if it's not fixed we can do the steroids then.

Evelyn woke up again in the middle of the night I think it may have been gas this time but I'm not sure - it was easier to get her back to sleep (though I did nurse her) and I realize that I probably should not have. This morning came very early however Evelyn slept in until we woke her at 7. She was not very happy about it and rolled around the crib for a bit before she would look at us. Since I managed to get everything ready before I woke her up the morning was all about her.

I decided that tonight was going to be the night that i head back to the gym. Jason and I discussed me going on tues and thurs and once on the weekend but other than the first week it has not happened. (my fault I keep pretending that I will go after she is asleep) I had full intentions of going today but am using the massive thunderstorm as my excuse as to why I didn't go. I have become a terrible wimp if this kept me home.

8 months old!

Here is my little 8 month old! We had a great day despite the fact that she woke up at 330 and didn't go back to sleep until 5am. The poor thing had a coughing fit. I ended up nursing her to calm her down but she kept coughing :(. we then put her in her car seat and rocked her until she was back asleep. She still woke up at her usual time though we could tell she was sleepy!

I spent my lunch at the doctor rather than seeing Evelyn as I was hoping for some magic to cure my terrible hearing (It is still worse than normal) she gave me some steroids and told me to take claritin. despite being told to take it right away I waited to see what the pediatrician told me about breastfeeding figuring it would be a no. I am planing on starting in the morning and pumping and dumping.

We had a fun evening of playing outside with Evelyn and even tried to feed her outside for a picnic but she was too interested in everything and didn't eat well so we brought her inside. She still didn't eat well even after I changed the food to give her another option.

After keeping J up with my coughing half the night (I did manage to get Evelyn calmed down after she started to fuss) Jason took Evelyn downstairs in the morning and let me sleep in until 6! (Thanks J!) We skiped with the in-laws. Evelyn really seems to enjoy this and she always is willing to show off for them.

I laid down during her first nap of the day but ended up putting some pictures on facebook instead of sleeping for the most part. Unfortunately Evelyn coughed a lot during her nap which has me worried which was why i was unable to nap. Grandma Kidd came and picked us up so I could run some errands.

Today was my third trip to Michaels to finish up the mothers day and fathers day gifts. After making my return I made sure the frames fit what I wanted before I left the store. They even let me use my coupon taht i used for the original purchase. Then I went to wegmans for some stuff for Grandma and myself. The prices in Pittsford are definitly higher than they are up north.

Once at Grandma's we put Evelun down for a nap and I put everything together for the gifts. unfortunitly I somehow ended up with extra mats so I will need to make yet another run (and I used to love this store!) GRRR. at least I can mail them out. I also managed to get a little farther in addressing Evelyn's birth announcements. I am hoping to get to work early enough tomorrow to finish my family and get them sent out. I will then start harrasing J for his list.

It was a busy day and i'm exhausted!

Anne and Tom

Today Anne and her husband Tom came over as they were in town from California. I worked hard all morning (well ok while Evelyn was sleeping) so that the house would be clean and the laundry done. I did a great job even the kitchen was quite clean untill Jason got his hands on it. The clean kitchen lasted maybe an hour at most then you couldn't even tell that I had been in the room. GRRRRR. Every time I mention to Jason to clean up after himself right away rather than waiting it dosen't happen it seems he has something against it. I guess I could have tried again instead of taking Evelyn for a walk but well I had to get out.

Anne and Tom showed up at the end of Evelyn's secound nap of the day so we got to spend a little time with them before Evelyn came downstairs and stole the show :) I had a great time and I think Evelyn was a hit, though I realised by the end of the night that I am one of thoes parents that really has nothing to say unless it is about Evelyn. Luckily Ann had lots of news to catch me up on. Unfortunitly Evelyn started to Yawn during dinner (It does not matter when we plan dinner she alwase is sleepy at dinner time). Tonight was not one of the easy put her in the crib and walk away nights as she apparently was not content to play and I can't listen to her cry.

She did Eventualy go to sleep and we got to spend some time catching up while the boys played with Jason's lenses. It was an unfortunately an early night as Jason and I are for some reason still tired.

Shopping!!!

Today was a busy day for Evelyn and I. I took my lunch hour to shop for some baby stuff and Evelyn went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the afternoon. I purchased a little more than I should have today and have completely blown by the allowance that I have given myself though I am still below what I normally spend.

During lunch I got the potties to start trying Elimination communication with Evelyn. I am hoping to start this weekend but may try in the evening tomorrow, wish me luck! Since I was at the store I got a few more pairs of tights for Evelyn so that her poor knees will not get rug burn, some sun hats and amazingly enough no toys!

After work I went to Michaels to get the frames and mats to finally finish the mothers and fathers day projects I started on fathers day. at the store I could not find the person in the framing department so I went up front and asked, rather than have me open the frame there the cashier if the frame I picked out would work. She called framing and they said yes. when I got to mom and dad's i tried to put everythign together and the frames were not deep enough again, GRRRRRRRRRRRR. this project will not end!

Chicken!

Today was a cooking day for me as I needed to make Evelyn's food, I had quite a bit to do as we have some new stuff for her (chicken -which Jason cooked with apples in the slow cooker, spagetti squash) and were running out of a few essentials. Today I did the squashes and the chicken and hope to cook the rest on wendesday when I take Evelyn to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Evelyn is officially an omnivore as we gave her some of the chicken today. I don't think she knows what to do with it. She seemed to like it at first but not so much at the end. She ate only half of what I thought she would, we will keep trying to see what she wants. Maybe it will grow on her.

Today was another bad day for bed time. my timing must be way off - usually she goes to bed maybe fusses a little then after we give her a nuck and rub her back alittle she will either play quietly in her crib untill she sleeps or will go to sleep. tonight she cried for 2 hours before she fell asleep and I cheated by nursing her to sleep. while this is not something I hope to become a habbit it is nice occasionaly.

Socialization Overload

Today was a big day for me as I got out more than I have in the last few weeks combined. I had a savings bond that needed to be cashed as it was no longer earning interest which ended up taking three trips to the bank (apparently credit unions do not deal with savings bonds.) So I head to Key bank and realize as I am handing the thing to the cashier that it is in my maiden name, back home for some more ID snd back to the bank. Then back to the credit union.

I also went to the grocery store while Evelyn was taking her second nap. I actually like going to the grocery store usually. I think this stems from my general love for food... I always end up getting a few items that were not on my list and have fun walking around the store. This time I asked for some help picking out fruit and she gave me one nectarine when i wanted a plum and she was off to the next person. then i was turned around in the store I didn't remember anything so it took me longer to get the items that i needed than it should have.

After getting home We went to a graduation party for our neighbor and hung out there for a while until Evelyn's dinner time. Jason hung out with the neighbors and I hung out with Evelyn on the blanket so she didn't have to be still. After the graduation party Evelyn was exhausted so we did a quick bath (she made a mess of herself from dinner again) in her new ducky tub. I think she likes it though not as much as I do :). then I tried to put her down. she was almost asleep and I put her PJ's on her and she woke right up... she cried quite a bit and we ended up takeing her downstairs to see Seth and Amber who came over for a little bit to catch up. We did get Evelyn back to sleep eventualy then I went strait to bed as i was exhausted from a long day.

Fussy Girl

Todaay was a long rough day. Evelyn was fussy in the morning and cried a lot as Jason and I took terns trying to calm her and getting ready. Once in the car she cried to keep from falling asleep. but rested a little at the end and of course woke up once we got there but seemed to be in a better mood.

During lunch she got a little fussy and was acting tired so I tried to put her to sleep while I was there. She didn't do so well with it and did not fall asleep until after she ate again. when I came to get her she was again fussy despite a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. She was pretty fussy and only ate a little of her dinner. after putting her in the air conditioning upstairs she calmed down a little and we called grandma and grandpa kidd. She was mesmarized by the phone but did not talk much. We then skyped with Grandma and Grandpa Hirsh and Aunt Cathy. they had a great time watching Evelyn playing and even got to see her stand using my arms. She is really liking standing now!

After that was bath time (and an unfortunate video on facebook that i wouldn't watch unless you really want to hear me sing) She played for a little while then tried to climb out so out she came. getting her to bed was again more difficult than normal. I hope we have a better day tomorrow.

With all this I almost didn't get her picture today which is why she is sleeping in the shot.

A Standing Craze

ok she only did it once tonight but when sitting in her crib playing with me before bedtime she grabbed the bars and stood up - time to lower the crib.

A new trick!

Today Evelyn pushed to standing for the first time! She was playing with her musical table sitting on my ankle and wanted a better view! the first time she didn't miss a beat then we tried to get it on tape and she tipped over after she got up! She is well on her way to being a mover.

More Family!

The reason that daddy does not dress Evelyn in the morning...

I wonder how he manages to get his own pants on.

Tonight since the Kidds were still in town I decided to bring Evelyn down to Grandma and Grandpa's house to say hi one more time. They were going to go out to dinner but changed their minds when I said I was thinking of coming down (really I think it was Evelyn). Turns out that Uncle Bob had left in the morning and so we had a lot of fun with just the girls and grandpa. With the house being so quiet Evelyn chatted up a storm and had a great time playing with Madison, Shannon and the toy truck (including chewy man) that Bob bought her. We drove home at bed time which was nice as all I had to do was transfer her into the crib for the night. she was so exhausted she didn't wake up with the transfer.

Cousin Madison and Great Aunt Shannon wore Evelyn out!

Play Date!

This morning some of David and Grandma's friends came over to Grandma's house too meet Zach so Evelyn and I decided that we would go down and spend some more time with the family and hang out with the kids. Zach, Ryan and Evelyn had a great time playing together and shared well, with a little help from Angela.







The bubbles were a hit :)

Yesterday we thought taking a picture of two babbies was dificult but it worked out so well we thought we would try 3 for a new challenge! We ended up with some prety funny shots.

Independience Day

Today I was up early with Evelyn to get ready for the Brighton Commerce 5K. I managed to get to mom and dads just in time to leave for the race. Sarah was already there so after a quick check in and trying to prepare mentally for the race (and eating a quick breakfast bar)we lined up for the race. Sarah wanted to start near Angela and David until she asked how fast they wanted to run (I was glad to start in the back) and as we discussed our aversion to running the race and trying to banish the negative thinking I kept an eye out for my co-worker who didn't show :(

Despite the negativity in the beginning we did pretty well, Sarah is good at keeping a pace rather than running as fast as you can and hope that it is over quicker therefore running out of energy at the end. Though I did loose her in the end (I saw my baby then the finish line and just wanted it over) Sarah got a little nauseous so she fell back a little, I should have stuck it out with her.

After the race the crew went to The Bagel Bin and I went home to feed Evelyn (I forgot that I didn't get to go inside to drop the food off and therefore had it with me). This ended up being a good thing as Grandpa got some great bonding time and Evelyn went down for her nap well before the rest of the crew got home. She was one tired baby!


Getting a family picture is rather difficult these days and I will try to post it soon. Even more fun than getting a family picture is trying to get a picture of two babies... Though it is well worth the effort.

Stony Brook

Stony brook is a special park for our family. We went there on our first camping trip with Grandma and Grandpa Grotenhuis and have been going there ever sense. So today despite the 50% chance of rain we decided to take the hour drive and hope for the best. I took the time during the drive to work on Evelyn's cross stitch (I still haven't finished though I am a lot closer...) at one point a car on the highway pulling a trailer lost the wheel of the trailer (it poped and shreaded) and Jason decided to point this out to me as I was peacefully oblivious working on my cross stitch. My first reaction was oh shit however I quickly decided it wasn't worth worrying about as the car pulled over with out incident. Jason apparently didn't like my responce of "oh well" and decided that he needed to tell me that a popped tire can cause rolling or other sorts of car accidents (non of which are good at 65mph), thanks dear I needed the extra anxiety!

We managed to get there with out incident and beat the whole family despite stopping for gass (I need to check my spedometer because Jason is not a speeder). We started out on the playground and although Evelyn was a bit young for most of it we had alot of fun. thankfully we didn't play long before we ate (I was hungry!). The pick nick lunch was great I spent it watching Evelyn sit peacefully on the blanket and everyone else trying to corall Zack. This is Zack and Evelyn going down the slide with a little help from Angela and me...



My anxiety of course kicked in full force during the hike. I realized (about 60 min too late) that I did not bring the baby bajorn as I intended so had to just hang on to Evelyn during the hike. I discussed waiting with Evelyn at the pick nick site while everyone else hiked and he didn't like that idea. So I walked with her in my arms on the muddy and wet trail. It wasn't to bad untill I feed her and she fell asleep as we were waiting for the others to finish up at the third waterfall and stairs respectivly. Somehow cradeling her is a harder position to cary her in and see where I was going.



It all worked out in the end though I don't think I would do that again. We had a great trip!

4 years and counting...

Today Jason and I celebrate our 4 year anniversary! It was a great day we had our annual lunch date at Dinosaur BBQ (we were going to go to Tapas 77 but apparently they do not serve lunch). The food was good as always and I enjoyed spending some time with just Jason as we do not get a lot of time for just us anymore. It was nice to sit down and relax though I really need to teach Jason not to ogle the waitresses... It's just impolite!

In mid sentence Jason goes from looking at me to turning halfway around in his seat and says "oh wow" He then turns back to look at me with drool dripping down his chin and tells me how great the BBQ looks. ;) After lunch we run back to work and I have a super productive day! I love those days when I have all the information I need to actually complete my job!

Evelyn was happy as can be when I picked her up at daycare today and we had a great evening complete with a new food - Avacado. She was not as excited as I thought she would be but she ate some of it, next time I will not keep it in the fridge to see if it was just to cold. She would take a spoon full then kind of start when she tried to swallow. We will try again another time to see what happenes. When I put her in her crib she moved around so that her legs were stuck out of the slats again, so I ended up putting on the new bumper despite the fact that only one piece fits the crib. still she seemed excited when I put it on and I will have to contact the company to see if I can get two of the pieces that i have instead of the set which will not work with the crib. She went to bed happy and I know she is looking forward to seeing the new family (especially) Zack in the morning!

Sold - I think

I'm going to do a little exploring on this site but may do as my sister did and switch out. As much as I have liked LiveJournal I don't or want another site to long in to daily. I am hoping that if I switch over that I will have more motivation to keep up my blog (I do check my e-mail daily). So I will try this for a few days to see if I really like it.