Misc. writing

I attended a writer's workshop training last week and had the opportunity to take some time to write! I have always really liked to write, it's just hard for me to take the time to do it. So, I thought I'd share with you what I wrote. I hope you enjoy it.

From Boy to Fish
Splash! My little boy, E, has turned into a fish! We stayed at a resort hotel in Norfolk, Nebraska while visiting family, so the opportunity couldn't be missed! E is 7 months old and finally was able to experience swimming!

We got his little swimmer diaper on and his swim trunks pulled up, all the while I was saying, "This is going to be so fun little guy!" Off we went to the pool. The glistening water was so warm as I put my feet in. E was going to love it! As I held him, I slowly walked into the pool, holding onto him tight. As I look at E's face, I saw he had an enormous grin. Pretty soon he began shaking his arms and legs with excitement. I said, "Here we go!"

Together, we pounced around, twirling in the water. E looked like the luckiest boy on earth as his bathtub size increased! In no time, he began splashing and kicking, not realizing this was causing his face to get wet. "Yay!" E said without really realizing what he said. All the while, he was smiling away, loving every minute of his first swimming experience. We were both grinning. Even those around us were grinning as they witnessed a baby getting his first taste of swimming.

After about an hour, we decided it was time for the fun to end and bedtime to begin. "All done," I said to E. We left the pool, but I rest, knowing the memories were captured through pictures and my mind. I wonder what E will think of his next bath...

Worries, Worries, Worries
Today is a very nerve-racking day! My little munchkin is going to daycare for the first time. Daddy is going to drop him off at noon, and I'll pick him up at 4 pm. It's not going to be a very long day in reality, but in my mind, it seems like an eternity. Wil he be okay? Will he sleep? Will he eat? Will he cry? Will he get hurt? Will they like him? All of these ideas are running through my head. I need to stop writing and pray. God will take care of me and E. Amen.

Always My Little Boy
E is so important to me, because he is my little boy. He's my first child and I now can't imagine my life without him. One of the things I like most about him is his sweet smile. One day, when he was about 2 months old, I was smiling at him and talking up a storm. All of a sudden, he smiled back! I was so excited! I immediately called Daddy at work and said, "Chad! E can smile back now!" He was esctatic and of course couldn't wait to try it out for himself.

Another thing I love about E is his adorable belly laugh. I laugh myself as I can hear it in my head. I remember a time when Daddy thought it would be funny to scare E, to ensure he'd handle Grandpa's enjoyment of scaring him someday. So, as E was playing, Daddy jumped and said, "Boo!" E jumped, put both arms out at his sides like an airplane, and started laughing hysterically! Chad continued to do this time after time, day after day, and each time E would laugh his belly laugh. Eventually, E had become to used to begin scared with "Boo!" that E now doesn't even jump!

I also love E's closeness. Hugging him, kissing him, snuggling with him, nursing him, are all treasured moments. When he was first born, he would wake up in the early morning hours. I would first feed him and then I'd lay down, placing E next to me in bed. We'd hug, snuggle, and eventually fall asleep together. Those were the days.

All of this is important to me because E offers me a sense of purpose in my life. My job is to nurture and love and support him all the days of my life. He'll always be my little guy, and I'll always be his ma-ma. I used to think that life was so free and fun...just me and my husband...but now I truly realize that children are what really makes life fun and meaningful. Sure, we don't have as much freedom physically and financially, but that's okay. E will always be my little guy, and I'll always be his ma-ma.

My Happy Place
On the way to the cabin,
I feel my stress release.
Quiet, peaceful, still,
my brain doesn't have to think.

Sitting by the campfire,
roasting smores or pies,
watching the stars flutter,
I wish time could stand still.

The cabins the place to be,
to relax, unwind, and rest.
For when I leave the cabin,
life gets stressful again.

Summer is almost over!

Gosh! As I sit here, I can't believe that my summer is almost over! It sure has gone by fast. It's back to reality on Monday, as I start true workshop. Yikes! E is a thriving little boy who is almost 8 months old now! I can't quite believe that he's already so big. Every day brings about new changes and new milestones for him. He is definitely on the go now. He has discovered that he can leap like a frog or use his arms to pull himself around to wherever he wants to go. I'm sure the true crawling won't be long. I hope that he chooses to wait to do it the first time when mommy or daddy can see. E is also teething again. He's had two of his bottom teeth for quite awhile now, but with all the drooling and chewing going on, we expect another tooth to reach the surface very soon. E is also really enjoying baby food. He's been introduced to all of the 1st foods (applesauce, bananas, pears, peaches, green beans, squash, carrots, peas, and sweet potatoes) and is now experiencing the 2nd foods where there are several different combinations. He loves it! He is definitely enjoying it. We've also been allowing him to start practicing how to hold a cup after his meals as well. He's starting to get the hang of it without choking. :) We gave him a teething bisquit a few weeks ago. I took pictures that we'll have to post on here, but wow, was it messy! He totally enjoyed it and I know it provided him some relief from teething, but it's not something that I would give him each night or we would constantly be doing bathtime. I did try to give him a cherry puff at the wedding in Nebraska, but he wasn't so sure about it. I tried again yesterday but tried banana puffs. After picking them up, staring at them, throwing them, he started to get the hang on feeding himself. I don't think they were his favorite (it will take time) but he seemed to be more interested in them than last time. I'm happy to report that E has also been sleeping through the night now. He goes to bed around 8 and wakes up around 7am. There are a few nights where Chad will have to get up to give him his Nuk, but that's okay. It's a lot better than not getting any sleep! Bedtime is wonderful now! After talking with his pediatrican and some friends of mine, we decided to needed to let E cry it out one night to establish that his crib was the place where he was going to go to sleep. All it took was one night! Now I'll change his diaper, read a book or two, turn out the lights and turn the music on, lay him down, and boom...he goes to sleep! I'm so glad that we listened and did this. It was well worth it!

E's current schedule

7am wake up bottle 6oz
830am oatmeal cereal w/ fruit
11am bottle 6oz
3 pm bottle 6oz
530pm rice cereal w/ fruit and a veggie
7pm bottle 6oz
8pm bedtime

As you can see, I did stop breastfeeding awhile ago. I was holding onto one feeding a day, but with school starting and my supply dwindling, I've decided to let it go. It was a very smooth transition for both E and me, which is a good thing. I definitely hope to breastfeed again someday when the next one arrives! (FYI: No plans for this are even being thought about) I really do miss the great bonding experience and formula...geez expensive expensive expensive!!

As Chad mentioned in his blog, E did go to daycare for 4 hours last week while Chad went to work and I attended a writing workshop. I was very nervous about it...as this would be the first time E was babysat by someone other than a family member (outside of attending the church nursery). However, he did great! He didn't like his diaper being changed, so had tears when I got there and didn't sleep (didn't surprise me), so he slept for 3.5 hours when we got home. He was exhausted from the day and from our vacation to Nebraska. Poor little guy. But they love him there. Apparently a parent came to pick up their child and pointed to E and commented how cute he was. He definitely does have the look. :) E will be attending daycare again this week on Monday and Wedneday. Monday for 6 hrs and Wed. for 8 hrs. Hopefully he will transition well. It's the sleeping thing I'm not so sure about.

Anyways, I better close as I have many things for school I need to do...but I wanted to update you all on how my little boy is doing. Tomorrow I hope to post some things about E that I wrote at my writing workshop last week. They will offer you great insight into some of my thoughts and E's experiences.

Good night!

State Fair

Well, E had his first Minnesota State Fair experience today. He seemed to enjoy himself pretty much. He especially loved the large scale trains Johnson and Son Floral had set up in the Ag building. I'll include the picture as soon as I get it off my phone, we accidentally left our camera at home.

Today was the first day of the fair and it was a little sprinkly when we arrived, but we beat the crowd and the temp was great. We got there around 11am and left around 3pm.

We first hit the mini donuts for breakfast, I had a Pronto Pup, Amy and I shared some fries, and then we decided to head for the Food Building because there is a vendor in there (I think it is Mr. E's) who sells pop at a reasonable price, and you can get cheap refills there. We got two 33 ounce pops for $2 with the option of a $1 refill. We never did come back for a refill, but it is nice to have the option. Plus a 33oz for $2 isn't bad. Also in the Food Building is the Mouth Trap, they sell the famous cheese curds. We had those too.

Then we each had a Poncho Dog, which is a corn dog. Over by the Grand Stand Amy had a pork chop on a stick, I had a fruit smoothie, and we got some of Sweet Martha's cookies. Oh, while we were at the Ag building, Amy also got a honey ice cream cone.

In all we spent about $42, excluding the price of tickets ($8 each since I bought them on pre-sale at work).

E did sleep a little in his stroller, and when we left we were busy hurrying through the parking lot to mind if the umbrella was covering him. He got a little wet, but he loved it. We just got done giving him a bath and getting him in dry clothes.

I go back to the fair again on Monday to work the St. Thomas booth. Yes, I'll be handing out those purple canvas bags you see everyone carrying. Judging by today, it appears other vendors have caught on as I saw people carrying light blue bags from UCare, and red bags with a bottle holder from somewhere else. Also on Monday I'll see what I want to see, such as machinery hill and the other stuff Amy doesn't care about. I won't however be able to attend Weird Al's concert. When I saw his name on the Grand Stand marquee for Monday I begged Amy, but she wouldn't let me stay late to watch it.

First Swim, first day at day care

Well, since Amy is busy getting her classroom together, and I have been in charge of our little guy these last few days, I guess it is my turn to fill you in.

This last weekend we went to Nebraska for a wedding and we got to stay at a hotel with a pool. E took his first swim and loved it! He swam twice and enjoyed splashing and kicking in the pool.

On Monday, I took him to day care for his first half day so that I could show up at work in the afternoon. He didn't sleep at day care, but he was very tuckered out when he got home.

On Tuesday I had him all day, from 7am to 7pm. While he slept and played contently I did office work and got a lot done. I think I was more productive because I actually produced more documents and reports and caught up on my email, very measurable compared to when I am at work and running from meeting to meeting and putting out fires.

Around 5pm he was waiting for mommy and getting a little cranky with daddy because I overfed him and he was spewing excess food. He probably had a tummy ache too. Well, if he keeps saying more by opening his mouth, of course I'll give him more.

Today I worked from home again and he slept in the morning. Around noon we headed to the university so that I could visit with work people at lunch and have a brief project meeting with the Web and Media services people in the technology department.

I was planning on taking him to the meeting with me, as it was just going to be about 15 minutes, but our office coordinator recommended she just take care of him. I didn't argue.

A power outage two nights ago has disabled my home computer, so I am left working off my work laptop until I get it fixed. So don't expect new pictures up soon, even though I am home all day.

Well, E is sucking on a block, almost asleep. maybe I can get him to take a nap so that daddy can nap too. It's been a long few days.

I-35W Bridge - We're safe and well

Yes, the bridge in Minneapolis was very familiar to us. We were on that bridge coming to and from Amy's cousins house just after 6pm Tuesday night (it collapsed Wednesday), and Amy was going to take it to General Mills to see her mom today. That would have been 2 crossings on each side of the 24 hour event window.

Amy and I are a little shaken because of this. Understandably. Her cousin just got the call Tuesday about a job at Amy's school, so we headed over there to celebrate Tuesday night. If the principal would have called yesterday, Amy and E would have been headed over there about that time to miss some traffic. I would have just left from St. Thomas and taken 94. But, it didn't happen that way, there's always lots of coulda happened and what ifs, but it was a big DIDN'T.

Furthermore, as to our familiarity, it is the bridge Amy's cousin uses to get to our house and now work (she just got a job at Amy's school) and my sister uses it to get to our house too. We use it to get to Mpls since it is the best way from our house. I would say we were on it at least a dozen times over the last month. (We also went to Gen Mills for a fireworks show)

A friend and his wife (Pat and Angela) are in that area frequently for softball, as well as my sister, I made sure to call them, but the phone lines were jammed so I was relieved when I got voicemail and text messages. (Damn it Pat, you cost me 20 cents as we don't have text service!)

(Make note, text messages are easy to push through on busy networks, it was one of the only ways to get messages out in NY during 9-11. They don't require as many resources on the phone network as a phone call does.)

I knew the softball season was over, and I don't think Pat and Angela would take that way from their house if they were going to a Twins game or something, but, I knew she worked near there, and it does happen to be the best route between Roseville and Mpls, its not like it is a far reach to think that someone you knew was on there.

Amy's mom was actually on the Stone Arch bridge earlier that afternoon and took a picture of the I-35 bridge. She wasn't there when it happened.

We have VoIP, which means our phone calls are Internet based until it reaches the city you are calling, so calling NE from home was easy, but people were having a hard time calling us. Plus our phone was tied up talking to relatives, because our cell phones were useless as they are 612 numbers. Amy had a few friends she needed to check on. I guess she has a friend who drives in on that bridge from WI for work.

My sister did finally call my mom, and leave me a voicemail. I got the v-mail shortly before my mom got through to us.

It doesn't look like there are that many cars if you look at the pictures, but so many (they estimate 50?) went in the river. I looked at a satellite photo (bridge on the left) taken probably a few years back, and with all 8 lanes open I counted 50 cars on the bridge at once. I would assume that would be during light traffic. Traffic on that bridge now, because of construction, is always bumper to bumper even on the weekends, so who knows. We were in fact complaining about it Tuesday when we got to Amy's cousins house.

So, as of this time, yes, everyone we can think of that uses that area regularly has been accounted for, that we know of. Officials are being very careful about releasing a death toll considering it went from 7 last night to 4 this morning, and they are certain there are about 20 unaccounted for.

Amy and I, as well as the rest of the Twin Cities, (and the world) are really thinking about and praying for the families and the victims, it weighs heavily on us since it is so local and familiar.