Cute Caboose

My mom bought Liam this little number.

A Great Birthday Weekend

My mom flew into Boise on Friday. My sister, Heidi, picked her up and they hit the road to travel down here to see me and Liam. Saturday morning we went to my favorite breakfast place and the kids were very well behaved as they sat next to each other in the high chairs. I was amazed that Sierra can pretty much eat anything she wants with those chompers of hers. Liam was content with his disolving Gerber snacks and a few hash browns.

After brunch we went to a consignment shop for children. The kids played with the toys while we shopped (Grandma played with them). We found some great stuff for our soon to be 12 month olds and then headed over to Babies R Us and Toys R Us. Mom wanted to get the kids their big birthday toys while she was in town and we can give them to the kids when they have their first birthdays (Sierra Oct. 5th and Liam Oct. 25th). The kids had a good time shopping at Toys R Us, pulling things off shelves and crawling up and down the aisles. Heidi picked out a standing piano thing and I picked out a hammering tool shapes set and a walker helper thing.

We went back to the hotel to relax and Liam and Sierra played on the fluffy bed together. Between me, Mom and Heidi we were spotting babies on three of the four edges of the bed as I took photos. These cousins love each other so much. Sierra wouldn't stop giggling over each and every thing Liam did. She also thought I was pretty funny... Liam was so used to me, so many of the pictures I took were of Sierra looking at her auntie, but not Liam at his mommy. He's heard it all before, but Miss Sierra was VERY impressed!

We went out to eat for dinner and the kids behaved well once again. We had a great meal and a good waiter, which is always important! We got there early enough, too, that we didn't have to wait. Whoohoo for no waiting with two babies on a Saturday night!
Later that evening we got the babies ready to go swimming. They were so cute racing down the hallways in their swimsuits. Liam enjoyed the pool so much... just relaxed then splashed and splashed and splashed and just wouldn't stop splashing. Sierra was not liking the water, but her auntie (me) warmed her up to it and we got her smiling in the water finally. What a dolly she is.

After swimming we stripped the babies and wrapped them in towels to go back to the room. Then we noticed nobody was around once we got to our hallway... we let the nudies loose and they raced back to the room. We just laughed and the babies laughed too! Just like on the way to the pool, they would race, and if one got ahead of the other that baby would stop and wait for the other baby to catch up. It was so sweet! You can tell they love each other so much!

And then it was bath time! Need I say more? They were absolutely adorable splashing and laughing in the tub!

Sunday we went to church and then went to the park afterwards. The kids loved the swings, playing in the dirt and chasing each other in the grass.

It was a pleasure watching our babies all weekend. I can't explain the joy the pair of them brought me. I could only compare it to a bond that twins have. You can see they are friends at a young age such as this. My cup runneth over as I witnessed the pure love they have for each other. I do wish the two of them could see each other more often.

Coming soon...

So I finally got a "new" computer today and guess what? It's from the UK office and does this UK thing have a USB port? Nope! So I will start drafting my birthday weekend post, and wait to post it when I can figure out a way to get my digital photos on here. AH!

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Liam!

Dear Son,

You and I share a birthday today! I am 28 years and you are 10 months! I have to say we have both grown physically and mentally this past year. So much so that I think we can thank each other for that growth! Though challenging, it's been an honor being your caretaker thus far. You bring me a joy that I never thought possible. You laugh with me and cuddle me. You grin when I grin. You go where I go. What a sweet little shadow you are!

This past month you have learned a few new tricks. You crawl faster than the set speed limits in this house! I have to "pull you over" for warnings quite often. You know my tone when I say "no" or "Liam" in that inquiring way. You stop what you are doing, turn to me and smile so innocently! You crack me up! Thanks for listening most of the time, sweetheart.

This past week you have taken a record-breaking 5 steps in a row! You seem so pleased with yourself each time you try to walk to me or your daddy. It makes us laugh each time your little arms reach for the ceiling and you take off! Simple pleasures, kid, I tell you what...

A couple days ago you learned how to scoot backwards and drag pillows, blankets or anything else that is large and light enough for you to drag. You learned 4 weeks ago how to pivot in circles so you can get a full 360º view as you sit on any surface. You like to climb into things such as the shower and your little wading pool that we keep in the spare room. You like to pull things down from shelves your height. You LOVE to pull laundry from the dryer and from the hamper. You bounce when you stand at the side of your crib. You've become MUCH more verbal and it's just SO cute to hear! I especially love it when you make serious faces as you babble as if you are telling us something noteworthy (which I am sure you are). We are listening, doll, we are. We just don't understand you yet. On the other hand, I think you are understanding our language fairly well.

It's a great privelage to share a birthday with you this year. You're smiling face is the greatest gift today.

Love,
Mom

Update: I am featured on Dame Eyola's blog today! Yippee!

A new visitor

I am sitting at the dining room table doing a little work tonight and I hear some rustling outside the kitchen/garage door. We have a kitty door for the cats to go in and out of the house. So the sounds in the garage are pretty easy to hear this close.

Recently I put the cat food in the garage so Liam wouldn't start eating it here on the kitchen floor. I thought one of the cats was sitting on the other side of the door... I went to investigate anyway. I cracked the door about a foot and it wasn't a cat. It was a teenage size looking skunk! I hurried and shut the door, then immediately locked the kitty door so the skunk wouldn't come in. Then I ran upstairs to see if the cats were sleeping with their Daddy (as they usually do). Luckily they were both in bed with him. Whew!

Now, I need to find a way to get the skunk out and close the outside garage door. We usually leave it open about 8 inches so the cats can come and go. Time to start keeping them inside I guess. (My stomach is still near my throat the sight of skunk startled me so much!)

Liam's Toys

Last week Liam learned how to flush the toilet and squealed with joy pulling that shiny lever over and over again! The same day he found out the toilet flushes, he found the loose paper holder in the same bathroom. (He also found himself to be one of those squealing screaming tots when he is in a good mood. ~insert loud sigh here~)

Anything metal is a toy to him. Well most anything that isn't a "baby toy" is a toy to him. He likes plastic cups, the flag pole (without the flag of course), remote controls, my silky scarf, the empty Airborne container, his teething tablets (they rattle you know), spatulas, serving spoons, water bottles (since 4 months of age), cat treat bags, the alarm clock and recently I bought a pack of Nemo balloons at the dollar store. That was the best buck I have spent in a long time! Six breaths of my own CO2 went into those and he has been playing with them like they are new ever since. He holds them above his head, swats at them, chases them and laughs at them!

I don't have a photo of the balloon fun, but here is a shot of him checking out the cat treats. This past week he also started doing belly flops on our kitchen floor then sucking or licking the floor! Oh so gross!!! How do you wash a baby's mouth out? I am already a crazy lady washing his hands 30 times a day! Yeah, he's an icky boy, but a funny one... and entertaining one... a VERY cute one!

I think the cats will always be Liam's number one toys. He grins when he hears them and when he catches site of them. They actually welcome his attention now that they are so starved for it (going on 10 months).

Click on photos to enlarge.

Tonight...

He was playing with the cordless phone (a daily occurance) and pushing the buttons (nothing new)... and then he picked the phone up and put it to his ear and leaned into it like he was pretending to listen. [ARE YOU KIDDING ME?] I just started laughing hysterically and Liam smiled and joined in!

I also got a kick out of Liam's new moves. He started scooting backwards today. He will pick a big toy up or grab a pillow and drag it backwards. Cracks me up the things he learns overnight!

In other news: I got some good photos of Liam playing with his toes this evening too. What can I say, he's adorable!!!

Liam's Shirt

Milestones...

Liam took his first steps this past week, one or two steps here and there. Then yesterday he took FOUR steps to me TWICE! Once when we were at a friend's house and the second time here at home. It was so great! I think he's on his way to making more records this week! It's so fun to see him raise both his arms in the air and take off! It's like he has to put his hands above his head to balance or something! He gets so excited to walk back and forth between me and Ian.

Liam also got his second tooth Monday or Tuesday of last week! His second tooth is on top, his first was on the bottom. So he's got a cute little jack-o-lantern grin! Let's hope the grin fills in by halloween though!

And lastly, I have to say my child is extremely friendly too. He met a few strangers (some old friends) this weekend and took to them very easily. He is very charming and easy to get smiles out of these days. And it's easier for ME to get laughs out of him. He has the funniest belly laugh... it just makes me laugh too! He is so fun to play games with and laugh with! I just can't get enough!

Anniversary Report

I went into work early yesterday 9am-2pm. I picked Liam up from the sitter and came home to work a couple more hours while Liam played and took a nap. I had such a productive work day! That always makes me feel good. Especially when my boss thanks me for rearranging my schedule to accommodate the project we needed to get done. Yay for a good work day!

The day turned out perfect because since I got home earlier than usual, I didn't feel guilty for leaving Liam with a sitter when 7pm rolled around. Ian and I went back up to the Foundry Grill at Sundance and had another awesome dinner! We actually had fun conversations throughout our whole date. No sensitive subject matter, just good old fun times with the hubby on our anniversary. As it should be. Good food, good company, good laughs and good ice cream on the way home!

We got home at 9:30pm. Liam did great with our little sitter, Megan. He knows her so well that it's not a big deal when we leave. But it is a big deal when we get home. He comes to me and won't let me go for anyone (but Ian). We played with him for awhile then finally put him to bed around 10pm. We were all asleep by 11pm. What a perfect day!

(I have to note I ordered our appetizer and actually said, "We'd like the quesadila, I mean quesadilla!" I cannot believe I actually said that... I don't talk like Napoleon Dynamite regularly, so I was surprised that came out of my mouth! And of course the waiter just smiled, because he thought I was making a joke. Ian was a bit embarrassed, like me, and kept giving me a hard time about it. I said, "I am never going to live this down, am I?" He said, "Probably not." Ha!)

6 years ago today...

Yep, we're no longer "newlyweds". We've been married for 6 years and have been dating for over 8 years! On Wednesday I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Ian. It was sweet of him to send them early so I could gloat, I mean enjoy them at work before the weekend.

Six years ago today...

1) I ran up to my mother-in-law's house (from the basement apartment I was in) and excitedly said, "I'm getting married today!"
2) I walked a few blocks hand-in-hand with my soon-to-be hubby as we approached the Salt Lake Temple.
3) I sat in a celestial place with my soon-to-be hubby for 45 minutes prior to our ceremony.
4) We each said "yes"
5) We had photos taken of us in the rain.
6) We stood in our receiving line for almost 2 hours at our beautiful reception.
7) I danced with my new hubby.
8) I danced with my dad.
9) We witnessed a gorgeous lightning show on the way to our hotel that night.
10) And the rest of that night... use your imagination.

It was an awesome day! So many people made that possible! We felt so blessed to be married in the temple and have some special family and friends share it with us.

Average Joe

Liam's 9 month check up was this morning. Liam lucked out. It wasn't a wellness visit that included vaccinations. I was delighted. Not that I have a dramatic child on my hands. He handles the shots really well only crying for 30 seconds or less. I just hate leaving him with a sitter when I know he may be grumpy after shots. So that was a nice surprise, though I am sure the nurse told me at his 6 month visit that we wouldn't have to deal with shots this time.

Ends up we have an average kiddo on our hands...

Here are his stats:
Length - 29.9 in, 83rd percentile
Weight - 21 lbs even, 48th percentile
Head Circumference - 46 cm, 59th percentile

Liam checking out Dr. Wynn's stethescope.

I feel special

Wow, I am so thrilled at the record breaking amount of comments I got on my previous post! That is more than my "100 things about me" post! And THAT has been in my side bar for months!

I was explaining to my friend Heidi on Saturday that getting comments on my blog is like getting mail when I was a teenager! I wrote to many friends at that time in my life and waiting for the mailman to come by the house each day (especially in the summer) was torture. And then when I finally got a letter from a friend, it was the coolest feeling as I ripped it open!

Comments from a friend or friendly reader is a great boost! It certainly doesn't upset me when I get no comments. It's just good to know I have friends and family out there that care enough to read about my life and leave words of encouragement.

I called Heidi on Saturday to ask if one of her boys had a pair of black dress pants that Liam could borrow for the prom. It had been since Liam was about 3 or 4 months old that I had talked to her. Pretty sad, but we are both busy and live about a half hour from each other (and not really on the beaten path to drop in on each other often). I met Heidi when I was right out of high school! We worked together in a care center and became fast friends. (She was an RN and I was a lowly CNA.) She is one of those people that doesn't lie or sugar coat life. She can empathize with me and really communicate that she "gets it". And I can't explain her much better than that without sounding cliché. She just rocks and I love that we can pick up and laugh and complain and relate like we had just spoken the day before.

And what really made my day on Saturday is... I found out Heidi reads my blog daily. I had no idea! What an awesome friend!

And I feel special because... lately Liam has proven that he loves me. He always has showed love for me in small ways, but this past month I have noticed his adoration for me has been amplified. He actually stops playing every few minutes to come over to me to get a "love"... he basically hugs me for a few seconds then returns to what he was doing. It's the sweetest thing!

He also giggles and makes a b-line for the door when I get home from work. I love his excitement for ME to pick him up! He has such a tender little heart and I feel so grateful that he is mine to raise! What a privelage to spend the lot of my time with such a sweet soul!

80's Prom Night

I got an invitation to an 80's Prom a few weeks ago. I didn't think Ian would want to be my date to this particular birthday bash, so I asked Liam if he would be my date. He seemed excited to accompany me, but he was worried what he would wear since the invitation was specific about "formal attire".

So this week Ian took us to a local thrift shop to find any possible 80's formal wear. We were delighted to find a toddler sized tux jacket for Liam for $3.99 and a peach vomit colored dress for me to wear at $9.99! Geez Louise that was an expensive almost-30-year-old dress! But it fit and we weren't willing to go rummaging at any other thrift stores. We did, however, visit the fabric store to find some peach vomit satin so I could make Liam a cummberbund and bow tie. Mission accomplished!

So this morning I whipped up the cummberbund and bow tie, but was still at a loss as to what to do for pants and shoes for Liam. I even called a friend to see if she had black dress pants I could borrow from one of her little boys. No luck. I ended up putting a white onesie on him and calling it good. I am glad I didn't fuss any more than I did because Liam was a hit tonight!

We arrived at Kate's birthday party (see Kate pictured here) with our matching formalwear and everyone just gushed over my date!

"Where did you find that cummberbund and bow tie?"

"That is the cutest jacket!"

"I LOVE the mohawk!" (I wanted to do the flock-of-seagulls do, but he doesn't have enough hair.)

Obviously my has-been dress, peach nail polish (fingers and toes), aqua eye liner, overused blush, florescent peach lipstick and side pony tail didn't make much of an impression compared to the hunk I was toting.

We had such a good time socializing, dancing and playing with friends. Everyone wanted to hold Liam, dance with Liam and make him smile (especially the other kids).

Towards the end of the party, I let Liam indulge in a sweet treat. He was eyeballing everyone's candy rings all night (there were all the 80's snacks and treats that we loved as children served there). I didn't give him a ring, but a red vine. He was delighted and WOULD NOT let me take it from him when I thought he'd had enough.

It was an awesome night and well worth looking forward to and preparing for!

Happy Birthday, Kate the Great! You really know how to party!

Click photos to enlarge

I'm Famous

Just kidding! But I am featured on 5 minutes for mom this week. Check out my interview. It says I have been blogging since Liam was 4 weeks old, but it's meant to say 4 months old.

This 5 minutes for mom website is a cool resource to connect with moms of all trades. I highly recommend you explore this site if you aren't already featured on it.

Indiana Trip Detail

I know this is long overdue, but with the pictures taking awhile to be sent to me AND for me to draft this post... and for my computer to die (that had the wedding photos on it)... here it finally is... the trip details.

Wednesday, July 26:

Liam waiting for the plane.


Liam playing on the plane.

We flew the day away. Liam was a doll! He slept 40 minutes on each leg of the flights. We met Ian's parents in Minneapolis during our layover. Liam reconnected with them quickly. It was a short and sweet visit, but mainly sweet! I was so happy that they got to see Liam and that he got to see them! Liam was VERY impressed with Grandpa's cane!

When my mom picked us up at the airport I thought we'd be forced to strap the stroller to the top of the car to get it home... I finally got it in the trunk of the car after sweating about a pint's worth. Ah, I think I cussed over that. Then I totally lost my head when I got to my parent's, opened my luggage and found that Liam's powdered formula burst and permeated EVERYTHING in the suitcase. I mean EVERYTHING... Even the inside of my make-up bag that was zipped closed. Not one single inch of that suitcase was spared! So all my laundry done ahead of time and careful packing was wasted. Everything was thrown into the huge whirlpool tub to be sorted and washed in the morning. I had to shake a onesie off so Liam had something to wear to bed. And in the morning, all of our stuff had been completely effected by the humidity, you got it, the formula crystals crusted. Nothing was okay to be shaken out... It had to be totally washed. I can only say that this mishap is the only thing that went wrong on our trip. Thank goodness!

Thursday, July 27:

We got up sorta early to travel to the next town over where I graduated from High School. We met my friend, Laura, the bride to be, and her mom at her house. It was so cool going back to the house I spent every Friday night as a teenager. Her mom made us brunch and we chatted half the day away. We rummaged through old photos and got reacquainted with each other's lives. It was such a relaxing time and Liam was so well behaved. He even took a nap while we were there. We also helped compile the wedding programs while we chatted.

We stopped by another old friend's house on the way home. Luckily she was home! We had a nice visit and Liam was great once again!

That evening my friend Kelley came over and we went to a couple stores to find me shoes to wear with my new dress to the wedding. We found a cute pair and then went to Dairy Queen for blizzards. We talked for a really long time and had so much fun catching up!

I have known Kelley since we were 14 yrs old.

Friday, July 28:

I got to sleep in!!! Actually Liam slept in too, so "that was easy." (No Easy button required.)

Once we got up and dressed we went to the grocery store for a few more refreshments for my open house that afternoon.

Once we got back, we started getting the food ready for any guests that stopped in.

My cousin Annette was the first to come by. She was on her lunch break and brought Liam gifts! It was nice to chat with her for a little bit. She is expecting a baby boy in December.

Uncle Luis & Aunt Lori have lived in Guatemala my whole life, they now live one town away from my folks.

Later on my Aunt Lori and Uncle Luis brought Jimena (Annette's little girl). It was nice to see them, but hard to visit with them because there were many other guests filing in and out. When it rains it pours. Annette was the only one I got to really focus on the whole day. I had so many old friends come see me and meet Liam for the first time! Liam had a ball with all the kids!

Kelley came over again with her kids and hubby. The kids LOVED chasing Liam around and they had a good time in the back yard with him. It was just a fun day with friends. I am happy so many people came to see us!

Saturday, July 29:

We just hung around the house most of Saturday. At 2:30pm my friend, Deborah, (from the first grade) got there with her hubby and 3 kids. Her youngest is 2 weeks younger than Liam and I was anxious to meet her. She is such a small little girl... I think she said she was 14 or 16 pounds. She was so fun to hold and is such a happy kid!

We had made plans to go to a friend's house in town to use her pool for our very short visit. It was so refreshing to swim and play with the kids on the pool! Liam ended up having a really fun time with Grandma and watching the other kids. I was so happy that he enjoyed the water this time around. Here is a photo of him walking on all fours to avoid the funny feeling cement. What a monkey!




We could only swim for an hour and then we had to say good bye since mom and I had to get ready for the wedding and be in Indy by 5:30. I wish I had more time with Deborah and family. I am glad we could have such fun in the short time we had though.

Mom and I were in a rush to get pretty for the wedding. Luckily Liam took a nap while we got around. We finally got out the door at 5 and were SURE we would be late for the ceremony at the State building in downtown Indy. We made it on the dot and waited in the wings [Photo]while Laura made her grand entrance down the gorgeous marble stairway with her father. Oh, it gave me goosebumps to watch! It was a well thought out ceremony and so beautiful. We sang a hymn at the end (Joyful, Joyful) and to hear everyone's voices ring through the corridor was breathtaking! Just a perfect ceremony!

We met up with some friends before we left for the reception down the road! It's so cool to see people you haven't seen in 10 years and realize we are all the same kids we were in high school! What a blast to catch up! And there was more catching up at the reception.

[Photo]I was received as if I were the bride! Squeals as if we were back in high school! My girlfriends gathered round inquiring about my life and seemed captivated by everything I said about myself (as if my life is the coolest thing ever). In this group of friends, I am the only one married with a baby. So they liked hearing all about Liam (and the fact that I am a mom). My life was certainly uninteresting compared to theirs.
[Photo]
This is my other Kelly friend. We were work-out buddies every day after school at the YMCA. We also worked on many a school project together too.
Let me list some of the occupations my high schoool girlfriends have: Pediatrician, Republican Party Fundraiser/Party Planner, Youth Theater Director, School Teachers and one friend works for CBS in NYC! I wish I had a few days to catch up with each one for more than a few minutes. I have next year's reunion (10 year) to do that I guess. But I did get some phone numbers and email addresses so I can keep up with everyone better. It was a lively night of dancing, chatting and realizing how cool my friends are once again!

Sunday, July 30:

Ma and Pa skipped church to take us to the airport. We left the house around 10:15 after I thought I had packed EVERYTHING. When we entered the freeway on-ramp, I realized that I left my 512 SD card with all the cute pictures of Liam I had taken during our stay. Too late to turn around...

We were not so lucky with seating on our plane ride home. Fortunately we were seated by women on both flights. I was able to nurse Liam and he slept on both legs which was great. He did a good job behaving and staying on my lap, etc. I am so impressed with how well my baby travels (and so were the other passengers).

In closing:

Overall this trip was wonderful! I had such a good time with my family and with many old friends! Liam found my mom to be the coolest character on our trip. The site of her would prompt a grin and he would speed over for her to pick him up. That made me so happy that they got along so well. I guess my dad got along well with Liam too... he watched him while we were at the wedding. Mom said he couldn't stop talking about Liam after they dropped us off at the airport that day. I hope we can go back to visit again soon.

Liam enjoying all of Grandma's toys.

Me & Liam

For the time being I think I will stick it out with nursing Liam until he is at least a year old. I didn't get bitten today, just smacked around a little. But I guess I can handle smacking and squirming for a bit longer if this truly is my only baby.

I really appreciated all the advice and encouragement I got in my comments in the previous post. I got some perspective I didn't have last night.

And let me tell you, last night was a rough one. Liam had more than one soy formula bottle yesterday and I fear his tummy is intolerant of anything other than breast milk. Literally. No solids or formula for a bit longer... He was up for about 3 hours last night... midnight to 3am. It was a lovely morning (scratch my eyeballs out lovely)... I am glad he finally went back to sleep so we could sleep... I am just so tired (9-months-of-no-good-sleep-dog-tired and kinda ill over it)... I felt like that first month of his life where I am so desparate for sleep that putting my baby on ebay sounds like a tempting idea. Sounds bad, but I know enough moms have felt this way, that I don't feel guilty saying it. We moms all feel desperate now and then.

Anyway, I hope I can keep up with his need... I think I might be getting slapped by my child because the flow isn't fast enough and or just plain isn't enough. Even on days where Liam has no soy formula or solid foods, he is up to eat multiple times a night. Obviously my milk ain't stickin' to his ribs. What's a mom to do but feed the need?

Photo taken 7/28/06 (scroll down to see the photo of that cute little tooth of his in my previous post)

Just so you know...

today went well. No crisis. I am happy about that.

In other news:

I realized in the middle of the night a little over 24 hours ago that I am going to chop my hair off. I am done with the long tresses of messy random curl. I want it short enough so it's easy to straighten. I want to look presentable... I want to look polished. I haven't felt polished [looking] since before Liam was born (and it was rare even then). I haven't had time to look like a I actually care about my appearance. Hence the pony tail do for 9 months now. So I hope in the next week or so I can get the cut and get the look... the look of I-care-what-I-look-like-even-though-I-am-a-mom. I know you know what I am saying.

Maybe some other news too:
Last night I also came to another concensus... it really won't hurt my feelings if I start weaning Liam.

Oh wait.

Just typing that out kinda pulled at my heartstrings... whoops. Maybe I am speaking too soon.

I am starting to get abused. My sweet darling boy is losing his "table manners" I guess you could say. I am being hit or slapped in the chest while he eats. I am getting violently clawed and tugged at. I am coming upon a fifth biting incident and I am not looking forward to it. Yes, you read that right, my child cut his first tooth a couple weeks ago and three days ago figured out how to surprise me (four times now) with a nasty little pinch [with a tiny sharp tooth]! I am really not impressed...

...and I am really torn about the weaning idea.

*Photo taken 7/28/06. Liam's first tooth was cut mid July before his 9 month birthday. Click photo to enlarge.

Scared for Tomorrow (updated with photos)

So far this week has been cruddy. I am not sure what is going on... or how the universe is aligning, but I am nervous about what tomorrow might bring...

Monday, the work day is going great (from home)... I leave for work and the Rover won't start. It was grinding the engine each time I tried... yuck... I called Ian. He came home to see what he might be able to do before we called the dealership. He couldn't fix anything, but we now know the engine is bad and they are going to replace it (under warranty thank heavens). So we ran to get a rental car and I ended up being an hour late for work.

Tuesday, the work day is going great (from home)... I start to get ready to leave for work and a microburst storm hits our neighborhood hard! I watched the rain start coming down from the upstairs window... then I am in awe of the rain starting to POUR and then whirl and spin into a cyclone of wind. It was a white wash.... I couldn't see my own roofline for a minute. Then the hail came pounding down. I saw siding flying and branches soaring. During this, the power flickered and finally went out completely.

I had no phone to call Ian or call my boss. I was stranded on an island as the water pooled over the whole street and up to my porch. I wrapped Liam up, rolled my pants up and went wading to the neighbor's house in hopes she had a cell phone. That water was FRIGID! I called Ian and my boss. Ian was already on his way since the babysitter called him after not being able to contact me. I stayed at the neighbor's for a little bit with another neighbor's dog that had gotten loose (like many other dogs in the neighborhood).

I saw Ian drive up so I started walking back and saw that Shannon (the sitter) had made it to our house. She had toured the whole neighborhood and gave us the scoops on everyone else's damage. We had our garage door blown off half way and some fencing missing, but we faired well compared to others. Ian and I went back to work after not being able to get through to the insurance office and accessing the damage (taking photos, etc).

And Today, there was no work day at home. My computer died. The motherboard is fried. So I had to call the sitter and see if she would take a different shift so I could take my workstation into the office and get a temporary one to be somewhat productive today. I got to work before 10am and was off at 2:30 to start my work day at home. Not much got accomplished since I had to reset a lot of applications/connections, etc.

Oh, and not having MY computer means, not being able to share the photos I have taken on the trip and here in our disaster area. I hate waiting...

So tomorrow, what will it be?

Lucky we have a baby boy that keeps us smiling...