House/9 Month

Yesterday Jon and I did round #1 of 'housing". We met Rebecca at the first miss of the day. From there we travelled to the one hit of the day. And like I'm sure it's happened to so many others, it has ruined me for any future houses. Sigh.

It made me want to display my wish list for our future house:

1. fireplace
2. 1+ bathrooms
3. 2/3 bedrooms
4. a backyard with green space enough to run around and have a small garden
5. wood floors
6. but some nice carpet too
7. an eating bar in the kitchen

nice windows

Things it wont have:

1. split levels
2. wood panelling 
3. narrow hallways 
4. more than 4 rooms 
5. a scary unfinished basement 

Truly, that lovely house ruined me with its perfect fireplace, its built in desk, those shiny wood floors and updated kitchen... Oh well, maybe it was a touch too awesome and big for us. A family of 2.2 does not need so much. 

***********

In Bear news: he had his 9 MONTH check up last Tuesday! Whoa. Here are his baby stats

Weight: 19.0

Length: 27 1/4" 

Now those silly percentiles that I don't so much like, because really? What's the purpose?

Weight: 90%

Length: 25%

Head: 75%

Congratulations Baby H! You are 9 months old AND demanded his first haircut! 

100 Things

One of the best things about Blogger is that little 'Next Blog' tab right up there...on the top of this very page. Hit it! So I like to browse this every so often in hopes of finding jewels or just ridiculous photos. Sometimes I wonder how they sort through the millions of existing blogs and decide on which to show me. All I know is, I get an awful lot of mom and baby blogs.

However today as I was flipping through I seemed to stumble upon general runner's blogs. One in particular grabbed me by his 100 Things post. Pretty soon I'd read through the entire 100 facts of his life and now I feel like I know almost too much about him. But talk about the ultimate list making experience! I love a good list, so here it goes; 100 Facts You May or May Not Know About Laura!

1. I love making any type of list
2. I started making a list of things to do according to my age when I was 21
3. I completed just 7 of those things 
4. One of those things was to travel around Europe which I did
5. It included Sweden, England, Ireland and Italy with the trip originating from Finland 
6. I lived in Finland August 2004-May 2005 
7. I attempted to learn Finnish by taking an intensive course
8. I am still able to count to 10 in Finnish, say good morning, good luck and happy birthday 
9. yksi, kaksi, kolme, nelja, viisi, kuusi, seitseman, kahdeksan, (9?) yhdeksan; moi moi; hyvaa palijon; hyvaa syntymapaiva 
10. I am a terrible speller (both in English and Finnish)
11. I took 4 semesters of Spanish in college and 2 years in H.S.
12. My paternal grandmother was from Mexico 
13. I am barely conversational in Spanish- one of my biggest personal grievances 
14. All 4 of my grandparents have passed away
15. My Abuelita (paternal Gma) when I lived in Finland
16. One of the biggest regrets I have is not coming home for her funeral 
17. I did however write a speech for it that was delivered by my sister
18. I have 2 sisters, no brothers
19. I am a middle child
20. My younger sister did not like me until my older sister moved away to college
21. I went to the same college as my older sister
22. I received a full scholarship to that college 
23. I was in the Top 10 of my graduating class in H.S. 
24. I graduated from undergrad in 2006 
25. My degree is in History
26. I really had no idea what I was going to do with that
27. I applied to Teach for America and Teaching Fellows of NYC in 2005
28. I was accepted into the Fellows for the Summer '06 cohort 
29. The Fellows program told me my 'high-need' area was ESL
30. I was in a group of about 15 others from around the country 
31. I lived in NYC from June 2006-July 2009 
32. I taught 7th and 8th graders English 
33. I lived in 5 different apartments over that time span 
34. The best apartment was in Harlem
35. The worst apartment was in East Harlem 
36. I lived with a girl I met online then my boyfriend then my husband and then my friend in that order
37. I got married in June 2008
38. I had been dating him since the Fall of 2002
39. I have known him since Junior High 
40. We have a son
41. He was born in May 2010
42. I had a normal pregnancy that turned into a high-risk one as a result of a blood clot
43. I was in the hospital for 8 days because of it
44. I have been in a hospital in 3 different countries 
45. Mexico, Greece and the United States
46. Mexico- for a horrible stomach virus 
47. Greece- for general illness (I was on a school trip)
48. US- broken clavicle, blood clot, baby 
49. I broke my clavicle in 2005 playing rugby
50. My parents were both at the game and brought me to the hospital 
51. My dad was very proud, he used to play rugby a lot
52. My parents have not owned a car since July 2008 
53. They cycle everywhere now
54. I bought my first road bike in NYC, it is a blue Giant
55. I cycled around the entire island of Manhattan one Sunday
56. I did my first triathlon in 2009
57. It began in Hoboken, New Jersey and ended in Philadelphia
58. It included a 76 mile bike portion and a 10 K
59. I have run a couple 10 Ks, several 5 Ks and 2 half-marathons 
60. My best Half marathon time is 2:01
61. I registered for the NYC marathon for this year
62. I bought my first car in 2009
63. It is a white Mazda hatchback
64. We bought it because we had moved back to Michigan 
65. I have lived in Michigan from 1986-2006 and 2009-currently 
66. I was born in Valparaiso, Indiana in January 1984  
67. Both of my sisters were born in Michigan 
68. My older sister lives in California
69. My younger sister lives in Wyoming 
70. I love Fall and Winter the best
71. Christmas is my favorite time of the year
72. Trepak is my favorite 
73. I played this every year at my HS Xmas concert
74. I have seen the Nutcracker ballet in Detrot, Grand Rapids and NYC and I can say GR's was best
75. I play the cello 
76. I played soccer, tennis and volleyball in HS
77. I took my first proper swim lessons in 2008 at the YMCA in the lower east side
78. My eyes are greenish hazel
79. My favorite feature are my legs
80. My favorite piece of clothing I own is my yellow skirt from Anthropologie
81. My favorite piece of clothing to dress my son in is a brown bear suit his aunt gave him
82. I like saving money almost as much as spending it
83. I would spend a good portion of my income on coffee drinks and magazines if I could
84. My favorite magazine is ELLE
85. My favorite coffee drink is a tie between Pumpkin Spice lattes and Peppermint mochas 
86. I can't help but love Starbucks 
87. My favorite was on 87th and Lexington
88. My favorite time to eat is brunch
89. Most watched movie of all time is a tie between Little Women and Rudy
90. I applied to the University of Notre Dame and was denied
91. Best sport to watch is professional tennis 
92. I have been to the US Open and saw Nadal lose 
93. I really want to see a match at Wimbledon 
94. If I could be a professional athlete I would want to be a soccer star 
95. I anticipate several career changes in my life
96. If I could live anywhere right now it would be Chicago 
97. Once I get the notion of a possibility of a snow day I am devastated the following morning if it doesn't happen (I am thinking about that right now...)
98. I go to bed around 9:30 on a weekday (sigh)
99. I sing 2 songs to my son every night before I lay him down
100. 'All Around the Cathedral' and 'Silent Night'

Best of Stay at Home TV

It's my day off :) What to watch?
Here are my personal faves,

1. The Onion News
2. The Middle
3. Modern Family
4. Nurse Jackie
5. Community
6. Selling New York
7. Infomania
8. Episodes
9. Glee
10. Yo Gabba Gabba.....weirdly addicting...trust me...

A New Appreciaition

This week I have developed a new appreciation for elementary classroom teachers.

I (somewhat unwittingly) signed up to teach "Supplemental Week" for my ESL students, K-2. The "supplemental" part about this is that while we are at school Mon-Thur the rest of the staff and students are enjoying a mid-Winter break. There is only one real reason I agreed to this craziness and I'll narrow it down for you by saying it is not  for the children. Sorry kids.


This kind of reminds me of when I would give up my Saturday morning (8-noon) to teach a bunch of middle schoolers English at IS 52. Somehow I would find myself roped into that as well....I'm sensing a pattern of self-inflicted abuse now that I think of it...

Anyway, back to the real issue. And that is this; elementary teachers have it rough. I have spent every minute doing something for those kiddos, whether it be piercing their juice boxes, tying their shoes or playing human bowling ( a game I made up at the YMCA involving knocking down children with a big ball....). Now it hasn't been all bad. I have given them comforting hugs when they cry about missing Mom and reading books to them, which I must say is one of my favorite things to do. So the good and the bad even out in hindsight.

But now I find myself even tireder. I did not think that was possible, but apparently it is.

Braverisms

Out in the sunshine and warm(ish) winds of a February morning I wandered around. Somehow I found myself out by the tennis courts of my high school. There was a ginormous drift of snow piled 3 Lauras high in the middle of the parking lot. After glancing around I took a tentative step up it. Sadly, today is not the day for snow climbing. We're going through a big melt down and I feared I could have plummeted to the middle of the mass upon reaching the summit. Then there I would be found some months later. Which got me to thinking of 127 Hours. Which then led me to the notion of being Brave. Whereupon I promptly made a mental list of the Top 10 Brave Acts of Laura over the years.

10. Moving back to Jenison after the medical issue last year. I consider this an act of mental bravery. It takes a lot to be OK with this inside my head.

9. Confronting and overcoming a potentially life threatening Blood Clot . I shudder to think I'm approaching my 1 year Blood Clot anniversary. Take a minute to really appreciate the blood in your veins and how it is running smoothly right NOW.

8. Having Harrison Paul Randall- whew

7. Confronting Harrison's Head Bump Fiasco and getting through it without dissolving into a mess

6. Moving the New York City in 2006.

5. Getting through the first year of teaching without a) crying IN FRONT of students b) throwing punches c) having a mental breakdown

4. Moving to Turku, Finland for my junior year abroad with no knowledge of its language or geography

3. Joining UofM's womens rugby team, which ultimately resulted in one dislocated shoulder and broken clavicle

2. Traveling solo throughout Europe as my year abroad came to a close

and the #1 thing I can do NOW without fear or embarrassment is.....call, order, greet and pay for a pizza. Yes indeed, my sisters can attest to the fact that I feared doing any of that for quite some time. Now the next brave thing to conquer is being able to successfully get in and out of a car wash by myself without some sort of embarrassment occurring.

Baby steps.

Babies Babies Everywhere!

Today we finally met little Bridget Grace! Okay, finally is not the right word when she is only 5 days old...but still it felt like forever. She is a DOLL.

I love those little lips and the baby non-chin. 

She had that featherweight feel to her, especially after lugging Mr. Bear who must be approaching 20 pounds by now! 

Speaking of which, when did this happen?

 

2 weeks old 

8 months old

Yeesh. Nothing like meeting a smaller baby to remind you that your baby is not so small anymore. Same thing happened when Harry met Jayden (not Sally....haha). Although they're just like 6 weeks apart, so this was a bit more dramatic a difference. 

It's such a thing to see you friend from high school holding a tiny version of herself. You know its coming for 9 months but it is a shock when she's there in your arms, squinting curiously at you.

Proud dads show their babies off. 

Is Harrison huge or Bridget tiny?

Project 365: February Edition

Day 17: Harrison waits patiently for Daddy to finish up at work

 Day 18: Snowmeggedon 2011 causes Snow Day #1

 Day 19: I made 'Put the Lime in the Coconut Chicken Soup' for my soup club at work and now I have 14 servings in the fridge... Snow Day #2

 Day 20: Apartment hunting, round 2 begins.

Day 21: Playdate with Mandy and baby Bridget and the dads.

Day 22: Jon built Harry his very own Snow Bear!

Day 23: The Bear is in need of rehydration due to "output" issues

Day 25: After spending day 24 home sick from work, Harry is not so happy to be dropped off at daycare.

Day 26: I score a free week at MVP.

Day 27: Breakfast for dinner is the back-up plan when the Melting Pot fell through. Still yummy

Day 28: Eating Snow

 Day 29: Happy Valentines Day!

Day 30: Bedtime naked time

Day 31: Harrison's favorite thing to grab and pinch

Day 32: Craft for the kiddos at school

Day 33: It's official!

 

Day 34: Birthday extravaganza included playing Laser Tag

 Day 35: Movie Date with Mom

 Day 36: Harrison is no longer a vegetarian!

 

Day 37: We're pre-approved to maybe buy a house...

 Day 38: The worst chore there is

 Day 39: Bear has a cold :(

 Day 40: First clips!

Day 41: Crib has been officially lowered!

 Day 42: Wrinkles, bummer

Day 43: Lunch break 

Harrison has a new BFF

My friend Mandy had her sweet baby girl yesterday! I am desperate to meet the angel, but as there is an impending blizzard I think it a little unwise to head towards the lakeshore. So we'll have to wait a couple of days.

Speaking of blizzards...where the heck is it? We have about 4 inches of snow, and that amount will not close my school! So get to it!

Oh, and now we're on to Project 365 February edition. I missed a couple of days but I'll try to be better this month :)