Aurora Borealis

My friend E. had his first birthday party today.  It was the first time I went to a birthday party.  It was at a pool.  I didn’t go in the pool, though.  Mommy and Daddy tried to get me to play with E. in his playpen, but I was fussy and would scream every time they put me down.  I didn’t get my afternoon nap, you know.  Mommy and Daddy said I was supposed to nap in the car on the way to the party, but I didn’t.

I ate a couple of tiny pieces of Mommy’s steak.  They called it filet mignon.  It was really good.  Mommy and Daddy said I couldn’t have cake until my first birthday.  But I wore a funny hat.  E.’s parents made E. put his hand in the cake and he didn’t like it.  He cried.

After the cake, we got to come home.  I had a bottle and I like being home.  I’m crawling around everywhere, carrying a diaper cover with me.  I’m getting good at carrying things while I’m crawling around.

E. knows how to stand up.  I have to learn how to do that.

My boy gives me people food.  This morning during breakfast, he gave me chunks of banana.  Mommy says he was just trying to pick them up to eat them and they slid over the side of his tray.  But I know he gives them to me because he loves me.  So I give him kisses.

Trash collection today.  They hauled off all the stuff that the neighbors hadn’t already gotten.  It feels great!  And we have a lead on someone who may want to come get all our old books and CDs.  I’m doing a little dance…

Well, we pulled it off yesterday.  Thank goodness that’s done!!!  And many, many thanks to M. who spent a few hours with me on Friday bringing stuff upstairs, R. who came over in the wee hours of the morning to help us finish bringing stuff up, and to RW who spent the afternoon with us cleaning up.  Unfortunately, rainy and windy weather all day (Thanks, Fay!) kept the number of shoppers down.  But we made some money.  And more importantly got rid of stuff!  At the end of the sale, we hauled a lot of stuff out to the curb for trash pickup.  And the neighborhood seemed to have a grand time picking through our trash.  Looks like a number of items ended up finding new homes.  And the things that were returned to the basement are rather more organized now, with definite plans for them: try the local flea market with these, charity pickup for those…  I feel so much better and the basement looks much better.

Agent Murphy had a doctor’s appointment today.  Once again, he freaked out immediately upon being put on the crinkly paper on the table.  Shrieked afterwards while I was getting him dressed.  They must wonder what I’m doing to him.  He doesn’t cry that hard during the exam.  Really, it’s just the crinkly paper.  So I tried getting him dressed on my lap, but he was already worked up and just a wiggling mess, so I gave up and went back to the dreaded table and went as fast as I could.

Anyway, our big guy is indeed big.  21 pounds 12 ounces (75th percentile), and 30.75″ (”off the charts” - above 97th).  Everything seems a-okay with him.

Most of Friday afternoon and evening, I was sick.  Better yesterday.  Sick again today.  Headachey, nauseous…  With the yard sale coming up, I needed this like I need a hole in the head.  Poor Mr. Tldz wasn’t feeling very well today, either, but he’s stepped up and kept Agent Murphy taken care of, who, fortunately, has been pretty cooperative today.

Mr. Tldz is about to start his third week at the new job.  We’ve made it so far, but it’s hard.  It’s a really long day for him with the commute.  And we miss him during the day.  But I guess we’ll get used to it.  At least he likes the work so far, the people he’s working with, and his boss does seem to be living up to the signs he showed of being a good manager.  And in some minor interactions Mr. Tldz has had with his former employer, we have abundant confirmation that being out of there is a very good thing.

Now I’m going to lay down again.

Work in back yard completed.  New drive-through gate installed in fence.  Any future needed work in back will be easier now.  Really feeling the itch to start looking for another house to shorten Mr. Tldz’s commute.  And have a different space.  I’m a lot different than I was when I moved in here 9 years ago.  Space needs to reflect that one of these days…

From IHM Mom’s Group:

Mr. Tldz managed to catch the earlier bus to work, so he arrived about a half hour earlier for his first day than he’d planned.  Turns out the security guard for his building rides that bus.  Good to know.  Can’t wait to hear about the rest of his day tonight!

On the home front, we’ve had a pretty productive day.  Some baby food made, kitchen cleaned, phone calls made.  It looks like work we’ve needed done on the house will actually happen tomorrow.  Agent Murphy and I spent about an hour on the floor playing with the toys from his cabinet.  Throwing baby beads around, it seems, is great fun.  So is chasing a ball around the house.

During his afternoon nap, I made it down to the basement and organized the clothing for the yard sale.  That was the most defined organizational task for the yard sale.  I don’t know what I’ll tackle next.  I should decide on something so I can make good use of tomorrow’s nap time.

I hear stirring in the next room, so I should go get a bottle ready.

Apparently, my mom’s shoulder replacement surgery yesterday went well, though it took twice as long as they said it would.  Surgeon reported that she had a lot of “deformity” and tightness in the shoulder, besides being very arthritic.  Talked to Mom tonight, and she says she’s feeling pretty good, just sleepy.  She gets to go home tomorrow afternoon, and has 4-6 weeks in a sling.

In a lesser situation, The Dog somehow injured a back leg toward the end of last week.  She was really hobbling around for several days (when she tried to move at all) and was happiest and most comfortable in her crate, even when we were home; but she seems to be almost fully mended now, back to her usual chipper, active self.  She does still mostly retire to the safety of her couch when we let Agent Murphy go “exploring.”  I can’t say I blame her.  I think his barbaric yawlp as he charges off in some direction or other (or after her) spooks her.  We enjoy it, though.  He’s just fun.