Dad's Morning In

The photos Marian posted recently depict Stella in her crib "mosh pit." You'll notice she is slam dancing to some classic Kiss!

Tonight I had duty so that Marian could get some sleep. Stella is stuffed up and uncomfortable so she woke up a few times last night. This morning around 5, she "not want it" her blue pacifier and demanded a "new one." The old one probably tasted bad, I guess. The she called me in and said "nose," perhaps indicating she couldn't breathe through it. "'tella play with toys?" she queried. Of course, to Dad at 5:30 a.m. it does not follow that a stuffy nose entitles one to play with toys. So I put the kibosh to that idea, covered her up with her "bumpy," and I haven't heard much sound from there since.

Of course, now I can't sleep, so I'm burning copies of a wedding we shot in August. The funniest thing that happened at this particular wedding was that the best man hid the keys to the getaway car. Needless to say, the groom felt a little awkward.

50 minutes of silence, and now "'tella wants Mommy!" Daddy will have to do. Oh ... she stopped. Maybe she's realizing that she's REALLY TIRED and that sleep is a good thing after all.

When she is a parent, I will remind her of all the time she wasted not sleeping in her youth.

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I think it's great that Marian started this blog. I never thought about doing it myself, but it's bound to result in more journaling. Paper is sooooo 20th century!

My friend Neal (who is always sending me interesting stuff) sent me a link to Scott Adams' blog. Adams is the creater of Dilbert, and he has a fascinating testimonial of a recent medical problem:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/10/good_news_day.html

A blog is an efficient way to let everyone know at once what you would have said if folks bothered to call. That means we don't need to pass information on the phone to one another anymore. We can just serenade each other with such standards as "biddy, biddy Bider" ("...went up the water spout..."etc.) or "Ko, Ko, uh-oh Ko!", a little ditty that Stella made up all by herself a couple months ago. It's the theme song she created for herself and our dog Kope (Co-pay), but we can all make it our own.

Last night I attended my first book club meeting. There were about 12 of us and we discussed "Saturday" by Ian McKewen(sp?). The narrator in the novel is a British neurosurgeon and there were, in the room, a surgeon, a neurologist, and a retired family doctor. I'm glad I joined the club, because darnit if I can find the time to read these days left to my own devices. Also, it is a great place to get free medical advice. So next we're reading "The March" by E.L. Doctorow and that should be fun, hanging out with Sherman as he razes the South. We will find out if, in our group, there are any rapers and pillagers who can speak first-hand to the novel's authenticity. ("I noticed that in burning the farm, the character used gasoline to start the blaze. In 1864, peat moss would have been a more likely accelerant. I, of course, prefer jet fuel!")

There was a beep on my email, and I raced over there to discover that Boatman had written me about "lightspeed investor growth." This reminds me of a movie idea that may have been on your mind, too:

Joe, a financial consultant beleaguered by spam, misses several important emails from a client, a girlfriend, and his father. They get lost in the shuffle, or are blocked by his spam-blocker. In any case, he realizes his life has been ruined. So he looks up an old friend, Ed, from junior high, a real computer geek, in order to HUNT DOWN AND KILL ALL SPAMMERS (emphasis added) -- vigilante style!!! (Extra exclamation points delightfully included.) Come to find out that Ed is also a spammer, and Joe has a moral dilemmer on his hands. Does he let his buddy live. NO! OF COURSE NOT! ARE YOU KIDDING!? (Shut up, Id!)

Okay, I vented a little bit. I feel better now. Or maybe it's the VIhAGRA working...

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I almost prefer the word blage to blog. That's because blage is "bagel" rearranged. I love bagels, especially pumpernickel bagels. You wouldn't eat a bogl, would you? No! If you did, that would probably make you Norweigen.

This is just the sort of idiocy that blogs have given voice to. I'll sign out before it gets worse.

You wouldn't know it by these photos...

I guess all symptoms fade when we bring out the camera, because our Stella hasn't been feeling well today. She had a rough night last night, waking up every 2 hours asking for milk, which she's never done before. Today she was warm, with a runny nose and an extra clingy disposition.

When she's sick, boy does it affect our whole household. There aren't any sick days when you're a parent!

We're looking forward to our trip to the Triangle next week. Eric is working on a story for Duke Alumni magazine, and Stella and I are tagging along to spend time with my aunt and uncle and several of our friends who still live there. We have a soft spot for that area, since we both went to college in the area and also got married there six years ago.

Hope everyone is well, and thanks for commenting on our blog. It's great fun to see who's checking in!

Oh yeah, the babies that are hanging between the crib and the wall, in that strange voo-doo position - yeah, Stella puts them like that every night to "watch over her" before she sleeps. It's kind of strange.

First try with photos

this ain't as easy at it looks

Whatever friends of mine have suggested that I start a blog neglected to tell me that it's not as easy as they make it look. I have figured out the actual posting part, seen here, but photos are still a no-show, and my links section is all out of whack. I'll get it, but in the meantime, be patient with this blog not being nearly as eye-appealing as most of them out there.

Today I took Stella to a mother's morning out program at a local toy store. In the basement, they have a recreation area with toys, books and crafts for the kids, and they even feed them lunch. It's Stella's 4th time going today, and she loves it! I thought the transition for her (and for me) would be much more difficult, but it's been great. I've been getting some good work done during those three hours, and she so enjoys hanging out with other kids.

It's getting cold here, REALLY cold. Last night it got down to a frigid 22 degrees. I put flannel sheets on our bed and have had the fire on all day long. The leaves are beautiful - I've seen more people taking photos in town than ever before. Hopefully when I learn how to post pictures I'll have some for your viewing enjoyment.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Our (actually, my) first attempt at blogging

I've always wanted to be someone that enjoyed journaling, and I've tried dozens of times to keep one. Alas, I'm 29 and have about 3 journals to my name, most of which aren't even full of entries. I'm hoping that this blog may change that. I want our friends and family to see photos and read about our happenings. I also want to save these posts for Stella, for her to read one day, so she can know what our lives were like during her toddler years.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I may be the main blogger in the house, but Eric will probably surprise you every now and then with a post. He's such an incredible writer - I hope he surprises all of us pretty regularly.

Good Night!