Tuesday, June 30, 2009

That is the end of the story.

"There was a little boy who didn't know if he wanted to be born. His mommy didn't know if she wanted him to be born, either. This is because they lived in a cabin in the woods, on an island, in a lake - and there was no one else around. And, in the cabin, there was a door in the floor. The little boy was afraid of what was under the door in the floor, and the mommy was afraid, too. Once, long ago, other children had come to visit the cabin, for Christmas, but the children had opened the door in the floor and they had disappeared down the hole, under the cabin, and all their presents had disappeared, too. Once the mommy had tried to look for the children, but when she opened the door in the floor, she heard such an awful sound that her hair turned completely white, like the hair of a ghost. And she smelled such a terrible smell that her skin became as wrinkled as a raisin. It took a whole year for the mommy's skin to be smooth again, and for her hair not to be white. And, when she'd opened the door in the floor, the mommy had also seen some horrible things that she never wanted to see again, like a snake that could make itself so small that it could sneak through the crack between the door and the floor - even when the door was closed - and then it could make itself so big again that it could carry the cabin on its back, as if the snake were a giant snail and the cabin were its shell. The other things under the door in the floor are so horrible that you can only imagine them. And so the mommy wondered if she wanted to have a little boy in a cabin in the woods, on an island, in a lake - and with no one else around - but especially because of everything that might be under the door in the floor. Then she though: Why not? I'll just tell him not to open the door in the floor!Well, that's easy for a mommy to say, but what about the little boy? He still didn't know if he wanted to be born into a world where there was a door in the floor, and no one else around. Yet there was also some beautiful things in the woods, and on the island, and in the lake.'Why not take a chance?' the little boy thought. And so he was born, and he was very happy. His mommy was happy again, too, although she told the little boy at least once every day, 'Don't you ever, not ever - never, never, never - open the door in the floor.' But of course he was only a little boy. If you were that boy, wouldnt you want to open that door in the floor?"

Thursday, June 25, 2009

A visit with the Mrs. (Owen's future Mrs... that is)


My mom came with Owen and me down to Morgantown today to visit Virginia and Lily!! She is nearly four weeks old, and looks exactly like her mommy. It was only the second time I have driven to Morgantown and it wasn't that traumatic. I think Owen liked being in Lily's presence. He was extremely pleasant, laughing and smiling all day!


On the way back from Morgantown, I had the bright idea to go shopping at the outlet malls, because I have been dying to go for the past month, and it was only about 10 minutes out of our way. I bought four new pairs of crocs. (One pair was for Clint!) and some stuff at Old Navy... and a pair of sandals from Bass for my mom's birthday. It was too hot to stay long. The only relief was a peach and banana smoothie and air conditioning the entire ride. Owen was a major fussy pants. He cried from Washington to Wheeling... Almost a solid 20 minutes. Fantastic.

And... my. skin. hurts.

Swimming!


Clint and I LOVE being in water. We prefer the Caribbean Ocean, but Wheeling Park public pool will do fine. :) I have been itching to take Owen swimming, because he loves splashing and I had a feeling he would like being in a pool just as much as we do.


So, I got him a sun hat, a surf shirt and a pair of trunks. The swim diapers have little Nemos on them. I tried to get him a baby floatation device, but I couldn't find the right one. I swear I had "baby floatation device" on the grocery list for two shopping trips.


When we got him to the pool in his little outfit, all lathered up in SPF 50, he was a little unsure about the water. It was warm enough (the pool is slightly heated) and it was a super hot day, but he was still a little confused. He did not like when you dipped him in and then held him up out of the water. Once we started holding him under the water (to about his upper arms or shoulders) he was perfectly happy. He even did his little splashing. It was adorable. I can't wait to take him again. Maybe Erin and Zaney will go with us~!!! (Hint hint Erin....)


I had an SPF 30 malfunction.... The fancy spray kind that I bought last summer no longer sprays. I put the SPF 50 on my face only, and now I have a fantastic line across my forehead where I did not put sunscreen. Everything on my body, except my face, is a nice tomato shade... I hurt. It's awesome. I'm retarded.


Owey was awesome.

Father's Day!


Here's a picture of my guys on Father's Day! This year, all Clint wanted for Father's Day was new shorts. So I bought him camo cargo shorts and some new khaki shorts (and of course a few shirts to go with them.)

Typically in the past, Father's Day has been a black day that for the past 14 years I purposefully avoided celebrating. But now, my baby's daddy (lol), my dear husband deserves to be celebrated.

Unfortunately - Aside from giving him his presents, I only saw him for a few hours, because I had to work the night before. I had every intention of only taking a nap before his family reunion scheduled to begin at noon that day. He tried to wake me up at 11am, and I think I may have growled at him. So... I missed the reunion this year. He took Owen, and said they had a good time.

Clint said it was a good Father's Day. Considering this was his first real one, with nothing to compare it to- I think I should try to improve next year...

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Torn.

So, Clint and I feel like we are at a crossroads. For those of you who don't know, Clint and I bought our apartment in January 2008 through a private sale for a VERY reasonable price. Our mortgage is very reasonable, and the co-op association fees are also reasonable - about what we would pay to rent a comparable apartment somewhere in this town. We love this apartment - it's huge for one thing. It's 1800-square feet, kitchen, laundry, dining room, living room, two beds, one bath... We made some minor cosmetic changes when we moved in, with the plan to live here five years or less, and make some other renovations along the way.

A few things we didn't anticipate moving in: When we bought it, we thought it would take a while for us to get pregnant, but I ended up getting pregnant that April and our son was born a couple of weeks after our year anniversary with the apartment. While I was pregnant, we tore old carpet out of the second bedroom and repainted the walls and window frames. The hardwood floors in that room need to be refinished. We just have a big area rug in there right now.

Another thing we didn't think would happen: Clint getting laid off two months after I had Owen. Yes, in the beginning it was only partial, two weeks on, two weeks off, but he hasn't worked for the past month and his employer told his team that if they didn't hear from the company, assume the lay off continues. This. scares. the. shit. out. of. me.

By some brilliant stroke of chance, or God's glorious graces, at the same time Clint gets laid off indefinitely, I get a fantastic promotion. I get to spend more time at home, and I get to make more money. My increase in wages somewhat compensates for what he is losing. (If he was still working two weeks at a time, we would be about even...) He makes unemployment, but it's only half of what he usually brings home. If he went back to work tomorrow (or anytime soon!) we would actually be getting somewhere financially.

Unfortunately, it's the idea that he might not get called back to work that keeps us up at night. He's not going to look for a different job yet, because with the state of the economy, it's very unlikely that he could get a job making the same amount of money. And, as long as he is getting unemployment, along with other millions of Americans right now..., things are, for lack of a better word, OK. He also doesn't want to get involved with a different job, only for his company to call him back. He's very loyal to the company.

But we are worried that something is going to come and we are going to be stuck. Because we live in a co-op, we shoulder our share of the financial responsibilities of our building. We own 65 shares of 765. Only a couple months after we moved in, we found out we had to shell out $1400 to repoint the bricks on the North side of the building. Now the people in our building are talking about redoing the back decks, and replacing all the front windows.... Geez.

It's not just a matter of coming up with these extra assessments for things for the building. Several of the people in our building are downright rude and mean. They didn't want us to live here when we had our interview. We had cats, we were young, they didn't think we could afford it... We probably have better jobs than they do - or at least, better jobs than they had when they were our age. Clint and I are responsible - old for our age. We pay our bills, we keep a nice home, we work, we don't have loud parties, we go to church, we are always nice to everyone - so what are these people's problems? When we tell our friends some of the things our neighbors have said to us, they think we are joking. I don't know if it's because everyone that lives here is at least 20 years older than us, or what - but it really makes this decision easier.

Also, we live on the third floor and there are no elevators and lugging the kid up and down the stairs is something of a trial. I hear that kids always get bigger and not smaller, so it doesn't look like that situation is going to change.

So, we have decided, with all of Clint's new time, that we should be fixing things we have been putting off or planning on doing "someday," with the intention of trying to sell. The economy is poor right now, but it's a good time to buy, and this is, aside from the special assessments, an affordable, convenient, spacious place to live. Because we bought it through a friend, we actually paid around 25% less than the apartment was appraised for, so if it's still valued the same, even if we put money into it, we stand to make at least a little profit. With that profit, we intend to pay off our cars, other little bills we have (small credit cards, all of my hospital bills from the baby, etc.) and get our monthly expenses down as low as we can. I think this means, the smartest thing for us to do would be to go back to renting. Live modestly for a while, build our savings back up, and then find a house - an actual house - that we want to buy. If Clint goes back to work in the meantime, than that's fantastic. But we want to plan for the negative. We wouldn't be opposed to going back to where we used to rent, in North Park. We had a pool for God's sakes! And 1.5 bathrooms!~ Of course, the things we have acquired in the past year and a half, mainly - 1 child - I don't think all of our stuff would fit in there again. We have more than enough STUFF. Ideally, we could rent a house for around what we pay to live here or less.

So, on the agenda, is tearing down the wallpaper in the hallway that has been painted over (several times), refinishing the hardwood floors in the dining room and Owen's room, sanding and repainting all of the window frames, repainting all the crown and most of the rooms, and -- the bathroom. Everyone who has been to our home knows what a thorn in my side this is. We have a bathroom that could be awesome, if it were original. Alas, it was probably remodeled in the forties. We have pink and blue tile on the floor, pink tile on the walls, pepto bismal pink tub, toilet and sink (that has started to drip uncontrollably). Bring on the change. I would like to do a classy 20's style black and white theme - maybe insert a glass block wall on the far end of the tub (instead of having an l-shaped curtain rod, like many Victorians...

First we are going to do everything we can on our own, and then find someone to do our bathroom. Anybody know anybody?

We don't know if this is the right thing to do. We are trying to be practical and safe - and this seems like the best option.

In other, more upbeat news -- Clint and I took Owen to the pool for the first time today. I slathered him up in SPF 50 and had a malfunction with our SPF 30. So Clint and I are nice and crispy. Owen was completely protected. We are pretty sure he liked the water. At first, he was a little unsure, but then by the end, he wasn't fussing or objecting in anyway. I think he's a water baby.

Ok, I need to go be a wife. I need to make meatloaf.

Friday, June 19, 2009

A day in the country.

We went to Columbus yesterday to visit our friends Scott and Cristie and family. Scott is my mom's good friend's son who is about 9 years older than me, who I have known my entire life. His wife of nearly 11 years is Cristie, mom extraordinaire. They have four children: Andrew (10), Allie (7), Adam (4) and Abbie (nearly 2). They have a fantastic family and Clint and I really love spending time with them all! Scott is a pharmacist and Cristie is a stay at home super mom. All of their kids are always well behaved and polite. Andrew adores Clint. If I can be anywhere near as good a mom as Cristie, I will feel like a success.


Abbie and Allie, beautiful girls.

Owen and his curly hair, it was so humid.
This might be my favorite picture from his entire life, so far.


Owey and Pony



Allie swinging.


Cristie giving Owen his first sink bath. It was so hot, she stuck him in there to cool him. He barely napped at all, poor little bubba.


The cornhole twins. "Should we hug?" Ha! Clint said, "Thank God I didn't wear my camo cargo shorts. We would have matched."




Abbie.


Me pushing Adam on the swing. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Andrew this trip. Part of him is to the left.
Abbie adored Owey. She might give Lily Dilly a run for her money. Owen was surprised and confused about Abbie's public displays of affection all day, especially the many full on kisses on the lips!! Maybe she just wanted his bumbo seat...


It was an awesome trip. Clint and Scott want to go golfing sometime, so maybe we will see them again soon. We usually spend the night when we go up, but this time was too spur of the moment, and I was worried Owen was still a little too young to make that long a trip from home.
I got stung by something, and now have a little bite on my middle finger of all places.
On the way home, we passed silos, and Clint said:
"What's in those?"
"Corn," I said.
"That's it?"
"Well, in one there is corn, and then in the smaller ones is oil and butter. Then the popcorn comes out that top part."
"Then they bag it up and send it to movie theatres?"
"That's right."
"Shut up."
I love the hubs. Good times.

5 months already?

So, the pictures might start getting a little out of focus. He doesn't want to sit still very often.


On June 12, Owen turned five months old. He doesn't have another doctor's appointment till July 9, so I don't know how much he weighs. The milestones passed in this month have been many... First two teeth, rolling over from back to front, and then a few days later from front to back... He eats a lot of new foods. Peas continue to be the favorite, followed closely by squash. He seems to really like applesauce, but not bananas. I thought today might be the first day he went to a swimming pool, but it is raining. Of course. He still sleeps about 11 hours a night, and takes usually 2-3 naps a day. Two little and one big or two big. He can sit on his own for a few seconds, and if he's holding on to something, like the side of his baby tub, but not enough to play by himself sitting up yet. We still do his bedtime routine everynight. Babies dig routine.


The picture location might have to change if he's going to be a scootin' fool. I adore this little outfit he's wearing. It's from BabyGap and it's so soft I would like to have pajamas that match! There are too many buttons, as is the case with all baby one-pieces.



Wow. Five months, in a minute, he's going to be 18.
Below is his 5-week shot. Wow.


Tuesday, June 16, 2009

So many things.

Introducing Lily Kay Dillaman (Owen's future Mrs.) :)


Born June 2, 8lbs, 5oz - 21.5 inches long! Who would have thought Virginia would give birth to a linebacker? I'm so happy for you friend, and I'm glad to hear everything is going well. Can't wait to see you again!!


Owen can sit up for a hot minute before tumbling to the side. I think this will be the next milestone. He is also starting to get the idea of his bouncy/standing thing... seat. He puts his legs down and pushes off -- building up leg strength. Also, he doesn't want to ever lay back and be fed with a bottle. He tries to sit up whenever I lay him back. When he does lay back he tries to hold the bottle himself. He already has two teeth, and his current favorite foods are peas (mainly), squash and applesauce. He doesn't so much like bananas. Speaking of bananas, my new favorite thing is making banana nut bread with chocolate chips in it. Yum.


Clint will be mad that I posted a picture of him wearing his polar bear pants - but I just had to. They were watching TV. I love this picture :)



I did not do a single thing last week - except for read the Twilight Saga. Yes, I got sucked in. I scoffed at it, initially. Then it grabbed ahold of me by the throat and wouldn't let go until I had real all the books. I read a book a day, except for the last one, but HEY, it was 750 pages!!!! The addiction was so bad that I even read Midnight Sun, the alternate version shown from Edward's perspective instead of Bella's (available on Stephanie Meyer's website). Luckily, that is all over, now. Now it's just a matter of holding my breath until all four movies have been made and released.
Work has been pretty good. Friday night we were so busy that I felt like I was working for about 3 hours instead of 12. We had an unbelievable amount of work, and too few staff members. When I left work at 8am, we didn't have a single processor or proofreader. Only two people that I called for help answered the phone, out of about 6. But the rest of the weekend wasn't so busy. I think I could have slept all day Monday. I love having all week off. Clint and I want to go to Columbus soon. My mom and I are planning to go outlet shopping in Washington. All things that would have been reserved for weekends.
I spoke with my BFF Krista the other day -- I'm so excited for September! I'm looking up poems and whatnot, I promise. Why can't you guys live somewhere cool - maybe oceanside... This is the second time I will be going to Iowa in less than two years, and that is two times more than I ever thought I would be in Iowa in my entire life. :)
Clint is still partially laid off, but right now, it's for the third week in a row. I'm starting to worry.
I have a million things to do today.
This is the happiest thing I have ever witnessed, and I get to see it everyday. Clint is bouncing Owey on the bed and giving him kisses. I love being a mommy.


Wednesday, June 3, 2009

June 2, 2009.

Lily Kay Dillaman was born!!!!!

I can't wait to see you tomorrow!!!!

And, we were watching Revolutionary Road, when Owen rolled over for the first time. He rolled from back to front. We were really surprised!! We rolled him back over, and he did it again!!! The hard part is that he gets stuck on his belly, because he hasn't yet figured out how to roll from front to back.

And, he now has both of his bottom teeth! The other one came in just a couple of days after the first one!

He is also expanding his food horizons! He has now tasted sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas, carrots and bananas. Usually I mix everything together with cereal and formula, but he had eaten all of his peas, (a huge hit with him), and I thought I would give him some banana just to try it, and he would take a bite, and then do a whole body shake, like he had just done a shot of some harsh liquor. It was hilarious. For the record, he does like it mixed with cereal and formula....

Tons to do.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Big Day!!

Lily Kay is being born today!!!!!!! Good luck my dear friend, Virginia!! See you on Thursday!!!!! I can't wait to meet Lily Dilly!!!!!!