The Ones Who'll Know

The funny things they say...

2009-09-08T08:16:00.003-04:00

Corryn:
"Baby farted! Webbody (read: everybody) say Eeeeewwwwww!!"

1st Grade

2009-08-30T21:41:00.002-04:00

We have officially started our 1st grade homeschool work. We're starting our 3rd week of it actually. This year, I decided to go with a curriculum instead of trying to come up with lots of fun educational things myself. As much as I'd like to think of myself as someone that can do this, the reality is that I am someone that drowns in dirty dishes and laundry instead. I found that after doing all the daily home maintence-type stuff plus just the regular kid-care stuff, there just wasn't the energy to come up with educational things.

I decided to go with Oak Meadow. It's very imaginative/activity based. No worksheets involved, which is good, since I'm pretty sure Dillon would not learn well that way. There is a weekly plan with a lot of leeway as to how to implement it. 2 weeks into it, it's going pretty well. She likes the stories and activites, and we are both doing better with the structure it adds to our days. Corryn participates sometimes, sometimes she does her best to derail us :) My hope is that having consistency will help us with the up-in-the-airness that is our life right now.

Making cookies

2009-07-31T17:22:00.003-04:00

Still here...

2009-07-24T18:10:00.004-04:00

Just thought I'd try to stop neglecting the blog and post some recent pictures. We have a teeny, tiny little zoo here that has a petting area. There are several pygmy goats that just had babies. We've made several visits and the girls are just loving it. On top of it, the county fair was this week, so there were more goats to be loved upon there. I'm seeing goats in my future. Little ones :) They are really lovey, though they do chew on everything.

As for life here, there are still changes coming. I still can't say what. After what feels like the longest year ever, I've started reaching out to friends more, so that's helping. I've had more headaches here than I've had my entire life. Recently, after the umpteenth one, with me telling the girls that I couldn't take them to the petting zoo right them because my head hurt too badly, I promised myself that no matter what else was going on, I was going to start managing my own stress. I've gotten a massage, visited a chiropractor (during which I swear every single vertebrae in my back popped!), have been exercising and have been listening to a relaxation CD. What a difference! I can't say I'm all relaxed all the time, but I'm significantly better. We actually spent 3 hours at the fair yesterday & I enjoyed all of it. Up to now my ability to manage 2 young kids alone in public places was more like 1 1/2-2 hours. They loved it, too.

So, one step at a time. As I've started relaxing, I feel much better able to handle everything else. I wish I had done this earlier.

A follow up picture

2009-05-29T06:05:00.002-04:00

Here's our Robin babies about 10 seconds before they flew for the first time. They scared the mess out of us! Peaches immediately ran over to one on the ground, but I stopped her before she hurt it. One of them hung out in the yard in various spots for the rest of the day, trying to figure out how to fly. By the next morning, it had figured it out and was gone, too.

It was so fun watching them and we've really missed them.

Changes are coming

2009-05-28T10:47:00.002-04:00

I can't say what right now because I don't know exactly what. Dave & I are fine, stressed, but banded together as we always have been. The job is still far, far too many hours with little hope of becoming better. He recently worked over 170 hours in a 2 week period. His stress level is through the roof. The difficult, stressful parts of the job are really outweighing the positive. While I don't dislike it here, there are some disappointments. Dillon-super social Dillon- has had trouble really finding friends. She has a few, but it isn't coming together for her like it did in NH, and we see her lonliness in the behavior difficulties we've had since moving here. She will still, out of the blue, say she wants to go back to NH.

So, we're trying to figure out what's next. We've made amazing progress on bills and will have all credit card and bank loans (thought not student loans) paid off within the next 4-5 months. There's money going to retirement funds and we have money in savings again.

We've been struggling with this for a long time and it's steadily becoming clearer that the current situation isn't working for us. So, changes are coming- we just have to figure out what they are.

Our babies

2009-05-18T16:13:00.003-04:00

We've been watching this Robin's nest for about 3 weeks. It's on our electric box outside. We've watching the momma incubating the eggs, then had the fun of discovering the chicks on Mother's Day! Dillon thought it was so funny that the newly hatched chicks all sat there with their eyes closed and the mouths open waiting for someone to drop something in. We even rescued one when it fell out of the nest just a few days after being born. The parents weren't there when it happened, so it must've just gotten too wiggly. It was so fragile-looking! I put gloves on, then carefully picked it up and put it back in the nest. We weren't sure how it was going to do, but couldn't just leave it. It has done fine

We knew there were four eggs in there, but are only three chicks. I knew eventually we'd see the other egg kicked out of the nest as the babies got bigger. Sure enough, there it was on the ground this morning. We picked it up and brought it in to look at. 5 minutes later, Corryn dropped and broke it releasing the most awful rotten egg smell.

Homeschooling at it's best. We now fully know what a rotten Robin's egg smells like.

Pretty soon the chicks will start learning to fly, so I have to figure out how to keep Peaches away from there. The dog eating a baby bird would be a heck of a lot more traumatic than the rotten egg!

If she weren't so cute...

2009-05-04T18:53:00.002-04:00

Last night I was getting Corryn to sleep. She was laying in my lap, looked up at me and said with the sweetest little sleepy voice
"Momma nose"
W: "Momma nose" (because if you don't repeat what she says she says it again. Over and over and over.)
C: "Momma eyes"
W: "Momma eyes"
C: "Momma booger"

She's home!

2009-04-27T20:47:00.005-04:00

Peaches came home today. A friend picked her up for me since I haven't been able to take care of getting my car licensure stuff taken care of yet. She looks good, still a little wobbly from the medicine she's on, but doing well. She's sticking pretty close to me, much to Dillon's chagrin since she'd like her close to her. Turns out it was something she ate out of the compost bin. We had been messing around with it, looking at the worms and compost. You know, homeschooling kind of stuff. She ate some that made it out of the bin- no more than a couple of bites, but that's all it took. She started having tremors within a half hour of doing so that progressed to full blown grand mal seizures. But since we got her to the vet's pretty quickly and got her taken care of, all seems to be pretty well now. She's going to be on anti-seizure meds for a month or so, but should be able to wean off.

So I'm feeling better. Now I just need my car title to arrive from NH so I can take care of getting IN plates.

Oh, and here's a couple of picture from my class:

I can't even think tonight

2009-04-24T19:15:00.004-04:00

Let's see.... I started my photography class I've been waiting for for a year. It is awesome. I love it! I'm learning a ton. I even got the "opportunity" to get in some extra practice after my computer erased all the photos on my camera card.

It was 82 degrees today. We found a robin's nest with 3 beautiful little blue eggs in it. In our backyard, no less!

But we spent the afternoon at the vet's office, then the vetrinary ICU with our very sick dog. She suddenly started having severe seizures this afternoon with no apparent cause. I love this dog dearly and have spent the afternoon crying. She's still in the ICU and doing better, but we can't find a cause. Most all the obvious things are ruled out.

I got pulled over on Wednesday, didn't have my driver's license with me and had expired plates. I now can't drive anywhere until I change the plates, which I can't do until we find the title, which we can't find. A duplicate is on the way from NH. Thank goodness Dave was available to take the poor dog to the vet today.

Corryn didn't nap today. So, I'm exhausted and a little numb tonight. Yay for a Magic Schoolbus movie to keep Dillon occupied at the moment. I need sleep.

Hanging out

2009-03-28T20:33:00.004-04:00

Ah, the exciting life we lead- sitting here on a Saturday night, listening to the pouring rain out. The rain that is going to turn into snow tomorrow. Dave and Dillon are playing a board game- or at least some version of it. Corryn's asleep and I'm taking care of very important computer business (haha). Really, it's good, especially in light of all the recent should-we-stay-or-should-we-go turmoil.

The job still seems to be going in a positive direction. We're thinking we're going to buy the house we're renting. I feel really conflicted about it now- 'cause you know it would be too easy to not feel conflicted about something. It's a nice house, but it just isn't our dream. I want to look out and see trees. Instead, I look out and see houses and concrete and cars. The area is ugly- lots of railroad tracks, big industrial plants. But, from a financial standpoint, it's truly a gift to be able to stay here, finish paying off bills (oh, those painfully large bills), and save for the dream house. And given how difficult the transition has been for Dillon, it just doesn't feel like the right thing to do to discombobulate her world all over again by packing everything up.

Maybe 3 more years of being here and we can have a sizable chunk of money for the dream house. The girls will be old enough to handle moving to a new house a little better. Some land, woods, a place for a real garden. A place without pink carpet since between the old house and this one we'll have had 8 years of it by then!

I'm going to make the best of it and grow a little container garden in the meantime. And oh yeah, on Monday, finally get to start the online photography class I've been waiting a year for. I am super excited about it!

So overall feeling a little more settled, though settling is a slow process for me. New Hampshire was a hard place to live up to, I have to admit.

The view from the upstairs back of the house-

Yay for vacations

2009-03-16T17:05:00.003-04:00

We relaxed, we got a chance to talk about the whole job situation, and now we're feeling a little better about things. The sum of it all is that the job has a great deal positive going for it, as does the city. There are some major negatives to the job, but they are unlikely to be permanent. Dave agrees that he desperately needs to put some stress management in place and stop relying on home to be a stress-free place. He has made some big changes to his schedule arrangement that should decrease his hours. He had some really positive meetings upon his return.

So, all things considered, we are feeling more solidly positive about being here. Spring seems to be here, things are turning green, we're getting outside more. I'm follwing up on some of the people we've met and exchanged contact information with to try to get together.

So, we're getting there.

Birthday party

2009-03-14T17:22:00.000-04:00

We had Dillon's birthday party at the barn where she (and I!) take lessons. It was the week after her birthday and in spite of less than nice weather we had a really good time. So good we're thinking of doing it again, just without birthday cake :)

It was a small group, which is my kind of birthday party. There were 2 ponies and one regular sized horse for everyone-including any interested adults- to ride. There were also older kids there that lead the party guests around on the horses. We bought pizza for everyone, then cake after the riding was over. Even the kids that were a bit apprehensive had a ball.

Pictures are a bit dark- that little point and shoot flash just doesn't reach far, but enjoy!

More agonizing

2009-02-23T16:10:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update. Things continue to be up, then down, then up and down again. Still working too many hours with some really great aspects to the job, but some major not great aspects to the job. 6 months into this and it's still so up in the air. Don't get too settled, we may not stay. Help Dillon get adjusted, then pick up and start all over again. Therapy seems to be helping her some, though it's slow going at best. Seems like no matter what we decide, someone's going to be unhappy.

Much worrying, try as I might not to. Thank goodness for an upcoming vacation. A break from the worry would help.

And now she is 6

2009-02-15T16:41:00.000-05:00

Wow. You're 6. Sometimes I look at you and marvel at how you aren't such a little kid anymore. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, you still are, but when I see you around your sister or around your younger friends, you really aren't so little. And when I see you leading and riding a horse you look both really little and really big at the very same time. I sometimes shake my head in disbelief.

Homeschooling fits you well. You ask many questions a day and are so eager to learn- if it interests you. You are incredibly creative and can turn anything into a toy. You utter the phrase "let's pretend that..." 50 times a day.

You love all things horses and were recently excited to be able to clean out stalls (much to my complete shock!). You love your riding lessons and ask regularly when you can have a horse of your own.

A recent foray into girliness has taken us by surprise. You've suddenly decided that dresses are really cool, especially the twirly ones. Privacy is required when changing clothes and you've asked to let your hair grow long. It's shaken your daddy up a little, I must tell you. He's having fears of you dating someday.

I love watching you grow and learn, figuring out who you are along the way. I hold onto the fleeting bits of little kidness you have left and celebrate the steps into big kidness with you.

Happy Birthday, sweetie!

30 days of pictures- January 2009

2009-02-07T17:51:00.002-05:00

I alluded to this in my last post. I've had such a hard time consistently picking up my camera since the move. It just requires so much energy, this adjusting to a new place. I needed a project to get me going again and knew I'd found it when I stumbled across someone else's 30 days project. I just wanted to show little bits of life around here. I plan to do again this summer. It'll be interesting to see how they differ.

So, here it is- enjoy! The individual pictures are on Flickr; just click on the links below & it'll take you there.

30 days of pictures- January 2009
Originally uploaded by wkelley2001

1. Corryn reading, 2. Helping cook, 3. Toy barn assembly, 4. Such a toddler, 5. Drawing a family, 6. Blocks, 7. Toy car pile-up, 8. A little snowy walk, 9. Reading, 10. Feeding a friend, 11. Stripeysaurus, 12. Help me, 13. Sunglasses, 14. 2nd birthday, 15. Big sister teaches, 16. A sunny spot, 17. Dressing herself, 18. Relaxation, 19. Dave's normal location, 20. New sled, 21. Snuggling with Daddy, 22. Snow, 23. Playroom, 24. Twirling sisters, 25. A casualty of the snow, 26. Dillon's tree, still up, 27. Muddy boots, 28. SIgns of winter, 29. Creating, 30. Camera girl in front of the camera

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Making good on a promise

2009-02-06T07:39:00.000-05:00

Not really being one for New Year's resolutions, I still like to look forward to the new year and make plans for things I'd like to accomplish. Not "organize the pantry" or, really anything related to cleaning- more like personal goals.

This year, I made it a goal to do something for myself each day. It had been lost in the midst of the difficult transition we've been undergoing. I'd find myself, at 4:00 in the afternoon, just spent, wondering how on earth I'd find the energy to make dinner and get kids to bed. So, I just did it. Sometimes only 10 minutes, sometimes more. I've been knitting. I got my sewing machine out, only to have it promptly stop working. I've been reading a bit. I started a photo project that I'll post here soon.

And the big one- I found an excellent babysitter and have started horseback riding lessons. What an incredible stress reliever!

The best part of all- life feels less stressful. I'm more patient with the girls. I'm not struggling through the evening trying to make it to bedtime.

Why is it that when life gets the most difficult, we tend to put aside the activities that make those difficulties more manageable?

That's my girl!

2009-02-04T07:36:00.002-05:00

Dillon asked Dave a question and got a, shall we say, somewhat sarcastic answer. Not at all being what she was looking for, she responded, quite seriously, with

"Let's ask mom- she's the really smart one."

You betcha kiddo! :)

And now she is 2

2009-01-20T17:57:00.000-05:00

Two years old. Wow. How you've changed, my little one. You've gone from, shall we say, a bit of a grumpy baby to this happy, funny, giggly, mischievous (OK, that hasn't changed at all!) toddler. You have an ability to get into things that is mind-boggling. Given the number of times on any given day that you throw yourself into some activity that makes me want to sweep you up and wrap you tightly in some type of padding, you actually hurt yourself remarkably seldom. Which isn't the same thing as never, mind you- there was the trip to the ER the other night to check out the thumb that you slammed in the sliding door.

I find myself laughing at the silly things you do many times a day. I marvel at your willingness to let your sister dress you up in crazy outfits, so that you can present them to me proudly "Dilla dress!" I didn't think you'd ever talk, but sure enough, you are. Loudly and emphatically sometimes, as if you saved it all up for when you really had something to say. You are no longer scared of everyone other than immediate family- thank goodness. I have to admit that was a little tough.

Your birthday was simple and fun. Our homeschool group presented handmade cards, gifts and Happy Birthdays! From family, there were presents to open and test out-

Party clothes to wear-

And an extra big chocolate chip cookie (albeit a bit crumbly) to enjoy-

Happy 2nd Birthday, my little one!

Improving

2009-01-11T19:31:00.002-05:00

This will be brief, I have a sick baby asleep on my chest. Stupid GI bug.

The meeting friday went well. They seem to be amenable to his requests. So, things are looking up on that front. It was also a relief to learn that there are more efficient and effective ways of dealing with a couple of issues that were huge consumers of time.

On a different note, Corryn and I were in the paper today for an article on cloth diapering. Hopefully the link will work: http://www.jconline.com/article/20090111/LIFE/901110314/-1/LIVING&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL

Thank you, my friends for checking on me. It's going to be OK.

Meeting in progress

2009-01-09T17:17:00.001-05:00

Dave meeting with his boss now. We'll see what happens.

Been talking with friends and am feeling a little more positive about things here.

Breathe in, breathe out. It's going to be OK.

Starting to wonder...

2009-01-07T07:35:00.003-05:00

Did we make the right decision to come here? It reflects my silence as of late, but now it's keeping me up at night, so I need to quit keeping it in.

In some ways, Dave's job is great- the opportunity to build an ICU to mimic the cutting edge manner in which he trained. Except that there are many here that liked it just fine that way it was thankyouverymuch. There's a feeling of there being not nearly enough support there. We estimated yesterday that he's working 100-120 hours per week. That's 2 1/2-3 full time jobs. I miss my husband. My kids miss their dad and are just grafted to him when he's home. Unfortunately, some of his admin work is done from home, so there's a necessary, but dissappointing pushing away of the kids in the name of getting more work done.

It is not how we wanted it be at this point.

There's an upcoming meeting with bosses to discuss these issues. Something has to improve or this is not a viable situation.

Many questions are being raised. We all miss NH so much. Is it because it is still freshest in our memory? Dillon tells us she'd happily move back there- without even being asked. Did we make a mistake leaving there? Admittedly, I don't love winter and there was a lot of it there. Was there something I could've done differently to make the winters more manageable for myself? Am I just thinking of it idyllically since we left at my favorite time of year?

Maybe we haven't given this a fair chance. While our house is fine, it's just outside a few industrial areas, meaning that we frequently drive through those areas. It's a hard change to go from looking at trees all the time to looking at a corn processing plant. Maybe if we didn't live in this particular area- afterall, the entire city isn't industrial & parts of it are hilly with trees- it would feel different. We've made some friends and found activities that we enjoy. I know I can't expect it to be the same as friends that I had 5 years to get to know.

On the other hand, I love that we are closer to family now, making it significantly easier to travel to see them. Dillon loves that she's closer to her cousins & can't wait to do more sleepovers. For a host of reasons, it simply feels easier being closer.

Dillon has gone to her second session with the play therapist. I know they played something called unicorn land, but nothing else. She hasn't offered to share more than that and I'm not pushing her to do so. The therapist is supposed to email me this week with her thoughts. Do I share this newest agonizing monkey wrench into Dillon's already difficult adjustment? Maybe I should go see her myself!

It's entirely feasible that things will be worked out at the hospital and we'll ultimately decide that this is a good place for us. Indecision is so difficult.

Anyone have a spare crystal ball I can borrow?

Play Therapist

2008-12-18T10:13:00.002-05:00

I found a Play Therapist that Dave and I had an appointment with this week. We both liked her a lot and think that Dillon will as well. Dillon meets with her on Tuesday. There will be periodic meetings with us to work things out.

It feels better for me to recognize and acknowledge that the problems we're having aren't going to go away. We have a little girl that is hurting a great deal and we're going to do everything we can to help her feel better. She's looking forward to meeting "the lady who is going to help me feel better."

Still not a lot of detail I know, but just wanted to give an update as to what's going on.

Sorry for the absence

2008-12-09T06:07:00.002-05:00

The short version is this- Dillon is struggling with this move and her dad being at work so much. I am, too, but can recognize that it really won't be that long that he works so much. Once the hospital is up and running well, things will get easier for him. Anyway, Dillon is struggling. It's been like this low simmer for the last couple of months that has escalated to a full boil over the last few days. I don't want to put details out there right now. We're trying to figure out how to help her and us as a family. She is clearly hurting a great deal and needs... I don't know what she needs, exactly, but we're going to figure it out.

Random pictures

2008-11-25T17:08:00.003-05:00

Lots going on the last few weeks. Here are just a few random pictures from things going on:

1st horse show! All she got to do was lead line (which is essentially just a pony ride) but it was still fun watching the other kids and seeing what she'll be working on in the future.

Dillon and I right before a wedding we went to a couple of weeks ago. She was my date and was so excited to get all dressed up and go!

Corryn with a pull up she found at my mom's house and my shoes from the wedding-

Science experiements- color change milk:

Perspective

2008-11-05T07:08:00.002-05:00

Dillon woke up really early this morning while I still had the news on. We've been talking about voting and what it means. I was explaining to her that Barack Obama won the election and will be the new president. She hasn't seen a lot of the political process since we watch very little TV and was trying to figure out who Obama was. Instead of describing him, I just pointed him out on the TV.

To clarify, she asked: "You mean the one with the really short hair?"

Interesting. Not the man with the dark skin- the man with the short hair. What a great place it would be if that was the extent of the differences we could see in one another- short hair vs. long hair.

Did you vote?

2008-11-04T19:46:00.003-05:00

I did- on Friday. Indiana allows for early voting. I'm really glad since Dillon woke up vomiting this morning and remained sick the rest of the day. I hate to admit it, but I think that 2 hour lines with a sick child probably would've gotten the better of me.

Here's why I vote:

Trying to find the good

2008-11-01T13:36:00.002-04:00

I feel like every post starts with something along the lines of "we're still adjusting...some days are great, some not so much, blah, blah, blah".

There is still just this pervasive unsettled-ness inherent to a change like this. It feels incredibly lonely sometimes.

Today, I want to focus on the good.

The weather is great. The colors are really pretty and it's warm enough to be out there enjoying them. This was the first Halloween we had actual trick or treaters coming to our house. It was kind of funny watching them trying to get us to answer our door when we were out doing our own trick or treating. There's a trick in there somewhere for next year, I'm sure.

We're making friends, finding fun things to do. We've started a gymnastics class for homeschoolers for Dillon and a toddler class for Corryn and me. I even met a mom last week that I really liked. We've started having a regular playdate with one of the girls from the homeschool group we're part of. Her mom and I have very similar homeschooling and parenting philosophies, so I'm thrilled to be getting together regularly with them. Dillon is LOVING the horseback riding. I have to admit that as a horse person myself, I love taking her. I was extremely proud of her last week when she had her first fall off her horse. She got right back on without a single tear.

Dave is enjoying his job. It would be nice if he didn't have to enjoy it so much of the time, but I'm focusing on the good here. The rental house is good. We're thinking about just buying it and staying put for a few years. It makes a lot of sense from a financial standpoint. I keep meaning to take some pictures of it post. I'll get it done eventually.

Meet Pumpkin

2008-10-11T11:46:00.000-04:00

We started horseback riding lessons soon after getting here. She LOVES it. Pam is her teacher and tells her she's doing really, really well. She's been riding Epona, but asked about doing the cart sometime. Pam says she regularly uses it as an alternative way of teaching the same prinicples as riding on the saddle, so here she is on the cart. I even got to go around the ring a couple of times. It was a blast!

This and that

2008-10-10T11:08:00.002-04:00

Just a cute picture.

We're still here. Still figuring it out. Dave is back to working a lot trying to get the hospital ready to open. He's been named the director of the ICU and they don't have enough intensive care trained docs to cover all the time. I'm glad it's not my job to figure it out. He promises me he won't work all the hours forever, just until they are able to get more doctors on board. It's still better than residency and fellowship- at least now he comes home happy most days in spite of the stresses of the job. I think there's a lot more appreciation for his input now. So it's nice having him not so stressed out.

We're enjoying our new homeschool group. It's a small one, but it suits us. The other moms and dads help out a lot with Corryn, so I actually get to have a conversation or two when we meet. We've been going to eat lunch together after the park time on Tuesday, then going bowling every other Thursday. I really couldn't be much worse at bowling, but it's fun hanging out and Dillon's having a great time with it.

I've learned living in a subdivision with kids your own child's age in it has a definite drawback. Dillon obsessively looks out the window mulitple times per day to see if her friend is home. Unfortunately, her friend is in preschool/daycare all day and gets home around the time I am getting dinner started. SO, I'm often in the position of having to say no to going to see her friend. Far too often this results in an enormous meltdown with her telling me I don't want her to have friends- even after we've spent the entire afternoon with new friends. Such fun.

This particular friend is moving to a new house close by in a couple of weeks, so maybe that'll improve that situation. I hope, because it's hard to be sympathetic to her adjustment to a new place when part of it is a huge meltdown every night. I feel kind of lost as to how to address it- tell her she can't see her friend if it doesn't stop? That feels counterproductive to the larger issue of needing friends. I don't know.

Settling in

2008-09-25T07:45:00.002-04:00

D: When will it start to feel like home here?
W: (Knowing that she wants to see a date on the calendar) Well, honey, it's hard to say. It's really something that happens slowly over some time, not really like one thing happens that suddenly makes it home. Does it still not feel like home here to you?
D: No. I miss our old house and I miss my friends in New Hampshire.

Me too. Well, not really the house, just the trees. I told her it takes me about a year to feel settled in a new place. Of course, she doesn't know how long that is and it probably won't take her that long. We're getting there, making friends, learning our way around. But the excitement of newness is wearing off for her, so the difficulty of starting all over is starting to hit.

How fun!

2008-09-21T20:54:00.002-04:00

Concord grapes, picked from our yard-

Fruit leather- my first attempt, ever!

It's like grape jelly in your hand mmmmmm.....

Pictures

2008-09-19T10:06:00.002-04:00

Corryn, almost 20 months, in the front yard:

Dillon shucking corn. Mmmm...yummy Midwest sweet corn:

Our back yard-
Just kidding- it's really a local park :)

Up and Down

2008-09-08T14:28:00.003-04:00

That's where we are- good and bad, up and down. Dillon has made a couple of friends, but is still definitely missing her friends in NH. She spent a good bit of time with one of her new friends-one of our neighbors this weekend. Unfortunately, the fun ended when the little girl- M- got in Peaches face & Peaches responded by snapping at her, leaving red marks on M's face. No broken skin, but scared M quite a bit. I just knew that would be the last time M would be able to come over to our house.

I talked with M's mom last night after the excitement all settled. She was very understanding and assures me that M will still be able to come over. Her husband was more upset by it, but says he'll be OK with it. I assured her that Peaches will be kept out of kids' access from now on. Peaches has always been so good with my kids, I just never imagined she'd snap at another kid. In any case, lesson learned.

I'm enjoying having Dave around more, though it's lonelier now that he's gone back to work. I liked the moms at the homeschool group last week and have made friends with M's mom, though she works full time. I have to admit that I don't really enjoy this process of starting all over again. Certainly I like making new friends, but enjoy it much more in the setting of having an established set of friends rather than having to do it from scratch.

It's still good overall, really. I know that it takes time and we've not been here that long. We're checking out the parks in the area, doing our best get out and do things. Corryn's unpredictable napping makes it hard to participate in things since I know if I take her somewhere when she's tired or likely to be tired on the way home, there will be screaming in the car seat the entire way home. I hate having her scream in the car seat, but I don't really think it benefits us mentally to be home all day waiting for her to nap. It's all about the balance and I'm struggling some with establishing a new rhythm and routine for us.

Here are a couple of recent pictures. Notice the new bike-

Must wear big sister's helmet even though I have my own that also belonged to big sister...

To my NH friends

2008-08-28T08:53:00.000-04:00

What to say and how to say it? There are so many sentiments swirling around in my head that I'm having trouble collecting them into a cohesive expression of how much you've meant to me.

You were what made leaving New Hampshire difficult. You were what made it livable for me while I struggled through the seemingly endless winters and made the far-too-short-for-me summers so much more fun. It was all of you that helped keep me sane while my husband-against any wishes of his own- worked way too many hours.

You helped me figure out my way in parenting and solidifying the decision to homeschool. You were my family when mine was so far away. You celebrated with me when exciting things were happening and supported me through the difficult things. You bouyed me when I was just so burned out I didn't think I could survive this process of a husband in medical training coupled with 2 young children.

You made the agonizing process of saying goodbye both so wonderful and so difficult all at the same time. We were so very well fed, given heartfelt well wishes and beautiful remembrances. You entertained my children so I could take of things and helped get us out the door to close on our house. It meant the world to me, but made it heartwrenching to leave behind.

I cried as we left town for the last time.

To say thank you isn't enough. Helen Keller was quoted as saying "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us."

You are now a part of me and although things are pretty good here, I miss you a great deal. I pray that I find something as wonderful here.

So far, so good...

2008-08-27T11:01:00.002-04:00

Finally, a chance to write a little. Dave and Dillon are taking my mom to the airport in Indianapolis while I'm home with a napping Corryn.

We're doing pretty well, I have to say. My mom has been here for 2 weeks and has been a tremendous help in making this transition with 2 young children. The house is functional, though there are still boxes to deal with. It'll get done eventually.

The rental house is pretty nice- and a good bit bigger than what we moved from. And lighter. We had the darkest house in New Hampshire, so all these white walls and windows are a welcome change for me. We're in a cookie cutter housing development which is fine for the time being, but definitely isn't our dream. The neighbors, thus far, are really nice & keep bringing goodies our way. There are also a few too many door to door salesman for my tastes. Sidewalks are everywhere, which we've taken many walks on already. Dillon is now a pro at riding the little bike that we have & is beyond ready to graduate up to a real bike. We plan on saving like crazy for the next year to 2 years to find/remodel/build our dream house.

The community is mostly good as well. For the first several days we tended to drive through the industrial parts, just because that was the most direct and most familiar route. I started hearing this little voice inside my head "what have we done moving to this ugly, industrial place?" I made an effort to start taking different routes & it has made all the difference. I really do like it here. The farmer's market is good, though vastly different (disappointingly so for Dillon) from the one we left behind. THere are tons of parks, so we're making it our goal to work through them. The people are friendly. I can get pretty much all the foods I like to buy (such a small thing that makes me so happy!).

We start horseback riding lessons today and believe it or not, have a playdate set up for friday morning. When we met with the owner of the horseback riding place, she offered to connect me with another homeschooling family that she knows. Lo and behold, I got a call from her yesterday. We had a lot in common, so we're getting together. It's a good start. We're going to take the girls to the Indianapolis Children's Museum friday afternoon since Dillon's already been asking to go.

So that's it in a nutshell. I have my moments of sadness in leaving New Hampshire and definitely miss our friends. But I also have a good bit of time in which I'm feeling really good about this move and really excited that we've finally reached what we've been working toward for 12 years.

It's going to be just fine.

Doing OK!

2008-08-21T20:48:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note to say that we arrived in Indiana safe and sound. After accidently standing up the cable guy a couple of days after arriving, we got it rescheduled and finally have internet access again. We've made a good bit of progress through the boxes and are settling in a bit.

I'm going tomorrow to try to get my drivers license. To get one from out of state here, you have to re-take the written test, so I have to look over the actual rules of driving (after a number of years of doing so...)so that I'm am not ashamed to show my face in public having failed a driving test! I'll write more & post a few pictures as we get a bit more settled.

An empty house

2008-08-09T20:14:00.003-04:00

It's all empty in here- so much so that it echoes. We've been cleaning, though somehow it still looks messy with just the stuff we kept behind for us to use. We close on the house on Monday, so it has to be clean by then.

After cleaning all morning, we took the girls and Dillon's friend E to the local science museum. Other than Dillon's meltdown at not getting to buy junk food out of the vending machine it went well. We're both sad tonight at telling friends goodbye today.

This time getting ready for our move has really highlighted what wonderful friends we've made here. I'll write more about it later when I'm not so exhausted- and after I've enjoyed some of the loaf of gluten free bread that someone annonymously left still-warm in the mailbox for me.

Packed

2008-08-07T09:16:00.002-04:00

The packing is done. We have a down day today since the truck isn't going to be loaded until tomorrow. Well, sort of a down day, there's still a fair number of things to do around here, but I'm thankful for the chance to get them done without having to dodge the movers.

Dillon's feeling pretty rattled. She goes to find something she wants and finds that it isn't where she's used to it being and gets upset. Sometimes. Sometimes she takes it all in stride. Largely it depends on how well fed she is and willing she's been to eat during the day. All I can do is try my best- I can't force her to eat.

As thoroughly not fun as saying goodbye is, I have to admit that I'm ready to get this moving stuff done and get life put back together again.

Ack!

2008-08-05T07:03:00.002-04:00

The moving people will be here in less than 3 hours to start packing up the house. In that time I have to feed myself and the kids, clean the kitchen so they can pack up the dishes, finish up the last 2 loads of laundry, finish separating out the stuff we're keeping here with us from the stuff they can pack up, and finish packing the suitcases that we'll be living out of for most of the next 2 weeks. Dave is gone all day taking his anesthesia board exam in Burlington, VT, so I have a babysitter (aka lifesaver!) coming. I'm actually pretty organized about the move, but there's so many things that happen last minute that it feels crazy and stressful right now.

Today is also the last day of horseback riding, so Dillon has to tell her beloved Pipsqueak goodbye. I've taken lots of pictures & will try to get a few more today.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. I'm going to survive this chaos...I'm going to survive this chaos...

Did you know?

2008-07-31T19:39:00.002-04:00

Did you know that Emergency Medical Services recommends that if you let your toddler play with your cell phone that you take the battery out? Did you know that it was because you can still dial 911 even with the keypad locked?

Not that I would have any firsthand knowledge of that.

It's getting close and I don't want to say goodbye

2008-07-26T19:46:00.002-04:00

I'm really sad about leaving today. It's hitting me how close it is. I'm truly excited about what's ahead. But I'm also truly sad about what I'm leaving, at least at this time of year. If this were January and we were still facing months of winter, this would be easier, but leaving friends would still be so, so difficult. The friends I made here helped get me through what I imagine we'll look back on as a tough 5 years. We're a long way from family. Dave worked a lot. Really, really a lot. While Dillon was 3 months old when we got here, this is where I really became a parent.

I took a walk this morning, Corryn in the stroller, Dave and Dillon still home sleeping. I got a chance to take some pictures. This is one of my favorite spots- one that we've walked to many times. I find it to be an amazingly peaceful place.

I stopped at my church where there is a marble bench behind the church and sat for a little while, crying a little, thankful for the opportunity to not have to be strong for Dillon's sake. I wanted to soak in as much as I could. I want to remember all the things I've come to love here. We're going from a yard in which there is nothing but shade to a yard in a rental house with nothing but a few ornamental trees. I'm going to miss the trees. We saw a deer staring at us from the woods behind the house the other day, the middle of the afternoon. Our neighbors called the other night to tell us there was a fox in their backyard. I'm going to miss the wildlife.

I really don't regret the decision to move to the Midwest. It's a great move for us with a lot positive going for it. Yes, we can come back and visit- and will. But right now, I'm sad really dread saying goodbye.

On a happier note

2008-07-17T14:13:00.000-04:00

A silly grin from Corryn.

We got good news regarding our move. The hospital has increased its moving allowance to $10,000 from $8,000. We were going to owe a little over their previous limit, so now maybe we won't! We've gotten rid of a good number of heavy items, so it's possible.

I've been working really hard on keeping my own cool with Dillon's meltdowns, trying to manage my own stress through this. We got through the transition to becoming a big sister- we can do this. Dave's schedule has let up a bit (though there is still the board exam looming overhead next month), so I have been and will continue to take the opportunity to steal a little time to myself here and there. Really, a walk in the mornings once or twice a week or taking Dillon on an errand with him is all I really need. I just have to seize the opportunities where they lie and all will be well.

Tough transitions

2008-07-15T13:59:00.002-04:00

I am not Superwoman. I am not Supermom or Superwife. I'm not Super anything for that matter, except perhaps Super tired at times. I'll confess that I often don't feel like I have the energy to get us through this transition to a new life. I have trouble with it myself- the uprooting, the having everything in disarray for a period of weeks, having to make all new friends, having to search to find all your regular foods at the grocery store. I know, poor me, so many have it so much worse- and they do. But not acknowledging that this is difficult for me doesn't make me feel anymore empathetic to others'. On top of all, I have a 5 year old that has trouble with change.

There have been so many meltdowns over such small things as of late. She has taken to yelling "NO!" at Corryn a thousand times a day. She declares "Leave me ALONE!" in one breath, then falls apart when you do- but gets more angry when you don't. Much crying, much screaming, much clinging. I just feel smothered sometimes.

How to help her through this? She brings up questions about the move occasionally- will we take her toys, why can't we just move the house- and we talk about them, but I know there's no way to completely prepare her for all this and how utter unsettling it can feel.

Inspection

2008-07-05T16:28:00.002-04:00

All came out well with the inspection- no requests for anything to be repaired at all. We're waiting on the buyer to sign off on the inspection, but there should be no reason for her to do so.

The mover is chosen and I'm going to nail down the dates on Monday. Then I can get going on the 10,000 details required to move 1,000 miles- airfare for the girls and I, hotels, rental cars, trailer for Dave to pull....

4th of July

2008-07-04T16:22:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th of July! I was explaining to Dillon that the 4th of July was when we celebrated our country's birthday. She relied "I think our country likes chocolate cake- can we make some for it?" Never miss an opportunity to have chocolate.

And on a related note, I wanted to give a big congratulations to my friend Karen for becoming a US Citizen yesterday!

And so it goes at my house...

2008-07-03T18:40:00.002-04:00

Someone came out last week to do a moving estimate. We walked outside to take a look at the outside furniture and found the dog out there. She had pooped, but let's just say had not quite gotten rid of all of it. She kept trying to get inside, which, of course, I wouldn't let her do. The moving company guy and I went back inside and went through the rooms so he could assess all that. In Dillon's room, I opened the closet with the stuffed animal bin in it. On the top of the pile was her favorite stuffed dog with it's rear end stuck up in the air, neatly covered by a diaper.

Good thing that stuffed dog had it's diaper on. What if it had had the same problem the real dog did? I just hate it when stuffed dog poop gets everywhere.

Inspection done

2008-06-30T17:12:00.002-04:00

The house was inspected last thursday- for 3 hours. How nerve-wracking. On top of that, I didn't realize that the buyers accompanied the inspector. We never did, but we've always bought places from out of state. In any case, since I didn't realize this, the house was nowhere near show condition. I know, don't worry about it, they already made an offer, there are kids in the house, yeah, yeah. It's still embarassing having your landry basket of clean underwear sitting in the living room floor because you didn't have time (or weren't inclined...) to fold it.

Still, all mortification aside, it's done and now we're just waiting for the results to see if anything came up. They have 14 days, but if they are wanting anything done, they need to move quick. There's only so much time to get things done between now and August 11.

It's official!

2008-06-24T09:55:00.003-04:00

We have accepted the offer on our house! It's a great offer, closing just a couple of days before we leave. We would love to have closed earlier and just rented back, but hey, we'll take this!

We really are moving

2008-06-22T07:46:00.003-04:00

We're leaving in about 7 weeks. The goodbyes are starting to happen. We've been to our last gymnastics class. Dillon's been going for 2 1/2 years with mostly the same teachers the whole time so she was a little sad to say goodbye to them. I found out last night that our good friends that are also moving to Indiana leave in about 3 weeks. Somehow the reality of how close their move is made it really strike home to me how close our move is. So here's the bitter part of the move- the goobyes.

On a definite up note, we have another offer on the house! It's a real offer this time from someone pre-approved for the amount they've offered. There was a small 'hiccup' as our agent described it, in that the agent that wrote up the offer wasn't actually licensed to do so in our state, but messages I received after that seemed to indicate that it was worked out. So we're reservedly excited.

We really are moving.

Tired day

2008-06-20T16:34:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy week- nothing in particular to report, plans just changed at the last minute several times this week between illness (not ours, thank goodness) and a house showing. Today, we're just hanging out at home. It's rainy outside, we've done some cooking, the girls have both had baths. Dillon is currently very hungry and refusing to eat, as usual.

In any case, I'm kind of tired today. I wish I could be like a dolphin and let one side of my brain sleep at a time. At least then I could get a little rest time today and still know that my climbing toddler would still be safe. She's getting pretty creative in moving things around to get to what she wants.

A legitimate offer on the house would make me feel much more energetic, I'm sure. We countered the offer we received and have heard nothing else from them. Turns out they were only approved for a loan for $27,000 less than we were asking. Anyway, we've dropped the house by $10,000 in the hopes that it will help this move a little faster.

Keep your fingers crossed.

An offer

2008-06-11T07:52:00.002-04:00

We got an official offer on the house last night- for $50,000 less than our asking price. Not sure at all what the rationale is for that.

Obviously there is going to be some negotiation. Hopefully we can come to agreeable terms.

We'll see.

Maybe a hearing check is needed

2008-06-10T13:46:00.002-04:00

There is a very kind checker at the grocery store that, if she's there, carries my groceries out to my car for me. Today when we got in the car, I was thinking out loud "I need to call and tell the manager how much I appreciate her doing that for me."

D: "What's her name?"
W: "Debbie"
D: "Her name is Deadly?!"

Quote of the day

2008-06-09T15:00:00.002-04:00

Dillon, drinking hot cocoa this morning (in this heat!):

"Pretend I'm a puppy and my momma dog accidently made too much hot cocoa out of one of her milk ducts, so her owners pumped it out and gave it to me."

Too much hot cocoa- is there really such a thing?

I wonder if breastfeeding rates would go up if that actually happened? :)

Stuff be gone!

2008-06-08T07:48:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I had a yard sale. Together we made........

about $600. Yes, that was $600!

I would estimate that 30% of the stuff was mine and 70% was hers,
therefore she made the vast majority of those earnings, but I

a) got rid of lots of usable, but no-longer-needed-by-my-household stuff
b) made enough money to pay for at least of couple of tanks of gas for the upcoming move to Indiana
c) helped enable another person to continue staying home with her children. She came and bought our unsold children's clothing in order to sort and re-list it on e-bay as she has been sucessfully doing for the last 5 years. Yay for her, yay for us!

Earlier this week, I also gave a bin of small sized cloth diapers to a friend to give to another friend for her baby due later this summer.

Woohoo!

Monkey see, monkey do...

2008-06-03T18:41:00.004-04:00

Presenting our resident megalodon with her own critter cam (a little too much Walking with Dinosaurs?):

And the little sister megalodon with her own critter cam:

Never a dull moment around here.

But then sometimes she does sit...

2008-05-26T18:48:00.000-04:00

For 2 hours now

2008-05-23T19:07:00.003-04:00

She's been talking non stop while running a circuit around the living room. All this while a movie is going. She's wearing me out just watching her.

Good news

2008-05-21T13:01:00.002-04:00

We spent the morning at the hospital, getting a follow up MRI to an incidental finding on Corryn's MRI last year- the one in which we discovered she's need surgery for a tethered spinal cord. The radiologist that read her MRI last year mentioned the potential for something called a dermoid cyst and the concensus was to do a follow up MRI this year to see if it had done anything. At this point, with just the neurosurgeon having read it, she says she sees nothing out of the ordinary. So, good news. Unless a problem develops there should be no further need for MRIs. She gave us the name of someone in Indianapolis to follow up with, so we will do that once we move.

What a relief.

Make me an offer

2008-05-19T07:08:00.005-04:00

So, no offer yet from the people that said they wanted to make one. They are nervous first time home buyers. Hey, I've been there, I understand. Really I do. Or at least I did for the first few days after we were told this great news.

Several people have looked at the house. People often slow down when they are driving by the house and seem to take a look. Dave thinks it's because there is a stop sign there, but I prefer to think they are thinking about how much they'd like to buy our house.

It's cleaner than I think it has been in 5 years (shhhhh!!!!) The yard, which looked a lot like the surface of the moon once the snow finally went away, is again green and looking like a real yard. There are flowers planted and looking lovely.

SO SOMEONE BUY MY HOUSE PLEASE!!!

I can't keep this facade of organization and constant cleanliness up much longer.

We're gone, we're back

2008-05-13T15:37:00.000-04:00

The girls and I made a 10 day trip home to Arkansas. Given the immense number of things that could've gone wrong flying alone with 2 young children, I have to say it went exceptionally smoothly. There were testy moments here and there, plus an always fun dirty diaper change in an airplane bathroom, but overall, no problems to speak of. The day after we got there, there were tornados in the vicinity. The upside of that is that in the process of clearing out an interior closet to get into if needed, I found a huge box of old pictures that I spent the rest of the week going through. It was fun remembering the events in the pictures and hearing the stories of the ones before I was born. Otherwise, I did as little running around as I possibly could. After all the house-prep in the 2 weeks leading up to the trip, I was worn out when I got there and wanted nothing more than to rest. My mom took great care of us.

And speaking of the house- there were 4 showings while we were gone, plus an additional 7 visitors at the open house. Per our excellent agent, one of those visitors to the open house plans to make an offer! They are first time home buyers and are getting their own agent before actually making the offer, but supposedly it's coming. There was also someone that came back for a second showing last night. Dare I dream a second and hope there might be 2 offers on our humble abode?!

Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Reality is setting in

2008-04-21T12:19:00.002-04:00

We met with the real estate agent on friday. Our plan was to wait until the end of June to put our house up for sale, minimizing the amount of time I have to try to keep it clean with hurricanes Dillon and Corryn plotting against me. Jennifer, the agent was rather persuasive in convincing us that now is when people are really looking at homes in this area and we would be missing out on a huge market to not go ahead and do it now. We'll just ask for an August closing, she says.

All fine and good, and luckily the house was nearly clean enough when she came to look at it (which took hours of cleaning). The yard needs a lot of work and Dave has next to zero time off between now and the day it goes up for sale, though. There were some things she mentioned- Dillon's artwork has to come off of the windows (from her window markers), the kitchen and bathroom counters have to be clear (except appliances) when it's shown. Where am I going to put that stuff that's on it now? The bag of apples, the bananas, the bread.... Where am I going to put the stuff on the bathroom counter? Corryn can get the drawers open.

So, I'm in stressed, cleaning mode. I'm trying not to be neurotic every time a toy gets drug out, but I am sneaking some of messier ones away into storage.

This ought to be interesting. Let's hope it sells quickly so I can go back to not having to worry about it being super clean.

Just one small thing was missing

2008-04-13T17:49:00.002-04:00

We were going to a birthday party yesterday at 4:00. All day long Dillon asked- "Is it time for the party?" Over and over and over. Sometime early afternoon she took her clothes off for some reason- I think they got wet. She just left them off and ran around unclothed for the rest of the time. At 3:15 I told her we'd need to leave for the party soon and she needed to put clothes back on. As Dillon will do, she got distracted. Over and over and over. At 3:45, with a 20 minute drive ahead of us to get to the party, she headed down the steps to put her shoes on. I requested that she take another look to see if there was anything else she might need to do before we left.

"Oh yeah! I need to put clothes on!"

Oh to be so comfortable in your own skin that you forget that's all you're wearing...

Catching up again!

2008-04-06T17:39:00.003-04:00

Forever ago Karen tagged me to do a 10-20-30 thingie where you tell what you were doing 10, 20 and 30 years ago. It's taken me a while, what can I say?

Ten Years Ago

1998- I was 26, had been married for almost 3 years and Dave was 2 years into his undergrad work, working toward getting into medical school. We were living in the Dallas- Ft. Worth area growing weary of the traffic and the heat. I was working as a Pediatric ICU nurse at Cook Children's Medical Center in Ft. Worth. It seemed like life was hard at that point because we'd gone from 2 full time incomes to one and a part. That's pretty laughable to look back on that now :)

Twenty Years Ago

1988- I was 16 and in the 10th grade in Little Rock, Arkansas. It's funny that what reminded me to do this post was that I was cleaning out a closet today and found my prom dress from then.

I had a car about the same color as my dress, oddly enough. It was a Pontiac Sunfire with an aftermarket sunroof that leaked like crazy every time it rained. This made for a nice smelling car in the midst of the Arkansas summertime.

Thirty Years Ago

1978- 6 years old. I was in 1st grade at Lawson Elementary School. I remember that I loved learning to read and did so as often as possible. Maybe my mom will share some of her memories of me at that age in the comments....(hint, hint)

Yay for me, I got it done and had fun at it! And oh, yeah, got a closet cleaned out today!!

Is there a toddler in the house- Take II

2008-04-02T09:35:00.007-04:00

Yes, those are my tennis shoes floating in the bath I was about to take. Corryn so very helpfully put them there.

Thanks Corryn- really...

Is there a toddler in the house?

2008-03-29T17:42:00.002-04:00

I heard the distinct sound of dog food hitting the kitchen floor. I rounded the corner to find Corryn doing this:

I said "Hi" in that tone of voice that says "oh my, what are you into..."

She very cheerfully replied "Hi!" and went right back at tossing handfuls of dog food on the floor.

So now we have to step around it until the dog eats it all. I mean, really why bother picking it up- that's what the dog is for-right?

Oh, those eyes...

2008-03-27T17:12:00.003-04:00

Just a picture for Love Thursday

Love Thursday is back!!!

2008-03-20T18:07:00.005-04:00

Well, it has been for a while and I'm just now managing to put a post together. I need to get back in the groove of it again.

Today, love is sharing pizza and applesauce with a friend. In the same bite- as in roll up the pizza and dip it in the applesauce and then eat it. Completely gross, but it worked for them. It's really just all about the friendship, especially when they both know that we will be moving a long way away in just a few months and they will go much longer between seeing each other.

Happy Love Thursday!

Indiana bound!

2008-03-18T07:41:00.002-04:00

The decision is made- we are headed to Indiana in the fall! Contract negotiations are complete and the credentialing process (to obtain an IN license and hospital priviledges) is underway. We are awaiting the final originals of the contract to arrive in the mail, but already have the electronic version. We are so excited!!! The end of training-- and a brand new beginning are just around the corner. I still maintain it is bittersweet for me leaving New Hampshire. It's a beautiful place and I have many wonderful friends that I am leaving behind. I know it doesn't end the friendships, but it does change them. Dillon asked if we could buy small toys that she could give her friends before we moved so they would remember her.

To add to the excitement, we found out last night that a family we are good friends with will be moving just about 2 hours away from us in Indiana at about the same time. We've already been making plans to get together with each other and with their good friend in Chicago to visit some of the fun stuff there.

So exciting!!!

An offer

2008-03-04T18:24:00.002-05:00

We received an official from the hospital in Indiana today!

Choosing between 2 great choices is a great place to be.

Tagged #1

2008-03-04T13:10:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged twice lately & am trying to catch up!

Veganbaby tagged me a couple of weeks ago to share 5 random/weird things about myself and to list the top 5 places I'd like to see again.

First the personal info...
1)I'm really noise sensitive. I hate continuous loud noises like a TV or radio- or 5 year old pretending to be a pterydactyl. It becomes especially problematic for me in the evenings when I'm tired.
2) I dislike playing with kid toys. This isn't to say I dislike playing with my kids- there are many, many things I do like doing with them- playing with toys is just not one of them.
3)I enjoy knitting. I'm painfully slow at it and if I had to clothe my family with my knitting, we'd be some cold folks. But I still enjoy it.
4) I once started working on a Masters in Public Health. I was having second thoughts about it starting the second term, but having to take a statistics course did me in. I passed the course, but realized that public health wasn't really what I wanted to spend my life doing.
5)I've lived in 5 states and will be moving to a 6th one in about 6 months.

OK- five places I'd like to see again. There are so many new places I'd like to see, but there are a few I'd gladly revisit.
1) Hawaii-- and can't wait to do it
2) New York City- in spite of the crowds and noise. I went in high school and would love to go again, but only for a short visit
3)Canada- have actually been a few times, but not to the really pretty/interesting/historic parts
4)California- spent overnight in San Francisco on the way to Hawaii- I'd love to see more of it-especially Northern CA
5)Washington DC- such a cool place-- to visit.

Yay for me! I finally did it. I think I'm supposed to tag 5 more people, but I'll have to come back to that.

Job search update #5001

2008-03-02T15:28:00.003-05:00

Here goes-

The TN job was filled. No further explanation than that was given, so that's all I have to share.

Virginia- we have a official job offer and they have asked for a response within 2 weeks. It would be a good job in a beautiful place.

Indiana- Dave met with the new medical director (Stan) friday. It went very well. Stan told Dave he wants him to work for him, so essentially another verbal offer. He will be meeting with all the powers that be on Monday. Supposedly, we are supposed to receive a written offer within a week. As always, we'll see.

The good news is that it really is almost settled. Finally.

Happy Birthday 5th Dillon (a little belatedly...)

2008-03-02T14:11:00.006-05:00

OK, so her birthday was February 15th. We weren't late celebrating it, of course, I'm just a little late in posting about it.

She's 5 years old! I can't believe it! She's such a smart, curious, BUSY kid, it's almost hard to describe her. She asks 10,000 questions a day, comes up with the great realizations from the things we read and the movies she watches. She's incredibly creative and really a pretty amazing problem solver-- for 5 years old. She learned her alphabet - upper and lower case- in about 3 weeks once she decided it was interesting. She now regularly spells things out from signs she sees and asks what word it is. She also learned how to use a computer with amazing competence in that same space of time. Well, except for when she erased all the icons off my desktop, but we'll just nevermind that. Just last week she started writing letters and can make most of them recognizably. She's a great big sister most of the time and can make Corryn laugh like no one else can- though she can get irritated with Corryn's crying like no one else as well.

Her current favorites: Horses, horses and horses. Dinosaurs and anything to do with the human body are a very close second. She loves Dave's stories from work. She likes to cook with me, except that she doesn't like to help with whatever I'm making, she wants to make her own. This leads to some really interesting (and usually inedible) concoctions. But she's so proud of them and has learned a great deal about cooking just from being able to play with spices, flour and water.

Her current least favorites: eating- she proclaims it boring, cleaning up, getting into the bath- then interestingly enough, also dislikes getting out of the tub, still hates getting her teeth brushed, loud noises and crowds.

Opening presents (with a little help...):

A dinosaur!

Birthday cake! She wanted to use Corryn's "1" candle plus four regular candles to make 5. OK, whatever, it's her birthday-

Horses, horses, horses....

Happy Birthday, my no-longer-so-little one!

Where I've been

2008-03-01T14:46:00.005-05:00

Nowhere, really. Literally. I'm struggling with this winter. It's my last New England winter and it's a doozy. Someone told Dave that by mid February, we'd had 7 feet of snow. I totally believe it. I find it so difficult to get 2 young kids bundled up to go outside, when I really don't want to be out in the cold myself. The days feel endlessly gray- which they are when you have gotten this much snow. Of course, spending all that time indoors isn't such a good thing either, so it's kind of a no win situation. With Dillon's brain and body whirling around with ideas for things to play- and all the toys that go with the ideas along with the sheer destructive forces of the full-fledged toddler Corryn, the house is hopelessly messy. Not just the cursory "Oh, please ignore the mess" kind of mess that you say when someone comes over, but the kick something everytime you take a step kind of mess. I feel like I'm drowning in stuff sometimes. It's just exhausting. Warm weather - and the ability to get outside easily- cannot come soon enough. It will do wonders for my mental state.

To share in the joy of the snow for my non-New England friends, some photos:

This is the current view outside the kitchen window. The bottom of the window is about 5 feet off the ground from the outside. That hump at the bottom of the picture is the pile of snow that is now visible, between what snow has fallen in addition to what has fallen off the roof. Since the backyard is so shady, I bet it'll be there, albeit shrinking, until late May. I'll try to remember to document it.

Looking at the street that runs beside my house-

Looking across the street at my neighbor's house- really, it's there.

Job search update #5000

2008-02-12T11:49:00.000-05:00

No, it isn't settled yet. Still. Yes, we're sick of dealing with it, thinking about it, talking about it, having it hang over our heads. Really we are.

So, here's the summary-
Indiana job- they do have a medical director chosen and Dave has spoken with him by telephone. It isn't enough. The new director wants him to make another trip there so they can meet in person. Seriously, could this have moved any slower?! His inital interview was in early September.

Tennessee job- He really liked it there, got a "we love you" email from them, but they already had other interviews scheduled that they want to honor, so their time frame for making a decision is still 2-3 weeks from now.

Virginia- I think I forgot to mention he went on an interview in western VA. He also really liked it there and they gave strong messages that they really liked him. Initially, their timeframe for a decision was by the end of Feb. Dave got an email last week saying that they were planning in making a decision in the next few days. So far, no word from them, though.

More maddening waiting. We're so done with the waiting. This was supposed to be the fun and easy part.

How to get well by Dillon

2008-02-05T07:11:00.000-05:00

Fart a lot.

Take lots of medicine.

Get lots of rest.

This is particularly relevant since we all (except Corryn so far) have some sort of awful coughing, body aching viral madness. What a joy on top of the several inches of snow we got last night and the endless gray days.

Good reasons not to clean the kitchen

2008-02-02T06:48:00.000-05:00

I've been in major clean out mode as of late- you know, getting ready to sell the house and move in a few months. I thought it would be a good idea to run the self-cleaning option on the stove as an easy way to getting it really good and clean in there. Afterall, surely someone will overlook all the kid clutter in the house and know it was well taken care of if the inside of the oven is clean- right? So, for the first time in the almost 5 years we've been in the house, I tried to utilize this clearly beneficial option.

Except... it started beeping "door" at me approximately 2 minutes into the cycle. I fiddled with the door until the alarm changed to "F-9." Hmmm.... did a quick search online to find the .pdf of the owners manual (since the previous owners didn't leave it for us) and found nothing about an F-9 alarm. I called Amana, talked to a very kind customer service person, had her share my joy in the continuously beeping alarm only to find out that F-9 indicated a problem with the door latch and that the oven would now be locked until a new latch could be put in. Shut the stupid thing off, took down the number of the repair person, planning to call the next day. More money out on a house that we're wanting to sell very soon. There's something so wrong about that.

Not learning my lesson, the next day, I proceed to do more cleaning out, finding a bag of flaxseeds that I purchased easily 3 years ago and have used, well, almost not at all. To the trashcan with them!

Except... on the way to the trashcan, they spilled out all over the floor. Did I trip over the dog? A toy left on the floor? Nope, just dropped the bag. So, now there are these little buggy looking things all over the floor I had just swept. The dog, who has a rather sensitive stomach is trying the eat them, Corryn is crawling all through them and Dillon is repeatedly yelling "What happened?!" from the other room. I suppose that's good in that it prevented them from hearing what I was muttering. Out comes the vacuum cleaner- the dog goes running, Corryn tries to chew on the cord. It's almost all clean when the phone rings. While I'm on the phone, Dillon keeps picking Corryn up, making her mad.

How exactly does it go from perfectly calm to mass chaos so quickly?

Anyway, I got the mess cleaned up, procrastinated in calling the repair person and found that a matter of about 16 hours later, the oven unlocked itself- with all the baked on stuff inside still firmly in place.

I just hope anyone thinking about buying our house didn't just read this.

So she likes anatomy...

2008-01-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

Dillon has always been highly fascinated with anything to do with the human body. Got an injury? She wants the whole scoop, including blood if you have it to show. We have an anatomy book that she loves looking at, which we did for a little while today.

A little while later-

"Mom? Will you hold you hold your arms up in a big O and let me go through them? That way you can be the fallopian tube and I can be the egg."

Understandably, I'm often a little concerned with what she'll come up with next...

Happy 1st Birthday My Little Imp!

2008-01-20T17:14:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, right about the time I'm sitting down to write this, Corryn was born after a dream of a labor and delivery. Today, we're celebrating her first birthday with a chocolate cake, lots of singing of "Happy Birthday" and time all spent together. She dug wholeheartedly into her cake:

And clearly enjoyed it immensely. Raised her right, huh? :)

I've nicknamed her my little Imp. She's the kid that crawls into the room, looks around to see what she can get into, gives a little grin, then goes for it.

Some of her favorite activities-

Taking off her diaper cover and "accidently" dropping it down the stairs...

Turning the cold water on in the bathtub. This is especially fun when someone is in the shower...

Crawling up the stairs, even if it means crawling over the barricade I've put at the bottom to stop this little adventure. She's incredibly quick and silent at the stair climbing.

She loves imitating Dillon as much a possible. Blowing raspberries was the shared activity yesterday. She's almost walking, though not quite. She has 4 teeth- the top and bottom front ones. Although still not a big eater, she prefers spicier food than bland food. She's still a little studier, preferring to watch things and take it all in. Much to most people's chagrin, she's not a particularly smiley baby to strangers. She gives us big smiles and giggles, though. She dances when she hears music, even if it's just Dillon singing. She's starting to learn some signs, which I love. I remember how much easier it made life with Dillon. She shows all signs of being able to throw a proper tantrum :)

Happy Birthday my little Imp!

(And yes, that is her crawling on the tray of her high chair in the first picture!)

Yes, we're really going to homeschool

2008-01-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

A conversation in the car today between Dillon and Dave:

Dillon: "How big is the earth?"
Dave: "Really big."
Dillon: "But how big?"
Dave: "Well, about 25,000 miles around."
Dillon: "Are we in the earth?"
Dave: "We're on the surface of the earth."
Dillon: What's in the middle of the earth?"
Dave: "Oreo stuffing."

Job search update

2008-01-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

This will be brief since we're a germ factory around here. Corryn's been running fever on and off the last 36 hours, then I started running fever this morning. What a joy.

Anyway-

The job search is still ongoing. Dave ended up going on the interview to TN alone. The hospital balked at the cost of bringing all 4 of us to travel there on short notice. Can't really blame them, given that it was probably close to $1000 per ticket and 2 members of the family don't really have a say in whether or not we move there. In any case, the interview went extremely well, he really clicked with the partners in the practice. They practice there have other interviewees scheduled, so their timeline for making a decision is "a few weeks."

The job in Indiana is still out there. They supposedly are expecting to have all contract paperwork completed with the new anesthesia director by this week, at which point they'll put him in contact with the candidates. They are anticipating this happening by the end of the month.

There are a couple of more places that have requested interviews with him, it's a matter of scheduling. So, there are at least 2 really strong possibilities, either of which we could see being really happy in.

More waiting, though.

A new job interview

2008-01-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Dave has a new interview offer in eastern TN, so we're headed there later this week. I'm excited to go somewhere warmer- though our local forcast has record highs predicted for the next couple of days. It looks like a nice area, so we'll see what happens...

Do you hear what I hear?

2008-01-02T14:14:00.000-05:00

Because what I hear more times a day than I can count is:
"Why?"
"Hey mom, watch this, watch this, WATCHTHIS!!!!!!!"
"Hey mom, you know what?"
"Hey mom, guess what?"

Happy Holidays!

2008-01-01T18:39:00.002-05:00

I finally got a chance to go through some pictures and thought I'd post a few.

Playing outside:

Corryn and me with Dave's grandmother at Thanksgiving:

Corryn, 10 months:

Dillon shoveling snow:

Christmas morning frenzy:
11 months old:

Happy 2008!

Old Year's Conclusions

2007-12-31T17:53:00.000-05:00

Shamelessly borrowing from a friend's blog in which she reflected back on the last year, I thought I'd do the same.

It's been a tough, tough year. There have been blessings, for sure- Corryn's birth, Dave finishing residency, discovery and correction of Corryn's spinal cord defect with mostly smooth sailing, but most importantly, no lasting effects. There have been some difficulties- the furnace dying, Corryn's broken arm, the stress of the job search. The adjustment to 2 kids has been challenging for me, I will admit. Between the demands of small kids and Dave's work hours, it has often felt like there is simply not enough of me to go around.

Through it all, though, I have gained and ability and an immense appreciation for leaning on friends and family. Contrary to the American way, I learned how to ask for help- and in the process learned how much it adds to your life. It doesn't make you helpless or weak to ask for help- it makes you human and lessens your load. I've had loving ears on which to voice concerns, vent frustrations, cry, laugh- whatever was needed. We've been fed numerous times and had the house cleaned for us (thanks moms!!) There's simply no way we'd have made it through this year without the help of others.

I'm not making new year's resolutions. I'm just going to keep trying remember what I've learned from 2007. I'm learning to relax a bit with caring for 2 kids and in the process have been able to laugh with them more. Dave and I have leaned heavily on each other through it all and look forward to things settling some in the next year. We continue to lean on each other through the job search as we try to balance the wants, needs and dreams of all those involved with the available jobs.

At one time, I couldn't wait for this year to end. Now, as I think back on it, in many ways, I feel proud to have survived it, am thankful for the things I can take away from it and hope for a little less of a roller coaster next year.

It's all in how you define it

2007-12-22T08:35:00.000-05:00

Dillon, when she woke up this morning: "Mom, can we have a better day today?"
W: "Did we have a bad day yesterday? I thought we had a good day!"
D: "But I want to have the best day ever!"
W: "Well, what would make it the best day ever?"
D: "It would need to have more ice cream and cookies than yesterday did."

So, it's not about how well you get along with everyone, it's about how much sugar you got to eat.

Stuff

2007-12-20T15:13:00.000-05:00

We had our Secret Santa exchange at our homeschool group yesterday. The guidelines are that homemade or recycled is preferable, but if that isn't possible, then $5 or less. This makes for creative gifts. Dillon got a really cute framed watercolor of a pink elephant. She was really excited about it. We had to go to the grocery store after the meeting, so she wanted to carry it in with her so she could show it to people. I didn't realize that she wanted to show it to everyone in the grocery store. We had to have a conversation about it not far in the door as she very quickly was highly offended that no one was stopping to ask her about her picture. I had to explain that most people don't come to the grocery store to check out what someone else brought with them and that if we stop and talk to ever person there, we'll never get through the store. We agreed that it was fine to tell someone about it if they asked (and a few did...), but that we weren't going to stop people. It wasn't long before she got bored with the whole thing and put it down in the cart.

On a different note, the job search is still a big conundrum. There are some new developments with the job in Southern Illinois. Some things that were promised have now changed- including the offer of reimbursement for our trip there before Thanksgiving. And he wants us to make another trip for Dave to meet a few other people at the hospital. So, it has changed our thinking on that one a bit. Maybe it's a good thing that we didn't have a written contract. I'm trying so hard to take a "wait and see" approach on this, but it is hard.

And on one other note, twice today we have walked up on Corryn standing freely somewhere-as in, she didn't pull up on something and let go, she just stood up from the floor. Last night she was taking one step from one object to another. She's 11 months old today- sorry no picture today. I'll post one soon!

What's up with the job search?

2007-12-15T10:11:00.001-05:00

Good question. We aren't sure. 4 weeks after verbally accepting the job in Southern Illinois, we still don't have a written contract to go with it. We aren't sure if this is a normal amount of time to wait or not. It feels like it's taking far too long, though. And there have been promises of calls with updates that haven't happened.

And as for the job in Indiana... it just stalled. Not completely, but definitely stalled. They thought they had an anesthesia medical director hired, then didn't, then were talking about just subcontracting anesthesia instead of the hospital actually hiring them. Since they couldn't decide, they decided to hold off on staff job offers. Now they have someone they want for medical director and hope to have a written contract with them by January (note the importance of that written contract part- and the "hope to" part). Then, they'll be connecting the new medical director with the candidates for staff positions. This could easily take another month or two. That would put us into March- 6 months after the initial interview. But, it is a new hospital, so delays are inevitable.

How do you put a frustrated growl into writing?

The Southern Illinois job is the current top choice, but this dragging out of the written contract part has brought up some concerns. So, we continue to wallow around in the waiting game, when mentally, we are so beyond ready for it to be settled.

OK then

2007-12-12T07:28:00.000-05:00

The girls and I were driving to a friend's house for dinner Monday night, singing songs to try to keep Corryn from screaming in sheer hatred of the car seat. Dillon suggested Happy Birthday. She had gone to gymnastics that day and it was one of the girls' birthday. I asked, "What was her name?"

"I don't know."

"Did you ask her how old she was?"

And in being absolutely true to her nature, "No, I wasn't really interested."

Fair enough. Afterall, why bother if it isn't interesting?

File it under things that make no sense

2007-11-30T06:54:00.000-05:00

While going through the security lines at the airport yesterday, Dillon did a little skip through the security thing. The TSA agent made a big deal of this, squating down with his arms outstretched to corral her all while saying "I can't touch you, but you have to go back through!!"

Then, Corryn and I were going though. I didn't take her soft leather shoes off, so the same agent made me go back, take off her shoes and come back through the security screener thing.

So, apparently, happy, skipping 4 year old and infants with soft leather shoes on are now on the list of high risk fliers.

C-R-A-Z-I-N-E-S-S

2007-11-23T07:55:00.000-05:00

Oh my! Slow down, my life- you are going thisfastallthetime and I'm worn out!

Since my last post, it's been a whirlwind. Here are the highlights:

--Dave was gone for 5 days on job interviews, leaving the girls and I behind. It was so stressful traveling multiple places with 2 small children that we decided for him to go it alone. I confirmed just how much less stressful it was to be left behind with small children by getting my 3rd case of mastitis this year. Yep, that was much less stressful.

--I had my GI appointment to follow up on the wheat/gluten sensitivity that I developed while I was pregnant with Corryn. It hasn't gone away and had a lot of indications of being Celiac Disease, so I felt like it was important to see whether it was or not. I had an intestinal biopsy 2 days after the appointment, then got the wonderful news earlier this week that it is not Celiac Disease. It is a gluten sensitivity, but I don't have to be as diligent about avoiding it as I would if it were Celiac.

--Dave got a job offer from a hospital in Southern Illinois. It's a great opportunity with someone he really clicked with personality-wise.

--Unwilling to accept a job offer from a place I hadn't seen, we made plans to adjust our travel-home-for-the-holidays plans so we could spend a few days in Illinois. Having done both staying home alone with small kids AND traveling mulitple places with them in one month, I say it's a toss up as to which is more stressful.

--Accepted the job offer!!!!! It isn't a done deal- there are still contract negotiations, but it feels like that isn't going to be a problem. Dave has given them his "wants" and no one has balked yet.

--Colds for everyone, except Corryn. Teething for her. And sheer hatred for her car seat, though that's nothing new. It's just highlighted by how much more time she's had to spend in it.

--Traveled home to Arkansas for family Thanksgiving. Being dairy free for Corryn and wheat free for me ensured that I did not overeat at either of the dinners we went to yesterday. We are in the south and the reigning philosophy is that there is very little that can't be made better by the addition of butter/cream/ bacon grease, though care was taken by some of the cooks to make things without any butter. I appreciated it a great deal. It was wonderful to see and spend time with family, though a little overwhelming for the little ones. OK, a lot overwhelming- there were a lot of tears and consoling involved. Everyone wanted to hold Corryn and she wanted no part of it whatsoever.

There's definite good in there, though in the whirlwind it hasn't all sunk in yet.

Now for a few days of downtime. We're at my mom's. I get to shower uninterrupted. I get to sit and read a magazine. I get to take naps. How heavenly is that?!

Just a little dream...

2007-11-01T19:20:00.000-04:00

I want a little house, far in the woods. One with a little garden with some flowers. And quiet. A little place where no one says my name, or needs me for anything. I get to sit for longer than 5 minutes. I get to read or knit, or better yet, have a complete uninterrupted thought. I only have to worry about when I eat. No one would cry or ask me questions. I'd get to take a shower when I wanted with no negotiations of "play with me for 2 minutes first." I'd get to sleep.

I wouldn't want to spend all my time there, it would undoubtedly get pretty lonely. But right now, after the day we've had, there is very little I wouldn't give to have a little time in that house in the woods.

9 months old

2007-10-28T15:21:00.000-04:00

Late as usual- what can I say? There's a lot going on around here these days. My job ending soon, Dave interviewing for jobs, trying to arrange moonlighting opportunities, an upcoming GI appointment for me to follow up on the wheat problem I developed while pregnant. Of course, this on top of the demands of 2 young children. My head is often spinning trying to keep track of it all. Notice the lack of statement about housecleaning and laundry. Take from that what you will.

In any case- she's 9 months old! She spends a great deal of time standing, holding onto something, even cruising along things sometimes. I'm thinking of putting brick shoes on her to slow her seemingly breakneck race toward early walking.

She has 2 teeth now- so cute! She says "mamamama," she has big belly laughs, she claps and waves occasionally. She also has major stranger anxiety and cries when someone unfamiliar talks to her. She loves shiny, crinkly things, being carried in the sling and watching the trees move when the wind blows. She has discovered the new joy of splashing the water in the bathtub.

She weighs 17 lbs 10oz. I don't remember what Dillon weighed at this age, but just looking back at pictures, Corryn easily has a couple of pounds on her. I truly don't look forward to wrestling her into a snowsuit this winter, but it'll be fun to see how she reacts to the snow.

And for the bonus-

The view from the front window

2007-10-19T18:46:00.000-04:00

How cool is this?

2007-10-16T16:55:00.001-04:00

One of Dillon's friend's built this for her. It's made completely out of things found in our backyard.

Peaches promptly knocked down the first one, so he re-built it. I think it's pretty cool, as does she.

Milestones, full speed ahead

2007-10-08T06:50:00.000-04:00

Less than 2 weeks after figuring out how to crawl, she has moved on to pulling up to a standing position. She did this even before figuring out sitting very well. Her favorite place to practice this skill is on the edge of the slippery bathtub as I am taking a shower. This, of course, concerns me a bit. Maybe giving her a rawhide to chew instead of keeping them from her would occupy her long enough for me to take a shower.

:)

A walk by the river

2007-09-30T08:53:00.001-04:00

Question of the day

2007-09-28T16:26:00.000-04:00

D: "If the planet fell, would it roll?"

From the Indy Children's Museum

2007-09-25T07:39:00.000-04:00

This place was incredible! We were there from 11-5 and only saw about half of what was there. We hope for the chance to get to go back again.

The handblown glass structure from artist Dale Chihuly

The underside of the huge glass structure:

There was an amazing dinosaur display complete with several little play stations with terrain (caves & simulated water) and toy dinosaurs. They also had a dig site and a very well done scavenger hunt. Interestingly, they had a skull of a dinosaur with a brain tumor.

This is the closest that Dillon needs to be to driving for quite some time:

And as a great way to transition the kids out the door at closing time, they have a parade led by Rex the dinosaur down the spiral ramp straight to the front door. We had to give Dillon a lesson on safe flag waving after she accidently hit Corryn in the head. Corryn was understandably not amused by this.
Dillon has asked several times already to go back. We've promised her we will if we end up in Indiana. She's keeping her fingers crossed (OK, we are too, but as much for the museum as she is).

It's official: She's mobile!

2007-09-22T07:13:00.000-04:00

She figured it out last night as she was trying to get to something she wanted.

What was it that finally prompted her to coordinate the separate erratic movements of the upper and lower halves of her body? Her beloved mom? A really interesting toy?

Nope-the dog's nasty rawhide.

No matter where I put them, she seems to have a radar for them and has managed to work her way toward them as she has been figuring out how to crawl. The dog doesn't help in that when I toss it somewhere else, so goes and gets it, then proudly brings it back to where it was-won't fetch anything else, mind you. She doesn't even care that Corryn plays with it. Corryn doens't care about the multitude of little pieces of flotsam and jetsom all over the carpet. For her, the rawhide is key.

So now you know how to motivate your teething baby to crawl. Forget teethers- throw a rawhide down on the floor!