Another Zip
Today moved fast, a steady clip.
Was it two designs or three we tried to ship?
Engineering often becomes a stormy trip
Every last minute change like a double back-flip.
Does anyone remember when we began?
Seedling ideas given the watering can.
We always wish we'd made a better plan
As we hunt for errors and each page scan.
Eventually we say, let 'er rip.
Sooner or later it's time to chip.
So much work, more than a blip,
Every day still ends at the pillowslip.
-Christy
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AM phone check to daycare... Denali is doing well. She was eating and playing this morning. Denali was having some tummy time. They're doing an art project today, making snow flakes. K didn't say what kind of art project, whether it was painting or something else.
I remarked how she had been talking up a storm yesterday. She makes a lot of cooing and babbling sounds. In the baby room, the girls face the babies at each other in the bouncy seats, and they babble at each other.
There's plenty to watch in the baby room. The babies are at all different levels of development. Denali is still one of the younger ones. Some of the kids are crawling or walking around with the aid of push toys. You should see how Denali watches her brother. Whenever Colby is running around she pays close attention to whatever he's doing.
Yesterday they had her in the exersaucer for the first time, propped up with receiving blankets. She apparently liked it. She has very strong legs for a four month baby. I always attribute this to the period of colic when she used to arch her back and push her legs a lot. I dragged our exersaucer out of the basement last night intending to set it up, but I haven't had a chance to clean the dust off yet, or to locate the toys that slot into the top.
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Denali was sleeping when I called, but she should be waking soon for her next meal. J said they try to follow her lead. She drained both of her last bottles. She's babbling a lot and when she's in the bouncy seat or on the play mat, she reaches for or swats the toys that are hanging down.
Another thing I've noticed recently: when you go to pick her up from the car seat or bouncy seat now, Denali arches because she wants to be picked up. It's cute!
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Morning daycare check on Denali...
Denali ate at 9:30 and was due for another feeding at 11:30. When I called she was sleeping in the swing, occasionally waking like she does.
A said Denali does not seem as gassy as she was yesterday. She took her morning bottle better than yesterday, draining it. Yesterday she was really cranky and preferred to chew on her fingers than to take a lot of milk.
The girls hypothesized that it was because she was extra gassy, or maybe she was starting to teeth.
Her cheeks were pretty rosy yesterday, which as I recall is how Colby looked when he started teething. Maybe the girls are right that she's going to be sprouting teeth soon. It can start any time.
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Due to the state of the economy and because so many of our customers were doing it, my company implemented a two week shutdown over the holidays. Only essential personnel came to work. Normally, the company only shuts down for a week between Christmas and New Years.
Overheard from a colleague:
"It's the first time in my eleven year career that I've taken two weeks off in a row. It was excellent! I really had a chance to unwind. I should do this more often!"
I have to agree. Even though I just finished my twelve week maternity leave, this shutdown turned out to be the real vacation. As a whole family, we could sleep in, play with the kids, watch movies, and relax -- without thinking about work.
When I arrived at work yesterday, everyone was beaming. They looked rested and de-stressed. They seemed generally happier.
It's sad to think how rare it is to have two consecutive weeks off. I have heard from several people that it takes them about a week just to decompress before you really start feeling rested.
Of course, some people do somehow manage to take longer annual vacations, but it is more common to find people taking only a week or a few long weekends from their annual paid time off. Certainly one week is the most we usually manage. When you only get two or maybe three weeks of PTO per year, it's hard to find ways to take more than a week off at a time. Especially when you try to juggle vacations around school breaks, family time, visiting relatives, and home improvement projects!
Work is so central to American life that many people don't even know what to do with themselves given more time off. Last week I heard one person say they got bored after a few days off; they wanted to go back to work!
We have some friends in Britain who took a THREE MONTH work sabbatical to travel the world. Wow! What a rare and wonderful opportunity! In America, you have to quit or get laid off to do that kind of thing.
The peanut gallery is shouting: "It's my right to work if I want to. It's my way of fulfilling the American dream. I can't afford to miss more than a week. Work needs me. I need to set a good example. I want the money." Okay, that's cool. To each his own.
I merely question the extreme. There's a saying: work to live, not live to work. Do you really want to wait until retirement to live? Do you want to wait until after your kids are grown and gone? Is it really necessary to bide time until death in hopes of an afterlife? Is this a balanced kind of life?
Did you know there are studies that demonstrate that people who take regular vacations are actually more productive and have better morale?
Couldn't we find a way to embrace slightly longer vacations, in order to improve our sanity, health, and happiness, without having to give up our good work ethic or turn socialist with sixty paid holidays a year?
It would be nice to think they'll make the two week shutdown a permanent event, but you know that as soon as the economy picks up, it'll be back to business as usual.
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| » Morning Rush |
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Yesterday was crazy. Wayne usually does the morning drop off, but since he was working from home, I took the kids into daycare.
I actually managed to get ready in good time. Colby was even relatively behaved until near time to leave when I asked him to clean up the toys in the library; when I came back, he was playing instead of tidying, and I scooped up everything that was still out and took it away. Of course, this resulted in a melt down because, to his mind, he was cleaning up. The long way, apparently. He'll get them back in a week. I'll be glad when he starts understanding cause and effect a little better.
We still managed to get out the door, but I needed fuel so we diverted to the gas station. That added a little extra time on my morning commute. I got to school about 7:20, which isn't terrible. I still had a chance of getting to work by 8:30. It takes a good fifteen minutes to get the kids settled in their classrooms.
As I talked to J in the baby room, we discussed all of the preparations the school is going through to get ready for next week's state inspections. The teachers are in a panic because everything must be in perfect order. I had to sign a form from the handbook for Denali, which was no big deal.
Upstairs, in the morning drop off room, the teacher was talking to another parent and said something about how health forms had to be updated by Friday or their kid couldn't come into school next week. I knew Denali was up to date, but I wasn't so sure about Colby.
Sure enough, I found a stack of papers in Colby's room, one of which was his health assessment form. It had a note in the upper corner saying it was due 11/29! Two days notice. Yikes! I complained to the teacher at giving us such short notice. A waste of breath.
The doctor's office turns forms around in three days. So to avoid having Colby blocked from school on Monday, instead of going to work at this point, I drove back up to Doylestown and took the form to the doctors. I asked whether it was possible to get it back by Friday, and the assistant wrote a note and said they'd try.
Luckily, they happened to have a slow day and called me mid morning, having already finished it. Colby's doctor is wonderful! (Later I found out that Colby wouldn't have been blocked for the missing form, but at least it's out of the way now.)
Anyway, I got to work about 9:20 after all that. And then I found out I was missing a vital component to my breast pump. I almost had to go home, because I have to pump three times a day at work to have enough milk for Denali for daycare for the next day. Luckily I have a hand pump in the trunk of my car and I was able to make do for the day. But what a nuisance.
Just one of those days where you wonder why you got out of bed!
Actually, the rest of the day was okay, except it wasn't as productive as usual. In the evening I tried my hand at making peanut brittle again, and it seems to have turned out better this time.
Today has been much better, much more normal. I got to work before 8 o'clock and I've had a good day of working on errata and schematics. My afternoon was supposed to be bogged down with meetings but one ended up postponed until tomorrow morning, and the other finished in a half hour. I could use a nap - Denali woke me up at 4:50 a.m. for a feeding - but otherwise it's been a good day. I also have a racquetball game with Wayne after work. Should be fun.
Tonight I'll probably start assembling my cookie care packages. And at some point I'd like to write up Cookie Chronicles. I have several story ideas now. I'm looking forward to the weekend.
Dec. 11th, 2008 @ 02:29 pm
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| » Hungrier than Usual |
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Denali is doing okay but she was a little crabby this morning at daycare. Usually she's a calm baby for them, but not today.
She didn't calm down after they fed her the first bottle, so they thought she was still hungry. The first bottle only had three ounces; I tend to fill bottles with different amounts because I produce different amounts pumping at different times of day.
They're giving her a second bottle now, and she seems much happier. They wondered if she had been hungrier than usual; I told them that she eats like a maniac at home, but maybe she's going through a growth spurt.
I told them I could provide more milk in the daily allotment for daycare if they find they need it. Currently I give them five bottles of varying amounts, but there's almost always more in our fridge. Usually they only go through four of them, unless I run late, in which case they use the fifth bottle. Today they'll likely need all five because I'm playing racquetball after work. But it could be interesting if they use the extra bottle this morning...
Dec. 9th, 2008 @ 10:44 am
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| » Christmas Cookies |
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Denali is doing well this morning. She seems to be just about over last week's head cold. She just had a bottle, then played a little, and now she's sleeping.
I had a busy Sunday baking cookies for this year's care packages. So far I've made spritz, frosted Christmas sugar cookies, peanut brittle, peanut butter fudge, and mince pies. Well, the mince pies were for Wayne!
The peanut brittle was a new experiment. I've never made that before. I don't think I cooked it quite long enough so I may try making a second batch. It cracked up okay but it's a little too grainy for peanut brittle. Tastes okay, just not exactly right.
The Christmas cookie baking was fun. Colby helped me with that. I had bought a set of 25 mini cookie cutters a couple weeks ago, and they made little bite-sized cookies. We decorated some last night before bedtime, and then I finished the rest after the kids were asleep. Colby had fun cutting out the cookies but couldn't figure out how to work the frosting press. But he was happy because he got to eat a couple.
The fudge turned out well this year. It's always tricky - cook it too little and you end up with goo; cook it too much and you get rock.
I have a couple more cookie types I'd like to make, and then I'll send out a bunch of them in the mail. We'll keep just enough for a little snacking but not so much as to be overwhelmed.
Dec. 8th, 2008 @ 10:49 am
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| » First Cold for Denali |
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It's Friday!
Her nose is running a lot, but she's doing okay. She has her first cold, but there's no sign of fever so there's no reason to pull her out of school. I'll have to use some saline drops over the weekend.
She fell asleep after getting dropped off this morning, which is funny because she was really hungry when I fed her this morning; she wasn't exactly done having milk when it was time to go to school and she would probably have fed longer, given the chance.
She drank a bottle at 8:50 and then fell asleep again. She was sleeping in the swing when I called. Apparently she's been going longer between feedings the last couple of days, and she's been taking good naps, but I expect this is because she's not feeling 100% with that cold. Rest is good medicine.
Yesterday they sent two babies home with fever. I'm surprised Denali made it through the first week. When Colby started daycare, he was home literally every Thursday and Friday for the first month.
Speaking of Colby, I'm surprised we managed to get him up and out of bed okay this morning. Last night he kept waking himself up between 9 and 10. I think he got up at least four times, whining about all sorts. I'm not really sure what was going on, as this is not normal for him. Usually, once he's out, he sleeps until dawn. Maybe he was having bad dreams or not feeling well. He couldn't figure out what he wanted: need a drink of water, need to go potty, want cereal, cold... I was relieved that he finally went to sleep and didn't wake me up after we went to bed.
This morning he claimed his left ear hurt, but I checked his temperature and it was perfectly normal. It's tricky sometimes figuring out if his claim is real. Unless he's actually showing some symptoms of illness, I am usually very skeptical. I wait to see if he repeats the claim several times; usually it's a one-off. He didn't mention the ear again so it was probably just a fake problem, something to get a little attention. It's must be normal for three year olds, like saying a finger hurts. These little dialogues can be amusing:
Colby, while moving his step stool: "Ow, I hurt my finger."
Me, unsympathetic: "That's too bad. You should be more careful."
You can always tell when an injury is real.
Incidentally, did I mention that our cat Talia also caught a cold? She was sneezing and had a runny nose last night.
Dec. 5th, 2008 @ 10:21 am
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| » Feed me |
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Denali was sleeping when I called and took a bottle at 8:30 a.m. J expects her to wake up starving any time now - when she wants feeding, she wants it NOW!
Dec. 4th, 2008 @ 04:23 pm
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| » Good timing |
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Denali is having a good day in daycare. She had one blow out and three BMs, so she's making up for not doing anything in that department for four days. So she saved it for school; lucky me!
She just drank one of her bottles and is rocking in the swing, looking around. She's still not showing much fussiness.
She's also drinking all of the milk in her bottles. I always thought she was a hungry baby!
Almost time to go get the kids.
Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 03:32 pm
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| » What colic? |
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I talked to A. at lunchtime. She said Denali was sleeping in the swing. She had drunk two of the smaller bottles of breast milk this morning and wasn't fussy at all, even when she was gassy.
Colic? What colic? They haven't seen it.
Dec. 2nd, 2008 @ 02:05 pm
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| » And the afternoon... |
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Denali seems to be doing fine at school this afternoon. She's taken two more bottles of breast milk, at roughly two hour intervals. At the moment she was getting a little fussy, so she was sitting with T. She's very happy being held.
A. remarked that Denali is very serious and watches everything. She's very curious and taking in all of the kid activity. She had some time on the mat and played with the toy octopus. I thought this was strange because she doesn't exactly play yet, and the clarification was that she flailed around a bit, so presumably she knocked her arms into the toy. Apparently it was very cute though.
Dec. 1st, 2008 @ 02:20 pm
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| » Email debris |
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After being on leave of absence for twelve weeks and shut out from my work email, I have:
1100 new messages in my Inbox
5684 messages in my junk folder (mostly automated stuff from our PLM system)
My PC had 19 updates to install (assuming it doesn't ask for more after the restart).
Dec. 1st, 2008 @ 10:48 am
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| » Denali's first day at school |
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Today is Denali's first day at school. I spent time yesterday evening getting everything together by the door to the garage: clothing bag, diapers, and wipes for Denali; racquetball bag (yes, I'm actually supposed to play today!), stuff for work. So what did I forget? The milk, which was in the fridge.
After dropping Denali off at school and spending a little time talking to her teacher, I had to run home to retrieve the forgotten bottles. Denali fussed a little when she saw me come back but it was okay.
So I got into work about a half hour later than I intended (I was up at 5:30 a.m. to get an early start). Of course I still didn't have computer or email access. That would be too easy. It took a little over an hour to get full access again. Of course, then my PC had to install nineteen updates and download a boatload of email. It's still chugging through the email.
In the meantime, I had a chance to call in to school. Denali took her first bottle at 8:15 a.m. At first she didn't want it, being used to taking it straight for the source, but then she got used to the bottle and drank it down in about a half hour. Most of the small bottles were holding 3 or 4 ounces so that's good. Once less thing for me to worry about.
After the bottle, they put her in the swing. She loves it. She's being a good girl and not fussy, which is also a relief. I wonder how the afternoon will be, when she tends to be fussier. They were just getting a second bottle ready when I called.
At least they're not having any problems.
The boys are home, getting ready to go shopping with Granddad.
Time for me to get back to work. Work!
Dec. 1st, 2008 @ 10:33 am
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| » Thanksgiving Feast |
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Today's Thanksgiving feast:
Appetizers:
Deviled eggs
Cheese plate
Salami
Crackers
Carrot sticks
Celery with peanut butter
Black and green olives
Dinner:
Roast turkey, prepared by being brined
Stuffing with pork sausage, apples, and toasted pecans
Mashed potatoes
Candied yams
Steamed green beans
Cranberry sauce
Ambrosia salad
Rye and caraway rolls
Homemade turkey gravy
Dessert:
Apple pie
Pumpkin-praline pie
Pecan pie
served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
Nov. 27th, 2008 @ 09:41 pm
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| » Checkup at Three Years |
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Colby had his three year check-up today with Dr. A.
When we arrived, we chatted with S at the desk for a couple minutes. She was happy to see him; she used to work at daycare in the nursery and was one of our favorite girls there. She has two children now. We chatted briefly about the high cost of daycare.
S recalled how we never gave Colby processed baby food but always found ways to give him what we ate by mixing small bits into his oatmeal or pulverizing our regular food. She asked how he ate now, which was cool. He eats everything, of course, and he is never picky. I wonder if she ever tried feeing her young ones that way after seeing that it could be done? I didn’t ask. So many people seem to think you have to use baby food, but it’s not at all hard to use regular food as long as you follow common sense for safety.
The nurse called us into the back and asked to have Colby’s coat and shoes off for measurements. He weighted 30.9 pounds and was 35.6 inches. His weight was in the median; he height was a little shorter than average but this was the first year they did a standing measurement and not one on paper, so it could be a discrepancy for tracking because of that.
It was different from his previous baby exams. Now that he’s getting bigger and able to follow instructions, it was more of a big kid exam. The nurse took his blood pressure with a child-sized blood pressure cuff, which was new for him, and then she ran through the various developmental milestone questions: can he draw a straight line (yes); can he follow instructions (most of the time); how is he with going to the bathroom (we’re working on potty training); can he put three words together in a sentence (yes, and then some); does he eat a balanced diet (yes!). Colby was on target for everything.
Dr. A took over after the blood pressure check. She listened to Colby’s heart with the stethoscope; she looked in his eyes and ears; she checked his abdomen; she had him jump, hop on one foot, stand on his tip toes, walk on his heels, bend like a frog to check his back. She asked various questions like whether our water had fluoride in it, if we’d been sick, whether Colby had needed the albuterol treatment for breathing difficulties during colds (we haven’t used the nebulizer in a year), and so on.
She was pleased with his progress. She also checked his finger from last week’s door injury and confirmed that it was fine. He demonstrated full, normal movement. Colby also pointed to his arm for some invisible injury and she checked that, too, which was amusing since there was nothing wrong with his arm. Colby has been saying that he didn’t feel well for the last couple of days, although he has acted perfectly fine, so perhaps now that he’s been to the doctor he’ll be done with that. Last week when I almost took him to the doctors to have the bruised finger examined, he was almost disappointed when I canceled.
The doctor left the room. I told Colby he was also going to get his flu shot. I told him I had got mine last week and he was getting one just like me. He likes that, and often brags that he’s “just like you” when he has something in common, so that seemed a good strategy. It makes him feel like a big boy, which is a big deal to a three year old.
The nurse came in and asked me to hold him. After all, he is only three and likely to squirm for a shot in the arm. I shifted Denali around on my hip; she had been nursing in the baby sling. Then I hauled Colby up into my lap and held him in a hug so he couldn’t squirm. He didn’t remember what shots were because it has been a year, so there was no fear there.
She gave him the shot. He didn’t cry, but he said the band-aid hurt. I was very happy with this non-fussy reaction. I reminded him that he was just like me for having had the flu shot, and that the band-aid would feel better later. And then it was time to leave.
Then I realized my purse wasn’t in the patient room, and I had a moment of panic hunting for it. I hurried out to the waiting room and it wasn’t there. I worried S behind the desk, who was on the phone – she put her caller on hold – and then I looked down the hall to the scale and spotted my purse on the chair next to it. I had forgotten it after helping Colby take his coat and shoes off at the scale. I was very relieved!
Oct. 30th, 2008 @ 03:05 pm
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| » Menu: Curried Catfish |
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Tonight's dinner:
Curried Panfried Catfish
This is my own invention.
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- Plain breadcrumbs
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. curry powder
- 1/8 tsp. chili powder
- 2 catfish fillets (about 1 lb.)
- 1 T. vegetable oil
Mix egg and milk in a plate.
Mix breadcrumbs and spices in a second plate.
Dip catfish fillets first in egg mixture, then coat them with breadcrumb mixture.
Pan fry fillets until flaky.
Tomato Rice
Original recipe from the Hamlyn All Colour Indian Cookbook Copyright 1992. Recipe has been slightly modified based on ingredients I had on hand, plus simplified to what I actually did to make it.
- 1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced thinly
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 c. white rice
Sauté onion and garlic in a little olive oil in a large frying pan until onion is soft and starting to color.
Add ginger.
Add rice, frying for another minute.
Add tomatoes plus one can of water and combine. Bring to boil.
Cover and simmer on low for about 20 minutes or until rice is cooked.
I served the catfish and tomato rice with fresh steamed spinach.
Oct. 5th, 2008 @ 08:36 pm
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| » Lather, Rinse, Repeat |
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I used to be efficient. I used to be able to get things done quickly. It doesn't feel like that anymore. There are days when I feel like I can't get anything done. I suppose it's just that I'm not getting "my things" done quickly.
It's amazing how much time and energy goes into looking after children. Just having one child takes a lot of time, but having two is exponentially more challenging. Most days I'm up between 6 or 7 in the morning, but even with the early start time, on a Saturday I'm lucky if we can get out of the house before 10 or 11 to run errands. The morning hours seem to go to feedings, diaper changes, clothing changes, breakfast, teeth brushing, and other similar things.
However, today we did manage to get out before lunchtime, which is better than we managed last weekend. I took Colby and Denali with me. I'm trying to get used to taking both children out for errands. I could probably leave Denali at home with Wayne, but if she gets hungry while I'm out, it makes it difficult for Wayne. We haven't introduced any sort of bottle feeding yet; I don't want to introduce any bottles until we have breast feeding very well-established. Eventually I'll pump milk for Wayne to use while I'm out.
At any rate, as long as I feed Denali before we go out, we're good for at least an hour and a half or two. And I can always feed her in the car between errands.
Today we went to the bank and post office, we took some clothes to the dry cleaners, and we did the weekly grocery shopping. We came home for lunch, and afterwards, all four of us went to the nursery. Wayne picked out some new shrubs for the garden and I got some milky spore to put on the lawn to fight the grubs. When we got home, I needed a nap. Colby was whiney, so we set him up for a nap, but I'm pretty sure he played in his room for the entire hour. I feed Denali and dozed for a forty five minutes. At least I got a nap!
With nap-time out of the way (and my pounding headache cured), Wayne went outside to do gardening. As soon as I was putting Colby's shoes on, Denali fussed some more, so I fed her again. Colby went outside with his daddy. I eventually got Denali to take another nap so I could join the boys outside. Wayne planted the new shrubs and I mowed the lawn. Colby followed me around with his wagon for a while, pretending to mow, and then he tried to help Wayne dig up some dirt.
After all this activity, it was time to make dinner. Dinner is never fast in our house. Colby takes a long time to eat. We got things wrapped up by about 7:30 (the finale was Colby spilling his glass of water all over the floor), and then it was time to get the kids upstairs for baths. Colby is easier to put to bed because his routine is well-established; Denali doesn't like going to sleep after her bedtime feeding and so wailed for ages before I went back in to feed her a second time.
After all this activity, I finally had a chance to relax for a little. Tonight I made oatmeal bars for dessert and then played on the computer to unwind. Eventually I cleaned up the kitchen.
Sometime soon I might even get some sleep. A little rest, before it starts all over again!
Oct. 4th, 2008 @ 11:23 pm
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| » Catching My Breath |
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I'm about to post a flood of back-dated entries going back as far as April 2007. I kept little notes about Colby's activities for quite a while after I posted on April 3, 2007. I offer them as vignettes of life for several additional months.
I figure this is another good way to jump start my writing again.
Oct. 2nd, 2008 @ 10:30 pm
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