Officemate for the day...

Taken with my phone

Bathing suit rejects

We went to Old Navy and I tried on the suits I thought I liked. Yeah, they looked awful on, so back to square one. Although now that the swelly belly is going away I'm starting to think I could get away with a bikini after all. I'm still going to search for a new tankini though, so feel free to keep sending recommendations. 

Chicago!

I finally got around to uploading all of the pictures from my trip to Chicago, so here we go:


I flew out on a Friday to spend time with my friend, Anne, and her daughter, Ave, before my conference began. Anne and I had a mommy's night out on Friday and shared a lot of appetizers and wine and had a great time out without the babies.

Pic taken by Anne's iPhone


Saturday we spent the morning playing with Ave and watching trash TV, my favorite, and then left for the Cubs game. Anne wanted me to have the Wrigley experience, so we had tickets for the bleachers which is first come, first serve for seats. We got there 30 minutes late and our first priority was getting ball park food, so by the time we started looking for seats there were none left. We finally found the last 2 open seats in the last row behind the scoreboard. Lucky for us, the scoreboard only blocked a tiny part of our view and we were more interested in judging the people around us than watching the game. After the 7th inning a ton of people started leaving so we ended up with better seats and a much better view of the field. I think we spent a grand total of 20 minutes in our seats before we got our picture in front of the field and left.


On our way out, we noticed a TON of bike taxis and decided to hop in one for a few blocks. I thought it was blast and Anne was hunkered down, undercover-style so no one would recognize her. We thought we timed everything perfectly to catch the 3:40 train and got to the station about 15 minutes before only to find out that there is no 3:40 train. There's a 12:40, 1:40, 2:40, 4:40, 5:40 and 6:40, but no 3:40. After a lecture from Sean, Anne's husband, we decided to hang out in the food court at the train station for an hour. The type of people that frequent the train station food court are not the most normal. This, of course, provided endless entertain for us.


There was the "dance" group, all dressed in 1980's tie-dyed shirts, the mullet family with the mom who picked her nose for 5 minutes straight, the "blood of Jesus" woman, who scribbled ferociously over a laminated paper that read "I cover myself in the blood of Jesus. I cover my chest in the blood of Jesus. I cover my arms in the blood of Jesus." (you get the point), the 17 year old girl wrapped in a Cubs blanket that appeared to be missing her pants and the trio of teenagers next to us: girlfriend yelling and sobbing at her boyfriend while her friend calmly clipped her fingernails and applied her makeup next to them. All in all, a worthwhile time at the train station food court. Once we were home, Sean made us dinner and then we passed out in front of the TV, watching Janet Jackson music videos.


We woke up Sunday and played with Ave in her playroom and then headed out to the park to spend some time at the playground. Ave is just like Stasa, Miss Independent, but she did let me swing with her for a bit.



Pic taken by Anne's iPhone


After the park we headed home for lunch and then Anne and I went out for pedicures and more girl time. We should have been concerned when we walked in and saw this:

Pic taken by Anne's iPhone


Instead we laughed and made fun of all of the wigs and heads - there were many many more, all around the "salon" and "spa". After waiting about 45 minutes, we were finally taken back to the "spa" part of the salon. I use the term spa loosely since I was left sitting in a recliner with my feet in a fancy rubbermaid bath. Our nail "technician" was not the best and Anne and I spent the entire time texting back and forth about the whole experience.


Anne: This lady has no idea what she's doing
Me: This lady is judging you
A: I'm judging her everything so it's ok
Me: She's like ripping your skin off
A: Sean gives better pedicures than this lady
A: I'm going to get an infection a la Paula Abdul from this place aren't I?
Me: Most definitely
Me: Ummmmmmmm, she's stupid.
A: She's filing my skin
A: I smell food
Me: Did the big blonde find this lady on the street? Or is this the for real regular "technician"
Me: I bet she's a master technician
Me: Now I wish I didn't shave
A: She didn't even get all my polish off. Master technician fail.
Me: I'm going to be a bitchy client
Me: Tell her she owes you $2 for opening that
Me: She stared at the polish for like half a minute
A: No wonder they had same day openings
A: She is worse than the crackhead with the kaboodle
Me: I bet she's painting your skin
A: Look at them, they look horrible
A: Worst pedicure ever.
Me: And it's $40+
A: ????What?
A: And it's like a 3 hour process. I'm pissed
Me: Pedi on their price list
A: Host fail
Me: Serious host fail
Me: What is she doing?
Me: Um, is her hand bumping into your big toe's wet polish?
A: I used to feel bad for her. Now I hate her.
Me: She's awful. I want a refund and I haven't even paid.
A: She doesn't even know the products. She's all "oh what is this, I think I'll put that on next"
A: And why is the water orange?
Me: I could have done a better job drunk
Me: LOL I know!
A: You should not get one
Me: What did she just spray????
A: Avery could've done a better job drunk
A: Bug spray


Needless to say, I did not get a pedicure. We went home to another Sean-made meal and ended the evening watching the Miss USA pageant and an episode of Celebrity Apprentice and then Anne drove me to my hotel in the city.


That weekend was leaps and bounds more fun than the rest of my trip. I spent the rest of my time in Chicago at the ASTD ICE conference, which wasn't all that great. My friend, Patrick, and I did take a drive up the Gold Coast, one of the richest neighborhoods in the US and gawked at the ridiculous mansions on the lake.


Here are the rest of the pictures from my time in Chicago:

It's swimsuit season...

I'm not yet ready to rock a bikini this summer and I hate last year's momish tankini so I'm on the hunt for a new one-piece and tankini. I'm not too picky, but I don't want anything too pricey or frumpish and they both still need to look cute. I've found 2 so far that I really like and I think I'll try them on in the store and then order them online in the colors I like best. What do you think?







Stasa already has 2 really cute bathing suits and a hot pink rash guard for the summer. I can't wait for pool time!

Our trip to the ER

Most of you that know me are well aware of how I end up in the ER frequently due to my klutziness. Well, I woke up Thursday morning around 1:30 with the most intense abdominal pain and bloating. I spent 2 hours writhing around on the floor unsure of what to do or how to relieve the bloating and pain. Malox, Tums and Midol didn't work, so I woke up Tom who's first instinct was to google the symptoms to see if there was anything else we could do at home. Finally we gave in, woke up Stasa and headed to the ER. 


Lucky for us the ER wasn't too busy and the doctor came in pretty quick. After checking me over, a nurse came in to insert an IV and administer some drugs: Dilaudid for pain and a medicine for bloating and another for nausea. Before she gave me the drugs she took some blood for tests and had me drink a liquid contrast in case the doctor ordered a CT. In the meantime, Tom dropped Stasa off at daycare so we wouldn't have to worry about her running around hospital. 


I was finally taken back for a CT scan and the technician told me they'd have to inject more contrast for the final image and that I would feel flushed and would also feel like I had peed my pants. It was the weirdest feeling and I was so happy when it was over. After the doctor had a chance to read the CT results, he came in, SMILING and announced that I would need an appendectomy. My response was less than polite. 


The next couple of hours were kind of a blur of pain meds and waiting around. Finally we were wheeled up to a waiting area and the surgeon and anesthesiologist explained everything to us. The anesthesiologist injected the first round of what I call the "pass out" drug in my IV and told me I'd probably not remember anything after that and I really don't. Tom told me that I cried the whole way to the OR, which doesn't surprise me because I was worried about something going wrong as soon as they said "appendectomy." 


The next thing I remember is waking up in Recovery with pillows all around me and a heavy feeling in my head. They took me to my room where Tom was waiting with some flowers my boss had dropped off. After that it was pretty much the norm for hospital living: nurses checking my stats every hour, clear liquid diet, forced activity and deep breathing. Tom and I were so happy when I was discharged on Friday, especially since I had been home less than 24 hours after my trip to Chicago. 


Recovery has been a bit of a pain. I've only ever had my tonsils removed so I've never had to deal with recovering from being cut into like this. I'm not sure I'd be able to handle having a c-section. And I only have 3 small incisions since they removed my appendix laparoscopically. I'm still on an antibiotic, taking pain meds at night so I can sleep comfortably, doing my deep breathing exercises and trying to walk around when I can. Mostly it just hurts to take a deep breath and move quickly. I thought I would be ready to go back to work on Monday, but I really don't think I could manage sitting up straight for an entire day. Not to mention lugging my laptop bag in to the office. I can't wait until I'm fully healed so I can get back to my normal routine, like picking up my daughter. 

I have a ton of updating to do

I need to post pictures from my trip to Chicago and my time away and the fun filled emergency surgery I went through yesterday. I spy my camera cord nearby, so I'll start uploading pictures soon. For now, feel free to feel sorry for me and bring ice cream. : )

Chicago!

I'll be in Chicago for 5 days for work and a little bit of pleasure. I'm staying with my friend, Anne, over the weekend and then I'll be attending a conference in downtown Chicago until Wednesday. I'm sure I'll have a lot of pictures to share once I'm home. Hopefully Tom will remember to brush Stasa's teeth at least once a day.

Dance has really changed...

I danced for many years as a kid and hope that Stasa gets a chance to as well, but if it came down to her joining a competition like the video below, I'd put my foot down, no matter what age she is.




I was disgusted at many things while watching this video:
-the song selection
-the dance "costumes"
-the age of the children - they're 7-9 years old!
-the parents hooting and cheering in the background while the girls perform the most inappropriate dance moves
-the choreography

UGH. This was definitely not the way it was when I was dancing ballet, jazz or tap. We didn't even do moves like this when I took a hip hop class as an adult.

Today, on the Stasa Channel...

Mother's Day

We started Mother's Day with brunch at Kilroy's with Tom's parents, which I love because all-you-can-eat brunches are the best. After brunch, Tom and I went home, put Stas down for a nap and then detailed and washed our cars and then spent the rest of the day playing with Stasa, who decided to be a ladybug for the day.






Then she remembered to check herself out in the mirror. At first she wasn't sure if she liked what she saw...


But then quickly decided that she LOVED the little ladybug.


So much that she wanted to show her affection with kisses.


She had such a blast in her costume that I realized I better start building up her costume trunk for future dress ups.

A windy day in Winchester

We woke up Saturday to a dark cloudy sky and a small rain shower. I had plans to take Stasa out to the Go Ape grand opening, but backed out once I saw the rain. Instead we tagged along with Tom and went to Winchester for Tiffany's 30th birthday party. And wouldn't you know, after being in the car for 30 minutes, the sky cleared up and was cloudless. Of course it was also ridiculously windy, especially in Winchester.

Stasa had a good time running around outside and playing with Pete and Tiffany's neighbor's daughter, Haven, who is only a month older than Stas.

And evidence of the windy day - good thing Stas is a solid kid otherwise she might have blown away. : )

Stasa, 16 months old

The other day I started thinking about our 18 month well baby check-up that's scheduled in a couple of months and wondered what kinds of questions the doctor would ask me. I'm assuming she'll inquire about Stasa's vocabulary and comprehension so I started putting together a mental list of her spoken words and commands or questions that she understands.

Consistently spoken words (with meaning):

• baby
• daddy
• mama/mommy
• duddy (duckie)
• doddie (doggie)
• itty (kitty)
• ba-boo (ball)
• pup (up)
• neah (yeah)
• whereist? (where is it?)

Understood commands and questions:

• Did you poop?
• Give mama/daddy/baby/whomever a kiss.
• Give mama/daddy/whomever a hug.
• Where's your bear?
• Let's feed the baby.
• Bring mama your baby.
• Are you hungry?
• Do you want some milk?
• Where's the kitty?
• Sit down.
• No. (She definitely understands, but doesn't like it.)
• Bring me the ___.
• Get the ball.
• Yay! (clapping)
• How big is Stasa?
• Where's your nose?
• Where's the baby in the belly? Where's your belly?
• Say night night. Let's go night night.
• Bye bye (waves bye)

Random cute things she's doing nowadays:

• Patting our backs when she hugs us
• HUGS! for us, her baby, the cat, random kids, hand puppets...
• Says "ooOOooOoo" when putting on her play necklaces
• Tries to put her socks and shoes on, but only succeeds in placing them on top of her feet
• "Reads" her books and our magazines
• Places her cup on the dinner table when she's finished with it (mostly)
• Neatly dips her french fries and chicken nuggets in ketchup
• Spoon feeds herself yogurt and other soft foods

I'm sure there are other words, commands and cute things she's saying and doing that I've neglected, so I'll add to the list as I remember them. For now I think she's right on track with her development. Tom and I both can't wait until she starts speaking English and not Stasish, but then again, we'll probably be saying "remember when she was nice and quiet?" after a week of her chattering.

Catching up...

I've been pedal to the metal recently with traveling to LA and then jumping into the classroom to facilitate for a week and then writing my annual self-assessment. Just writing all of that makes me tired. In between all of that, I managed to capture our cutie doing what she does best: playing. So, sit back, relax and browse through some pictures from the past few days.

While we were in LA, Stasa, Tom and I had a chance to color during the rehearsal dinner and she loved it. No wonder. She colors a lot at daycare. Since we haven't bought her crayons of her own, I grudgingly dragged out my crayons to share. Check out our masterpiece.


And we had some semi-naked playtime, as usual.




I also dressed her up in the overalls that Aunt Peggy made her and she played with her bangles from Joe's wedding.

Today, on the Stasa Channel...

Our trip to L.A.

I was definitely nervous about flying with Stasa since she hates sitting still and doesn't nap very long when in someone's arms, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy our plane ride to California (and back) was. We flew Virgin America and had the good fortune of getting our own row, so Stas had a little more room to run around and play. We packed lots of snacks, milk, toys, books and Sesame Street DVDs and of course she was most interested in playing with the TVs on the back of the chairs and the tethered remote/game controllers in our armrests.

This hotel stay was almost a 180 from our trip to VA Beach for Kurt's wedding. Stasa had no problems sleeping in the same room with us and didn't whine at all when we put her in the crib. I'm not sure if it's because we used an actual crib instead of the pack-n-play or if the time difference just made it easier for her to go to sleep. Whatever the reason, we were definitely grateful.

The wedding itself was great and Stasa was ridiculously cute in her flower girl dress and Jennifer was a beautiful bride. There were a lot of fun surprises during the wedding: nacho cheese fountain, mariachi band, schoolbuses for shuttles and jointly written vows. Stasa's becoming an expert wedding attendee.

And some photos taken by other guests.

We're back!

I still need to download the pictures from my camera and set aside some time to write about our plane ride with the monster, but for now, here's a link to some of the pictures so far.