September 12th - George's Birthday

George's favorite Asian restaurant is "Big Bowl" up in Chicago. It has become a standard stop when we are in Chicago or close to Chicago. Yes, he will drive out of his way for his favorite 'Kung Pow Chicken." This year we discussed what he might like to do for his birthday, and he wanted to drive up to Chicago to eat at Big Bowl and then drive home. However, I wasn't ready to leave Ava for an all day adventure yet, and our sitter was only available after 6:00pm. Sooo... I thought instead of going to Big Bowl, that I would have Big Bowl delivered down here. Yes, it was quite the undertaking and after many brainstorming conversations with Adam Bryant (Big Bowl GM), we finally had to give the idea up. Adam enjoyed helping out with a fun project like this and he made many calls and inquiries on his own, to no avail. The great part was that he sent George a letter for us to have a free dinner and overnight stay in Chicago, compliments of Big Bowl. My second idea for George's birthday which included fishing, golfing, and kayaking didn't work either due to schedule conflicts and also the monsune rain that we had. The third idea worked out great and was planned at the last moment. I called some friends and we all went out to eat at Noma in South Bend. They gave us a round table in a separate room so that we could all talk and they printed special menu's that said "Happy Birthday George" on them. The meal and the service was excellent and George ended up with a Very Happy Birthday afterall.

Music for You and Your baby

I recently was given a gift of baby lullaby's set to the music of the Eagles and my niece in Indianapolis gave me a CD of lullaby's set to the music of Coldplay.
It's very cool! This is music your baby will love and it's also music you like and can relate to. What a great idea. Here's the website for those that may be interested. www. babyrockrecords.com

Where does the day go??

I recently was wondering where has all my time gone over the summer and how is it that I look at the clock in the morning at 5:00 am (first feeding of the day) and the next thing I know, it is 5:oo pm. So, I decided to break it down by numbers. What a surprise coming from an Accountant.

8 bottles a day = 280 minutes = 4.66 hours of feeding
12 diaper changes =60 minutes = 1 hour
Twice daily wash, dry, and make bottles = 60 minutes = 1 hour
1 load of laundry daily (baby cloths, blakets, etc) = 30 minutes (gather, fold, put away)
1 bath per day-Ava (get bath ready, bath, dry, re-dress) 20 minutes

This adds up to 7.5 hours devoted to just the basic needs for Ava. This DOES NOT include holding her when she needs me or when I need her, playing with her, rocking her, and any of the other miriad of things that can add to the time of doing the above. This also DOES NOT include things I do for the household, George, and myself.

This was not meant to sound whining or complaining. It's the best job I've ever had. It has the best rewards and benefits program and it comes with a new challenge every day. I have a renewed respect for all of the mothers out there doing it day after day. I worked as a career woman for over 20 years before I
became a Domestic Engineer and I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to stay at home with Ava. However, I must admit I look forward to be past the bottle stage.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

I'm a political news junkie and this year's primaries and conventions have kept me glued to the TV news channels. I've listened to BOTH the DNC and the RNC, even though I typically vote Republican. I think this election will be a tough and a hard fought race and either ticket that wins will be a historic moment. However, after hearing the civil forum answers from Saddleback Church, hosted by Rick Warren, I believe McCain will be the man of character, integrity, and leadership that this country has longed for. It's one thing to claim what you might do in difficult circumstances, but it's entirely a different story when you ACTUALLY make difficult choices, and McCain has done that. After hearing his running mate, Palin, speak at the RNC, I was completely convinced that this will be a team that can and will deliver results in Washington. Additionally, Obama's proposal of taxation for American's, if he is elected, would put most of us in a much worse economic position than ever before. Obama is purposing a 28% Capital Gains tax on ALL home sales, a 39.6% Dividend tax on ALL investment vehicles (mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement, IRA, stock market) Obama is purposing taxes on Inheritance, and higher payroll taxes for employers. New and higher gasoline and natural resource taxes. New taxes to pay for his socialized medicine plan. New taxes on homes more than 2400 square feet. The list goes on. His is purposing higher Taxes for anyone making over 50K per year. With all these taxes, how will any of us ever get ahead. I hope that all of you that read this blog will do your homework on what each candidate is purposing for our country over the next four years, and get to the polls and vote on November 4th. If your not registered, it's not to late. I believe it's one of the most important rights we can exercise in this country. Don't let the opportunity and freedom to vote pass you by. It will be another four years before you have a say again. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Miles of Smiles

Isn't it amazing when a baby smiles! Babies smile purely for the reason that they are happy to see your face! No hidden agenda, just pure love!!! It hit me the other day that God planned a baby's development in such a way that smiling is one of the FIRST signs we see of our baby's development other than the basic needs for survival (eating, sleeping, crying). They smile before they sit up, roll over, crawl, hold a object, cut a tooth, walk, talk, eat baby food, etc.... I believe this is God's way of reminding us how wonderful it is to smile at others. I know when my little Ava smiles at me, I feel like the most blessed person on the planet. It's a connection that is unspoken and yet speaks volumes. I know that no matter what kind of bad hair day I'm having, or a clothing crisis, or my face just broke out because I'm on my period... the best thing I can do for myself and others around me is to SMILE!! It's the best accessory item to wear and it never goes out of style.