THIS is My Life

A year ago today...

2011-08-11T21:36:00.005-04:00

One year ago, at 6:35 am the Lord blessed us with a precious little girl, Grace. She is beautiful inside and out. Already we see a sensitive spirit in her, sweet innocence and amusement. In the nature of our little family she has her own little 'spicy' side, too. We like to think of it as the very emotional manner that is common in all four of us - our emotions run strong.

Like all blessings should, Grace, is a constant reminder of how undeserving we are of the things that the Lord grants us out of his goodness and mercy. Moreover, this is why we chose her name, as a namesake for the amazing love and grace that God showed us in his greatest gift to us; giving us His son, Jesus, to bear our sin on the cross and be the perfect substitutionary sacrifice that redeems us to God. The Lords holiness is so beautiful, awesome and perfect. Alex and I are truly humbled by his sovereignty that saw to bring us to himself. Beyond that....everything else is just....a gift of love, which we are so undeserving.

For that reason, today, we praise the Lord for Grace and all that he will do through her life. Happy Birthday to my beautiful, sweet little Gracie-Grace!

A little comparison

2011-07-09T21:23:00.004-04:00

Caleb at 12 months...

Grace at almost 11 months....

And just for fun...

Here are Caleb and my niece, Maya, being a couple of silly monkeys...

Aaron and Mandy - July 1, 2011

2011-07-06T21:43:00.006-04:00

This past weekend we had the wonderful pleasure of witnessing the marriage of my brother, Aaron, to his beautiful fiancee, Mandy. They had a very intimate ceremony attended only by immediate family.

I will readily admit that Alex and I are both very emotional people (we have, in fact, cried watching: American Idol, the Apprentice finale, Humane Society commercials- for a few examples) - but the ceremony was very emotional for everyone present. Certainly, it was emotional because the caliber of their relationship and their love for each other is so great. But I think that the emotion really came from a different place. The tears of joy came from hearing Aaron and Mandy express so beautifully their commitment to God and their promise to honor Him through their marriage. Their vows were words of praise to their Lord, Jesus Christ, - who has blessed them with salvation and who they recognize has blessed them further with love that He ordained.

I am thrilled to have Mandy as a sister-in-law. She is quite possibly the sweetest woman I've ever met. She makes Aaron a better man (which is saying a lot, b/c he was nothing to sneeze at to begin with) ;)

Aaron and Mandy - Alex and I love you so much. We praise God for you, individually, as as a couple.

Summer fun

2011-06-25T12:45:00.008-04:00

We had a little technical glitch which resulted in being unable to download my camera. Namely, that the projects for our family photos was also stored in external drive that stores all of Alex's client work -- which is stored securely away from our computer. So...I had to wait for him to move those projects back onto our computer.

Nonetheless - we are back and ready to catch up on documenting the kids' fun over the last month or so.

First - this is huge - we went to Disney World! Alex and I tried as hard as we could to avoid introducing Caleb to the Mouse. But it is futile, the Mouse is too powerful. It was, however, really, really fun; absolutely exhausting, but fun.

After Disney, we made a very, very wise decision and spent 3 days in Bonita Springs Beach over on the west coast - to relax after the vacation.

Then, as if that wasn't enough fun for everyone...right when we got home, my best friend, Lourdes arrived in Miami with her girls - Sienna and Ellie. So we spent even more time at the beach with them.

Ellie and Grace in a staring contest....

We also got invited to Lourdes' dad's birthday party - we love joining in on Molina family celebrations!!!

Sienna was in desperate need of a bath - which she was not interested in taking. We used Caleb as a human bribe and he took a bath too. It was super-fast and there were still tears involved, but at least everyone was clean!

This summer is really hot, but we are exploring all the fun ways to keep cool and stay outside to make Caleb nice and tired. This is a new favorite - the Pinecrest Gardens Splash Park - it is SO fun and safe. It only costs $3!

At first, Caleb was afraid of running under the big waterfall feature - but he was in love once I helped launch him under the water. Mommy knows best.

Caleb Turns 2 - the movie

2011-04-24T20:48:00.004-04:00

I know that Caleb's birthday was a little bit ago - but my brother, Aaron - had taken some cool videos on his 'GoPro' video camera. This is the tiny video camera that snowboarders and skateboarders mount on poles or helmets to get their cool action shots. Aaron got it for his recent snowboarding vacation.

Check out his movie - and all the accolades that he gave himself! :) Caleb loves it and watched it about 5 times in a row, he was very amused by seeing himself in the swing.

Photo-rific!

2011-03-22T20:16:00.007-04:00

Wow! So many fun pictures to share. Since the last post we've had some fun times. Caleb turned TWO years old (woohoo for two!) He had a super-awesome, low stress birthday party (yay for mommy and low stress!) My parents, the kids and I left, literally, from the birthday party to start a drive up to Chattanooga to visit some of my awesome family up there. We had a blast. It was significantly less stressful than I imagined b/c I purchased a portable DVD player (yay for television in the car! --road trips only- ) and I brought my pump, so I could pump and feed Grace w/out stopping.

Here's the evidence of all the fun we've had...

Look! Mommy and Caleb woke up with the same bed-head!

My friend, Jenna, makes cakes (hint, hint). She made Caleb's amazing dump truck cake - it rocked. The layer-cake bottom was yellow cake w/ chocolate frosting and the dump truck was chocolate with vanilla frosting (yum!).

He liked the cake but he LOVED eating the sugar stop signs on the side of the cake.

Caleb's Abu and Aya gave him this awesome, realistic recycling truck!

You can even make it dump the cans into the truck and then you can turn a nob to make the gears take the trash into the truck - fun!

Caleb's Tia, Tio and cousins gave him a Melissa and Doug piano. It's also the perfect height for Grace!

Ok, northward in TN, we spent quality time with my Aunt Peggy.

We visited Mommy's alma mater, Bryan College. And Caleb got the obligatory picture with the Bryan Lions. Actually, the whole clan who visited Bryan that day were alumni - Mommy, Grandmother, Buddy, Aunt Peggy and their friend who came along with us. It's an awesome place and I wish that I had taken full advantage of the wonderful Biblical teachers that I had there...oh well, we live and learn.

Penguins are MUCH bigger than I anticipated! Chattanooga is the family friendliest place I've ever visited. If I didn't live in Miami, I would want to live there. We visited the aquarium - which was fish-overkill. By the end of it, I would try to excite a tired Caleb and he would say, "No, no Mommy, no fish!"

Speaking of family-friendly - check out the size of this playground! What the?!

We took the incline rail to the top of Lookout Mountain. For all intents and purposes for Caleb it was a train. Here is the view from near the top inside the car.

Here's the view inside the car...Yes, my mom is laughing - but her eyes are closed out of fear. :)

For the first time, Caleb got to play with his 2nd cousin, Dylan. He's 5 and very witty.

Dylan and his dad - my cousin, Dave. He is a complete kindie rocker. Yes, for those of us with kids - that is a new genre of music. It's like indie rock for kids. It's what super-cool rockers (Lisa Loeb, Weezer, the lead singer of the Presidents of the United States of the America, and the Verve) end up doing when they started having kids. So, Dave hosts a web-and-podcast called the Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl where he DJ's kindie rock. Check it out, it rocks (sweetly).

We also visited Julie's doughnut shop. Oh goodness. What that woman does with a doughnut is just not right...and I don't even care for doughnuts (who can eat that much sugar in the morning?) But these were simply dessert-like. Check out the labels.

And yes, she even does this...

I ate that doughnut. It was really good, very much a novelty and I couldn't eat it very often (like I can't eat bacon all that often). But I have a sneaky suspicion that if you got one of those fresh off the line that it might be like manna from heaven.

Caleb ate his first, and still only, doughnut. He ate five bites - aka the magic number. He hardly takes more than 5 bites of anything.

And finally - whew - what a post! Here are some videos!!

Grace is learning how to conduct an orchestra under the tutelage of Dylan and then Caleb.

Part 1 - Dylan instructs...

Part 2 - Caleb instructs...

'Milk': Caleb just cannot say 'milk'. It's not the mmm sound- it's just milk. Too cute.

Give Pee a Chance

2011-03-05T21:53:00.006-05:00

We are beginning to prepare ourselves for the onset of potty training....

We will probably start something resembling a concerted effort after the kids and I get back from our visit to family in Chattanooga. We'll be heading up that way w/ my mom and dad, we'll leave on Caleb's birthday and return a week later. Then it shall begin.

Aside from the obvious - of looking for cues that he's ready, and not making it a fight - I pretty much have no idea what I'm doing. I can't help but wonder what makes me qualified to help a little boy learn to pee. I like how my mother in law did it - she went straight for teaching Alex to pee standing up. Seems logical - why not just do that the first go around?

I'm mostly nervous about this b/c I can see that the potty - like food - is one of those unique places where Caleb could figure out pretty easily that he can take complete control. This is obviously what he does w/ food - or else he just doesn't get hungry at all. But I believe it's the former - he can be in control over eating and not eating. Just like peeing, pooping - in the potty or not. Sigh.

The kiddos at play...

Gracie-Grace all dressed up and 'at the races.' We went to Gulfstream race track w/ Alex's family last weekend. Notice the appearance of two teeth!

Grace and Isabella, Alex's beautiful niece!

We didn't even coordinate those outfits - but they look awesome together! By the way, the onesie Grace is wearing is an awesome custom design from my friend Jackie (see previous post about fabulous Yo Gabba Gabba party). She knits these awesome appliques and sews them to onesies. I had ordered it for Coraline and now it's been handed down to Grace. Jackie is so talented. I tried to find her shop on Etsy.com but she may not be doing that anymore....I'll keep you posted if she is still on there.

odds and ends

2011-02-20T22:00:00.008-05:00

We are FAST approaching two wonderful years of having Caleb in our lives! My parents gave him his birthday gift early - a super cool push bike, called a Y-bike. It's designed to build a lot of balance and coordination. They also got him a nifty helmet which he loves as well!

We weren't sure how much ownership Caleb had taken of his new bike until we tried to give Grace a ride - and he quickly claimed rightful ownership.

Alex has had a few weekends off, and we've been loving some actual weekend down-time, just being able to hang out around the house. Here's a super-rare picture of Pete enjoying some cuddling time.

What a fun lazy time! Look as Grace reaches oh-so-lovingly for daddy! awww....

Just kidding! She is really practicing her masterful eye-gouge technique!

Caleb working the mechanics of his 'camera' - it doesn't do anything at all, but he likes it.

Like superman, Caleb has super-vision....he is using it here...

We went to our friend Nina Sophia's awesome 2-year birthday party! Sophie's parents were in our child birth class that we took in preparation for Caleb's birth. They are awesome! Sophie's mom is unbelievably creative and artistic and manages to hand-make the Yo Gabba Gabba themed party decorations, cake and individually hand-painted invites. And did I mention that she has an 12-week old baby too? Sheesh, she makes us all look bad!

Caleb likes the feeling of the wind in his hair - ride on!

More pictures

2011-01-21T15:14:00.007-05:00

Here are some fun pictures from the past few weeks.

A couple of weekends ago we had a BBQ with our CF Downtown small group. It was awesome to have more time for fun and fellowship outside of small group time

The menu included Carolina pulled pork (the super-yummy vinegar-based bbq) for the adults. Someone's gotta do all that pullin' - what's better than two Cubans and one Colombian? (Pastor Dave, Alex and Mauricio)

...and milk for the littlest partiers.

We had an awesome visit and baby play-date a few weeks ago. Grace and Hannah are 8 weeks apart in age. She is the first baby for Mauricio and Andrea - our dear friends who used to attend Downtown w/ us, but moved on to help launch the Miami campus of Harvest Bible Chapel. They are going to be good friends!

Caleb is a big helper - he loves to help give Grace a bath. He doesn't do much except throw water in her eye and wet the counter - but who cares?

Gracie Grace and Mommy...

The best picture to date of Caleb and Grace. I love them to pieces!

See - I've been telling you people...Pure sweetness...

Finally...a little something for you basketball fans... :)

point of clarification

2011-01-16T22:15:00.003-05:00

After re-reading my last post and a couple comments I got from friends...I see that I need to clarify that I'm not actually employed by Starbuck's. What I meant when I said I was 'working at Starbuck's' was I was doing some work at Starbuck's for a class that I'm taking. I'm more than happily self-employed and running the child care center that Alex and I own.

Not that there's anything wrong with working at Starbuck's - I did, in fact, work as a barista for a year or so after college - but at Border's book shop, not Starbuck's. And it was a great job - I loved it and drank a LOT of coffee and chai tea during that time.

Observe and report

2011-01-12T19:29:00.005-05:00

Here are some random things that I've been noting during the past few weeks.

1. I will forget to write about (conservatively) half of the things I intended to share here. This is simply due to my remarkable ability to forget so very, very much. The other day, Alex and I watched this show on 60 minutes about people who have this remarkable memory and never forget a day of their lives (it was amazing!). We pretty much decided that I have the opposite of that condition. I forget everything. Half the time that I try to recount something it sounds like this, "So I was watching this show and this guy was talking about something....oh I don't remember the details, but it was really interesting". The best example of this is that Alex and I were at dinner recently with friends and we were talking about my remarkable forgetful memory and I went to give an example and turned to Alex and asked (in all seriousness), "Alex, what was it I forgot the other day that you had to remind me about?" Yeah, Alex fears for our 'golden' years when I will be a blank slate.

2. Lego's. I don't have a single childhood memory of playing with Lego's. I am pretty sure now that I have just never 'gotten' them. Alex was so excited to get Caleb a couple sets of Lego's for Christmas and Caleb does enjoy playing with them. Although Alex enjoys them more. I really hate them, they are noisy when dumped on wood floors, they are messy and above all - they are a complete mystery to me. I built a 3-walled house and a couple of the simple things that were shown in pictures on the box. I am the least imaginative Lego user. Alex and Luisa (our nanny) have built (with ease): a train, a sports car, big houses, barges, robots, small cruise ships, boats, airplanes.

3. Winter squashes are wonderful. They are so easy to cook (just scoop out the insides and throw in the oven or microwave if you don't have much time) and then eat the delicious insides. I cook them all - acorn, spaghetti, butternut. The other day I got a little adventurous and made Butternut Squash enchiladas. They were really good. I made them with 'turkey chorizo' from whole foods (it was a REAL stretch to call that chorizo, it was ground turkey) - so I'm sure they are even more delicious with real Spanish chorizo.

4. Our cookbook. Over the past couple of years, Alex and I have been slowly compiling family recipes that we love, with the intention of making a nice cookbook. It's taking a lot time b/c we want to have pictures of each dish. Well, the other day I got inspired to try the recipe for Alex's mom's picadillo. I surprised him and cooked it while he was out. Success! I tasted exactly like his mom's. Caleb ate plenty and Alex had 3 helpings! I also learned it's important to try making each dish from the recipe to ensure that the instructions are right before we make the book.

5. Vocabulary. Caleb's vocab is awesome...in fact, it includes 'awesome.' :) I finally figured out where he learned to say 'I did it!' The iPad app Toddler Counting. He also learned 'awesome' there. Toddlers 'count' the objects on the screen by tapping them (or, if you're Caleb, jabbing them violently w/ your finger) and then it says rather calm exclamations like 'you did it,' 'awesome'. Caleb has also started using possessive language: Pete's ball, mommy's car, daddy's car, grandmother's car, buddy's car, abu's car, Grace giraffe. I think that's pretty remarkable. He also says, 'Delicious' and uses it appropriately. He got a fingerful of brownie batter before our BBQ the other day and declared, "mmm, delicious!"

6. Grace is rolling over from her back to tummy and tummy to back (not all the time though, on that one). I've said it before, but she is just pure sweetness. She smiles with such pure joy - I can tell that we're not going to have the same strong-willed issues we have with Caleb. His wonderful personality is driven by that wonderful will, which we are praying to shape without breaking. Grace is also laughing but almost exclusively at things that Caleb does. So far, he's the only one who really makes her laugh. The other day, I was holding her at the kitchen table while he ate and she was just talking to him and squealing and he would do something and she would chuckle and then he would do it again and she would laugh and then talk to him. He loves it.

7. Today I did something that I've never done before and I'm not that proud of. Let me preface this by saying it was cold today in Miami (high of upper-50s) and people get all crazy to wear clothes they hardly ever get to wear. So, I was working at Starbuck's and saw this young woman and just HAD to secretly take a picture of her with my Blackberry and text it to some friends with my own personal commentary. No, I won't post the picture here...mostly b/c the camera on the Blackberry Bold really stinks and the photo doesn't do the outfit justice...but also b/c it's wrong. The girl was dressed richly, very well and also ridiculous. She was very tall, with long auburn hair styled beautifully. She was wearing rich, brown stripper boots (the kind that come to the upper knee), a thin, silk blouse covered by a hip-length shaggy fur vest from some beautiful deep brown animal, a brown micro-skirt with a zipper all the way up the backside, and carrying a big Louis Vuitton bag. I'm sure I don't have an outfit that expensive, but it was completely ridiculous - believe me, I have the picture to prove it.

Announcing......

2010-12-30T10:08:00.006-05:00

Pictures, pictures and MORE pictures! Why?? Because my darling husband got me an awesome camera for Christmas. Just LOOK at how the volume of photos of my kids has increased just since December 25th!

We started the day at our house with a nice breakfast. We made eggs, and I had prepped some sausage balls with (hidden) spinach (sneaky mommy!) Then we went to Alex's sister's house to open gifts with her kids.

Here is a rare picture of me with my beautiful kids!

Alex's sister gave Grace this super-cool giant zebra - every inch of it is covered with something stimulating and fun for years! Caleb likes it too.

Yes, Caleb is funny and cute...but this is a face we see all too often. What's Christmas without a tantrum (or 6)?

An even rarer picture of Alex!!

We had the wonderful pleasure of having my niece, Maya, visit us for a couple of weeks. She was here on Christmas. She's the sweetest little girl!

My parents gave Caleb this basketball hoop. He's in love. He loves basketball. So many things about Caleb make me happy. But when he started playing with this, I was SO happy because after he would make a shot he would exclaim, "I did it!" I'm so happy to see him express that he is proud of his accomplishments!

Here is Uncle Aaron and his girlfriend, Mandy with Gracie Grace. Uncle Aaron is just awesome with the kids - what else do you expect from a guy who's able to be a goofball?

It's been really cold here the past few day, so we've been nice and bundled up!

Grace's new favorite plaything didn't cost us a penny! Her foot!

Our new tradition over the past 3 years is that on Christmas day my friends the Stapletons come over since Lourdes is visiting from Dallas with her family and my mom makes pizza. This year was really interesting with three toddlers, Sienna, Maya, Caleb, Grace and Ellie (who's six weeks younger than Grace)

Christmas is upon us!

2010-12-08T21:16:00.005-05:00

Yikes!! I don't even know how this happened - it's December already!

I successfully convinced Alex to take some pictures of the kids...I think that I've laid the guilt on pretty thick about having no pictures.

Here Grace seems to be holding her breath in fear that Caleb will decide to roll on top of her.

The happy, pretty girl.

This is Caleb's favorite way to wear his hat...sideways. Because he's cool like that. I wish I had popped the collar for these pictures. :)

We went to Coraline's first birthday party - it was a blast! Happy Birthday to Cora!
There were tons of fun toddler-toys there. Like these cymbals, which we never, ever intend to actually own in our own home. Because I'm not THAT crazy!

Grace had fun, too. She was passed from person to person and spent some time hanging out with Kino, who is 6-months old. Yet another young suitor to jockey for Ms. Gracie.

Caleb enjoyed the frosting from this carrot muffin, and then proceeded to eat my delicious chocolate cake....note the evidence in the 'cymbal' picture above.

In other Christmas news. We put up a 'mini-tree'. For a second there, I considered getting a fake tree, so as to avoid the pine needle mess. Or not have one at all. But, in the end, I just couldn't stomach either option, so I decided to get one of those little 3-foot ones and we have it on an end-table. It's working out perfectly. Each morning Caleb asks to turn on the the 'luz'.

I'm also trying to figure out how to introduce Caleb to Christmas. Clearly, we tell him that this is Jesus' birthday and we talk about that. We pray to Jesus and God before meals and before bed. My mom got him a 'little people' toys nativity scene that is just awesome and he knows baby Jesus. But I also don't want to steal away the fun of Santa. So for now, I've told him that Santa brings Caleb presents for Jesus' birthday. I have some time to tweak this, I imagine that next year we'll have far more cognitive understanding of these concepts.

Crazy, Lazy Days

2010-11-27T23:34:00.005-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! What a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving weekend we had. We spent Thursday at Alex's sister's house. My parents and my brother, Aaron, joined the Fagundo/Leal festivities. The whole shabang was comprised of my family, Alex's family and his brother-in-law's family - a lot of people in all. Everything was delicious and it was wonderful to be surrounded by such a nice extended family.

Originally, we had planned for me and the kids to go with my parents up to Chattanooga for the Loftin (my mom's family) Thanksgiving. However, Alex and I recently made a weekend drive to Orlando with both kids that was 5-hour living nightmare each way. There were many times on that trip that we looked at one another thinking....what did we DO...implying both the craziness of this trip and also having two babies so close together. Needless to say after that - I didn't think a 12-hour drive to TN was advisable.

Friday, we re-did Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house and our very, very good friends, the Bortons joined us with their baby, Micah. Micah James is one month older than Grace and is jockeying for her affections.

After my last post there have been many requests for more pics of Grace...here I am happy to oblige - they aren't the best but they will do..

First, though, Caleb was an Indian (Native American) for Halloween...how cute is this!!??

This is approximately the distance that Caleb does all of his interacting with Grace...she gets almost no unsupervised floor time...and should probably spend more time on the floor than she does currently.

Caleb loves Grace. He calls her Gracie (and Ace). He tells her good morning (g'mornin Ace) and 'Sorry Grace' when he has been punished for being too rough with her (rolling on her, kicking at her, jumping up and down beside her) Having a big brother is very hard, I speak from experience.

My long nickname for Grace is most often, Gracie-Grace, or Gracie-girl.

So Caleb has a favorite movie..Disney's Cars. Here he is enthralled in it. I must say that this move is really, really excellent. I've seen it about 10 times in the past month and I'm not even tired of it - it's still entertaining and funny. Caleb is getting some Cars-stuff for Christmas.

The firstborn

2010-10-30T14:10:00.006-04:00

In the days of two children, it's important not to forget the firstborn. Although, I must say that is truly impossible to do, when he is SO successful at monopolizing one's time and getting his way. Ahh, my strong-willed son.

Also, in true second-born fashion...the pictures of Grace are scarce scarce scarce. Poor thing. I'm convinced now that I need to purchase my own small camera just to get pics of my kids. For example, today we will be heading to the zoo in costumes with friends while Alex is shooting a wedding. Which means that I have no camera to document the fun!

Here are some pics of Caleb and one, not too thrilling one, of me and Grace.

Pensive....not even posed. :)

It's like cirque du soleil at my house when Caleb rides his 'moose'. He typically stands on it and rocks violently back and forth. He never falls - he's got amazing gross motor skills - an athlete in the making maybe?

Caleb is hilarious - his already large vocabulary is really mushrooming - he's so bright! and funny. Grace is doing fabulously - she's just beautiful and precious - there really is something about little girls that just melts a heart. I didn't realize that.

I have begun to feel an intense sense of the importance of these amazing lives that God has entrusted to me. I am humbled by the significance of it - and truly know that I cannot succeed on my own in growing children who will have eternally significant lives. Everyday, many moments that I look at them, my heart and soul is reminded to honor God with my life so that these amazing kids will do the same. They have truly helped me to pray wholeheartedly that my life will be a mirror that reflects Christ to them.

End of Year Special

2010-10-12T19:25:00.003-04:00

Sorry it's been a while (why am I always apologizing at the start of my blog posts?)

Anyway, a real post to come...This is too good not to spread the word!!

Abigail Todd Photography (aka the talented chic who documented Grace's birth) has an end of year special for South Florida clients only. She is such a great photographer, but super gifted with families and kids. Now, in preparation for those snazzy Christmas cards - S.Fl. clients can shoot for no session fee!

Check out the details here.

So...what's up?

2010-08-27T13:30:00.005-04:00

We are happy to say that we are now a family of FOUR! Grace Fagundo arrived on August 12 at 6:29 a.m. It was an awesome, perfect birth - we arrived at the hospital at 3:30 a.m. and I would say I was really only in labor for about 3 hours before that - and for most of that I wasn't even sure that I was really IN labor.

The last ultrasound we had about a week before she arrived said that she was BIG - almost 9 pounds at that time with 3 weeks to go. However, as per usual, they were off - she was 7 pounds 13 oz and 19.5 inches long. She arrived so quickly that it was totally drug-free. We had been praying for God to give us a good birth and he answered our prayer beyond our wildest dreams. In retrospect, it was really almost easy. Don't get me wrong - it hurt, especially at the end, but it was totally manageable.

We were really blessed because we had a friend and fellow photographer - Abigail Todd - there to document the delivery. She was a client of Alex's about 5 years ago when he shot her wedding, since then she and her husband moved to Louisiana and she started her own photography business. She is very talented and started a unique service there shooting 'birth sessions' which go from pregnancy to delivery. Since she is relocating back to MIA, she wanted to start building business here -- so voila! We had her shoot ours - it is amazing. I mean, I was THERE, but being a central participant who is really focused on the matter at hand - it is so special to be able to see what was going on. Seeing my mom and Alex's reaction through the birth is just awesome.

What you can't see in one picture is that my mom arrived at 6:11 (there is a shot, not shown, with the time) - Grace was born at 6:29 a.m...my mom just made it! (as did the doctor, mind you who got there right after my mom!)

Check it out at Abigail Todd Photography Blog. I believe that there will be one more part after what's posted, so check back again, too!

Vacation continues

2010-07-23T12:18:00.003-04:00

So far our vacation has been great! We have spent several days at the beach, just hanging out...only about 100 feet from our beach house! On Tuesday, Alex's sister and her family arrived. You would have thought that Caleb was counting the minutes until his cousins, Isabella and Nicholas, arrived. Even though they are much older and in elementary school - he adores them. He chases them around the house, plays with them - and they totally oblige him. Nicholas carries him and wrestles with him - which is just the best thing in the world to Caleb. He has been having a blast - he must get so bored with mommy and daddy. This makes me really excited for when Grace gets to be old enough that they can play together, because Caleb will clearly enjoy it.

I definitely feel relaxed, but not necessarily rested. I am not sleeping well at night. I've reached the point that it is very difficult to find a comfortable position when laying down. And after much tossing and turning, when I do find that position, I generally have to get up to use the bathroom. So annoying. The house has really soft beds, which isn't really great for me right now, and has made getting comfortable a little more difficult and made my back hurt. I will be visiting my chiropractor when I get home! Also, we've been sharing a room with Caleb...this is not how we usually do things. Caleb has slept in his own room since he was about 5 months old - so this arrangement is not ideal. Several nights he woke up and saw us (read, me) there and screamed for an hour for me. Nothing is wrong w/ him, he just wants to be picked up. After a couple of nights of doing that and having to sit in a chair until he fell asleep - we decided we would do a same-room cry it out method. The first night was about an 40 minutes of crying, and then Alex just laid him down and showed him that we weren't going to pick him up, and finally he went to sleep. Last night, he woke up once around 1:30 and Alex got up, laid him down and did that twice and he fell back to sleep. So that was much improved.

In case you didn't remember - we are in fact vacationing on an island that is only accessible by boat or charter plane. And, there is in fact a tropical storm here around South Florida. So what to do with an 8-month pregnant woman? Tomorrow is our check out day, anyway, but we are juggling the storm trackers to determine when best to leave. We thought about leaving today, but it looked fairly certain that we would end up driving in the storm across the state - not a good idea w/ 40 mph winds. So we are going to leave at our predetermined time - tomorrow morning and hope that the predictions remain accurate with the storm passing us this evening, so that it is in the Gulf by tomorrow morning. Either way, we will have a rough boat ride - it won't be fun. In good weather the ride to the mainland is about 15 minutes - so it will take longer. Hopefully it won't be raining too much that we and our stuff get wet on the way.

I will be happy to be home close to my OB. He has actually been popping up in my dreams somewhat frequently, so on some level I must have some anxiety about being so far from him at 35 weeks pregnant.

Holy cow - 1 month blog lag

2010-07-19T20:07:00.005-04:00

Yikes - well let's just skip over the past month, I bullet point the highlights:

Caleb got sick (as usual), then he stayed sick, then he was hospitalized, then they finally pinpointed some potential causes for his constant illnesses, then they prescribed a bunch of meds for 'silent' reflux (read, no other symptoms) and RAD (reactive airway disease, a way of saying he may develop asthma).
Since getting out of the hospital about 3 weeks ago he hasn't been the slightest bit sick, no runny nose, no cough, no nothing.
Caleb is eating like it's going out of style. He's back into a bunch of the foods that he dropped from his repertoire. The other day he ate an entire pint of blueberries by himself in 2 days!

We are on vacation now. Alex and I got to pick this one and all of his family (parents, sister and her fam) are in North Captiva Island. It is only accessible by boat or charter plane. The house is gorgeous. There is truly nothing to do here except hang out, go to the nearly private beach or go to the pool. There are no paved roads here and no cars - everyone gets around by golf cart. There are only 300 houses on the island and this is almost off-season, so it's pretty quiet. Alex and I are loving it. It feels really indulgent to have so little to do.

On Sunday, Alex, Caleb and I checked out the 'island' church service. I was expecting something pretty non-specific in terms of worship style. How wrong I was. It was just us and the couple who do the service each week. I would say they are 70 or so. They used to be missionaries in the Brazilian amazon back in the day. The service was in their living room, and they set out chairs, each containing a Bible and a hymnal. The living room contains a little electric organ. The service was very Presbyterian in nature, a prelude on the organ, a hymn, responsive reading, a scripture reading, a hymn, and then a brief sermon, this one was on Mary and Martha. Caleb was pretty good, playing by himself for the first half, but then he got tired and hot as they had all of their windows open for a light breeze, but by 11-ish it was getting warm. That was really Caleb's first official church service. At our church, he stays in the CF (Christ Fellowship) Kids area, not the service.

I'll post more as the vacation continues and when we get home, I'll post some pics of the vacation.

iTithe

2010-06-13T15:41:00.003-04:00

I am proud to announce....iTithe. Over the past several months, Alex has been working with developers somewhere in TX to create an iPhone app.

iTithe is an app designed to help Christians keep track of their tithes and charitable giving. It is especially designed to be a tool to help those of us who may not have regular incomes (ie., don't have a paycheck every 2 weeks). If that's you, you know that it can be difficult to remember whether you tithed on a particular job or contract. This was Alex's inspiration - as a photographer he has irregular income and also receives payment on each contract in stages - a deposit, and then usually 1, sometimes 2, additional payments - and then maybe some extra income if a couple wants upgrades to albums or wall art prints or something.

So in iTithe, you can enter an income amount and source and then keep track of when you tithe on it to your home church. You can also, separately, keep track of charitable gifts.

If you have an iPhone we would love for you to download it, the app is just $1.99, and then review it!! You can also check out the iTithe website.

What is a tithe? I'm sure some people are asking themselves that. Well, in the Bible, God commands Christians to tithe. A tithe is a tenth of what you earn. A tithe should be given to a believers church, as opposed to charitable gifts which are given above a tithe and may go to any organization you may want to support. The principle is simple - God is the creator of all things, I believe that all I have is a gift or a blessing from God - so what I have is really His. As such, I want to give back to him the portion he requests - gladly - in thankfulness for what he has so generously provided to me.

If you want to see more - check out the 'Tithing principles' section of the iTithe website.

whew...

2010-06-01T16:08:00.005-04:00

Seriously, no one told me that NOT working would be so exhausting. Trust me, it's still WAY better than doing all this stuff AND working which is why I was about to have a breakdown 2 months ago- so I'm not really complaining.

Generally, I go to the child care center 2-3 days per week w/ Alex. I'm very happy because since I've been there we've implemented some positive new practices:

Our Health Department approved (90% of our kids qualify for free b-fast, lunch and snacks) has been improved - now almost all fruit we serve is fresh- except peaches, which would be too hard to get in ripe and store, etc. The kids get fresh fruit at least once per day and now they eat fresh stuff like: bananas, pears, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon and prunes. So far, they seem to be loving it. These were changes we could make w/out having to get our menu reapproved; it was simply swapping canned to fresh. The next step down the road is to look at the actual cooked meal components. Other food changes include switching ice cream 1x per 2 weeks for yogurt and graham crackers; and swapping crackers w/ American cheese to crackers and cheddar - b/c I don't believe that American is an actual 'cheese'.
The oldest kids - the pre-k kids (4-5 yrs), now enjoy 'family-style' meals. Rather than sitting at tables waiting for someone to serve them their food - which can take up to 12 minutes for the last kids to be served, now each meal component is in a bowl on the table and the teachers help them serve the appropriate measurement of each component. This has significant decreased meal 'down-time'.
A friend of mine from my previous life, is the dental director at the Health Department, they have a mobile dental unit. They will be coming one day per week for a month to do exams, fluoride and dental education to the kids.

I think that Alex and I may be crazy. Evidence: are kids will be 18 months apart; we just decided to totally renovate our master bathroom and relocate our teensy closet into a new space (formerly a section of our garage). This should take us into early July- THEN we can move Caleb into a new 'big boy' room - currently our guest bedroom, where Alex and I will be living for the next month or so. Caleb's current room will remain a nursery for the new baby - we will just girly it up a little. By the time Caleb's new room and the baby's room are completed - I should be about ready to give birth.

Also - we have a name for the girl - Grace. How appropriate.

Master of Disguise

2010-05-14T17:31:00.003-04:00

I have quickly learned that being a mother of a toddler necessitates becoming a master of disguise...of food.

I wouldn't say that Caleb is a picky eater, I would simply say that he doesn't care much about eating. He eats to live, not the other way around.

In typical toddler fashion, he likes a food one day, and not the next. So I'm learning some tricks...hiding food.

1. a new staple for when I don't know what to cook, but want to ensure that he eats: pancakes. So - how to disguise other foods in them....Banana pancakes, banana strawberry pancakes, and the new one of last night - PB&B pancakes - peanut butter and banana pancakes. I simply mash up whatever I'm 'hiding' and mix it in the batter. The wonderful thing about pancakes is that they reheat well and they FREEZE well, so I can always pull them out for later since one batch of batter makes WAY more 'silver dollar' sized pancakes than needed for one serving.

2. Spinach - nearly tasteless and easy to hide. Tonight, I made whole wheat corkscrew pasta w/ meat sauce and then diced up spinach really small and mixed it in. I was unsuccessful in getting him to eat much of the ground meat (he's not much of a meat-eater), but I'm sure the spinach got in there - and I prefer it that way!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T20:34:00.006-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of my favorite moms out there!! This has been a great weekend, even if Alex did have to shoot a wedding today...really, who gets married on Mother's Day? In his defense, Alex didn't know it was mother's day when he booked it...the date does change every year. However, we celebrated w/ his mom and sister yesterday at his parents house. While we were there, Caleb got to practice his new swimming skills - he LOVES the water! He also had a nice fall after dinner when he tripped over Daddy's foot and landed face-first on the tile. Actually since it was almost bedtime he actually landed pacifier first - which somehow scraped his gums and we had a little bleeder. He's ok, although today his frequent little stumbles have been accompanied by slightly more tears than normal.

Today, we had a quiet morning at home, the three of us, until 11, when I went to put Caleb down for a nap...while rocking him a little he and I BOTH fell asleep in the glider and woke up at 12:45! nice.

Here are some pics from the swim class that we started last week. We are going to Ocaquatics Swim school. I thought that the activities were really well-planned - it was like a Mommy and Me or My Gym activity class in a pool.

And - as an update - YES, I finished working. I am loving it!! Although, I must admit that I have exceedingly busier than I anticipated. This is mostly due to trying to catch up on some of those things that don't get done when all parties in a home are working, and the timing of some special events. We had house guests for two nights - Alan and Diane Sams, the parents of my best friend Jenn. The were headed off on a cruise to England to visit Jenn for several weeks, so I asked them to stay with us. We had a GREAT time and spent both nights talking way later than Alex and I usually stay up. I had several appointments (OB, hair, dentist) and also had to do some prep to help at the school for a Mother's Day breakfast for the kids' moms on Friday morning, and I also volunteered to make baked ziti for all of the staff for Teacher Appreciation week. That luncheon was also held on Friday - so Thursday was a busy, busy day. I didn't stop from 6 am when Caleb woke up until 10 pm.

Countdown correspondence

2010-04-28T20:06:00.002-04:00

Today is Wednesday...my last day is Friday - the countdown is in full swing!

I am doing pretty well. I only got teary-eyed ONE time today, and there were no witnesses (great!). This is impressive considering that I was taken to lunch by my awesome staff (the original ones before my department grew), my great friend Susan (CEO's assistant) and Mo, our CEO. When I arrived to work, I found a beautiful gift bag on my desk and inside....the most thoughtful gift I could imagine! They had gotten me one of those photo mugs...you know where you have photos printed onto the mug. Well, they had made a collage of photos of me with my friends and coworkers over the six years that I've been at The Trust. It was awesome. That's what made me cry a little. I was worried about the lunch - but the conversation was light and fun and thus tear free.

Today I also began packing up my office. This won't be too difficult of a task b/c most of my stuff will stay put as is. I'm only taking personal items and some books or notes that will be particularly useful for consulting later down the road.

So - speaking of tears. I must have just hit an emotional stage of this pregnancy b/c yesterday I got teary and/or weepy a couple of times. Once, while driving home these songs came on by an appropriately named band 'The Weepies'. They are an awesome folk-rock type band that I wouldn't say are particularly melancholy, but they do make me feel nostalgic. Second, while Alex and I were watching American Idol, 'Big Mike' sang some Shania Twain song that sounded to me about moving on after someone dies (although I think it's about a break-up) so I started crying. Third, Alex told me a very sad story about one of the brides at a recent wedding - I won't get into it - I probably would have gotten teary about that even if I wasn't pregnant. And finally, we've been watching the movie Armageddon in pieces for a while now and finished last night. That was the kicker. Alex was teasing me that he thought he would need to change his shirt after the movie b/c I cried all over him. I was kind of a mess at the end of the movie - but it's really sad when Bruce Willis decides to stay on the asteroid to detonate the bomb and says goodbye to his daughter....so sad.

Wow! Weelicious Wonderful

2010-04-21T13:19:00.003-04:00

I have several goals for my upcoming foray into being more of a homemaker (along w/ overseeing our child care center - but still).

1. More time for Caleb and baby girl in August
2. Help Alex with running our businesses so that he can ALSO work less
3. Improve spiritual health
4. Improve family's physical health.

1. and 2. will be addressed by having quit my job, beginning in May.

3. Not working like a crazy-person will give me more free time. More free time = more time for God's word. I have also joined Bible Study Fellowship. I'm finishing up the current series (John) now in the evening through May and then in September when the new series on Isaiah begin in September I will do that one during the daytime (ahh, the liberty of having day-time free!)

4. Getting healthier. My goal is to take time to walk and/or do other activity outside with Caleb everyday. Now that I will have more time to think about and prepare meals, I want to make healthier, meals with fresh ingredients.

So - this just might be the best blog I've read in AGES. If you have babies or toddlers - this is for you! Weelicious

Now that Caleb is eating 100% table food, I am often faced with the challenge of trying to think of meals that Alex and I want to eat, that Caleb would also eat. This is really difficult - especially right now since Caleb is just over a year - he flip flops on what he eats. Some days - he loves veggies or fruit; the next, he won't touch them. The only stand-by guarantees are applesauce, bananas, and yogurt.

As I've been poring through this website, I have found that I save almost every recipe to my recipe box! They are delicious and healthy (and easy) recipes! So far, I haven't cooked any - but I have several printed out a waiting for me!

ENJOY!

countdown begins!

2010-04-17T20:54:00.002-04:00

Wow! So much to share since my last posts...

1. The countdown has begun at work - only TWO WEEKS to go! I still get very emotional and nostalgic at the thought of saying goodbye to my wonderful, wonderful coworkers whom I care about so much. However, as the work and projects keep coming--I have to admit I am SO relieved to see a light at the end of this tunnel. Not even, that light is the dawning of a new day - it's just so close!

2. Caleb is now walking and walking. About a week and a half ago you could practically see the switch flip in his brain that told him, "Hey this walking thing is way more efficient than crawling, even if I do fall down a lot." Since then - walking comes first.

3. Vocabulary is growing. Caleb says Mama and Dadda - although Dadda comes far more frequently. Dog started out really clear as Daoh (like "ahh" with a D on the front), but it is now a two syllable word that sounds like dod-do. Which is just weird since we have made a point of always calling things what they are, so we say "dog" not doggie or anything else. Dog is said to almost anything with 4 legs - he also says it if he hears barking. Somewhere along the line he picked up 'Bird' (burr) - and very accurately says it to anything that flies (we saw a lady-bug in a cartoon - that was a burr).

4. In case you don't follow me on Facebook - #2 is a GIRL! At first, we had to adjust b/c we kind of thought we wanted another boy. But now - we are all warmed up to having a little girl. Although am nervous about one thing: I have had very, very short hair for over 10 years - I don't think that I even know how to put up a ponytail - I'm very concerned about learning to do a little girl's hair.

Why does a salad cost more than a Big Mac?

2010-03-18T09:22:00.002-04:00

I received this from a friend. This graphic was recently published by the Consumerist, with the few words, “This is why you’re fat.” Find an article talking about it HERE.

Please accept my resignation

2010-03-14T23:09:00.001-04:00

No - not from blogging. In fact, I think that you will find that my blogging should be increasing soon.

I have resigned from my job. That's the big news I spoke of in the previous post. It was an easy - yet difficult decision.

My last day will be May 5, eight weeks away. Given my position I wanted to be able to give them as much as time as possible to come up with a transition plan.

We've been thinking about this at some level or another since Caleb was born. It picked up intensity when we found out we were pregnant again. But the bottom line was this - Alex and I are insanely busy. I can say confidently that everyone who knows us rarely knows anyone busier than the 2 of us. It has been taxing and stressful.

Some time ago I heard Andy Stanley preaching on a podcast about making wise decisions. He spoke at length about this verse, Proverbs 22:3:

A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

He talked about how he and his wife made that verse their prayer - that the Lord would help them to see danger and give them wisdom to take refuge. He talked about how God's answer to those prayers had led them to make decisions that really couldn't be explained otherwise.

This is how Alex and I feel. We see danger in the pace of our life. We love the Lord. We cherish our marriage and are so thankful that it is strong. We want more than anything to raise Godly children who deeply love the Lord and seek His will for their lives.

The pace of our current lives would lead us away from accomplishing that ultimate goal of raising Godly children. I am so busy and over-extended that I often fail to study the Word as I used to and should. I fail to pray as I used to and should. Alex is such a wonderful leader of our home and encourages me to read and pray.

We are always so tired and stressed out. Lately Alex has had a cold for weeks that won't go away and I get daily tension headaches. Both of these are directly related to our current lifestyle.

Something has to give; and we decided to choose what that would be while we still could.

I'm excited and nervous about this new stage in my life. I am sad to leave The Children's Trust. It has been such a wonderful place to work. I am mostly sad about leaving the wonderful friends and colleagues that I have worked with for the past six years. I am also sad about not being a part of the good work that is done as a result of The Trust. The place is doing so much to improve Miami.

However, I know that I will have no regrets. As we move forward our goals are to grow and strengthen the spiritual and physical health of this family. There are behaviors that I want to instill in Caleb and this means ensuring that I live them daily. We will be changing things for the better.

Food

2010-03-10T18:04:00.003-05:00

Since the day of Caleb's surgery to implant Eustachian tubes in his ears he has had SUCH an improved appetite. Not only is he eating more (most of the time) but since the surgery he has rarely (may once or twice) had baby food - he has been eating table food. So here are foods that I'm happy that he seems to like:

Lightly salted edamame
other green veggies (peas, green beans)
Crazy for bananas
Trying now veggies cooked in lentil stew

He is basically willing to try anything that he sees us eat. But some days he likes the food (almost always the first time) and then he doesn't. Like strawberries - some days he'll eat them all up, other days he'll spit them out. I'm less happy about how much he LOVES all things made from bread - but oh well.

He is often moody in his high chair - I think he ultimately hates being restrained in things - he also dislikes the car seat. That moodiness makes it so that he ends up of gagging some b/c he's complaining w/ food in his mouth.

He's teething something crazy - getting 4 molars, and one other tooth.

Updates

2010-02-21T17:51:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone!

What a whirlwind life has been lately....

So - in news (to some, not all of you)

This was actually taken in November when I found out one morning before heading off to work...I know - what a day! I'm 13 weeks now. Generally I can't complain...but, I do some. I'm not as nauseous as I was with Caleb, which is nice. I am EXHAUSTED. Which I was with Caleb too, but I had time to sleep then. I also have a chronic cough which is getting annoying and making my abs hurt. #2 is due August 26. Caleb will be 18 months old.

I'm also thoroughly worn out because Caleb has had 6 ear infections since September (that's about 1 per month if you counted). And has had chronic ear infections since mid-January. He's had 3 this year already. We went to see a pediatric ENT at University of Miami a week and a half ago and he said that Caleb is WAY above the threshold for Eustachian tubes in his ears. The threshold for him - 3 in 5 months or 5 in a year....remember the math we did a moment ago? yeah. We are ready, this last month and a half have been really hard on all of us. These ear infections have been accompanied by days of high fevers, wakeful nights, clinginess, etc. I'm worn out. Also, related to that, I'm certain - Caleb has been 17 pounds since his 9-month check up. He'll be one year in 2 weeks - that's not good. He doesn't have a good appetite and doesn't eat or drink a lot. I know he's not ever going to be a chubby kid - but to not gain weight in 2.5 months? That's not good.

I will likely have other big news coming soon - but we'll let the anticipation build for a while....

Shaleen.

been MIA

2010-01-06T15:01:00.002-05:00

Happy new year!!!

Been a LONG time...wow. I can't recall everything that's occurred since my last post, so I'll just start anew in 2010.

First - watch this video - you'll be moved; and if you're a parent - you'll be challenged.

Caleb's first Christmas was fun and tiring - carting him around to various homes. We also gave the dogs a 'gift' of going to the dog park. Tiring.

Caleb liked the bows the best...

Some pics

2009-11-16T18:48:00.002-05:00

Here are some new photos for you all to enjoy...

I put this one just b/c it's the only one that shows all 4 teeth - I know it's early to tell and these are just baby teeth, but I think that Caleb will have the same gap in his top front teeth that Alex and his mom have. It's super cute. I think it will be a gap and not just a little extra baby-tooth room b/c it's pretty big. We'll see what happens. :)

I think that this was a lounge in the house Sunday or Saturday...and a bad hair day apparently.

It's fun to play on Mommy!

Bath-time is a fun time! He likes his duckies - actually he likes anything that is on the rim of the tub!

Funny face! I bet it made you laugh! I think he was splashing his hands on the water on the tub's edge.

Still cooking - Coraline

2009-11-02T21:07:00.004-05:00

Ann Marie has just one month left in her pregnancy! And then we get to meet little Miss Coraline!!! I can't wait!

Last week, Alex shot pregnancy photos for Ann Marie and Eddie - here are some of my favorites.

This one is my absolute favorite! It just FEELS like Ann Marie and Eddie to me - this shot makes me happy.

Zoo Day

2009-10-20T06:43:00.003-04:00

A quick post while I drink my coffee before getting Caleb up to take him to the school.

I'm so happy to have a 'mommy-post' -- I'm forever jealous of Lourdes' giant clan of mommies and babies that she always hangs out with.

This past Saturday, 8 mommies and babies went to the Zoo. We all met in our breastfeeding group while on maternity leave. Really, I never see or talk to any of them since returning to work, with the exception of my friend Jackie. We were in the same childbirth class for 8 weeks before our little ones came. Hers is Nina Sophia - gorgeous! Caleb was crawling around after her....she's cute, I don't blame him.

Brown Paper Baby

2009-10-11T16:24:00.003-04:00

--Edited so that the video isn't set to private any longer...

2009-10-10T11:03:00.002-04:00

It's October yet again - my favorite month - not for any other reason other than it is the start of 'Fall'. I get excited about Fall even though my 2 years in Tennessee in college were the only ones where i experienced the season. Here in Miami it is still Fall, though, sans cooler temps or pretty leaves. It is still 90-some-odd degrees and humid. Oh well - I guess Starbucks will have to be solely responsible for meeting my fall expectations with Pumpkin Spice Lattes and pumpkin bread. **sigh**

Alex and I have been - you guessed - crazy busy. I'm tired. Caleb has been sick. He got a cold about 8 weeks ago and it has waxed and waned in intensity over that time. When I think it's almost gone it returns with an ear infection. Last Tuesday I took him to the doctor because he started with raspy coughing fits on Monday night. The good news was that she didn't hear anything in his lungs - she said he is just very, congested and has a bad cold. He also has an ear infection in the right ear - this is his second during the life of this cold. So he is on antibiotics for the ear infection and a prescription decongestant. I just want him to be WELL - no snotty nose, no lingering cough. Apparently, he didn't get the memo that with breastfeeding and organic food that he isn't supposed to get sick. What the heck?

So notwithstanding his illness, Caleb is still happy and on the go - he is officially mobile. Not graceful, but mobile. He is crawling, but we think he will move quickly to walking because when he crawls after a couple of 'steps' he plants his feet down. He just needs to learn to pull himself up before putting his feet down. I walked at 7 1/2 months - so he wouldn't be far behind me.

Video Friday

2009-09-25T08:56:00.005-04:00

First a funny one....

Now a serious one....

Trials

2009-09-12T21:38:00.003-04:00

Had ANOTHER car accident today. Except this one wasn't my fault. It was in a parking lot. I'm very upset because - despite it not being my fault, I was the one who was ticketed.

Without getting into it too much. Picture one of those lots w/ the angled spaces so you can only drive one way. I backed out of my spot and was in the driving lane, just as I was putting my car in drive a car backed out and basically swiped the corner of my bumper. My car was scratched, his had a dent (BMW, I might add). He got out of the car and apologized that it was his fault, he wasn't looking.

I call the police, they come. We talk to him and the guy comments that he had been looking at the car beside his spot because it was close. Nothing much to comment about here. Officer takes our paperwork, licenses and goes to his car. He comes out, talks to the guy; he comes over to my car, and he has a citation for me. I was shocked. I argued with him some that it wasn't my fault, the guy even said it was his fault. The officer says that is not what he says, he never said that to him. But because the damage is to the back of my car and the side of his car (a dent); that it must be my fault. Since there are conflicting stories and no witnesses, he is basing this on the damage. I argue more, I was the one who even requested a report rather than just exchange information - why would I do that if I had hit him?? Nothing.

Back at home, Alex and I call the police station and speak to a sergeant. I explain how he must not have paid attention to the man SAYING that he wasn't looking - and that they never talked to me alone, he only talked to me alone AFTER already issuing a citation to me. Nothing. Because of the conflicting story, they can only base it on the damage.

I'm SO angry. What kind of person lies like that?! He KNOWS that he hit me, yet he's totally willing to lie and let me get a ticket! Now I'll have to go to a hearing, then court to fight the ticket; waste my time, have to deal with my insurance company. I'm sure they'll raise my premium b/c I just had that accident that actually was my fault - see I can admit it when it's my fault.

Happy Labor Day

2009-09-04T07:30:00.004-04:00

Happy Labor Day to everyone...the holiday also known as the Memorial Day, because it seems that no one can remember which one is which. I know that I always get them confused. I'm THRILLED to have a 3-day weekend. Woohoo! We are going to Orlando to visit my brother, Aaron. His birthday is the following weekend, but are going to celebrate it this weekend.

I had the brilliant idea that we should go to the House of Blues at Downtown Disney for dinner on Saturday. That place is SO fun. The theme is very Southern-blues. A lot of New Orleans Creole art and decorations. The food is delicious Southern food - mostly Louisiana style food. They have an awesome jambalaya. Alex and I went there to eat when we went to Disney WAY back when we were dating and we liked it a lot. So I mentioned it to Aaron and he was down with the plan. When I told Alex, he told me that one of our recent brides does promotions for House of Blues and had given us a gift certificate. What are the chances of that?? There isn't even one in Miami! So that is perfect! It could only be better if there is a live band playing blues while we are there!

No post written by me would be complete without a statement as to how busy I am. It's truly unbelievable. I am managing well since I have become a master of multi-tasking. I multi-task almost constantly. The downside to this is that it's hard to give people my full attention - my brain is elsewhere. This is especially true with Alex. I feel badly b/c I often come home and get into 'home multi-tasking mode', which is especially hard to get out of. Then I'm not caring or even very nice b/c I have task-accomplishment on the brain.

QUESTION: why is it so easy to be difficult or not nice to the people we love most? I don't act that way at work with people that I don't love....I am feeling guilty about this. I have apologized to Alex for not being nice, but I know that the only way to really show that I'm sorry is to stop behaving that way...I am praying that I will do that.

I don't have any new pictures of Caleb....I'm sure you're disappointed!

eh, what's up doc?

2009-08-14T17:50:00.002-04:00

Carrots......

Random-ness

2009-08-04T21:10:00.004-04:00

I have just submitted my first Federal Grant. It is to the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) Outreach Grants. Wherever you live, your state has publicly funded children's health insurance- that's CHIP. In Florida, it's KidCare. We've been working on the proposal for about two and a half weeks, and it's really been a team effort, but I took the lead on crafting and maintaining the proposal. I am very, very, proud of it. For almost five years now, I've worked for a funder - as opposed to a grant-seeking organization. So it was a good mental exercise to sit on the other side and have to write a grant myself. I feel like our proposal is not only well-written, but well crafted and very strategic. I think that it shows how hard we worked to really come up with a project design that is consistent throughout the proposal. We'll hear back from the feds by September 30th. We are requesting $630K (for 2 years) and contributing our $1 million in insurance outreach programs as match to show that our project is sustainable.

Working on that proposal has really consumed my work for the past week, and as a result I've skipped out of other meetings whenever I could to work on it. But now it's done and I'm happy.

A couple of night ago I decided that we needed to make a more concerted effort at having a bedtime routine for Caleb. I know that Emily swears by them. The time at which Caleb was falling asleep was creeping up to almost 10-ish...I know that's not ok. So on Sunday, I gave him a bath at 7-ish, and then took him to his room, put on his pj's and nursed him until he almost fell asleep and then put him in his crib. He woke up some, but I spent about 10 minutes standing there with him and he fell asleep. We've repeated each night now, and tonight it was a little harder, and I had to go in three separate times because he was crying, but he finally fell asleep at a little after 8. I'm determined to get this right. Plus with that late bedtime I just couldn't get anything done. Last week between Caleb staying up and my working so hard on that proposal there was just nothing to eat in my house and it was messy. Three nights we ate at 9:00 just because it was the first chance we had to heat up leftovers or get take out.

This week is World Breastfeeding Week. I love how beautiful breastfeeding is. It's just one MORE thing that shows me how amazing and creative God was in His design for us. It is so good for babies, mommies and our community.

I think I mentioned in my last post that we started feeding Caleb cereals - that boy loves food. I'm so surprised at how good he is at eating from a spoon, it was really surprising to me. He really enjoys it. He seems to like the spelt/barley multigrain cereal a lot, I tasted it - it's not bad, it tastes like cream of wheat (minus all the sugar I would add to cream of wheat) :)

Okee dokee - that's it for me. Alex is at small group, I didn't go b/c I didn't want to disturb our very new bedtime routine. So I'm going to go enjoy me some time laying down and watching tv

Yikes!

2009-07-24T22:21:00.004-04:00

Wow - I have been SOOO delinquent about blogging! That is because I am insanely busy!
Here are some updates:

work is crazy. I get in at 7-ish and don't fool around during the day. I just work. We are preparing for a restructuring and will likely have layoffs. On August 3 the number of staff in my department will more than double - although I will only directly supervise 3 people rather than the 4 that I do now. Two of those will be Team Leaders who will each oversee a team of contract managers. So that will bring new challenges and new scope of programs in my department that I will need to learn. Rather than only administering The Trust's health funding, I will now also oversee the Parenting and Early Childhood Development programs.
Caleb has been sleeping a lot less. Whereas he used to go to bed at 8:30 and wake up between 2-3, he is now fussing to sleep at 9-ish, waking up again at 11-ish to eat, and again between 4-5. This has been devestating to my sleep as well as to how much I'm able to pump. I've had trouble keeping up w/ this new demand and we've been raiding my freezer store. Our pediatrician noted that he is above development in several areas and thinks he is burning a lot of calories. So....we are starting on solids! At first I was wary, but then saw that it might actually help b/c right now I don't have "unoccupied" stretches of time where I can pump, except at work. Also I spoke to my good friend who's a pediatrician and she eventually agreed after asking me several questions. The other thing is that when Alex and his mom tried out the cereal for the first time yesterday he really liked it and didn't have much trouble eating it. Of course, today when Alex fed him alone...different story - he had to give him an entire bath afterward!
I had a car accident yesterday. It wasn't serious and we're ok - me, Caleb and the other driver. It was completely my fault and just stupid. I had just left from picking Caleb up from my in-laws. We were stopped at a light and Caleb was fussing in the back. I was looking at him in the rearview mirror, when out of my peripheral vision I saw the cars on either lane beside me driving forward (passing me) - so I stepped (hard) on the gas. However, I slammed into the car in front of me. My first thought was whether Caleb was alright, but then What the heck just happened?? Looking back, I think that since I was really not paying attention and saw cars moving past me - I assumed that I must have been holding things up by not paying attention - when in reality - the lane on my left was a Left-turn lane, and the lane on my right was moving forward b/c people were now able to make right turns because of a lull of passing traffic. And my lane, well it wasn't going anywhere! Thankfully, progressive is great and my car goes into the body shop on Monday.

That's about it - OH YEAH - I put up a new post on our photography blog that has cool pictures of Caleb - enjoy!

Found: A Glimpse of Another's Life

2009-07-02T08:20:00.005-04:00

First let me tell you about a website a found a long time ago - Foundmagazine.com is just that - a website where people post pictures of 'found' items. A love note, a doodle, a list of pros/cons, a random thought jotted down - things that make you wish that you knew more about the story behind the found item.

Every once in a rare while I stop by the site. But the other day, while at a conference I 'Found' something that was found.com-worthy.

Last week I was a conference at the Westin Diplomat in Fort Lauderdale. I spent a lot of time in the fancy upscale restrooms while I pumped twice a day there. At the sink one day, I spotted this lying next to the sink on the marble counter:

It made me think the following: How did it get here? Did Jessica or Paul give this to a pregnant woman that they spotted? Did they leave it here hoping that someone would find it and give them their baby? In either situation, but particularly the first, how much courage would it take to ask a pregnant stranger whether she would like to give up the baby she is carrying? I instantly felt for this couple and wished that I knew more about them.

So I Googled them - they live in Indiana. Jessica is a school nurse - which means that she was, in fact, at the conference I was at - the National Assembly for School Based Health Care.

They seem like wonderful people, they mention that they have a strong faith. I hope that they are successful in adopting a baby. I've decided to pray for them, I'm sure that their struggle is hard.

Originally, I had intended to post this picture on found.com - I don't think that I will now. Their journey is too personal to place there, I think. I know that the people who read my blog will appreciate and respect what these people are trying to accomplish - I hope that many of you will take a moment to pray for them.

Happy Father's Day and Other Stuff

2009-06-27T17:04:00.004-04:00

Happy Father's Day (way late). We've been super busy lately. It took me approximately 2.5 weeks to be fully booked again with work. By 'booked' I mean, already spending approximately 80% of my work week in meetings and trying to get actual work produced in the 20% of the remainder. I'm happy to be busy at work - helps the day go by really fast!

Both of our families were out of town on Father's Day so it was just us - we went to church and then decided to head to Alex's parents' house to go in their pool because it was SO hot. I think that day it actually broke a temperature record, hitting about 98 degrees. We went in the pool, took Caleb in the pool - we also brought the dogs and after Caleb got out we let Miles loose and he went swimming. They were pooped that night (totally our goal!) Pete was pooped too, but not from swimming he despises swimming and he barks like a madman at people (or Miles) in the pool. Imagine how you would react if you saw someone purposely walk into fire - that's about the same way Pete reacts at seeing us go into the pool. So he was tuckered out from his hysteria.

Here are the pics of my main - he's getting chubby! He really is a happy baby but I think he was really processing this whole water-thing b/c he looks so serious!

I love this face here! So simple - but so expressive!

Done: Week 1

2009-06-13T13:45:00.006-04:00

My first week back at work is under my belt. It feels good to be done with it.

The whole pumping thing went SO well. Really, God is so good at meeting our needs exactly at the time that we need it - as my friend Donna said - not sooner and not later. On Monday I worked a half day, going to work after the La Leche League meeting. I got to work at about 2pm. I pumped once - 3.5 oz. When I picked Caleb up from my Mom's house she told me that she fed him once - 3.5 oz (even though she had 7 prepared)!
My general schedule is such that I pump before leaving for work because Caleb is sleeping so I can't feed him, then I pump twice at work - on days that he was at with my in-laws I pumped in the car on the way there b/c it takes longer to get to their house. So my highest volume day I pumped 17 oz! the most he ever ate was 15 oz while I was at work. I am so pleasantly surprised, relieved and grateful to see that I have plenty of milk despite the past 3 months of worrying because I don't have all of the tell-tale signs of plenty of milk that some other women have.
The hardest thing about returning to work is being VERY tired. When I was home, it was ok to lose 45 minutes or an hour of sleep because I could sleep until 8 or so when Caleb woke up - but in order to get to work by 7:30 I'm getting up at 5:30 or 6 - the days that I have boot camp I get up 4:45. On a couple of nights last week Caleb woke up at 2:45 or 3, which means I that by the time I got back to sleep - I only had an hour or hour and a half to sleep before getting up.
This week was my anniversary! Alex and I have been married for four years! how wonderful - I'm going to post some old-school pics for you to enjoy.
For those of you with kids - my cousin, Dave, in Chattanooga, DJs a Saturday morning radio show - the Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl - it's awesome, funky, rockin kid music. You can listen live on the internet from 8-10.

Rain at Disney...early in our dating life - 2002?
Please no comments about how SKINNY I was here - sheesh.

Later...2003 or 2004? (how about those sideburns??)
June 11, 2005

May 2008 - SeattleMay 2008 - Alaska

A compound word for lots of staples - The Stapletons

2009-06-06T11:47:00.006-04:00

So while Lourdes and Jamie were in Miami for Sienna's birthday party, we took the opportunity to shoot some family pictures. What a beautiful little girl and an awesome family!

I really love this one!
So CLEARLY daddy's little girl (and not just b/c she looks just like him!)

So sweet!

Preparing...

2009-06-04T13:39:00.004-04:00

So, next week I go back to work. I'm blessed that this is timed perfectly b/c my mom (a teacher) begins summer break tomorrow. My mom will have Caleb M, T, F and Alex's mom on W, Th when she is in town.

I'm nervous about pumping at work. I'm very afraid that somehow my milk supply will suffer. I'm just paranoid about it decreasing. Thankfully, there are three other women pumping at work who are all good friends and have sworn to be there to support me. Although we'll be fighting for the 'pumping' bathroom, it's a private bathroom where my company put in a big comfy easy chair for pumping. I kind of like pumping in my car - I love being alone in my car, it's often where I have my quiet time and good worship - so I think it might also be a good place for pumping.

'Nuff said about that - don't really like talking about it. Please pray for me next week that I don't breakdown at work and please pray for my milk supply.

Memorial Weekend Fun

2009-05-27T09:12:00.003-04:00

Here are some shots of our Memorial day weekend.

On Sunday we went to Sienna's (second) 1st Birthday Party. I think she scared herself! In reality she just woke up from a nap.

Sienna blowing out her candle on her awesome mermaid cake - Lourdes has become so crafty! I think it's funny that the mermaid looks like she's smoking a cigar.

Caleb is enjoying the rays...

Chlorine on the tootsies!
How cute is this guy? I love the hat!

Stupid Internet

2009-05-22T13:37:00.012-04:00

I'm So happy that we finally are getting LOTS of rain here in Miami. My yard was looking pretty desperate! However, the storms somehow knocked out our phone/internet. The first storm knocked out our power multiple times, so I'm assuming that has something to do with it. Anyway, we didn't have internet for a couple of days. We didn't have our house phone either, but I don't care about that (thank you cell phones).

Here's what's been 'up' with us.

My best friend Lourdes came into town. This was her first experience with Caleb. I was so pleasantly surprised to see what a big girl Sienna has become! here are some pics (stolen from Lourdes' blog)

You probably can't read it -but his shirt says "no hablo" - too cute (I don't speak - in Spanish for you English speakers). That was the first item of clothing that I bought for him after I found out I was having a boy.

Today Caleb got his first round of vaccinations. he was a very brave boy. he cried at first, like he knew something was up, and screamed when he got the shots. But immediately afterward, I nursed him and he fell asleep while we waited for our nice Dr. to come see us. He is weighing in at 10 lbs 13 oz, and 22 inches long. The nurse measured his head at 17" - the Dr. read it was was like "that has to wrong, that a huge head". To which I said - well we were afraid he would get a big head...because everyone is always telling him how gorgeous he is! It was a mismeasurement - his head is 15" -- just right. We then had to wait out a storm before we could go to the car. Now we're home I gave him some tylenol and he's been sleeping for a bit.

Last week I started a fitness Boot Camp. It simultaneously rocks and kicks my butt. It's at 5:15 am to 6 two days per week. It generally involves lots of running - either on a track or running laps of the stairwell of the gymnasium or laps of the parking garage (yes up all the levels). Lots of squats, lunges, push ups, etc - performed via all kinds of torturing exercises. On the off days, I'm using our Precor elliptical. So hopefully I'll lose the last 5 pounds of my pregnancy weight - PLUS some - like what I gained while trying to get pregnant.

Mother's Day came - and went. It was really nice because our church did Baby Dedication that day. They do it about 3 times per year. It just so happened that we were the only family at the Downtown campus to dedicate a baby. It was very special since it was just us - and because our Campus Pastor, Pete did the dedication- he's a good friend of ours. Also, both of our families and Ann Marie and Eddie were all there to see it - that was really special! Afterward, our families came back to our house for lunch, I had ordered catering from Macaroni Grill - delicious!

That's it - hopefully more coming soon.

awesome photos

2009-05-03T15:36:00.001-04:00

I'm cheating in this post...check out the new e-session that Alex posted on his blog. Probably his best yet!!!

Monkey-ing Around

2009-05-01T19:35:00.006-04:00

Hello friends,

Wow. I have been VERY delinquent in blogging. Go figure!

Here are updates:

Caleb is doing better with nursing - YAY! Of course, the way I wrote that implies that we had 'problems', which we really didn't. It was just that he is a frequent nurser - and this just caused my life to be a little challenging. By challenging, I mean tied to the couch. I think there is a permanent depression in the seat cushion nearest the end table where my supplies are kept. But he is getting more efficient. Although starting around 6 pm he gets more frequent again. But during the daytime, he will eat and then be able to do other stuff, like look at things, smile, coo, laugh, gaze, etc.

He is beginning to enjoy his little play-mat (see photos below). That is cool, plus it's good b/c I know that those stimulate is little brain to get bigger and stronger!

We are trying to have the happiest baby on the block. Swaddling works! As does, bouncing and shushing. We bought a swing that plays white noise, and that's amazing! I get an extra hour at least of sleep per night in his first (and longest) sleep cycle - which is about 4 hours, from 10:30 or 11-ish to 3-3:30-ish.

Did you see this? someone made an iPhone application called Baby Shaker. That is horrible! Thankfully, Apple has pulled the app and it can't be downloaded any longer.

The Monkey....

Are you looking at me, Monkey?

I see you Monkey...

Oooh!
You can see that little brain working!

This one is a little fuzzy, but look at that smile!

Mary did you know?

2009-04-13T09:17:00.003-04:00

I have been wondering a lot lately - for obvious reasons - about what the future holds for Caleb. Most often as we sit together and he is nursing, I look at him and I wonder...
- I wonder what kind of boy he'll become
- I wonder what kind of man he'll become
- I wonder if he'll have the trademark sarcastic humor that runs in my family.
- I wonder if he'll be a good boy
- I wonder how he'll do in school
- I wonder who he will marry
- I wonder if he's going to wear ridiculous clothes that will frustrate me when he's a teenager.

Long before I had Caleb, I've always loved Philippians 2:5-11 -
⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

But one day, as I sat wondering, this came to mind - that Jesus - who is God, became FULLY human. Which means that Mary sat nursing him, just like I am Caleb, and he woke up throughout the night, just like any baby - even though he was FULLY God at that same time. It's just mind blowing.

So yesterday, in the Easter service, my friend Mauricio sang a solo of the song 'Mary did you know'; it made tears come to my eyes as it articulated all of these thoughts much better than I had. Here are the lyrics:

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know,
that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered,
will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know
your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know,
that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby,
you've kissed the face of God.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know,
that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding, is the great I AM.

Happy Easter (a day late) - every day is a good day to remember the resurrection of the Lord!

Pictures, Pictures

2009-04-11T09:50:00.006-04:00

Daddy-time...

Stretchie.... (he's so cute!)

Caleb is a little burrito...

Happy baby!

Bathtime...

Grandmother with Caleb and Bret's daughter, Maya.

Random-ness

2009-04-09T16:22:00.004-04:00

Here are random thoughts about my new world of motherhood:

- I have gone through several days without getting peed on. This is an accomplishment

- Caleb knows when I lay down to sleep when he is sleeping and chooses those times to wake up again.

- spit-up gets everywhere, I have adjusted quickly to having it on my clothes

-breastfeeding is going much better - YAY, and Caleb is gaining weight nicely (9 lbs!) and peeing and pooping as he should - so that's all good. We have actually stopped the night-time bottle-feedings and gone only to boob. This is good.

- I am adjusting to less sleep, although every 3-4 days I'll have a slight meltdown and get emotional from being tired. I have also been getting sick - last weekend I had pinkeye and now I'm getting a sore throat, I never get sick, so I'm attributing this to less sleep.

- we bought a swing, it is wonderful and is helping us to put Caleb to sleep at night.

- my baby is obscenely cute, I'm accepting this - although it's tough ;)

- We are eating out more, cooking is tricky, but grocery shopping PLUS cooking is nearly impossible.

- I now watch WAY too much TV. Shows that I watch now include: CSI-NY, Cold Case. I watch more episodes of What Not to Wear (i love this show). These are in addition to what Iu already watched. I also know that there is hardly anything on in the middle of the night besides cartoons on Cartoon Network, Cops, and some cop-dramas if i'm lucky.

- Caleb is getting slightly more alert, and started smiling some. He has laughed a couple times...so cute!

- When I'm tired and frustrated, I have to remind myself not to take it out on Alex...it's not his fault and he's my partner in this.

- There are TONS of dresses and other non-onesie outfits for newborn girls and nothing like that for boys. This annoys me.

-Caleb went to church for the first time last week - it was great!

So...

2009-03-25T18:00:00.003-04:00

So....I haven't been blogging b/c Caleb is HERE!!!! I'm pretty sure that everyone who reads this blog already knows this.

As you can imagine, I've not had a ton of time to blog. Things are wonderful, Caleb is great, fantastic, amazing, gorgeous!

The hardest part of everything so far is breastfeeding - not the act itself, but trying to determine whether he's eating enough. He has weird eating schedules and either only nurses in 'snacks' between falling asleep at the boob or eating for hours on end and then seeming like he's absolutely still starving. In those cases, I usually end up giving him a bottle of some breastmilk, which typically satisfies him - thus reinforcing for me that he's not getting enough at the boob when he nurses for so long. The breastfeeding consultant I've met with and who I saw today at a BF support group hates that - and says that the breast always provides exactly as much food as your baby needs. We'll see. For now this is working.

When we first got home we had to supplement with some formula - which I hated to do, but it was b/c he wasn't pooping and they wanted to avoid him getting jaundice. Thankfully, that's been out of the picture pretty much all of this week, I think. Hard to tell - I typically don't know what day it is.

Today we went to our first Breastfeeding support group. That was fun, there were like 5 moms there, all my age and we just talked about managing babies and life, etc. It was nice to be with other moms of babies. Afterwards, Caleb and I went to Whole Foods and had lunch with Ann Marie. That was fun too. Caleb was a good baby and slept while we were at Whole Foods and slept/nursed while we were at the BF group.

I don't have too many pictures right now, but you can see some at Alex's blog. For whatever reason, Alex likes to take pictures of Caleb while I'm nursing him - there's nothing indecent to see in the picture, it's usually just close-ups of Caleb's hands, toes, back, etc. But I've requested that he take some that actually include me in them so that I can post them.

Take care-
Shaleen.

Night of Worship - 2009

2009-03-10T09:20:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, our church held its second annual Night of Worship. It was awesome. After the concert they release a Live Album of all of the songs. I think this year was more awesome than last year's concert. All of the songs from the concert are written by the worship pastors across all of our 5 campuses as well as the worship leaders in our high school and middle school ministries - a bunch of really talented people!

This is the also the second year that Alex has been able to document the concert. Here is a photo-music video of Alex's favorites - set to one of the songs. Just a caveat that this is a 'raw' version of a live song - not yet cleaned up for the album.

You can see some of the photos on Alex's blog.

My friend - the author

2009-03-09T17:03:00.004-04:00

So our friend, Jeff, wrote a book. How cool is that? Jeff is the high school pastor at my church, Christ Fellowship. Not only are he and his wife some of the all around greatest people that Alex and I know - but now he's an author as well!

This is the promotional video for his book.

Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy

2009-03-07T15:56:00.003-05:00

This guy might be my hero for today...just for saying it like it is!

Maternity Photos

2009-03-06T13:53:00.004-05:00

I want to give a big, BIG thank you to a photographer friend of Alex's - who shall remain anonymous - who took these maternity photos. She and her husband also run a wedding/photo business and we've worked with them at weddings in the past when they've done video and we've done the photos. They are wonderful. They were very excited when they learned we were having a baby and offered to shoot maternity photos - however, she asked that she remain anonymous as this was a gift to us. So sweet.

So here are the photos - they are SO nice. We shot at a couple of locations around Miami's Design District.

The things people say

2009-03-01T10:02:00.005-05:00

Every pregnant woman gets TONS of unsolicited advice. Some of it is helpful. We also get TONS of unsolicited statements about what to expect - most of that is NOT helpful. I've learned that the vast majority of people liked to warn me about all the unpleasant things that come with pregnancy.

Fortunately for me, I have had SUCH a smooth pregnancy. Really uneventful with my only lasting and really frustrating symptom being heartburn that is more than anything I ever imagined. If you want gross details, I can give those. The funny thing, is that the unpleasant warnings keep coming. When I tell people that I've had an easy pregnancy, I would say that slightly more than half feel the need to say something like: "Oh, then you're probably going to have a HORRIBLE labor." What am I supposed to say to that? "Oh gee, thanks for that." So silly.

But lately, the advice I've been getting is really fun. Since we are pretty open with telling people that we are praying for Caleb to come at ANY time earlier than our due date, I am getting SO much advice on how to induce labor. Here's what I've got so far:

1. Taking evening primrose oil capsules 4x per day. This one came from a midwife. So I'm on top of that one.

2. Eating eggplant. This one came from Emily. I did try this on Thursday night, I went and got Eggplant Parm for dinner and ate the second half at lunch the next day - so far nothing. But it was VERY delicious, so I may eat it again this week.

3. Go to Brookstone and get a massage in a massage chair. This woman I know told me that this worked for 2 of 3 of her kids. This was actually told to me when I ran into her at the mall - so I did, in fact, go to Brookstone and got an awesome 15 minute massage in an expensive chair. While sitting there I think that this actually may have worked for her. You see, I've learned that there are two pressure points on the body that can induce labor - one in the hand, and one on the inside of the leg just below the calf. That chair spent a solid 10 minutes massaging my calves. So there may have been something to that. The massage was awesome, so I may go to Brookstone again next week - even if I don't go into labor, it was very relaxing.

4. I will know that labor is 'imminent' when my lips start to get weird looking and puffy. Told to me by a friend at church. Again, perhaps may have been true for her, I've read that just before going into labor a lot of women will have a lot of swelling even if they haven't had it throughout the pregnancy. So...I will keep an eye on my lips.

5. Eat: pineapple, spicy food

6. Other practical things - walking, and other physical things to induce labor.

Does anyone have anything else to add???

Also - feel free to start picking dates that I may go into labor. My actual due date is March 15. We are praying for around the 8th.

I love...

2009-02-22T08:58:00.002-05:00

Now it's MY turn to copy Emily's post where she is copying her sister's post. It's a cool idea. Here are just 6 little insignificant things that I love:

1. I love the sound of footsteps on gravel paths. I don't get to hear that very often in Miami. I can't explain it, I just love it. Yesterday, I heard that sound in the Design District, and it was TOTALLY out of place, and I had to locate the path and the sound.

2. I love buying funny greeting cards. However, I often forget that I bought them. I found about 10 while I was cleaning out a room the other day, that I must have bought like 5 years ago. They are still funny. I hope I remember to send them out to people. Maybe I'll send one to Emily, now that I know she loves mail.

3. I love food that has to be eaten with your hands. For example, I am a huge fan of bacon and eggs, but I'll choose a bacon and egg sandwich over the regular version anytime. I don't know why.

4. I love airports, I think they are fascinating - I always wonder where people are going.

5. I love getting my hair cut. It is an instant self-esteem booster. I also have short hair, so one haircut makes a big difference on short hair. I used to be pretty obsessive about hairstyling, but now I only go every 4 months or more. Which is a BAD habit for a short hairstyle, but oh well.

6. I love really big thunderstorms. The bigger, louder - the better. I secretly get kind of excited when they say that a tropical storm is near us - which I totally shouldn't be excited by. But I just hope it's not a bad one, but big enough to not go to work and stay home and enjoy a big storm.

Ok - so tell me the things that you love!

updates

2009-02-21T12:19:00.002-05:00

We are just 3 short weeks away from my due date! How exciting. We are really, really praying that Caleb comes early. 1) My OB is concerned that he is going to be big. Our ultrasound last week put him at 7.5 pounds (at 36 weeks). Now, I know that those are notoriously off, but sometimes they aren't and my OB may want to consider induction if he's too concerned. 2) Alex's mom has to have surgery on her kidney on March 10. That is 7 days before my due date. So we are PRAYING that I go into labor au naturale before then. Because the surgery is invasive and she would be in too much pain afterward to be at the hospital. So it would be good to have Caleb before the 10th. 3) I'm getting tired of being pregnant. Each day I feel bigger, more awkward. I went 8 months being pretty much fully independent, but now I call Alex from the other room to reach things and get things so that I don't have to get up - it's just a pain.

So, our plan is that I will step up my walking every day for at least 45 minutes. And then next week, start employing some natural induction techniques.

Last week was Valentine's day, we really had nothing planned, but my parents invited us to a restaurant in Key Largo. So we did that. I had a first-time ever experience. We were seated at a booth - and I didn't fit. We had to go ask for another table. Talk about embarrassing! (it was actually pretty funny).

We did take some maternity photos last week! I have seen a few of the photographer's favorites, but not in a format that I can post yet. We should be getting the files any day - I'm so excited to post them! The photographer is a wedding-photographer friend of Alex's who really wanted to do this for us after she heard we were pregnant. She's very sweet, and asked to remain anonymous. As soon as I get them I will post them. Also, all I asked for from Alex for my birthday was for him to take pictures of the nursery so that I can post them. Hopefully we'll do that tomorrow after he hangs these 2 pictures.

Happy birthday to me - and other news

2009-02-14T10:29:00.003-05:00

So yesterday was my 30th birthday. It was a nice day. I worked all day and got home a little after 6. Then Alex and I went to dinner with Ann Marie and Eddie. We went to this nice Mediterranean restaurant in the Gables, Maroosh. It was delicious! Afterward, we took the long way back to the car - and what did we pass?? A cupcake bakery! Happy birthday to me! I was happy.

Alright, I saw this youtube clip on Emily's blog who linked to it on one of her friend's blog. I did in fact laugh out loud at this. All I can say is, thank goodness for surveillance cameras.

This morning I had a blast from the past. My best friend Jen's mom makes the most delicious apple crisp. A couple months back she emailed me the recipe and I finally made it today for breakfast. It's the best kind of southern recipe - the kind that uses measurements like "a little sugar" "some cinnamon". It came out great! Alex liked it a lot.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day everyone.

NEW website

2009-02-04T09:02:00.003-05:00

Ok - so you MUST go and check out the new website for Candidly Elegant Photography. For those of you not 'in the know' that is Alex's photography website. It is just so gorgeous and high end - I love it.

I am totally flattered by what Alex wrote in part of the website - when you visit it, click on 'Info' (on the left) and then 'Why Hire Me'. How sweet and wonderful is my husband?

2009-02-02T19:02:00.002-05:00

My life has been very frustrating lately. Mostly just to me - no one else would notice. I feel like I should be nesting, and in fact, I would like to begin nesting. However that is wholly impossible.

Two of our guest bedrooms have (had) carpeting. We definitely wanted to get rid of that in Caleb's room. So after winter wedding season rush - it was Alex's job to make arrangements for us to get laminate wood in there. Since we both work like crazy and neither of us is handy - this means that we hire someone. So approximately 7 days ago, I spent the evening emptying out the small items from the rooms - emptying closets, moving drawers out of dressers, etc. Most of this was in the guest room b/c Caleb's room never had furniture in it - just some stuff in the closet. The next day, the guys came and began working. All of stuff in the rooms was moved into our living room (bed, dresser, nighstands, antique chest, closet doors, boxes, etc).

After a VERY long day of work, they told us that we didn't buy enough wood. NOT Alex's fault, he told the people at the store the measurements of the room and advised them that he didn't know how much we needed w/ overage for cutting, etc - but these were the dimensions of the rooms and closets. So we had to order 2 more boxes. And we are waiting. 7 days later, no wood. 7 days later, I still have furniture, clothes, closet doors, boxes etc scattered around my living room.

Because of all this, Caleb's furniture is sitting - unassembled in boxes in the garage. Because the furniture is in boxes, all baby clothes and items remain in their gift bags from my shower. Because of that, I don't have a good idea of what I have and am still missing.

Because of all that I am frustrated. Also, my house is a WRECK, which just annoys me.

Speaking of my annoyance over messy houses. I was talking to a coworker about this - he just had his 3rd baby. He told me - like everyone else - that I better start getting over that b/c I won't have my house as clean and orderly again after the baby comes home. Then he sent me this You Tube video:

Also - last night was the Superbowl. That is always bittersweet for me. I love football - and now it's over. The game was not so great until that last half of the 4th quarter then it got amazing!

This was my favorite commercial, and apparently Lourdes' too, because she also has it on her blog. I just think it is super cool.

Don't these people work?

2009-01-30T16:48:00.003-05:00

For whatever reason (let's blame it on pregnancy) - I woke up today feeling out of sorts. I guess you might say, hyper-hormonal. I was just kind of poopy, annoyed, emotional, etc. Went to a breakfast awards ceremony in the morning. Went into the office and then headed out to work at home the rest of the day. I was just feeling too emotional to be in the office.

Alex was working at home as well. We went to get some lunch at Scully's. However, the whole place was packed, there was a wait! And there was a band! We left. Then we went to the Sports Grill. It was also full, but no wait.

It's not a holiday or anything - why aren't these people working?

I think that my belly is going through some serious growth. It is way more achy the last few days, and I am definitely having a harder time bending down. Maybe I can convince Alex to take some pictures of me. In a few weeks, we will do some maternity shots with a photographer-friend of ours who offered once she heard we were pregnant.

The dogs are feeling pretty antsy. I definitely need to spend some time with them this weekend so that they get some energy out. Miles has taken to howling AT us b/c he's bored.

Maya McRae Hamilton

2009-01-24T14:40:00.003-05:00

Here are photos of my brother Bret's new daughter, Maya. My parents were up in Tallahassee for the birth. She was born on January 11 at 11:00 (that's a lot of ones).

She's a little thing - 6 pounds 4 oz. That's my dad's hand.

Grandmother and Maya - I love this picture!

This is my FAVORITE shot - I love the looks on Bret and my mom's faces! So priceless!

When we talked to Bret that day, he was the epitome of the proud first time dad, it was so sweet Alex and I were both teary-eyed listening to him!

i am second

2009-01-18T22:07:00.003-05:00

This is an awesome website. Makes me wonder - am I second enough of the time?

this is just amazing - check out the testimony of the former bassist of the heavy metal band Korn - Brian Welch

And Stephen Baldwin.

A cleaning lady and a realtor - talk about eternal significance.

i am second - have to say that I found this from Jeff's blog.

Real Weddings

2009-01-14T19:04:00.002-05:00

One of Alex's weddings from earlier this year was selected by The Knot Bridal Magazine to be featured as a Real Wedding. This is always great news. This is the wedding of Melissa and Chris. It was such a wonderful wedding - everything was beautiful.

Check out the online version of what they printed in the magazine. I will say that magazines choose pictures for specific reasons - like whatever details it is that they want to talk about. They aren't always OUR favorite pictures.

To get the whole story of their wedding, here is a slideshow of their wedding album.

My wonderful baby shower

2009-01-09T20:09:00.004-05:00

Here are the long overdue pictures from my shower which was just before Christmas - bad timing I know. Lourdes, Ann Marie and my sister-in-law, Baby hosted the shower for me at Baby's house.

me w/ Ann Marie and Lourdes...

My awesome cake...It's like an Ace of Cakes cake!

My mom made those runners - I love them!

Isn't this gorgeous!?

The obligatory baby shower games...they had to dress the baby with one hand while holding a cell phone in the other.

Alex's niece, Isabella, playing with Sienna. Isabella and Nicholas are VERY excited about getting a baby cousin!

Me and my mom

Me and Alex's family and family friends

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:30:00.002-05:00

Happy 2009 everyone!

I just finished reading my best friend Jenn's blog, and I feel like I should put some thought into making a new year's resolution list. I have never actually made new year's resolutions before. I guess for a couple of years I've thought that I would try REALLY hard to remember people's names when I first meet them. That hasn't worked out too well, as I just discovered on Tuesday that I've been calling this new guy in my company by the wrong name. I thought I knew it so I made an extra effort to say "Good morning Gil." - When in fact his name is something else - which I've already forgotten. Apparently, Gil is another new guy who works in a different department. Good job Shaleen.

I guess that my only resolutions are also post-baby projects. Like losing the weight that I've gained since I've been pregnant, but I could add on a new year's reso and say that I'd like to lose the weight I've gained since I got married - now THAT would be nice!

I can't believe that I will have a baby in two and half months. It's really crazy. For new year's eve we had dinner with Lourdes, Jamie and their daughter Sienna. Afterward we played board games. It was fun, but so wild to think that in just a short while, we will have this constant (for lack of a better word) distraction of a baby. They just change the flow of things, I'm sure that will be an adjustment.

Two weeks ago, Lourdes, Ann Marie, and Alex's sister threw me a shower - it was SO gorgeous. It was absolutely perfect. I think that we are pretty much stocked with baby supplies except for some things that we'll pick up later. I did take a lot of pictures, but Alex very nicely informed me that they are horrible. So I can't post them until he has corrected the colors some - and he's WAY too busy designing wedding albums now to adjust my pictures. I did try really hard to take good shots, but it was sunset and the contrast of the light makes things really tricky! Hopefully I'll post them at some point.

not even apologizing

2008-12-18T16:04:00.003-05:00

I'm going to stop apologizing for not blogging. I'm sure that people are tired of the apologies anyway. Here's what I've been up to-

1) weddings have finally ended (yay!) but last Saturday my company's Board of Director's had a planning retreat - so I was there most of the day. We got done an hour early at 3:30 - so I used that time (wisely) to go Christmas shopping.

2) I am trying to fit Christmas shopping into any free time. I am pretty much done except for Alex and his dad. I tried shopping online a lot this year - that worked out well. Although I learned a valuable lesson. That is, if you buy online for people who are out of town - just have the items shipped directly to them. I didn't think about that until I received the 2.5' wide x 10" high x 3' long box containing the gift for Bret's step-kids at my house. Yeah, they live in Tallahassee - so now I have to get it there somehow. Smart, Shaleen.

3) Baking things. I can't help myself, I love to bake at Christmas time. I tried some new things this year. I covered a pound of pretzels in white chocolate and sprinkles. I also made peanut buttery rice krispies which i rolled into balls and dipped in milk chocolate. I'm going to fill tins with each of those cookies for some friends, co-workers and the majority will go to the teachers at our preschool - they LOVE food and candies.

4) Cleaning my house - about a month ago we fired our cleaning lady and I've yet to replace her. So I have been cleaning a lot more often. Tomorrow a woman is coming to check out my house and give me a price. So today I had to thoroughly vacuum and mop in preparation. I know that sounds crazy. But seriously, my floor was gross, I refused to even walk on it barefoot b/c of the dirt on the tile (caused by the dogs, but mostly Miles). I honestly think that if she saw my house the way that it looked about 3 hours ago that she would charge us more to clean. We only have someone come twice a month - but it's a big help so that I only have to do the maintenance cleaning in between. That means that I usually vacuum twice a week on my own, swiffer once and do a real mopping once a week. If that sounds like a lot of cleaning - you're right. I think in part b/c we just like our house to be clean and also b/c Miles gets the floor so dirty that it is really necessary.

So there you have it - nothing too exciting.

Thanksgiving Update

2008-12-10T12:57:00.005-05:00

This is my most shamefully long absence from blogging. Who knew that taking a week off of work would wreak so much havoc. It may not have really been the week off, but for whatever reason, since Thanksgiving Alex and I have been SO busy. My work is super busy - and Alex just finished our winter wedding season and now he has to do post-production on all of those weddings.

However, we actually took pictures while we were away - so I definitely want to post them. We took a couple of days to drive up to Asheville for Thanksgiving w/ my mom's family. We left on Friday headed to Greenville where we saw one of my oldest friends, Emily. We met her at the Greenville zoo and had a nice day out. Then we went to my cousin's house and had lunch with my sisters in law (who took a break from shopping) and my cousin and their daughter, Ashley.

So it was kind of a speedy trip, but we felt like we still got to have lots of quality time with friends and family.

Aaron and Bret with our cousin Paul - they were headed out to go 4-wheeling. We are obviously a squinty-eyed family...

Me, Aaron and Bret

my brother Aaron and Alex

Me with my mom

Me with my oldest friend, Emily and her husband Jody.

Emily's son, Silas

Baby Millie

Emily's son, Silas - looking at snakes.

A Madagascar - we think he might be pentecostal...

Emily's daughter, Hattie w/ Jody.

Hattie again

Emily, Jody and Millie

Me, Alex and Caleb

Happy Friday

2008-11-21T19:25:00.002-05:00

I'm so glad it's Friday! Not only is it Friday but we are about to start a vacation! yay! We only have one more November wedding left on Saturday. Sunday we'll see Alex's family and Monday I'll run errands and pack and then we head off to NC for Thanksgiving.

My mom's side of the family gets together each year for Thanksgiving at the Red Rocker Inn. I guess at some point a few years ago, they decided that no one really wanted to cook for that many people and have to house all of the out of town guests. My parents have gone several times, but I and my brothers have never gone. This year we are all headed up along with our spouses! It should be really cool.

Here is a photo of me beginning to look pregnant. Remember that part of the belly that you see was there before Caleb was. Also, this is taken while we were working a wedding - so I'm looking a little rough. :)

Good ole' November

2008-11-11T09:41:00.003-05:00

November is the craziest month - that is my excuse for being behind on blogging. It is wedding season and my work is crazy-busy as well. I think my work is so busy b/c during the holiday season it is impossible to schedule meetings or get a lot of group work done - so everyone tries to get their meetings in before Thanksgiving. So things are just crazy.

This past weekend we shot a wedding in Captiva Island over on Florida's west coast. We went up a day early just to spend some time there. It was SO nice. It really was relaxing and almost felt like a vacation even though we really only had one 'free' day.

Today is veteran's day and I didn't have to work. My wonderful friend, Jenny, came over this morning and went with me to Babies R Us to register. She has a 2-year old and an 8-month old. Seriously, I don't know how anyone does their first baby registry w/out a friend with a baby. I was SO clueless - especially in the whole infant care section of bathing, bottling, cleaning, etc. We were there for about 3 hours - it was pretty hardcore and I was very tired afterward.

The Baby's Room

2008-11-02T08:41:00.004-05:00

I'm super excited because I finally found the theme for the baby's room! It happened by accident that last week, I literally stumbled upon an AMAZING kids-room boutique in a little art/design district. I was floored. I have been highly frustrated by the boy-room things at babies r us, they just don't do it for me. This store is like a children's room wonderland.

So I found something that I liked and wanted to show Alex so I took a flyer of the theme home, and when the clerk gave me the paper she stapled their palm card to it. Well, there on their card, was a little room theme of little, modern drawn baby animals in blue, lime green and orange with white as the core color. I loved it - Alex loved it. I took my mom there yesterday and we discovered that the 8-piece bedding set was half off! So I put a deposit on it so that someone can buy it off my registry at that price. I also picked out awesome little accessories that are super unique like this little paper mache puppy dog lamp. I tried searching to find the bedroom set online somewhere, but I couldn't - sorry!

Then my mom and I went to Home Depot and picked up paint samples to start thinking about the walls. I'm SO excited now about this room - it's going to be SO happy and cool!

By the way, we have a name - Caleb, no middle name. Alex thinks they are useless - I disagree but I figure I can pick that battle in the hospital - not now with 4.5 months to go!

catching up

2008-10-30T20:17:00.011-04:00

It is fall in South Florida and that means wedding season! We are crazy-busy with weddings. We will shoot 5 weddings in November prior to Thanksgiving. Last weekend we shot my best friend Lourdes' sister's wedding. It was SUCH a blast - Ana and her hubby are so much fun! Check out the pictures on Candidly Elegant's blog.

Lourdes, her husband Jamie and their daughter Sienna came over before they left. I cooked my mom's famous homemade pizza (a Lourdes-favorite). Here are some shots of Alex having some baby-time and getting lessons on the use on the cloth diapers we'll be using when our baby arrives. Check out Bum Genius diapers for more info.

Also long overdue are pictures of the patio renovation - check out the before and after!

Oops, I did it again

2008-10-26T17:17:00.002-04:00

It is very difficult to surprise me. Not because I'm nosy or go snooping for gifts - but simply b/c I have an amazing way of becoming totally obnoxious about the thing that is the surprise w/out even knowing that I have it waiting for me. This most acutely effects Alex. Let me give you some examples:

I first wanted a Boston Terrier when I was in college and met one that belonged to one of my cousins. I fell in love. YEARS went by and I kept wanting the dog. So about a year before Alex and I get married, I decided that the time was right for me to finally have a dog. So I began looking for breeders and reading information on them. I became almost obsessed, I finally found a litter not far away in Ft. Lauderdale and told Alex that I wanted us to go look at them. He put me off. Finally after about 2 weeks of my bugging him, he got really frustrated and said that he was going to buy me a puppy for Christmas (about a month away) - and he hopes I'm happy now that I have no surprise! In the end he semi-surprised me b/c the litter was near his work, he went and saw them and told me that the puppies didn't look well-bred and we should keep looking. In reality, he had put a deposit down on Pete while he was there and surprised me later.

Fast forward to just before our 2 year anniversary (dating). I'm embarrassed to admit that I had begun applying the 'we need to get married' pressure, and exactly one week before our anniversary we got into an argument about 'the future' - and I was crying and upset b/c he didn't want to commit. At the same moment, by best friend Lourdes calls me to meet her at a Bridal shop to see the dress she had found for her wedding. I show up in a foul mood.

If you haven't guessed already, exactly one week later Alex proposes on our 2-year anniversary - and I feel like a total heel. During our entire argument, he had to endure me complaining and arguing while 'the ring' sat in another room.

So. About 2 months ago, Alex and I started looking at elliptical training machines. My gym membership is about to expire and he needs to work out too, but is too picky to commit to a gym. So we decided that w/ the baby coming, it would make more sense to buy a machine for the house. Then we can use that in combination with our bikes and our neighborhood w/ sidewalks for walking/jogging. We had found one we liked right before we started the patio project so the elliptical went on hold.

Well, now the patio is finished, so I (logically) started thinking that we should return to the elliptical idea...and I started bugging Alex. (just a little) - Alex this week can you call the gym place and negotiate the elliptical? -Alex, maybe today you can call the gym-guy and finalize the elliptical?

So during breakfast yesterday, I mention that second statement...and Alex sighs and says. "Shaleen, I went to the place and bought it on Wednesday, it will be delivered in a week and a half. I was going to surprise you."

I suck. I don't MEAN to do that! I'm not even a nagging wife! I just happen to find these things every once in a while. I really, really LIKE surprises!

New Creation Video

2008-10-21T19:51:00.002-04:00

Here is a video from Fellowship Church in TX. I think the song is amazing, apparently they have a CD coming out soon.

New Creation from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.

More info now

2008-10-16T20:31:00.003-04:00

Ok - so the previous post was really, really short - so I'll update now that I'm home from work, gone to publix, have eaten dinner and vacuumed and mopped the floor (whew!).

So this morning we had our appt. Alex borrowed my mom's video camera and we taped a little message to our baby before the appt. We asked the tech if we could video the ultrasound but she said no and that we could purchase a VHS tape for $5. Who has a VHS player? (apparently, both my parents and alex's parents). We didn't know that at the time and did it anyway. I was a little disappointed that the pictures weren't as clear as I wanted - my brother's ultrasound at 18 weeks looks amazing - the baby is so distinct in the ultrasound. Not ours.

The baby was curled in a tight, tight little ball and after getting all the measurements, the tech kept trying for about five more minutes try to get our shy baby to show it's stuff. The biggest problem is that the baby had its legs crossed - even as it was kicking around like crazy she was amazed that it kept its ankles crossed! She was about to give up when she saw 'it' - and announced our baby is a boy!!! We both asked "Are you sure?" because we couldn't see anything on the screen. She was sure. There was definitely an adjustment period b/c I think we both thought we would be having a girl.

But within an hour or so of the appointment - I'm getting very excited about my boy! So there will be another boy in my house with me - after Alex, Pete and Miles.

In other news - I had such a nice day today. I had productive meetings in the 2nd half of my day and apparently it is Boss's Day today. My staff gave me a flower arrangement and a really nice card. Also, my former assistant gave me a plant and a card - the nice part is that about 6 months ago she transferred to another team, and her card said - that she wanted to recognize me even though I'm not her boss anymore, but that she realizes now that she didn't appreciate what she had when she was working for me. That's so nice!

Alex is at his apologetics study - so I used the new BBQ on my own. I grilled corn on the cob and a chicken cutlet w/ swiss cheese and I made a little sandwich with some whole wheat naan bread (Indian flatbread) and roasted a slice of red pepper. The whole meal was cooked on the grill (= no cleanup!) and it was healthy and delicous!

It's a boy!

2008-10-16T11:06:00.000-04:00

We just found out! It's a boy!

I have to head to work now, but Alex will take a picture of the u/s photo and I'll post it tonight.

the glorious everyday

2008-10-09T19:20:00.003-04:00

In a much older post, I commented about how much joy I get out of being exposed to opportunities to see the wonder that is everyday life. That is, there is so much beauty to be seen in what occurs in plain, old life.

My favorite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It is so because it points out the beauty of life, but what makes it really, really amazing is that it makes you think about what if you lost those everyday moments?

Eternal Sunshine is a story about a couple, Joel and Clementine. Shortly after breaking up, Joel discovers that Clementine has had all of her memories of their relationship erased. Traumatized by the fact, he in turn erases his memories of her...until midway through the erasing process he discovers the tragedy of what he is doing.

The movie came out in 2004 (so long ago!?). I clearly remember seeing it. Alex and I were either still dating or recently engaged at that time. I remember that I cried in the movie, but when it ended, I was so weighted with the message. The memories that hurt the most are those that mean the most to us - how awful to lose them.

I remember walking out of the theater and thinking about how much I love Alex. And even if we broke up, I would never want to lose the memories that I had made with him because they made up a part of me. Outside the theater, I started sobbing at the thought. I must of looked crazy, but I swear that moment is one of the most singular in falling in love with him.

Simpson's Halloween 2008

2008-10-05T21:14:00.001-04:00

why is it?

2008-10-02T09:59:00.002-04:00

Why don't scissors work in the left hand? I can understand why such a simple engineering concept as a scissor is defeated by the use of another hand...I was trying to trim my eyebrows today with tiny scissors and tried using my left hand...and, nothing. Instead I had to try to contort my right hand so that it could trim the left brow. Thankfully, that worked out alright and I still have two eyebrows.

I'm working at home today b/c I had no big meetings and Alex is going to have to go the school later and doesn't really want the workers to be here alone.

The patio is coming along. I feel like we made SO much progress really, really fast in the beginning and the last 7 days have been really, really slow. Initially we were hoping to be done on Tuesday. But then Monday and Tuesday it rained almost all day - so no work got done. Yesterday the marble guys came and started installing the counter-top on the kitchenette island where the grill is. That is a slow process all by itself. They should be done today and I think the gas guy is coming to run our gas line to the grill. Even though the patio won't be finished, we could theoretically grill tonight or tomorrow.

I'm so ready for it to be done. My house is full of dust from the work. Plus the dogs can't really be in the backyard b/c it's a wreck so we have to walk them throughout the day.

Oh well, that's all the complaining I'll do b/c I'm really happy with how it's turning out and I know that we are blessed to be able to do it.

thoughts on politics - part 1

2008-09-29T22:32:00.003-04:00

I'm so proud of Alex, I've turned him into my own personal pundit. Here is his 'white paper' on this year's election: It's long so I will post it in sections...(going backwards so that it reads in order).

I have been thinking long and hard about whether to post about politics here. In the end, Alex put it all much better than I could have. One thing that I can add to what he says here is that I have not, and do not, judge people who have taken the time to search for knowledge of the facts and their hearts to make this decision. I hope that you, my friends and family, will take the time to educate yourselves and make an honest decision FOR YOURSELF.
----------------

First: This e-mail is being sent to you in love. Thank you for reading it, I know it’s a bit long, but it gives insight into my heart during this time.

Needless to say this year’s presidential election is probably the most important of recent history. We are in an unpopular war with no easy way out, an economic crisis nearing the fallout of the great depression, a healthcare system that is the worst among the civilized nations of the world, Social Security which is going bankrupt and if that’s not too much to juggle in our brains we must consider the issues that confuse even the simple elections like abortion, taxes, social services, and foreign policy. How as American citizens and Christians should we make a decision? I don’t want to tell anyone how to vote; I just want to think out loud via this e-mail, in order to lay out my decision making factors and maybe open a dialogue that would help us all consider our priorities and maybe self reflect a little bit on why we are choosing the way we are.

First of, I think its important to say that there is no correct Christian answer. I wish it would be that simple. Many Christians want to make it a clear choice based on one issue over another, but we simply have no indication Biblically that Jesus would single out that same issue and ignore others that are perhaps equally important to Him. For example, we might say that God values human life greatly and cite “Thou shalt not murder” and cite Psalm 139 and Isaiah 44 as evidence that God surely cannot stand abortion, but one can also find Biblical evidences for many of today’s issues and some of the issues are handled differently by the opposing candidates. Almost every political issue can be found in the Bible and God has an opinion on each one. As we’ve been learning in our Revelation studies, God has a clear opinion on how Israel needs to be treated politically. We all know the verses relating to taking care of the poor, the elderly, the sick, etc. God surely has an opinion on how we handle war and contrary to what many Christians say, just because there are many wars in the books of Joshua, Chronicles and others in the Old Testament doesn’t mean that God is for us in every war. Each of the wars covered in those books can be studied separately. I am not going to get into the specifics of the war we are in now or whether I think God is for us or not.

Prayer needs to be part of our decision making process. Even if we all vote differently, Romans 13 teaches us that God establishes every government power according to His perfect will. This does not mean it doesn’t matter how we vote. Our individual actions need to reflect our heart and our Lord.

What I want to layout is the process I am using to separate my thoughts on this and invite you: family and friends in Christ to think out loud with me and correct me if necessary and provide wisdom. I am interested in every opinion and every difference in priority you may have. Please respond and feed my brain and heart.

Statistically speaking, the average American votes on likeability of the candidate and not on the issues themselves. This is just a sad reality to me. I know none of us are going to vote based on that, so we can go ahead and skip that consideration.

Actual considerations to factor in (in no particular order):

1. Experience of candidate
2. Morals. Does the candidate match my moral views?
3. Economy. Which candidate has a better plan for helping us out of this crisis?
4. Healthcare.
5. The War.
6. Foreign Policy.

I want to go through each one briefly to separate which ones I’ve chosen to cancel out over others.

thoughts on politics - part 2

2008-09-29T22:31:00.004-04:00

1. Experience. I think the experience of a candidate is crucial if the candidates have similar strategies or viewpoints for our Nation’s future. The experience of a candidate can be the difference in employing a strategy successfully or failing right off the bat. It can mean respect in the global politics or disdain and disrespect. In today’s case however, the candidates could not be more different in almost every issue and factor. If a candidate has more experience but is planning to run the system in a way you totally oppose would you still vote for that candidate just because he has more experience? Maybe the more experienced candidate is also the one you most agree with and then you have an easier choice, but just hypothetically (or really in my case) would you hire a person to be the CEO of a company who has lots of experience but will run the company completely different than the way you want? Or would you hire a younger less experienced candidate who says he plans on running the company your way? I personally would take the risk and choose the latter.

2. Morals. This is the most important of my points and needs the most feedback. This has three sub-points that I’m filtering through.

First. Biblically speaking we know how God feels about abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage and other moral issues. Does this mean that it is the job of the government to enforce these things? Maybe so, maybe not. That in and of itself can be a long-winded argument with no clear winner. That argument interests me very much, but I don’t want to enter into it here for the sake of brevity. Let’s just take the position of yes, it is government’s job to enforce these moral standards. I’m taking this opinion here not necessarily because I agree with it but because in this scenario the morality of the candidate becomes even more important. Even if we should elect a president who will enforce the same values as us, this consideration should be cancelled out based on the fact that the president has no authority over these issues at the state level. Abortion: At best, a president can reverse or influence a reverse of Roe vs. Wade and then the states would make their own laws on the subject, meaning that a teenager who wants an abortion will still get one by crossing the border regardless of who is in office. President Bush is also against abortion and there are plenty of abortion clinics right here in Miami. Gay rights will most definitely be decided at the state level. Stem cell research does get Federal funding and so does Planned Parenthood. This does seem to influence my decision some. The president also has the power to appoint Supreme Court judges, which have some authority on these issues.

Two. Does the morality of the nation actually change by who is in charge? I guess there is some good in this by keeping us from spiraling down in evil and corruption, but everyone’s heart is still just as dirty. The spiritual condition of the people is still the same, we are just trying to protect the innocent from the evil, which by looking at the previous point is not in the president’s authority anyway. Is it possible for a person who is not born again to identify with certain Christian viewpoints? I don’t think they can. The Bible describes those who don’t know Christ as being captive by the devil, (2 Tim 2:26), spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1), they see Godly things as foolishness (1 Cor. 1), why then are we surprised that when we try to force our view on them, they see us as closed minded and hateful? The Bible tells us they are going to react in this manner. When God said “I will write my law into their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10) He was talking about His people only, not unbelievers. Our morality is inherently different from theirs and it is not their fault. If we humble ourselves a little bit, we will remember that we were lost once.
Three. As my friend Abiel has pointed out, does not the moral values of a man provide a foundation where further decisions will be made? This is quite interesting. I would say yes. Without getting into specifics, I would say both candidates lack the moral standard I seek in a president and it is unfortunate we are left with only two options.

thoughts on politics - part 3

2008-09-29T22:26:00.005-04:00

This is more of Alex's politics paper....
----------------
3. Economy. This is extremely complicated. Here are the pros and cons I see. In the Republican system there are too many benefits for big businesses and not enough for the blue collar worker. Not to sound childish but it is basically the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We have been eliminating the middle class for some time now. In this system businesses have been laying off their American workforce and hired overseas employees for half the rate.

The Democratic system has bad downfalls as well. Unions can run the country in a dangerous direction. The welfare system is abused and seems to be enabling many people to produce absolutely nothing while collecting checks. Sure it legitimately helps some but I don’t think this is the norm.
The war is definitely a big factor in this that sways my opinion beyond these analyses.

4. Healthcare. Sorry to be so opinionated on this one but I am certain I am right on this. Healthcare will NOT work in a free market. I am not a socialist, I am actually a registered Republican, but this is logically flawed. The “invisible hand” concept envisioned by Adam Smith has made capitalism the best market system in the world for almost any product with the exception of healthcare. In a free market, supply and demand with competition between the suppliers control the system. Profitability drives suppliers to change the quality of their product, their prices, their efficiency in order to succeed. This usually works for the benefit of the buyers by providing an affordable, quality product, but in the case of healthcare it is the very FLAW in the system. Insurance companies can out-profit one another not by proving better service, but by avoiding the unhealthy, high-risk people who need it the most, by spending huge amounts of their budgets on lawyers to avoid paying out and by negotiating down the prices of service with doctors, which results in lists of doctors you can see and doctors you can’t. Universal healthcare is not perfect, but it is far better.

5. The War. I am tired of being the police of the world and the world is also very tired of us assuming this responsibility. Even if you disagree with this point, I think we can agree that we should take care of problems at home first before fixing them in other places. Borrowing 10 billion dollars a month that we don’t have to help democratize a nation that has a 72 billion dollar surplus and many of its citizens don’t particularly want Westernization does not seem smart.

6. Foreign Policy. I believe speaking to other nations is good, even our enemies in a diplomatic way. I agree that we shouldn’t “legitimize” terrorist organizations with our presence, but flat out ignoring them doesn’t seem to be ideal either. I believe we should try to do more of our “policing” in union with the other nations of the world and not think we are above them which is the perception we are certainly giving.

As we choose one of these two candidates compromises will be made. If we were to build the perfect Biblical candidate issue by issue we would end up with Jesus, who will be our King eventually. In the meantime we are left with compromises.
Okay, I’m done. Thank you so much for reading this. Please reply with your thoughts. I promise I will not be offended by anything. Love.

God takes care

2008-09-25T09:10:00.003-04:00

It is so cool how God takes care of the little things in this lives of His children. I can't recall whether I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Alex has been working every single day for the past two weeks. He's been shooting on weekends and then trying to work on photos, oversee the patio work, and manage the school during the week. He has only been able to get to the school 3 times in the past two weeks. He's exhausted.

In addition, he was selected by Big Folio for a feature. Big Folio is a company that designs website templates and and a slew of other services for wedding photographers. Some of the biggest name photographers use them to host their websites, as does Alex. Anyway, periodically, they select a photographer and film a video about how the photographer uses Big Folio tools to maximize their workflow. So the videographer was scheduled to come on Wednesday (yesterday). On Tuesday night, Alex was stressing badly b/c he had been so busy that he hadn't even been able to think about what to say for the video shoot.

So within the first 10 minutes of getting together, Alex learns that the guy is a Christian. What a blessing - God knew exactly how to put Alex at ease. The chances of this were SLIM. The guy is from Seattle, just FYI - Seattle and Miami are the 2 most un-churched cities in the US (Seattle #1, Miami #2). It came up b/c Alex was asking what else he films - and he mentioned that the vast majority of his work is shooting Christian Snowboarders in the NW. So they had a great day - shooting footage of Alex demonstrating how he uses Big Folio tools at home on his computer while doing post-production on weddings. Later, he filmed Alex doing a photo session with a couple - we recruited our good friends Lauren and Brian from church - they were great models.

The next thing that God did to take care of Alex: after dropping the videographer off at his hotel, Alex started stressing about all that needed to be done today - mostly that he HAD to get to the school, but he also couldn't leave the workers unsupervised. So, this morning, it was super-cloudy and kind of rainy and the main guy calls and says that they think it would be best not to work today since they are laying tile in an uncovered area. It was such a load off of Alex.

It's so cool how God cares about the little things in our lives. He really wants the best for His children.

hello from Albuquerque

2008-09-22T10:28:00.003-04:00

So, here I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm attending the CityMatCH conference (the MCH is for maternal, child health). It's been a decent conference; overshadowed by the fact that I'm all by my lonesome and that is no fun. I got here Saturday, took a bus to 'Old Town' which is just that old Mexican-style buildings that now house store after store of torquise jewelry and indian art. I did find a cute little boutique of cute clothes and jewelry. I had dinner at the world's slowest restaurant - ate the BEST spicy salsa I've ever had. Apparently, NM is famous for growing red and green chiles so it was super fresh.

Last night the conference had a Friends of CityMatch dinner at a museum. I went to that and sat at a table full of other women there by themselves. We had good conversation. I came back to the hotel, ordered some milk and watched TV.

Today will be a long day, full conference stuff but then nothing to do tonight. I am thinking about taking a cab to a mall.

Things that are good: I go home tomorrow after my presentation the morning. It is officially Fall because Starbucks is back to serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes (my FAVORITE!), I am hopeful that I'm on the verge of beginning to actually look pregnant and not just fatter.

I'm SO behind...

2008-09-17T21:01:00.003-04:00

I'm seriously behind on blogging - both reading them and writing them. But things have been busy. I'm ridiculously tired right now, but I just spent the last 10 minutes or so catching up on Emily and Lourdes' blogs and I feel guilty about how silent I've been. Here is a run-down of what's been happening.

- Alex decided that baby preparation #1 for our home was to renovate our patio. So we've been planning that. The redo involves: extending our patio by two feet and raising it two inches, removing the tin roof and installing a prettier wooden, taller roof, building in a grill and outdoor mini-kitchen (my only demand was for two ranges to cook stinky food outside), running our gas line to the grill, and then new tile on the patio. So that started on Monday.

- Working, although most of that has been nonstop meetings, I don't feel like I've been productive enough.

- Got burned out on politics during the conventions, took a politics vacation, but I'm easing back into it now.

- Went to dinner w/ my parents on Saturday, discovered when we got home that Miles had sneaked out of the house when we were leaving. Thankfully, he was found by friendly dog lovers in the MEDIAN OF A MAJOR INTERSECTION! They called us from his tag, but also took him to the vet to have his microchip scanned. We were so grateful for this. I can't imagine if we had lost him or he had been hit by a car!

- Shot a portrait session after work today for a Quince that we are shooting next saturday. Why I'm so tired right now.

- shooting a wedding on Friday night (again) after work (sigh)

- I leave on Saturday for New Mexico to attend a conference where I'll be presenting briefly on Tuesday on my school nursing program. This is the CityMatCH conference for state/local maternal child health public health professionals.

Finally!

2008-09-07T17:16:00.002-04:00

So I have finally begun to feel better, yay! Last week, I had a fair amount of energy all week at work and through this weekend.

This morning Alex and I decided at the last minute to get tickets to the opening season Dolphin game against the Jets. I was super excited, we just picked up Chad Pennington (from the Jets) as our quarterback. And the Jets picked up Brett Favre. That's huge. If you don't know, the Dolphins and the Jets have a huge rivalry and there are a LOT of Jet fans down here.

So we left church after the first service, changed clothes and headed up to the stadium. We were there in time to tailgate some with Alex's brother-in-law. That's always great b/c they are hardcore tailgaters and always have awesome, awesome food.

Unfortunately, it was obscenely hot today, over 90 degrees. So we had to leave our seats and watch the game on the TVs inside the stadium. At that point it kind of sucked that we had spent the money to do that considering we could have gone to Scully's by our house and done the same thing. However, the excitement is still fun, so I don't feel too badly.

Labor Day happenings

2008-09-02T18:08:00.002-04:00

Alex and I had a pretty nice Labor Day weekend, we were busy most of the time but not doing anything major.

Friday evening we confirmed in our minds, again, that the economy is slowing down. I haven't eaten fish in MONTHS and was dying for some, so we went to Bonefish Grill - one of my favorite restaurants. On a Friday night, that place usually has a 45 minute or longer wait. We got a seat immediately, which was great b/c as usual, I was starving. I got Chilean sea bass and that made me very happy.

Saturday, we went to the viewing for Alex's high school friend, Carlos, who was hit by a car a short time ago. He was killed instantly from what they say. He was jogging. It was very sad, especially knowing that he was not a Christian. I think that was my first real non-Christian funeral and I found it very hard to think of comforting things to say. There were probably 400 people there.

Sunday, we did church and then had lunch w/ Alex's parents an did some shopping w/ them. Monday we went to the Home Show with my mom and later went to Alex's parents house to swim in the pool.

The highlight for me was that each day of Labor Day weekend, I fit in a good nap. Today I was the least tired I've been for a while. I am chalking it up to getting a boost of naps for several days plus sleeping solid each night over the weekend.

1st ultrasound

2008-08-28T13:01:00.002-04:00

So today was wonderful with our ultrasound. It made this very very real. I think that there were three just absolutely awe-inspiring moments. The first is when he first zoomed in and you can actually tell that this is a baby; the second is when you see the baby actually just moving around on its own; and the third is hearing the heartbeat. We both got all teary-eyed. Alex asked to hear the heartbeat three different times.

It was funny b/c the guy is trying to take measurements of the baby, but every once in a while it would turn around so that he couldn't see. So the tech would jiggle by belly to try to make it move back. Alex got so upset - he told me later that he didn't like that "because you're not supposed to shake babies." I am laughing again just writing that! I reminded him that I shake the baby more than that when I walk - and anyway the baby is floating in fluid so it's really just rolling around.

Will have Alex take a picture of the ultrasound picture tonight so that I can post it.

Elle's Murder Mystery Dinner

2008-08-26T12:34:00.001-04:00

For their daughter's 18th birthday, our friends Jamie and Dave threw their daughter a murder mystery dinner party. It was VERY cool, there were about 40 guests all with assigned parts. The story: the wedding of the daughter of a mobster family marrying the son of a gold-digging family. Someone dies....

August is always our slowest month here in Miami due to debilitating heat, tropical storms etc. So we have been enjoying some time off and these opportunities to play with friends.

The birthday girl, Elle - also the bride. Check out that rock....

Wedding guests

The bride's parents (he's a mobster) during the toast.

The murder....

That's me, the grandmother of the bride (an old italian lady - I'm old-school mob). I'm also a bad actress....

The groom discovers that his bride is murdered. He's the most obvious suspect.

The investigation...

By the way...the groom was set up, his brother and father were trying to collect on a life insurance policy they took out on the bride. Dirty.

Really Good Question

2008-08-20T15:58:00.006-04:00

This was a great question in my comments section that I wanted to post, since some people may not read them:

Anonymous said...

Dear Shaleen, quick question, who is paying for the salaries of all Trust's staff while they are working at voting sites? I agree with the Trust's mission, don't get me wrong, but I find it troubling that as a taxpayer, I may be paying for staff to conduct a political activity regardless of its good intentions.

August 19, 2008 9:02 PM
Shaleen said...

Good question! I had to take vacation time to help with the campaign. The Trust has been very strict with that. Nothing for the campaign can be done while at work or with work computers cell phones, etc.

Back to this post:
It is in fact against the law for taxpayer money to be used for campaign purposes. This is why over a year ago, a political action campaign was created. That group began fundraising and raised over $1 million for campaign ads, flyers, yard signs etc. Most of the money is for campaign ads given that they are the most expensive part of a campaign. For most of the past year, the PAC has been staffed by just two people - a campaign manager, a political strategist who is doing this pro bono. In the past month or so, they were joined by a team of volunteers (a LOT of college students home for summer).

For most of the past year, Trust staff were, purposely, left completely out of the loop with regard to anything related to the campaign - for the simple fact that we actually wouldn't be able to answer questions on work time b/c we don't have the information.

In the past month, when the campaign really got started is when many of us contacted the campaign to see how we could help - and they gladly accepted since the early polling was not looking positive.

Anything that I do about the vote, sending emails, making phone calls etc is done in the evenings and weekends. The only time I'm actually taking off of work to help is the rest of this week and election day - the 26th.

I would add, that the majority of the staff aren't working full days like I am. I just finished a major deadline so I had some 'downtime' in my schedule, so I decided to take the time off. Most people who are volunteering, Trust staff or not, are doing it during weekends when there are more people voting.

Pics of Miles

2008-08-19T18:57:00.005-04:00

Okay....by popular demand here are the photos of Miles with his horrible haircut.

This is an older picture - this is how most of my blogging happens:

Early Voting Locations

2008-08-19T18:25:00.002-04:00

You may be thinking that you are tired of hearing about the vote for The Children's Trust. Well, too bad. We are exactly ONE week away from the actual election day - August 26th.

I will be working for the campaign on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at early voting sites. Thursday and Friday I'll be at the Kendall Branch Library and Saturday I'll be at the Coral Reef Library. If you haven't voted - feel free to pass by and VOTE.

This week open from 11 to 7; and Saturday 9 - 1 and Sunday 1 - 5.

North Dade Regional Library
2455 NW 183rd St

West Dade Regional Library
9445 SW 24th St

Lemon City Library
430 NE 61st St

City of Miami- City Hall
2500 Pan American Dr

Model City Library (Caleb Center)
2211 NW 54st

West Miami City Hall
901 SW 62nd Ave

Florida City- City Hall
404 W Palm Dr

North Shore Branch Library
7501 Collins Ave

Coral Gables Library
3443 Segovia St

Miami Lakes Public Library
6699 Windmill gate Rd

West Kendall Regional Library
10201 Hammocks Blvd

Aventura Government Center
19200 W Country Club Dr

Coral Reef Library
9211 SW 152nd St

Miami Beach City Hall
1700 Convention Center Dr

John F Kennedy Library
190 W 49th St

Kendall Branch Library
9101 SW 97th Ave

North Miami Public Library
835 NE 132nd St

Elections Dpt. (SOE Branch Office)
111 NW 1st St

South Dade Regional Library
10750 SW 211th St

butchering the dog

2008-08-17T17:11:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that Alex and I are actually going to be entrusted with a CHILD after what we did to Miles.

If you look on the right, you can see what a beautiful dog Miles is. You may remember a post from several months ago after we first shaved Miles at a groomer. Well, the groomer is expensive ($80!) - so we figured that we could do it ourselves.

We bought some clippers yesterday at Petsmart and went to work. Unfortunately, the clippers didn't come with a guide to raise the level of the cut from the bare razor. So Alex went back and got some, but those just didn't work. So we decided to 'go it alone'. Alex has a steady hand, right?

Basically, Miles looks like a drunk blind person shaved him. Poor thing, there are at least 8 different spots where the razor cut down to his skin and he is almost bald. The rest of him is just patchy all over like we sheared him with rusty scissors.

Poor thing. He was so beautiful. The really hysterical thing, is that he has an appointment at the vet tomorrow for his annual shots. They are ALL going to make so much fun of him (us). I'm so embarrassed.

I will post a picture very soon.

Seriously, people

2008-08-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

Ok. If you live in Miami and you read my blog, you NEED to read this post. If you read my blog and you skip over these things - then just stop reading in general because this is more important than the day-to-day junk I do and write about here.

I have posted so many things about The Children's Trust on my blog. And I just want to get this out on the table that I don't get the word out because I work there; I do it because I believe wholeheartedly that it helps children and families. I don't just believe it, I know it. Through The Children's Trust I have seen:

-a girl who fell at school who went to the see the nurse, she had a bump on her upper thigh that was swelling. The nurse did not like the bump and was concerned. She advised the mother to take the girl to the ER. It turned out the girl, who had fallen off a slide had ruptured an artery in her leg and had surgery the same day.

-blind babies who have the opportunity to enroll in vital programs with trained specialists who help expose the babies to activities that stimulate their other senses. These skills are critical to help blind babies not to lose certain development skills they are at risk of losing without proper exposure.

-Parents who are able to enroll their children for free in afterschool and summer camp programs where their kids can do all kinds of activities like theater, art, kayaking, rowing and robotics. These would never be free generally - and it's not just for poor kids it's for ANY kid.

I don't care about my job. I love my job, but I can always work. I don't care if I lose my job, I'll find another one. If The Children's Trust doesn't get reauthorized - this community will NEVER make this kind of investment for kids. Not in my lifetime, not in yours. This costs the average homeowner in Miami just over $1 per week about $61 per year.

VOTE YES ON AUGUST 26.
TURN THE BALLOT OVER, WE ARE ON THE BACK.
EARLY VOTING IS OPEN NOW EVEN ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS.

Just awesome

2008-08-09T17:16:00.001-04:00

I hope that you watched the Opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. It was honestly one of the most amazing and beautiful things I've ever seen. I know that sounds like I'm exaggerating - but I'm not. If you saw it you understand.

It was perfection. The show involved over 15,000 performers who never performed in more than one show. Each 'show' involved a sea of 2008 people who were involved in elaborate and highly complicated coordinated dances, movements, drumming, tai chi and karate. We were blown away. If you saw it, I think that my favorite was the concentric circles of tai chi and karate. All 2008 performers were involved in tai chi and karate in perfect concentric circles around the stage. But they would move together so that the circles would periodically change shapes and then return, perfectly into circles. There were no marks on the floor or anything to show when to stop - they were just perfect.

Apparently the opening ceremony alone cost over $300 million dollars. Which is completely outrageous - but I will say, that it was mind-expanding art that was beautiful, complex and really did evoke a lot of emotion.

I looked on YouTube and NBC to try to find pictures or video but I can't find any...so sorry, if you didn't see it.