March 2004 Archives

It's been a while since we updated everyone on how Maddie is doing, so here goes. It's been an exciting couple of weeks.

- Maddie is has now graduated from eating rice cereal to babyfood. So far, she has tried green beans, peas, carrots, and squash. Her favorite was carrots and her least favorite was peas. She absolutely loves eating and will start to get upset if you don't feed her fast enough. Also, she wants to hold the spoon herself so you have to either give her a spoon of her own to hold while you feed her, or let her hold your spoon in between bites. Her aim isn't great, but she has gotten it into her mouth a couple of times.

- Sleep! Maddie is also sleeping much better now (to Mommy's delight!) Her bedtime is around 8:30 in the evening and she'll sleep until 4am for a short feeding. She'll then go back to sleep until she gets up at 7am. She has two hour-long naps during the day as well. We're still working on phasing out the 4am feeding, but doc says it's more of a comfort thing with me rather than her being actually hungry. Her sleep style has changed in the last week as well. Up until now, we've been swaddling and rocking her to sleep at night. She will now lie down in her crib at bedtime, unswaddled, and talk or play herself to sleep. A big help in this was having her "night night" with her to sleep. It's a little baby blanket that I slept with for a few nights so it would smell like me. She now holds onto it while she sleeps and it seems to soothe her when she's upset too. It's especially great for those nights when I'm working and can't be home to cuddle with her before bed.

- Talking! The girl loves to talk, but that's probably a given considering her parents. :) Maddie has an extensive vocabulary of "baba," "la la la," and "lee lee." She also loves to make raspberries and silly sounds when you run your finger across her lips while she's talking. She laughs every time. Speaking of, she has the heartiest giggle I've ever heard on a baby.

- Crawling, sort of! Maddie can now roll over both ways and reach for toys that she wants. She is getting closer to crawling too. She can push up on her knees, or on her hands, but not at the same time. This results in her scooting across the floor on her face. (so funny!) Our little inchworm.

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll have more to post in a few days. Be sure to check out some new pics in the March 2004 folder on Snapfish.
--------

Congrats to Mike and Kami on the purchase of their first home. What a big milestone, guys. We're proud of you!

Here's a picture of the exterior of McLochlin Manor.

Congrats also to Randy, who won Salesman of the Year just recently. What an awesome achievement! Great job, big guy!

This is what Randy's trophy looks like...from space! It's that big!

Finally, congrats to Bill, who made grilled cheese. Hey, we can't all succeed on a grand scale.

I only burned one of them!

--------

I can honestly say that I've had the absolute most ODD day of my life so far.

PART I
It all started this morning after I put Maddie down for her nap. The doorbell rang and I answered it to find an elderly Jehovah's Witness and her middle-aged son, wanting to provide me with some reading material. I effectively got away by protesting that I had a small baby inside who was going to wake from her nap if I didn't get our dogs to stop barking first. They were very kind and we all wished each other a great day.

PART II
Then Maddie and I went to TJ Maxx so I could look for a dress for a wedding we're attending this weekend. A woman (W) approaches me and we have the following conversation:

W: Excuse me. I hate to be rude, but can I ask you something? What do you do for a living?

A: I'm a stay at home mom [gesturing towards Maddie], but I do work in a coffee shop a few days a week.

W: Oh that's great. He's so cute.

A: She's a girl. [confused because Maddie is wearing a dress and a bow in her hair].

W: Oh, well she's beautiful. I just had to ask you because you carry yourself so well.

A: Thanks.

W: Have you considered any other career options?

A: [knowing where she's going with this, but trying to be nice] Nope, I'm devoted to staying home with my daughter right now.

W: That's great, but I'm part of a really dynamic, growing corporation that could use someone like you at the director level. Can I give you my card?

A: [holding back a sigh] Sure.

The woman hands me a Mary Kay card and gets my email address. I couldn't manage to give her a fake address, so I just gave her the real thing. I figured that it will just go with all my other AOL spam mail.

NOW HERE'S THE BEST PART: Not even 5 minutes later, on the other side of the same store, I'm approached by another woman.

W: Excuse me, I hate to be rude, but can I ask you a question?

A: [incredulous] Sure!

W: What do you do for a living? You just have this way of carrying yourself that wonderful.

A: [smiling really big now] I'm a stay at home mom.

W: Oh, he's cute [pointing to Maddie].

A: She's a girl. [What is up with these people?]

W: Oh, well, I'm a part of this really great corporation....

A: It wouldn't by any chance be Mary Kay, would it? [I'm really smiling now]. Sorry, but your friend just talked to me about 5 minutes ago.

The woman's face dropped and her mouth went slack. She stammered something and ran off in a hurry. The weird thing? I saw those two women plus two others in a huddle pointing to other shoppers as I was leaving.

Now don't get me wrong. I have used Mary Kay products and I think it is great to be able to sell them, but at least use original pitches!

PART III
I walked into Barnes & Noble this evening for work to be met by multiple "Congratulations!" Still in the mindset of being a mom, I assumed they were people who didn't know I had had Maddie. Nope, they were congratulating me on my new position as Assistant Manager of the Cafe. A position I hadn't yet accepted. Yeah, I had talked to the Store Manager about the position and some possible ideas I had, but there were concerns about how many hours it would require of me and I let them know that Maddie comes first. I was worried that too many hours a week would just leave me exhausted, combined with caring for Maddie during the day (and all night lately as she hasn't been sleeping well). I said I would give it a trial run this week, working 35 hours, and then let her know if it was going to work or if I was ready to just drop from exhaustion. Instead, she announced to the ENTIRE STORE this morning that I had accepted the position.

I just hope tomorrow ends up being at least a little more normal. I can't take any more of this weird stuff right now.
--------

Apparently, Alecia did get some pics online today, and they're some good ones. I'm especially fond of the one below, which we meant to send out before the holiday.

"Dude, where's the john? Oh, wait, I'm wearing it! Niiiiiiice."

Yup. I'm going to hell. Tell me something I don't know.
--------

First off, thanks to everyone for the kind words last week. It was a rough week on many different levels, and it was good to know there were people thinking about us.

Anyway, on a more upbeat note: Alecia promises to have some new Maddie pics up soon. I was hoping that she'd have them up today, but apparently her lunch with the girls took too much out of her. (Just kidding, Alecia!)

For now, get your smile fix by checking out Al's current favorite music video, poop.
--------

Alecia's Papa Cotton passed away earlier today. From what I've been told, it sounds like he went peacefully after a long battle with a horde of illnesses.

For those who may not know who he is, Papa Cotton is Alecia's mother's father. He was a crafty old guy who made a habit of laughing through things that would've destroyed most other people (including a nasty fight with throat cancer that cost him his larynx almost twenty years ago). Despite the tough things he'd been through, he always kept his great sense of humor and his abundant love for his family. If you ever met him, he'd have you grinning within minutes, and his own smile was one of the warmest I've ever seen. (His big smile--and his stubborn nature--can already be seen in baby Maddie.)

He'll be missed greatly by everyone.

Maddie and Papa Cotton

We don't know any of the funeral arrangements yet, but Alecia will probably be joining her family in Alabama soon. If you would like to send your regards, feel free to leave a post here, or call our house sometime during the day on Monday. She will surely appreciate hearing from you.
--------

A few of you--including my good friend, Jamie--may have noticed a post that briefly appeared on this site today, entitled "Five-Minute Movie Review." Unfortunately, this post was meant to appear on another site I write for, but was accidentally posted here.

Because nobody here actually cares what I think about certain films--and because my reviews would only elicit mocking from my family--I have removed that post.

Thanks for the feedback, though, James. :) And we'll be looking forward to your call.

By the way, new pics of Maddie are posted in the Snapfish album entitled "March." I'll have a new photo system up soon (one that doesn't require login). In the meantime, let me know if you want prints of any of the pics we have up. We bought a screaming, new photo printer with our tax refund, and we charge much less than Snapfish. :)
--------

Top Ten Warning Signs that what you thought was a badly jammed finger may actually be your ticket to hell:

10. You crush your finger successfully preventing a fast break goal in your soccer game. Later, however, the now throbbing hand allows another goal through, so you lose anyway. Sadly, it's your team's last game in the league, since they disbanded immediately afterwards for lack of players/funds.

9. Within an hour of hurting it, the finger starts to resemble two smokey links fighting over a meatball. Upon your wife's insistence, you call the advice nurse at the local med center, hoping she'll agree with you that a hurt finger isn't worth going to the doctor for. She doesn't agree. "Did I ruin your day?" she asks.

8. The doctor at the med center looks at your x-ray and refers you to a hand surgeon, prompting your friend to tell you the next day, immediately before your appointment, "Dude, they normally don't send you to a hand surgeon for just a broken finger."

7.The male nurse at the hand surgeon's office takes one look at your x-ray, winces and says, "Damn! What did you do?"
You say, "I broke it." He replies, "That ain't no normal break, man."

6. The actual hand surgeon pauses almost ten minutes while studying the x-rays, then begins to make a speech about compromises.

"You may never have the full range of movement you had before," he tells you, "but we can get you back to a pretty good level of functionality.

5. "Do you pinch the hand, or something? So I won't feel the needle as much?" you ask the doctor, as he prepares two injections of anasthetic, to numb your hand so he can 'manipulate' the bone.

"No, I don't have any secrets like that," he shoots back. "This is really gonna smart."

Coincidentally, the doctor's name is Dr. Payne.

4. The doctor informs you that you only have about 30% of the finger joint still intact. He also explains why he can't say for sure whether the bone will knit back together on its own or need surgery: "There's no way to tell in the x-ray," he states, "just how many pieces the bone has broken into. It could be one big piece, or it could be 10,000 little ones. Probably, it's more like ten."

3. A custom-made splint is provided for you--one that permanently holds your middle finger at a 60° angle.

(Just for fun, wrap your finger in inch-thick plastic, bend it halfway towards your palm and then try any of the following tasks: hold a pen; use a computer mouse; type; hold a squirming four-month old. Better yet, try any of the following tasks with just your left hand: Blow your nose; wipe your bum; write your name.)

To add insult to injury, the therapist who molded your splint advises you that you need to hold your hand above your heart as much as possible for the next six weeks. "That's not going to happen," you tell her. "Well, then you'd better be ready for it to blow up like a balloon," she remarks.

2. The night after seeing the hand surgeon, you stay home to take care of your baby while your wife works. Your hand still numb, you can never tell when you are poking your "claw" into your baby's side while holding her. She, however, can always tell. She screams pretty much non-stop until she falls asleep from exhaustion. (Ironically, she has one of her best sleep-through-the-night times.)

1. On your first day back at work after receiving the splint from hell, your boss lets you know that the next two weeks' approval times have all been moved up, so he'll need everything in half the time, though you're working at 1/3 your normal pace.

The up-side of all of this? Well, I got some Vicodin. I haven't taken any (I'm not a big pill person), but I bet I can make a pretty good profit selling the painkillers to my friends.

Just kidding, of course.

Forgive me if I don't post again for a while. This one took me about two hours to type. :(
--------

Well, it seems that Bill not only broke his finger but he, in fact, shattered his knuckle. He saw a hand surgeon the other day and it was confirmed. He is now wearing the biggest finger brace I've even seen. In a few weeks he'll go for more x-rays to see if the bones have fused together. If they have, he'll continue wearing the brace for 6-8 more weeks. If not, he'll need surgery.

For any of you that know Bill well, you can definitely understand how this is not a happy time for him. Not only is he not able to play soccer, but he also can't type or use the mouse well (making his work days VERY long), and holding Maddie is a bit difficult due to the weird shape of the brace.

Keep your fingers crossed (no pun intended!) that all goes well for him over the next few weeks.
--------

While playing goalie for my soccer team this Sunday, I broke the middle finger on my right hand. I cracked it pretty good right above the middle knuckle, and now it's a bulging, purple mess. And for some reason, it itches.

I have an appointment with a hand specialist tomorrow who will make sure it's splinted properly and that it will heal right. Yeah, I'd hate to lose the ability to give people the finger. Actually, that's about all I can do with it now, since it won't bend.

Anyway, beyond that, this weekend was pretty good. But I'll let Alecia fill you in when she has time, since this darned finger splint is screwing with my typing skills.

By the way, we lost the soccer game, even though I played my best game in net EVER (I even played almost a whole half after breaking my finger). But we played two men down all game and still almost won, so it wasn't so bad.
--------