Foot in Mouth

I started my day all angry with NIPSCO. Yesterday, our power went out twice. The first time, they thought it was because of a squirrel, and then they got the power back on. About an hour later, the power went back off again, and that time, they determined it was because there were limbs hitting the power lines. I was indoors and didn't see this happening, but it was apparently our tree that was hitting the lines. That tree is on our property, but the limbs reach out into what I think might be an alley way (or it may just very well be the neighbor's property that meets up with ours). The power line poles are on our property line.

At about 5 p.m., they trimmed said tree and threw all of the clippings back into our yard. They did not clean it up.

Here's what it looked like, actually:



I called NIPSCO today (when the mess was still there at noon) and asked what was up with that, and the woman said to me, "When it is an emergency situation, NIPSCO does not clean up any debris. When it is regular maintenance, they do clean up the debris."

I said, "Um . . . the emergency is over, so can they come clean it up now?"

She said they don't do that.

So, you can imagine that I was fairly frustrated.

I didn't mind that they trimmed the tree. I just couldn't believe the mess they just left in our yard for us.

I spent a good part of today being angry about this (I even went so far as to try to see if they could actually do this), and then at about 4 p.m., I went to let Hobbes out. I looked into the lower yard, and low and behold, the mess was gone. I was stunned. I don't know who did it (I'm assuming it was NIPSCO), and I don't know when. All I can say is, "Thank you."

I was really not looking forward to having to clean that up. Now, I just need to get this foot removed from my mouth.

In other news, this week is killing me. I haven't been this stressed out in a long time.

Now, it is time to display my baby.


I really love to watch her while she's sleeping, obviously.


Here she is being a pro in her Johnny Jump-Up.

Also, don't forget about my "creative outlet" blog.

New Blog and Nora is 4 Months Old

I started a "creative outlet" blog today. From now on, if I do any paintings or drawings, I'm going to be posting them on my new blog site. So, my Xanga will continue to be full of the wonderful nonsense that I so readily babble, and my new blog will be dedicated to releasing some of my creativity into the world. Feel free to give it a looksie. I've already posted two recent drawings.

I'm still debating on whether I will post old stuff or not. For now, I'm intending the new blog to be for new works only. We'll see how that goes, though.

In other news, I had my first Mother's Day yesterday. I (well, Nora, Hobbes, and I) spent most of the weekend at my parents' house since Willi was in South Carolina for work. Nora and I had a good time with my mom and dad. We watched the movies Dan in Real Life and P.S. I Love You, we ate some food, and we chit chatted.

By the way, P.S. I Love You is really sad. I liked it, though.

Nora pie was such a sweet little baby.

Hobbes rolled in some kind of poo, which was lovely. He got a bath on Mother's Day evening after we ventured back home just in time to meet Willi in the driveway (perfect timing).

Mother's Day marked my fourth month of being a mother. You know what that means, right? Nora turned four months on Sunday. Here are some photos of my little nugget from her four-month birthday.




Oh, and she did manage to roll over for Willis tonight after our bath (she and I took a bath together again). No tears tonight! Woohoo! I just used baby oil on her this time, and there were no complaints. It was smooth cruisin' like her bum. Good grief. I just squish her all day long.

Today kicked my hind end so hard. I really should be asleep. I hope you've enjoyed the new layout. I hope you enjoy my "creative outlet" blog, too.

G'night!

Good News and Random News

My grandma hasn't become completely aware yet, but she is responsive. Also, the neurologist determined that she did not actually have a stroke. It's looking good again! Thank God.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that there are a few photos in there from Hobbes', Nora's, and my trip to the dog park earlier in the week. Hobbes made some friends, and I made a friend in a snapping turtle. Well . . . I say that, but I'm pretty sure that turtle was ready to kick my @$$. You saw the pictures, right? He doesn't look pleased.

In other news, my lovah is leaving me for the weekend. He has a work trip in South Carolina, and I think Nora pie and I are gonna go stay with my Ps.

Nora took a three-hour nap today. I had time to mow the yard, trim the yard, pick up poo (not necessarily in that order), shower, and eat lunch before she awoke. It was astounding. I also managed to work several hours today as well. Criminey. Willis said it best in an email when I told him all that I had accomplished, "You are woman. Hear you roar."

I've been thinking a lot lately about painting and drawing again. I think I miss it. If I do get into it again, I might scan some stuff and post it. Maybe. This is all hypothetical right now. If I really get crazy about it, I might even start up a separate blog for it. Now, if I could just stumble upon some time for that . . .

Nora hasn't rolled over since yesterday. She did her first roll over, a little while later, I had her do it again, and then that night, she wouldn't do it anymore. Today, I waited all day to have her try (to have her save up her energy so that Willis could see her), and she wouldn't do it when I finally tried. It's sadness. Willis still hasn't seen it—only on video.

I'm so stoked: I made Slaney's blog today. Her 'away message' on Google Talk said, "The person who invented packing peanuts has some serious explaining to do."

In response, I said, "The person who invented packing peanuts also needs to explain why sometimes they smell like popcorn, and, yet, I cannot eat them."

I always get excited when I make Slaney's blog. 

I should be sleeping now.

I put Nora down a little later than usual. The little rat didn't want to go to sleep, and she didn't want to nurse either. So, I decided to try to lay her down in her bed. She looked up, smiled at me, and then looked at her mobile. I stepped out of the room and listened for a bit, and she was quiet. I went downstairs and turned on the video monitor, and I watched as she stared at the mobile, found her thumb, and then promptly went to sleep.

I seriously do not know if they can make easier babies than mine. I fear the difficulty of further offspring.

Okay . . . seriously. I need to go to bed.

Take the Good with the Bad?

Man, this kid is fun. I still am high off of her rolling over a little bit ago. I decided I should go ahead and share some photos from the last couple of days while I was at it, too.

In other news, I talked to my mom today (I actually called her when Nora rolled over). She said that my grandma hasn't woke up from the anesthesia yet (it's been two days), and now they're thinking she might have had a stroke while she's been out. So . . . things have gone from hopeful and happy to downright scary. Mom says that they've told her now that there's a chance that Grandma might wake up. Oy. C'mon, Grandma. Stay with us.

Nora Rolls Over for the First Time

This was earlier in the day today . . .



. . . AND THIS JUST HAPPENED!


I swear I normally have clothes on the girl, but while I was changing her, she was lookin' like she was gonna squirrel off of the changing table. So, I tossed her on her belly in her little gym, and THIS happened! Yeah! I caught her first-ever roll-over on video! I could do cartwheels! Yay, Nora!

Oh, Life!

Life has been fairly busy lately. This weekend, we went to Columbus to help Amanda and Josh put in a patio. I didn't provide much help, but while Nora took a good nap on Saturday, I was able to fill in some bare patches in their yard with some of the sod that they dug up for the patio. So, I felt a little bit helpful. Sadly, I didn't get any photos of that.

You know what else? I didn't get any photos of my grandma holding Nora when I had the chance, either. I hate it when I forget to bust out the camera.

Speaking of Grandma, she just got out of surgery. Over the weekend, she went in for a procedure on her heart, and during the procedure, she had a massive heart attack. On our way back from Columbus, Willi, Nora, and I stopped to see her (Hobbes had to chill in the car for a bit). Today, she had bypass surgery, and all seems to be well so far. So, that's good news! It was such a relief to answer my mom's call this afternoon and note that she sounded cheerful before she even told me Grandma was okay.

In other news, I tried the Wii for the first time over the weekend. I really, really liked it, but I don't want one as bad as I thought I would.

Without further ado, I have some photos and videos to share.
















That last photo is of my typical breakfast right now. I win.

The tulips are from our yard. I need to move those to the front yard this fall. We've got some daffodils that croak early every year, too, that I need to move. The people who planted them put them in a place where they can roast to death really fast. It's pretty sad.

Here are some videos of all the kids.










That little Nora is a sweet little thing, isn't she? I just sit here and squish her all day, pretty much. Her little personality is really awesome. I'm having such a blast with her.

She started grabbing her feet over the weekend. It's pretty stinking cute.

I'm in the mood to bake some cookies while Nora is napping. I'll catch you kids later.