Maddie's First Blog

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I find it interesting that she found quick keys to Greek letters, though they seem to not be showing up here on the web version!

Here's the proof that it's Maddie writing it.




And yes, she can also chnge the TV channel on the remote and start a photo slideshow (of herself) on Rob's iPhone. As well as steal an iPhone. And lick it. Lick it good.

Giving Thanks

I'd like to just take a moment and count some of the things that I am thankful for.


Good Friends.

A nice Sunday curled up with a good book.


Long Eyelashes and a Pretty Smile.

Sleep is relative.

I know the secret to parenting. Don't say anything good. As soon as you get something down, and talk about it, the good reverses itself.

Last week, I mentioned to my friend Ami that the sleep deprivation wasn't that bad. Ever since then Maddie has been having trouble sleeping at night. We're trying to get her night time schedule set because last week she randomly started staying up until 9:30-10 every night. So we're trying to get her back to a normal bedtime of 7:30. Now Maddie is falling asleep at 7:30 or so but waking up at 10, and basically every 20 minutes thereafter for 2 hours or so. Then she'll sleep until 3, and then she'll do it again, waking up every 20 minutes until she wakes up for real at 6:30 or 7.

ugh.

Clearly, I'm doing something wrong here. Suggestions??

I will not work today. I will not work today. I will not work today.

That is my mantra this weekend. I'm beginning to think I have a serious problem. I try to work pretty much every chance I get - basically whenever Maddie sleeps. When I'm not working, I'm thinking about work. Most of you know this because I talk about work a lot. Some nights I can't sleep because I'm brainstorming ideas.

And when I'm not working, I feel guilty. Like somehow my boss will find out I'm not working and fire me. I do work on weekends, holidays, 5 am wake-ups. I had surgery and worked the next day! I work way more than I get paid to work. Part of the reason I do it is that I'm emotionally invested. I have work that interests me and makes me think. But there are other reasons too, which are not nearly as pleasant.

Given that it's Thanksgiving, I made a pact with myself to not work from sunup Thursday to sunup Monday. And it's made me think, I need to spend more time thinking about my personal life and less time thinking about work. Imagine what I could brainstorm just for me?

This means that this weekend when Maddie has slept, I have had the delightful pleasure of cuddling her close or curling up by her side. And what a joy that is.

Thank Goodness...

There's an old McAvoy family tradition that started long ago when we were little. We used to celebrate Thanksgiving at the cottage -- it was always our last day there before closing up for the winter. One part of the very large celebration was a Thanksgiving pageant, performed by my brother and cousins and I. Sometimes it was just reciting a poem, sometimes it was a little play. I'm not sure when we stopped the pageant, but I have vivid memories of performing in them (and also the Fourth of July show, so prepare yourselves!)

Obviously, with two young ones around, this tradition needed to be resurrected. Maddie was an Indian (I mean, Native American) and Annie was a Pilgrim. They held signs that said "We Gife Thanks" (get it, cause they can't spell! Harr, harr, harr.) And Maddie had her little letter teethers to spell out Thanks, except she wouldn't actually give the thanks to her cousin (Don't blame her, Annie spent the whole day stealing Maddie's toys... and socks. And then LICKING them! Annie, we have to have a talk about why you like the taste of socks, but not squash.)

The pageant came to an abrupt end when we realized that Annie could eat constuction paper. And Maddie quickly followed her lead. Luckily constuction paper disintegrates really quickly, and thankfully our little pilgrim and indian (I mean, Native American) were ok.

Now you know what I'm thankful for! That and the guy who took this picture.

See You, Kidney Stones!

Yesterday I had surgery for kidney stones - and all went well. I was actually really excited because the anasthesia provided me with the longest nap I've had in a while. The surgery was over more quickly than expected (damn, short nap!) But I think this week I'm just going to rest a bit, and get back to perfect shape. Lots of water and lemon, and rest -- just what the doctor ordered.

Rob took care of Maddie last night and I'm afraid it did not go well. She was up pretty much every hour from about 3:30 am on. Poor Rob. So naptime should be fun today. Let's hope we can get back on schedule before tomorrow!

Long Time No See

Look how long it's been since I've blogged! It's been a pretty crazy time, mostly work related. Maddie's great, she loves playing with her books and her crazy pink kitty-cat. And actually she's fascinated by real cats now.

I had a fun little scare on Thursday. I went to work, same old same old. I hadn't had too much sleep the night before and knew I was just feeling off. But once I got to work I started feeling just awful and the dreaded kidney pain started kicking in. So I went home after only about an hour, thinking maybe I was just sleep deprived. But by the time I got home I was in way too much pain, so I called Rob and had him take me to the ER. Fun times. After about 2 hours, they finally gave me some pain medicine and did a quick emergency surgery (outpatient kind of thing). I got to go home about 8, and have really felt about 90% better ever since. I have to go back on Tuesday for another little surgery and then I should be Thanksgiving ready.

But meanwhile my back feels like its going to pop out of alignment. So that's fun. But hey, I have hydrocodone now. So, yeah...

Surprises

Meet Bessy...

... She's a little messy.

We actually found a food that Maddie doesn't like and it's .... Surprise.... BANANAS! Who knew?!? I gave Maddie bananas today as a special treat because... another surprise... She cut her first tooth today! Way ahead of time!! So I found her new tooth and decided to reward her. She had a taste of bananas and made a wonderful face that I really wished I had caught on camera. She continued to make an "Ick" face for every bite, occasionally swatting away the spoon and eventually refusing to open her mouth!

I must say, of all the foods I thought Maddie wouldn't like I never expected bananas!

You Know What's Really Neat?

Feet!

Baking Stuff

Lately I've been on a little bit of a baking kick. I'm gong to blame it on my place of employment. There's something about a school that just requires bake sales. So today I'm going to try to make Pumpkin Bread (1 loaf in the oven) and M&M cookies. Tomorrow Im going to aim for applesauce bread and maybe homemade applesauce. I have TONS of apples right now.

Usually I don't have a hand free to cook. Maddie has been nap deficient which makes long meal prep and baking difficult, but I think we're getting things down. Which means when she's not napping she is happier. She sits in the kitchen with me and talks while I cook. But today is Rob's day off, so I try to do whole week feed prep and baking. And I find myself thinking if I always have quick bread then I won't skip breakfast right?

Halloween Part Deux

For those of you non-Facebook users, here are some pictures from actual Halloween. Maddie was a yummy ballerina. I say "Yummy" because she decided to eat her tutu from the beginning of the day all throughout. We went trick or treating at Grandma's and Aunt Dode's and Aunt Kate and Aunt Carrie's houses. A long day, but really fun!






Oh, and here's one picture of Maddie falling over with her cute tush in the air.