Fox & Obel

Back to work I go! I just got a job at Fox & Obel
Their cheese department is in a state of flux at the moment so I will be working part time/weekends to start at a better rate than I had at Marion Street. I will also have the opportunity to cross train in other departments like the butcher shop and the fish mongers. They also have a full production kitchen and artisan bakery on site. So plenty of good prospects ahead here, I hope.
There is another possibility open to me as well. Friends in town have opened a door for me (thanks Deb) to talk to an Italian deli in the South Loop that may wish to expand its cheese offering. The shop is getting rave reviews on yelp.

Still Alive

Sorry I have been so short on blogs lately... my job is really intense right now and will continue to be for the next couple of months. As most of you know I am also pregnant which makes me tired, very tired. Just to give you all an idea of my day.

5:30 wake up & get ready
6:00 Ian up, breakfast
7:00 Aaron drops Ian off at daycare and me to train
8:00 arrive at work, I then typically will work through to 7 or 8, eating at my desk and trying to keep on top of it all - this is hard and stressful
8:00 pm Ian to sleep, I typically put my pjs on and fall asleep with him, Aaron comes in and wakes my up to move to our bed around 10
repeat

I also try to fit meetings in there, paying bills, Christmas, etc, etc

I guess I'm feeling a little sorry for myself this morning. After all, it's Sunday, I'm at work, I was here yesterday and will be here again tomorrow... the good news is I have the opportunity to work a lot of OT and this is going to come in handy as the economic downfall has officially hit our household and Aaron is out a job.

Woe is me. Once in awhile the whole thing kinda gets to me. I never knew that life was going to be such a struggle. Maybe that's one of the downfalls of growing up a part of the TV generation. I believed in the fairy tales, I thought life was like on tv. Nobody told me that it was a lot of work interspirsed with only brief moments of brillance.

Tomorrow's another day.

Pure Genius

Simply amazing. It makes perfect sense! This is how we'll do it next year!

Remember Me?

It just seems as Ian is growing up and requiring (read demanding) more attention, I just don't have the time during the day to sit down and write in my blog.

We are all healthy and happy. Not much has been happening... we've done a lot of weekend traveling which has also limiting my time to sit at the computer. The first weekend in November we went to Holland to help celebrate Ian's Great Grandfather, Arthur Stek's 90th birthday. This was a lot of fun as we don't see that side of the family very often. The next weekend I had to go to Ann Arbor for the career fair. Ian got to spend some time with Layale and Bryan, which is always enjoyable.

I'm working hard trying to get a building designed by yesterday that hasn't been finalized by the owners or the architect yet they want to order steel and start pouring concrete. Rather ridiculous but better busy than not working these days.

I've taken up knitting after many years away. That's been kinda fun but it also keeps me away from the computer. This is a good thing. I spend all day at work looking at one, so really - who wants anymore than 8-15 in front of the damn things.

That's about it. I'm going to go play with Ian while he's still young enough to want to play with me.

feufolet

More music for y'all. Some may be shocked at this selection...

Ian's Stats

Ian went for his 2 year check up yesterday and he is healthy and perfectly normal. He is 35 3/4" tall which puts him in the 81st percentile for height and he weighs 29 lbs and 14 oz which puts him in the 73rd percentile for weight. Healthy and normal.

He also did a pretty good job getting four shots. Aaron reports that the first he took like a champ but each successive shot was a bit worse until the last one he really wasn't having it. Poor guy. But it's better than having the flu, chicken pox, hepatitis or polio!

So I've been pretty good about not screaming for glee that we now have a President Elect Obama! But let me tell you it was an emotional night in Chicago. I admit that when I heard the news I was moved to tears as were many others. What a step in the healing of this country! We didn't go down to the rally because of concerns that it wasn't the best for Ian and I really thought that it would possible go until well into the wee hours. In retrospect I kinda wish we had been there. Aaron and I stayed up to hear his speach and to hear the city erupt in celebration (which we could definitely hear!). Lots of horns honking, people firing off their guns and the subsequent sirens. It was interesting though, as soon as Barack stepped out on stage the city fell silent. Very cool.

So I told my boss the next day to tear up that request to be transferred to the Toronto office... love it!

Choo Choos Everywhere

Isn't this the cutest little train engineer that you've ever seen. Ian loved Halloween. We went trick or treating for about a half hour and he never got over his shyness but he loved getting candy. Well mostly he loved eating the candy and was amazed that people would just give it to him. He went to the house two doors down from us three times! Once we got back from trick or treating we set up shop on the front porch. Ian would just go walking off down the sidewalk and go get himself another sucker from our neighbors. They were good sports about it. We went through 8 bags of candy in only two hours. Then we kept a handful of Ian's candy and gave the rest out. People drove in, parked on our block and walked the neighborhood. Some blocks were closed off so kids could trick or treat without car traffic. It was so much fun to see all the kids dressed up.

OBAMA!

Oh Yeah!

2 Years Old

Yea, I know this post is a little delayed but it's been a crazy month. Ian turned two on October 20th. Everyday he amazes me! Today I really miss him. I wish I could be at home and not have any responsibilities and I could just play with Ian all day. That would be living. Aaron is off on Thursdays and Ian is playing hooky today from daycare which is prompting the melancholy. I want to be at home carving pumpkins with them.

Aaron took me out to dinner last night for my birthday. We had a great time. He took me to an Italian restaurant that we hadn't been to before. White table clothes and everything! Very good food. I had veal pan fried with prosciutto and a caper sauce. It came with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed. Aaron had pumpkin ravioli. Both were yummy although I think I got the better end of the stick. Afterwards we went to see "The Secret Life of Bees". If you get a chance to see it, you should. Total chick flick so ya better bring the tissue. I had read the book and loved it and they really did a good job with the movie. Great birthday. My apartment is filled with flowers, I have some at work too, Aaron got me these earings I have been wanting for a couple of years, I am married to a great guy and we have a beautiful kid - what better way to start a new decade of life!

Ah Shit, I'm 40...

Swiss Guard Drum Corp

So I am a fan of drum corp as some of you may know. I found this video of the Swiss Guard drum corp just now and it is amazing! Mom, you must watch this. You will totally dig the snare work and the choreography.

Ok, I know I said I was back but...

Hi! It's been multiple weeks since the last blog entry and we've been busy. I thought I would be blogging more but it just seems that between Ian and work there doesn't seem to be much time left at the end of the day. Lately I've been just falling asleep when I put Ian down and Aaron comes in before he goes to bed to wake me up to move to the big bed. Work is less crazy which is good but the home life has been busy.

Ann Arbor was great! Both Aaron and I spent all week thinking about how we could manage to move back there. It wasn't realistic and we do love Chicago but watching Ian with Layale and Brian makes us think about how much he's missing out on seeing them more often. It was great to relax and take naps most days. I did gain about 3 pounds with all the meals out with friends and Layale's good baking and cooking (mostly the yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that constaintly fill the cookie jar - YUM!) We went to Domino Farms and to the Dexter Cider Mill one beautiful fall day. Pictures to be found on flickr - or if they aren't there yet, I'll get them up soon - it's a work in progress.

After we were home for two days (literally 48 hrs) we turned the car around and went back to Michigan for Whitney and Joe's commitment ceremony. This was a nice little gathering in the woods - very sweet. In the am we wen't to Klackle's Orchard for Ian's birthday which was a blast. (See more photos and more pony rides on flickr). On Sunday we had another birthday party for Ian at my folks. If you are keeping track, there was a party in Ann Arbor too - so Ian has now had 3 (yes, 3!) birthday parties.

This coming Sunday Ian has his forth birthday party for his second birthday! This one is for his Chicago/OP Posse. A couple kids from school and a couple from the neighborhood. He keeps us hopping!

That's the last couple of weeks in a nutshell. I'm at work and should be working so I have to keep it short. I will try to me more vigilant but no guarantees! Life just seems to be so busy these days - but in a good day.

I'm Back :-)

Thanks everyone for making me feel loved and making me laugh. Mary's right. I have been working and working and working. A lot. I have been working on a retail development of a portion of US Cellular Field. The project is on a very very tight schedule. They want to start demo at the end of the post season - whenever that may be for the Sox. So the most recent deadline was yesterday when we had to have an addendum to the Bid Set (the set of drawings that goes to contractors so that they can estimate costs and bid on the project) published and we had to have a set of drawings and a calc book published to the city for the permit application. I don't know how much this will make sense but just to give you an idea - the architect is still in the design process. We don't have all the information that we typically would need to get to this stage but we made some assumptions of what we thought the architect would want and we redesigned and redesigned as we got more information. Now it is up to the city. Or maybe the Sox. If they make the World Series I bet their permit will be prioritized. Who knows how the City of Chicago works?? All of this means that I have been working 12-15 hour days - including some weekends for the last month or so. Hard to tell, time has lost some meaning. I can't believe it is October already but that might have snuck up on me without the work. Oh - did I mention that I was made point person on the project? This means that I am going to be in charge... not bad for the newby, but more work...

The good news is that I racked up a lot of OT and I have a week off. I set some of that OT aside and Aaron, Ian and I are headed to Ann Arbor without me having to dip into my PTO. So I should have enough PTO to take the week of Christmas off too. Assuming that we don't have some other deadline. We'll see. I don't want to get to far ahead of the game. I thought it was good enough that I got the week off. We are driving today. As tired as I was, I was still awake at 5am today. I went to bed at 8:30 last night and I guess I am still a little wound up but that will wear off. I am really looking forward to a week of relaxing, visiting friends and seeing Ann Arbor again. I'm sure we will take lots of pictures so stay in touch and I will try to keep you posted.

Ian is growing and developing at an incredible rate. He does something everyday that amazes us. He is talking in short sentences now, can count to three and knows some colors. Aaron tells me that he was putting towels away a couple days ago and to do this in our apartment you have to stand on the bath tub (ah apartment living) - anyway Ian tells him "Don't fall, Dada". So Cute!! He will be turning 2 in just two weeks. Wow! We will be in GR the weekend of the 18th and 19th and will celebrate his b-day there on the 19th. (Yes, we are returning from A^2 on Tuesday or Wednesday and then turning around and driving to GR on Sat morn-busy month). Then the following week we will have a little birthday celebration here for him and his friends from daycare. Then the next weekend is holloween!! Yikes the time goes fast.

Ok. I think that gets you guys all up to date. Someone once said... (and I misquote) that hapiness is most often experienced at the end of a busy day. I concur.

Hmmm and other thoughts

Ok so I was really really tired yesterday and I thought I posted a blog entry here but couldn't find it. So I went looking around at the other blogs I found that I had posted it at the Stek Action Blog. Since it's all about me feeling like a zombie there is some irony there. I left work at about 1:00 yesterday because I was a waste of space. A few of us had worked until 11:30 and then Ian didn't let me sleep once I got home either. Last night was thoroughly refreshing. So I'm back and you can expect to see more posts as the days go on. I have new pics but they are at home so I'll add some tonite or tomorrow. Mom and Dad are visiting this weekend - that should be fun. My mom and I are gonna do some shopping on Sat and then Sunday we have our block party. I can't believe it is almost October - that will be such a busy month! We are heading over to Ann Arbor for a week to visit Layale and Brian and then on the weekend of the 18th we'll be in Greenville/GR for someone's birthday and someone else's party. The following weekend we will have a little party for Ian here in Oak Park with his friends from daycare and the neighbor boy. Then it is Halloween. Yikes! It makes me tired just thinking about it all! But that is next month... right now I have a little breathing room. And truth be told I am looking forward to visiting everyone in October and showing off Ian. He is so wonderful, cute and smart too!

I Love Jon Stewart

ugh

Monday's the deadline... I've been working... a lot...
So forgive me if I haven't been on top of the blog. I am alive. We are doing well. Just busy. Aaron has been a peach. For the most part he has been taking care of Ian in the evening and not complaining that I am never home and have had to work on Sundays. Last night was a bit of a doozy too. For some reason Ian kept waking up and when I would crawl into his bed to sooth him he would push me and say No over and over. But when I tried to move and get out of his bed that was worse.

Day care was rough yesterday. I have no idea what happened but Aaron tells me that when he picked up Ian he was in the big kid's room cause the care taker/s in the toddler room called in sick. The problem was he was very dirty, his nose was plugged with dried and caked up snot, he had dried snot on his face, he was very tired like he didn't nap, and extremely thirsty. So we're a little ticked. I understand things happen and people get sick. But if you are unable to take care of Ian's basic needs then they should have called us and had us pick him up. Poor little guy.

Not a lot of news to tell. Ian can now count to two, he likes to say two word nouns like 'Teddy Bear' and 'Bush Baby'. He has a book of animals that he loves to look at and name - hence the Bush Baby. He continues to be insatiable when it comes to reading books.

Alan, Barb and the kids are coming tomorrow to visit. We are looking forward to that. My Mom and Dad are visiting the weekend after that. Busy Busy

Working Girl

We have been crunching at work to try to make a deadline on the 15th of this month. I've regularly been working 10 hour days plus and had to even come in for a spell over the holiday weekend! ARGH! Glad I get time & a half! Not long ago nobody got OT in my business and it was absolutely expected that the junior engineers work long hours until they proved themselves (or collapsed). I'm glad things have changed in the last few years and this is only temporary.

Mary came to visit this weekend and we canned tomatoes! Some vacation for her, huh? :-) Nah, it was a bit of work, but nice to hang out with her. We also took the excuse to go out to dinner a lot (do you hear the budget stretching) and make an excursion to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Lincoln Park Zoo is a great place to see the animals in and out of the cages. Since it's the free zoo in Chicago it gets an interesting slice of humanity in Chicago.

Gotta go - I hear little feet awake.

Ugh. Awake

It's early (5:30) and I have been up for an hour and before that... well, it's been a restless night. Ian has a cold with fever and at about 11 last night we gave up and took him into our bed in the hope that we could all get a little sleep. I did, we did, or probably better than if I had spent the night in the rocking chair with him. But it has been a long week at work - trying to keep up with a ridiculous project schedule that has kept me at work late all week and bitch, bitch, bitch. But right now, after giving Ian some medicine at 4:30 and then letting him drape himself over me until he fell asleep, Aaron and Ian are sleeping deeply while I drink coffee and blog. Aaron has Thursday's off so he can keep Ian home from daycare and both can sleep in... I'm jealous. And if we plan on having another child we need a king size bed!! Ok, I think I am done venting now.

I am happy to announce that this month for the first time in years, our income was actually greater than our expenses!! And the budget includes payments to almost everyone we owe money, so things are finally headed in the right direction. Not quickly, but definitively. We weren't exactly struck rich like I thought we would be when I started working and all of our troubles are not over, but for this month, we are at least headed towards the dream of no financial worries. Of course, the grace period on my student loans is up in October... ugh. Is this part of the human condition?

I'm just grumpy this morning. Our life is better than many people's and we both have work, in fields that aren't greatly affected by the current economic ills. We have a great place to live and good food to eat (thanks Aaron!!). Besides colds, we are in good health. We currently have health insurance, dental and eyes too! I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago for the first time in about 6-7 years and only have one cavity! This is the first time in my adult life that I have had dental insurance. I got the bill yesterday and I owe $0. This is good.

I'm rambling a bit. It's early. I'm sure my grammar sucks. I don't want to go take a shower and go to work. But today is Thursday, tomorrow Friday, it's a long weekend, Mary is coming to visit, and nobody has ever died of lack of sleep.

Good Morning.

Shedd Aquarium

Jonah, Doug and Lisa came to visit last weekend and we went to the Shedd Aquarium on Sunday. This is Ian watching the dolphin show. They made us sit for a good ten minutes while they got ready for the show. Ever try to tell a toddler to sit still for ten minutes! ARGH It was worth it, though. He loved watching them jump and do tricks.


This is a baby beluga whale and his momma. It was his first birthday the day we were there. Ian likes babies right now. He has a book of babies and he kisses the book. I keep asking him if he wants a baby brother or sister. He only answered this question once with an adamant, "NO".

This is a sea dragon. Very cool but hard to get a good picture of because they are pretty small and you can't use a flash. I think they must live in the depths where there is no light but I don't know because I don't read all the info when Ian is around. I just tend to watch him watch the fish or I'm busy chasing him. Mostly he really likes to look at the fishes and tell me about them in toddler speak. His favorites were the rays.


This is all of us at the end of the day. Ian crashed eventually, Jonah never did. The kid never naps! Or at least not very much. Gotta go, I hear the patter of little feet.

Cherry Jam

IMG_2223, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

It's been a few weeks... Alan, Barb and the whole Jenison crew came to visit for the last game of the Tigers vs White Sox here at US Cellular Field (aka Comisky Park). And shockingly enough the Tigers took the game if not the series!! I don't think I have ever gone to a major sporting event (or even minor) where the team I was rooting for actually won. It's known as the Windsor curse. So hopefully this isn't an anomaly and the curse is broken.

After the game Aaron and I had to get home a whole metric butload of good Michigan fruit that my Mom sent along. This was my fault because I had called her after a trip to the farmer's market in Oak Park where we are supposed to pay $9 for a quart of blueberries and cherries and peaches are just as bad. So due to my complaints my Mom sent a whole big cooler full of fruit and veggies right off the farm. This we had to take on the L and then on our bicycles from the stop to our apartment. Funny stuff.

Ian was grateful because we spent the following weekend making jam. He was a lot of help but I had to fight to keep him from eating all the cherries - I think we ended up a little under weight for the recipe. They sure did taste good!

This was all a couple of weekends ago - more catchin' up to come...

Hollywood Beach

IMG_2221, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

Sunday was this perfect summer day and we spent the morning at Hollywood Beach on the north side of Chicago. It's a little beach that wasn't too busy. The nice thing is that it is really sandy and the drop off is very gradual so that you can be out a fair distance and still be able to stand. It was a great place for Ian to play in the sand and water. And the great thing is that it is just a 25 min drive from our house so we were out there at 9:00am and back in time for Ian's nap. Well, sorta. Ian was so tuckered out that he fell asleep in two minutes once we in the car. But I guess my point is that it is so doable that we will have to spend another morning there before summer is over. Sigh... there's not that much summer left is there? This summer has been so nice and there is so much to do that I think it's going to be great to raise Ian in the city. We went to Millenium Park on Friday. Ian and Aaron came down to pick me up from work and we went to a classic Chicago pub for dinner which is right around the corner from my work. Then we went to the park. It's really this giant puddle!! There were a gazillion kids there and we stripped Ian down to his shorts and let him go to town. I wish I had the camera with us!! We will have to go again cause he was in heaven. He ran, splashed, laid down in the water, played with the other kids and just kept giggling. He kept looking at us like he was having so much fun that he MUST be in trouble. I love being a parent.

New Family Sized Blogs

There are 2 new blogs you will noticed in my links to the left. One is dedicated to the goings on in the Stek side of the family and the other for the Windsors. The hope was that I could get my whole family in on this blogging thing. It's pretty fun and has been a great way for us to keep everyone in touch with our day to day activities. I have a theory that it has helped me to feel closer to you and hopefully vice versa. So in this day and age, when we don't see each other nearly enough and even though we have so many way to stay connected it still seems so difficult... I was hoping that a family blog would help solve that. Ok, I know, I am the one that moved away... so humor me... I miss all of y'all. So help me feel more connected to you and blog! And then I have something to read when I want to procrastinate :-)

Big Feet

On Saturday I went to buy Ian a new pair of shoes or as he calls them "boots" (he learned this word in the winter). He now wears a size 8. This is the largest size in toddler shoes. sigh. I should qualify this a little his left foot is a size 7 and his right is a 7.5, putting him in a size 8 shoe. He got himself a styling pair of Vans with flaming wheels on them. He points at them and says "Bus" because I was singing "...the wheels on the bus go round and round..." when we were picking them out. Lots of fun. I wish they would make kids shoes in adult sizes. They are so cute.

He has recently started eating butter - straight. I will put a little dab on his plate so he can dip his finger in and lick. He will finish it all and beg for more but I have to hide the butter because I think if he eats too much this would give him a heck of a belly ache. He does this same thing with sour cream - that one I'm a little more lenient with. Aaron tells me that Mary had to hide the butter from him too. It's funny the little things that are passed on.

Why don't I learn...

I should know better than to jinx myself with a blog entry called blissfull nights... Ian has figured out that he can get up anytime in the middle of the night and get in bed with us. I'm ok with this as long as he isn't trying to sleep in my spot all night. He still roots around on my chest while he sleeps and in the process occasionally head buts me. ARGH! The problem is that I am too sleepy the last couple of nights to bother getting up and putting him back to sleep in his room. This is because of the above reason. Really just a vicious circle. Sigh. But that is just me. I can live with sleep deprevation. I'm getting rather used to it. The problem is that Ian doesn't sleep very well either. When he is tired he acts up and gets really devilish and won't mind. In fact he will get that glint in his eye when we ask him to stop whatever bad behavior he's practicing, and look us right in the eye and do it anyway. He was in time out three times during dinner yesturday. We have just started with time outs. I have a feeling they will be a part of our life for a long time... Ian is certainly Mr. Independent.

Blissfull Nights

I probably shouldn't tempt fate by heading an entry with such a title but Ian has been sleeping so well. This is the second night in a row that he hasn't woken up even once. Since we replaced the nightlight and changed which way his head points, things have been peachy. There certainly hasn't been any sort of transition period that I have read about and heard from other parents. It's pretty obvious that he was ready for a big boy bed.

We have seen the movie "Cars" now so many times that I hum the music at work and if pressed I could probably state the dialog verbatim. It's his favorite thing. After dinner, if we are just hanging around the house, he will point at the tv and go, "BEEP BEEP" insistently until we cave. If we try to put in another movie he gets upset.

I guess that's all the news I have. Pretty sad. Well, I guess it's a good thing that there isn't much to report on. Life goes blissfully along.

Ok Now He's Weaned

Or at least I think he is - I hope he is. We haven't nursed in over a week and he is just fine. I'm glad we went through with it. It makes night night time more enjoyable for me. He's more snuggly now. He crawls right up in my lap and wiggles around for a bit and then will settle down with his head right under my chin. Most nights he still wakes up once a night but I think I would miss that if it went away all together.

This is the weekend of the American Cheese Society meeting/conference and Aaron is high on mold. He's downright giddy with all the cheesy activities and people in town. Saturday night we have a hot date at the "Cheese Extravaganza"!! Woooweee!! More to come.

Big Boy Bed

While Whitney, Joe and Ashton were here we had to make the required trip to Ikea. To avoid having to go there again anytime in the near future we took advantage of the occasion to buy Ian a big boy bed. He did a good job of jumping on every bed in the place while shouting gleefully "Bed Bed" to test them for durablility and function. We picked one that expands from a shorter toddler bed to a twin size. He loves it! When we got it set up he spent a bunch of time nesting. He brought all of his trucks, trains and cars into the bed and set them up on both the head and foot boards. Then once he got them all arranged just so he proceeded to launch them onto the floor. The first night in the bed was a little rough. My theory is that it was because we removed the night light in the process and put the bed in with his head facing the opposite direction of where it was with his crib. After fixing this, last night he slept like a champ. It was so cute to have him get up by himself and walk into our room this morning and say "Hi". I'm sure it won't be so cute when it's 4am but this was a reasonable 6:30. We were already up and about (or at least I was).

Field Notes

Whitney, Joe and Ashton came and visited this weekend and we're having a blast. For those not in the know. Whitney is Aaron's sister, Joe is her partner and Ashton his son. We spent yesterday at the Field Museum of Natural History downtown. How can you lose with dinosaurs and little boys! Ashton's favorite thing was the baby dinosaur that he got at the gift shop. I think Ian's favorite thing was the kids playroom. That was a great area where kids could dress up, dig for bones, touch artifacts, play drums and all sorts of other stuff.

Ian went to the doctor on Thursday but not much came out of it. The doctor couldn't make a diagnosis because unless the hernia is bulging out they can't see it. So he is going to consult with our pediatrician about what she saw. He knows her because he fixed a hernia in her son which is why she recommended him. He is confident that she would know one if she saw one, so if she is 100% then we will schedule a surgery. But until we hear from the doctors we are waiting. Also Ian has a yeast infection rash so they said until that clears up, no surgery.

Qualms of Conscience

Last night went better - except putting him to sleep in the evening. He was all sorts of upset. It's hard to deny him when he is so obviously upset. Aaron and I had a long conversation after we got him to sleep as to whether we were doing the right thing. I don't want to deny Ian anything that is so easy to give and he so adamantly wants and as parents, of course we don't want Ian to feel bad. Ultimately though, we decided to continue trying to wean. Partially because we have come this far and I think there is a lot to be said for consistency. It's not good to teach him that when we say no, we really mean maybe. So whether we are right or wrong in weaning him before he wants to stop nursing, we have started down the path and so will continue. It has to happen sometime and Mom's biological clock is ticking. And things did go better last night. We might have reconsidered if Ian was up all night but he just woke up once. I will let you know how things go tonight.

Ian has his doctor appointment tomorrow and then all of us took a 3 day weekend because Whitney, Joe and Ashton are coming up. I'm looking forward to that. Our apartment will be a mad house with Ian and Ashton tearing it up! Then we can decide if we are really prepared for the possibility of two boys!

Cut Off and Pissed Off

Ian was a little ticked last night. He woke up every hour or two and wanted to nurse. I held my guns until 5am. Mostly he was content just to have me rock and sooth him and give him a sippy cup of milk. At 5am I was hit and sent Aaron in, Ian wasn't having it and got all worked up. By the time I made it in there he was throwing a mild tantrum and wouldn't even sit in my lap. He walked to the center of his room and cried and stomped his feet. I finally caved and let him nurse for just a couple of minutes to settle him down. Then he just fussed a little when I pulled him off and nestled in. Hopefully it'll be better tonight. I am determined to do this. I still think it's time and mostly this is about a toddler who is adamantly against any change in his life. He fusses and throws tantrums like this when we try to change his diaper or put him in PJs so why should I expect any less. Mostly he is accepting this rather well.

Not Quite Weaned...

So that last post was a little premature. Ian has figured out the vinegar trick. (I like that my son is smart, I just wish he wasn't smarter than me!) And so we nursed to sleep last night and I let him nurse for a couple of minutes in the middle of the night before pulling him off. So now I am falling back on the "No" method and letting him be pissed. He gets over it realatively quickly and I just feel like we were so close that we can do this. One of the reasons I think it really is the right time, is that he is very close to climbing out of his crib. I want him to be weaned before we get him a 'big boy' bed. The thought of him being free to wake me up in the middle of the night whenever he wants to nurse is a little scary. We keep trying and hopefully I can retract my retraction and tell you once again that he is weaned but I will wait until we are a week without before declaring victory.

On another note. Ian goes to the pediatric surgeon on Thursday. I don't know if I mentioned previously that we discovered the Wednesday before the 4th that Ian has an ingurnal hernia. This is apparently a defect from birth and is genetically passed (sound familiar Alan?). He has a hole in the membrane that keeps his intestines from falling into his legs. So the doctor looks at him on Thursday and confirms the diagnosis. Then we hear what the options are. I assume he will have a little surgery. This is not uncommon in little boys and the surgery is pretty non intrusive and I assume it is an outpatient procedure. I will keep you all updated as we know more.

Weaned!

It worked! Ian went to bed last night with only a little fuss. He tried nursing once but after tasting it decided that he didn't want it. And last night he slept - all night! But now I have to adjust. So I am awake at 5:40 am on a Saturday morning. Which isn't too unusual because I get up at 5:30-6 during the week. But... I am awake because I missed seeing Ian last night. A little. And also because I go to bed early since I am usually up in the middle of the night. So I've had my 8 hours - or close to it. Anyway I'm sure I will adjust to sleeping and am looking forward to it :-) Then about that time we'll see about Thing #2. Sorta a daunting idea. Are we ready to go through the last two years over again? I have to think it is a little easier the second time around. You have a little more experience and knowledge. I can change a diaper in my sleep and have many times. And maybe this time we'll get one that sleeps. Who knows. We just have always planned on having more than one. Mostly for Ian's sake. The idea of being an only child sounds a little lonely to me. But it may not be our choice. We will go through the process (YUCK) and see what happens.

I just thought about that last sentence and maybe I should clarify that I don't mean the natural process of trying to have a baby. That's a lot of fun! But I mean the process we have to go through - which is IVF. This isn't fun - it's invasive, expensive, painful and requires a series of shots which make me cranky.

Weaning!

So far, so good. When putting Ian to sleep last night, he tried to nurse 2-3 times and each time would pull away and look at me with this face that said "what's up with that?". Each time I would explain to him that, "Mommy's milk was getting sour because he was a big boy now and it was time to stop nursing. He was growing up and since he had been nursing for so long now, the milk was getting sour." He didn't get angry but just keep trying. After 3 times he must have gotten all the vinegar off because then he kept nursing. Then at the middle of the night feeding I did the same thing and he didn't try it more than once. We got to bed without much fuss and no nursing. He just drank the cup of milk I gave him and then we rocked and he went back to sleep. I'll let you know how things progress. Hopefully he won't even wake up tonight :-)

Weaning??

So I think that it is time to wean Ian. For many reasons: he needs his sleep and so do I, we want to have a 2nd child, and we are down to only 2 times a day and I think he might be ready. So starting tonight we start this experiment. One thing I read online is to put vinegar on my nipples so that he will not like the taste and choose to stop on his own. I am going to try it because otherwise I think Ian may have a big fit. Part of me feels guilty for weaning him before he stops on his own. But the idea that I turn 40 in just a few months is niggling at the back of my brain - I want to have a 2nd child before it gets too hard. Realistically, the longer I wait the harder it gets and since the first time was so difficult... That and I am just tired of nursing. That's the selfish reason that makes me feel a little guilty. Who knows... I have tried this half heartedly before and have never made it more than a couple of hours. I may just cave this time too. We'll see how the vinegar thing works.

The Zoo!

IMG_2074, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

It was so much fun to see Ian enjoying the zoo. My favorites were the gorillas but I think that Ian's favorite was the bears. He kept saying "more more". But really he was doing this at all of the exhibits. He would climb right up the fence rails and stand there and just watch the animals. I think it helps him understand the pictures in his books. Maybe. Maybe not. But he does a great gorilla imitation and his lion's roar is something to make you quake (not really - if you weren't his adoring parents, you probably wouldn't recognize it). It's so much fun to hear him start to talk.

Fourth of July

IMG_2041, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

We had a great 4th. About 10 people showed up to BBQ in our backyard which was a perfect number and a couple of our friends brought their little guy, Keith, so Ian and he got into all sorts of trouble together. Watching Ian play with other kids makes Aaron and I think about this idea of two. I really think that once they get through the first year or so that there really is something to that idea that they would entertain each other. For the most part I just hung out all day and Ian was self supporting. Well, Ruth (Keith's mom) did some helpful overseeing! The day was perfect, the food scrumptious, and the company good. It's surprising to here all of Chicago lighting off fireworks around you. It really sounds like a battlefield! No way to describe it and it when on well after I had called it a night. Ian tried his first sparkler. It took a little while but once he warmed up to it, he was all about it. We went to Brookfield Zoo on Sunday and had a blast - I'll save that for the next blog.

RIP Tear 1999-2008

We had to have Tear put down today after a long ordeal that started a little before Memorial Day weekend. The short story is that she suffered from kidney failure and subsequent liver failure. We had a bad experience with the first vet that we went to see in Oak Park but after a very trying Thursday back and forth with the vet we took her out of there and brought her to a seemingly honest, caring and practical vet this morning. She thought the best thing for Tear was to let her go. As much as she was a curmudgeon and not very personal, it was still a very hard thing to do. The worst was when I came back out and Ian opened up the towel and looked at me and meowed. It was like he was asking where the cat was. So sad.

Mmmm... Brownies

IMG_2013, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

Ian helped me make brownies the other day and discovered the joy of licking the beater. Childhood pleasures. Although maybe not such a childhood pleasure - it's still a favorite of mine! It's a testament of my love for Ian that from now on he will be the reciepient of the beater. mmmm...

Aaron and I have some time off this week. Ian's daycare is closed so we decided to make a week of it. Aaron has the week off and I have Wed through Sun off. I was originally looking around for camping or thinking about what we should do (always doing). Aaron had the wonderful idea of doing absolutely nothing. So we are camping out in the backyard maybe doing some looking for a new used car and some adventuring around the city, but only if we feel like it. We are going to have a couple of friends over to BBQ on the 4th and we bought some fireworks in Indiana (Krazy Kaplans!) on the way back from MI so that'll be fun. We might check out the Oak Park fireworks or the parade in the am since it is within walking distance. It all depends on how Ian is holding up. I have a feeling he will love fireworks! If he takes after his Mom and Dad that is! Happy Fourth of July!

Trucks, Trains and Talking

IMG_2032, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

Ian really started chattering away about the 19th of June. It just seemed like overnight he discovered that he could use words. Now he is picking up about 5 a day and speaking in short sentences. He is in love with everything that goes - so his favorite thing is to point out the buses, trains and trucks that he sees as we go down the street. The little voice in the back of the jeep that says "It's a bus!" with great enthusiasm. His German ancestory has come out in his pronounciation of 'truck', 'book' or any other word that ends with a k. It sounds as though he is speaking German because it comes out as a German 'uch' sound. It's very cute.

We bought him a big yellow dump truck as well as a wooden train because he was pushing around puzzle pieces of trucks and making engine noises. We thought it was time he entered the world of 3D and he's happy as a clam. Our apartment has become a highway and we have to be careful not to trip over the cars, tractors, trains, etc etc. 100% Boy.

Weekend at Grandma's

IMG_2008, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

Mary, I know you asked that I not go posting pictures of you online but this one was soooo precious that I couldn't resist. In spite of the illness we had a great time in Michigan that weekend.

Waiting for FEA

I'm waiting for a finite element analysis of a two way slab to finish. Now, I bet that sentence made most of you go YUCK! But, I really do love my job. :-) GEEK

Ian and I had a bit of a rough weekend. Wednesday night the little guy was sick. At one point he puked all over his Mom. Now that's YUCK. Then Mom was feeling ill on Thursday and ended up leaving work early. We still chose to go forward with plans to go to Michigan for Aaron's Grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. On the way up, Ian got sick in the car. Friday night I was sick... so rather than risk passing this onto Grandpa (who is going through chemo) we decided to pass on the party and stick close to Mary's home and take it easy. It turned out well and there was no more puking. The weekend turned out real nice and all of us went to dinner at Bombay in GR (one of my favorites) for Aaron and my anniversary. Five years - very cool.

Analysis Complete - time to get back to work.

Bored at Work

I have nothing to do... my desk is clean. I know I should cherish this time because we have several jobs that are about to start and I won't be bored for long but I have never been good with down time...

Interesting jobs that we won and I will soon be working on include: Cellular One Field (aka Comisky Park) and the Chicago Theater. That combined with a 24 story residence hall for Columbia College, the job in Dubai and the work on the Sears Tower should have me complaining about too much work and long hours in no time. But for now I am doing all those little things that are meant to be put off until days like today. Problem is, is that I have run out of little piddly things to do. So I am blogging.

This weekend we went out and bought ourselves a dining room table. We got a nice one after much ado. Aaron and I have been debating over this. Do we spend the money or not?? Then once we decided to, we had to pick out a table. That was one afternoon at Ikea... then we changed our minds and decided to just buy a couple of chairs and make do with the table we have. Second trip to Ikea. Aaron brought home a couple of chairs that weren't finished, however we didn't know that until we opened up the box. So we decided to return the chairs and go ahead and buy the table we liked. Third trip to Ikea. I bought the table and brought it home. It was solid oak and heavy as hell. We cart it upstairs after Ian goes to sleep and open the boxes. As we are panting on the couch trying to catch our breath after hauling the thing up, I am reading the fine print. There is a page of notes on how to take care of the table. It too is unfinished and needs to be oiled and no leaving anything wet on it, and no hot stuff, and no cast iron, and, and, and we think this is not the table for our family. So Aaron hauls it back to the car the next morning (Father's Day). Fourth trip to Ikea. Yesterday, for less money than the solid oak table, we came home with a nice birch table that is finished and two white chairs. We have it set up and we both like it and the chairs and we have no desire to go back to Ikea for a long time. Well... we will have to get a couple more chairs but that will have to wait until July or until I can stand the idea of returning to Ikea.

Happy Father's Day

To all the Dad's I know - Happy Father's Day.


To my own Dad, the quiet unsung hero of the Windsor house... thanks for loving me through it all.

And to the best Dad I know, Aaron... there is too much to say. I love watching you with Ian and I think Ian is one of the luckiest kids in the world to have a Dad like you. Ian idolizes you - you can see it in his face when he looks at you.
From both of us...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Spotty at Best

I thought that I would have more time now that I am not at school... hmmm... thought wrong. I am under a little less stress and my days are much more structured which I like, but I definitely do NOT have more free time. And I can't blog at home anymore. Ian is now of the age that if I am at the computer he wants me to show him videos of trucks. He is VERY insistant that I show him video's of trucks. Under no circumstances should I be paying bills or blogging. So forgive the lack of information from Oak Park. I do my best but, at least for now it appears that my blogging will be spotty at best. Ok, back to work now. Which is all good because work rocks! Life is good.

Pay Day!

I am all excited because today is the last day (I hope) of poverty for us! I get my first paycheck today. Aaron and I have plans of leaving the little guy in the care of Deb and heading downtown for a fancy dinner and a night on the town. Either that or we are going shopping... but I think that can wait until Saturday and Sunday. Well, first I need to pay some bills but I think there will be enough left over that we can get a couple essentials for the apartment and celebrate too.

Thank you to everyone who has helped support us through this time and we will now start the long process of paying off our debts to you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
from Elizabeth, Aaron and Ian

Whew!

It seems to be a whirlwind since we moved down here with hardly a moment to blog. It doesn't help that I can't use the laptop when Ian is around anymore. We showed him a couple of videos on You Tube of trucks and now he is obsessed with it. I guess we couldn't keep him away from TV forever. Aaron got him a book on trucks and we haven't stopped reading it. I would say 5-10 times a day when he is in daycare and 20 times when he is home. I sorta thought that a lot of that boy girl stuff was socially transmitted but now I am not so sure.

Aaron has started work this week and if not totally in love with the place is happy enough just cause he is selling cheese. Ian is now in daycare and Mom is not totally in love with the place (and neither is Ian) but they are doing their job to the best of their abilities and Ian is safe, the kids are great and the staff is friendly. My problem is that I compare it to the level of care he was getting with Layale and Brian. I'm sure Ian misses them too.

With all of us working and Ian in 'school', life is a little hectic. Some of this I contribute to Ian not sleeping again. So I get up early and get to work, pick him up on the way home, we eat dinner and then it is off to bed for Ian and Mom follows as soon as he is asleep. Rinse Repeat. Last night he slept good so I have hope that he is settling in.

My feelings of 'hecticness' are compounded because I didn't get a weekend last week so I have now worked 12 days in a row. We had a deadline I needed to get a model done for and so I worked Sat and Sun. Oh and spent Sat night in ER. That's my bitch. I'm done now because really life is great. And we all have the weekend off - a long weekend. I don't think that that has happened since Aaron and I got married. He has Sun and Mon off and only has to work a few hours in the morning on Sat. Can't wait. My folks are coming this weekend too - so that'll be fun. Ok, time to get going to work. Just wanted to let y'all know that things are good here. We are all busy and happy.

First Emergency Room Trip in Oak Park

I was thinking it was our first ever but I remember that in Ann Arbor I went with him once when we found his ears cut and bleeding the first time. Then found out it was just the cradle cap that had migrated.

Last night while we were eating Ian put his foot on the table and gave a push. His chair tipped over with him strapped in and the back of his head hit the corner of the wall. I was comforting him and felt the back of his head and he had a huge goose egg or ridge that was probably about an inch off of his head. I freaked. We rushed to the emergency room where we waited for a couple of hours to see a doctor. They did a CAT scan just to be sure and Ian is fine. Just scared the bejesus out of his parents. And since we don't have insurance right now we paid for some very expensive peace of mind. But worth it.

We're off to church this morning. We're going to check out the Unitarian Temple that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Working Masses

I was riding home yesterday and it occurs to me that I really am just another bozo on the subway. It's official now. I am a part of the work force. One of the masses who take the train downtown, work in a cubicle in a high rise office building, never go outside all day, and then return to the suburbs at night... ahh life is good. It looks like Aaron will be opening at work which would work out really well for us. So he would be at work at 7 and be done at 3. That way he can come home, pick up Ian and make dinner so that when I get home at 5:30-6 we can eat. This is much better than me getting home at 6 and trying to frantically cook or microwave dinner with a hungry toddler clutching me.

Anyway... just a quick note... I'm off to the train!

First Day of Work

Thanks, Ian! I love you, too.

So we have arrived in Oak Park. Everything went as planned, we arrived on Saturday and unpacked the truck. We then spent about four days unpacking boxes and organizing. Aaron is ecstatic with his new kitchen. We have so much cupboard space that he currently has two empty cupboards and one empty drawer. We have put some toys in one of the cupboards for Ian. So he has someplace that is his cupboard to explore. We are really happy with the apartment and the neighborhood. There are kids everywhere! We have gotten in the habit of taking a walk after dinner and its nice to have people in the neighborhood say hi.

I hear Ian coughing right now. He caught a chill the day we went to Navy Pier (Friday). It wasn't too cold in Oak Park but down by the waterfront it was windy and chilly. Especially when we rode the ferris wheel and were 150 feet in the air. It's been unseasonably chilly all week which has put a damper on some of our exploring.

Today is my first day of my new job. They asked me to come in at 9 because my new boss had another baby (his second girl) last week and is a little groggy. I can certainly understand that! So I can't write that much... I have to go figure out what I am going to wear! I had bought a new pair of pants and a couple of shirts for work but they are all a little to light weight for a 40 degree morning. I'm excited to be starting work and nervous... I'll let you know how it goes.

Mom's Day, wirh Love

The worlds greatest Mom. Ian, being slow on the keyboard asked me to write a few things down for him on this ol' blogeroo...

Mom, I am rather keen on you. In fact I do believe you to be the very best Mom a boy like myself could ask for. You are loving, and kind, and generous, and though I am currently pushing the limits of your sanity I wanted to let you know that I do ever so truly LOVE YOU.

best regards,
your loving (albeit often irritating) son,
Ian

There you have it folks, truer words were never written.

Mother's Day Doubts

Sometimes I feel so unfit to be Ian's mom. Today I was trying to hang pictures and Ian had been all over the place all day doing things he knows he shouldn't be doing - purposefully. Specifically he was standing in the chair next to me as I was hanging photos. He knows he is not supposed to stand in chairs. Like I said - it had been a whole day of refusing to hold my hand to cross the street, taking off his pants (and diaper) in the store, putting his feet on the table at lunch... I could go on. So when he kept standing in the chair, I picked him up, set him on the ground and gave his bottom a swat. Hard enough to make him cry. This is not how I want to raise my kids. I know what his problem was - after I did it. He was just trying to get my attention. This was probably the case all day. I wish I was better at stopping the drive to get things done and could learn to play. I wish I hadn't made my son cry. I wish I didn't feel so not up to this whole mothering thing. Sometimes I wish I hadn't gotten married, hadn't had Ian. Just because life would be so much easier if I was only screwing up my own life or at least only responsible for my own. Then I feel so damn guilty for thinking this. I love Aaron, I love Ian. I wish I knew what the hell I was doing. How do you learn how to be a mother?

Moving Sucks

We are three days into serious packing and I have to say that moving sucks. Today Ian goes to Layale and Brian's to spend the day so that we can pack his room. Yesterday when we had tried to put some of his books into a box he got very upset until we took them out. So rather than go through that all day we thought it best to remove him from the house while we box up his room. I can't believe it is almost time to drive to our new home. Tomorrow we pack the truck and Saturday morning we drive. Wow. I am starting to get worried about finding daycare and all those things. And I think I got everything set up... but I keep going over the list: forward mail, change utilities, change address with school, magazine subscriptions, doctors records, etc, etc... Ian has a rash around his mouth that developed when he was sick and hasn't really gone away the doctor has looked at it and gave us cream but that was two weeks ago and it hasn't cleared, we won't have insurance for a month... should I call them today? This is just a small sample of the anxiety talk in my head. I think it is a miracle that I sleep at all. Actually I'm doing pretty good. I was in bed at 10 and up at 6:30 with an hour in between spent with Ian. Nothing to complain about - and Ian is back to only waking once a night. I'm sure that will change when we take down his crib today and he'll take some time to adjust in Chicago but it's all temporary and very easy to do when both of us aren't working.

Ramble ramble... coffee is good this morning. I am grateful that most of the packing is done. Just have to do Ian's room today and take shelves down. It has been kinda nice to have both of us home so one of us can keep Ian out of trouble (!) while the other packs. I just hope tomorrow the rain holds off until after the pack.

This is probably the last post from Ann Arbor. See you in Oak Park!

Domino Farm

We went to Domino Farm yesterday with Doug, Lisa and little Jonah. Ian had his first pony ride! He thought it was great. He thought the whole farm was great. I love the way Ian is so curious about his world and he has little fear of new things. Actually, Mom would like it if he had a little more fear - so he didn't think surfing on the rocking horse, playing in traffic and climbing all over everything wasn't so much fun.


It's been a big week for him so he was up constantly last night needing to touch base with Mom. Must be dreams of pony rides and feeding cows. I think he gets his sensitive disposition in regards to sleep from me because even though I was up all night with him I was also awake at 6:00 thinking about everything that we need to get done in the next four days. So much packing and preparing. And admittedly I am a little nervous of starting this new life, making new friends, moving my family to a new city, finding day care that is a safe and friendly environment for Ian... all those things that keep me up at night or wake me up in the morning. But I guess the plus side is that I get these few moments of peace when I can write in my blog and drink coffee and otherwise play on the laptop without someone begging to press the buttons.

We will miss having Domino Farm only a mile away... I guess the next time Ian will be feeding and petting cows it will be at Lincoln Park Zoo!

Graduation Day

Today I graduate with my MSE (masters of science engineering). I don't know whether it is right or wrong but I am feeling pretty proud of myself. Going to college has been the hardest thing I have ever done. It has taken me 7 years to get here, along the way I have gotten married, bought a house, been unable to sell said house and had a baby. During that time I have managed to keep an undergrad GPA of 3.94 (out of 4) and a graduate GPA of 7.14 (out of 9) at one of the top 5 engineering colleges in the United States. So forgive me if I ring my bell a little.

We had a BBQ last night and my friends from school brought me a UM hard hat that they had all signed with well wishes, they also got me a embossed leather UM folder, coffee cup and pencils to stock my new office. I was touched. We had a lot of fun and there was TONS of food. One of my friends is from Greece and her two sisters were visiting - on the Greek calender, yesterday was Good Friday so they brought us traditional Greek Easter yummies. Mmmmm....

Aaron's Dad and his wife and little boy are coming to visit today as well as my parents. This is good because we have soooo many leftovers so we are hoping they will come in time for lunch. I will walk in the College of Engineering graduation at 3pm where I think Maria and Maya will also be joining us. We will all retire back here for more yummy food (not leftovers!) afterwards.

There are big black clouds rolling over the sunrise - I think it is about to T-Storm.

Groggy, Slightly Damp Morning

Ian was up at 5:30 this morning. I got him back to sleep by 6:30 but then couldn't get myself back to sleep. Aaron had his last day at Zingerman's yesterday. He was done at 9 and then all of his coworkers took him to the bar for a grand send off. He got to bed about 2:30 last night so I'm letting him sleep in (and maybe sleep it off).

We have a big weekend. Today we are having my friends from school and Aaron's friends from work over for a BBQ. It's looking like the weather might just clear for a few hours this afternoon and evening and it's supposed to be a nice warm upper 70's kinda day. Rather nice of the weather to cooperate with my plans. Tomorrow is graduation. I decided that I was going to walk at the College of Engineering ceremony. As much as last year was just too much... attending both the University and my College's ceremonies, lunch with the Sec of Navy and a meeting with my benefactors... I didn't get to spend much time with my family and I was exhausted by the end of the day! So this year I was hesitant to do anything but I don't want to let the end of my school career go by without any note. So I'll do the College ceremony and we'll have dinner afterwards.

There was a big stink at UM about the University wide ceremony because the Big House is under construction (yes, they're expanding!) and the administration planned on having the ceremony at EMU's stadium. The students pitched a fit and so they are cramming a metric butt load of students, friends and family onto the Central Campus diag.

Ian's awake and playing with the mouse so before he messes everything up I gotta go.

Another Beautiful Morning

So much blogging! Y'all are going to get spoiled and then I'll go to work. I was going to say 'back to work' and realized that it doesn't apply. I am going to work for the first time. Well... I guess technically I have worked before in my life... It does seem strange that I, who have lived in the underground of life for all of my previous existence, will be joining the 9 to 5 set. I mean that showing up to work on the 21st floor of a high rise to sit in front of a computer in a cubicle is not anything like showing up to a load in of a concert or other performance. I hope I will have the stamina for the mundane. I'm sure the paycheck will go a long way towards job satisfaction. Anyway, I do think that I will be working for a company that will offer me continual challenges. It's not like I will be designing Walmarts.

The weather in Ann Arbor has been just gorgeous these last days - more like June than April. Ian and I had to come in yesterday because I noticed he was getting a little sun. We'll have to start slathering on the sunscreen before we go out to play. I hope he has Aaron's coloring eventually. Unfortunately, it doesn't look to going to hold through graduation this weekend. At least I have no plans on going to the big all university ceremony which is being held on the diag because the Big House is under construction.

Aaron now has only two days of work left. (I'm keeping a count down for him.) We still have most of our packing to do but next week it is all of what we will be doing. Yesterday I spent some time going through all of my tools and getting rid of more than half. I had a total of four tool bags, boxes and buckets. So many things were duplicates or specific to stagecraft or just stuff I don't use much. I did keep my plumb bob though. What girl could live without one?? Aaron and I have seriously gleaned through our belongings and gotten rid of a lot of miscellaneous 'stuff' we really don't use or need. We have also made a policy that if it is broken, torn, burnt or otherwise in disrepair, it is not making the trip. Now that we will have income, I want sheets that don't have holes in them. Is it too much to ask??

Today's list of things to do includes: getting passport photos for Ian and I (I have to update with my new name), getting Aaron a replacement copy of his social security card, stopping by the Salvation Army with another load, going to the reproductive endocrinology clinic to sign some paperwork, and a stop at the grocery store. After all this and a bit of packing or napping while Ian naps, I will go over to a friends house for a going away party/dinner for me at 4:30. Tuesdays are one of Aaron's days off so it's good to run these kind of errands with both of us. That way one person can watch Ian while the other takes care of business. Sometimes keeping a toddler from running off can be difficult. I went to the bank the other day and they had the front door open - I tried to write a check and deposit it and Ian took off running. He made it out the front door and almost to the street before I caught him. Luckily the people in line behind me were more amused that impatient. I am beginning to understand the leash concept.

Dalai Lama

Yesterday we went to hear the Dalai Lama speak on sustainability. It was great. I was really impressed by his humility. He first says he was asked to speak on sustainability and goes on to say that he doesn't know this English word and is not an expert. He wore a sport visor to keep the glare of the stage lights out of his eyes and looked like a little yoda up there in his chair. He talked some about environmentalism but in the greater context of compassion. He liken our use of resources to someone burning the furniture in his own home to keep warm. It was sometimes difficult to hear because we were in the way back seats and I would like to find a transcript - when I do I will post it here.

It is another beautiful morning and I am enjoying the peaceful time I get before everyone wakes up. Ian woke up three times last night but Aaron took care of it twice and I took the big nurse a thon in the middle. I'm not sure what is going on with him. He again was so upset last night when I went in to him that it took me a long time to get him calm enough to nurse. He has his 18 month check up on Wednesday so I will ask the doc what she thinks.

Ian turned 18 months yesterday. It's hard to believe he is half way to 2 years! He is growing up so fast.

Rough Night

Last night was a long one. For whatever reason, Ian was waking every hour or so and when Aaron would try to go and comfort him, he would get so upset that we couldn't get him 'down' from it. He would be crying so hard that nothing could or would comfort him. He wouldn't let me nurse him or comfort him until we distracted him in some way. Long long long night. And he seems in perfect physical condition so I don't know what is going on but I sure hope it was just an anomaly!

Aaron has three days of work left - Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. He's getting excited.

We are going to hear the Dalai Lama speak today. He is giving a lecture at UM on sustainability for Earth Day. I am looking forward to it. It seems like one of those 'once in a lifetime' opportunities. The University gave out a lot of tickets for free to students so I picked a couple up for Aaron and I. Matt and Maria are also going and Layale and Brian too. We are meeting with Matt and Maria before the event and going together while her cousin, Juli, watches Maya and Ian. Then afterward we are going over to their place for some dinner and conversation.

Aaron and I were thinking of 11am to pack the truck on Friday, May 2. So all of you that read this in Ann Arbor please feel free to come and help in the effort. It's hard to believe it has snuck up so fast. I was so focused on finishing school that I wasn't thinking about anything else. Now I realize how soon we are moving. It's exciting!

Don't Forget the BABY!

Good Morning and welcome back to the blog. I think I was just addressing myself. How crazy are you if not only do you talk to yourself in public - and answer - all under the guise of talking to your toddler, but you now find yourself talking to yourself on your blog... don't mention that I am also referring to myself in the third person. Ahh... I am embracing my insanity today. It doesn't matter. I am done with school!! I will graduate next week with my masters in engineering! I feel an incredible lightness of being. It doesn't hurt any that it is a beautiful spring day in Michigan and the trees are bursting their buds and life is ooh so good. The house is asleep and I am enjoying that peaceful time I get in the morning to just sit and drink my coffee without anyone tugging on my leg. I sleep so soundly last night. My mind wasn't working on any engineering problems while I lay there, I was just sleeping. And coughing. We are all still suffering the nastiest cold we could find in Ann Arbor (thanks Aaron!).

So... next stop Oak Park. We have started packing and as you can see Ian is a big help. He is growing up so fast. I think it is time to start potty training. He will occasionally grab his diaper and grunt his little uh uh sound. I think he is trying to tell me something. Once we get settled in the new place we will go buy him a little potty and see how it goes. I think he is ready for a big boy bed too! We went to Ikea with Mary when she visited a couple of weekends ago and he was so excited by the little beds! Yesterday he stood at the dishwasher and handed me the clean dishes one at a time so I could put them away. So helpful. It was a little slow to put away one spoon at a time but worth it to let him help and see him smile. We went and got his second haircut yesterday - I can't believe how fast it grows and how fast he is growing.

I am really going to try to enjoy this break I have between school and work and spend lots of time playing with Ian. I have such a tendency to feeling that something or another just has to get done and so I do that rather than take Ian outside or to the park. But we have plenty of time to pack and I just love the springtime so no excuses...

Ian and I took a little quality time last night sitting on the porch. As I watched him play I couldn't help wondering what he will be when he grows up... chef, engineer, or plumber!

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!

Bored

I'm sitting in the computer lab waiting for an analysis to complete. I run it - it takes 5-30 minutes to process, I wait, I wait, I find out it doesn't work...

rinse repeat

Moo, Baa, La La La

Ian has recently mastered the ability to moo. He also does a fine imitation of a sheep and a cat. It's the cutest thing to hear him meow when the cat does. This comes from his love of a book called "Moo, Baa, La La La" - it's his current favorite but really he has a whole bunch of favorites, that one just tops the list. I love that he can't get enough of books. I certainly got what I asked for with that one. He has entered the age where his parents are teaching him cute party tricks. Ok maybe that started with the first "Ian, roll over."

The little guy is suffering with a bit of a cold right now. Aaron had it bad last week and I was almost thinking that Ian and I were going to escape the plague but he started with maybe body aches, maybe sore throat on Thursday night. I just know that he couldn't sleep and then Sat he developed the fever and runny nose. Poor little guy.

I am just ecstatic to be beginning my last full week of classes tomorrow!

10 MORE DAYS

No More Blogging for Awhile

Just to let everyone know that our home computer died - good thing I am going to work soon cause our gear is breaking down at an alarming rate! So I won't be blogging again for a couple of weeks while I finish my schoolin'. After that I will be bringing home the laptop and will be back in business. So really I probably wouldn't be doing a lot of bloggin' anyway since I am slammed with work right now.

Reading Together

It has been a source of consternation that Ian will not sit still long enough to let me read to him or he would continually take the book away and randomly flip through pages and 'read' the book himself. I had this bucolic image of us sitting quietly together with him snuggled in my lap while I read to him and we look together at the pictures. One thing I have learned is that parenting doesn't look anything like I thought it would!! And of course there has been no reading with Ian. Until two days ago... when for the first time Ian sat in my lap long enough to let me read a book to him and he enjoyed it. Since then he has been bringing books to me and to Aaron and wanting us to read to him. The same book... over and over - which I am really ok with. In fact I love it! So I am happy to say that all of our efforts have payed off, or they made no difference whatsoever and he has just naturally developed to the stage where he can sit and pay attention for a couple of minutes. Either way we are reading!

Where is Oak Park?

View Larger Map

For those who have asked me where Oak Park is, I have embedded this handy map. What's fun is you can actually walk the neighborhood by clicking on 'view larger map' then click on the 'street view' button and then double clicking on any of the blue highlighted streets. You can't actually 'walk' down our street because it isn't one of the blue highlighted ones but you can look towards our block by positioning yourself at the corner of Chicago and Cuyler and then look north. You can see where we are in relationship to Chicago by clicking on the minus sign on the left to zoom out or you can check out Oak Park by zooming in by clicking the minus sign or just double clicking on the position you would like to zoom in on. Mom and Dad, if you haven't navigated online maps before - they're fun. It's especially interesting to do the whole street view thing. You can actually do a virtual tour of Oak Park. You can also see the building I will be working in by doing the street view option at the corner of Dearborn and Madison right downtown. The building that Halcrow Yolles is in is the glass cladded one on the SE corner. Enjoy!

This is a test.

Ok I've had to change my google account, gmail, calendar, blog... so my name is now Elizabeth Stek. This has been much harder than going to the Secretary of State and changing my name in the legal way. I am so electronically documented!! Anyway I just want to make sure I can post with the new account to my old blog before I remove my oldself as an administrator. Argh! Aaron better be grateful! :-)

The reason I had a child...

img_1738, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Windsor.

I'm sure it is the same reason my parents had children... to do the dishes. He actually loves to do this - I'm sure it won't last for very long and he makes a much bigger mess than he cleans up. He just likes to be 'helpful'.

So I haven't blogged in awhile and there has been a bit of news. Most of you know that I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict and if you didn't, well you do now. The good news is that on Friday the 14th, I celebrated 8 years of continuous sobriety. I think that is noteworthy, or blog worthy! I'm very grateful, it's been a hell of a ride and my life is so great these days... it's hard to imagine that I was ever the person I used to be. The ironic part is that a couple of years ago someone pointed out that 3.14 is pi day! Sorta portentous that a future engineer would choose to get sober on pi day. If you aren't a geek, and have no idea what I am talking about, don't worry, your social standing is not in jeopardy for not knowing what pi day is! More likely the opposite is true.

The other news of note is that a couple of months from now, Aaron and I will be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary. My gift to him is that I changed my name to Elizabeth Anne Stek - officially, and I should probably add, finally. I don't know, I guess his probationary period is up and I decided to stick around and make a commitment to the relationship... With the upcoming move to Chicago it seemed like a good time to make the change, it saves having to explain to everyone that I just wasn't quite ready to jump in with both feet on our wedding day. This way, I can just start going by Elizabeth Stek when we make the move. It was a big surprise to Aaron - I stunned him. I had previously told him that I had no intention of ever changing my name. I didn't tell him I was going to do it . I think I made him very happy and that made my day.

I think that's all the news. Life is continuing on. I have four more weeks of classes left and then one (should be) pretty easy exam to take and I am a free woman!! That feels good.

If I don't see you in GR - have a happy Easter!!

An early anniversary gift!

Elizabeth gave me a wonderful and utterly unexpected anniversary gift this year. She has officially changed her name to Elizabeth Anne Stek!

Curls

There were some Grandmothers out there who were concerned with the status of Ian's curls once I got his haircut. I want to reassure you that Ian will in fact continue to have curly hair and it appears that his hair is continuing to get more and more curly. I will go out on a limb here and predict that he will have my curls. Probably much to his dismay. :-)

Life here is good. We are both counting down the weeks until we are done with our school/job. Seven more weeks!! I was counting days but decided to back up a little until I was down to the last two weeks. Aaron and I sat down the other day and made a tentative plan for the move. Aaron has decided that his last day of work will be April 25 - my last exam is April 24th, so those are the days we are desperately looking forward to! Anyway, the idea is that we then have a solid week of packing together. On Friday May 2nd we will pick up the truck in the morning. Anyone who is available and willing I would love to have come down (or over) and help us with the packing of the truck that day. Friday night we will be taking everyone out for dinner who pitched in (or who would like to join us) for a celebrating of my graduation and also a good-bye to Ann Arbor party. Saturday morning will drive the truck and jeep over to Chicago. We can then unpack Saturday and Sunday. We will be returning the truck in Chicago on Sunday. It actually costs less than returning it to A^2 because of gas mileage and keeping it to Sunday is the same as a Saturday drop off so that works well. We then have a week in Oak Park to unpack and settle in a bit before I start work. I think Aaron is taking an extra week (or whatever it takes) so that we have a couple of weeks to find daycare. So that's the plan for now!