Cream of Potato Soup

I may have mentioned before that Evan is really into baseball this year. He loves watching it on TV and in person, and he loves to play it too. He has his own plastic bat and ball now, and he'll actually try to hit a few before he resorts to using the bat as a putter. We've also been working on catching and throwing, and he's improved a lot in both those areas.

We noticed something funny when we were playing catch in the living room earlier this week though. When Ev went to throw the ball back to us, he hoisted one leg in the air for the windup, just like pitchers do. He must have been paying closer attention to those games than we realized, and we found it hilariously funny. I'm not sure it helps his throw any, but about half the time his leg goes up. We definitely want to sign that kid.

In other news, we're headed to Rochester this afternoon for our nephew's birthday party tomorrow. Wish us good luck on a long car trip--we're bringing along the portable DVD player, so that should help. With any luck, Ev will sleep some too, and we always stop in Angola to watch the trucks from the overpass. It should be a nice trip.

Posted by jenny at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thanks to everyone who stepped up and pledged for Walk America--both Mike and I are over our goals. Nearly half a million babies a year are born prematurely in this country, about 1,300 a day. Thank you for helping them.

The scariest thing about prematurity is that it can happen to anyone, at any time. Unexplained preterm labor, preeclampsia, or other complications can appear with no warning, and suddenly you have this tiny baby, born far too soon and fighting to survive.

I remember when I was pregnant with Evan, we were reading Your Pregnancy Week by Week --every Sunday we'd read the next weekly chapter. Week 29 talked about premature delivery, and I remember saying to Mike, "We can skip over this part, that's not going to happen to us." A week later I was on hospital bed rest, and just a few days after that we had our very own 3 pound miracle to care for. I never imagined it would happen that way, but it did.

So thank you again for helping out. We're looking forward to walking on Sunday, so other kids like Evan can have a fighting chance.

Posted by jenny at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, I want to advertise this one last time. With only a few days left until Walk America, Mike and I are so close to reaching our fundraising goals! We've each tried to raise $200 for this years walk to help fight prematurity, and as of today Mike's only $30 away, and I'm only $5 away! If you haven't yet, please take the time to pledge a few dollars to help.

Here are links to Mike's sponsor page and my sponsor page--please help us if you can. A big thank you to those who have already pledged as well. Everyone who pledges will get a special thank you gift also, much like PBS.

Edit: Right after I posted this, my loving husband pledged $5 to put me over the top! Thanks dear! Now, everyone else help Mike out!

Double edit (2:45 pm): We both reached our $200 goal! Thanks everyone for helping to fight prematurity!

Posted by jenny at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our weekend was good, but hectic, and I have no doubt that all of our weekends from here on out are going to be that way. Friday night's birthday party was fun--all the boys played well together and the grown-ups were mostly behaved as well. We'll be doing it all over again in a few weeks for Mike's birthday--the plans have already been made.

Saturday's Walk for Autism was okay. Only the moms went while the boys and dads drove around the peninsula because the weather was so crummy. It was rainy and cold, but the walk went on as scheduled and I was surprised at just how many people showed up. I was glad we were able to go, even if we couldn't feel our legs by the time it was over. The rest of the day was spent trying to keep the kids happy while the adults tried to rest a bit. Some brave souls went out again on Saturday night, but I was not one of them. It was all I could do to keep awake long enough to drive back to Meadville.

Now it's Monday again, and it's going to be a rough week--we've only got therapy today and preschool tomorrow, and we're on our own the rest of the week. I miss the time I get to myself when Ev's at preschool, and I think it's hard for him when he gets out of the routine of school. Next week we have no preschool at all, so watch for me to begin the decline into craziness.

Posted by jenny at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry for all the extreme sentiment this week. I blame hormones, or the fact that Mikaele turned 29 this week (sorry dear). We're going to her birthday party tonight, and I just can't get over the 29 thing. It just sounds so weird. Mike's going to be 29 in a few more weeks too, and I don't know why it's freaking me out. But what am I complaining about, my birthday's not for another five months! Either way, we're going to have a hell of a time tonight--I anticipate much merriment.

Tomorrow morning we're headed to the Walk for Autism down at Presque Isle. I hope we're not too partied out. Even if we are, it's going to be a good time for a great cause. The aforementioned friend (whose name starts with M) has designed a very cool EMTA bus for autism awareness. It will be unveiled at the walk, and we're really excited about that. If you're in the area, come down and show your support--and bundle up. I heard some rumors of snow.

Last night we were out at the park, playing baseball with Evan. He's been really interested in baseball on tv this year, as well as watching the kids play at our local park, so we got him a little plastic bat and ball yesterday. He had a blast with them. We tried hitting, catching, and whacking the ball using the bat like a golf club. I think he liked that the best, but he'll figure the other stuff out eventually. All I know is chasing after grounders made Evan very tired last night, and that is always a good thing.

Perhaps a left-handed pitcher is in our future? Dare to dream.

Posted by jenny at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday, while Evan was at preschool, I began a task I've been putting off for months. I started cleaning out our spare bedroom--it's become a catch-all for office equipment and things we don't have a place for, and I'd like to start using it again. What I thought would take me a few hours looks now like it will take several days. This is mostly because I got derailed by the dangerous contents of some boxes in the closet--they ate up my whole morning and I've had some trouble moving past them.

When Mike was going away to college (or maybe before), his parents bought him this big green Rubbermaid tub. After his first year away, that tub became known as "The Tub", because Mike used it for his most treasured of possessions. I never touched it or tried to sort it, because that was his domain, but yesterday I made the attempt. I thought we could consolidate some other boxes of treasures into The Tub. I was right, but not before sorting through everything that was already in there.

There were ticket stubs, mix tapes (labeled and unlabeled), all the letters I wrote Mike while we were in school. There were souvenirs from Penguins and Pirates games, posters, envelopes stuffed with pictures and old "Duquesne Duke" newspapers. But the most special things of all were the things I didn't know were in there.

Things Mike had written in high school and college filled two binders. Scripts and poems and stories long forgotten. Some were for fun, some were for our "Exploring Writing" class senior year (I loved that class, all of my favorite people were in it). Not to mention the binder full of song lyrics and flyers from the old "Lucy's Dream" days--and to accompany that, several video tapes and cassettes of band recording sessions marked in Eric's handwriting with just names and dates. Even though I've seen and heard most of it before, it's been so long that I had forgotten how good it was--an absolute snapshot of how our lives were when we were 18.

I actually felt sad about the things I found. I was happy to know we had them, but sad that Mike doesn't have the time to write or record anymore--at least not as much as he'd like to. I miss hanging out with Eric and listening to what he and Mike recorded on a Saturday. I miss having all the time in the world. I even miss my husband's long hair sometimes. I never thought I would miss any of these things, but I do.

We have to grow up and tend to our marriages and children, careers and households. While all of that is wonderful, I wish we still could set aside time to be those kids again--to create, to appreciate each other, to just hang out once in a while. We all need that outlet, whether it's music or writing or art--and I think we'd be better spouses and parents and friends if we keep that small part of our old selves alive.

P.S. Part of what brought me to post this are the mixes Mike made last week. He enjoyed doing this so much, I think he should definitely keep going, and dust off his guitar while he's at it.

Posted by jenny at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been going to bed before 10 o'clock lately. I will take Evan upstairs to bed, and while I lay with him trying to get him to fall asleep, I doze off as well. He's been staying up later than usual since the time change, and try as I might he won't go to bed until it's dark out. So by the time we head to bed, I think we're both pretty wiped out. Mike will usually stay up until after midnight, watching tv or on the computer. He complains that I don't come back downstairs, but I think he secretly enjoys the quiet time to himself.

Mike came to bed around 1 tonight, and I've been up since. I laid awake for a few minutes before coming downstairs, and now here I am. It's much cooler down here than it is in our bedroom--it's been so long since I've been warm like that, I almost forgot what that was like. But we still have a few windows open, even in the middle of the night, and it's nice to feel a little breeze for once. Every year I'm amazed at how quickly we shift from winter to summer around here.

I know I'm going to be awful in the morning if I don't go back to sleep, but I am enjoying the quiet and the cool right now. Maybe I'll stay down here for a while. Watch for tomorrow's bitchy post if I do.

Posted by jenny at 01:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Evan and I were up in Erie today for a few hours while Mike worked a rare Saturday at the college. My dear son and I didn't like the idea of spending the whole day at home without Daddy, so we headed north for a bit of shopping and play time outside at Grandpa's. It was warm and sunny and we enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon.

My dad and I played ball and ran around the yard with Ev for a few hours, and we also took him across town to my grandmother's house to visit the ducks and rabbit. We finished the day at the playground behind Chestnut Hill--a favorite spot of mine when I was a kid. It's a totally different place than it was then. The big wooden play structures have been replaced with sleek colored metal tubing and plastic slides--an improvement, but definitely not what I remember (I carved my name above the monkey bars once--now it's gone).

Ev and I went to that playground a few times last summer and he had fun, but was a little small for some of the equipment. Not so today, as he was able to manage almost everything with no help from me. He climbed and jumped and slid and ran, and it was easy to see how much he has grown over the last few months. He even used the big kid swings instead of those baby bucket ones (though, to be fair, he used those too).

It was so strange to be at that playground with my father and my son today. My dad could still see my brothers playing there when they were small, and I remembered the picnics that Penny, Julie, Cara and I used to have at the top of the wooden castle. And I could see a younger Evan too, so unsure of himself and needing someone to help him up the ladder, changing into this confident Evan who can do it all by himself.

How many summers have passed since I used to play there, that now my son does? Sometimes I just can't believe it. I pointed to J.S. and told Evan, "that's where Mommy went to school". That parking lot is where Mommy and Daddy had their first kiss too, but I think I'll wait until Ev's a little older to share that one with him. It's nice to be so close to those memories, that they can still be part of my life. Our little corner of the world, to share with our parents and our children. I feel very lucky for that.

Posted by jenny at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This week is crazy, because it's sunny and beautiful but cold. Not cold like January cold, but cool enough that we need jackets and can't open the windows. This confuses the hell out of Evan, because sunshine = warm in his book. It makes for interesting days.

Yesterday, Ev actually tried to walk to his favorite playground, which is about 5 miles from our house. Sometimes I wonder about this kid. He knows directions now--when we're out driving, he'll point and sign when he wants us to turn. He knows the turns off the highway to get to all of his grandparent's houses, and tells us where to go. It's wild.

Evan was seen by the OT at school yesterday. I'm still concerned about his extreme oral defensiveness, and I wanted them to have a look at him. He still won't even attempt to drink out of a regular cup, and if he sees one of us drinking out of a cup, he'll gag. The OT saw him, and her advice was to just let him keep drinking out of a sippy cup, and he'd transition when he was ready. Yeah, thanks, that was a big help.

I'm so afraid that we're just letting too much slide--that one day he's going to be 6 and trying to start regular school and they'll say, "why didn't anyone address these problems when he was younger?" He can't drink out of a sippy forever, or avoid kids eating fruit for the rest of his life. But I'm not sure what else we can do.

We also got news about his summer schedule for school this week. Between the first week of June and the beginning of September, it looks like they're only having school for about three weeks. Wow. I knew it was going to be a modified schedule, but I didn't know it was going to be that modified. It's not good, because I'm sure he'll unlearn just about everything we've done so far and it will be that much harder getting him back to school in the fall. This totally sucks.

Oh well, at least we'll have some vacation time, right?

Posted by jenny at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another week down, and nothing too remarkable happened. Mike's still doing a great job of getting Evan to speak, and I'm trying to make sure he uses the words and signs he knows to tell us what he wants. It's a slow process, but as long as we're moving forward I'm happy with that.

Yesterday I was feeling rather crummy, and Mike came home from work at lunch time to be with Evan so I could get some rest. Ev enjoyed spending an unexpected day with Daddy, and I enjoyed a long nap. It was nice to kind of check out for a while and know that someone else would take care of things. That did the trick too because I'm feeling fine today. Mike actually makes a pretty decent nursemaid, though I could have done with some more food service in bed. Make a note.

Mike's out at the movies with some of his buddies this evening, and I've had a pretty quiet night myself (after Ev went to bed, of course). I got to talk on the phone a bit, watch some tv, and just relax. Tomorrow (actually, today) is my brother's fiancee's bridal shower, so I'll be gone most of the day for that. It should be a good time--we've all been looking forward to Steve and Stacey's wedding for nearly a year now, and it's going to be fun to finally begin the festivities. I can't believe the wedding itself is only two months away now. Time to begin training Evan in ring bearer protocol.

Well, that's enough for now, I'm off to bed.

Posted by jenny at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I swear, it's starting to feel like every day is the same. Aside from random blizzards, things are feeling very routine. Time to shake it up a bit. But how do I do that? Any ideas? Somebody give me a thrill.

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me for Walk America so far. I've upped my goal twice because I keep getting pledges! I'm excited that everyone's willing to pitch in for the March of Dimes. Mike needs a little help still--both of our fundraising pages are linked on the right if you'd like to pledge.

Evan actually went to preschool today without crying all the way there. Holy crap, mark your calendar. And then he didn't want to leave, he was having too much fun. I thought for a moment he wasn't my child. In some ways he's acting so grown up lately, it just kills me.

I'm addicted to CNN's coverage of Pope John Paul II's passing. I have been watching constantly since Friday, and I can't seem to stop. I'm saddened at the loss of such a magnificent church and world leader, but it's more than that. I guess it's just fascinating for me to see the traditions and rituals surrounding the death of our pope. Even though I've been Catholic my entire life, there is so much I don't know about our history in that respect. I have learned quite a bit in the last few days. It's amazing how much cable news channels and the internet have changed the way the world learns of and reacts to events like this.

Evan's doing Book It! at preschool. Anyone remember that? I loved that when I was in school. Ev and I read a book together every day anyway, and now we write the titles down on little spiders for the classroom bulletin board. He's working his way toward a personal pan pizza. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Sorry for the totally random posts, but Mikaele complained that I don't update enough. See, this is what you get.

Posted by jenny at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My husband has had many jobs in his life--from fry cook to web administrator and a hundred things in between. He's an excellent father above all, and it seems lately that he's also becoming Evan's primary speech therapist.

Evan's picked up a bunch of new words and sounds, mostly due to Mike's prodding. He's got Mama and Dada and ball, cheese and poop and boob (don't ask). I try most of the day to get him to imitate me, to reproduce these sounds, and mostly I have very little success. But when Daddy comes home, it's a totally different story. Evan will say everything for Mike, whenever he asks.

He and Mike just have such a good relationship. They are buddies, and allies against a Mommy with too many rules. Because I spend all day teaching and disciplining Evan, he's so happy when Mike gets home. He knows that Mike will cut him some slack, and I think that makes him more willing to relax and try his speech. He wants to impress Daddy, and he usually does.

I don't like being the bad guy that has to enforce all the rules, but I am glad that Mike's around to balance me out. It's nice that he's able to encourage Evan's speech so much. I sense great accomplishments for Evan with Daddy's help--the two of them can't be stopped.

Posted by jenny at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)