Lunch break

Today I was rolling into my third day of headache. At first, I thought it was another sinus infection rearing its head. I did the neti thing and the Zyrtec and went to bed. None of that seemed to do much. After a bit of investigation (let's be honest, one can get addicted to WebMD), I have decided that I get tension headaches. My mother was prone to terrible migraines and, while I have thus far escaped these, I too suffer from headaches that are best treated by an early bedtime.

Today after sharing my hypothesis with Mike he said, "Sounds about right. Maybe you should try to relax." Brilliant deduction Holmes. Why hadn't I thought of that?

But, the more I thought about it the more I realized he was probably right. Even though my motto lately at work has been, "it's just paper," translating that into behavior is easier said then done. So at lunch today, I took Mike's advice. I found an equally stressed (and likable) coworker and told her we needed to go for a walk. We both brought our lunch, but couldn't bear to spend another day eating something reheated while hunched over our computers.

I have to say... it worked. I felt better all afternoon. I think this is going to be a new lunch tradition. If nothing else, I need to step away from things for 30 minutes or so in the middle of the day and regroup.

A baby, a fence and a tomato

This weekend was a success. It was actually full of multiples successes.

Mike and I had a great date on Friday. We ate sushi and just talked. With the endless house projects, we don't spend much time sitting around. It was a great way to start the weekend.

On Saturday, we got up early and headed to Clarendon Hills to babysit Zach. Angela was in Rhode Island racing hard and David needed to finish up his investor report at work. We had so much fun with Zach. We went on a walk, took a trip to the grocery store, and played hard. Mike and I have always been good partners and it is fun to see how our parenting roles are naturally evolving, as well. While I spent time cuddling (Zach is working on his fifth (or one endless) cold and teething), reading and changing diapers; Mike was all over the place playing with blocks and trucks. My favorite part of the day was when Mike showed Zach his new juggling skills. The sweet little guy would just sit there staring wide eyed and with a full smile. Then, right at the end of each routine as the balls started to fall he would giggle. To top it all off, Mike kept saying, "I'm a clown." Mike and Zach also have this new routine where Mike points at Zach and says "You the man!" Zach then points back at Mike and smiles at himself. David scolded Mike for teaching Zach to point, but I am secretly (except that I am posting this all over the internet) going to encourage it.

On Friday, I made an ambitious to-do list for our weekend. The big project was to remove the chain link fence that runs along the side of our driveway. When we were looking at this house, I said to Mike, "if we buy this place, that is coming out on day one." Well... it may be day 280 (or something like that), but it still feels like quite an accomplishment. I think our neighbors were thrilled as well. All of the posts were sunk in serious concrete (over 18" deep) and covered in some horrible plant. We still need to finish taking out some stumps, but it's an amazing improvement.

And last, a little surprise. As many of you know, I miss farm tomatoes. I tried to grow them last year in pots, but it didn't turn out very well. This year, I picked a spot with good soil and plenty of sun. The plants are thriving. Both have outgrown their cages once and are close to doing so again. (Which is bad news bears since I bought the largest ones I could find.) The plants are covered in buds, so it should be a delicious fall of BLTs!!! And, today the first little tomatoes appeared.

Our Tree

*Family and friends have reminded me that my blog is a great way for us to stay connected in a personal way that is difficult for all of us in our busy lives. As such, I have recommitted myself to letting you know what's new and interesting in our lives. I cannot promise that I will post every day, but I will be better about staying connected. So... here we go!


Today we bought a tree.

Mike and I found very early in our relationship that we are both Magnolia lovers. My grandparents had two southern magnolia trees in their beautiful yard. I remember the lovely white blooms and the rich, waxy leaves. Alas, these trees cannot survive in the cold Chicago winters. I had two magnolias growing up, full of bright pink blossoms. It was the perfect climbing tree (which, I managed to fall out of a few times). As soon as we bough our house last year, we knew we wanted to plant a magnolia in the front yard.

But, did you know about all of the different types of Magnolias? Turns out our local garden center did. They didn't make the choice easy. There were hard decisions to make. More like a tree or a bush? White flowers or pink flowers?

We settled on an Elizabeth Magnolia. This coming spring it should fill our lawn with beautiful yellow-white flowers. It's going in the ground next Saturday. I'll make sure to update with new front-yard photos

Welcome to Our House!

Root canal and a movie

About ten weeks ago I needed to get a crown. It wasn't a terrible experience, but it wasn't fun. Our dentist wasn't my favorite, but he seemed fine. But then, about two weeks ago, my tooth started to ache... to throb... searing stabs of pain. Accompanied only by a move, too much work, and a sinus infection (oh, goodie!).

It was at that point, that I decided it was time to find a new dentist. As I do whenever I need to find reliable information, I turned to the internet. After spending an hour or so reading reviews of dentists and checking out their websites, I settled on making an appointment with Dr. Shepstone in Glenview.

People! This is the dentist. You have a cavity? Cleaning? Oral surgery? I've got your guy.

I set up an appointment to have an exam and meet the dentists, as I wanted to test the waters after my last experience. I was immediately impressed with his professionalism and thoroughness. I was even reassured by the families in the waiting room. Call me crazy, but a waiting room with one of those block roller coasters, makes me feel like I belong.

Today, I went in for my root canal (because, yes, I needed one... not just a crown), and I wasn't disappointed. The appointment started with my dentist explaining that I would be wearing movie goggles during the entire appointment and he would place a guard in my mouth to hold my jaw open so it wouldn't get tired. What? I'd never heard of such fancy gadgets. They got started by numbing me up something fierce. At three points, he stopped to ask about my comfort level. At the half-way mark, we took a 10 minute break to let my jaw relax. And, they gave me pain medication before I left so that when the local anaesthetic wore off, I wouldn't be in any pain.

While I am sure I have a few painful hours and nights ahead, it was a fairly painless experience. That, and Score is still a pretty good movie!


p.s. - if you need a new dentists... GO HERE! http://www.glenviewfamilydentist.com/

p.s.s. - I'm working on the house pictures right now!

Interesting night...

Question:
What do you get when you live near a forest preserve and you put out trash in a can without a lid?

Answer:
An opossum adventure.

At approximately 3:30 this morning, a band of opossum toppled the trash can and started on a trash bag. At approximately 3:45 this morning, the cats were alerted to the situation and started going crazy. At approximately 3:47 this morning, the opossum called his friends and the motion light started going on and off on and off on and off - shining directly in our window. At approximately 3:50 this morning, one opossum found the fried chicken and all hell broke loose.

Have you ever heard opossums fight? It sounds like they are ripping each other apart. And then the cats were REALLY going crazy.

We went back to sleep at about 4:30. Mike picked up quite a mess this morning. We are purchasing the world's best garbage can on our way home tonight.

Home ownership is fun!

Yeah, yeah...

I promise we will get everyone an update in the next day or two. I also promise that we have before and after photos coming soon!

Stay tuned...