This is Halloween...

Or at least, fairly close to it. I'll have pics of Boo at my work once she gets here Friday. Should be a lot of fun... Fred will be bringing her to my work for lunch, where I can show her off and let people fawn all over her. Which she loves.

This last week has been rather harsh for our poor Boo. She had 4 teeth decide to come through pretty much all at once. Three of them are completely broken through, but there's one more that's pushing on a particularly sensitive nerve. She was up all day yesterday (got about an hour or so of a nap, though we tried several times to put her down for one), and finally crashed aroun 7:30 or so last night (we put her in her crib at 6:45 - she was so tired she had bright red eyes, was rubbing them every 3 minutes, but still refused to go to sleep until I got her a dose of children's pain med and some orajel)...

On the up-shot, she slept better last night - woke up for a quick change and new bottle at 11:30, and for about 3 minutes at 4:30, whereupon she found a bottle all on her own and decided she didn't want mama, just the bottle - and went back to sleep. Yay me.

I'm working on final touches to my costume, a German Ren dress. I'll post pics of that, too. I have 1 chemise - the itchy one - that will work for it, so I'm hoping that at some point prior to the new year, I will be able to make another 2-3 of them that will work for everything. One can hope.

Steve is wanting us in for more pro pics... Going to have to find time to do that soon.

~M

Over the Weekend...

Fred, Ronnie and Boo went to the Harvest Festival at the TV Parks and Recreation center where we normally go for belly dance lessons. I would have gone, but for this little fella here:

who decided to make an entrance Saturday evening, after having his mama checked into the hospital at 6 in the morning... Actually, technically speaking, Mama was in hard labor for a good 36 hours prior to Hayden Riley Anderson showing up. And a stubborn boy, too, since he ended up being taken by c-section (head was just a wee bit too big). So, he was born at 9:30pm, weighed exactly at 9 lb, and has feet almost 4 inches long at birth!

As I was mama's birthing coach, I was there for most all of it, except the last 1/2 hour, when she was wheeled into the OR for the c-section and I went home and checked on her the next day.

Welcome to the world, baby boy! You'll soon be terrorizing everyone. :-)

All I want for Christmas...

Well, ok - it's not ALL I want for christmas, but it would make for a great start. LOL...


There's a great synopsis at Powells about the book. I caught a few pages while riding on the bus a few days ago, and have been fascinated about it since... Go figure.

So, there you go - if you can get a hold of a copy, I'd like one.

That is all...

Getting ready for Halloween...

This year being Boo's first Halloween, we had contemplated several different costumes for her. I'd thought perhaps a ladybug, or maybe a little fairy - but Fred had the best idea: to be her accessory as a pirate, and turn her into a Scarlet Macaw:


We also made a hood for her, so that she would be warm that evening, since it's notoriously cool in late October... Daddy put it on, but it was a little more form-fitting than the costume:


Totally adorable!

~M

Quilting taken to new heights...

Compassionate Quilters is a volunteer group that makes lap quilts for the OHSU Palliative Care Program. Four times a year they gather on campus and create beautiful quilts for patients and their families, to assist them with the end-of-life transition. Quilts are also available for patients with difficult, chronic illnesses or challenging medical conditions.

To sustain its efforts, the group needs more help. Not strong at sewing? If you want to learn or improve, this could be the ticket. Help is also needed with ironing fabric, cutting pieces, and tying quilts.

Next time you clean out closets and shelves, keep in mind that Compassionate Quilters also needs donations of 100% cotton fabric and lightweight batting, size 50" x 38". Bring such finds to Laura Topp, OHSU Hospital, Unit 10A, Rm 10A93.

The next compassionate Quilters meeting is Saturday, November 1st, from 9am to 4pm, at OHSU Hospital, 14B20. Drop in anytime, and stay as long as you like. For more information, please contact Paula Huelskamp, at 503 494 8311 (ask for her).

OHSU is located on top of Marquam Hill, in Portland Oregon. Their address is:

3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd
Portland, OR 9739

If you would like to send contributions ot the Compassionate Quilters, add Laura Topp's mailcode, which is UHS8EO, to the address, just under the street address line.

Thanks!

~M

An update, and new pics of Boo

Got a care package from my sister and my mother last night – apparently they tried to drop it off Saturday while we were at the Greek Festival (no one was there to take it), so they tried again on Monday, and thankfully J, our fearless babysitter was there to take it. LOL. Tried to put some pink cowgirl boot slippers on Boo, and she wanted none of it, thankyouverymuch – she’s not much on footgear right now, though I think I’m going to have to put her in shoes soon, if only to get her to move toward walking – keeps curling toes to try and hold on, and it just un-balances her more. So, if I get a pair of shoes on her that stay on, she should be going no problem. She is currently taking 1-4 steps at a time while holding onto something, then heading back down onto hands and knees and going like gangbusters after the cat. Poor cat. He isn’t sure what to make of this new-and-improved, mobile “kitten”. Most times he’s able to skitter away, but there have been a few times where he’s not quite fast enough. He bats at her gently (no claws) when she gets too intrusive, and she normally will simply go a different direction. She’s imitating him, now, which also confuses him. LOL.

She is still having night terrors some nights, and others it’s fine. Have no clue, other than perhaps she’s so overly stimulated that her brain refuses to shut off and the dreams are very real – difficult to deal with at her age because she can’t do anything but howl and scream without explanation. Was up until almost 9 last night trying desperately to keep awake and not go back to sleep… Finally conked out and didn’t wake up until 5:45 this morning, soaking wet and grinning. She’s so perky and happy in the morning, it’s disgusting. Changed, fed, and popped back into her crib with a “ok, let mommy go back to sleep for a little while – you be quiet and play”, and she did. She is amazingly smart, I have to say. Kind of a blessing, and at the same time, kind of a curse. LOL.

Have found recently that she likes greek food. *chuckle* We went to the festival, and she was insisting that I give her whatever I was eating. So, I popped a bit of pita bread into her mouth, and she munched on that… then she wanted some more, and more, and more… I ended up giving her small bites of pita, a little bit of ground lamb, and a little bit of chewed up chicken, whatever I was eating, basically. She was in her sling and attached to my front, so it looked like I had a little baby bird on my front. Whenever the hand went anywhere near her face, she’d open her mouth “Ahhh!” and beg for food. VERY funny. Pita has become the new go-to snack food for her. Good for her gums to work against without being horribly hard, very saliva-soluble, and good for her to boot. Can’t beat it. And she can feed herself – mostly… She’s getting the pincer down, which is awesome.

Found out last night that she likes broccoli, too. Had broccoli, carrots and cheese combo, and she mowed down on that for a good 15 minutes. Definitely loves her veggies.