Support Ovarian Cancer Research

*Updated to fix the link below*

I joined a team from my work participating in the Swedish SummeRun on July 26th (I'm participating in the 5K walk component). Ovarian cancer, while less common than breast cancer, is a very deadly disease. The symptoms are subtle, meaning that many women do not discover they have it until it is too late. Much less financial support has been provided to research of this cancer because it is less common than breast cancer.

If you'd like to support me, my website is here.

RIP Michael Jackson

Back in the mid-80's around the time when Thriller was cool, our cat Samantha had kittens. Of course my sister, Jaime, and I named all six. Our favorite was a fluffy little orange kitty, and we named him Michael Jackson. We were probably about 5 and 7 years old and loved watching MTV with our babysitter. We mastered the moon walk and made up dance routines to all our favorite songs, and if you get me really drunk and play Madonna's Like a Virgin or Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me, I might show you some of our moves.

Mom allowed us to keep Michael Jackson as we could never bear to part with at least one kitty from a litter (that is the foundation for crazy cat ladies, I know). Sadly, a short time later, he disappeared and we were told that he must have ran away. Skip forward twenty years. We're at a family dinner talking about our long-lost kitty, when my dad says, "oh you mean the kitten that our neighbor Kevin ran over?" That's right folks. Our parents lied to us all these years and Michael Jackson was really dead. I nearly cried.

I am not really going anywhere with this, other than to say that the music of the mid-80's really impacted my childhood for better or more likely for worse. And MJ, I'm sorry you had such a rough life and became a crazy pedophile. But that whole Thriller video was really cool.

I Prefer Babies who are Immobile

Other moms get excited when their babies crawl. Not me. Why you ask?

Well a crawling baby loves dog food. They love all cords. They love laptop computers. They love newspaper. They love to put these things in their mouth.

Crawling babies love to smack their heads on hardwood floors and then howl until you comfort them. Then they get big bruises for the world to see what a crappy parent you are. Then they do it all again 5 minutes later.

When you pick up the crawling baby they knock your can of diet coke off the counter. Because they love cans. Then you have to clean up the sticky pop with a towell with your foot because you cannot put the crawling baby on the floor because you don't want them covered in diet coke.

Crawling babies discover the dog door. They start playing with the flap. Pretty soon they'll be escaping through it causing you to have to seal it off. Which in turn upsets the already downtrodden dog who lost his place as baby of the family and who can no longer access his food because it is covered by a laundry basket.

Crawling babies like baby toys. But even more fun are dog toys. Like disgustingly dirty stuffed animals and pig hoofs. They also like to put these things in their mouths.

Crawling babies like to make it impossible for their parents to get anything done because they must divert attention from some life-threatening activity to a safe one about once every minute.

About the only thing worse than a crawling baby is a walking baby, because then they can reach about a foot higher.

Father's Day Weekend

Jeramy had a good Father's Day weekend, I think. Nothing fancy. I made breakfast (crepes, bacon and eggs) and gave him a card from Jillian and a card from Cujo. Later in the day we stopped by my dad's house and then went to Jeramy's dad's house for a BBQ. It was our second BBQ of the weekend actually, although the weather did not really hold up for such festivities. Luckily we have mastered the art of evening gatherings with Jillian, and I have learned to put her in pajamas before leaving so that we can just transfer her from the car seat to her crib when arriving home. It works great actually, and I'd almost consider doing that every night if it didn't preempt bathtime which is becoming more and more necessary thanks to finger foods.

So hopefully Jeramy enjoyed his day, because he really is an awesome dad. Jillian does prefer him to me without a doubt. It was especially apparent at the BBQ's. When he'd enter a room she would immediately want him, and if he left a room she'd cry (especially if she were tired and the closer to bedtime it got the louder she'd cry!). And who can blame her really. He tosses her in the air, helps her do flips, teaches her how to stand on her own, and is an all around good time. Mom, on the other hand, is certainly doing her best to fulfill the role of bad cop.

Jillian is constantly in motion these days. It isn't just the crawling and the pulling up on everything either. Even just trying to put her pajamas on her at night has become mission impossible. Every damn snap pattern is different and trying to figure it out with a twisting, kicking, screaming infant lengthens the time necessary for dressing infinitesimally. Why did those parenting classes waste my time with breathing exercises? They should have given me some robotic baby and make me spend hours trying to dress it. That would have actually been useful!

Meanwhile Jeramy has been doing trim work, and I have actually finished a knitting project. Check it out...

Okay, I'm Jealous

So today, while I was hard at work do you want to know what Jeramy was doing? Taking Jillian on a playdate to the zoo with friends Shanna and Darby. He dragged fellow unemployed dad Clint along for good measure. It looks like they had fun.

I do feel a little bit better knowing that he is stuck putting up crown molding all day tomorrow!

The Carousel rules...

What my ever-responsible husband does (note he did follow all except rule #1). For the video go here.

Sorry Girls, He's Mine

I guess Jeramy could have been wasting away his unemployed days playing video games, but luckily he is no sloth. Instead the addition is starting to look like an actual bedroom. Drywall is done. Floors reinforced. Walls and ceiling textured and painted. Now he has moved on to trim work and the carpet and some new furnishings are on order. Home Depot has been visited several times a week. It is going to be a huge, wonderfully luxurious getaway of a bedroom. Too bad that the other two bedrooms are so small, but hey I don't want my kids so comfortable that they stick around well into their twenties anyhow.

I love having a handy hubby!

How Mobility Changes Things

Last night we were eating dinner when Jeramy looked around and said, "where's our daughter?"

I stand up and scan the living/dining/kitchen areas. No baby.

I walk to the hallway. No baby.

I walk past the bathrooms and Jillian's bedroom. No baby.

I'm starting to panic. Did she figure out the dog door or something.

I go into our bedroom and hear a bit of rustling. I turn into the walk-in closet and there she is.

She's been crawling for maybe two weeks and is in full exploration mode. It seems that we must get into the habit of closing doors. Or paying better attention. But damn, I was hungry!

Growing Increasingly Alarmed

In the past few weeks, Jillian has been hitting new milestones at a rather accelerated rate. First she figured out how to get from being on her stomach to sitting. Admittedly that was a rather exciting development since it meant that we no longer had to upright her whenever she grew tired of her belly and began howling. Then the crawling began, and her new found mobility was both exciting and exhausting.

But then, we turned out backs for a second and found her like this:


And a couple days later I came into her room to find her like this (yes we're lowering her mattress pronto):


Then today she crawled behind me to the baby gate at the top of the stairs. I looked over to see this:

She just has far more confidence than I'm comfortable with. She's not afraid to get hurt either (she doesn't enjoy it but that that doesn't stop her from trying again). I'm starting to grow worried that the authorities will be called because just as soon as one forehead bruise goes away she manages to acquire another.

8 Months Old and On the Move

At 8 months old, Jillian is officially on the move. I always expected her to go through some extended army crawling or scooting phase, but it never happened. When she finally figured crawling out it would be perfect or nothing. About six weeks ago when we were in Alabama she first began getting on her hands and knees and rocking. Then last week she almost simultaneously figured out how to go from being on her stomach to sitting and how to move forward. Over the past week she has perfected her crawl and discovered that she can actually cross entire rooms in that manner. Meanwhile Jeramy and I have began babyproofing and breaking out the pack n play (aka baby jail) as she discovers one new hazard after another. And poor Cujo. He can't get away any more. He'll be contentedly sleeping when Jillian will crawl up and yank his tags or steal his toys. Plus he now has to go outside to eat his food.

Crazy 8's

Sunny tagged me for crazy 8's. I'm generally horrible when it comes to responding to being tagged, but since I don't want her to feel miffed and refuse future cupcake dates I figured I would join in the fun. Plus I don't quite have the energy for real post although there is much to be said on exciting topics from teething to crawling.

So here we go...

The rules (not that I'm any good at following rules):

1. Mention the person who tagged me.
2. Complete the lists of 8.
3. Tag 8 more bloggers and tell them they've been tagged.

The lists of 8:

Eight things I'm looking forward to
1. Seeing Green Day in July
2. Staying the night in a hotel after the Green Day concert...baby free!!!
3. Summer weather in Seattle. It has even started early this year
4. Moving into our new master bedroom. Mudding and taping has commenced and now it is time to start shopping paint colors.
5. Having a nice, cool basement for those hot summer evenings
6. The arrival of Jillian's teeth, which will hopefully be accompanied by getting a full night of sleep consistently
7. River fishing this fall. The pink salmon are running this year (they run every other year), which means it should be a lot of fun.
8. The arrival of my yarn order so that I can make this.

Eight things I did yesterday
1. Work.
2. Slept in the vanpool on the way home. That accomplishes two things: catching up on my lack of sleep and ignoring my annoying van-mates.
3. Folded laundry
4. Shared a popsicle with Jillian. She is waaayyyy into popsicles these days.
5. Worked on knitting this sundress for Jillian. (sorry the link only works if you have a Ravelry account).
6. Fed Jillian a jar of carrots/apples/mangos for dinner. I say ewww but she thought it was yummy.
7. Took a half hour walk around the south end of Lake Union on my lunch break.
8. Watched The Happening with Jeramy. I'm still feeling more than a little creeped out.

Eight things I wish I could do
1. Lose weight while eating anything and as much as I wanted.
2. Afford to hire a maid service
3. Keep plants alive (I'm trying again this summer...we'll see how it goes)
4. Relax and let things go
5. Drive competently
6. Dress with sophistication as opposed to slop
7. Get on What not to Wear (for the vacation to NYC, free wardrobe and makeover and not so much the being made fun of on national TV)
8. Sleep eight hours every night

Eight shows I watch
1. Lost
2. Bones
3. Desperate Housewives
4. My Name is Earl
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. 30 Rock
7. Weeds
8. Big Love
Of course none of that is on right now so I spend my days watching TLC marathons and re-runs of M*A*S*H

Eight favorite fruits (thank God you didn't ask about vegis!)
1. Blueberries
2. Strawberries
3. Cherries
4. Raspberries
5. Grapes
6. Peaches
7. Kiwis
8. Marionberry pie...or strawberry rhubarb...or peach...or razzelberry...okay. Pie. Does that count?

Eight places I'd like to travel
1. Italy
2. England
3. France
4. Australia
5. Ireland
6. The Caribbean
7. Any place in Hawaii besides Waikiki
8. Alaska. But this time during a good salmon season.

Eight places I've lived
1. SeaTac, Washington
2. Normandy Park, Washington
3. Des Moines, Washington
4. Maple Valley, Washington
That's it. I've lived in South King County my entire life, and only in 4 places. Unless you start counting week long vacations, you can't get 8 responses from me in this category.

Tagging: I tag Jennifer, Cece, Jenn, Nicky, Nancy, JaimeD, Jewels and Kelly. You're sooooo welcome!