Moving to Tumblr....

I have decided to bifurcate my blogging.  I will try out tumblr.  I really find it a fantastic platform.

http://katrinachristiansen.tumblr.com/

Aquaman and a bottle of Pernod

So the big news (that surely overshadows another win by the Huskers) to share is that Henry put himself to sleep last night for the first time [with me home]. He must have found his teddy after we left his room because I found the teddy next to Henry when I started my nightly rounds. This success was preceded by a week of bedtime battles and 3 am terrors. Max was away the whole week in West Virginia, helping to save the Trichechus manatus (manatees) that have started to live around power plant cooling water discharge points. Henry would often ask, "Where is Dada?" I would explain where he was and what he was doing and Henry would respond by commenting on Max's transportation, "Big airplane, flew, air, big airplane" or that Max was going to return with, "Big present, Henry's"

The day before Max left, we attended a swim birthday party for a couple of pre-schoolers, one just a month younger than Henry. At first Henry wanted nothing to do with the pool; he wouldn't even let me change his pull-up to a swimmer. We just stood a safe distance from the pool and watched adults and kids play and swim. The birthday boy, with a coast guard approved life vest, was jumping in the water from a boulder near the edge of the pool and spinning in circles in the 8ft deep part of the pool! I started to play with Henry's toys right at the water's edge and not too long after Henry had found his inner Aquaman and let loose in the water (obviously, with me hovering/catching/chasing/splashing etc.) and ended the night not wanting to leave the pool. He truly loved it, I could see it in his face, he was laughing and smile right up to us forcing him into the car. We are going to look into swim lessons for him.

I think if you were to ask someone from Alabama, "What is the best thing about Alabama?" More that 50% would probably mention Alabama or Auburn football (you could guess their answer by checking for blue/orange or red/white preferences) and the other 45% would probably say the cultural events or places: Hot Air Balloon Festival or the Space and Rocket Center or Civil Rights monuments. And another 1% that are nerds would say the biodiversity and geography. But me, I have to say, the only thing I love, absolutely, positively love about Alabama are the kids. Everyday we drop Henry off at his school, we are always greeted by these darling, caring twins, Jyra and Kyra (who are always dressed to the nines and know it). They bring Henry his favorite toys because they know it comforts him. They and Henry's other classmates are so generous with their kindness; hugging, sharing, and showing things to us. There is this little boy named William, who always is a little bit late coming up to the three of us when we arrive, he will most assuredly have a ball in one hand and something sticky and gooey on the other which makes hugging him, well, challenging. Henry has begun to mention his classmates outside school. Henry often will explain that he played ball with William when we pick him up. At the park earlier this week in the evening, Henry found an orange barrette and ran up to me and showed it to me and said, "Jyra, Jyra." I explained it was like what Jyra wears but was likely not hers (and thought to myself, she would never wear that shade of orange).

Perhaps the most exceptional interaction I have had with a child was this week at the library. Henry and I were sitting at the Lego table building ships and planes and houses and robots, and they all end up in a really tall awkward tower that Henry is continually adding to or taking from. This little four year old girl, who we have had join us at the Lego table once before, approached the table and stood next to Henry and stared at him and just beamed with this goodness and joy; she reached up her little plump hands to gently hold Henry's cheeks and smiled. She took her hands off of Henry's cheeks and turned to me and with the most sincere voice and look of happiness said, "He is so beautiful."

I cried when I retold that story to Max that night over the phone. I my mom has often said it, but children really are so special and have such a unique view of the world and we are so lucky when they share it with us.

This week I am reading "The Once and Future king" by TH White inspired by this. I am surprised at how funny it is. I was not surprised however, to find that Wart was a bastard, which Disney left out of the movie, "The Sword and the Stone." I just kind of wish I had one of my high school English teachers handy to help me remember the legend of King Arthur a little bit better. But I love Merlin, who keeps house a bit like me.


It is still hot here, Florence and the Machine are wrong, the Dog Days are still on.

Cookies and Resignation.

Henry and I made pancakes and cookies on Saturday. He absolutely loves breaking eggs. I had a really hard time not letting him eat the choc chip cookie dough because Max kept coming into the kitchen and taking pinches of the cookie dough and eating it. When the cookies cooled a bit after coming out of the oven, Max offered a whole cookie to Henry, who took it and attempted to shove the whole thing in his mouth. Max cried, "Don't put the whole thing in your mouth!" After Henry finished, Max asked, "Was that cookie delicious?" Henry replied, "Di-di-slush. More, Please." Henry has reached the height were he can now reach things on the edge of the counter. I can help think it is darling when I catch him on his tip toes trying to reach for a cookie or tear off a piece of freshly baked bread.

Up until recently we have been pretty relaxed about potty training, but now we are trying to establish a routine of trying to have Henry go at home. When Henry would successfully go potty on the toilet, Max and I clap and exclaim "You did it! Henry did it! Good Job!" trying to be positive. However, now whenever we ask if Henry wants to go potty, Henry will clap his hands and say "I did it! I did it!" He has somehow jumped from being asked the question to the reward without needing to do anything. I have yet to resort to any other reward system as I am sure Henry will discover a way to manipulate it like this kiddo.

In my previous posting, I eluded that I had something serious I wanted to write about. It is not anything surprising, that is if you know me. I recently heard this story (here is the study on which it is based). I find it incredibly frustrating to have grown up being told by countless adults (teachers & parents), Public Service Announcements and feminists, that you can be anything you want, you can make your dreams come true if you just work hard enough. Today, I am not buying it. Look at the data. It saying, you can try; you can try to be mom; have a career, and guess what you are still going to make less than your average educated white male. I began questioning these lies when I heard this interview on Fresh Air with Ayelet Waldma, who is mystery writer that had been a lawyer before having children, in which she expresses,

"So I'm 44 years old, and I think I'm part of the first generation of women raised by these feminist mothers. And when I first was feeling so frustrated and depressed and angry about being stuck at home, I really kind of turned on that message, and I said, you know, this was a lie. This whole thing was a lie. We can't have it all. "

(I should, note she has let go of her anger about this as she has gained perspective and a profitable writing career.)

The second thing that has caused me to question this idea was the reading of "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book, the author attempts to understand how people come to be successful. He does not document the success stories of any women...I can't say why, I can only assume (which we all know can be dangerous).

And beyond all of things I have read and heard...I feel based on my current mother/PhD student situation, trying to finish research, potty training Henry and applying for a new job, I can't have it all. And then I can't help wondering, that I do not really need it all, but is that resigning?

and right before I was to publish this post, my pal Hedda, posted this blog. Cosmic Irony. I will have to ponder these rules and how they affect my "You can't have it all" feminism funk.

3 parts Comedy -- 1 part Tragedy

When I publish a blog post I think that the posting more times than not should definitely have a high ratio of things funny/silly to things serious or abstract. Life is way too short to not laugh a whole lot. However, my mood greatly affects my ability to objectively assess the ratio, sometimes. This time I am going to track it.

1) Tuesday morning madness: Stacked on top of the usual morning obstacles was Max leaving for Raleigh, NC to attend a brain trust meeting later that afternoon and dun, dun, dun (dramatic look) a pet related incidence. Dog bed sprinkled with Mona poop? No. Did Nero puke on another one of Max's beloved Wetland Playa books? No. (But that did happen last Thursday). Did I step in a giant puddle of urine with newly donned socks? Yes, yes I did. Of course being a little annoyed, I groaned and started muttering to myself. Max upon hearing, called downstairs to ask what had happened. I exclaimed that I had stepped in a urine puddle in the downstairs bathroom. Max, immediately trying to peg it on one of the cats, asked, "when did you last clean out the catboxes?" I yell back even with greater annoyance as I am cleaning up the mess, "It is a giant puddle! There is no way it was one of the cats, it would of have to been a herd of cats to leave that much behind." But thankfully the rest of the morning was nice.

2) When Max goes away, I usually take the opportunity to watch a movie that Max would never watch. I picked "Date Night," last night with Tina Fey. I am so glad Max wasn't here. I thought is was wonderful, not the best movie, but fun. I laughed really hard when the cars were stuck together. I even cried when the Steve Carrell's character was making a plea to Mark Walberg's character, he was so sweet.

3) Henry is in love with watching Caillou, a Canadian cartoon. Max and I like Caillou because it is all about sharing and learning. However, we have only been able to find two DVDs to rent and so watching the same episodes over and over is testing my sanity. I find myself singing, "I'm growing up, I'm growing up." We may even take on Canadian accents if we keep up with this newest development.

4) The fountain of things funny and silly is still flowing...for example I just found Melissa&Joey on Hulu, it is like Clarissa Explains it All/Sabrina the teenage witch/Blossom/Who's the Boss all in one show. Love it. Ethics lessons in 1/2 hour sessions is so refreshing.

However, I do have some more serious things to mention:

1) Finished reading "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins. Phenomenal is all I can say without giving away too much. It was so well written and now I keep thinking of Katniss and this Neko Case song, I wish I was the Moon, which has this stanza:

God blessed me, I'm a free man
With no place free to go
I'm paralyzed and collared-tight
No pills for what I fear

This is crazy
I wish I was the moon tonight

And I do have another serious thingy I want to tackle, but for now I think I will just put in my pocket until it burns a hole...
Peace.
I mean that.

Monkey See, Monkey Do: Twitter.

When I started this blog, I had this idea I would share Alabama experiences which have been limited due in part to the confining heat. However, this last week was like a hot week in Iowa or Nebraska, you do not immediately start sweating once going outdoors but jeans are still not a good idea; it is tolerable in shorts and t-shirt. Additionally, school started here and so now we are suddenly living in a city with 25,000 hip, college kiddos. Since the invasion, I have noticed the college student vehicle of choice is a JEEP, the real kind with the roof that detaches. There has also been a growing number of Hummer sightings (H2's mostly). Nike shorts galore, every girl wears them in all colors of the rainbow, they are the Uggs of the south. I just want to take a moment to complain (I know, big surprise) about the drivers here. They are terrible. They drive too quickly, text, cut into lanes when making left hand turns and now with the college students here the problem has grown by nearly 25k times.

We are waiting for our first game day in town, which is the 4th of Sept. What will become of us? There are tiger signs everywhere, directing "game day" traffic this way and that. No RV parking signs. I am not sure I mentioned this before but I have seen churches with tiger mascots...I find that a little alarming. Could this be a crazier place than Lincoln, NE on a game day?

I am sure many of you are aware of the deep love I have for NPR. Well, my cup runneth over...NPR has a Pop culture blog called Monkey See. The writers and contributors on the blog are witty and intelligent. I recommend you check out their weekly podcast, Pop Culture Happy Hour. Hilarious yet informative. It is like having Jason and Tamara Hancock over to play scrabble, eat chocolate molten cakes and drink blood orange martinis. In fact, I joined Twitter so I could follow "my friends" from the PCHH on twitter which turned out to be a really serendipitous act of stalking because I found my friend Hedda on twitter. I then discovered Hedda's blog which I think has to be one of the most beautiful blogs that occasionally is tatooed with vet school photos of (insert latin word with gential or cyto or something with only a half a jaw). Could I write another sentence with twitter mentioned three times? Sure, but I will spare you.

I do however want to share this cosmic like wish that someday my brother will meet Linda Holmes, NPR's entertainment blog editor, he will dazzle her with his vast knowledge of all tv shows and movies ever made. (Remember my Adamisms?) They both love "How I met your Mother." I think they are solemates. She even likes football; Vikings football (sorry Dan).

And because I only have one brother, I am going to be extremely picky about who I pick to be my sister in law. :)

Found: Lost Harmonica and Husker Pride

I know that everyone's Mondays are manic. But today was a super, special Manic Monday for us.
This morning, I found Henry's harmonica which Henry would definitely put in his plus column, while I might put in the glad for Henry/possible migraine trigger column (just kidding, I love Henry's music). I have been looking for this harmonica for a long time, since before we moved to Auburn from Ames. When we packed up Henry's room I tried to keep an eye out for it but never had any luck finding it.
I figured it had gone the way of my old GEM and the Rocker's Doll; it was swallowed by the vortex that swallows only the best/beloved toys and are never seen again.

That is not the case for this lucky Harmonica. What follows is truthful description of Operation Harmonica Recovery:

"Dear!" Hollers Max from the upstairs to me downstairs.

"Yes" I reply, internally processing what I could have done/not done that Max would break his own rule of yelling between floors. Did I remember to flush? Did not put my floss in the bin? Did Isabelle eat the bar of soap in the tub again?

"Did you remember to clean out the cat box?" Max yells.

"Yes, I did it yesterday!" I yell back, feeling a bit more relaxed, as this morning is garbage pick-up and Max is just checking...

"Are you sure?" Max calls.

"Yes." I yell back.

"Well, Mona is taking a dump on Isabelle's bed." Max yells. I hear Max trying to find the words to communicate to Mona that pooping on Isabelle's bed is not okay.

My reply, "Well, it is probably because Isabelle will not let Mona into the kitchen to get to the cat box." I go and retrieve the clean up materials and go upstairs and clean up the mess, which required that I remove Isabelle's bed cover. It is when I removed the cover that Henry's Harmonica fell to the floor, almost at Henry's feet, who is particularly interested in all things poop. Henry of course picks up with this pure look of joy and begins to play...the blues. I am fairly certain that most Mondays you will not find a cat pooping on a dog bed that results in the recovery of a most beloved toy. In the car ride to Henry's daycare, Max shared a hypothesis that Mona may be a repeat offender and Isabelle has been taking care of cleaning up the tootsie rolls; she has come to think it is like when housekeeping leaves a mint on a pillow at a hotel. I still have not figured out how the harmonica got inside Isabelle's bed, perhaps she does not care for Henry's music...

NCAA Football and Volleyball season is here! Yeah! I received an alumni ad from UNL's bookstore with this hoodie in it on Saturday. I liked it so much I sent text pictures of it to Wendy, my sister for her opinion and Leslie. Max thinks is not attractive. The more Max espouses his distaste for all things Scarlett and Cream the more I like it. GO HUSKERS! (you can find one like it at: http://www.bkstr.com/ProductDisplay/10001-10041-10287-39814107-1?demoKey=d)

The Real Housewives of Auburn, AL

Last weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday night we went out to eat with a bunch of people from Max's lab group/department at this place called Niffers. Henry really liked the restaurant for four reasons. One, they served breaded and fried cream corn and fried pickles. Two, they decorated the joint with antique toys and hung fish art from the ceiling-so he was able to point and identify a season of antiques roadshow objects for quite awhile. Three, they have a little kids area with legos (the bigger ones), a kitchen set, and a collection of toy cars. Four, Max's labmate, Phil, who shares Henry's excitement does about cars and trucks, was there and he listened and showed at least an equal level of excitement when Henry brought out his toy cars and his giant sticker book with only transportation stickers.

On Saturday, we, along with Wildlife Faculty member and his family, were invited over to the home of Max's labmate, Connor and his wife Cate, for North Carolina BBQ. Henry was loving it because there were "new" toys to play with. The food was great, Cate made this awesome vegan cornbread of which I had at least four pieces and Kelley made chocolate chip raisin bran bars of which I had at least three . I kind of felt a little embarrassed when Cate's daughter asked for more cornbread and Cate had to tell her there wasn't any let as I had just eaten the last piece.

(warning: this may be boring and ends a little cheesy)

And then on Sunday, we went to the UU in the morning and a Humanist Dinner that night. The UU service was lay lead and the topic was your hero, the individual leading the service had picked/thought of Richard Bach as their hero, who redefined hero to be someone who channels human energy. I have never read Richard Bach and do not think I will. (Max called him a Christian apologist and put right down there with CS Lewis-that is not a good standing in Max's view) I found the quotes of his that were shared to be mostly platitudes. The speaker also made a reference to the magical physical principles that allow planes to fly, as an engineer I cannot help but think of that being ridiculous.

The discussion following the lay leader's talk was interesting. Richard Bach apparently married a woman, had six, yes six, children with her and said you know, marriage is not for me and let her with the six kids. Then he married again, this time his soul mate, and they were married for 20 yrs during which he wrote about this woman being is soul mate a lot. Then, you guessed it, they divorced because he wanted to keep wandering and she wanted to retire but they were still soul mates. And then, even though Mr. Bach was against marriage and had already found his soul mate, he married a third time. So, Richard Bach's is kind of one of dead beat dad that fleas commitments but that image was washed away with being a free thinking, wandering soul writer/pilot. Someone in the audience pointed out that we should not judge Mr. Bach based on what we consider a normal, nuclear family and tried to justify Mr. Bach's path, by noting how much they love their family that had been created under nontraditional means. For myself, I cannot be so objective. I think he is a hypocrite (which CS Lewis was not) and would not meet my requirements for being a hero.

A hero to me would be someone who acts in a selfless manner, maybe someone like my dad, who gets up every morning before the sun to go work as a laborer, a job he enjoys but is intensely, physically demanding. It is not fancy, or glamorous, and my dad doesn't have a youtube video dedicated to nifty things he has said (I would like to point out my dad is quite clever, if you call and ask, "What are you up to?" his reply will be, "About six feet."), but damn his worked really hard along with my mother to give me and my siblings opportunities and find happiness. Maybe not a hero in the way of Martin Luther King, Jr...but a respectable degree of hero-ness can be assigned to hardworking, present fathers/mothers.

3 month incubation update

We have been in Alabama for three months! All of which have been incredibly hot and humid.

I guess we got of Ames at the right time; I hope for a speedy return to the status quo for my friends there.

I wanted to just write a quick update because my little man has been doing crazy cute things this last week. Yesterday, I made Martha Stewart's recipe for Hand Tomato Pies, I was transferring the baked pie from the muffin tin to a rack to cool and I saw Henry chewing something. At first I thought it was dog food or something I should have swept up, then I saw he was standing on his tiptoes and picking off pieces of the pie crust and eating it-totally ruining his dinner-but so cute. We took the tomato pies to a picnic at the park we like in Opelika. At the end of the picnic Max opened the sour cream we had brought to go with our grilled peaches. Henry, like my father, has tastes for wonderfully fatty things like mayonnaise, butter, cream, and more cream. Max was stirring the sour cream with a spoon, Henry grabbed the spoon and took a big, bite-probably thinking it is white and creamy looking-must be good. He was surprised and disappointed it wasn't a little sweet or like the Brown Cow Plain yogurt with the cream on top...Not a minute later, he tried to eat more white stuff, Miracle Whip (I am the lone MW lover in this house) that I was trying to apply to my sandwich (if you are a mom-you totally get why everyone else is ready for dessert and you are still working on making your sandwich) and was again disappointed.

Henry still wakes up a few times a night, requesting me by calling me to his room, "Mama! Mama!" Early Monday morning, I came into his room and lay down by him and said it was okay to go back to sleep, he snuggled up to me and said with an angelic voice, "Thank you, Mama." I am tearing up typing that...my boy can be so sweet. And, when we leave his room at daycare, he waves good-bye and calls out, "Bye, Friends."

I want a new phone, I am currently limping along with A's old phone. I also want an ipod, not to increase my level of coolness but I want to listen to podcasts and not use Max's ipod. But I have this incredibly tendency to lose my phone...

I also have the tendency to say the wrong thing, alot. This last weekend, I was complaining about not really being able to socialize with anyone other Max. I kind of feel like I am on Gilligan's island. Anyway, I might have said something about how I can't talk to him about everything or maybe I said that I do not tell him everything...big mistake. Of course, he was offended. He said he tells me everything. I tried to explain that I can't talk to him about clothes and he replied that he did not understand why anyone would need to talk about clothes. My point exactly...

Post Birthday Bliss

Our baby, Henry had a great 2nd Birthday. I guess we really should advance and call him little Henry since he walks on his own now and speaks with improving coherency. Little Henry now has a Dutch Windmill to operate on his Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends wooden track and two more engines to run on the line. He also has a new Matchbox garbage truck in which he can stuff small pieces of fuzz and paper-which is very cool. He was showered with gifts and well wishes-thanks to all.

Max's birthday was on Thursday following Henry's, so we had more cupcakes (choc. chip with choc chip buttercream). We also went out to eat at this place in Auburn, Amsterdam Cafe. It seems a lot like the Cafe in Ames, but has better lighting. The menu is a little more like the Dish in Lincoln (yes!). Henry did really well there and fell in love with Gorgonzola dressing and scallops (not eaten together).

For the first time in a very long time, neither Max or I gearing up for classes this fall. It feels odd, but welcomed. This weekend we thought we would try to break free of the social isolation brought on by the heat and supported by the ac and attend another UU service. We arrived at the UU building to find that there was a pool party instead of a service. Serendipitously we met another couple, a philosopher and computer programmer (just moved here from San Diego) with a little girl, 2.5 yrs, named Laura Mae, that were also unaware of the pool party...so we were able to socialize.

I am reading "The Cookbook Collector," by Allegra Goodman for a new, virtual book club. The book is touted as being a modern day Sense and Sensibility. I cannot say I am in agreement. I have found the first two chapters to be rich and so well written that I kept reading...only to find the middle chapters more like a spider web of mini plots and with an multitude of characters I care nothing for. I continue to read in hopes of finding antiquated words used in a conversation and little nuggets of exceptional writing and originality.

There is this great line in P&P in which Mr. Bennet retorts to Mrs. Bennet when she exclaims, " Have you no compassion for my poor nerves?!" with, " I have a high respect for your nerves, they have been my old friends these twenty years at least."...I think that might be saying that about Hulu while I am in Al. I have just found the Remington Steele episodes. So awesomely eighties and still good, maybe even great. Part of me wishes I could be as daring as Laura Holt.

Dog Days of Summer

I understand that the pretty much everywhere in the US it is summer and hot. Today it feels like 107 F. We have been told that August is the worst, so we are about to enter the toughest spot. I guess if Wikipedia has the correct history, we are to blame, Sirius, also called the Dog Star, ancient Romans thought, he was somehow responsible for the hot weather (another rare time a degree or minor in Classics would come in handy).

For the last two weeks, one member of our family has been sick for a couple days here and there. Max started it, fever, chills, etc. Then Henry caught and vomited at daycare and had a fever and stuff. Then four days later, I actually was sick with a sore throat and fever. I recovered in time to take care of Henry in all night fuss session-I think he had a sore throat. I think we have all finally returned to a near healthy state. Thanks to vitamin C via Tropicana OJ with Lots of Pulp (that right we pass up no pulp and some pulp and go out of our way to have lots of it.)

Next week is Henry's second birthday. We were going to make train cupcakes to take to daycare but have to take "store bought" ones...so we may just make up a few train cupcakes for our house birthday party. I think I will use DimDim for the family that want to watch and sing...details will follow in an email.

I had a couple of failure runs this past weekend in the heat at our favorite outdoor spot-Kiesel Park. I joined the Auburn Fitness Club for Women yesterday-which offers a number of benefits. Running in a environmentally control room, yoga classes, people, an excuse to watch General Hospital (surprising- I do not know what is going on...too many new faces, babies that are now teenagers, and the old Lucky is back...etc).

If you are friends with us on FB you may be aware that we are not going to live out our lives in Alabama. But we are going to try to start exploring more (by way of increasing our carbon foot print of course) once Sirius has let up on the heat...

three day weekend anyone?

Hooting Good Times.

We have been super busy the last week and half. We attended this very cool Owl Release Party at Kiesel Park. It is kind of like a CD release party without the glamor and fashion but with rehabilitated birds of prey. Henry was pretty impressed by the smallness of the bard owls and two red tailed hawks that are permanent tenants at the raptor recovery center.

We also invested in some insect repellent and have been able to take Henry to parks in the evening to play ball or just walk. Last night we went to Town Creek Park which has a small pond filled with turtles and sun fish and blue gills. Henry really likes the turtles. We also met this huge, Great Dane named Page there. Isabelle thought Page was a bit of a bully. Henry thought Page was a horse.

This last Saturday, we were invited to a young parent party-the people in attendance were either the parents of offspring <5 or were the offspring. Henry was totally impressed by Liam, a 22 month old boy. Liam has the complete Fisher Price Animal Train and a kitchen set in his room. Liam is also a daring climber-which I believe is correlated with Liam being the F2.

We might try to go pick blueberries this weekend. And have definite plans to go to the Municipal Park in Opelika so that Henry can ride the train. This park has a lot of shade and different play sets for different age groups. It is a nice park. When we drove through Opelika to get to the Park, we noticed there were sidewalks-the neighborhood around the park reminded me of our old one in Lincoln.

Atlanta-venture

Not the best pun, but this blog is a WIP...Today we stepped out of our comfort zone and took a family trip (minus Isabelle and the cats) to Atlanta. This morning was the Peachtree Road Race, the largest race in the US, 55K people run it. We did not know those statistics before planning to attend, we just wanted to see our good friend Tamara from Ames finish the 10k race and hang out with her. Max and I used our combined 53 years of education to plan how to use the MARTA system to travel from just north of the airport to Midtown where the race finished-we did a pretty good job as the most tense moment we had was trying to find a parking spot at the park &ride College Park Station.

We were a little overwhelmed when we got to Midtown with the number of people and route we had to walk to find Tamara. Nearly an hour late from the agreed upon time we found Tamara and her friends under the H ballon (I thought she had picked for Henry but this morning realized it might be H for Hancock (her last name)). It was a beautiful, cool for GA day and we were able to walk and talk and just enjoy the Midtown neighborhood...we took MARTA to Little Five Points and ate lunch at this cool corner pub. Henry was loving it. He hadn't seen Tamara in ages and just kept smiling at her. I had a fanstatic IPA that was high gravity and chocolate from a dish held by a Buddha outside the ladies room. It was fantastic to hang out with Tamara and her soon-to-be lawyer friend, Haley, who is moving to Little Five points soon.

If you were unaware, Atlanta has a some water resource issues-there is just not enough of it to keep up with demand and growth. I now understand why there is such growth-because Atlanta is cool, beautiful, and unique. I was again surprised (my prejudices are many) by how much I like Atlanta. I can understand why the Olympic Committee said yes. Plenty of cool neighborhoods, clean streets and parks. I would have to give Atlanta an A+ based on that experience (to give you a baseline, other large cities I have visited and graded Boston-A-, Pittsburgh was a B+, San Francisco C-, Seattle-A) We are definitely going back soon, only wish Tamara was going to be there.

Lady K's Southern Emporium

"Lady K's Southern Emporium," -that is the name of my blog if Max were in charge. He suggested the name last night when we were eating dinner. I had made crepes for the first time since coming to AL on an electric range. A challenge, but they turned out nicely. It really is hard to screw up something with such a high butter content which of course Henry loved. Crepes seem to bring out Max's creative side.

We have had a few nice, clouldy below 90 days here. We might even go for a walk this evening, I think there is the potential that I might not even sweat but more likely I will sweat but just not enough that I will have to change my outfit.

I finished by first Sookie Stackhouse mystery. I should have know the television show is different from the books, Sookie is smarter in the books and Mrs. Harris ( I would put her somewhere between Jennifer Meyer (low end) and Octavia Butler (high end) does a fine job writing about small town dynamics not really mentioned in the tv series. Sadly, Godric in the book was a disgusting, horrible vampire. Hmm.

On Thursdays there is a farmers' market that is held near the Auburn University Animal Studies building. We have gone a few times. Henry is particularly fond of a goat cheese sold there. And last week we bought some delicious eggs and signed up for boiler chickens that will be ready in August, which we will have to drive to pick up. Max told me they will be dead and cleaned when we pick them, I have this small fear they will not be and what will we do with three chickens? We bought tomatoes grown in the "Alabama dirt" yesterday. We had unknowingly purchased a pint of tomatoes from another grower that were disappointingly hydroponic. As I work from home, these kinds of outings are both a high point and a low point, the former because I get a chance to talk to people in the flesh, and the latter because I will inevitably make a fool of myself. Grrr. We happened to run into the new co-op unit co-leader and his wife and their children. Immediately, I thought, could this be possible- a couple with kids, that watches the Daily Show (code for liberal?) , just moved to Auburn a week ago, doesn't know anybody either...I feel like I screwed up the opportunity to make friends, I am not sure if it was the hot sun or my genuine ability to screw up first encounters, but I think I should have said the things I said differently or not said them. Mmm.

I guess there is John John and Herry on Hulu to watch with Henry...having adult friends in Auburn might be a low probability event.

Stretching the Parental Radius

Last week, I went to Pittsburgh for the International ASABE conference for four days and gave a talk-which went well. It was the first time I had left Henry for longer than 10 hours. I think I had a worse night's sleep without Henry than I have with Henry. I did take a few runs in Pittsburgh, I was surprised by the city's beauty, cleanliness, and activity. The downtown is surrounded by rivers flowing with activity; barges, kayaks, paddle wheel boats...there are freight trains traveling through. I liked it more than San Francisco. With me out of the way, Max and Henry did some real male bonding. Max introduced Henry to soccer by watching the World Cup games, Henry keeps saying "soca-ball." Max is can't stop talking about how he hopes Henry will play soccer. Henry apparently fell asleep by Max on the couch watching Sports Center. And a development that is likely not related to soccer, since I have returned Henry has been eating meat like a Viking...odd.

And of course while I was gone Isabelle had to go to the vet. She was bitten by some insect and had a systemic response. Poor girl, she did not eat for days-and if you know Isabelle-that means it is serious. She is doing much better-she even got a hold of some diapers yesterday.

Since my return Max and I have been staying up late watching "True Blood" Season 2. HBO, really, has the best programming. Fantastic. You almost need a minor in classics to comprehend some of the super natural story lines though. I do not want to give away anything meaningful, but I was really excited about Eric's Maker, Godric, a 2000 year old vampire, coming into the story but as soon as I started to want to see more of Godric, a wise, peaceful, beautifully Grecian looking, vampire- he goes and "meets the sun." I am still recovering from the wound; the sting is not as deep as the end of "The Wire."

It is still hot here in Auburn. On Saturday we went to Kiesel Park and Henry had a crazy amount of fun playing fetch with Isabelle and two other dogs. Henry was also very amused by the doggie pool, which of course Isabelle was monopolizing-he was tempted to jump into the muddy water but I kept ruining his chances.

Riddle me this...

Max made it to Denver and back. Henry missed him as did I. I was able to take in "Leap Year" a movie Max never would have made it through without remarking about it in some negative way every couple of minutes. Though my funny husband did make two very funny jokes since coming home. The first was made after seeing a commercial for Fruit 2 Day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H62JTA1sDX8) Max commented, "Great, it is like drinkable puke." He also made a comment about the truck made from construction paper with a red "N" license plate, "I am disappointed that are not bull balls hanging below the "N" truck plate." I am sure you all wish you could be surrounded by such genius humor.

Henry was sick this last weekend and of course managed to puck on me a couple of times. I am so glad he is feeling better. We are continuing to enjoy Sesame Street clips on Hulu. I enjoyed watching Feist sing a version of "1234" and Norah Jones sing, "I don't know why" about the letter"Y." Henry really loves the "ABC" singing clips. Henry also really enjoyed decorating his room. So, here is a little version of MTV Cribs, pictures of Henry's room (above).

I hope to add pictures of the townhouse and finish the Crib tour but we are still working on our room.

Hulu and Max's absence also afforded me the opportunity to enjoy the genius that "30 Rock." I love that show-perhaps the best comedy on television right now. As Leslie gave me the go ahead I dropped Emerson to focus and enjoy MFK Fisher. She is fun and interesting to read. I just finished this essay about the potato. Brilliant.

This week I figured out the whole "Alabama Vs Auburn" rivalry war cries when I saw a license plate with "Roll back the Tide". Alabama, the Crimson Tide, cries, "Roll Tide, Roll tide," and Auburn out of spite, cries "Roll back the Tide." It is amazing the War Eagle is even on the cop cars here. I heard an Mech E explain that Auburn has the highest loyalty from alums, somewhere around 88%. Alums surveyed apparently would not change anything about their experience at Auburn.

And of course, I must comment on the Big 12 shake up. First, I am just slightly raw from NPR reporting on it from the perspective of CU! Really, who care about the Buffs? The bigger story was Nebraska's move to the Big 10. And I just want to take this moment to give a virtual tissue to Steve and maybe two or three tissues to Dan, Big 10 traditionalists. I know this is hard for you...it is troubling to embrace such a fantastic and formidable opponent.

But Nebraska leaving the Big 12 is sad, as Berry Tramel put it in the The Oklahoman,

“Going their separate ways are proprietors of the most glorious brand of college football the sport has ever seen. Nebraska to the northern kingdom, putting 12 teams in the Big Ten and leaving 10 teams in the Big 12, funky numbers that will befuddle future mathematicians. ...Never again will the Big Reds meet on a frozen field and play slobberknocker football, the kind that would thrill fans from nine to 90. See-your-breath, scrape-your-elbows, blood-sweat-and-cheers football.”

I am not sure what slobbeknocker means, but I know I am little sad at the though the Huskers will not be playing its' old Big 8 rivals...

In Training.

I have very exciting (parenting) news: Henry is learning to use the potty! He went two times yesterday, right away this morning and once this afternoon and before bed! He has also discovered the joy one can glean from M&Ms; not only can counting and naming colors of M&Ms be fun but they also can stain fingers. We have started letting Henry watch Sesame Street clips on Hulu. Henry, in just three evenings of exposure, finds Cookie Monster a little scary but that Elmo is delightful. Max has this incredible memory, much like my brother Adam, he remembers all of these episodes of Sesame Street he enjoyed as a child. We watched this bizarre cartoon, Lost Boy Remembers Home (http://www.hulu.com/watch/38842/sesame-street-lost-boy-remembers-way-home), Buffy St. Marie (Max said she was his favorite to watch) and others like Bobby McFerrin.

The last two weeks I have been making Artisan bread loaves about every other day. Max and Henry love the loaves. The best part is that the dough is so easy to make. I checked out MFK Fisher's collected works to supplement the Emerson, Thoreau, and Voltaire.

Sadly, reading Emerson is not so easy. I am reading Emerson's essay on Self-Reliance. I kind of wish I had my 10th or 11th grade English teacher around to help with the dense sentences, to make sure I am understanding correctly what I am reading. I think he makes some fairly good points. The one has stood the most was,

"Virtues are, in the popular estimate, rather the exception than the rule. There is the man and his virtues. Men do what is called a good action, as some piece of courage or charity, much as they would pay a fine in expiation of daily non-appearance on parade. Their works are done as an apology or extenuation of their living in the world, — as invalids and the insane pay a high board. Their virtues are penances. I do not wish to expiate, but to live. " RWE.

Now, there are two ways I could think about this: one as an engineer and the other way not as engineer. I can't help thinking engineers' "works are done as an apology." My own thought on that is still maturing. I will continue with the effort, though it is a bit ironic I am quoting a RWE as he rails against such a thing in the essay.

Except for today the heat, humidity continue to be oppressive. On Sunday our time at Hickory Dock Park was limited. Both Henry and I were reddened and sweating to the point of uncomfortableness within a half hour. We have backyard but it is not really a play area. Our backyard is wild. There is a fence located about 20 feet from the patio door and then an other fence 50 feet beyond that. It is odd. The area between the first and second fence is full of dense foliage and who knows what for spiders, insects, and small, rabid mammals. Isabelle, aka the terror this last week, has been the only one of us to investigate that patch of the property and return unscathed. But because we do not have one of those collars that translates dog to English the wild patch remains a mystery.

Locks for Oil

This morning I did what little I can do to help clean up the oil in the Gulf. I made an appointment at Ardistry Salon, a business that is donating all cut hair to the oil clean up ( http://www.offbeatauburn.com/2010/05/17/offbeat-auburn-podcast-ardistry-salon-wants-to-send-your-hair-to-the-gulf/). I feel like a new woman. Michelle, an Alabama native, cut and styled it, she was so friendly and interesting. She told me about her son's seventh birthday party at a skating rink, she said, "We hadn't been there more than 30 minutes before he done and broke his arm." She is from near Mobile and has a delightful accent. She also seemed truly concerned about the Gulf and the oil spill. I love going to salons where the stylist kind of sweeps you up into their reality and yours disappears for awhile.

Henry continues to do really well. He is our official mailbox opener. We lift him up to our box and help him insert the key and turn to retrieve the mail. He often wants to try to open the other mail boxes but either is unaware of the federal crime he would be committing or doesn't care. He made an umbrella at daycare for his turtle. He decorated the yellow umbrella with green dinosaurs stickers, which he selected from a variety of stickers-Miss Regina told us. I sense he is aware of the relationship between turtles and dinosaurs. He loves this books about Knut a baby polar raised at a German zoo.

Max is taking his first work related trip next week to Denver. Max is very excited as it is a Modeling Conference. I know, I know, you want to know how to sign up...I think it is just for USGS and their affiliates. This trip does afford me the opportunity to watch Chic Flicks! So give me some suggestions-funny ones only.

I just finished reading the galley version of Making Toast-thank you Leslie and Barbara for making it possible. (character introductions: Leslie is my dear friend from Lincoln who I used to share Margaritas with at La Mexicana and discussed high literature, politics, and life's dramas. Barbara, is a witty Lincolnite, who was the third member of a very exclusive book club Leslie and I started) and likes fancy, British sports cars.) I highly recommend it. One could read it in a couple hours. It is a memoir of family dealing with the unexpected death of a young woman- a daughter, mother, and wife. Just one perspective about going on with a gaping hole in your being-it touched my heart in a good way.

Poetic Void

This morning Max, Henry and I attended the Auburn UU service. (As I am working from home, I am trying to find people-my kind of people) Really, I attended the service while Max and Henry hung out in the nursery. Today's message was centered around Margaret Fuller, as it was her 200th birthday. If you are like me, you probably are wondering who is Margaret Fuller? Well, she was a 19th century Journalist, intellect and women's rights advocate. She had this really fascinating career working as an editor of the Dial for Ralph Waldo Emerson and as a columnist and war correspondent for the New York Tribune. Essentially she wanted women to be able to think for themselves and for five years hosted "conversation" salons to encourage women to develop one's self.

Two things struck me about the UU service. The first being the focus on love and peace. I know that is kind of cheesy but really it is like Elvis Costello sang, "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding." When the children of parents are allowed to leave after the first third of the service, the fellowship sings this short little bit to the exiting children, "May your mind be open to new learning, may your words bring truth into the world, may your heart know love and your hands do justice. As you go your way in peace." Nothing dogmatic; just compassionate.

The second being the focus on literature. Emerson, Thoreau, William Henry Channing. These names and their work are mentioned and read often. The minister reflected on Ms. Fuller's life with this, what I have now found to be, famous quotation referred to as "This is to be my Symphony"

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony.

WILLIAM HENRY CHANNING.

And so I am now left feeling a certain poetic void. I have spent most of adult life learning and practicing engineering, whose texts are not concerned with transcendentalism and Peace and Love. I only took a couple of literary courses as an undergraduate. And now, I think I might be a bit like one of those woman who may have attended Ms. Fuller's salon for the first time. While I consider myself informed, I guess it is time to invest in broadening my literary bounds beyond Jane Austen and my modern day authors. This new effort is not based on a feeling of inadequacy; it is a quest to address an intellectual cavity.

Glorious Grits

Up until yesterday I was pretty sure grits were overrated much like Easy Mac. However, I'll admit when prepared properly grits can be quite tasty. Last night, Max grilled pork chops, sauteed yellow squash, and made Cheesy Grits from the Southern Living Cookbook titled, "Glorious Grits." (thank you commune friends for helping to tear down one of my southern prejudices) Everything was excellent and went very well with our organic, Washington state white wine suggested by Gus.

So, this week seemed to pass like most when you have a toddler, dog, two cats and a PhD to finish. We went to a Wine Tasting at Fine Wines and Beers by Gus and learned about a small group call the Triple A which were glad to learn about. Max and I tasted a $50+ bottle of wine
from Vision Cellars. The story behind the winemaker, the son of Texas moonshine makers, of Vision Cellars is interesting (here is their website: http://www.visioncellars.com). Max and I enjoyed the tasting but bought an 8.99 red (what a steal!) that we tasted as it fit our budget at bit better. Henry charmed all of the attendees and enjoyed eating large chunks of goat and gouda cheeses.

It rained here a couple days. It's so hot here when it rains, steam rolls off the streets. It is like a sauna outside. Henry hit a couple of developmental milestones and thus forcing us into a new level of parenting, he figured out how to open doors. He already had figured out closing but now he can turn the knob on a door and let himself out of a room, down the stairs and outside if we do not watch him closely. Henry also advanced from calling Elmo "Elbow" to calling him "Elmo."

Isabell and I shared a great mother-daughter run on Friday morning. I let her swim in a pond on the way back. We came upon a solitary blue heron foraging near the pond. It was a wondrous sight to see one in the wild so closely.

While my heart still misses the plains and my chatterbox misses an audience of fun, intelligent, sarcastic family &friends, I think I might be able to withstand, if not embrace my southern habitat-at least temporarily.

Auburn: the rundown

Okay, things have calmed down. We are falling into a routine. Henry seems to have fully recovered from the fall, though he is still recovering from a mosquito attack. Henry is still acclimating to his new daycare situation, but we are hopeful he will soon stop crying every morning when we pull into the daycare parking lot. He is fine when we pick him up- we see him playing with the other children and toys- once he spots us though, he starts to tear up and clings to us when we lift him up to hug.

Max is enjoying his new job at Auburn University. The campus is immaculate. All of the grounds and building are beautifully kept. And there are images of Tigers everywhere mixed with images of the War Eagle; a tradition Max and I are still perplexed by.

Having only been here about two weeks, I am likely being solipsistic and little hasty in my judgments. I admit I may have an incomplete picture of Auburn.

But those qualifications aside, here is my take to date:

Our new townhome is comfortable and looks nice but was definitely done on the cheap. An improvement from 608 8th street but we are glad it is just temporary.

There are no sidewalks except on campus, around campus and off random streets for what seems to be erratic lengths.

People drive fast. Really fast which makes walking on the streets dangerous.

There are trees everywhere which makes driving and walking on the streets dangerous because you can not see beyond the buffer of trees that surround everything.

Alabama Public Radio-Stinky. Makes Nebraska Public Radio sound appealing.

Kiesel Park- A gift. This is awesome place for dog owners to spoil their loved, furry family members.

There are a ton of armadillos (perhaps Alabama's equivalent to Nebraska's raccoons) here, evidenced by the number of dead ones I encounter on a daily basis (driving of course).
The flora and fauna are quite a bit different here. Max explained to me that things seem smaller, he deduced (or maybe it is induced) because there is no biological advantage to being large like in the north where there is a winter. I love being married to a biologist/statistician/lecturer on most worldly things.

Groceries are expensive. Max almost had a heart attack when we checked out at the Win-Dixie. We have had to for-go our ice cream buying practices. Probably a good thing in the end. Oddly, there is not a Co-op...Max and I are anxious for this Earthfare store to open so we can buy bulk again.

But there is Toomer's Corner (near campus much like the Haymarket/downtown in Lincoln (though much warmer) because it is not a strip mall) which is the host of many college bars, Chee Chee burger (you make your own burger even veggie), Southern Exposure, tutti frutti (awesome yogurt bar), boutiques (yes!) and lots of cool restaurants like the Mellow Mushroom (a pizza place-we have not been but are looking forward to it) and this cool bagel place and a bakery that has a very friendly staff and fine sweets!

We were directed to spirits shop, "Fine Wine and Beer by Gus" (in a strip mall) by Max's lab mates. We went there last Friday night. The owners are from Chicago. They let Henry play with Mr. Potato toys and be a toddler. It is a great little shop with an awesome selection and super friendly staff.

We also visited a farm store to buy pet food. The store also sold John Deere equipment and parts. Henry was in heaven. There were live baby chicks, John Deere toys large and small, and a little girl who was trying to sell Henry up on toys. This little girl asked me with a look of disgust with a sweet, southern accent, "Why does he (Henry) have wet all over his shirt?" Henry still drools quite a bit. I explained that he was still teething and just slobbers a lot much like a dog. She replied, "Spit is uh-ck." She was darling.

Our new place did not come with a washer/dryer so Max and I have to go to the Laundromat. If you have ever been to one you know what it is like. I guess it is just hotter here. And people can smoke here. Odd. Really odd.

We have been to the library twice. The building, of course, is beautiful and immaculate. There are quiet zone signs everywhere. I have not yet cemented my thoughts about it. Henry seems to like it well enough but there board book selection leaves something to be desired. Ames's Public Library was "a gift"-what a tremendously, wonderful place. We miss it.

We are looking into joining AROTA (the running club) and attending the UU to try to meet people...so I will have more to report soon.

Emergency and Parenting 101

So, I was hoping I would be able to spend a few days catching up the posts. You know reporting on all of the places we visited and people we interacted with during our first few day here but then we had a disproportionate event occur last night, a Black Swan perhaps. We were grocery shopping at Kroger, a southern chain grocery store, which is located in a strip mall, along with every other kind of store, pawn shop, tanning, FedEx, etc. Everything is in a strip of some sort down here.

Anyway, Henry did not want to ride in the front of the cart. So we let him in the big area of the cart but only if he would sit. He has done that before at Target and Fareway. But the carts (or buggies as they are called here) was shallower than those he had been in before. I am getting sick to my stomach typing this. Henry would not sit down, Max went to grab him to sit down and Henry backed away and pushed Max away and went over the back of the cart. Henry landed on his head. Henry cried immediately. We walked to the end of the aisle with Max holding him, trying to calm him. Max handed him to me. Henry vomited. I looked down the aisle for a bathroom sign. Henry vomited again. I moved very quickly to the bathroom. Henry vomited yet again. I wiped off the puke as quickly as possible. I left the bathroom with wipes and Henry to find Max. Henry needed to go to the hospital.

We rushed to the car, leaving behind a cart with groceries and maybe a little puke. Buckled up and tried to find the nearest hospital on the map. It is in the next town over. Max drove and weaved through traffic very quickly. I was in between crying and trying to keep Henry awake. Henry was gray and was not responding to my questions. He did not even get excited,, nor really recognize the railroad tracks we drove over.

We finally made it to the hospital but had trouble figuring out where the ER was. We found it finally, Max dropped me off with Henry and parked the car. I ran with Henry in my arms into the ER. The receptionist was very calm, took our information and asked what happened and what was wrong. I was nearly hysterical at this point as Henry kept closing his eyes and had not said a word since vomiting. The receptionist tried to calm me and gave us a cool wash cloth to put on his head. Max returned to wait with us. I explained to the receptionist how odd Henry seemed, I told him right before he fell, he was so active and talkative, Max and I had trouble keeping up. Henry just laid in my arms, quite, still. I was so incredibly scared.

I feel the need to mention that this is the only ER serving Auburn and Opelika, a population of nearly 100k people. The ER was packed with all kinds of people. It was like an ER out of a movie. It was nothing like Bryan LGH in Lincoln, clean and quite and few people or Mary Greely in Ames, IA. This ER was crazy busy. And there were so many babies in mothers' arms looking nearly asleep or asleep. I kept thinking, we can't wait here like this, my baby needs attention and needs it now. The receptionist came over at just the right time to let me know the Triage nurse would see him quickly. And she did. The triage nurse asked us what happened and watched Henry's belly while he breathed. I was so scared watching his belly. I was so worried I would not get to hear him say "MaMa" or "Dada" again. He looked so gray.

Then we, of course, had to give them our insurance, which is graduate student coverage. It is not great in-network and will likely be worse out of network. I love America, where we have the right to shit insurance, no insurance, or not going to the doctor ever. That ranting aside. We gave them our information explaining all the while that we had just moved here.

We went back to the ER and waited. I cried holding my precious baby, who had lost consciousness by this time. The receptionist kept bringing me tissues and telling me it would not be long, they just needed a free room. Max was near tears. Finally, after a few long minutes we were called back to a room. The room was divided into four spaces by curtains, like in the movies. We could hear people in discomfort in the other spaces and their machines.

The nurse who was with us, Deanne, told us they were going to start and IV and then do a CT scan. Henry was still out. Henry was not responding to his name or being tickled or tapped. Deanne went to find the doctor. The doctor came and was so sweet. He looked over Henry while I held him. He looked in his mouth and shined a light on his eyes after forcing the lids open. Henry's eyes dilated but he did not wake up. The doctor told the nurse that Henry should have the CT before the IV while he was "asleep." The doctor then told me and Max that it was likely a concussion and this point Henry would maybe need to stay overnight for observation. But they needed the CT scan to rule out hemorrhaging or other bad things.

The doctor and nurse left. Max and I were left with Henry, quiet and still, in that little 4 by 6 curtained area. We were both crying and very scared at this point. Not very long after the nurse returned and tried to make us feel better by telling us about her 4 and 6 year old's shenanigans, which included the 6 year old driving a riding lawn-mower over the 4 year old who survived with just a few, minor cuts on his back. Before she could tell us another story the CT technician came to escort us to the room. The nurse wanted to follow as Henry was still unconscious.

Like in all parenting movies something else was bound to happen; as we were leaving the room I bumped Henry's head against the door handle! He woke up then and started crying. I felt so terrible! The nurse told us it was good he responded to pain, if he had not we would have then needed to be concerned. So with Henry finally awake we made it to the CT room. Henry started getting really worked up when I laid him on the table. Henry was crying so hard his face had regained color and was red! He was screaming "Mama" and "Dada." He fought the CT tech who was holding his head down throughout the scan. Finally it was over and the CT tech told us the images looked good but the radiologist would need to tell us that.

Then we went back to the curtain room. Henry was still awake and looking around. He even looked at Deanne when she said his name. Max brought us some sprite and ice and Henry drank out of the straw even. Henry then started asking for ice to chew. The doctor came pretty quickly and said the scan did not show any bleeding. He told us to stay for an hour and see how Henry was then.

During the next hour, Henry ate two cups of and asked us about everything in sight at least twice. Max and I were so relieved he was returning to his normal, curious state. We were released after 8. On our way out, there were about 30 people hanging out outside the ER entrance. Henry then saw the moon, we told him it was made out of cheese. He was very excited about the moon. He kept pointing at the night sky and saying' "moon!"

We all still exhausted from what happened. Max and I now have multiple plans for keeping Henry safe when go shopping, none o f which include carts. we also discussed that we do not want to try to blame ourselves or the other for what happened.

That is all I have for right now.

Adam-isms and the Road South

My younger brother, Adam, Henry and I rode in the CR-V for the 980 mile trip south. That was the longest amount of time I have spent with Adam since I graduated from high school. While we did not talk continuously (we listened to the same five cds at least three times) throughout the trip, we did spend a majority of the time discussing a variety of topics some of which I want to share some detail, which I will henceforth refer to as Adam-isms.

I think to really appreciate these Adam-isms a little background on Adam is warranted. Adam is kind of a pop-culture/American sports savant. He devotes a number of his waking hours to watching sports, reading about sports, watching television shows and movies, and yes, playing a variety of sports video games. He attended North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND for his undergraduate degree. He finished just shy under 7 years with a degree in education with an emphasis in social studies. He has yet to find a job in this economy since graduating in December but is substitute teaching in our hometown area schools. Hence making him the perfect victim for helping me and Max move.

Adam-ism 1: Somehow while we were driving (maybe we passed a Hardee's sign with a thick burger or a Hardee's)

Me: "Have you had a thick-burger?"

Adam: "Yes, but a thick-burger is not a twice-a-week burger, it is more a like every six month kind-of burger."

Me: "What don't you like it? Can you explain that logic (I am a long time near vegetarian)?"

Adam: "Well, is not like I don't like it, it is just really intense. It is like, I like the movies "In the Heat of the Night" and "A Bridge to Far". Even though I own those and like those movies, I do not watch them twice a week. They are just really intense."

Me: "A Bridge to Far?"

Adam: "It is a great WW2 film...[followed by an explanation of the plot and the group of actors in it and how it could never be made again]...Adam-ism 2: " But really World War 1 is a more interesting war when you think about."

Me: "Can you explain that?"

Adam: "Well, it is simple. WW1 was really the result of alliances. Every country that entered the war did so based on alliance....[quiz time] You know what set off the war, don't you?"

Me: "The assination of Duke Ferdinand..."

Adam: "Yeah, he was just the heir to the throne, not the leader. Even if that Serb nationalist assissin had not shot him the war would have started. The political tension in the region was too great. The assassination was just the catalyst that could have easily been something else."

Perhaps a cycle of CDs later and me making a comment about Adam's being, Adam-ism 3:

Adam: "I am who I am. You know that is a Popeye quote, "Popeye, now there was a great man. Do you know why? Because his motto was: I am what I am. Do you think Popeye ever worried about what he wore just so he could get Olive Oil in the sack? I should say not, Dude. And do you know why? Because he is what he is." You gotta know what movie that is far from."

Me: No. Popeye said that?

Adam: No, Shane McDermott.

Me: Shane McDermott?

Adam: You don't remember Shane McDermott? Come on from Airborne?!

Me: No, of course not that was nearly 15 years ago.

Adam: Well, I have the VHS. I have not been able to find a DVD of it.

Perhaps a few hours later on the road, after Adam received a call asking him to go donate blood and Adam-ism 4:

Me: Who was that?

Adam: Blood bank.

Me: You donate blood?

Adam: Yeah, sometimes.

Me: What is your blood type?

Adam: I don't know.

Me: You are probably A+

Adam: +? What does that mean?

Me: That you have the positive genes for Rh factor.

Adam: What is the Rh factor?

Me: Don't you remember learning about that in 8th grade biology.

Adam: How am I suppose to remember 8th grade biology?! (This coming from the man who had earlier reprimanded me on not remembering my Airborne history.)

Me: It is a blood group antigen. People are either Rh+ or Rh-.

That is really all I wanted to share about my enlightening conversations with Adam. I encouraged Adam to start some sort of Pod cast where he discusses he thoughts and ideas on pop culture and sports. Adam had this very interesting lecture on pro-sports, risk, contracts and pay...

During the trip, when we would stop and interact with people or over hear people I had to keep reminding myself this is not a vacation. I was on the road to my new humid, home.

Henry

Last Day in Ames

Nothing fancy in this post...

Our last day in Ames was CRAZY busy but also CRAZY wonderful. We finished packing the truck. We had the carpet cleaned.

During the afternoon we went to Ms. Deanna's (Henry's Daycare) and said good-bye to all Henry's little friends. I cried a little bit when we left.

We also visited our "parent" friends Tracy and Bryce and Ella, Henry's little buddy. Henry and Ella met at "Baby Talk" at the Ames Library. I am pretty sure Henry is going to miss Ella as much as I am going to miss Tracy. Leaving their house I cried a quite a bit more.

We visited our favorite toy store, The Pumpkin Patch, and bought Henry a wooden train set and said bye to our friends there. If you have children or are a child at heart, you must visit the Pumpkin Patch. It is a wonderfully, charming store with a loving atmosphere. This time I did not tear up as we were on our way to Angela's Cantina!

Angela's Cantina is this great little eatery on Lincon Way we found just a week before we moved. We ate there three times before leaving. I love the food and music there! The last supper with our friends was tons of fun. We all had sangria save Henry and Adam. Adam, my brother, who joined us for the week to help pack and drive to Auburn, may have been a little uncomfortable with the conversation but survived. Due to web browsing I will leave out the savory details of the conversation in case I ever run for office.

We cleaned the apartment into the wee hours of the night. And left around 8 am in the pouring rain the next morning.

Champange Flavored Fairwells

Perhaps it is the Feist flowing into my ear drum via my ear bud driving the this sentimental mood. But before I get to carried away with "how my heart behaves" I need to address some criticisms I have received since my first blog posting. First, I need to properly introduce people and pets.

The Cast (familial) :
Max-my Husband
Henry-my Son
Isabelle- our yellow lab
Nero- our male cat
Ramona (aka Mona)- our calico cat

Now, I will try to give proper introductions including the name's origin and meaning for friends and co-workers and their pets as their names are introduced. Last Saturday, after Friday's humilating Oral Preliminary Examination, our commune and trailer park friends hosted a fantastic fairwell barbaque with champagne. Ben&Hedda (common meaning: Awesome (true meaning: Son), & (Strife, Contentious, Gossip) (so the meaning thing is a bit much) &, Jordan&Maria, and Tamara&Jason, gave us two books to help with the transition down south; "A Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War and a Southern Living Cookbook, "Grits." And yesterday, Carol (who I may have embarrassed by tearing up when she left for the summer today-I am such a sap; I cry everytime I read "The Giving Tree"), my office mate traveling to China for the summer, gave me a pre-house warming gift: Giada De Laurentiis cookbook, "Giada's Kitchen." Giada loves mascorpone cheese like I love chocolate; more than 50% of the recipes include mascorpone. My plan is to tear a page from Julie &Julia and write in the blog when I try the recipes out of my new cookbooks.

And last night on a whim we (commune and trailer park friends) celebrated the end of finals with Champagne, Iowa wine, Scotcharoos and Gelato (Henry preferred Amaretto to Chocolate Rasberry and Lemon, mmm) and finished the night off with Pizza and Beer.

I am going to miss those peeps and their love for good-times, liberal tendencies, and Henry.
That is all I can type. I am tearing up at the thought of fire pit explosions, Downer Debbie, and trailer jokes.

Pending Move

So, this is my first posting, hopefully I will become less stilted in my writing. As my adviser asks, please bear with me.

On Monday we found out that we can move our zoo to a townhome in Auburn. We took the place having only seen some pictures. We are hopeful it will work out well. We are just thankful we will not have to move into an abandoned garage or a big cardboard box.

After Henry fell asleep last night, Max (who had been watching Glee-he says it is terrible but he had trouble pulling himself away from it-I think he secretly likes the musical performances) and I packed the kitchen. Isabelle, the dog, had a fantastic time recovering hidden delights from under the shelving unit and in the cupboards. Nero (named after the Roman emperor-not the software) spent most of the evening hiding and then popping out of boxes. We still have more to pack in the kitchen. Henry did not even seem to notice the ten large boxes stacked in the living room. He went through his usual routine of fusing because we insist he wear a diaper, watching the window for any interesting activity like a cement truck driving by and playing a round of living room golf.

Maybe tomorrow he will notice the doubled volume (hopefully) of boxes.