It snowed, y'all! We discovered it at 4 this morning when Billa woke up (she's teething again) and started crying for the next hour straight until I finally nursed her and put her back to bed. There wasn't very much snow, but there was about a half inch everywhere on the rooftops, ground, and cars in our complex. Yet another example of the crazy weather in Texas! Yesterday was 80 degrees F for the majority of the day and then a cold front blew through bringing the temperature down to the high 20's low 30's last night. I know that my Canadian relatives are laughing at our wussiness, but it was cold enough this morning to break out the wool sweater and puffy vest ensemble.
Of course, it will be back in the 70's for this weekend [sigh]. This is just part of the reason why Michael and I would love to move north at some point; consistent weather patterns, four seasons, and the ability to actually collect and wear nice sweaters would be a lovely novelty. The snow is pretty much gone now of course, but it was a beautiful drive this morning, with it dusting the rooftops and the trees on my way to work. I've been taking a more scenic route these days to avoid the majority of the morning traffic and it gives me time to think on my drive. A more pleasant drive makes for a more pleasant day in Kellyland :o)
I have neglected lately to give a decent account of Sybilla's growth and development. She has learned how to wave hello and bye-bye ala Miss America style. Her walking has also gotten better each day and she now tries to walk everywhere she can. She'll get in about 4 or 5 steps, then falls and crawls to someplace where she can get back up and do it again. She is eating more and more adventurous foods each day and she isn't too terribly picky, but she prefers to eat what we are having and not the premade baby food most days. Her favorite food right now is homemade waffles, which her grandmother Mary made plenty of this weekend. I sent the last one with her to school today and I know it will probably be a little while before she gets some again. I may have to invest in my own waffle iron and start making them on weekends for her!
Sybilla's personality is really starting to develop too and she embodies her monkey spirit with each passing day. She loves books and more specifically to pull them off the shelves and make a big mess. At night when we read her stories, she turns the pages. She also loves to chase the vacuum and when we fold laundry, she grabs what she can and then runs off, dusting everything in sight with said piece of laundry. This past weekend it was Daddy's underwear that got special attention. Sybilla is also very strong for a baby; she did chin ups on the baby gate last night which scared us a bit because there is the potential for the thing to topple over on her. But each time she bumps and bruises, she's learning very quickly and usually gets more upset that we try to comfort her than to let her continue on in her explorations.
We'll keep you posted on everything else that happens and post some videos and pictures soon!
Until then,
K&Co.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Is it Friday yet?
Oh. My. Hell. I need it to be Friday and Tuesday's barely half over. I should have known today would be a bad day when I had chocolate before 10:30 am. And it was the good stuff too. None of that namby pamby Hershey's crap, this was full on $6 a pop Vosges Dar Chocolate Fire Bar. On a side note, this is the best chocolate bar ever. It combines my two favorite flavors in the world: dark chocolate and spicy. Yum!
But I digress. We didn't sleep too well last night and Billa fell off the bed AGAIN this morning, although this time it was carpeted. That kid is fast. I totally saw her crawling to the edge of the bed and it didn't have to register before she was there one minute, on the floor the next. I am certain our neighbors are filing complaints with the apartment complex by now. The internet at work has been damnably slow and I am waiting for my online reporting to finally load. It's been about an hour now… I've given up hope so that I can run a production report that's due by EOD. I told my friend Beth that I have a new song in mind—"Someday my page will load" sung to the tune of "Someday my prince will come". Yargh!
I have to give a shout out to Beth who was instrumental in helping Michael and I paint Billa's room. I know that my best friend Kellie would have totally helped me, but she is 10 weeks pregnant and considering the headaches we endured from the paint fumes, suffice it to say that we kept her well away. Beth not only came last Friday to help us paint, but she came again last night and even fed the baby and gave her a bath so that Michael and I could actually eat our dinner. Thank you Beth! She can't claim all the credit for Friday's painting though; my mom was also very helpful in coming over to paint half the room and then take Billa back to the house with her to get her to bed on time while the rest of us finished the painting. Thank you Mom!
We're ALMOST done with moving. I've said it many times now over the past week and a half… next time we're using a moving company. Moving should not take two weeks and be this stressful or painful. We'll have everything moved by the end of this weekend, and maybe we'll hopefully have everything painted too, although I strongly doubt that. I have another cake to bake, actually a cake and cupcakes, for some friends of ours who are having their third and second birthdays. One will be Cars and the other Wall-e. It's a Pixar extravaganza! I'm excited about it because I love both movies and I'm sure the kids will love the cakes too.
My reporting page has FINALLY loaded so I'm off to get my report completed.
Until then,
K & Co.
But I digress. We didn't sleep too well last night and Billa fell off the bed AGAIN this morning, although this time it was carpeted. That kid is fast. I totally saw her crawling to the edge of the bed and it didn't have to register before she was there one minute, on the floor the next. I am certain our neighbors are filing complaints with the apartment complex by now. The internet at work has been damnably slow and I am waiting for my online reporting to finally load. It's been about an hour now… I've given up hope so that I can run a production report that's due by EOD. I told my friend Beth that I have a new song in mind—"Someday my page will load" sung to the tune of "Someday my prince will come". Yargh!
I have to give a shout out to Beth who was instrumental in helping Michael and I paint Billa's room. I know that my best friend Kellie would have totally helped me, but she is 10 weeks pregnant and considering the headaches we endured from the paint fumes, suffice it to say that we kept her well away. Beth not only came last Friday to help us paint, but she came again last night and even fed the baby and gave her a bath so that Michael and I could actually eat our dinner. Thank you Beth! She can't claim all the credit for Friday's painting though; my mom was also very helpful in coming over to paint half the room and then take Billa back to the house with her to get her to bed on time while the rest of us finished the painting. Thank you Mom!
We're ALMOST done with moving. I've said it many times now over the past week and a half… next time we're using a moving company. Moving should not take two weeks and be this stressful or painful. We'll have everything moved by the end of this weekend, and maybe we'll hopefully have everything painted too, although I strongly doubt that. I have another cake to bake, actually a cake and cupcakes, for some friends of ours who are having their third and second birthdays. One will be Cars and the other Wall-e. It's a Pixar extravaganza! I'm excited about it because I love both movies and I'm sure the kids will love the cakes too.
My reporting page has FINALLY loaded so I'm off to get my report completed.
Until then,
K & Co.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sound Off: CEO Bonuses and Simplicity
I saw an article today that talks about how Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain was requesting a $10 million bonus for Christmas this year. Talk about cojones! He apparently felt that he deserved this bonus for orchestrating teh sale fo ML to Bank of America and for keeping ML's losses down to a measly $11.67 BILLION. Yes, you read that right, billion. And for those of you who are curious, that's 1.67% of the bailout Congress approved in September.
I heartily agree with the NY Attorney General that this request is shocking considering the state of the economy and that Merrill Lynch, in addition to other investment firms and banks, have all been suffering heavy hits. I have to ask though, why does someone need a $10 million bonus? I personally would love to see Mr. Thain explain to the countless children who won't be getting a Christmas this year why he deserves to get $10 million for his Christmas bonus.
And where does this $10 million come from? Because aren't the American people having to pay $700 billion to fix the excessive ways of Wall Street? Does Mr. Thain think that the American people are going to stand by and watch him roll around in our hard earned cash? Not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouth or the right circumstances to spend our adult lives twiddling our thumbs while earning $10 million bonuses (which is a piddling amount compared to bonuses in years past I'm sure). It's true that there are a few people in history who have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and gone from trash to treasure, but considering there are 300 million and counting in this country, that's the exception, not the norm.
Here's my suggestion to Mr. Thain and the Merrill Lynch BoD: Give the $10 million to charity in Mr. Thain's name… he can still feel like he got a cool $10 mil, quite a few families will actually get to celebrate a joyous holiday this year, and the American people will feel a little less slighted than they already do.
I told myself I would try and keep economy doom and gloom off the blog, but I just HAD to comment on this. So excuse me a moment whilst I climb up on my soapbox here (it's a long climb)....
I think the whole thing boils down to this: why can't everyone learn to live within their means and more simply? I really think that the majority of our issues--global warming, pollution, Wall Street failing, poverty, etc--are due to all of us not learning to live a little bit more simply. We're too excited about the next big technological advance and we don't stop and think long enough about what the true impact of that might be (myself included). Apparently we are a very insecure group of people as we have to use 'stuff' to generate our self-worth. And yes, this would be a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black, as I too am a victim of this 'stuff' syndrome.
One of my resolutions for the new year, which will actually start now, is to start culling my stuff and live a bit more simply. If I don't have room for it, it's gone. Every quarter I'll clean out the closet and cull more stuff. I'll give gifts that are consumable and practical, not kitchsy and cluttery. I'll recycle more and try to reuse more items around my house so I reduce my waste but also reduce the need to buy more things. I'll reinvent the stuff I have or trade it with others. We'll save more money and try to reduce our extraneous spending. I think I'll track all of this and see what happens! I welcome any and all suggestions on living more frugally and simply and I encourage all fo you to find ways in which to live more frugally this next year. Maybe together we can stop the syndrome and find fulfillment in our current condition.
Until the next time!
K & Co.
I heartily agree with the NY Attorney General that this request is shocking considering the state of the economy and that Merrill Lynch, in addition to other investment firms and banks, have all been suffering heavy hits. I have to ask though, why does someone need a $10 million bonus? I personally would love to see Mr. Thain explain to the countless children who won't be getting a Christmas this year why he deserves to get $10 million for his Christmas bonus.
And where does this $10 million come from? Because aren't the American people having to pay $700 billion to fix the excessive ways of Wall Street? Does Mr. Thain think that the American people are going to stand by and watch him roll around in our hard earned cash? Not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouth or the right circumstances to spend our adult lives twiddling our thumbs while earning $10 million bonuses (which is a piddling amount compared to bonuses in years past I'm sure). It's true that there are a few people in history who have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and gone from trash to treasure, but considering there are 300 million and counting in this country, that's the exception, not the norm.
Here's my suggestion to Mr. Thain and the Merrill Lynch BoD: Give the $10 million to charity in Mr. Thain's name… he can still feel like he got a cool $10 mil, quite a few families will actually get to celebrate a joyous holiday this year, and the American people will feel a little less slighted than they already do.
I told myself I would try and keep economy doom and gloom off the blog, but I just HAD to comment on this. So excuse me a moment whilst I climb up on my soapbox here (it's a long climb)....
I think the whole thing boils down to this: why can't everyone learn to live within their means and more simply? I really think that the majority of our issues--global warming, pollution, Wall Street failing, poverty, etc--are due to all of us not learning to live a little bit more simply. We're too excited about the next big technological advance and we don't stop and think long enough about what the true impact of that might be (myself included). Apparently we are a very insecure group of people as we have to use 'stuff' to generate our self-worth. And yes, this would be a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black, as I too am a victim of this 'stuff' syndrome.
One of my resolutions for the new year, which will actually start now, is to start culling my stuff and live a bit more simply. If I don't have room for it, it's gone. Every quarter I'll clean out the closet and cull more stuff. I'll give gifts that are consumable and practical, not kitchsy and cluttery. I'll recycle more and try to reuse more items around my house so I reduce my waste but also reduce the need to buy more things. I'll reinvent the stuff I have or trade it with others. We'll save more money and try to reduce our extraneous spending. I think I'll track all of this and see what happens! I welcome any and all suggestions on living more frugally and simply and I encourage all fo you to find ways in which to live more frugally this next year. Maybe together we can stop the syndrome and find fulfillment in our current condition.
Until the next time!
K & Co.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Saga of Mia: Concluded!
Hello all!
Just when you think nothing is going right, something good and unexpected appears...per my Aunt Ann below:
It's over! The court terminated the parental rights of Mia's parents and the adoption is scheduled for January 30, her first birthday!
We are so relieved and happy, what a Christmas gift she is. They were here for Thanksgiving and we enjoyed her so much. God is good! Ann
Thank you to everyone for your prayers, well-wishes, and good thoughts! We are so blessed to have Mia as part of our extended family and thankful that this trial of hardship is OVER.
Happy Friday to all!
K & Co.
Just when you think nothing is going right, something good and unexpected appears...per my Aunt Ann below:
It's over! The court terminated the parental rights of Mia's parents and the adoption is scheduled for January 30, her first birthday!
We are so relieved and happy, what a Christmas gift she is. They were here for Thanksgiving and we enjoyed her so much. God is good! Ann
Thank you to everyone for your prayers, well-wishes, and good thoughts! We are so blessed to have Mia as part of our extended family and thankful that this trial of hardship is OVER.
Happy Friday to all!
K & Co.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
In memoriam: Dr. Byron Kocen
I found out yesterday that the pediatrician of my childhood, Dr. Byron Kocen, passed away this past Saturday as a result of open heart surgery. He was 75.
A lot of people don't look back at doctor's visits as enjoyable memories, especially when they are full of shots and other unpleasant things, but visits to Dr. Kocen were always fun. He loved tropical fish and had many tanks filled with fish of all colors and sizes in his office. We loved to stare at the fish as we waited for our appointments. He'd check our ears for billygoats, ask us all sorts of questions, tell us jokes, and sometimes perform magic tricks. He was a jolly man who had a love for children and related easily to them. Most kids don't continue to see their pediatrician until they're 15 or so, but he was an extraordinary doctor who really knew how to make a kid feel better and was the kind of doctor I hoped my own children could see someday.
Through his personal experience and work with ADD, Dr. Kocen was instrumental in helping my family understand not only what ADD is, but to also see the gifts hidden within it. The way he described ADD as "Attention Creative Difference" was just yet another example of how this incredible man viewed life and a disorder that many people think poorly of. His compassion for all people and the drive to make the world a better place are indicative of the quality of his character. Another blog writer felt that the world is a little bit darker, colder, and lonelier now that he's gone, but I beg to differ. The world is a much better place from his time here and while he will be sorely missed, his influence will continue to grow and inspire more people to follow in his footsteps.
Until we meet again old friend,
K & Co.
A lot of people don't look back at doctor's visits as enjoyable memories, especially when they are full of shots and other unpleasant things, but visits to Dr. Kocen were always fun. He loved tropical fish and had many tanks filled with fish of all colors and sizes in his office. We loved to stare at the fish as we waited for our appointments. He'd check our ears for billygoats, ask us all sorts of questions, tell us jokes, and sometimes perform magic tricks. He was a jolly man who had a love for children and related easily to them. Most kids don't continue to see their pediatrician until they're 15 or so, but he was an extraordinary doctor who really knew how to make a kid feel better and was the kind of doctor I hoped my own children could see someday.
Through his personal experience and work with ADD, Dr. Kocen was instrumental in helping my family understand not only what ADD is, but to also see the gifts hidden within it. The way he described ADD as "Attention Creative Difference" was just yet another example of how this incredible man viewed life and a disorder that many people think poorly of. His compassion for all people and the drive to make the world a better place are indicative of the quality of his character. Another blog writer felt that the world is a little bit darker, colder, and lonelier now that he's gone, but I beg to differ. The world is a much better place from his time here and while he will be sorely missed, his influence will continue to grow and inspire more people to follow in his footsteps.
Until we meet again old friend,
K & Co.
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