Voyages in Parenthood

Leda's WAY ahead - we just found ANOTHER tooth coming in! That makes FIVE!! That's right, FIVE teeth! And we are not even 7 months old (in fact, we are only over 6 months by a week.) And, we are scooting across the floor at break-neck speed. Well, not really, but she wants something, she will pull herself across the floor with her hands, and push herself a little more with her feet. It's quite interesting! We expect any moment, she will start really crawling. She's really growing fast! I just hope she's not ready to go off to college until she's 18! ;-)

As promised...our little pumpkin (or orange elf, take your pick!)

Yep, we dressed Leda up...and I got very cute pictures. However, I haven't had the time to download them off the camera to post them. Will later tonight, so if you check back then, you will see a cute little kid pumpkin with the scary carved one that Brock made! ;-)

You know what I hate the most about the end of Daylight Saving Time? Sure, we gain a extra hour over the weekend, but the shadows get longer quicker in the afternoon. That's what I hate the most about the end of Daylight Saving Time. I just looked out my window and thought it was raining because it had gotten darker...nope, just that it's actually 5:20 PM and I am usually gone from here by now! Oh well, here's me, waiting for April!

...will be "Bronco's Suck!*" Of course, if the Eagles continue on the course they seem to be on at the moment...nope, don't wanna think about it. *Those relatives in Denver will notice I didn't say Denver! ;-)

Ever get so mad you could spit bullets? Leda had a Doc appointment (6mo wellness check and shots) today at 9:45am. We got to the Doc office at 9:35am - figured if we got there a little early, maybe they would take us a little early - HA! It was around 10:50am, after watching pharmaceutical sales person after pharmaceutical sales person go back to visit with office personnel, and little Leda's eyes red from being tired, that I finally went to the desk and told them to reschedule us for the first available appt in the am - very early in the am. Yep, we waited over an hour for our appt and never did see the doc - never did get weighed, measured and shot up with lots of good for us vaccinations. And, boy, was Mommy mad that she had to take off 3 hours of work for NOTHING! I love our doc - really, I do. He spends time with his patients - we are usually the ones pushing him to the door! But, when the office schedules visits every 15 minutes, that usually means that you may have a schedul

Grand Canyon SkyWalk Seriously, 4,000 ft in the air, jutting 70 ft out from a cliff, with a glass bottom. Do you SERIOUSLY think that anyone with an INKLING of a height phobia is going to come within 100 yds of this "attraction?" I am sure it will be spectacular, but I ain't putting it on my list of places to visit before I die! My knees get weak just thinking about this!

For those family members who need Christmas purchasing ideas: Leda's Wish List Cyndy's Wish List Items are in NO particular order. And yes, I have a very boring list this year. If I can think of anything I can't live without, I will add it to the list. Until then, happy hunting through my ever growing list of stuff I want! As for Brock's list, well, we all know that we don't get that list until the end of November, if we are at all lucky! I know what I'm getting him, and no, I ain't telling! ;-) Oh, and clothes sizes for Leda...anything 6-12, as long as it is winter/warm like clothing. If it's summer clothes, I would expect she'll probably be wearing something like 12-18mo by the summer time. She's wearing 6-9 right now - we just can't fit into the 3-6 anymore! Now, since I have broken my own Christmas rule in getting lists out BEFORE Nov 1, you all can return the favor by sending me some lists of things to get for you! Thank you, and Good Da

Today Leda is 6 months old! Unbelievable! I can't believe I am the mother of a 6 month old! (Most of the time, I can't believe I am a mother! So this is big! ;-) Let's see, in 6 months, we have started sleeping through the night (well, geez, that got accomplished before she was 2 months!), we've grown FOUR teeth (FOUR!!), we've been eating solids for two months, we've ALMOST started crawling (we are HOURS away from chasing the kid!), we've smiled and laughed EVERY day, and we have brought more joy to Mommy and Daddy's lives than any two people are allowed to have in one lifetime! Leda's absolutely, hands-down, the BEST KID ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH! And, no, we are not bias! ;-) The past week we've had a few interruptions in the middle of the night (nothing longer than a handful of minutes, but Mommy's gotta get up and come see what's the matter) and we think that's because of teething (darned teeth - if they weren't so important,

Last night, we went to dinner with Grandpa and Nana, who are in town to promote Nana's book, The Gift of More . We joined Grandpa and Nana at Taquet in Wayne and we had a GREAT dinner. Grandpa gave Leda a teddy bear that he purchased at the toy store across the street from the hotel they are staying in (Leda's all for Grandpa and Nana, and any other Grandparents that want to visit, to stay at hotels across the street from toy stores! In fact, any relatives that want to visit, just let us know and we will tell you what hotels are across the street from toy stores that you can stay in!) Leda loves the teddy bear and she was such a good girl while we were having dinner! After dinner, Nana couldn't stand it anymore and had to hold Leda... (I really need to figure out how to get this darned camera to focus properly!!!) (AND, you might notice that Leda's face looks really red and blotchy...she's sporting a nasty rash, which we believe has something to do with the teething

Brock carves the best pumpkins.... There's more to come....as soon as I can find more! Leda's gonna be terrified most of her life! ;-)

Yesterday, the family (sans dog - unfortunately, no dogs allowed) went out to Linvilla Orchards for a day of reminiscing and pumpkin picking! My grandmother used to take us to Linvilla (hundreds of) years ago and I wanted to start a little tradition of our own for Halloween - The go-out-to-the-orchard-and-pick-out-a-pumpkin-that-Daddy-will-carve-and-pay-twice-as-much-for-it-as-we-would-at-the-supermarket-but-it-will-be-fun-to-see-all-the-pumpkins-and-stuff-and-listen-to-Mommy-wonder-why-it-isn't-exactly-like-it-was-when-she-was-a-kid tradition. Linvilla changed a bit since I was a kid - there were HUNDREDS of people out there yesterday - it was crazy! And, the great big octagonal building that we used to go into to get the fresh farm/orchard stuff (all I can remember, for some reason, was the Linvilla honey that we used to ALWAYS get when we went there) is no longer there! It must have burned or something*, because it is gone - thus, I had a horrible time trying to get my bearings!

Trebek: "Answer: The only two singles from this album not to become top-ten hits were "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady In My Life" * Me: Thriller Contestant: Thriller Trebek: Right! Brock: It scares me that you know that. (personally, it scares me, too!) *Not exactly the question word-for-word, but close.

To date, I have NOT smoked 10957 cigarettes! I have added 2 months, 23 days and 16 hours to my life. I have saved $2,466! All for being smoke free for 548 days! I think I deserve to buy something for myself! Hmmmm, gotta think, what do I want to buy for myself? hmmmm...off to go think! Have a great weekend!

Well, cross that off Leda's Christmas List! We have Front Toothage! Last night at dinner, we were trying our new "veggie puffs" (things to promote chewing) and since, for some reason, these are the ONLY things we pick up but DON'T put in our mouth, I was helping Leda eat them by placing then in her mouth (that she was opening up like a little starving birdy!) Well, my fingers lingered a little too long in her mouth and she bit down and it hurt...more than usual! I checked, and yep, there's a top front tooth coming out of the gums! No warning...nothing that we could point to and say, ah, yep, she's getting a tooth! Except for the excessive drooling (which she has been doing since she was 2 months old!) I guess there might be some signs, but none of them were ones that the book told us she would show us. Darned book! Anyway, I guess we will have to add more things to Leda's Christmas List because those two front teeth will be here before Thanksgiving!

Nope, not Leda...she's growing quickly, but not THAT quickly! ;-) My Anniversary Date - Yep, 18 months ago, I smoked my last cigarette!!!! Haven't had one since! That's right, I have been going nuts for the past 18 months! ;-) Actually, it's not that bad. Don't even want a cigarette, most of the time. Occasionally I do, but the longer I don't smoke, the easier it is to quell that urge by thinking about the fact that I've come too far now to fail. Besides, it would only give Brock more incentive to keep smoking. ;-) So, Happy Anniversary to me and my lungs! ;-)

I've spent the past 48 hours as a single parent of a 6 month old and I just don't know how single parents of infants do it all the time. It's hard work! I mean, usually the longest either one of us left alone with Leda is about 8-9 hours. I'm alone with the little monster until this evening and I am exhausted! But, we've been having fun! After a not so easy night on Friday - Leda had a bit of a messy diaper around midnight, which found her crying on and off for about a half hour after I changed it. Then, she decided at 6:30AM that I had had plenty of sleep for the night! Anyway, after an easy morning - all we did was vaccum the living room, well, and play - we had lunch and headed off for the Valley Forge Park for a little walk with the dog. After a false start (I packed EVERYTHING BUT the dog leash and didn't realize it until half way there! duh!) we finally got to the park and we had a good walk. At least we tired out the dog! Only problem yesterday afternoon.

All my life (well, 99% of it, at least!) I've lived near Valley Forge. I really need to go back to the welcome center and take tour some of the buildings scattered around the park. I can't believe that I've never been in the Washington Chapel!! Leda and I spent an hour or so with Duff walking up and down the path right outside the chapel. The weather was gorgeous today (considering the 8 or 9 days of rain and/or clouds!) The sun was warm and the sky was interesting. The clouds were fluffy and white, but every so often, the lighting would change and the clouds would look ominous - like a storm was on the way - but three minutes later, the sky would be blue and all the clouds would look like you could sink into them like a big, warm, soft chair.

Well, since Daddy is off to Orlando* for the weekend, Leda and Mommy get a WHOLE weekend, including a Friday, all to ourselves! So, what did we do on our first day? We went to the Mall! WoooHooo! Actually, this was pretty significant...this was Leda's first trip to the Mall. She did pretty well for about an hour...then she got tired and started crying. But, she got a whole new outfit out of the trip, so it wasn't too bad. We are excited...we bought our Thanksgiving outfit! And, it's cute! And, yes, it has fake leopard skin as part of the outfit...I couldn't resist! Guess you'll all have to come back after Thanksgiving to see the pictures! Anyway, the rest of the weekend should be pretty uneventful, except for Sunday, when we join Karen and Jennifer for an estate sale. That should be fun! *He says he isn't going to have fun, since it is sorta work, but we know better! ;-)

I don't know whether to laugh at this or join the " Free Katie " people: Katie Holmes' silent Scientology birth The jist....Scientologists believe that a "loud" birth could mentally affect the child. So, they believe that all those attending a birth, including the mother, should be completely silent. SILENT. ARE.YOU.KIDDING.ME???? There is so much wrong with this on SO many levels. Seriously, I don't think I will ever be able to watch Top Gun or A Few Good Men EVER again. He has just totally ruined it for me.

Not only do I work out of the home (HORRORS!) and leave my child to be care for by her father (I mean, you KNOW she's playing with knives and power tools while I am way from the home!) and didn't breastfeed (well, now, that's Leda's fault! She just hated it!), now, NOW, here comes the "elimination communication" people who are going to tell me that I just am not that great of a mother because I didn't start potty training her at 3 months...that's right, POTTY TRAINING! Are.you.kidding.me? A Fast Track to Toilet Training for Those at the Crawling Stage Look, I think this is great, if you have the time and energy to do it. I just don't want someone looking at me in the future and poo-pooing (no pun intended) me because I didn't start potty training my kid before she was eating solid foods. It's bad enough I have to deal with the guilt of not being with my kid 24/7, now I will be a bad parent for not potty training my kid at 3 months? Leda wil

...will be, "Dallas Sucks." Count on it!

It's not because of Halloween. And all the Ghosts and goblins floating around out there. It's not because it's the time of the year that could be warm or could be cold and you can't put away the summer clothes but you have no place for the winter clothes... It's not because the leaves start to fall and if it rains, they can be like driving on ice... Nope, none of that... It scares me because any day now my mother is going to start bugging me for Christmas lists! Yep, can't even wait for us to get into November and get to a point in time when it is okay to start thinking about Christmas. Not only do I have to make my own list, now I have to make one for Leda! (and, most of the time, I have to come up with things for Brock...my work is NEVER done!) Oh, and by the way, Brock and I actually saw the first Christmas commercial of the season...on WEDNESDAY!! Yes, that would be OCTOBER 5TH! A FULL 2 1/2 Months before the big day! Granted, it was a commercial for the Rad

...maybe you should have to get a license in order to have and raise children. And, I don't mean this: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/12813691.htm (not going there!) What I mean is people who are too weird for their own good probably shouldn't be having kids.... Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes expecting I mean, come on. This guy has just gone off the deep end this past year. Now, he's pro-creating? I sure hope that Katie doesn't experience any baby blues or postpartum depression. Oh, and I am not EVEN going to touch Britney and Kevin as parents. We have to have licenses to have dogs, to drive cars, to get married...but anyone can have a kid. Geesh!

Added a new commenting system to the blog this morning so that you don't have to be anonymous anymore! Thus, it appears I have lost all the comments (not that there were that many to begin with) that people made on the blog! Hey, so, make them again if you wanna! Or, don't. I remember what was said! ;-) UPDATED: I think I fixed some of the old comments, so Never Mind! ;-)

Well, on Wed or Thur of last week, we started Green veggies with Leda. We decided to start with Greenbeans....I love green beans...I pretty much like all green veggies (except broccoli - Bluck!)...so was hoping the kid would love greenbeans too. No dice...we got it spit out at us on the first night, and then she wouldn't open her mouth unless a bottle or a spoonful of rice cereal was coming toward it. The second night, we got gagging! So, no greenbeans for this kid...well, at least not for now...we aren't sure, but it could also be that she was feeling poorly . Then, this weekend, we didn't eat anything but our bottle...we really were not feeling well - we think it might have been Fifth's disease, since there was a rash and temperature, and Dr. John pretty much concured. Now, we just have a stuffy nose and a cough. No temperature anymore, than goodness! So, last night we tried Peas...and much to my delight, this child will not take after my mother when it comes to peas

Last week, at work, the funniest thing happened. Well, it was funny, but not so funny... My cubical was on the third floor, right outside an empty office which we used the leave the door open to so we could see sun light. I was down on the first floor cleaning/rearranging my new office that I was going to be moving into at the end of the week. I came upstairs and while on the phone, I swung my chair around and saw this: If you look really closely, you will see a bird! I had to think about it, too...I wasn't competely sure I was seeing what I was seeing. But I was - it's a bird. Well, what a bird left on the window, after apparently flying full force into it! The report from the conference room on the first floor directly below this window was a large "thud" was heard and something black dropped out of the sky. We assume the bird is dead, although no one apparently actually checked to see if there was a dead bird. I am REALLY glad I wasn't sitting at my desk when

This house has been a part of my entire life. It's my grandparent's house, my Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom's house, although they haven't lived there for 13 or so years. My Aunt and Uncle live there now, or, actually, my Aunt will live there until around the end of this month. They are moving to Florida and selling this house. Although I haven't visited them much here (we see them at my cousins or at our house or out at dinner), this house has always been there, waiting for me, as if it would always be there, would always house the memories of all the Christmas's, birthday parties, Fourth of July/Pop-Pop's Birthday picnics, Thanksgivings, MANY Eagles games where I learned how to yell and scream with the best of them!...all the hide-in-seek games my sister and my cousins and I played. It will be someone else's house soon. And that makes me sad, to think that someone else's family will now create their own memories in this house. But it sorta makes me happy, to

Well, finally got a few pictures uploaded and updated a few things.... Squash is yucky has proof now! 5 Months Old has pictures of Leda looking 5 months old! Some other pictures that were very cute that Mommy had to share but had no place else to go but in this post! Hey, whatcha doing down there?? Looking demure, or merely faking it? The largest cat know to man Being silly with Daddy!