What, April's over?

Whew- April flew by in a work-induced haze - a trifecta of employee appraisals, a presentation for the "Big Boss" and a trip to Japan made the month fly by with hardly a blink. There was also the annual company open house, but mercifully all I had to do was show up.

Good news is that other than the usual "my appraisal isn't fair" and "Olivia is out to sabotage my career" grumblings, things went pretty well. The "Big Boss" liked the presentation, and even went out of his way to metion it to me when I saw him a week later in Japan.

The trip to Japan was a bit of a mixed bag - the HR staff over there isn't really HR...they're the poor souls who got stuck with the administrative stuff that goes along with HR. Good news is that our president is much more interested in HR than any of his predecessors, so they're starting to try and bring their heads up out of the sand. Alas, I think that progress in this area may be quite painful.

Ava is doing really really well - more talkative (is this possible?) every day, and is now actually starting to make sense! ; ) She's loving every second we can spend outside, with the only downside being the inevitable tears when it's time to come inside.

Casey and I are really going to need to start pushing the whole Stranger Program soon - Ava likes to flag down any man, woman, child or other that passes our house with an extremely cheerful "Hi! What's your name?" Sometimes, if her quarry does not immediately answer, she gives chase. I don't think this falls into the don't-talk-to-strangers thing. While I personally believe that our wonderful media turns all of us into overly fearful misanthropes, I know that I'd never be able to forgive myself if something were ever to happen to Ava because I didn't teach her to be less friendly. This, again, ties in to my child-predators-should-be-shot arguement, but I won't subject you all to that rant at this time.

As for May, lovely, beautiful May, I'm really enjoying it. The first week was "Golden Week" in Japan (a week long holiday), and as a result the office was really really quiet, and I was able to catch up after the trip. It was also good, as I generally slept so little/poorly on the trip, I was loopy and off my game for several days.

The weather has been phenomenal (thank you global warming!) and I have been planting. A friend of mine hooked me up with a few hundred dollars worth of perennials (she divided up her stuff) and I went to town. Now we'll see the true battle for survival happen out in our clay-blighted yard.

We have a wedding this weekend, Mother's Day, a special showing of Shrek 3 and Flower Day at the Eastern market next weekend, so things are really moving! Then, it's anniversary time. 5 years, who can believe it?

rock n roll!

Well, some things are just destiny, I guess. I am cursed to be surrounded by those with love of hard rock/ metal music. First my brother, then my roommates, (with the exception of Deanna and Susan, although I think Deanna hid a heavy metal past), then my husband. Now, the final blow - my daughter. Almost from birth, she's always responded to those heavy beats and sreaming guitars. The photo above was taken while driving with Daddy, in between cries of "Rock and Roll!!". When System of a Down comes on, she goes for full head banging glory. I guess I must be the only one to have inherited the apparently recessive dance music gene.

Fancy Cake

Here's the cake we had made for Ava's birthday....looked pretty good, but alas, tasted dry and mealy.

Maybe we should have explained it as a metaphor for life...so many things that look perfect on the outside are a bit lacking on the inside, and vice versa.

Of course, Ava didn't complain. I wonder if kids really register taste, or simply sugar content.

Birthday!

Whee! Ava's had a great time celebrating her birthday this year - a party at school, one at our place, and one at Aunt Shannon's and Uncle Jeff's! I didn't have that much fuss made over me when I turned 16! But then again, I probably would have "died" of embarrasment if my parents HAD tried to throw me a 16th birthday party....

In any case, Ava was queen for the day three times, which was probably her favorite part, even above presents. I got a really fancy cake - with the Little Mermaid and everything, but alas, she didn't even seem to care. Goes to show you that even when you're in charge of almost every aspect of their lives, you still can't really predict what a person will really go for! Still, we did ok - She did really enjoy her goodies, particularly all the "princess" gear that she received. Every day she's been dressing up, and now seems to walk as well in heels as I do.

On the parent front, three seems to be much better than the latter part of two...we've cut down on tantrums by a significant percent, and have even logged a few "naughty-chair" free days! Thank goodness....I feared I might lose my mind in the days of the constant battles for supremacy. Obviously, we've won the battle, but not the war, and we maintain constant vigilance. :)

Post Holiday Run-Down

Ahh, January....

Christmas this year was a blur....with Casey working up to Christmas Eve, three separate Christmas celebrations in two days, then Casey back to work, all I can say is that I think it was fun. I know Ava had a great time opening presents, and even playing with them this year. She got so many things that when we finally unpacked all the goods back at our house, she was excited all over again, as if she hadn't seen these items before.

After Christmas, Ava spent a couple of days with Grandma Sue while Grandma Joan and I tackled the dreaded upstairs bathroom. I hope there's a kind of decorator's karma, becuase the woman who wallpapered that bathroom deserves to be punished very severely. After about 8 hours of scraping brackish, green/gray paste off the walls (and ceiling), my hands started to cramp up, and I realized that no matter how much I scraped, the walls were never going to be perfect. Next day, I primed and painted. Unfortunately, the color of the paint didn't come out nearly as tan as I wanted it to be, and is actually amazingly close in color to the tile itself, which is kind of peach-pink. So, on the whole, the place looks like a womb. However, I could barely lift my arms after about 20 hours combined scraping and painting, and Ava came home from Grandma's, so for the time being, it's staying. At least the hard part is done.

Saturday, I started to feel a bit funny....I thought it was some sort of weird leftover muscle pain from the scraping-priming-crappy-painting festival, but alas, it was not to be. By Sunday afternoon, the pains had increased, and I was running a fever. by Sunday evening (New Year's Eve) I was shaking uncontrollably in bed, with pain and fever. Not wanting to partake in the fun of a New Year's Eve with drunks and such in the ER, I held on till Tuesday, when Urgent Care opened. I came away with large antibiotics, and was out of work for a few days. Thankfully, Grandma Sue had Ava again, so I was able to moan on the couch with limited interruption. Finally, Friday, when I was beginning to feel better, the clinic threw in a nice ending to the whole situation, by calling me up and asking me to come in for more tests....something about an abnormal white count. So, I start freaking out that I have leukemia. Turns out, that's what they were worried about as well. Apparently, most folks who have white cell counts as high as mine was on Tuesday aren't in the condition to be walking around...they're usually in the hospital. Thankfully, yours truly tested out fine, and was just admonished for being stubborn about getting care earlier. Thank goodness for Sue, and of course for Casey, who is generally super-hubby when it comes to illness. It's a good thing I'm genetically stubborn about admitting to illness....otherwise Casey would probably have a total hypocondriatic wife, just for the perks.

Oh well

Ok, the post below is NOT from Thanksgiving...in my holiday-addled mind, I was going to write a longer post, with real photos from actual Thanksgiving, but it didn't exactly work out that way.

Here is a photo from Thanksgiving - John and Mom got the perfect impromptu present for Ava - a big, empty box. With some markers and other accoutrements, it became a perfect playhouse. Keeping the markers on the walls of the playhouse and not on Ava was a bit challenging, but as she was more than willing to let me sleep off the Turkey in her new house, it was worth the effort.

So far this month, we're doing well - We actually have most of the shopping done, thanks to a mid-week vacation and a disregard for budget. Casey took care of his own present, getting himself a new Portable Play station. Now, he can't possibly claim he didn't get what he wanted this year, so that's one less trauma to deal with for Christmas.

Ava is excited about Santa coming to visit. I think she's assuming it's some sort of play date, rather than the midnight manifestation of American Commercialism. This, I'm sure will change rapidly. Given her gene pool, I expect itemized, prioritized lists next year.

Me, I'm just looking forward to the vacation time! HR is always busy at year end, and of course more so this year. Between all the open enrollment stuff, as well as Budgeting, Objectives planning and such, I just keep eying the calendar willing it to be December 22nd. (Though I will get some relief after the 16th - when the Holiday party ends, and the Boss takes off for Japan!

Until then, we're hanging on. I suppose Ihad better think about Christmas cards too.....

Thanksgiving

Wow- I can't believe it's almost December. I was shocked to see I hadn't put any photos or events up since the beginning of the month...oh well, it's not like anything Earth-shattering or anything has been going on. Just work, work, and more work punctuated by some nice weekend moments with Casey and Ava.

On the 18th, we all went to a lovely wedding reception for Lisa and Ed, whose last name I won't bother trying to spell. It was a nice, small group of wonderful friendly folks. Ava loved the attention, of course, and even went home with the Bride's wedding lei.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Although we did take Ava trick or treating last year, this year really marked her first as a willing and cognizant participant in the process....

After days of telling her it wasn't yet time to go, we whiled away the last few moments before 6pm telling her "almost....almost...wait for the siren!" Once that sound came, we were out the door, and across the street in a flash.

Alas, the first BLOCK of houses we hit were either dark, or simply had a "take one please" bowl outside. Really, how hard is it to answer your door for two hours? Finally, we hit our first "live" house. Ava was really great at saying trick or treat, and very friendly. She tried to push her way inside most of the homes we visited, generally in search of dogs tantalizingly barking and snarling out of sight. At one house she valiantly tried to invite herself to go out with a pack of teenage girls who were getting ready. At others, she simply tried to duck around the obsticle passing out the candy.

After about 8 houses, the frequency with which she said "uppy!" started to increase, so we headed home, where she also hit Casey up for some candy before coming in the house. We did manage to limit her candy intake to two items and get her to bed at a pretty reasonable hour.

It was slightly harder to explain the following morning that we couldn't go trick or treating again for a year.

Organized Chaos

Today was the big "Halloween Parade" at Ava's school - a marvelous time to see what your kid is really like when you're not around....

The morning began rather badly, with Ava freaking out the second I put her costume on, which, seeing as I put it on the wrong way, wasn't easy in itself. On the fly, we grabbed her little ballet slippers and a ballerina dress, with hopes that she'd follow form and want to wear her costume when she realized that she wasn't already wearing it. Wildly indecisive behavior or at least disagreement with whatever we say seems to be the norm at the moment. The wardrobe crisis was followed by the "let's go trick or treat now" crisis, followed by the "I don't want to go" crisis. Eventally, we made it to the school with about 4 outfits in hand.

When I went back to go and see the "parade", Ava was behaving very well, sitting in her place in the story circle and attentively listening to the story being told. Well, at least until she saw me, when she started crying because we were trying to keep her in the circle and quiet. I wondered how all the other kids were so calm when surrounded by their own parents.

Once she was allowed to break free, and crawl all over me, the crying stopped, and she suddenly wanted to have a conversation in the middle of story time. Again, I marvelled that all the other children were quiet, listening to the story, and not trying to get to their parents, or speaking with one another, etc. I figure all the other parents are drugging their kids.

Once it was time to check out the train, Ava managed to slip past me and about 95% of the kids and parents in front of her, so that she was already aboard the train before I managed to get out of the building. (This is only about 10 feet, so it's not like I had a long way to go.)

After the ride, she amused herself in the yard with leaves, sticks, and rolling around in the dirt. (She's a lady.) I did laugh at the obvious differences between the girls and the boys - girls throwing up leaves and twirling under them, boys throwing leaves at each other.

Finally, parade time rolled around, and guess who dashed right out in the front? I see a theme here. I can't imagine where she gets it from.

Ladies of Leisure

Deanna called me Friday night looking for a way out of the house...ok, she said a walk, but we all know that walking is just code for "get me the heck out of here for a couple of minutes." Seeing as I understood the code, I agreed, and we decided to go for a trip into town Saturday morning for Coffee. Ava and Georgia, constant buddies unless there's a toy in contention, enjoyed watching Deanna and I (ok, mostly Deanna) take turns as their own personal pack mules while they enjoyed the sights, and worked dilligently to lose whatever items (hats, etc.) could be lost. As it started to rain whilst we were walking, both girls wound up in a warm bath to end the morning.
In the afternoon, we went to see Andrew (our oldest nephew) play hockey for Lawrence Tech, and then a trip to my mom's for a visit with Gramma Joan and Grampa John. Fun was had by all, but foregoing the afternoon nap guarenteed little miss cranky pants was on the prowl in the evening, working on honing her fake cry. She's now become so expert that she can usually hit that particular note that drives Casey and I crazy within 0.0001 seconds. Thankfully, she's a good sleeper, and was back to her usual happy self by Sunday, when we were blissfully without plans other than the supermarket.

Stone the Rich

Ok, I'm as capitalistic, materialistic and a bunch of other "istics" that speak to wanting to have loads of money to spend in a selfish, narcissistic way as the next person raised in middle class America, but come on people, $38 bottled water?

I was reading about "bling H20" which sells in a "limited edition" glass bottle encrusted with Swarski (Ok, you know I can't spell) crystals. This is a disposeable container, filled with water bottled in Tennessee (really), filtered through some guy named Wilbur's underpants (possibly), and idiots with nothing better to do with their money are paying $38 a bottle for it. We're talking about money to quite literally piss away here, people.

Wouldn't it make more sense to eat $100 bills and take public dumps? Then, one could watch all those losers (the ones who need money for things as inconsequential as a house (single), heat, electricity, or things that one's butler normally deals with) scramble to retrieve said bills from one's own dropping. Of course, that might lead to some actual good for someone, so nix that idea. Harumpf.

Yup, that's her!

A day or so ago Ava and I were watching Television, when a commercial for Swiffer sweeper products came on the television. The Ad showed a middle aged African-American woman busily using the swiffer on her floors. Out of nowhere, Ava pipes up "It's Grandma Sue!"

After a couple of hysterical laughs, I told her, "Yes, that's Grandma Sue!"

The Victorian Festival

Hey, it only took me 4 years, but I finally made it down to Northville's Victorian Festival. The purpose of celebrating Victoriana is somewhat lost on me, but if the town feels like putting on a show, I'm all for it.

My Mom came over, and She, Ava and I set out on foot for the festival. I didn't know really what to expect - stiff-backed self righteousness? Anti-macassars? Fussy decorating? In any case, it was part art-fair, part local fund-raiser and part carnival, so it was pretty fun. Ava had a great time riding the kiddy-sized ferris wheel and getting her face painted. (Thanks Grandma Joan!)

New Photos

Thanks to Grandma Sue, we have new photos, comemmorating Ava at 2 and 1/2 years. It's impossible to believe that she's that old already, but regardless.... We have a bunch, as she thoughtfully ordered photos for all the grandparents.

Hysterical

Here are a couple of websites friends have turned me on to...very funny.


Here's a fine example of why people shouldn't believe or act upon things they read on the internet. Basically, it provides advice on how to be completely crass and greeedy at your wedding:
http://www.i-do.com.au/network/ShowArticle.asp?article=790&topic=186&host=9

This one is one of the funniest I've seen in a long time - complete roast of our current government's attitudes toward their role in our personal lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nopV5PKkU_0
You'll need speakers and a resonably fast connection to enjoy it.

Crappy Camera

Ok, just a word of warning - avoid Casio cameras. After our beloved Cannon digital Elph died during Alicia's wedding, we decided we'd upgrade rather than repair. (We are Americans, you know.)

After much research, including the usually-spot-on Consumer Reports, I picked up a Casio Exlim 1000, a brand-new, 10 megapixel sub-compact camera that did everything we wanted and a lot more. The sales guy also reassured me that I could use the three week return period to allay my fears, as I hadn't really heard that much about Casios, one way or the other.

Well, I'm here to tell you - 10 mexapixels doesn't do you a darn bit of good if the camera won't take a clear picture, and distorts the heck out of the colors. (I think the techincal terms are "noise" and something that sounds like an anthropological term, but I can't remember it now) What use is it to blow up a blurry photo? (Also, huge file size, very slow to upload!)

So, I went to return said camera, and was seconds away from going nuclear with the returns desk, who had informed me I would receive store credit instead of a refund, when the manager actually stepped in and said he'd be happy to refund the money, based on what the clerk had told me. I was impressed. Good customer service is ridiculously rare these days.

In any case, we wound up going with another Cannon digital elph, and would recommend it to anyone. Thus ends today's public service announcement.

The Boys!

Ok, I've tried to make this posting for a couple of weeks now, but with little success...I think I keep overloading it with photos.

Ava, Casey and I were very happy to have Jen, Mark, Nick and Max over about two weekends ago (I told you I've been trying this for a while). Great time as had by all - Jen brought the food (because I pale in comparison as a cook) and I learned how to make green beans delicious (lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic...yum! Thanks Jen). That's not to say the kids ate any, of course.

All the kids seems to have a great time with the kitty condo - it's tall, dirty, fuzzy and wobbly - what's not to like.

Observing the boys playing with Ava's Mardi Gras style beads also was pretty funny. Although you know it's not wrong, it provides an excellent guage of your own personal inner homophobia, or at least your own dogged adherence to what girls and boys "ought" to do and like, as far as society is concerned. Nevermind that all 2-3 year olds are thinking is "Oooo! shiny!" They should make guns covered in sequins, just to confuse the heck out of everyone.

Granpa Steve is such a Mark!

Ok I realize that all grandparents like to spoil their grandchildren, but take a look at this:

Yep, that's a full-sized bounce house. After the excitement of O'Connor Family Christmas in July, Grandpa Steve apparently decided he had to get one to keep. Ok, in all reality, Steve isn't completely mad - he's already started renting it out. Sounds like a resonably profitable business, so long as you don't mind driving around on the weekends!

Ava continues to grow way too fast, and is very verbal - every day those sentances become more clear. Pretty soon I'll hear "I hate you mom" and I know she'll be all grown up.

Until then, I'm loving every second of our adorable little princess's attention. Potty training isn't going all that well, alas...I'm completely open to suggestions from everyone. She knows HOW to go potty, at least "#1", but generally won't ever volunteer to go. Rubber pants and "feel and learn" diapers don't phase her. I am going to try bribery next - a sticker or something for each successful run, and something more substantial for a full day of using the facilities. I've heard this works, but we'll see...

Casey and I have been very busy - too busy it seems. My boss here at work left the company in July, and since then I've been the unofficial head (read no promotion or salary increase, but all the work) of HR. I've finally stopped waking up panicked in the middle of the night, so you could say I'm getting used to my new role. Hopefully, if I can keep things on track until the next round of evaluations I can get the title and at least some of the money that should go along. Until then, it's SSDD. (Same S**t, Different Day) Casey's been doing the boss bit himself, and working a ton of hours, most of the Saturdays this summer. Like wives throughout history, while he's working on Saturday, Ava and I go and spend what he's earning. :) Ok, mostly on groceries and diapers (hopefully not for long), but still. Ava is happiest when she's on the move, so when Casey's working, we just keep moving!

We did get to have a nice dinner & Tiger Game adventure last Saturday - Shannon and Jeff drove down from Lansing (bringing the wonderful Emily as a sitter) and we all went to Mexican Village for dinner, then the Tigers v. Indians game. Sadly, I had a bit too much Margarita, and wound up blathering on (and on) to Shannon for most of the game. Sorry Shannon! Guess she'll know better than to talk to me in the future!!

I want to live in Miami

The title of this post goes with this picture....'nuff said.


It's been a crazy busy summer so far.... Ava has been splitting her time between Grandma Sue & Papa's house three days a week, and "school" the other two, and had a whole week sojourn with Grandma while Casey and I snuck off to see Alicia Ward get married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Casey and I had a great time, although we missed Ava terribly, and kept shooting longing glances at the other kids at our resort. I think we probably put some of the other parents on edge, particularly those of toddler girls. But then again, who can look all that threatening with a pina colada in their hand?

Alicia and Adam (Lind)'s wedding was really lovely, on a private beach and followed by a very sumptuous dinner back in Playa del Carmen.

Ava, meanwhile had a blast with Sue, visiting the zoo, swimming at Linda Hubert's, and generally eating and doing whatever she wanted. We've noticed a strange correllation between time spent at Grandma's house and the incidence of faux-fits. Luckily, a couple of laughs is usually enough to defuse the situation.

On a sadder note, we have another funeral to attend this weekend - our neighbor Bob Ciccero, lost his long battle with leukemia last week.

Memorial Day

Hot hot hot!! We had a lovely little cook-out with Mom and John - very nice, hot weather. Mom and Ava beat the heat by having a little soak.

Ava also kept Mom in stiches by belting out "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" at the top of her lungs - well, about 60% of it, anyway.