Technical Difficulties

I live one county over from Linn County, Iowa. My internet server is/was under water and not working.
So I am making a stealth post from work to say that when I have service at home, I will post pictures of my Kat again.
Oh, and if you haven't heard, Cedar Rapids, Ia had severe flooding last week.
Swear to GOD. Google it, search youtube for it.
Serious Flooding.
Stay Dry, Stay Safe.

Fake Teething

Someone asked me what fake teething is. I referenced it in my blog a while ago and it must not be a common phrase.

Little Kat is doing what I call fake teething. It is where her gums swell up, she drools a lot, runs a low temp and is miserable. She wants to chew on a teething ring or an ice cube. She gives every indication that she is going to FINALLY pop out her two top teeth.

A week ago Friday, Wife and I took Kat to dinner with us. Just as they delivered our food, Kat erupted with everything she had eaten that day. Possibly everything she had eaten in the last 48 hours. It was a mess.

We took her home and spent the weekend with fussy, unhappy Kat. And with the amount of drool, chewing, crankiness going on, we thought, “hey she is going to pop more than just the top teeth, maybe another bottom pair as well. Or maybe all four top teeth. I seem to Recall Connor did that!”

Here we are, a week later and the Kat has two bottom teeth. That is it. No more. The same two bottom teeth she has had since she was born.

Fake teething. Acting like you are going to cut a tooth but are really just scheming ways to annoy your parents.

I developed this term because every other week for the last two and a half months we have gone through this little charade. And while I don’t WANT her to be miserable and uncomfortable, I wish she didn’t drag this out so.

Oh, well. We can do this next weekend as well.

Just what I need. Like a hole in the head

I got called to the principals office at work this morning. So to speak. My phone buzzed in my pocket, I saw it was my boss so I answered it. "Come to the Director's office."
So I went.
Changes, there are a happenin'. I am not entirely sure if they are for the better, but I am such an idiot I never say no.
I spend the day trying to clean up loose ends. I have to tie off the project I am working on before starting the new one. I am more concerned about the new one than the old one. But I don't want to leave messes behind me so I try to do housekeeping.
At the end of the day while talking to Boss, I hear that I had better do a good job tying off the project I am leaving. I am being TESTED apparently. What does that mean? A test. Me being the person I am, I worry. I mentally make a check list of things I am NOT going to do over the next two days while I make sure I am prepared for the TEST. One of the last things I am reminded of before I leave is that I need to determine WHAT I want to do in my career.
Priorities first. I must go pick up Kat from daycare. So I skedaddle out the door with the TEST on my mind. I drive past the turnoff for daycare. Turn back around and pick her up. She is happy to see me but preoccupied with not feeling well. "I am pretty sure she is going to push those teeth through, soon. Maybe even all four of them." is what Daycare Lady tells me.
On the way through town I see the farmers market is open. Not many vendors but I stop to see what is there. Score! Way too much fresh spinach for $1.00. Then as I am leaving I see a slender bundle of flowers. $1.00/bunch. As I pay the lady, she hands me another bundle. "I don't want to take them home. Make your wife even happier," she tells me. Spinach and flowers for two bucks! Earning all kinds of points with Wife.
At home I am thinking about work. I need to get this done. It needs to be done right. What is the director really looking for. Why is this a TEST. What are the consequences for failing. A million questions on my mind.
To my surprise, Wife comes home much earlier than expected. After hearing me bitch, er, explain what is on my mind, she sends me back to work. Action is better than worrying is what she lives by.
I go in, work for a while, brainstorm and try and guess what I need to put together. Then come home. REALLY tired. When I get home, I have a couple of things in the garage that must be taken care of. And I need fuel for the truck. So I take care of that, too. Then I come inside, trying to be quiet because it is well after 10pm and EVERYONE is asleep. As I walk around to the kitchen island to get myself a tequila nightcap I notice the floor is damp and the cupboards under the sink are open and everything from under the sink is IN the sink.
And this is what I see.


Just what I need. Like a hole in the head.

Goes by so fast

Mamatulip posted the other day. A wonderful post. Typical of her since she is usually funny and insightful. One of the sentances in her post was "Enjoy it. It goes by so fast you wouldn't believe it." Or something like that.
As I see Kat every day, I don't always realize that she is growing so fast. Then there are times I see her stand up in her crib when she wakes up and grins at me and I realize, "WOW, she is growing."
She still has her blue eyes that I was afraid would turn brown after a week. She still wraps me around her finger with the great big smile, so big that you can see it behind the binky in her mouth. Her whole face lights up with her smile. She is starting to test things; she still investigates everything; she still explores every boundry of her world. I think she resents that we don't let her eat from Maddie's dish. It is the first thing she heads for when she makes it into the dining room. (of course the dog eats in the dining room, we never sit down and eat in there)
We just got over a weekend of her not really feeling well. I think she is fake teething again. I hope she means it this time. It would be nice to see her with more teeth. She is teetering on the edge of walking. She stands and tests her balance. She will take her hands off whatever she pulled herself up with, wobble, then sit down. I know she will figure it out. People tell me that Wife and I will never know peace again when Kat is walking around. (I am not so sure I have known peace since we found out Wife was expecting)
She is growing up fast. And the 'first' experiences we are having run by so quickly. I enjoy watching her when she is experiencing and exploring. The world is a wonder to her and she is determined to experience all of it.
I don't have a picture to post today which is unfortunate because Mom took a bunch of wonderful pictures. For some reason, I cannot paste them here.
BTW, a shout out to MOM for coming to watch Kat this last Sunday. Wife and I were busy pretty much from sunup to sundown working on something. MOM watched Kat and kept her out of trouble for the entire day. And since Kat didn't feel well, she was pretty high maintenence this weekend. So thank you, Mom. For giving up your day to help us and allow us to get stuff done.

Cooks Helper

The little girl has decided that each door and drawer is a veritable treasure to be explored. I think she is practicing for her chance to be on Drew Carey's "The Price is Right". Considering how many decades Bob Barker was on, it is very possible that Drew will still be hosting by the time Kat gets to be on the show.

For now, however, she is the explorer. She is so curious about everything she can get her hands on or into. Everything must be intently examined to see what it does or how she can use it to amuse herself.

Pots and pans are a big hit. They make the prettiest sounds when they are banged on with a fist or, better yet, the lid. She has even tried to sound the baby food jars on the pan.

When she grew tired of the pots and pans, she discovered another drawer full of fluffy folded towels! One after another after another comes out of the magic drawer of towels.

Tonight, whilst Mom was making Blueberry Walnut Banana bread, Kat just had to help. Do you need chocolate syrup? How about crackers? Maybe some instant pink lemonade? Surely some Splenda. Never mind how much mischief you think I am getting into, I think I am helping you. After all, how boring your life was before I came along. You didn't even know how good you had it before I could crawl and pull myself up. Just wait until I can walk and run on my own.

Fortunately for the Kat, she is pretty darn cute. When she turns those baby blues on us, all we can do is love her a little more.

Remembering Grandpa Andes

Memorial Day. The day we are supposed to remember our fallen troops and friends & family that are no longer with us.

We miss them. All of them. Some we think of more than others. I don’t remember G’pa Carl very well. I remember G’ma Ruth much better, but those memories are getting fuzzy like I am seeing them through a screen door.

The ache that I feel when I think of my G’pa Andes pushes my heart into my throat and makes me swallow hard. I wish I could talk to him again. I have so many questions I want to ask him. My perception is that there was almost nothing he couldn't do when he put his mind to it. Always ready with a smile and a word of encouragement. He was such a patient man. A master carpenter and a craftsman I haven’t seen since, he was an artist; his medium was wood. From the subtle beauty of the grandfather clock that he built in satin rubbed walnut to the understated timelessness of the oak moulding and finish work in his house that was so smooth that when you ran your hands over it you would almost swear that red oak was soft instead of durable like iron.

He raised two wonderful children, my Mom and Uncle. Both of whom exhibit a lot of his character. And for sure, in the case of Mom, he passed to her his patience. So patient that she was able to raise me instead of doing me in and planting me in the pasture behind the house.

Ever since I bought my first house with Wife, I realized that while I enjoyed my time with G’pa, I wasted it. I hope I brought him pleasure when we went to Old Threshers in the fall, spending time with him, listening to him talk about the steam engines and what all they could do. Watching the sawmill and the veneer making machine, riding the steam engine.

I could not see the future that would take him from our family at such a young age in 1990. I didn’t realize that he had a wealth of knowledge about woodworking and building, how things go together and how things work. I didn’t know that there wouldn’t be time to ask the questions I would need to, most of which I didn’t even know I would want to know. About how LIFE works. I have many questions I would like to ask him. If I could, I would apprentice myself to him just to spend time around him and observe how he carried himself from day to day.

So for Memorial Day, I again find myself thinking about G’pa Andes and hope that he is up there looking down on his family and guiding us in his careful way. Watching over Kat and taking delight in the mischief that she gets into. Helping me not mess things up too badly. Gently nudging me in the right direction so that my life will be as full as his was.

I miss him so much.

Pink eye is contagious?!?

To be fair, I don't KNOW that she gave me pink eye. And to be really fair, I don't let Kat touch my eyes. So if I got it from her, I did the transfer.
I do know that my eye is irritated. And when I look in the mirror, my left eye looks like her left eye.
Great.