St. Lukes

So, there are no pediatricians in Toledo with after hours or weekend hours (how utterly crappy is that)... Wren started running a fever and just not quite acting herself on Friday. I probably should have just called the pediatrician at lunch, but I really thought it was the teething... I was apparently wrong. I should've known when she woke up at 5:45 am on Saturday that it was her ears. Ugh.

But, we just finished up here at the ER and we're headed home. Hope the little lady is feeling better soon. Especially since Atticus is going to be waking up very soon.

It's going to be a long Sunday!

~ Jen
Sent from my iPhone

I Should Be...

Doing a million other things. Eeeee gads, where does the time go?

But, since I'm here in front of the computer and not sleeping or crafting -- have I told you that Greg is going to be published in the University of Texas Law Journal? I KNOW! Pretty freaking cool! About 10% of the class gets published following graduation. All I can tell you thus far is that it's going to be Edition 5. At least I'm pretty sure that's what Greg told me. What's the paper on you might want to know... That's a very good question. I'll have to update you once I know.

Well, it appears my time for updates grows short. I hear a little lady in the other room who'd like some attention...

Circa February 1990

Here's just a sampling from my 15 year old self. I was apparently a tad bit angry with my folks. I wish I'd journaled when I was younger to remember more of what was going on at this time...

On the upside - we have a totally normal and healthy relationship now. :)

Where are they when I need them?

I know they're nowhere near

I call and call their names

But no one seems to hear

My desperate pleas and cries

They all just plain ignore

To them I am a nothing

Yet always wanting more

I didn't mean to do it

Whatever they say I did

But after all, what's one wrong

When I'm still just but a kid?

~February 6, 1990

They never say "I'm proud of you"

Or "my you did so good"

I know they must be thinking it

But say it I wish they would

I try so hard to be the best

But I know they'll never see

Anything I've ever done

Because it's done by me

All I wished for

Was a great big hug

And maybe a kind word or two

But as far as they're concerned,

My grave's already dug...

~February 7, 1990

Perfection

I have found my binder from highschool with all my teenage angst poems. There are a lot of sad and angry poems -- go figure, I was a teenager!

However, this one is rather pleasant - and still one of my favorite things I've written.

Images captured

Souls released

Burning desires

Tear my heart.

Shadows join

Stars shine bright

Magic dust

Dreams unite.

Black as ink

One gold horn

Perfection at last

A unicorn.

May 16, 1991

Chicken and Dumplings

Since a few have asked, I'll share my recipe. I have to admit however that I subscribe to the "Rachel Ray" school of cooking... I just sort of wing it. :) I started with a recipe I found on AllRecipes.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings (because anything that can be done in the crockpot is a good thing!)

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (the pkg I used had 3 big breasts)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 T of butter

1 yellow onion chopped relatively finely

Couple handfuls of fresh mushrooms (I had them in the fridge and they needed to be eaten...)

1-2 cloves of garlic (the more the merrier if you ask me...)

about 2C of chicken broth or bouillon cube dissolved in hot water

variety of spices... I used salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, cumin, paprika, parsley

1 small can of Pillsbury biscuits (I think the one I used was 7.5 ounces and 10 biscuits)

In crockpot, mix together: soup, onion, garlic, spices, butter. Smoosh the whole chicken breasts into the mixture. Pour the chicken broth over the top -- making sure that there's enough liquid to cover the whole mixture.

Cook on high for about 4 hours. Uncover the pot and use two forks to shred the chicken. Open the can of biscuits and one by one, squish them flat and tear them into pieces dropping them into the crockpot. Slightly push the biscuits to make sure they're in the liquid. Cover the crockpot and continue to cook another 90 minutes.

If it looks really soupy at the 90 minutes left mark -- you can mix either a couple tablespoons of flour or cornstarch in water and then into the pot. (I used cornstarch because I happened to have it -- but I think flour would have worked too.)

Greg and I each had a big bowl and there was plenty of leftovers for my lunches this week! Yum.

Grumpy Grumpy

A-ha! Perhaps the source of some of Wren's grumpiness -- tooth #3 has broken the surface! Her top left. That would be enough to make me grumpy... it can't be pleasant. Three down and what feels like a million to go!

Multidistrict Litigation

Here's an article about the Multidistrict Litigation that Greg has been working on with Judge Zouhary: CLICK HERE

iPhoto v Picasa

For crying out loud, what a mess. I have been using Picasa for a while. Then I got a Mac. That's when it all went downhill. I used to have all my photos organized in pretty little folders within Windows Explorer and they matched Picasa. Then came iPhoto. Now - my Picasa application is a total and complete disaster. There are Master folders, Original folders, folders under Pictures, folders under "Copied from iPhoto", folders and folders and more folders. But -- since photos automatically update into iPhoto first -- you'd think I could find them in Picasa under the iPhoto folder and then the date, but sometimes yes, sometimes no. And sometimes I seem to have triplicate photos when othertimes I can't find a picture to save my life.

Rant, rant, rant.

This is probably not making any sense, but it's midnight and I'm peeved because all I really want to do is edit the stinking pictures in Picasa and post them online for friends and family.

(Insert me stomping around the office like a toddler.) Except I can't even do that because I fear waking the actual toddler.

G'ahhhhh.

Well - at least some photos and short video made it into the November folder. I think. I'll have to keep working on December.

Nap Protests

I need to look back through the history of the blog to see when this started with Atticus... Wren has suddenly decided to boycott naps. It's now 3 pm and she's slept a total of 30 minutes since 6:30 am. Seriously. I'm about to go loony. I'm exhausted from getting up with her in the night, playing with Atticus all morning and doing all other "house" things.... laundry, grocery store, etc.

She's been napping pretty consistently at 9 and 1 for most of her infancy -- a few bad days here and there, but she's been pretty good until this weekend.

Ugh.

On the upside, at least Atticus is napping. Hallelujah!

Old Peanut

I fear our kitty is getting old. She's having a hard time going up and down the stairs, she's not eating as well lately and she's just acting older. It's a sad time... We've flipped a laundry basket upside down right now to provide a "step" for her to get up and down from the counter -- and I think we need to do something to help her on the bed too.

Our Peanut is getting old...

For the Record

Just in case I'm curious about this later when filling out Wren's baby book (which yes, I should be doing now)...

Wren has had the following foods:

Apples

Pears

Bananas

Prunes

Blueberries

Plums

Raspberries

Sweet Potatoes

Carrots

Green Beans

Squash

Peas

Pumpkin

I think that covers it. Some of the latter fruits were in small amounts in blends. I'm going to attempt to make some more homemade foods over the weekend. Wish me luck.

Heat

Apparently I've killed my space heater. Who knew that could happen? I've actually blown the heating element I'm guessing because it's only blowing cold air.

Sigh.

It's bloody cold here and I can't even ski. What's the point of snow if there's no mountain and ski life? My dear sister in law tells me it will all be worth it in the spring. We'll see. I may be a frozen popsicle by then.

An Odd Assortment

Atticus has pink eye. That's been a real treat. Wren is over the weight limit on her bassinet and we still haven't ordered her a crib -- but I think I know which one we're getting (in white). I'm turning into my grandmother with weird patches of skin that look totally normal, but are incredibly sensitive to touch (as if there were fiberglass shards or something all across random spots...). Greg is snoring on the couch and I've got a million and one things to do and all I want to do is sleep. Wren has already woken up once tonight -- not sure why (actually, I still hear her, but I'm pretending I don't because I'm trying to finish this post and get some work done yet tonight). I'm placing money on Atticus waking up between 4 and 5 am again, most likely falling back asleep about the time Wren is waking to nurse because that's just how my children like to do things lately... It's exhausting.

Phew. I feel better now.

I've started uploading some older photos to Picasa, but I had to upgrade my storage space -- so it'll take a little while longer before I'm done. I may also move all my albums to Private instead of Public in the near future. This means that I'll have to send you a link with an authorization code so that you can view the pictures -- but hopefully it'll keep weirdos from randomly stumbling upon the photos too...

I still need to find an ENT for Atticus.

I need to get on the ball and look for daycare/preschools in New York.

I need to mail out family portraits to a bunch of you...

I really want to knit and scrapbook.

I need a vacation. And sleep. And perhaps another glass of wine...

Family of Four

Well hallelujah. The four of us actually managed to shower (thank you to Brianna for coming over and watching Atticus for an hour this morning!!) and become presentable and assemble at Portrait Innovations this morning for a photo shoot. We got some great family shots, a fabulous one of the two kiddos, a "girls" shot and a "boys" shot. I ordered way more photos that I originally thought I would - but what the hey....

I still have some of Wren's newborn photos and Atticus's school photos that need to get sent out -- so be forewarned... Pictures are a coming! Seriously - I have a ton of pictures. If anyone wants one, let me know.

Yipee!

The Tape Trick

Some other parents are brilliant. Brilliant I tell you. I just found this post and thought - what a freaking brilliant idea. I'm so tempted to try it now, but I think we'll wait until we convert Atticus's crib into the toddler bed. This is going to work like a charm for him -- at least I hope it will.

The Tape Trick

I know, brilliant, right? :-P

For the Love of...

Atticus has been having nightmares possibly - who knows. We do know that he's consistently waking up crying between the hours of 4 am and 5 am. It's not pleasant. Especially when I finally get him back asleep Wren stirs and wants to nurse. Then, another hour goes by and the alarm is going off waking up the household to start the day.

I can say on pretty good authority - I think two kids is going to do it for us. While we entertained the possibility of more, I'm not sure we can survive any more years of toddler/baby hood!

Not In Your Mouth

I'm starting to feel a bit like a broken record. Atticus has some sort of something going on and he's constantly putting things in his mouth again. It's a bit bizarre. And now, when you look at him and say, "Not in your mouth" he responds by yelling "mine". It's on my list to bring up with the therapist folks - I'm sure it's connected to the sensory seeking behavior...

Sneaky Vacuum

Yesterday Atticus told Greg and I that the vacuum was trying to sneak out of the closet. We're not quite sure what brought that on - but it made Greg and I giggle, so we ran with it all day long. Whenever Atti wasn't looking we would open the closet door and scootch the vacuum to the edge of the door, so it was just peeking out. Then we would wait for Atticus to come running telling us that the vacuum was sneaking out! It was just too funny.

Thankfully, the vacuum went to sleep at the same time Atti did and we didn't have to worry about it sneaking out overnight!

Ahhhhh, 2010

This has been a BIG year for the Baden family. We've had graduations, births, moves, new jobs and thankfully mostly good health for all.

The biggest news of the year was the birth of our daughter, Wren Cosette this past May. Although, Greg's graduation from the University of Texas Law School is a pretty close second!

While our travels have been much fewer and farther between these days (and I do miss my birthday trips) we still have much to be thankful for as we enter 2011. I was able to travel to San Diego for the first time this fall to see my best friend Nicole and her husband Brad (and all of his family) as well as my sister-in-law, Rhonda, and her best friend Mary! Greg squeezed in a few days with his best friend Rob while out in California for business as well. Of course, there were many trips from Dallas to Austin -- and even a quick day trip to Houston to buy a car and lunch with another good friend, Amy and her kiddos!

Atticus entered the terrible/terrific twos full force. He's had a good year, but there have definitely been some ups and downs. This summer was a lot of change for the little man, but we seem to be settling in now and life is calming down. He's now speaking in full sentences and amazes me continually with concepts that he's picked up when I wasn't looking. He's still very much into opposites - the past couple of days it's included running around the house both slow and fast. Of course, instead of saying fast, he says ZOOOOOOM! We had a lot of fun this morning exploring his creativity while he sat in a big moving box in the living room. I'm sure my folks will get a kick out of that! He sat in the box and I asked him to keep imagining things that he could do in the box, things he could cook, turn the box into, etc. It was the longest I've seen him occupied in a while. Hmmm....The tubes he had put in earlier this year seem to have slowed/stopped the ear infections as well - YAY! Knock on wood, he's been relatively healthy this year. Our goal for 2011 - potty training!! I'm definitely ready for the potty training to happen!

Wren is growing by leaps and bounds. She's once again eating solid foods with gusto, and she's up on all fours rocking - getting ready to full out crawl. She can inchworm and army crawl/roll just about anywhere, but the crawling will be in full force soon. I'm worried about having two mobile children! She's definitely "talking" but hasn't moved into the one sound babbling yet. No mamama or bababa's just yet, but hopefully soon. She is still fascinated by Atticus and Greg. She'll watch them move around the room with an intense glare. She's also entering a "mommy" attachment phase it seems. We had friends stop by this morning on their way back home to Cleveland, and she teared up just when everyone said hello to her! The same thing happened over the holidays too! Perhaps it's time to find some play dates for the little lady!

We're now mostly settled in here in Ohio - which of course means that it's time to research our next house in New Orleans. Oy. I've got a few contacts to call this coming week to get the scoop on our new town. I even spoke with the JCC already and put both kids on the wait list for daycare this coming fall. I know. There's a freaking wait list everywhere it seems. I don't even know if the J has the best option in New Orleans, but I figure if it has a wait list, that's a good sign that it's a good place, and best to get on the list now even if that's not our final decision! Greg's hoping to make a trip down south to check out neighborhoods relatively soon - but I'm pretty sure we've got it narrowed down to Uptown or the Garden District. If anyone has a couch he can crash on for a night or two -- let me know! And - my resolution for this week is also to begin in earnest the hunt for New York preschools. Eeek. That's an undertaking, I know.

As for us big kids... Greg loves his job and things and I can't complain either. I've enjoyed a nice change of pace working for delivery -- interactions with more folks and the opportunities to learn new stuff. Never a bad thing, right? We've had a very fortunate year!

There's much more to be said, but for now... it's time for bed!