A high-tech country song

If there was a country song about high-tech heartache and loss, I would be singing it.

Why no post? For one, I have two kids that keep me hoppin'. For two, since mid-January, I've had two jump drives go kaput, a camera battery go out of commission, and a hard drive that crashed. Since I teach an online course and freelance writing articles as well as donate my time and skills to a certain nonprofit, this entire process has been a headache of magnificent proportions. It's taken getting up early, utilizing cloud space, and maximizing down time at my real job to meet all of my deadlines.

The Apple people tell me my hard drive had a "corrupted file" that sounds suspiciously like a virus, but no matter....it's still under warranty so it was replaced and the girl just smiled at us like it's the best thing ever. My dear husband who did all the dealing with the Apple people even complained that the girl didn't show enough remorse and sympathy when telling us of the loss of our hard drive.

In reality, that meant we lost all baby photos from the birth of our two children. Baby videos. Christmas memories and all sorts of good stuff that you just can't replace. I felt like I lost a pet. Evelyn was already going to have the second child syndrome because the first 5 months of her life were erased.

Fast-forward a few days and one of the guys at my work said he'd take a look, but no promises. Within two minutes, he'd recovered everything off my hard drive. I've since backed everything up on two devices and plan on burning it all to a CD. It's somewhat of a happy ending, but what a major headache.

So if this really were a high-tech country song, I would probably prayed for the twang to just short out because I couldn't deal with it.

Jack at play

Jack loves to dance. When we're putting away dishes, cooking, or doing whatever in the kitchen, we put on the dance music and party down. He won't stop. He likes anything with a distinct beat. Favorites on the iPod include "Sexy and I know it" by LMFAO, "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, "Apache" by the Sugarhill Gang, "Lowrider" by War, and his all-time favorite is probably James Brown, particularly the song "Mother Popcorn."

We've cut back on James Brown recently because we've noticed he's saying "Good God" like him. Usually it's referring to something in his diaper.

Jack likes to get wild and crazy and like most little kids, loves to run around in the nude. We allow him to do this and we go on puddle patrol.

Jack likes to be bounced around and tossed in the air. He plays rough and jumps and trips and always has an "ow-ie" somewhere. He gets up and keeps going....from the time he gets up until he goes to bed at night.

We love this picture. Dave snapped it right after we put back up the mobile and the kids were basking in the awe of rainforest creatures spinning to Bach or Mozart. Jack sometimes pulls something out of his nose and proudly presents it to us, saying "big boo-ger."

At least he doesn't eat it.

Yet.

Evie at 3 months

Since we're into month 4 of Evie, it's time to blog about her three month milestone.

Evelyn wasn't really into her photo session. She is usually a very jovial baby. She chatters and gurgles all the time. But when I pop out the camera on most occasions, she gives me a face like this. Solemn. Judgmental. Pondering. Who are you and what do you think you are doing?

Jack wanted to be in on the action, so I put him in the crib to give his sister a pep talk.

We think Evelyn is looking more and more like her pop-pop (Dave's dad) everyday. She has his eyes, for sure. She continues to be a very easy baby which we appreciate wholeheartedly. She eats. She sleeps. She chatters when she's well rested. We don't always appreciate the 6:45 am rants which always happen on weekends, but it is too adorable to be upsetting. She rolled over just after her four month mark. She loves water and kicks in the bathtub. As you can see, she still has peach fuzz and that's it.

Evelyn loves to look at her big brother, Jack. She tracks him like a dog watching a piece of food. Or at least be quite wary of where he is and what he's doing for her own safety. Of course, she recognizes us and always seems happy to see her family.

But not today.

These half smiles are about as good as I could possibly get on camera.

After awhile, she said 'enough already' and I did too.

Story of #jabs

Hockey culture here is much like a close-knit family. You tease each other, compete fiercely against each other, and nobody better talk about anybody's team except the team members. There are fights. There are hugs. And when something big happens, everyone steps up to respond in a big way.


In the State of Hockey, people are reeling about Jack Jablonski. In a holiday tournament junior varsity game on December 30, two players checked Jablonski into the boards. He fell and didn't get back up. In what people describe as a freak accident, Jablonski's spinal cord was severed and doctors thought he'd be paralyzed from the neck down for life. After one surgery and prayers prompted by word of mouth and a big social media trend, Jablonski can move his arms. See what the hashtag #jabs generates-- everyone is talking about Jabby.Jack's story has been in the news up here everyday. The latest medical update. A team selling bracelets for a fundraiser. His team's return to the ice. People wearing #13 w/small patches. One team wearing mini-stop signs on their backs. Stories of what it's like to be paralyzed. Some of the angles are fresh and creative and interesting. Others are stupid. Since the incident, two other players have also been somewhat paralyzed in the game. This topic has sparked a tremendous amount of discussion and debate. Can hockey be regulated into a safer sport? Should it? Will this incident change the game forever? Dave and I have discussed this at length more than once and have even talked about if we'll be okay with our son Jack playing hockey. (which for Dave is a huge consideration) If Jack Jablonski's story is sparking debate in our hybrid household, there's no doubt it is generating discussion in those super hockey families too.

Our friends are one of those super-hockey families. Their son plays on four teams. Their four-year-old daughter plays on a team and played in a skills exercise this weekend at Mariucci Arena. On a break between games, they came home and slept for two hours and got up and went to play again. They go to Canada to play. They play all year. The kids aren't pressured to play. The parents aren't nuts. It's just what they do. And they all seem to enjoy it.

Hockey isn't just a sport; it's a way of life here. So the question as to how much the sport could change and will change is one that we're watching too.

Stamp this.

When I get a package on my doorstep I know immediately if it was sent from Delight, Arkansas because it makes short work of a book of stamps.

It's a good thing they don't have to lick stamps any more.

Deep-fried Hanukkah

It's the Jewish holiday that's after my own heart....because the mood is festive and the food is fried.

The stars aligned this year for the grandparents to be in town for Hanukkah. In the ten-plus years Dave and I have been dating, this is the first time I've celebrated the holiday with them.

(a little fyi: Hanukkah is not a big holiday on the Jewish calendar and is probably only more important because of the proximity and commercial nature of Christmas. People don't really go home for Hanukkah and some families only give it small glance.)

Dave grew up celebrating the holiday and we always observe it. It was a special treat, though, to have his mother in the kitchen frying up the traditional Latkes, fried chicken, and making homemade applesauce to go with it. Jack was being very picky that day, but he did eat a Latke. With fried potatoes and salt, what's not to like?

Holidays at home

There's something inherently relaxing about spending the holidays at home.

The day might be relaxing, but leading up to it is generally anything but. My husband rolls his eyes at my self-induced stress around the holidays, but he knew about my Christmas addiction before he married me. Perhaps because he's Jewish, he didn't understand just how bad it could get...

100-plus Christmas cards, 35 dozen cookies, and four pie crusts later, he's closer to understanding. I've been patient with him in explaining why you let your kids open one gift early which are undoubtedly new pajamas to wear on Christmas morning, why you can't buy a huge tub of popcorn as a stocking stuffer because it won't fit in a stocking and therefore defeats the purpose of being a stocking stuffer, and why you shop for a new Christmas ornament every year for your kids so when they have their own tree 20 years from now they will also have a collection of ornaments to start their tree that tells their story. The madness continues, but it's the one time a year that I'm a certifiable nut so I embrace it. If I start hanging Easter eggs in trees, someone please commit me.

One set of parents/grandparents arrived on Christmas morning, so I had a brunch prepared. Jack thought it would be fun to break the pie crust (and it was the second I'd made), so our quiche had a bit of extra character. I was pleased with everything else. Our tables looked extra festive because of a florist giving Dave a tablescape he no longer after a segment. (which I included even though it was not in my color scheme)

Items on the menu: Bacon-Smoked Gouda quiche, Shrimp & homemade cocktail sauce (Ina Garten's) , Mini-bagels with lox and bruschetta, cranberry-walnut mini-muffins, sugared cranberries, fancy desserts that Dave also inherited from a TV segment, christmas cookies, coffee, and some excellent cranberry mimosas.

Between the meals, our living room resembled what a living room should on Christmas morning, even though we honestly didn't buy Jack much....everyone else did:For the meal between lunch and supper/dinner... Lupper?.....Linner?.... I set up a table that we noshed on when we were hungry. We had an antipasti platter with meats, olives, and cheeses, sausage balls, cornmeal biscuits baked as mini-muffins, apple pie, a pumpkin cheesecake from the neighbors, the christmas cookie platter, garden salad, and poblano pepper chicken chowder.








The January withdrawl period hasn't hit yet....