As I sit her pondering explosion, I remember the following remark on Dan's post about Benjamin's birth: "Castor oil, curse or blessing"
Question: did you really try this?
I'll admit to being skeptical.
But, I'd enjoy a story about it, if there is one, while I wait. and wait.
and wait.
Jon wants to know how exciting our summer has been. Well, it's been crazy here at the Papsdorf household.
1. Reva is going to bed on her own. For at least a while. So now I have some time in the evenings to wash the dishes, run some laundry and sweep the floor.
2. While baby is sleeping, I have also have the opportunity to begin updating our family blog. I am now up to mid-March. I have high hopes to be in April before the actual calendar hits July.
3. Reva and I took a trip to New York a couple weeks ago. Caleb's babysitter watched her one day. The second day she just came to the office with me. So far I haven't been relieved of my duties.
4. Caleb has gotten about 50 mosquito bites. The kid looks like he has the pox or something.
5. We've been getting rain nearly every day for something like a month now. The garden looks pretty good, but it's a shame we can hardly enjoy our yard with all the puddles, mud, humidity and mosquitos.
6. Josh does not like teaching 4 hour classes (6 to 10 pm two nights a week).
That's all the news I can muster this morning.
Is everyone collectively having the most boring summer ever? I doubt that. How are you all doing?
Things here are going well. I can't believe it's been over a month since I got married, but it has been great. For those of you I haven't talked to, the honeymoon was fantastic. We got great weather in the Bahamas. It didn't rain until Friday evening, and we left Saturday morning. I was a little worried we weren't going to get off the island on Saturday (it was really windy and pouring rain), but everything went smoothly. Most surprisingly, Delta, which I hate with a passion, didn't screw anything up. Flights on time, no lost baggage - it was a minor miracle.
GO TRIBE.
Hi all,
I'm going insane. The days are SO slow. I have 12 more days of third year. It's as if every minute is a decade...that's probably because I'm moving so slowly. I weigh roughly a billion pounds now. Oh well. I have more sympathy for my patients, I think.
Regardless, I hope that everyone is doing well.
Miss you,
Kristin
The Mazzuccos like Shannon's idea of renting a condo/house for the reunion.
We're up for getting one for a few days, or for up to a week (if you have to rent by the week). We're also up for getting our own place, or for getting a bigger place where more folks can fit (preferable for the kids, so we aren't all cooped up in our own places while they nap).
Anyway, if others can give me a sense of their interest/availability levels, I'll start looking into options. If no one else is interested, we'll cry instead (as the song goes).
I was home last weekend for my sister's college graduation (yay!) and Reva suddenly developed a fear of strange places, noise and basically anyone that wasn't me. It was a long weekend because (as was expected at a big family gathering) people wanted to hug me and that meant getting close to Reva who pretty much cried every time. She also cried if I put her down or stepped from the table to the sink (one step away) while she was in the high chair. She refused to eat more than a few spoonfuls, so we reverted to nearly 100% nursing. And she refused to sleep when there was anyone around. Since her bedtime is usually between 7 and 8 and the graduation didn't even start until 7:30 pm, she didn't sleep enough and became even more grouchy.
It was so frustrating for me I swore I was going to skip the Hurst wedding. But I was very sad because I wanted to see everyone. I started to forget how horrible the weekend was and remember that it was nice to visit and to see my sister graduate. The rest of the ceremony was really very boring anyway, so it was actually a good thing I spent it wandering the hallway with Reva in the carrier.
And now I see Adin is attending, and I can't miss seeing her. So Reva and I are coming as originally planned.
This is just a warning that you should not expect her to be sociable.
p.s. You would be amazed how many perfect strangers would come up to Reva and touch her. What is up with these people? Do they not respect a baby's personal space?
p.p.s. None of you are perfect strangers and will actually be allowed to touch and talk to the baby if you so chose. Just don't be too hurt if she seems to reject you. She'll learn soon how wonderful you all are.
Hello out there in BLD land. I haven't posted anything in many moons, so it's good to be back. I had been waiting for something newsworthy to break my silence, and it's finally happened. Hold your breath for this one.... I got a job.
Your's truly is now a visiting assistant professor of theology at Newman University here in Wichita. I adjuncted a couple of classes there this semester, and I'll be starting full time in the fall. We're pretty excited to have an opportunity for me to work in theology that is actually close to family. At present it's a one year appointment, but there's a real possibility it could turn into a longer term deal after that.
In other news, I finally sent a draft of the final major section of the dissertation to my advisor, so it looks like the defense will finally take place next semester. We are also making a small move from the apartment to a little house nearby. It's still a rental, since we don't know for sure that we'll stay here yet. Nevertheless, we are excited about the prospect of a yard, garage and no loud-music, door slamming, late night arguing, punk neighbors living above us.
Anyways, looking forward to seeing people in a few weeks for the big hitchin'. Hopefully we won't be struck by mysterious fevers this time and will get a chance to actually catch up with folks. That is all.
I know it seems like a long way off, but our 10 year reunion (for classes of '97, '98, and '99) is next June. My sister and I are planning to rent a house or condo for the week so that our families can vacation together, and we have wrangled our little sister and some of her friends into coming up to babysit so that we can enjoy all the reunion festivities. We haven't booked anything for sure yet, but are leaning towards a house or condo in Quechee Lakes. I think a bunch of my sister's friends are planning to stay there as well, and it would be a blast if a bunch of BLDers did the same thing.
Quechee Lakes has a lake an indoor and outdoor pool (I am guessing it will still be too chilly for swimming outdoors), tennis courts, golf, boating, playgrounds, etc, etc. Check out www.quecheelakesrentals.com if you are interested.
I can't believe our little Jonny is getting married in 3 weeks. Craziness.
We are very excited about the wedding. The whole Walsh family will be headed to Cincinnati, arriving Thursday and leaving Sunday. We have reservations at both the Holiday Inn and the Hampton Inn, but I think we are going to cancel the Holiday Inn.
You all know that I have a serious need to be in the know, and here is what I know:
Walsh, Mazzucco, Slack, Papsdorf families or parts thereof will be present
Everyone else, I don't know if you are coming or what your plans are, and again, I really like to be in the know, so spill.
I just wanted to post something for May.
Jon, we mailed our reply for the wedding today. Caleb's not going to come. We didn't know how he'd handle the late nights (7 is getting late for our 3 year old), so he's staying with my folks for the weekend. That way, we only have to worry about Reva having a bad time, but I can always walk her around in some quieter place for a while for her to fall asleep. We still need to make hotel reservations I think. Where are the rest of the BLD crowd staying? I know at least one hotel is booked.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!
If anyone wants to buy a house in Richmond, VA, contact me immediately regarding 10231 Apache Road, MLS # 2712908. This is a steal.
We are moving to the area surrounding Villanova, PA (itself approximately 12 miles west of Philadelphia), so that I can teach at the law school there.
That is all.
I too love the environment. I'm not so sure about global warming (human-caused, long-term trend, etc.) due to all the political rhetoric polluting the discussion. However, I've found my dream vehicle is indeed environmentally friendly. So, buy a Hummer and hug a tree without being schizophrenic.
http://news.com.com/2100-11389_3-6174130.html
So I'm guessing this may not be the most popular post, but with Earth Day coming up and the impending environmental doom that has become inarguable by the most conservative of scientists, I am going to go ahead and post anyway.
I know we can't all make the switch to hybrid cards or convert all our homes to solar power right now, but this website www.gocarbonzero.com does allow you to make a difference. It will calculate your annual carbon footprint and - if you like - you can make a donation which will be used to plant enough trees to offset your carbon dioxide output for the year. Just for reference, to neutralize my CO2 emissions, it was a donation of about $60. Money well spent!
If you don't do this, it means that you hate polar bears. And New Orleans. And penguins. And your grandchildren.
Kudos to Dan for posting perhaps the lengthiest blog this site has seen. Unfortunately, it seems to have had the unintended consequence of shutting things down, as perhaps people are wary of posting something that does not meet the high standards Dan set. I have no such qualms.
In Baby News, My friend Jackie, who was our secretary here a few moons ago, just had her first baby. Ryan Patrick Davis was born April 10th. So now we can add that to the list of my friends' babies. It is growing at an alarming rate. I am going to have to start praying for "my friends' babies" as a general concept, because pretty soon I'm not going to be able to remember all the names. I think Jackie is attending the wedding, so I think you will get to meet Ryan.
Easter weekend was pretty fun. I went to Good Friday mass with my mom around 3:00 PM, and then headed downtown for the Indians' home opener. If the 26-degree temperature and constant snowfall were any indication, I don't think God was very happy about the Indians playing on Good Friday in general, or my attendance at the game in particular. I did swell a bit with Cleveland pride as I walked into the stadium, though, which was almost at full capacity. I don't think there are too many cities that would turn out almost 40,000 people in such awful conditions for a baseball game, Opening Day or not. Cleveland Rocks.
The rest of the weekend was pretty calm. My parents had their Easter dinner celebration that evening so as to avoid conflicts with other families the next day. Then Hillary's roommates at her apartment came by Sunday morning for brunch after mass, which was glorious. I am continually thankful that none of you wanted the breakfast sausages I bought for New Years, because I have been enjoying them weekly ever since. One of the presents my parents got me was a book called Shots! I don't really do shots, but I thought it would look cool on my bar. As I was paging through it, my grandmother was looking at the different shots with me. Of the 50 or show illustrated shots, I am guessing my grandmother recognized and subsequently roared with approval for about 40 of them, many of which called for types of alcohol that I had never heard of. Go, Gram.
Unfortunately for her, Hillary decided to join me at Catholic mass this year, which would normally be great, except that the children's choir was performing at the 9:00 mass. Now I like children, and I even like singing children (like on Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" - those kids can sing), but whatever talents the children of Berea, Ohio possess, they do not in any way include singing. It is truly a challenge to find a sense of peace and holiness at church when your ears are constantly being bombarded by the cacophany of second graders shouting random notes (and sometimes words) at the tops of their lungs. Again, God's displeasure with my attendance at Opening Day on Good Friday was pretty evident.
Hopefully, all of you have received your wedding invitations. If you haven't, please let me know, maybe in a subtle way, so that I will have the ability to weasel my way out of the uncomfortable situation in the event you have been disinvited.
Also, if I haven't made this clear already, all of the groomsmen and ushers (and their significant others) are invited to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. In addition, babies and children (so long as they are not bad singers) are welcome at the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception. As yet, I haven't had any success in coming up with any group babysitting options for all of you, but I will let you know right away if I do. Finally, if you didn't see it on the save the date card, details about the wedding are available on our website at www.theknot.com.
Finis.
