A Rosie Life - Adventures of the Levenshus Family

Back in the Saddle

2011-01-19T06:41:00.000-08:00

This post goes out to Missy who inspired me to get back in the saddle...of blogging.

Here are the top 5 reasons I've been so absent in the great Rosie Life blogosphere:

1) I like using pictures and videos in my blog posts, and I didn't have any new ones.
2) I have no new pictures or videos because I haven't uploaded new pics in FOREVER.
3) I haven't uploaded any pictures because my poor computer is almost out of memory (and it's only a year old). Apparently, I've uploaded so many pictures and videos of my child that I have only one gigabyte of hard drive left (out of like 160 gigabytes).
4) I am too afraid to delete any pictures and videos despite that I have them backed up in an external hard drive. What if the back up fails, too!
5) The longer I went without deleting old pictures, uploading new pictures and posting a new blog entry, the bigger and better I thought that entry would have to be in order to justify a post without pictures.

For those reasons, this poor digital diary has gathered dust. But no more!

I'm back in the saddle - (just like Rosie is these days on her friend Sasha's new rocking horse).

Before I sign off from this reentry post, let me share with you a different list...

Rosie's Top 5 Words these days:
1. Microwave (as in, "Mommy, check mic-wave")
2. Chicken nugget (as in, "Mommy, I would like to play with, but not eat, my cheeken nuggets")
3. Two (as in, "One, twwwwwwooooo" which she turns into three syllables, each in its own octave)
4. No (as in, "No, Mommy!" "No, Daddy!" "No chicken nuggets!" and "No! No! No! No!" with emphatic head shaking)
5. Police (As in, "O! Pleece! Pleece!" Yes, this child is uuurrrbbaaannn. She can distinguish between police, fire and ambulance sirens.)

So, there you have it. No pictures. No videos. But a glimpse into Rosie's ever-expanding vocabulary. Thanks, Missy, for reminding me to take 10 minutes to share little snippets of our lives.

Fright Night

2010-10-29T06:37:00.001-07:00

I love Halloween. Love the crafts (like this pumpkin Rosie decorated with her nanny). Love the costumes. Absolutely can't wait to see Rosie dressed up in her poodle costume tonight. Love the colors. Love the candy. Love it all. Well, everything except being scared. I was a super scaredy cat growing up (still am, actually). Do NOT love haunted houses. The Children's Museum once had to turn on the lights and escort me out of its Haunted Museum...when I was 12! A Children's Museum!

Well, Halloween fright night came early for Mommy this year.

On Tuesday I was pre-treating stains from the day's nanny share adventures in Rosie's sink while she ran around her room. I suddenly became aware that she was no longer in eyeshot. Since she's quite the adventurer these days, I figured I better check on her.

Walking down the hall toward my bedroom, I saw an image that my brain couldn't compute.

Rosie. Bed. On top. Jumping. Running. Tiny girl. By herself. On bed. Cackling with delight.

Once the firing neurons could make sense of it, my brain filled with Mommy red alerts. I'm proud that I didn't scream in panic. I actually tried to downplay the whole thing (though I did move at lightning speed to grab my little monkey jumping on the bed so she didn't fall off and bump her head).

How did she do it? I didn't have to come up with any wild theories because she immediately did it again.

Jon and I hadn't made our bed that day (I know, shame on us). She'd climbed the pile of pillows and comforters at the end of the bed like a downy hillside. Once within striking distance of the footboard, she held on for dear life (literally) and swung her tiny foot up over the side. With all her strength (and tongue stuck out for extra oomph), she catapulted her 17.5 pounds onto the bed in a triumphant faceplant.

As I told Jon when he got home, we've entered a new millennium in this whole parenting thing.

My little girl is a pygmy mountain goat - scaling everything within sight. Metal scaffolding (high chairs), rocky peaks (staircases), tall trees (crib rails), cliffsides (bookcases) and whatever she decides to tackle next. We're going into hypervigilant mode. My mom's given me some tips to help teach her boundaries and the importance of being safe. But still...it's a scary thought that she can actually CLIMB stuff.

This Halloween, Rosie's putting the BOO in peek-a-boo. Be afraid, Mommy. Be very afraid.

Visits

2010-10-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting friends from California and Indiana. We enjoyed showing off our Rosie and watching her bask in the attention of her guest audience members.

It was especially fun to watch Rosie interact with Mikayla. When Mikayla and Rosie were last together, Rosie was 10 months old and Mikayla was 20 months old. Rosie was a wobbly pre-walker who hadn't yet said, "Mommy," and Mikayla was running around in circles talking up a storm. They were more interested in taking each others' toys than playing together.

That was not the case this weekend. Cut to high fives and hand holding. And that was just in the car where they both reached out from their car seats and giggled with excitement when they made contact. Rosie, who normally protests during long car rides, finally had some good entertainment back there. She literally watched every move Mikayla made and tried to mimic every sound she uttered. And since Mikayla is pretty verbally advanced, that was a lot of sounds.

We had a blast watching the girls together. Jennifer and I took them on the metro together, and you would have thought they were at Disney World. We pretty much could have just ridden the metro up and down the red line all day, and they would have been happy campers. But we also took them to Union Station for lunch, the National Building Museum for playtime in the kids' room, and a family farm with hayrides, slides, animals, cider, pumpkins, and climbing structures. These kids were in heaven.

With Auntie Aja in town, Rosie also got some 17A spoiling. Aja brought the pink poodle Halloween costume that has been handed down from the Mounts and Rabuck girls. Can't wait to see her in it! We got in some good Eastern Market time, and Mommy even got some ladies-only time at dinner and brunch with Aja and friends.

What a great weekend. Sad to have it come to an end. I'll post pics when I finally get them uploaded. The best news is that more visitors are on the horizon! We're looking forward to seeing Nana and Papa Blake in just a couple weeks!

Facebook Birthdays

2010-09-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Rosie will never know life pre-Facebook (or whatever social networking site is the rage when Jon and I finally break down and let her create a profile). That probably also means she will not find herself at age 30 + A (where A equals any constant between 1-9. Can you tell I'm taking a stats course?) and marveling at the newly discovered phenomenon of a Facebook birthday bonanza. For those of you not on Facebook (or like my Mom, have a Facebook account you've never touched!), let me explain.

Facebook has an "events" feature. When your "friends" have included in their profiles a specific birthday, that birthday shows up as an "event" on your Facebook homepage. I currently have 398 friends. That means I could technically have 398 events in my calendar just by having nearly 400 friends. For example, 4 of my friends have birthdays this week - one grad school friend, one friend who used to attend my church, one former coworker, and my Mom's former assistant director. Yes, she's my friend too.

Without Facebook, I would not have known when these four people's birthdays were. Maybe I would have heard someone wish the grad school colleague a happy birthday in the hall and had the opportunity to pipe in, but probably not. We don't tend to walk the halls here broadcastingour birthdays. We're more likely to discuss theory, methods, and literature reviews (like I did on the elliptical this morning with my friends). We're just that exciting, people.

BUT in the new world of Facebook, I can take 30 seconds to throw a "Happy Birthday" on their Facebook wall and bam!, I just added to their birthday merriment.

That is what happened to me yesterday. Sixty-three friends (16% of my total FB friends - stats again!) wished me happy birthday on Facebook yesterday. This included friends from high school, undergrad/masters/PhD world, former jobs, current church, childhood church, family friends, actual family, etc.

I marveled.

I made that verb selection with purpose. According to Merriam-Webster, to marvel is to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity.

I was surprised and curiously amazed at the wonder of Facebook and how it brings and keeps us together, how something simple like wishing someone a happy birthday on a social networking site gets them thinking, remembering about high school and college and old jobs and old bosses and old sermons and old shenanigans and old birthdays before Facebook when you ate cake and ice cream and read birthday cards from the select rank of friends who saw you that day or knew your home address.

Rosie won't know those days. On her first birthday, my parents were on Skype while Jon's parents held up a video camera capturing her messy introduction to chocolate frosting. I posted her birthday pictures, and a message to her, on Facebook! Pretty soon she'll get her own birthday text messages, email messages, Skype visitors, YouTube happy birthday renditions, and, yes, many, many Facebook greetings.

My dad, who is not on Facebook, missed my birthday. (I joked this morning when I called to tell him he missed my birthday that I would send him my shrink's bill.) The irony is that he was engaged in a different kind of social networking.

He was busy golfing with my Great Aunt and exploring back roads and forgotten Indiana cemeteries in a quest to locate the graves of his great-great-great-great (not sure how many greats to insert here but a lot) grandparents. He was looking at their "walls" - not the Facebook wall with its social comings and goings, but their small stones with just what's left - name, birth, death, maybe a few descriptors.

Those souls celebrated all their birthdays without Facebook. Rosie will celebrate all of hers in a world with Facebook or the next big thing.

There's a certain spectacle in the Facebook birthday bonanza, but there's also the opportunity to remember and be grateful for all those people who have come through your life.

So many blessings to be grateful for. And that's certainly one of the best birthday gifts of all to receive.

Happy Birthday, Daddy: Take 2

2010-09-14T08:47:00.001-07:00

Today is Jon's XXrd birthday, his second as a Dad. (Until I get official permission from him, I won't reveal his age in this blog. Yes, we're getting that old.)

While I did my best to help Rosie greet her Daddy (when he returned from voting at 7 a.m.) with a happy birthday message, it sounded more like - "abadabaa, Dada." Of course, next year she'll probably be singing happy birthday! It's hard to imagine what two-year-old Rosie will be like. She's changed so much since Jon's birthday last year.

September 14, 2009: Rosie was wearing her 0-3 month clothes still. (Of course, she's still in 6-9 months at this point so we haven't changed all that much in terms of size!). BUT she was so much younger in so many ways. Last year on Jon's birthday, Rosie cried out when she awoke, snuggled in her sleep sack waiting for our faces to appear. This morning Rosie called from her crib "Mommeemommeemommeedaddeeeeeeeeee!" When I walked in the room, she was standing in her monkey PJs with a smile on her face, bouncing and dancing with delight that her greeting had successfully resulted in Mommy showing up! This year's Rosie could literally run circles around last year's Rosie who only rolled over but didn't sit up or crawl.

Last year she could giggle but not clap. She wasn't even eating rice cereal then and this morning ate peaches and blueberries by the handful. Last year's Rosie spent time on activity mats and in bouncer seats. Now she zigzags from toy to book to ball to blocks to puzzle to our laps with a book in one hand, toy in the other, and sippy cup dangling from her mouth.

And best of all, 15-month Rosie could offer the birthday boy a hand-blown kiss. Next year she'll probably follow up that kiss with an "I love you." Considering my heart nearly burst the first time she said "Mommy," I can only imagine my reaction to that magical moment.

Jon and I decided that our favorite birthday gift from each other this year (and every year) is simply Rosie.

A close second is simply Jon. I'm so grateful to him for being such an amazing and engaged daddy and such a loving and supportive husband. Sitting across from him at his birthday breakfast this morning after we'd dropped off Rosie at the nanny, I couldn't help but feel that same heart-bursting love. I had one of those overwhelming moments where you realize that you are living a life better than the one you'd imagined for yourself.

Birthdays are a good time for reflection on the past and the present. On the many blessings and gifts of the year (even the material ones like the new family car we bought last month).

My final thoughts on Jon's birthday are these: humble gratitude for him, for Rosie, for our family. Here's to another great year!

**Addendum: Here's a cute happy birthday banner that Rosie helped make with the nanny and her little buddy today! Notice the hand prints and scribbles. Too fun!

Year 3 of School Begins

2010-09-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

On Monday I started back to school. It's year three of my four year program and my last semester of coursework.

Monday night was a public affairs management and leadership class that promises to be amazing taught by a professor who is on a first-name basis with the current U.S. Secretary of Defense. Nice.

Tuesday I met my students for my new class I've been prepping all summer. The good news is that I continue to gain confidence that I'm on the right career path. I absolutely adore teaching and talking to them about research and the profession (and their overlap). If I could just do research and teach, I'd be a happy working woman!

This morning a small group of us went to the gym together. Part accountability, part support group. Whatever you want to call it, it motivated me to get back on the elliptical for the first time in about 25 months, so that's something! My hope is that it will be good for my stress level and my physical health.

Tonight was the big stats class. It seems like it's actually going to be pretty good. I'm not saying there weren't formulas in that course packet that I'd prefer not to ever have to understand. BUT it's not going to be nearly as bad as it could have been (and was in undergrad).

Throughout the week there were also several meetings, course scheduling, book/course packet buying, syllabus tweaking, photo copying, article reading, and lots of driving and walking on a 95+ degree campus.

Tomorrow I've got jury duty so a colleague is taking my class for me, so I can head to the superior courthouse for the fifth time since I moved to D.C. in 2002. Crazy.

In the meantime Rosie is doing amazing. She's adapted so well to the new nanny and her new little friend. Jon's been doing drop off and pick up while we're getting into the semester routine, and the new car has come in handy for that!

We're looking forward to a visit from Jon's parents this weekend and next week so I'm sure there will be more photos and videos to follow.

And now back to homework...

End of Summer Blues

2010-08-20T06:25:00.001-07:00

I've got the end of summer blues. Bad. The summer months passed like three nanoseconds, and now I'm staring down the long tunnel of another school semester. Time to put on my teaching hat, student hat, research hat, all while still clinging to those mommy and wife hats. How did I become a hat rack?

I'm trying to fend off my malaise by recapping the end of summer fun in this post. As you can tell from the long hiatus since I last wrote, we've been busy packing everything possible into the last weeks of summer. Since that last July 27 post, I've flown alone with Rosie to Indiana, flown by myself to Denver for a conference, conducted a focus group training at Purdue, and married off two friends back in Indiana.

Eric and Ashley (left) married at St. Luke's United Methodist Church and had their reception at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. I'd never been there, but it certainly lived up to its reputation for grandeur and character.

For those of you who know our family well, Eric is the oldest of the Powell boys and the second oldest of the Blake-Ward-Powell clan. So, he and I virtually grew up together. And now he's married to the beautiful and fun Ashley. I hope they enjoyed their wedding as much as we all did.

Heather and I were the Maids of Honor (I refuse to use the title Matron!) for Kara in her wedding last weekend to Brady. Heather, Kara and I were high school best friends. Kara and I went on to DePauw and Alpha Phi together. The wedding featured many of our college friends, so it was quite the reunion! They got married at the Mavris and held the reception there too. What a fab location! We were pretty sweaty, because the DJ stirred up a dance party that had all generations boogying all night long.

Jon and I also had the privilege of spending some fun time at the lake as a family with good

friends and our expanding collective brood.

Good food, great weather, and many, many laughs.

I even got brave enough to tube all the little kids! They were so cute back there behind the boat.

Rosie loved the baby pool we set up on the deck. That was her favorite place to play, but she did great in the water too. Of course, the life jacket looked like it was swallowing her whole, but she didn't seem to mind that too much either. All those swim "lessons" at the JCC last winter paid off.

Just before we left, we made a trip to the farm to play with Great Grandma Rosie and Great Grandpa Mutt and see Rosie's Great Great Aunt Millie and then all the great with a lowercase "g" cousins. :)

Cate enjoyed being Rosie's driver in the car as you can see. She also liked being Rosie's "seatbelt" during wagon rides. What a fun day! And then the very next day we got on a plane and made a hard East turn back to reality. It's been nice to readjust to life at home. Rosie walked in the front door and looked all around the living room with this quizzical expression that seemed to say..."Hey, I know this place. I know these toys!" What did she gravitate to first? Her Bumbo seat she hadn't touched since she was 5 or 6 months old. Now she likes to master climbing in and out of it - over and over and over. Too funny.

Other fun memories from the trip:

Playing board games with Colin and holding Ethan while Jill took Aidan to the doctor
Late night walk with Jon around the neighborhood
Helping send off Colin to the kindergarten school bus on his first day of school!
Being with Whitney, Jessica and Aja on new baby Ford's birthday and getting to visit him in the hospital
Watching Rosie play with a helium balloon that kept rising to the ceiling
Breakfast with Susan and Peter at Qdoba
Breakfast with Steve and Becca at our house
Dinner at Some Guys, Jon's favorite pizza place, with Mom and Dad - watching Rosie eat fettucini alfredo for the first time
Play date with childhood friends, Laura and Liane, and their boys, Luke and Oliver
Play date at Broadripple Park with Mom's preschool parents and kids
Road trip to Purdue with Aja and lunch afterward at the famous Arni's
Breakfast visit with Grandma and Grandpa Blake
Dinner at Lauren and Adam's house with Lauren's parents
Girls night with Kara and Heather on the Omni balcony
Hanging out with the Wards at their house late night
Movie date with my Mom
Being with my Mom on her birthday and Mom and Dad on their 36th wedding anniversary
Crashing my Dad's sales meeting with Rosie
Photo shoot with Rosie at Picture People
Canning tomatoes with my Mom at the farm
Fireside laugh fest with friends at the lake
Reminiscing with Jon about this time last year (tiny baby, three years of school left) and dreaming about this time next year (toddler, one year of school left)

It was obviously a busy and amazing trip. The flight back was easy and quick. And now reality has set in. Yesterday Rosie had her first day with the new nanny and her nanny share friend, Sasha. They had a blast together...so much so that when I went to pick her up, Rosie actually cried and clung to the nanny. How's that for a Mommy self esteem blow? I do recall my mom telling me that I didn't like change as a kid and used to cry when I was dropped off at preschool and then cry again when I got picked up. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. But I guess it was a good sign that she's going to love spending Monday through Thursday with Holly and Sasha. And that will make it easier for Mommy to put on her Student/Teacher/Researcher hats and go to work each day. In the meantime, though, I think I'll just keep reliving the summer glory days.

Watermelon Days

2010-07-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

Life is good! We've got Grandma Kate here for a "Rosie fix." She bought Rosie a new table and chairs (that she keeps trying to climb!), new toys, and even some fun books. We've been staying cool in the crazy heat wave we've been under - more like a heat tsunami considering just how long this so-called wave has been beating against our atmospheric shores. And we've had lots of time to eat yummy summer meals.

The 100+ degree summer days inspire summer eats like cool, messy, crunchy watermelon. Because Rosie's getting so good at chomping with all seven teeth these days, I decided to give her a whole slice of watermelon during dinner on Sunday. The result was so entertaining that we broke out the video camera so all of Rosie's biggest fans could see her watermelon-eating-trials-and-triumphs in real time (well, actually in fast time).

Hope you and yours are staying cool and eating lots of summer staples. If you need any fruit-devouring tips, Rosie is open for consultations. Warning, though, you'll need a bib.

Road Warriors

2010-07-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend Rosie and I embarked on our first Mommy-Daughter road trip. We headed north to New York City (Brooklyn to be specific) to visit Heather. After Rosie's one-year appointment (a month late, of course) at 10:30 on Friday, we planned to hit the pavement and make our way

out of the city.

I was a little apprehensive about getting on the road immediately after Rosie got vaccines and blood work done, but in true Rosie fashion after brief post-needle crying spells, she was over it and back to her cheery self. (For those interested, Rosie weighed in at 16 pounds 9 ounces, 29 inches long. She's still not on the percentile charts for weight, but the doctor's not worried at all.)

So, we left D.C. about 1:15 after her appointment and a brief pit stop at home to eat lunch and change her diaper. I had my GPS in tow. Since it was one of my Mother's Day gifts, I think it was appropriate that it guided our first Mother-Daughter road trip.

Because I wouldn't have anyone in the back seat to feed and entertain Rosie, I tried to think through every possible distraction I could pack up front with me and pass back to her at opportune moments. As such, I organized the passenger seat with three bags: dry food bag (Cheerios, etc.), toy/book bag, and cooler with milk and cheese. I was also armed with about 10 children's CDs to accompany the pleasant and confident voice of my GPS friend. I filled the console with toll cash that would be easy to grab. I placed the diaper bag within easy reach behind me in case I needed to dig through that quickly. After getting Rosie settled in with the first bottle of the trip, we took off. It was smooth sailing for about the first 10 minutes.

And then we hit the traffic. Well, the first of many traffic jams, actually. Thank goodness for my ingenious (if I do say so myself) system. Rosie would start to fuss or scream out in boredom, and I would immediately pull out a toy or book and pass it back to her. In the rear view mirror, I would see her tiny little hand shoot up and snatch it away. I'd hear the happy babble of an entertained baby and turn up the music so we could jam to the sixth version of Wheels on the Bus or Three Blind Mice. After about 15 or 20 minutes, I'd see the toy come flying out of the car seat and land on the floor. Okay, time for a book. I'd hand her back Go, Dog, Go! Together, we'd practice saying "go," "go," "go" (which was convenient because it was the same wish I had for the current traffic jam)!

When books or toys were immediately rejected (bouncing off the back window after being propelled with toddler force), I knew it was time for the food bag. Bring on the cheerios (or "o's" as she had down by the end of our drive.

"Would you like a Cheerio, Rosie?"

"Oooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

"O-kiedokie," I'd reply with no one to appreciate the pun.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Oooooooo-kay, here comes another one," I'd say while twisting my arm over my head into the proper Cheerio-grab spot above her head but within her reach. (No wonder I had a tweaked back by the time we got there.)

When Cheerios were no longer the desired answer, I would pass back another bottle. By the time we pulled into the New Jersey travel mart after four hours of driving (and still two hours from our destination), the back seat looked like the disheveled habitat of a milkaholic. It was strewn with empty bottles, fallen toys, gummed books, Cheerio bits stuck to everything in sight. But, hey, we weren't trying to win any clean car contests. We were road warriors. Survivors of the Jersey Turnpike. Honda heroes. Brooklyn-bound babes. And we had a dirty diaper. Well, one of us did anyway. Which is why we were at the travel mart, a rest stop sort of place but with a gas station, food court, and restrooms all in one place.

Rosie and I peeled ourselves out of the car and headed inside with the diaper bag. Little did I know that this little gem of a place would pose our greatest road challenge so far. If parenting were like Girl Scouts, I would have earned a badge for braving the bathroom. Before I had kids, I judged places like Macy's, Target, and restaurants by their service, by their product. I loved Macy's shoe department. Target's home goods can't be beat. Restaurants were evaluated by their menus. No longer. These places have under bellies that you don't know about until you have to do the dirty deed of changing a poopy diaper in their restrooms. Only then do you really know these places. And let me tell you, you never look at these places the same. Well, that's what I can say about the New Jersey travel mart. Love the convenience of one-stop-gas-and-food-shopping. But whoever designed the bathrooms has never changed a poopy diaper - or any diaper for that matter.

Picture a long, skinny hallway with weary, full-bladder travelers hopping from foot to foot as they wait their turns. Now picture that randomly cut out of the wall in this skinny, packed hallway is a diaper changing station. Right in the middle of traffic. There's no easy trash can. No hand sanitizer. No place to set anything down except your child. So, there I am trying to block Rosie's bottom with my body so people aren't staring at her and her "business" (if you know what I mean). I'm trying to keep her still so she doesn't reach up and grab the woman's purse that's six inches from her feet. Then there's the business of trying to get the other diaper on her while holding the nasty diaper and keep my diaper bag off the gross-out floor. And all the while bored people are staring at me as I bump into them while doing this Olympic sport maneuvering. Sigh.

Once we'd finished that little ordeal, I headed back outside with Rosie to give her a little time to run around in the grass. This also proved problematic. Apparently, Jersey travel marts don't make the best playgrounds for toddlers who like to pick up everything and put it in their mouths. Cigarette butts, broken glass, and other don't-look-too-closely-you-don't-want-to-know paraphernalia don't make good playground material.

So, instead of play time, we headed back to the car. The rest of the trip went much more smoothly. After a slight hiccup (GPS telling me to exit on a closed ramp - whoops), we found our way to Heather's apartment and proceeded to have a fabulous weekend.

Shopping, walks, play grounds, and picnics made for the perfect girls weekend. Heather was an awesome host, and Rosie loved all the attention (and the stuffed animal Auntie Heather bought her). As you can see, she liked taking her new friends for walks in the stroller.

She has a Brooklyn fan club and was pronounced by more than one shopkeeper as the cutest kid of the day. Ha! One very intense woman told me that she "read babies very well" and she could tell me that Rosie had an extremely high IQ and would someday be a writer. I tried to look as earnest as possible as I accepted her "reading."

Rosie also enjoyed walking in Heather's building and pushing the button for the elevator!

Our drive home was much less eventful for the first 3.75 hours. Then 15 miles from home, Rosie decided to see what would happen if she put her whole fist in her mouth. Needless to say I had to drive the rest of the way home with all the windows down and take her straight to the bathtub when we got back to the house. I think she just wanted to make sure we'd really earned our new titles: Road Warriors.

Next time we'll get matching temporary tattoos.

Carbon Monoxide

2010-07-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

Quick. What would you do? It's 1:00 a.m. You wake up to the sound of the carbon monoxide alarm down the hall beeping. Not the once every 30 seconds because the battery is low kind of beeping. The GET OUT OF THE HOUSE NOW -- DANGEROUS CARBON MONOXIDE HAS INVADED YOUR HOME kind of beeping is screaming (4 beeps every 5 seconds!) to interrupt your peaceful sleep. Again, I ask, what would you do?

Need more info before you can decide? Okay, here's some context.

A) Your baby is sleeping in her room (through the alarm, what a good baby). Yes, you've checked. She's still breathing.

B) You know that carbon monoxide is most likely to be the result of a gas leak or something. You don't even have gas in your home. It's all electric.

C) The alarm is new - only a year old.

D) Google says (yes, you're sitting in bed Googling "carbon monoxide alarm beeping") that carbon monoxide leaks can be caused by grilling indoors and you did use the grill pan earlier that evening.

E) You take the alarm outside in the fresh air and it keeps beeping.

F) You try taking out the batteries and putting in new batteries (or at least batteries that you know work because you've stolen them from the perfectly functioning remote control).

Okay, so that's more context. So, again, I ask what would you do?

Do you take out the batteries and just go back to sleep, hoping/assuming/believing it's just a malfunctioning device and everything is fine? OR do you call 911 and seek fresh air immediately just in case the thing is actually right (as the alarm is urging you to do with each beep and flash)? Bear in mind that one of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning is disorientation that leads to poor decision-making and inability to escape (at least according to our middle-of-the-night Google session).

I'll give you a few more seconds to decide...Got your answer? Either way you would have been fine in this case. When this happened to us on Saturday night, we opted to call 911, (well, 311 first). We didn't want the news article to read: "The fallen family apparently heard the alarm but assumed it was a mistake. Authorities found a carbon monoxide device and batteries strewn across the nightstand"!

We decided to err on the side of carbon caution.

Cut to the 911 operator discovering we live in a condo connected to other units and suddenly we're a big deal, urged to evacuate immediately. Then cut to me waking up the baby, wrapping her in a blanket and escaping the house in our pajamas. And just seconds later twelve firefighters in their firefighting sleep clothes (some in house slippers!) sleepily shuffled past Rosie and me to follow Jon into our house. The head guy (actually wearing his uniform) carried in a giant straight-out-of-Ghostbusters carbon monoxide detector with a three-foot antenna. And then cut to just a minute later when about 11 of them shuffled back out, most of them heading straight back to the truck.

Apparently, it was a false alarm. Rosie did a great job entertaining the remaining guys on the front lawn while the head guy talked to Jon inside.

Rosie, being her usual easygoing self, giggled, smiled, reached for, and babbled at the firefighters, drank a bottle, and then fell right back asleep as soon as we could get back in the house.

Jon and I fell back into our bed around 3 a.m. and finally caught our breath (deep, oxygen-filled breaths) and a few winks before Rosie got up at 6:30.

So, whether you would have done what we did or just gone back to bed, in this case, you would have been just fine. Either way, use this post as a reminder to check all your alarms, smoke and otherwise. Be safe, everyone!

Pink's Revenge

2010-06-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

So, ever since I knew I was having a girl (January 19, 2009 - not that I remember or anything), the pink has rolled into this house. At first I had grand illusions of raising Rosie in a gender-neutral shade of buttercup yellow, mint chocolate green, or apple red. But like the rest of the world, I fell under the girl=pink spell. With my pink seal broken, pink began to take over my life. Pink blankets. Pink hats. Pink polka dot bows. Pink pillows. Pink puppy rattles. Pink onesies. Pink pacifiers. Hot pink. Petal pink. Fuchsia pink. Coral pink. Rose pink. Dark pink. You get the point. And for a year I have loved my little pink rose. But then on Friday pink got its revenge on our house. On Friday Rosie woke up with pink eye in both eyes. I've officially found a shade of pink that is not *cute* on girls.

Red eye pink.

Splotchy-red-spidery-lines-in-the-eye-yellow-green-gunk-in-the-corners pink eye pink.

Not cute.

And for a week we've been doing ointment which seems rather pointless really, because all she's done is transfer the pink eye from one eye to the other. Supposedly, this reinfection will continue for a week at which time her body will finally conquer the darn thing.

I shouldn't complain. After all, I'm the one who gave her the pink eye despite my best efforts to keep Rosie away from my eyes. My own sinus infection, ear infection, and pink eye (fun combo by the way) made its way over to Rosie.

So, for the past week, we've been in a pink eye induced state of house arrest. Of course, the 90+ weather hasn't made me too upset to miss out on walks and outdoor play time.

I'm definitely grateful this didn't pop up during the school year when Jon and I would have had to take off a whole week of work between the two of us.

The quality time between the two of us has resulted in several Rosie developmental breakthroughs. She calls me Mama. So, that's huge. She can put the block shapes in the right openings. She can eat peanut butter. And that's just the beginning of the list.

So, we'll go back to fighting pink eye and achieving developmental milestones amidst a sea of pink toys, blocks, animals and clothes.

Surviving this week-long quarantine is a mommy milestone of its own.

Back from Beyond (and the Big Birthday)

2010-06-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

So...first an apology. I've managed to go more than a month without posting. I'm sure my followers were sad (all six of you!). I started blog posts so many times, but you know how it is...the longer you go, the more special you think that long-lost post must be. And in my case, I wanted a special first-year-in-review video montage. Well, that didn't happen. We also ended up canceling both her D.C. Memorial Day birthday picnic (lack of attendees) and her Indiana lake beach birthday BBQ (Grandpa's bypass surgery), so I didn't have any pictures from that. I was worried that we wouldn't end up having a birthday party at all for Rosie, but the opposite happened. We may not have had one or two BIG parties, but we had multiple mini, sometimes spontaneous or surprise, celebrations.

To catch you up...We had a scare at the end of the semester. Rosie fell down the stairs and emerged unscathed (just slightly rug-burned). Jon and I were grateful to our friends Shiv and Kiran who came to our rescue at the house and the hospital and kept us smiling and sane. Rosie was a trouper. We made it through the end of the semester and immediately dove into our summer. The Levenshus grandparents came out to celebrate Rosie's birthday with trips to the zoo, aquarium, restaurants, museums, and shops. Rosie smashed her homemade cake and we enjoyed the cookies.

THEN we went to Indiana for a couple weeks...

We just returned from a two-week trip to Indiana that included the following elements: two plane trips flying solo with Rosie (she was SOO good!)...play dates and lake time with the girls (and a mini baby boy shower for Whitney)...not one, but TWO fabulous bridal showers (Ashley and Kara)...getting to meet my new cousin Ethan and Liane's new baby, Oliver...lots of good cousin time (Rosie's in Colin, Aidan and Kendall withdrawal)...park time (riding toys, swings and slides), pool time (baby pool, that is), sprinkler time (trying to eat the water)...lots of family time with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, including Great Grandparent time with Blake and Allen great grandparents...celebrated Father's Day with Jon for a long weekend...Michigan night with the Wards and Powells (and Rosie getting to meet the long-lost Michael after a year in the Marshall Islands)...and, of course, smasher cakes, presents, ice cream, personalized birthday bib compliments of the talented Jessica, ribbon, paper, squeals of delight and LOTS of pictures.

Continuing in the catch-up vein...

New tricks she's conquered lately: putting on a hat by herself; pointing to her head, hair, ears, mouth, and wrinkling her nose on command; saying Nana, down, nighnight, Mama (just yesterday! finally!); sitting on riding toys; pushing trucks and cars; building (rather than just destroying) towers; walking FAST - almost RUNNING; feeding herself with a spoon; going down a slide by herself; SQUEALING when she sees her Daddy.

I'm back in the blogging saddle again and will fill in some fun pictures and video as I go along.

We're back from beyond!

First Steps, First Mother's Day

2010-05-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

It's fitting that I write about Rosie's first steps on my first Mother's Day. Becoming a mom is a lot like learning to walk...those nervous, cautious first steps and those many, many falls. But just like Rosie, I have learned to get back up off the ground and try again. Baby steps...it's more than a metaphor. It's a way of parenthood!

I loved my first Mother's Day. It's like gaining a second birthday. It started with flowers (a rose from Rosie and tulips from Jon)...then moved to Jon's blueberry pancakes for Rosie and Mommy...then gifts (GPS and spa gift certificate!)...then church as a family...then...well, then I went to school and worked for four hours. But the beginning of the day was great! As was the end - when I came home, played with Rosie, filmed her walking, ate stuffed bell peppers (compliments of Jon) and then put my baby to bed. I ended the night by treating myself to this blog post and the movie attached. Enjoy!

I have a lot to be grateful for this first Mother's Day. The world's most precious little girl who can say, "hi," "dada," and "wow." A little girl who can walk (talk about wow!). A little girl whose smile and bounce make me laugh. A little girl who every day does something new that leaves me shaking my head in delight. And a husband who's just as entertained and in love with that little girl as I am. And I would be remiss if I didn't also mention how grateful I am for my own mom...and my own Grandmas...and Jon's mom and Jon's grandma.

What a Rosie life this really is...first step bumps and all.

Last Two Weeks of School

2010-05-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it's the final crunch, the final push, the final two weeks of the semester. This time last year I had two big finish lines looming: the end of the semester and a baby's impending birth! My oh my how things have changed this year. Still trying to get through the end of the school year but this time I'm planning Rosie's FIRST birthday party. That's right. My baby is 11 months old.

I finish classes next Tuesday. I've got a week to complete two final papers, administer my students' final exam, and do lots and lots of grading.

I feel much better going into this finals week than those in the past.

I'm further ahead in terms of my own deadlines and work. And I've got a whole summer to look forward to!

Maybe that's why I've let myself have a little fun lately...spending time at Maryland Day with the animals on the farm (below), play dates with friends at the park (as you can see above,

Rosie loves to swing), and time watching Rosie walk. Everywhere. And talk! "Hi, Dada" seems to be the phrase of the month. Heart-melting, right? Here are a few pics before I head back to the grind.

Peekaboo with Rosie

2010-04-20T19:25:00.001-07:00

Rosie is getting more social every day...She's learning to play hide and seek, peekaboo, etc. We have so much fun together. Here's an example of Rosie and I playing peekaboo in the bouncer seat. I attached a mirror that she could push aside to find me.

Rosie Rolls the Ball

2010-04-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Getting caught up on some videos here...This first one is Rosie rolling the ball with my mom last month. So fun!

First Steps

2010-04-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

It's official. Rosie is stepping.

I don't say "walking" because she hasn't quite mastered the coordination of turning steps into walking, but she's definitely close! In the meantime, she's an expert at propelling herself forward on two legs while you hold both or one hand. And she's starting to take 2-3 steps to get to what she wants (i.e., Mom, Dad, blackberry, TV remote, shoes, measuring cups, etc.). She's an expert at going from a sitting to kneeling to standing position without assistance.

I'm not sure I'm ready for my baby to walk, but I don't think she's factoring my shock and nostalgia into her milestone mastery.

I'll try to capture some of this on video soon, but in the meantime, you'll just have to take my (anxious) word for it!

White House Easter Egg Roll

2010-04-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

What an awesome time. Long lines but totally worth it. Standing under the Truman Balcony on a gorgeous (and hot!) spring day waiting for the President and First Family to emerge, I was struck by the gift it is to live in this city. For all the challenges of living far from family and friends from home, today was a reminder of the unique experiences we get to have. And it makes us even more thankful for our D.C. friends like P & J who got us the tickets!

The event was so well-organized for having 30

,000 people come to a lawn party in one day! I was very impressed. We got plenty of souvenirs for the baby book - including the traditional wooden Easter egg. We listened to the cast of Glee sing in the background while Rosie and I took a rest in the shade. Jon worked the booths and brought back a brown bag of organic fruit. The bag was Rosie's favorite part of the day!

But still it was a special time for the three of us - definitely a quintessential D.C. moment. And one we are very grateful for. Speaking of gratitude, I was also thankful that Rosie is light to carry since we carried her the whole day and for 2+ miles on the walk from the White House to the Capitol where the car was.

Can't wait till next year when Rosie can do some of the walking, but I'm sure then I'll be missing the days I could just hold her in my arms rather than chase her around a lawn with thousands of people, PBS characters, celebrities (yikes!), and rolling eggs!

Despite the fabulousness of the day, the best part of it came at 6:00 a.m. when I brought Rosie into our bedroom and she looked right at Jon and said, "Dada." First time it was really clearly meant for him. Certainly a heart-melter.

A Rose Among the Cherry Blossoms

2010-04-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

My mom was in town for the week on her spring break. So appreciated the help cooking, cleaning, and all the Rosie care. Jon and I are very fortunate to have parents that are so willing to help and actually enjoy doing it!

After getting the big paper turned in on Thursday evening, I allowed myself to relax a bit and had a great weekend. Mom and I took Rosie for a long walk on Friday and ended up outside of Marvelous Market watching Mr. Skip, the children's musician. Jon met us thereafter work. We took some great pictures before walking home.Then Jon and I took advantage of the free babysitting and went out on a double date on Friday night.

On Saturday we got up early and headed down to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms in bloom. We thought we'd beat the crowds, but apparently everyone had the same idea. It was so crowded! I'm glad we didn't even attempt to bring a stroller. We met up at the Jefferson memorial and took some pictures. It was too difficult to get the quintessential blossoms on the water picture, but we still managed to get some great ones by putting Rosie in the crook of a tree above the path. Some woman who thought Rosie was cute randomly came over and helped us get her to smile. So sweet.

The next morning was Easter. I enjoyed getting Rosie's basket ready...filled with candy (mostly for Mom and Dad), books, a soccer ball, and other fun Easter gear. I also picked out a ball popper machine from Target that I already regret purchasing. There should be a law against baby toys that sing annoying songs without the opportunity to control the volume. This contraption is permanently set to "blow out your eardrum" loud. It also scared the crap out of me when I accidentally turned it on while screwing back on the battery cover. Just about jumped out of my skin.

So, I was worried Rosie would be frightened of it. We watched her face carefully the next morning, and she was definitely intrigued/worried. But she came around quickly and now enjoys chasing the balls that fly off the track (another annoying feature of this particular model). But since she seems to like it, we'll keep it for awhile. Just don't be surprised if I wrap the thing in a towel to muzzle the music! Easter service was fun. Loved having Mom there. Rosie looked adorable in her 3-month dress. Jon and I were glad we were able to get some use out of it!

Rosie was pooped out after the service...so I didn't get the photo shoot I wanted. No family picture with Rosie this year. Next year I'll be smart enough to take the pictures BEFORE the service. All in all a great weekend...Got me motivated to finish the semester as quickly and efficiently as possible so I can get back to enjoying the family.

Maybe I should start a customer service blog

2010-04-03T13:26:00.001-07:00

I'm thinking I should start a customer service blog. A few months ago I wrote about my challenges communicating with a certain discount travel service. Well, the current object of my frustration is a baby magazine. Can you believe it? I've taken out identifying characteristics, but I doubt this magazine is alone in its efforts - so mine is a general cautionary tale. Exercise caution when signing up for contests of any kind - but particularly cute baby contests. Read below for more details. Hopefully, this email to customer service will finally do the trick!

Dear Customer Service at @#&*()__@***@ Photo Contest,

I am completely disgusted with your aggressive and deceptive marketing techniques and plan to immediately unsubscribe from your magazine in addition to the ridiculous firehose of spam emails you are sending me and calls you are making to my cell phone.

It all started less than a week ago when I signed up for your "cute baby" contest because it sounded legitimate in your magazine, which I faithfully read. Within minutes of going through the process of signing up and uploading a photo, I immediately regretted my decision. My stomach sank as I saw your multiple emails in my inbox that appeared out of nowhere fishing for my contacts with lures of needing "votes." Then there were the emails from your "partners" trying to sell me their products and services. And, of course, the emails from the "contest" telling me that somehow, miraculously, within minutes of receiving my photo, your editors had gathered in the middle of the night to vote my little baby a WINNER. Lucky me. All I had to do, of course, was pay $69.99 and I could be the proud owner of a coffee table book heralding my daughter as one of the cutest babies in America. Puhleeze.

Despite my immediate regret, and more importantly my immediate requests that you unsubscribe me from the multiple email lists you'd attached me to, I continue to get emails from you each day ALL day. And today you actually had the gall to call my cell phone with a "restricted number" and try to tell me I'd "won" with another request for my cold hard cash in exchange for the...wait for it...coffee table book! Now I know who all those "private number" calls have been from this week. Sheesh. As I said to the poor woman at the call center forced to make these calls, take me off your lists!

As I said in my multiple unsubscribe requests, take me off your lists!

And as I said in my previous reply to one of your parasite emails AFTER the unsubscribe emails didn't work, take me off your lists!

Your customers are not stupid. We can tell the difference between a legitimate contest and a "contest" in name only where everyone is a winner as long as they hand over every contact they have for your profit-making benefit and as long as they purchase your everyone's-a-winner-if-you-pay-to-be products.

Look, this is not entirely your fault. I have to take some responsibility here. I admit to thinking my kid's adorable. Heck, I think she actually may be one of the cutest 100 babies in America. But I'm not so blinded by my new mommy bias to think that you or your contest is actually focused on finding cute babies for your magazine cover. You should be ashamed of yourselves for such predatory marketing behavior under the guise of a family fun contest. The only contest at this point is whether or not I actually manage to get myself out of your spam-happy server.

Now that I've got that off my chest, I can go back to gazing at my beautiful baby. Photo NOT attached.

Your disgruntled and disappointed FORMER magazine subscriber,

Abbey Levenshus

2:15 a.m.

2010-03-28T23:15:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note to say that I am tired. It's 2:15 a.m. I can't remember the last time I went to bed before midnight. This whole mommy-student-teacher thing is a hard enough balance to maintain without needing more than 4-5 hours of sleep. And you all know how much I need my sleep.

I realize that sleep deprivation, constant looming deadlines, multi-tasking on speed, and reading/writing fatigue are short-term pains for long-term gains...but at 2:18 a.m. it's hard to see the long-term horizon through my bleary eyes.

And so I will do what I have done every single night since Rosie was born...I will sneak into her darkened nursery and peek over the crib rail so I can rest these bleary eyes on my sweet girl. I will take note of where she's nudged her little body in the crib, what blanket or stuffed animal she has tucked in the crook of her arm, whether her bottom is high up in the air with feet tucked under or if she's sprawled out with arms and legs pointed in all four corners of the crib. I will watch the rhythmic rise and fall of her back that tells me she's dreaming of her favorite things...new Robeez mini shoes. bath toys. measuring spoons. remote controls. cheese. and Mommy's Blackberry, of course.

And as I lightly rest my hand on her tiny back, I will smile. And I, too, will breathe and dream easier.

For all four hours until the morning comes.

Rosie vs. the Laundry Basket

2010-03-26T20:27:00.001-07:00

One of Rosie's favorite pastimes involves using an upside down laundry basket as her own personal table/drum set/walking toy/podium. Here's a glimpse!

Bookworm

2010-03-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

I love watching Rosie become a bookworm like her Mommy. She enjoys sitting in her room pulling out her books, turning the pages, talking to the book, patting the pictures, and clapping with delight. Her favorites include Pat the Bunny, Baby Animals, Andy Warhol's Colors, and Clap Clap.

I have so many memories of reading as a kid. Spending my "naptimes" reading in bed. Listening to my mom read to us each night before bedtime. Taking books with me in the car. Correcting my dad when he would discretely try to skip a few pages of a long Dr. Seuss bedtime book. Visiting the library and painstakingly choosing the new tales to take home for the week. And then the sweet memories of sitting on

the striped couch next to my mom while she taught me to read from simple books.

I remember reading to my parents and my brothers and anyone else who would listen and eventually writing my own stories with the Snoopy colored pencils my mom bought for me. And today I still enjoy that love of reading and writing (though a Ph.D. program is certainly enough to make anyone desire a hiatus from both!).

And now I have the privilege of watching my daughter discover the world of words and pages and colors and voices - all between the two covers of a book. What a gift and privilege to watch the world of words and pages unfurl for her.

103.2

2010-03-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

That was Rosie's temperature this morning as I'm getting ready to walk out the door for work. So instead I took Rosie out the door with me...straight to Shivani's office for a quick look in the ears. Yup, double ear infection. Then out the door to the pharmacy and grocery store. Then out the door to home...breakfast, medicine, diaper change...Then out the nursery door (hoping she'll fall asleep) and downstairs to try to get some work done.

All in a day's mommy work. Sigh.

First Tooth

2010-02-23T19:07:00.000-08:00

My baby has a tooth - at least the start of a tooth.

This morning her nanny told me that she thought she'd seen a tooth in Rosie's mouth. No, I said. Surely, I would have noticed her first tooth! I looked inside her mouth, didn't see anything and confidently dismissed the idea.

But upon the nanny's suggestion, I put my finger (recently washed) inside her mouth and sure enough...EUREKA! I felt a tiny little razor-edged point on her lower left gum. Tooth.

At almost 9 months old, she has finally gotten a tooth. Milestones rock!

Look, Mom, no hands!

2010-02-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

Rose Isabel Levenshus can stand on her own two feet.

Not for very long, mind you, but she can stand. When she gets her feet just right - flat on the ground shoulder width apart and when she's not too bouncy or giddy, she can stand for up to 10 seconds.

During a particularly long standing episode last night, Jon tried to get to the video camera to capture the moment. Rosie turned around to see where he was headed, and she landed on her bum. Like an endangered species in the wild, it's always difficult to record these sightings. But they're real none the less!

Wow. She just started crawling last month. She just started pulling up three weeks ago. And now she can stand up. What will next week bring?

I wasn't prepared for how quickly this would all happen. My little girl might be a pint-size peanut, but she's on the prowl. Watch out, world!

Sippy Cups

2010-02-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

I'm trying to make the most of my snow days since we have so many of them!

Here's a sweet video of another first for Rosie - her first attempt at getting milk/prune juice out of a sippy cup. These experiences are more than nutritional. They're a great opportunity for her to work on her motor skills.

I always enjoy watching her try to figure out a new object/experience/task. You can practically see her brain working through the problem. Rosie faced several challenges in trying to get the sippy cup to work:

1) She's tiny and pretty much eye-level with the cup.

2) The stainless steel cup is much heavier than her usual bottles.

3) She has to learn how to suck out of a hard plastic top versus her bottles' silicone nipples.

4) I'm watching her. No one does their best work while being watched - let alone filmed!

Despite all these obstacles, Rosie was pretty successful. Of course when I later took off her bib, half the milky juice had ended up on her outfit, but I still give her an A for effort! It won't be long before she can put this on her "been there, done that" list.

Here's another video-watching option if Blogger's video feature is STILL broken when you try to watch it! Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Rosie's First Super Bowl - Go Colts!!!

2010-02-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

Ready for kick-off. Kickoff. Kick off. (we can't decide how to write it)

Chips. Check.

Dip. Check.

Salsa. Check.

Chili. Check.

Beer. Check.

Friends. Check.

Family. Check.

Rosie's Colts cheerleader outfit. Check.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!?!

Go horse!

I Hate Air Travel

2010-02-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

This is my first official blog rant. Read at your own risk.

It's official. I. hate. air. travel.

Living far away from your families has many consequences. One is that you get to spend lots of time figuring out travel logistics, booking flights, organizing travel to airports, packing, sitting in airports, waiting in lines, juggling luggage and carseats and breastpumps (or "BPs" as the TSA guys call them while blushing) and strollers and carry on bags and diaper bags and a baby.

It means that you live in fear that your child will scream or have projectile spit up and explosive diapers while you're trapped in a two foot by two foot space on a plane. It means you must practice your best "please help me" faces when asking people to switch seats with you so you can nurse the baby more discretely by a window than on the aisle with the beverage cart and everyone else within a six-foot radius (which is like 40 people on a plane) getting an eyeful.

Air travel also comes with the joys of delayed flights in airports with an exhausted baby (and two exasperated parents) and cranky individuals all around you shouting expletives at equally exhausted and exasperated airline employees who can't control the weather or the FAA flight crew turnover guidelines. All of those aspects are tough but the real reason I am penning this post at 12:46 a.m. is that I have currently been on hold and in heated conversation for over an hour (1:15:58 according to my phone) with a certain online travel company. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

11:00 p.m. Found a good fare to go home to Indy for a few days.

11:07 p.m. Pressed "purchase"

11:08 p.m. Site kicked me back to list of flights - no confirmation that tickets were purchased

11:15 p.m. Called company to check if tickets had in fact been purchased

11:19 p.m. Customer Service Rep said not purchased and recommended I try again online

11:21 p.m. Indicated to CSR that the same problem occurred - got to point of purchase again, clicked "purchase," once again no confirmation of purchase

11:30 p.m. CSR explained that this is because the published fare isn't actually available (never mind the price guarantee proudly displayed next to the price). Apparently, the airlines publish their fares directly and if they're no longer available due to a price change, the airline can just refuse to honor the price.

11:40 p.m. After going back and forth with CSR to understand what she meant, asked to speak with Supervisor

12:15 a.m. Supervisor finally took me off hold (please note that I waited 25 minutes to speak with said Supervisor

12:20 a.m. Explained situation to Supervisor (apparently she wasn't able to use the 25 minutes to get up to speed on situation)

12:25 a.m. Supervisor began trying to get original fare advertised on the web site for me

12:27 a.m. Had random and frustrating conversation with supervisor about whether Rose Isabel was Rosie's first name or first and middle name or first name and MY maiden name. I'm still not sure what she was confused on there, but it put my communication skills to the test.

12:30 a.m. After Supervisor walked through purchasing process on her end, THE SAME THING HAPPENED - She was booted back to flight list instead of purchasing ticket. Apparently, she had not understood what I had told her happened to me. She needed to see it for herself.

12:35 a.m. Supervisor said she'd need to contact airline directly to see if she could get the fare for me. I was put back on hold. In my frustration, I began this blog post.

12:50 a.m. Supervisor apologized and explained that the airline would not honor the fare being shown on the travel booking site. Flights would now cost $100 more. No way to fix this. Supervisor offered $50 voucher. I used all kinds of arguments - false advertising, lack of business integrity/credibility/ethics, etc., never going to be a customer again, going to blog about experience (well, just thought that in head). Nothing worked.

1:04 a.m. Hung up in defeat. 2:04:57 on phone.

So, heading to bed at 1:31 a.m. $50 voucher of stale apology in my email inbox from said company. No apology or voucher from the evil airline that changed its fare. No tickets purchased.

Did I mention that I hate air travel?

Being the eternal optimist, I must acknowledge that there are upsides to air travel.

Each flight Jon and I survive (spit up, diapers, screams and all) just makes us more confident as parents and strengthen our teamwork. This picture is from our flight home after our first cross-country visit to California for Josh and Alexis's wedding when Rosie was 7 weeks old. We're exhausted but happy. I remember feeling like a *real* mom for the first time because I changed poopy diapers on my lap and on the tray table, went through three outfits when she spit up everywhere, and Jon and I successfully calmed her down when she unleashed her travel wrath on us mid-flight.

The ultimate joy, though, that makes all the hassle of travel worthwhile is seeing family on the other side of that security divider. Nothing like it.

So, sigh, I may hate air travel...but tomorrow I will accomplish the following:

1. Work out anger in customer service survey from former online travel booking company

2. Find new online travel booking company

3. Book tickets to Indianapolis

Ph.D. Student in Training

2010-01-31T19:01:00.000-08:00

Rosie stopped by my office on Friday. Such fun! I wish I could have her with me every day, but I wouldn't get much done if that were the case.

Surprise Snow Days

2010-01-31T18:50:00.001-08:00

We woke up yesterday morning to a snow-filled sky. We didn't let that keep us from our swim class, but it sure made the drive home interesting. What was predicted to be a 1 to 2 inch dusting turned into a 6-inch snow storm.

We spent the rest of the day playing inside the house. Rosie especially loved looking out the window at the men shoveling snow. She was banging on the window, and one of the men heard her, looked up, and waved. She smiled with delight and clapped. So sweet.

Since we missed the REAL snow storm in December, we wanted to take Rosie out in the snow today. We had visions of snow men and snow angels.

Rosie was intrigued, but the light was too bright and the air was too cold. So we hung out for a few minutes and then headed back in the house.

Snow + baby = FUN

Little Flippers Class

2010-01-28T18:56:00.000-08:00

Here's the promised video of Rosie enjoying her first two water classes at the DC JCC. I got in the water with her for the first Saturday morning class (highlight of mommyhood thus far). Jon and his Aunt Sandy and Uncle Saul went with her last week to the second class. I was home babysitting Rosie's nanny share buddy, Rohan. We've got about 5 or 6 classes left.

Swimming class is about 20 minutes long. It consists of getting in the water with your child, inserting a rubber ducky in the child's mouth, swimming around, singing while moving in a circle, and adapting nursery rhymes to water-appropriate topics (doing Humpty Dumpty on the pool deck and having Rosie "fall down" into your arms in the water). Then it's the next class's turn. It really is a hoot and one of my favorite activities to date.

I had a little fun with this video...I'm slowly learning the amazing capabilities of my new Mac and reliving my glory days as a youngster making movies with the old camcorder. I knew all those ancient video editing skills would pay off.

Enjoy our Little Flipper.

Whoa.

2010-01-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

So, Rosie has quickly progressed from stop-and-go crawling to full-blown crawling. She did that for about .5 minutes and then decided to start pulling up on everything around her - including her Mom and Dad, the now-abandoned swing and bouncer, the coffee table (with the giant child-proofing foam ring around it), the couch, the toy box, her crib rail, the laundry basket, the dresser, the entertainment center and my rolling backpack. We made our peace with all of that and then...

Tonight while Jon was giving her a bath, Rosie just stood up. Stood up. In the middle of the water and soap and slippery-ness of the Whale of a Tub, she stood. Jon yelled for me. Two weeks ago she couldn't crawl. And then this. Standing! In water!

My mom said this would happen. I just didn't think we'd be here this quickly. Parenthood just changed. Forever.

First Day of the Semester

2010-01-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day back at school. It's been such a blissful last few weeks of playing house with my little family of three. Some highlights:

Stroller walks with Rosie to Port City Java

Catching Rosie pulling up on her crib rails for the first time (crib immediately lowered!)

Giggling through Rosie's experiences with new foods (puffs, mashed banana, blueberries, spinach, etc.)

Watching Rosie learn to crawl and head butt towers (video posted)

Visit from Aunt Sandy and Uncle Saul - lots of dinners, laughs, playtime (and free babysitting!)

Having a play date with Rohan, Kiran and Shivani during which Rosie demonstrated her newest trick - reaching out at lightning-fast speed (casualty = water glass) and an early morning play date full of fun times with a tunnel

Enjoying a date night with Jonathan (see free babysitting above)

Taking a weekend trip to Ikea with a very inquisitive Rosie (50 cent hot dogs!)

Walking in to the nursery and finding Rosie looking for me...ready for more play time

Getting word that my first journal article was officially published (after three revisions)

Girl's dinner out with Kim (after a mile walk in the rain due to the first restaurant being closed)

Watching Colts games with Jon (here we come, Super Bowl!)

Family play time on the floor (teaching Rosie "So big!")

Squealing gleefully when Rosie figured out how to clap

Seeing Rosie discover herself in the mirror

And best of all...

Little Flippers water class with Rosie (video to follow)

What a great few weeks...I got a glimpse of what motherhood and wifehood could be like in a stress-free world. I am fully committed to making this a better semester so that I can enjoy more Rosie and Jon this spring.

My little girl is growing up, and I don't want to miss one minute more than I have to.

A Puffy Encounter

2010-01-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

November 1, 2009 - Rosie encounters solid-ish liquid food for the first time

January 11, 2010 - Rosie encounters more solid-y food for the first time

Enjoy the thousand faces of Rosie as she explores some organic puffs made of kale, spinach and various other brain food stuffed into a star-shaped piece of cereal. Cheerios these are not.

Rosie learns to crawl

2010-01-14T06:55:00.000-08:00

Rosie can crawl. I think.

After coaxing her to follow a little bouncy bee toy I pulled across the carpet, I wanted to see if she was actually crawling or if she was just sort of scooting behind the pull toy. So, I sat her across the room, built my tower trap, and then laid in wait (filming all the while, of course).

What ensued was nothing short of a developmental delight - she CRAWLED. Sort of. Basically. Pretty much. Well, you watch. You decide.

Back from Beyond

2010-01-13T19:02:00.000-08:00

So, the semester turned out to be more stressful than I expected. My little family blog experiment had to take a back seat to basic survival! But now I'm back.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Rosie girl. She has such a bright and fun personality - full of life and easy laughs.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving and even better Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's...and 2010 has been a great year so far. We're enjoying reconnecting as a small family and watching Rosie grow and learn. She can clap, laugh, roll, CRAWL!, and otherwise entertain us with her newest tricks.

I'll document some of these most recent adventures here...

Stay tuned.

Sock monkey

2009-11-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite parts of mommyhood is the unexpected silly moment that makes you lose your breath laughing. I had one of those moments yesterday morning. I was matching socks, and Rosie was grabbing them out of the pile. I put one on her head, and she laughed. There's nothing like a baby laugh. I thought it was funny. She thought it was funny that I thought it was funny. I thought it was funny that she thought it was funny that I thought it was funny. You get the drift. Special silly moments = mommyhood blessing.

Learning to sit up

2009-11-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

So, now that Rosie's conquered solid foods, she's moving on to new tricks like sitting up! She appreciates a little support from her Boppy or her mom, dad or nanny, but she's getting better and better. And Nana D who is here for a conference noted that Rosie's starting to rock on her knees. She may be just a couple months away from crawling. How did my teeny tiny newborn baby grow into a sitting, scooting, smiling, rocker of a girl? I guess it's not just a cliche that time flies. Because it's a flyin'...

Rosie Encounters Solid(ish) Food for the First Time

2009-11-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

I say solid(ish) because it was definitely more liquid than solid but there were at least 3-4 rice flakes in that soupy goodness. Rosie seemed intrigued by the whole experience. This took place on November 1. Only four days later, she's a champion at spoon eating. She opens her mouth like a baby bird and happily slurps it down. She giggles and tries to grab the spoon and food bowl. It becomes an Olympic sport to keep them away from her. New milestones are the best!

Testing out the video feature

2009-11-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

We've got hours worth of video stored up on the computer. I'm hoping this can be a good venue for some some of her best work and, of course, some of the outtakes. Here's a short one from the Homestead Farms pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago...

2009-11-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

Chicken Little was a good sport. It's like she realized how undignified the tights were, and she was willing to indulge us anyway.

I set up a JC Penney photo shoot on the front lawn. Women walking by with their babies asked if they could pose their kids there for photos!

Holidays are so much more fun when you have little kids to dress up in random seasonal gear. Can't wait for Christmas!

Inaugural Post

2009-11-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

We're starting a family blog to show off Rosie for all her fans - far and wide. Let me know what you think!