Pyreflies over Zanarkand

Brave New Word

2009-01-22T17:40:00.002-05:00

Snow Dawgs

2009-01-21T11:01:00.000-05:00

This, if you can believe it, was the first time Miki (in his nearly six years) had seen snow.

Kona, however (having lived in Indiana and Colorado in his younger days), is a snow pro.

I'm just hoping it snows again this weekend, as both dogs (and their humans) love to run and play in the fluffy white stuff!

End of an Hair-a

2009-01-20T22:38:00.002-05:00

We decided today was a good day to chop off Xan's, um... bush. This is the first time it's been cut. Ever.

Yesterday:

Today:

He looks like a different kid, huh? I'll miss his curls, but I was so glad to get rid of all those split ends. Now I can save the conditioner for my hair. And, I think I did a decent job cutting it. Here's what it looked like after his bath tonight:

That look on his face was him worried that River was unhappy. She was angry-talking, and he doesn't like it when she's upset. Tonight, he hung out with me for her bath, jumping up and down to make her laugh. And, oh, she was cackling the entire time. I'm pretty sure it ranked in the Top Ten Cutest Things in the Universe.

Her first...

2009-01-20T13:50:00.000-05:00

Snow, and...

Inauguration.

As you can see, it's snowing in The South today. We're supposed to get 4-8 inches, and we're all very excited about. Except, of course, for the people who have to drive to work. And, speaking of exciting, my mom got called last-minute to work the parade route at the inauguration today! I'm so jealous. What a cool thing to actually be a part of such an historic event.

Walking Tall

2009-01-18T23:55:00.002-05:00

With just a little help, River can now pull herself up to a standing position. As you can see below, she can even do a couple seconds of "no hands!".

As for this next photo, I've been wanting to get a good shot of her eyes with natural lighting. I didn't do any enhancements other than levels, color balance & sharpening.

More River

2009-01-17T23:55:00.002-05:00

I can't stop taking pictures of her.

She's better than cowbell.

Seven Months (nearly)

2009-01-15T15:37:00.001-05:00

River had her 6/7 month check-up today. She was a just under 17 lbs and just over 26 inches. She's 50% percentile across the board and in excellent health*.

Xan, though he doesn't have another check up 'til his third birthday, is in excellent health*, as well.

*Aside from this lovely bug they're both getting over.

Up and Running

2009-01-14T23:55:00.004-05:00

Today I:
* Got a gym membership. (I laid down my terms and they accepted. I believe the adorable baby I was holding softened their resolve.)
* Started working on revamping my website.
* Found out that a couple of my photos recently purchased by the museum are going to be published in Carolina Parent (with a photo credit).
* Did the dishes, folded clothes & went grocery shopping.
* Finally, after nearly two years here, got my:

And, I scored 100% on my test. Hear me roar.

In the meantime...

2009-01-13T23:19:00.001-05:00

Our network is still down, but I'm hoping I'll be up and running by tomorrow afternoon. And, I'm going to start hosting all my sites at godaddy. I'm tired of relying on our own personal physical hardware. Besides, the server that hosts my photos and websites is louder than rush hour in Beijing. It'll be nice to be able to turn that off at night. And, now I'm boring myself...

Anyway, there's a reason I'm here. Really. I edited a couple more pictures from Christmas and tossed 'em up onto photobucket so that I could share them with you.

We're Down

2009-01-12T12:12:00.002-05:00

As in, our server is currently out of commission. So, that's why you may not see most of the photos on here. However, I uploaded the photos from my most recent job onto a flickr page so I could share them with you. They're from Steve Gerberich's Springs & Sprockets exhibit at The Museum.

(click me ->) GERBOMATIC (<- click me)

Just remember who said it first.

2009-01-10T23:50:00.003-05:00

Today was the most awesome of awesome days. Well, not really. We're all still sick and I felt like my head is going to explode. BUT, the most awesome of awesome things happened.

We were out walking the dogs, and I bent down and asked Xan for a kiss. After he gave me one (it was nice and snotty, of course) he said, "I love you". Then, to make sure I knew he meant he loved me, he said it again and pointed at me. You know, one of those stabbing points to really drive the message home. I just about cried. Wait, I think I did a little.

We're #@&%ing sick again.

2009-01-10T01:31:00.000-05:00

I've decided we're never leaving the house again. Because, every time we do, Xan gets sick. Then I get sick. Then River gets sick. Rick is uberimmune, so I guess he's allowed to go out.

Now I just have to make it through another week (or two) of being sick with sick beabs. We'll be healthy again soon enough. And then we'll get cabin fever. And then we'll venture out into the great wide GERM INFESTED open.

Okay, I'm done bitching. For now. River's gone back to sleep, so I'm going to follow suit.

Epiphany '09

2009-01-06T23:06:00.003-05:00

I like to stretch the holidays out as long as possible. If I had my way, there would be winter celebrations, decorations and lights until St. Paddy's Day. However, today is officially the day all the fun is put away for another year.

I, however, ~~forgot about a couple gifts I had shoved away in a box in the closet~~ saved a special gift for each of the kids just for today. River got the Counting Kisses book & doll set. I thought she'd be all about the little kitty doll, but she likes the book even more.

Xan was thrilled when he opened his new Thomas storybook. He looked through it for minutes pointing out all the engines (of which he knows the names better than I do).

When he saw that picture of James covered in oil, he said, "Oh my goodness!". Both Rick and I were about on the floor.

Anyway... though the Epiphany presents were a happy accident this year, I hope to make them a tradition in the years to come.

Gerbophotos

2009-01-05T22:24:00.001-05:00

I had the pleasure of being asked, by the artist himself, to photograph the Springs & Sprockets exhibit at The Museum before it came down today. I've only edited one of the images so far, but I wanted to share it with you.

It's tough to capture the magic of that exhibit in still pictures. I'm hoping (after a bit of editing) I'll be able to do it justice.

Snapshots

2009-01-04T11:04:00.004-05:00

Xan LOVES my crappy point-n-shoot, and seems to be a natural at taking pictures. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Looks like we're going to have to get him his own camera for the big 0-3. Don't mind me. It was late and I start looking skeery after 6pm.

I was so disappointed this snap was blurry. But, she was so cute I still had to share. Check the mini faux hawk.

Welcome to mah crib.

2009-01-03T20:05:00.002-05:00

River wanted me to show you her new digs:

She's been hanging out in there, on occasion, since New Year's Day. She likes it, but still (obviously) prefers sleeping cuddled up to mom and dad. So, she'll take her naps and the first leg of her night's sleep in the crib... but I'm sure she'll end up in the our bed for the next few months. We'll just have to see how long it takes her to become Fidgety McFidgerton, which is the point at which we kicked Xan out of our bed.

Xan wanted me to show you his new bookshelf:

Grammy & Granddaddy made it for him for Christmas and he loves it. Who knew sensible storage could be so exciting to a two-and-a-half-year-old.

As you can see, Miki likes both the crib and the bookshelf. Or, he likes being in pictures. Or, he just likes following me around.

C'mon Al!

2009-01-02T23:55:00.006-05:00

I've got my fingers crossed for ya, buddy.

Edited to add:
For those who aren't familiar with Al Franken, here's some Al Wiki:

Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an Emmy Award�??winning American comedian, writer, liberal political commentator, and politician. He is a Minnesota candidate for the United States Senate in 2008. He first became famous as a writer and a performer for Saturday Night Live, eventually writing and appearing in several films. Since then, Franken has become more known for his political commentary, writing numerous best-selling books and hosting a nationally syndicated radio show on Air America Radio.

On February 14, 2007, Franken announced his candidacy for the 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, was endorsed by that party on June 7, 2008, and won the nomination in their primary on September 9, 2008. On November 18, the Minnesota state canvassing board certified results of the election with Franken trailing Senator Norm Coleman by 215 votes, or less than 0.0075 percent of the over 2.8 million votes cast. However, under Minnesota state law, an automatic recount was mandated because the official margin was less than one-half of one percent of the total votes cast. The recount began November 19. As of December 30, Franken had unofficially taken the lead by 49 votes with a projected 1,350 improperly rejected absentee ballots left to count.

Out with the old.

2009-01-01T23:55:00.002-05:00

My parents are ROCK STARS. They drove four hours round-trip (after partying 'til 2am the night before) to give us the day to do whatever we wanted. Now, I know more sensible people, with grandparents to watch the kids, would probably have gone out on a date. Us, however? We are wild and crazy! We asked them to help us repair stuff in the house and watch the youngins while we CLEANED!

Rick was a whirlwind of domestic splendor today. He gathered, dusted, vacuumed, organized, recycled... I'm getting all hot and bothered again just typing about it.

My parents also helped us gather together about six boxes and bags of clothes to donate to Lake Christian Ministries.

And, both kids were thrilled to have Grammy and Granddaddy in the house. River was especially excited when she, quite literally, became the center of attention while Xan was napping.

Seriously though, how can you not stop what you're doing for a couple minutes to bask in this level of cuteness?

All in all, it was a very productive day. I wish Rick had tomorrow off so we could just sit back and bask in the glow of our slightly cleaner and more organized home. At least the weekend is just one day away.

12 of 2008

2008-12-31T23:08:00.001-05:00

So, if your child eats toothpaste...

2008-12-30T18:31:00.001-05:00

... like ours just did, you probably don't need to freak out. We weren't sure how much Xan had eaten, but he wasn't alone with the toothpaste for more than five minutes (enough for me to realize it had gotten far too quiet). When I caught Xan red-handed with the Crest Pro-Health, he looked up at me with a blue smile and said, "yummy".

To be safe, I called poison control to ask if there was anything we should do. The woman with whom I spoke said that he probably hadn't had enough time to ingest enough to make him sick and, if he had, the fluoride (which is what I was worried about) was a stomach irritant and would make him throw up. She also said to give him milk, which helps to block the fluoride.

He seems right as rain, and it's been about an hour since his fluoride feast. I think we're in the clear. However, if your toddler has gotten into toothpaste an you're still worried, the number for poison control is 1-800-222-1222.

Sugah, Sugah

2008-12-29T23:55:00.000-05:00

I think Xan might actually turn into a cookie by New Year's.

Dear Stephenie Meyer

2008-12-28T16:16:00.003-05:00

Please publish a set of Twilight books that doesn't recap the last book(s) for the first 50 pages.

Cheers,
Emmett_Lovah74

Razortooth

2008-12-27T23:55:00.002-05:00

I would never have believed that one itty bitty tooth could be so deadly. Well, painly. If the ferocious nibbling continues, baby girl and I are going to have a serious talk.

Her First Christmas

2008-12-26T22:33:00.001-05:00

And, of course, his third. He's just starting to figure out what a very cool cat Santa is.

And to all, a good night.

2008-12-25T20:30:00.003-05:00

Today has been one of the best Christmases I can remember. I got to spend a relaxed day with the people I love most in the world. We opened presents, ate delicious food, I read my books (I'm now well into New Moon), and now we're watching a Harry Potter marathon (something Rick and I decided will be one of our Christmas/New Year's traditions). I wanted to post some photos from today, but haven't yet had the time to edit them.

However, my mom gave River a gift that I wanted to share. It's a quilt made by the residents and students of Danville ARC.

It's beautiful, and the craftsmanship is gorgeous. If you are looking for some wonderful handmade quilts (you can even provide your own fabric), check out their online store. You can also email the store manager, Teresa Dillion, at retailstore at danvillearc dot org.

I hope you and yours are having a wonderful, restful Christmas day. Much love to you all, and I'll try to get some pictures posted over the next couple of days.