Go Giants!

AT&T is hosting a few Tellme folks like myself to a Giants vs. Dodgers game. We've got a kickass view from the AT&T box right behind home plate (I wouldn't expect anything less, given it's the AT&T park, right?). Should be a good game. ;)

In other news, Jon just texted to let me know Logan said Elmo for the first time at school today! :)

Hot Pink, Hot Damn.

I've noticed I'm becoming a big fan of Puma's. Their shoes help me accessorize with more style than a pair of normal running shoes, yet still provide the support I need for proper back alignment and short daytime walks.

My body and back are already thanking me (at least, that's how I justified my latest new purchase). :)

Happy (Belated) Birthday Jessie!

This past week flew by so quickly, I forgot to blog about Logan's friend Jessie - who just turned the big numero uno last Friday! :) It's a huge deal since Jessie is the "last one" of our kiddie group! And, none of us can believe she's already one - or that all of our babies are no longer really babies. *sigh*

We had a really nice celebration at Jessie's house where all the kids got together to play and steal toys (click on the pic above for more, taken by Nathan). We had to leave a bit early since Logan was starting to wind down and needed his naptime badly, but not before we all had some yummy fruit, pizza and birthday cake - YEAH!

Happy Big Birthday Jessie! We're so happy and proud of you and your family!! We look forward to celebrating many many more with you! :)

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

My colleague Byron and I decided to stop by Ted Drewes, a St. Louis tradition, for dessert tonight. And OHMYGAWD. Was it ever the hoppin' hot-spot - on a weeknight no less!

Here's Byron standing in line in front of the crazy crowd!

The place was buzzin' with tons of atmosphere and history - it was pretty awesome and hard not to get a little excited. :)

I got an "Original Sin" specialty (a sundae with tart cherries and hot fudge). I wasn't so sure about the idea of eating frozen custard (Jon is the one in our family with the sweet tooth) but it was actually pretty tasty.

And, I have to say, the overall experience earned a point back in my book for the city of St. Louis.

Sometimes I don't like to travel

I can't say I'm a big fan of St. Louis and yet, I'm back again.

I spent the morning on client calls before saying good-bye to my sweet darling smiling son, dropping him off at school and then racing off to my flight. My friend and colleague Amanda was just chatting to me the other day about the difference between those who travel often and those who don't. She felt she landed in the "don't" category, and therefore was going to show up to her flight (she was also traveling on business this week) an hour, or hour and a half Amanda?, early. I, on the other hand, must fall into the "often" category (in Amanda's mind at least). Since, I decided to grab lunch on my way to the gate, ordering it to go, and finally waltzing up to tag the end of the line and hear our flight's last calls over the intercom.

It's a theme of mine - cutting it close.

The flight was packed, and I've been coming down with another cold (interestingly, the last time I was sick ALSO hit me during a trip to St. Louis. I think my body is telling me I must be allergic to this town. RIGHT?), so I ended up sleeping with my mouth wide open for most of the flight, the demure woman that I am. Which, was really just too bad, because my back was aching me something terrible, and yet I didn't have enough energy to stand at the back of the plane (like I usually try to do).

Halfway through the flight, we had some turbulence that was, let's just say, not insignificant. I've flown a fair number of times in my life, and turbulence has never really bothered me. Yet today, I found my mind racing, dreaming up a ridiculously bleak and dismal scene where our plane tumbles to the ground, crashing and burning in the process. Tellme would mourn the loss of two loyal employees, Stanford would mourn the loss of their Track team, and Jon would be faced with the impossible task of raising Logan on his own, trying to explain to him that his Mommy wouldn't be coming home (ever) again. I imagined how petrified I would be, plummeting to earth while it happened. And, if all that weren't appalling enough, I found myself planning out my "only" chance of survival, wondering if I could use the ridiculously obese woman taking up three seats in the row across from me, as some sort of shield to help absorb the impact. Yes, this awful awful awful thought actually crossed my mind! (I'm not proud of it)

I tell you this story only to get you to understand HOW MUCH my perspective on life has changed since having Logan. I have never been so afraid to die, so worried of what will happen to my family and friends, so concerned about my husband and son, and so willing to do anything to protect us all, as I am these days. I used to drive, or ride with those who would drive, recklessly, throwing all caution to the wind. Now I am that mom. Gripping the oh shit bar, tight lipped and slamming my foot into the floorboard to brake. I used to chat with anyone online, go out on dates with random strangers, flirt and have fun at the local bar scene or hitch-hike home in a country where I wasn't completely fluent in the language and the driver was drinking a can of beer. Now I am that mom. I see young girls posting up silly comments on blogs or streaming live video of their slumber parties and think OH HELL NO will my daughter (or son) ever be allowed to do that. I used to sleep through any amount of turbulence and scoff at those who turned green. Now I am that mom. Freaking out about a bumpy ride, praying we get through the flight safe and sound so I can see my chubby cheeked toddler once again.

It's a little depressing, this revelation of mine. And yet, it's also rejuvenating. I've always taken on a Mama Bear persona, but now that I'm actually a mom, I can let it shine through, without any embarrassment, awkwardness or explanation whatsoever.

I like it.

Somewhere between California and Missouri, after the turbulence and gruesome daydreaming subsided, I discovered I had lost one of my earrings. One of my precious diamond earrings. And, I was bummed for the rest of the night.

I can't watch TV - sorry, lost an earring. I can't read my book - sorry, lost an earring. I can't concentrate on my work - sorry, lost an earring. I can't go downstairs and hit the gym - HELLO! I just lost a, wait for it..... diamond earring!

Waaaaah. I wanna go home. I miss Jon, I miss Logan. There's this huge empty King-size bed staring at me, inviting me to sleep, yet all I can think about is how much more comfortable it would be crammed up against a big guy, a little guy, a leggy dog and three purring cats on our maxed out Queen-size bed. That and, I just lost my fucking earring.

Pathetic

I know, a picture says a thousand words.... but I feel like I should at least give a little background as to WHY Odin looks like a helpless invalid right now.

Norwegian Elkhounds are one of those breeds prone to getting sebaceous cysts. And Odin, unfortunately, has had the bad luck of MORE cysts than our vet or breeder has ever seen on an Elkhound. Aren't we all just lucky ducky? :( What's worse, sometimes the cysts will seep or get infected, which encourages both Odin and Lola to lick, bite and scratch at the sores until they are raw and super sensitive to the touch.

As time has passed, it's gotten so bad that we've had to keep the two dogs separated during the day when we're at work. Odin wanders the house with a cone on his head (so that he doesn't lick the cysts himself) while Lola is kept crated all day, storing up all of that ridiculous Lola-energy to unleash on us the minute we get home.

In any case, Jon forgot to separate the two of them when he left for work on Friday and unfortunately, Lola WENT TO TOWN on one of Odin's larger cysts on his upper back/shoulder. When we got home, it had become a huge wound that, overnight, developed a terrible infection and made you wince just looking at it. :( We cleaned and medicated it (we have an antibiotic cream specifically for this sort of flare up) 2-3 times a day throughout the weekend, dressing it with huge pieces of gauze and self-adhesive tape to try and allow the wound to heal on its own.

I took him to the vet this morning and, given the severity of the wound, we decided to just clean it out as best as possible and medicate Odin with oral antibiotics, hoping that the sore and infection will heal over the next few days before our vet tries removing the cyst. I asked what I could do to keep it covered (since it's an open wound) and/or how I could keep Odin from scratching it raw (which he's been doing since he can't lick it himself).

The vet said I could try putting a t-shirt on him to keep the sore covered while it heals and to put socks on Odin's hind paws, so that if he DOES try scratching himself, at least his nails won't dig in and make the sore worse.

So, that's exactly what I did. Pathetic, isn't it? :)

When I got home tonight, the socks were off and scattered on the floor. It doesn't look like he scratched himself (since the t-shirt was still on and covering the sore), so I think it's actually going to help quite a bit! We'll see.

You know it's hot when...

...your hubby forgets to put the 4am milk bottle (that has ~2oz of milk left in it) back into the fridge at night....and instead leaves it sitting in Logan's room the entire day until you find it that night when you are putting Logan down for bed.

I opened it up to wash it out and the remaining milk inside was CHUNKY.

Yuck. Ick. Gross.

I think we skipped over Spring and went right into Summer this past week. The weather has been BEE-utiful! :) We spent most of the weekend outside and were EXHAUSTED by this evening (partly, I think, because of too much sun, but oh well).

We got a "ride-on" toy for Logan while we were out - since he's so interested in scooters and tricycles, etc. I thought he might like to try this out (it's sort of the first step before navigating pedals I guess).

He's really into it! But, it's still a TAD bit tall for him, so he can't push off and get the speed he wants. As our neighbor pointed out, that's not a problem, since he'll be tall enough by next week. ;-)

I just noticed on the Little Tike's website that kids can bounce on it to move it forward, which means kids don't actually have to reach the ground to get it to go!

Doh!

I'm going to have to show that to Logan tomorrow. Especially since he's been trying to jump/hop lately! :)