Do I look any different?

IPad arrived today. Still figuring it out but have gotten far enough to know I love it.

Number one reason - it's proving to be pretty idiot proof. I (seriously) don't know how to work my DVD player at home. This thing arrived today with a notecard for directions - three instructions. I followed them. It works. Kind of insane how simple it is.

Definitely lots to learn but I've already downloaded a book! (girl who played with fire).

Along with many other important apps - usat, soduko, ereader, tweet deck, etc.

What are your favorite apps? Would love any kid friendly suggestions, trashy celeb gossip, news readers, etc.

hand foot and mouth virus

Ben caught the hand foot and mouth virus last week. I share with you b/c I had never heard of it, yet when I described Ben's symptoms to three different moms they all immediately offered it as the cause.

And his symptoms played out exactly as outlined below (I pulled from a medical site but since can't recall which...).

In spite of what both the pedetrician and my OBGYN said about it being extremely rare in adults, I'm positive I caught it from him (test results anticipated back next week). Doesn't sound like anything harmful happens to babes #2. Here's the scoop:

Hand-foot-mouth disease (coxsackie)
This common, contagious childhood illness starts with a fever, then painful mouth sores and a non-itchy rash with blisters on hands, feet, and sometimes buttocks and legs follow. It spreads through coughing, sneezing, and used diapers, so wash hands often when dealing with coxsackie. Home treatment includes ibuprofen or acetaminophen (do not give aspirin) and lots of fluids. Not serious, coxsackie usually goes away on its own in about a week.


Ben also had his 15 month appointment on Friday, his stats below:
- 24.8lbs (50%); 32 inches long (75%), head circumference 19.25 (90%)
so he continues to be long, lean and big headed :)

Happy Father's Day

To all the dad's out there, near and far, hope you had a very special day.

Hubby relaxed and caught up from the week out of town, so wonderful to have him back. Six really long days away.

To Grandpa Ted and Joe, we love you bunches and wish we could have shared the day with you.

XO

And all the other great dads out there, Happy Father's Day to you too!

Blackout

Huge storms rolled through Chicago this afternoon and rocked our world. In the matter of just 15 minutes the power went out, trees went down and patio furniture went flying.

A few things to remember immediately following your power going out:
- find the candles, matches and flashlights now, rather than starting to look when it's pitch black in the house
- the light switches aren't going to work, no matter how many times you try
- when a cell phone is dead, it's really dead. and by the way, so is the house phone, the laptop, and the garage door so you can't call for help or drive to it (in this case 'pizza' was the help I was seeking)
- baby monitors don't run on batteries, neither does the AC

Five hours later, after having read an entire US Weekly by candlelight and moments before surrendering to bed at 9:30, the power is back on and I am so happy I'm actually embarrassed. Phew, I was really roughing it there for awhile.

What do you miss most when your power goes out?

Small Victories

This morning I finally put into motion a running plan I've been mentally working on for weeks (if only thinking about working out burned calories, sigh)...

I resurrected the crappy jogger stroller and took it for a spin around the hood.

I've been contemplating upgrading to a nicer, double jogger stroller, but realized I really should be sure I'm going to actually do this before making the financial committment. Seems logical but this is pretty in-depth analysis for an impulse shopper like yours truly.

So this morning we all packed up - Ben, Stella and me -- and hit the road for what turned out to be about a 2.5 mile run. Admittedly, 2 years ago I would have laughed at this meger effort and not considered it worth getting out of bed for.

Today I feel like I've conquered the world. I'm so grateful for anything I can get these days, and its better than nothing. I think we can easily build up to 3-4 mile runs without too much protest from the participants.

It's funny how ones mentality about working out shifts with opportunity -- from dreaded obligation to coveted pleasure.

And the bonus? I think the crappy jogger stroller may be just fine for this limited mileage, so I've potentially just saved myself several hundred dollars.

Not a bad start to the day considering I haven't even had coffee yet!

Jackfest '10

A weekend full of family and friends, amazing food, relaxing and the purest, freshest everything nature has to offer. I've barely reviewed the photos but wanted to share at least a few tonight. Enjoy!

"How Does the Bear Go?"

As mentioned, Ben is making some fun developments and everyday is literally something new. A week ago we started pointing to objects in our books and he can now find the ball, bird, car, truck, etc. on the pages of his favorite stories.

Monday, I asked him "how does the bear go?" (sorry dad, this is surely poor grammer) while reading about the zoo, and he growled. I laughed so hard I got him laughing and we were a big mess. We cleaned up our act by the time hubby got home.

Enjoy.

Establishing Boundaries

When it comes to wireless access on planes, I have very, very strong feelings.

Against it.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the last frontier. The final safe zone in my life. I RELISH my airplane time.

And it isn't even to read books and trashy magazines.

I catch up on work - old emails I've been meaning to respond to, plans that need uninterrupted review, budgets that need to be developed. I'm so easily distracted and rarely have focused time to myself. And on the plane, there are very few things that can actually sidetrack me.

I have flat out refused to even acknowledge the availability of wireless since news broke a couple years ago. I will not crowd this self-imposed boundary.

So imagine my surprise when traveling home from Orlando last week I found myself considering the wireless plan...I had a laundry list of things I needed to do online that I hadn't gotten to...new people to follow on Twitter, sites to check into, TweetDeck to set up.

And so, I attempted the log in. No one had to know, right?

I have to tell you, it was the most exciting 2.5 hr flight I've had since I caught a Talladega Nights rerun. I caught up on some many to dos, I think I may have wiped the list clean. And I even got in a blog post. It was fantastic.

I totally get it. But will not log on to email, or at least I'll hold out for as long as humanly possible. That line should not be crossed.

Do you log on when flying?

Life Is So Good

Cleveland Pics

Almost Home

Somehow, quite by accident, we planned the majority of our exciting summer trips back-to-back in June. That, along with a heavy work travel schedule, has led to action packed adventure with little time at home (or for blog posts). We're closing in on the final trip, and I'm almost sad to see it over.

A quick report and photo highlights follow...

Memorial Day - as mentioned, Ben, Stella and I headed east on a big adventure by ourselves. We hit T-town to visit aunt Carrie, a great stop where Ben was able to meet his personal fan club (shout out to fan club leader Chris), and have lunch with his other 'aunts' Megan and Rachel.

From there we hit my p's house for a surprise visit (mom cried). My dad was on the mend and totally appreciated the visit from the little bear.

And then on to the east side to visit all the cousins...oh the spoiling (!) We took in a couple of Jack's baseball games, Ben was mesmerized (for at least the first three minutes), caught up with aunt Deb and Cathy, grandma Marsha and Joe. It was awesome.

Back to Chicago Monday. Orlando Tuesday. 'Burbs Wed. Vegas Thurs - Sun. Whew!

We had a blast in Vegas, hubby and me. Carrie met us, along with Joe & Molly (bro/sis in law), and several friends. Worked out every morning (a Vegas first), cabana all day, amazing dinners, and gambling into the wee hours of the morning. Contrary to my earlier speculation however, Vegas is not that fun without alcohol, and I would recommend avoiding this scenario yourself if at all possible.

My p's came to hang with Ben and he seriously didn't look like he missed us one bit while we were gone. I came home last night to him perched on grandpa Ted's lap with the biggest smile ever, laughing. Perfect.

A big thanks to them for putting their life on hold for five days to babysit. I think they had kind of a good time :) but we appreciate it a ton!

Photos to follow...

quick update of nothingness

Thanks for the well wishes on the growing little person!

Lots of fun family pics to come after a surprise weekend home to see the families this weekend. Sadly they are likely going to be delayed another week before posting. Crazy schedule between work and play. I should have brought the mac in the car yesterday...Duh!

Mom and dad come in town tomorrow to watch the little guy while hubby and I head out of town to VEGAS!

(Why would someone ever plan a trip to Vegas while pregnant you may wonder? They wouldn't, and I wasn't when we booked the dates...but alas you can have fun without alcohol, right?)

OH - Ben officially has a first word! Ball. Or rather 'bah' but it counts. We'll get some video captured.

Hopefully you've had glorious weather where you are. It makes all the difference in my world, doesn't it?

Happy Memorial Day and have a great week!