Scientist, Editor, Wife, Mommy of 3

This kid is dedicated. Twice, I've caught him 4 steps up, trying to hurry before I catch him. So for our third child, we finally put up a gate.

He doesn't let that stop him from trying to get into trouble, like reading Siddartha.



Liam likes not the gate. Translation: "Lemme at those stairs!!!"



I've also updated the Summer 2011 album, should you care to peruse...

I wish I had time to write more substantially, but it's more important to me to get this written down so I don't forget.

Liam has been scooch-crawling for about a month. He is now crawling with his belly off the floor AND he is starting to cruise. He is ridiculously fast and always has to be in the thick of things. He wants to do everything his brothers do (except eat real food--I still can't get him to eat).

Samuel is just weeks away from autonomous reading. His new teacher is working with him on -at words this week and he doesn't seem to need much reinforcement. He had it the first day and has kept it up all week without forgetting a thing. He's awfully sharp, smart and perceptive. He's also very high-energy. I have to work on my patience, because I wind up yelling too much... He is argumentative and I'm trying to teach him to obey us without arguing ("But I...!" and "I will after I..." and "Not now..."). I don't want to crush his spirit, but he needs to get in the habit of obeying first, discussing later. I see it as a matter of safety more than anything else, because his impulses could get him hurt or he could hurt his brothers.

It's just fascinating, watching him grow and develop. He's a really great kid and he surprises me all the time.

Dixon is also sharp as a tack and very, very sweet. We're trying to encourage him to start pottying, but he's resistant. Ready, but resistant. I've started him at school with Samuel, but only 1 day a week. When I can afford to send him 3 days, I will, but for now I can only do 1 day. He loves the new school (he was not a fan of the old one) and asks me every day if he can go back.

They always cheer when they get to play with MomMom and PopPop, though. They went fishing on Tuesday, and Dixon caught his first fish. They've gone fishing again today :)

From My Little Fishermen

I wish I'd grabbed the camera sooner, as they were cheering and clapping together shortly before this. And of course, as soon as they see that they're being watched, it's game over :)

Back at work (*sob*) after a wonderful four-day weekend with my family.

We hosted Thanksgiving, as usual, and between my parents and myself, we put up a pretty good spread. The unfortunate part is that I work for a day and half for about three and a half hours' worth of entertaining. Half of my guests leave early for celebrations at another household, and the other half just don't stick around.

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving started in the early afternoon and continued late into the evening. I miss that, although I realize much of it was borne of the fact that we lived overseas and everyone was seeking a replacement for the family celebrations of home. Still, I imagine that other families have daylong affairs, so I'm not sure why we don't.

On Friday, I went shopping. Yes, shopping. I've always sworn off Black Friday shopping, but this Friday morning saw me journeying with my mother to a carpet center where we met the contractor who's going to be fixing the water damage in Samuel's room. I didn't count that as shopping, especially since we were the only people in the closed-to-the-public warehouse. On the way home, though, mom suggested we go ahead and visit the mall. My Christmas gift this year was to be a new suit and, mom figured, we so rarely have the opportunity to be out together and kid-free. We're also very good at shopping by surgical strike, so we reasoned that any mobs would be easily navigated.

We were right. With a couple of side-jaunts, mom and I successfully completed our mission, and then some. We discovered Soma, a Chico's offshoot and beautiful alternative to Victoria's Secret. They have a camisole bra and a 10-way sweater wrap that I covet. We took notes, and moved on toward Ann Taylor. I now have a beautiful suit (thanks mom and dad!) and treated myself to a new pair of shoes, a sweater that will be perfect for work, and a lovely top, all thanks to Ann Taylor's 40% off sale. On our way out, we dove into Macy's so I could buy a much-needed full slip and trouser slip, and then headed up one more level to peek at the Tools of The Trade cookware.

Jeff and I have been fed up with our non-stick cookware for a couple of years now, worrying about what sort of chemical gunk is leaching from the coating into our food. We'd determined that our Christmas present to ourselves this year would be a new set of pots and pans. My parents have used and loved their Tools of the Trade for more than 20 years, and I was curious to see what was available.

Oh my goodness! Macy's was selling their Tools of the Trade for almost 50% off! And even at full price, the brand is far more affordable than the other top brands. The sets we had been looking at were running around $400, and the additional pieces were all $100 or more. The Tools set was only $129, and the additional pieces (some in sets of two) were all under $50 - most of them under $30. I squealed with joy at the thought of how much more palatable this major purchase had just become.

So a Black Friday trip to choose carpet turned into a major coup of shopping success.

Open our kitchen cabinets and they *gleam* with stainless steal beauty. The dinged and scratched coated cookware is huddled in a corner, awaiting an uncertain fate.

Perhaps I gush a bit much, but maybe I needed the retail therapy.

We invited my parents upstairs for a fondue dinner on Saturday night, with the Ramey family traditional beef fondue and a killer cheese fondue. SO. YUMMY.

Sunday was spent in quieter family pursuits. Dixon and I hung out at home and I knitted while Jeff and Samuel went to visit my MIL and FIL.

Dixon's sweater is a little more than half-way finished, and my fingers are itching to get back to it. Dang job is getting in the way of my domesticity.

So that's my brain-dump. Work is extraordinarily busy; my coworker and I both feel that we have two full-time jobs each. I just hope that all this work pays off.

And with that, I leave you with a photographic collection from the holiday.

Mr. Dixon was in surgery for two hours, and came through fine. The surgeon's report was complete with laparoscopic visual aids (so that's what a(nother) testicle looks like!). The outer visual aids are unsavory, to say the least.

It's amazing the difference three months make. Jeff and I had it in our heads that it had been 8 weeks since the first surgery, but I realized last night that it's been a full three months. The first time, at 7 1/2 months old, Dixon was perfectly content to be toted off by a stranger, and he was happy and perky by late afternoon on the day of surgery. This time, he had to be pre-sedated before he'd leave my arms, and slept the whole day and most of the night, waking with screams when he finally started to be able to pee again. He's obviously in more pain this time than before, but considering the surgeon also repaired a botched circ, this is hardly surprising. I'm beating myself up for allowing the boys to be circ'd in the first place, and the fact that the doctor botched Dixon's makes me furious.

As for recovery, Dixon slept all night, but I barely slept a wink. We were stuck in a room with someone else (a quiet 4 month old and his all-night tv-watching 17 year-old mom) and I just can't sleep under those conditions. Fortunately, Dixon didn't have that problem. I don't want to sound bitter or judgemental about the teen mom. I feel terrible for her, because although she is clearly a loving mom and has the support of her own mother, she is totally unprepared to understand or manage her baby's condition. Poor kid(s).

By morning, Dixon was his old self again, giggling and obsessed with me, but also tired and easily moved to grumpiness. He was eating poorly until they finally took him off the IV drip.

We had a rough night at home last night (and boy am I feeling it!), and he took a very long and very early nap this morning. When he's awake, he's pretty much ok. Cruising and crawling and playing the comedian as usual. It's when he soils his diaper that he becomes cranky, and that's perfectly understandable.

Next Thursday, we visit the surgeon to have the Big Cotton Tether and Stitch removed, and find out what sort of follow-up routine is required.

I'm glad this is over with, and I hope Dixon has no memory of it. I'll live with the guilt forever, as is my maternal duty.

Samuel is feeling much better today. Next time, I'll wait 24 hours on a fever before spending the money on a doctor's visit. He's back to his old self, running circles around the house and bapping his brother on the head.

Dixon's second surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7:30. If you have any mojo to spare in the morning, please send a little bit his way. He'll be fine, I know, but I worry that this time he may feel afraid.

In other news, I just had an epiphany. At my dental cleaning last week, the hygienist discovered that the enamel had disappeared from the back of my lower incisors. I'm scheduled for a little shellacking on Monday, when I get my NTI. The hygienist asked me what had changed in my diet... was I eating lemons? She and I couldn't figure it out. About 10 minutes ago, it finally hit me. I've been suffering heartburn for almost three years now, between two pregnancies and my medicine. All that acid has been sitting in a nice little pool in the bottom of my mouth. My enamel didn't stand a chance.
So much for my formerly perfect (albeit crooked) teeth. Dammit.

I've got to get the heartburn under control. First my teeth, next will be esophageal cancer.

Early to bed tonight, since we have to be up by 5 and out the door by 5:30.

In big faded red letters, the sign reads:

To yet another cell-phone obsessed Potentia employee, this means
STAND SIX INCHES AWAY FROM THE SCREEN AND TALK ON THE PHONE

Did you know that? I didn't know that.

The *wooshwooshwoosh* didn't tip him off, the several throat-clearings didn't tip him off. The sound of bottles being capped and hoses being un-hosed didn't tip him off, either. Nor did the sound of my bag being zipped.

I came around the screen, boob attachments in hand, to find him - no kidding - six inches away from the screen looking at the DO NOT DISTURB sign. I scowled at him and flipped the sign back over the screen, then slammed the door.

Now there's a new sign with bright red lettering:
Last month, the building security guard peeked around the screen. And he knows me and knows what I do back there. I don't know what got into him, but he felt terrible about it. I refuse to acknowledge the building manager, who has peeked back there twice, and who helpfully (and on several occasions) suggested that my sign should readAnd there was of course the other Potentia employee who peeked back there when I was still pumping for Samuel. He, too, was on the phone, and was so kind as to give a running commentary as he observed the screen and the sign.

In the spring, I lost a $20 bill in the hallway in front of our laboratory door. I went to the security guard to ask if anyone had turned in the $20 I lost, and explained that I had it in my pocket to buy milkshakes for myself and my then-in-hospital mother. The guard had found it and asked around. One of the Potentia employees had claimed it as his own. The guard was angry that someone had lied to him, confronted the guy, and got my $20 back.

I don't know what's wrong with these people...

In other news, Dixon is a big fan of eating and standing up. See?


 

I don't mean to neglect Samuel, but the videos I have are still stuck on the camera. He's learning how to say "bicycle" - or, "bi-glglglglglglgle", to hear him tell it. He's picking up all sorts of 4- and even 5-word phrases, like, "Hi Julie, let's play!" and, "Baby Dixon go night night". We have to work hard to understand him, but he's improving. His vocabulary is exploding and his counting and letter-recognition skills are great. I'm just so proud of him and the progress he's making every day.

Here 'tis...



Getting there!

Also, a few (ok, too many) Dixon pics ( in hier )

From Dixon

Bonus: The video contains evidence that mom and I really do sound exactly alike.