Merry Christmas!

Well, it is officially Christmas Day, so Merry Christmas! I'm up waiting for Jalal to get home from work. Trish and Wade got here safely a few hours ago. We had dinner together, played with Quinn, and each opened one present. Trish gave me a beautiful plum-colored purse, which I love. Now I should probably fill the stockings. I went to the Bridge for Christmas Eve service tonight at 6:00. They didn't have nursery, so it was a little embarrassing when Quinn kept yelling "DaDa" in the middle of prayers and stuff, but he wasn't the only loud kid there, so oh well. It was nice. They did the candles and singing "Silent Night," which is the most magical part of Christmas for me. Always has been. It was a little different this year trying to make sure Quinn didn't get the candle, but again, oh well. I'm not going to go on and on tonight, but I did just want to check in. I've gotten some very sweet cards from a lot of you this season, and I thank you all for your kind thoughts, good wishes, and prayers. It is going to be a tough Christmas without Dad and Louella, but they are celebrating along with us, Dad with a singing fish and Louella with a farting Santa. God bless you both. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. Love, Us.

Peas!

I just made up a small batch of peas for Quinn and was putting them in the fridge when he came over and pointed at them like he wanted to have them. So I offered him and couple and decided, what the heck, if he wants to have peas as a snack, who am I to say no? We sat down and he proceeded to eat half the container of peas. I was a bit bothered because he wouldn't eat his broccoli at lunch, but now I don't care so much! He was even saying "peas" as he ate. Unfortunately it sounds the same as when he says "please."
I'm supposed to be working but I'm having a hard time concentrating, partly because the edit I'm reading is really poorly written. Nonetheless, it is about the only thing paying the bills (almost), so I won't dally too long. Jalal should get off soon and then maybe we can go see Christmas light tonight. Speaking of Jalal and Christmas, I'm so mad! I just remembered one of the best gifts I was going to get him, but I have to order it online and it's too late to get it by Christmas (it's personalized, sort of). So I ordered it anyway, even though it will be late, because I really want him to have it. Maybe I'll make an IOU or a mockup or something he can open that day. Yeah, that will be cute. (By the way, I'm not worried about him seeing this because I'm pretty sure he never ever reads our blog. Hummpph.) I can't really jump on him about though, considering I forgot our anniversary. Our anniversary of nine years together! I'm a schmuck. I know. I knew when it was, I just didn't know that Thursday was the 18th. Oh well. I made it up to him last night (I hope) with a present, card, and dinner.
So I'm really going to push hard and try to finish this edit before Jalal gets home. Wish me luck! (Oh, and blame Facebook for me not writing as often. It's all Facebook's fault.) Love, Us.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Well, just a little under two weeks until Christmas, and we've almost finished all of our Christmas shopping. I can't believe it! We have basically a couple of stocking stuffers to pick up and we're done. Now we have to get our Christmas cards in the mail and ship out the gifts to family and friends who we won't see. Now it looks like there's a chance my mom might be able to come up the day after Christmas for the weekend. That would be great because she really shouldn't be alone for the holidays this year. Our Christmas tree is beautiful this year. It's going to be so great to have Trish and Wade here for the holiday, even if they can't get here until Christmas Eve.
So two days ago, I filled up my gas tank for the first time since October 31st. The last time I got gas, it was $2.08. When I filled up this time, it was $1.39! It only cost me $16.25 to fill up. How crazy is that? Oh, and a gallon of milk is down to $2.99. Whew.
I've been trying to focus on getting in shape lately. Every day this week (until today anyway), I've made sure to get on our stationary bike at least once. I try to do it before I even shower so I don't have time to make excuses or get tired later in the day. So far it seems to be working. Yesterday I rode for about 40 minutes and went 8 miles. It goes better when Quinn naps. When he's awake, he can't quite figure out what I'm doing. He just keeps asking me for juice and trying to hand me books to read to him. It's cute but not very productive, you know? Speaking of juice, we met Leah at the mall today and hung out while Quinn played at the play area. He spent most of his time on the other side from where we were, flirting with the other moms. I had to go stop him when he started pointed at one woman's Starbucks cup and saying "juice!" He's so freakin' cute. I love that kid. Tonight he kind of freaked me out though when I was giving him a bath. He started by leaning forward and putting his face underwater. He would hold his breath, put his head down for a few seconds, then come up grinning. Then he started to lay back flat on his back. The water was just deep enough to come almost up to the sides of his eyes. He wasn't scared at all. He started kicking his legs so hard that water was splashing up over my head! No big deal, right? Until I couldn't get him to sit up. Every time I would pull him up to sitting to try to soap him up, he would drop backward and yell "Dada!" I was more afraid of him cracking his head open than drowning, but it took me forever to get him to calm down enough to sit up and let me wash him. What the heck? I guess he's officially started his swimming practice! By the end of the bath, I was exhausted and soaking wet and his towel was in the bathtub with him. What a kid. Well, more soon. Love, Us.

Missing My Daddy

I'm missing my dad tonight. I've been wrapping Christmas presents and it's really tough to think about spending the holidays without him. Not that we see him every Christmas, but just knowing he's not there is so sad. It's strange to have my mom answer the phone every time I call home. It was always him. I can't roll my eyes at his jokes or get frustrated at hearing the same story for the second time in a month. I miss Christmas shopping for him. I loved to pick out books that he would love . . . and hope he'd let me borrow them after he had read them. I was going through the digital camera tonight and deleting a bunch of old pictures. He wasn't in many, but seeing Quinn holding onto his walker at his birthday party made me think about that day, what I will always think of as the last day. It was the last day he was here, the last day he was going to live forever, the last day I could convince myself he would see Quinn celebrate another birthday, the last day I ever got mad at him. I hate that I wasn't a better daughter. I hate that I didn't tell him every single day that I loved him and was proud of him and liked the parts of me that were most like him. I hope he watches Quinn dance and play his banjo. I hope he sees me reading the books he gave me. I hope he knows that I want him here this year. I hope he laughs every time I tell one of his jokes, use one of his illogical turns of phrase. I hope he's proud of me and Trish and how we treat Mom. I hope he understands that we argue because we want what's best for her. I hope he's watching and is willing to pull a few strings with the other Big Guy to make it all okay. I hope he understands that there are moments when I don't think about him at all. Tonight just doesn't happen to have any of them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's almost Turkey Day! I'm so excited. I love Thanksgiving. We're having all the usuals tomorrow, in addition to a couple of new additions: sweet potato souffle and tomato pie. I made my traditional pumpkin cheesecake mousse pie today. Looks good. Can't wait to eat it. ; )
We had our trip to the Biltmore House this week. It was a lot of fun, even though the evening Christmas event wasn't what we had expected. We basically toured the house twice in the same day. But it was beautiful, and we all had a great time. It was very cold, too, so we were in sweaters, jackets, mittens, hats, earmuffs, etc. We didn't have time to do any of the Biltmore grounds or the winery, so we'll have to go back again sometime. It was very rainy the next day, so we mostly drove around. We had to turn back after a few miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway because they closed it down. Instead we took another route and saw all kinds of icicles coming out of the rocks on the side of the road. It was pretty cool. I love taking little trips like that with my family.
Tonight we went out to the mall to see if we could find any pre-Thanksgiving sales. We found a couple of small things but not many presents. It was still worth it, though, because we took Quinn to see Santa. He was so sweet! Santa told us what a great kid he was and how he couldn't believe he sat so well on his lap at his age. He even told one of the assistants to give us a free picture of a second pose! I bet he doesn't do that very often. I was so proud of my little boy. We'll get the pics scanned soon and post them. So I better get to bed. We have to get up early to start cooking that turkey! We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and takes time to remember what they are thankful for. I know we certainly have many blessings, in spite of a tough year. Love, Us.

Not Even Winter Yet

Brrr....It's cold here! It got down to the 20s last night, and when that wind blows, it is bitter! I tried to take Quinn to the park today, but I could only stand it for about 15 minutes. Even in a big jacket, the wind was too frigid. Tomorrow is supposed to almost 60 degrees, and we have a playdate planned for the warmest part of the day with Maureen and her daughter Sarah and Karen and her two kids. I've met Karen at two different playdates so far and I have yet to meet her kids. The new park Maureen found is so great. There are two separate playgrounds, one for big kids and one for little, a little river, swings (like romantic couples' swings), bathrooms (woohoo), picnic tables, and walking paths. The little kids' playground is completely gated in, so that's safe. We have a lot of fun with Maureen and Sarah. Sarah is just a couple months younger than Quinn, so they get along (or at least, they play with the same things: trash, acorns, gravel).
Yesterday was Jalal's day off, and we took advantage of it by spending just about the whole day out. We did a lot of shopping, mostly for Christmas. It is really nice to have some of our Christmas shopping done. We also found a tool set and a log holder for the fireplace, which we have been using almost every night. We switched to real logs instead of the Duraflame logs, and they give off so much more heat and light, not to mention a nicer smell. It is so cool to hang out in front of the fireplace on a cold night. We had my friend Leah and her husband Brayden (spelling?) over for dinner last week. We've been trying to do that for almost six months it seems. Neither of us had met Brayden. We had a great time. Jalal made his famous tacos and fried the shells himself. Leah finally remembered Quinn's birthday present, which he is playing with right now. It's a Fisher Price toy train that has three balls that spin around or spit out the back. He's obsessed. Good choice, Leah! Oh yeah, and I got a new job! I haven't had any work yet, but I got a job as a freelance proofreader for a company in California that does 24/7 tutoring and proofreading. I was one of 20 chosen out of 500 resumes submitted, so I'm very proud of myself. Well, I'm going to get going. Jalal's almost home and I've got to finish dinner. Love, Us.

The Perfect Day

Last Sunday, the three of us took the day off and drove up to Asheville. We took the back roads so we could enjoy the fall foliage. It was beautiful! Jalal and I couldn't get over how brilliant the colors were. I think we hit it just in time. The weather was perfect--clear blue skies, brisk temperature, and a nice breeze (or sometimes a stiff wind!). We took the road straight to the front entrance of the Biltmore Estate, though we're saving that for a separate trip. We went downtown and walked around a little bit, stopping in shops and browsing. There was this cute children's bookstore with a very affectionate and strange-looking dog. Turns out it was a husky-basset hound mix. Hmmm. By that time we were ready for lunch, so we drove down to the Biltmore Historic District and found parking near a cute little cafe in a historic cottage. We left the stroller because Quinn deserved some walking time. Boy, did he get it! There was a 35-minute wait so we kept looking. Half the restaurants we found were closed down, and we finally came almost full-circle back to the car before finding another restaurant. I was dying of thirst by that time, and we still had to wait 15 minutes. So I treated myself to a margarita! Haven't had one of those in a while. It was very nice and relaxing. We let Quinn stomp on some dry leaves on the way back to the car, and then he fell asleep for a little nap. Jalal and I decided to take the other way home, 276, which meets up with the Blue Ridge Parkway and then takes us right back to Mauldin. We stopped at the first few overlooks, but pictures just can't capture those views, so we just enjoyed the drive. We climbed higher and higher, ears popping and everything. At one point, Jalal said, "You know this means we're going to have to go down, right? And pretty fast, too." Sure enough, 276 was winding and steep and a lot of fun to drive. We even found a waterfall by the side of the road! Quinn woke up just in time to walk down a couple flights of stairs with us and see it. It wasn't huge but it was bigger than anything in Charleston! We traded off taking pictures of the couple down there and them of us. I think it turned out pretty great, don't you? We even made it home before dinner! So we all agreed that this was just the perfect day all around. We've decided to go back to the Biltmore the weekend before Thanksgiving and do an overnight with the Christmas lights up and the evening tour. I can't wait! Well, more soon. Love, Us.

Happy Veteran's Day

Thank you to all of those who have served and who are serving in our country's military. We appreciate your sacrifice.

Free Rice

I just found out about this great website called www.freerice.com. You play word games, matching up English vocabulary, to rack up rice in 20-grain increments. The same amount of rice you earn is donated through the UN World Food Program. I checked it out on Snopes.com and it's legit. Check it out. I earned over 1,000 grains in just about 10 minutes. Pretty cool. Love, Us.

Tired Wednesday

Well, my two boys are baptized! How great is that? I'm so happy. I've prayed for this (for Jalal particularly) for so many years it is hard to believe it's happened. We had a wonderful time celebrating with my sister and Wade, my mom, and some of our closest friends. Plus, we got to eat some of Caroline's tomato pie. Yummy! (Can you remember to send me the recipe, Caroline? I know you're reading this.)
Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday with a cold, and I feel crummy. Jalal said something last night about how I get a sick day, and I had to laugh. What sick day? He left the house at 7:45 this morning, and he won't be back before midnight tonight. Tomorrow should only be a 14- or 15-hour day, though. Quinn's been pretty good today but very energetic. He isn't eating, though. Not much for lunch or dinner. I don't know why. I tried a bunch of different foods but still it was just a few bites. Not like him at all.
So we have a new president-elect now. I'm not going to talk about it much because everyone else is, and I'm much less informed than most. I'll just say let's hope we have a successful four years with good changes.
We decided to go up to the next size in diapers for Quinn. We've always purchased the Kirkland brand diapers at Costco, but this time the Huggies were cheaper than the Kirklands. WTH? I don't know what's up with that, but we obviously went with the Huggies. What is wrong with this world?
So Quinn just accidentally stomped on my foot, which really hurt. I told him he hurt me and asked if he would give me a kiss to make it all better. He walked over and gave me a kiss on the mouth. What a sweet boy! He did that to Jalal the other day after dropping a shoe (Jalal's) on his eye. Can you believe what a darling boy he is? But he wouldn't give Grammy (my mom) a kiss the whole time she was with us for the baptism. She would ask for a kiss and he just shook his head "no." It was so cute.
I think I'm going to join Facebook. I've had a lot of people asking me lately if I'm on there, and since I don't even keep up with my MySpace I didn't see much point. But Trish sent me an adorable picture of Lauren in her Halloween costume, and that alone made it worth it. I will see if I can get permission to post it here. Well, better go. Almost bedtime. Love, Us.

Photo Updates

Well, I've spent the last couple hours updating pictures on here and I've gotten all the way up to October! Hope you all enjoy them. Tomorrow we have a big day. I'm taking my car in to get the timing belt replaced, Quinn and I are going to a Halloween event at the library, Jalal has a chiropractor appointment, then we're all going to the Marriott together. Jalal has a meeting, and he wants to show off Quinn. If all goes as planned, he'll still be in his Halloween costume, so I'm sure the girls there will enjoy that. I'm not sure what we're doing on Friday, but I'm sure it will include plenty of candy (which Jalal and I will probably eat). He just bought four bags of mini candy bars, and I'm praying we get enough trick-or-treaters to eat it all!
So the weather is getting pretty chilly here now. Last night we had a freeze warning and tonight a frost warning. Jalal lit the last Duraflame log in the fireplace last night (which we've had since we lived in West Ashley). I'd love to say we spent a romantic evening together, but really we ate a pint of Phish Food while watching The Biggest Loser before he fell asleep on the floor and I got up and worked during commercials. So sad. We need romance intervention. Or a babysitter. Any volunteers? Well, I'm going to get back to work for another 20 minutes before it hits midnight and I turn into a pumpkin. Love, Us.

The Big Wedding

Yay! My sister is married! Our trip to Tallahassee went very well. We left Tuesday night and stayed in Macon, then drove the rest of the way the following morning. We got to spend a couple days with Trish and Wade, did some shopping for Quinn (still looking for cold weather clothes), and even went to dinner at Wade's parents' house. Shirley and Mike are so sweet, and Mike really loves Quinn. He took him out to see their goats after dinner. On Friday, Jalal left really early to go down to St. George Island and spend the day fishing with Wade and his best man. Turns out, a whole day fishing isn't Jalal's favorite thing to do. He's just not that outdoorsy. His face got really red, too, but thankfully it faded by the next day.

While the guys were fishing, I went over to Trish's house with Quinn to work on stuff for the wedding. Unfortunately, just before we got there, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Quinn had thrown up a little. I wiped his mouth and thought that I got it all. But when I went to get him out of the car, there was a little on the seatbelt clasp. I went back up front to grab a wet wipe, and he proceeded to throw up, significantly, two more times before I could get him out of the car. It was so bad, such a mess. It took me (and Trish) forever to get him cleaned up and then remove the car seat and take it completely apart to clean it. What a mess. So we were waiting for my mom to get into town. She was going to take Quinn for the evening while Trish and I went down to St. George to meet a couple of her friends for a "girls' night out." She only got lost once on the way to Trish's house. We put together some favors before Trish and I finished cleaning up the car and the car seat. We sent Mom (with explicit directions) to check into her hotel, after which she would meet me and Quinn at our hotel. Then I was going to drive back to Trish's and we'd leave for St. George. Quinn was starting to get hungry for lunch (it was already after 3, but he'd been sick), but I decided I'd let Mom take him when she got there. At least 45 minutes later, I called to see if she was close. She was lost. Why on earth she doesn't call one of us when she gets lost is beyond me. Instead she just drives around for a while I guess. Anyway, Trish got her back on the right path, and I went ahead and picked up something for Quinn to eat. By then, it was 5:00, past the time we were supposed to leave for St. George, which is almost 2 hours from Tallahassee. I kept calling Mom, but she got stuck in traffic, and it eventually took her an hour and a half just to get from her hotel to mine. I was so frustrated, and I felt especially bad for Trish. She couldn't catch a break. We finally made it down there, picked up Ali, and went to get something to eat. The girl who convinced Trish to have this girls' night didn't even get to the island until 10:30! Trish was supposed to stay with her and her husband that night at a family cottage on the island so she could be there first thing in the morning. Well, when she gets there, she calls Trish and says it's really bad and Trish probably won't want to stay there. This is where we were supposed to get dressed and take pictures before the wedding. So there are no rooms available at the only hotel on the island. Wade offered to let her sleep in the back of his truck in the campground (what an offer!!). She ended up staying with Ali and David and the girls (her flowergirls). Mom and I finished putting together the favors on our way down to the wedding the next day.
Getting ready went fine. Trish looked absolutely perfect in her dress and veil. We ran a little later than we'd planned because we had to wait for the friend who was doing our hair. But we (Jalal, Quinn, Trish, and I) arrived at the park at a few minutes before 4:00. As we were waiting for Mom, Aunt Jacquie, and Uncle Marcus to be seated before we walked up to the boardwalk (where we could be seen by everyone), Uncle Marcus got a call from Uncle Joe, which he gave to Trish. As if she wasn't stressed out enough, Uncle Joe said they were on the way and could she hold the wedding for 30 minutes!! She asked us, "What do I do? I have almost 100 people sitting on the beach waiting for me." I told her I didn't see how we could make everyone wait, especially considering they were out in the open and the sun was blazing. We just had to go ahead without them. I know that was tough for her, since Nani wasn't there, Aunt Linda wasn't there, Uncle Jay had called a couple days before to say he wouldn't make it, no other cousins were going to be there except Briana (who was with Uncle Joe and Aunt Polly), not to mention the fact that Dad wasn't there (in person). But Wade probably would have freaked out if he sat there for 30 more minutes. So we went ahead. Quinn was supposed to walk down with the girls, which he practiced pretty well that morning. But when the time came, it was Elizabeth, the younger flowergirl, who didn't cooperate. Addilyn tried to keep both kids in hand, and Quinn just followed along, but they weren't heading down the aisle at all. I had to come down the aisle again and bring Quinn and Addilyn with me while Elizabeth stayed with her mom. The rest of the service went great. It was very windy, so I had to keep adjusting Trish's veil to keep it out of her face, but otherwise it was perfect. I know I got teary a few times. The reception was very nice. Trish's new sister-in-law and brother-in-law provided the food: barbeque, beans, slaw, etc. They made two giant key lime pies for the "groom's cake" because that is Wade's absolute favorite. When I say giant, I mean they bought those giant clay platters that go under large flowerpots. They were probably two feet across. The wedding cake was beautiful. Her friend Louie made it for her and it was so classic and elegant. It also happened to taste great! So, altogether we had a great time. I will get pictures up as soon as I can, but as it turned out, we didn't take any with our camera because we were all involved. I'll get some from Trish's photographer when she gets back from her honeymoon, which is tomorrow. I can't wait! I have missed her so much. I want to hear all about the cruise they went on, which was 5 nights to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Man, I need a cruise after everything I've been through. If anyone wants to donate a cruise for us, just let me know!! Love, Us.

Anatomy of a Bad Day

So this is obviously much overdue, but I've been meaning to write this blog post for almost two weeks. Some catch up first: Our weekend in Charleston was nice. The worship was just what I needed, though it was bittersweet--and not for the reasons you would expect. That Sunday was the one-month anniversary of my dad's death, and the last song Tim and the band played was "I'll Fly Away," the song we had my dad's musician friends play at his funeral. So that was tough. I'm sure everyone thought I was just upset about West Shore closing, but it was so much more. Afterward, we had a huge lunch with a ton of people at a Mexican place and it was very nice.

The following weekend, on Friday, Quinn and I packed up Trish's wedding dress, two giant glass beverage jars, a "cake" made out of dish towels on a glass cake server, two strollers, a suitcase, a backpack, and 25 diapers. Then we attempted to drive to Tallahassee. I say "attempted" because this was by far the longest day you could imagine. We got off early, and though I hoped Quinn would sleep through the first couple hours, that most certainly did not happen. He was cranky and would throw everything I handed him, from toys to blankets to sippy cup. He even threw his pacis, which I really hate to give him anyway. So we got about halfway to Tallahassee before we stopped in Macon for lunch. I found a Cracker Barrel and pulled Quinn out of the car just before locking my keys in the backseat. Seriously? (Redeeming factor: Quinn, and my cell phone, was with me and not locked in the car.) I went inside and got the number for a locksmith. When he finally got there, it only cost me $45 of the $55 in cash I had on me. After a quick lunch, we got back on the road. Quinn did sleep a little after lunch, which helped time pass a little faster. We got to Thomasville, pretty close to the state line and Tallahassee, when I failed to move over a lane for a stopped police car. That's a nationwide law now, by the way, which if you knew, don't tell me. Jalal didn't know either. A very nice young policeman pulled me over. Aaargh! Quinn was quiet as a mouse the whole time, which was wonderful to not add to the stress. The cop explained what I did wrong and ran my license while I prayed and tried hard not to freak out. (Pretty successful, I would say.) The redeeming factor there was that he only gave me a warning, not a ticket. Whew. I swear that it will never happen again and pull away carefully. I call Trish, tell her what happened, and she said, "Are you ever going to get here?" I said, "No, I'll probably hit a moose next and total the car." (It was a pretty desolute area, so that wasn't outlandish.) Not two miles down the road, and still on the phone with Trish, I hear and feel what sounds like a rock caught up in my undercarriage. Then my battery light comes on. I tell her since I'm only 20 or 30 minutes from Tallahassee, I'll just keep going as long as it doesn't change. Then the check engine light comes on and the car begins to overheat. I pull over at the next possible place, a chained up gas station swarming with lovebugs. I'm on the phone with Jalal at that point, losing service as I say, "What do I do?!" I turn off my car as the steam/smoke begins to pour from under the hood. The short answer is that my serpentine belt broke (not a rock). Trish called her fiance, Wade, down from a roof somewhere and they both drove up separately to pick me up. It took forever to get my car up on the tow hitch because it sits about 2 inches off the ground. But what a nice thing to have my sister and Wade there instead of some sweaty tow truck guy. It was just about dark before Wade figured it out. Wade and Quinn got to ride back to town together while Trish drove me. So Quinn got his first truck ride and first front-seat ride. Wade and his buddy Roy fixed my car over the weekend, which was awesome, while I did bridal stuff with Trish (and my mom, who arrived Saturday morning). Quinn did not sleep well in the hotel, partly because he doesn't sleep if someone near him is awake. On Saturday, he had such a great time all day, even though he was only going on about a 20-minute nap. I was so impressed, until he melted down at dinner and we had to drive back to the hotel by ourselves while the others packed up the food and brought it to the hotel. Our trip home on Monday went really well. Quinn slept for a freakishly large portion of the trip, I found pretty cheap gas right when I needed it (but before I got desperate), and I only ate about 600 calories worth of candy to stay awake. Whew, what a trip. Remind me not to travel alone with Quinn ever again. It doesn't seem to work for us. And that is the "anatomy of a bad day."
Love, Us.

Back to the Lowcountry

Well, we're leaving in the morning to go back to Charleston for two days. My old church, West Shore, is closing because of financial trouble, and it's just heartbreaking. We can't be there for the last service, on the 28th, because I'll be in Tallahassee for Trish's wedding shower. But we thought we could make it down this Sunday for one last service. It makes me even more motivated to get out and find a church home here in Greenville. That's going to be a job for October. (Well, except for the 18th weekend: Trish's wedding!!)
I'm waiting to hear about both of our dresses, which are being altered. The seamstress said they should both be done this week so I can take them with me to Tallahassee. I love my dress.
So, if you haven't noticed, I've updated the pictures on the blog, though I'm still not up to present. I made a lot of progress, though. You'll see Quinn's first trip to Disneyland. And notice how long his hair was getting! It got even longer than that until Tuesday, when we finally got his first haircut. He was adorable! He had such a good time. We went to this kids' salon called Snip-Its. It was very pricey ($21 for his cut, style, a photo, locks of hair in a baggie, and a certificate of bravery), but it was such a fun experience. I'll work toward those pictures as soon as I can.
Well, I do have to try to pack some clothes up for the trip while Quinn's napping, so I'll go now and keep this short. (He was a total pain yesterday afternoon when he woke up early and was so clingy I couldn't go to the bathroom without him crying hysterically. I thought he was over his separation anxiety.) I will try to keep up with this better from now on. Love, Us.

Not Feeling It

I know that all three of you who read our blog are probably missing my "regular" updates. I apologize. We got back to Greenville from Daytona on Sunday night. Jalal has been working like a dog all week. I guess I've been trying to get back to "normal," whatever that means. I have sort of been in a fog all week. I don't much feel like talking or writing, so don't be too concerned if there aren't updates here all that often. I'm sure I'll pick it back up sometime. For now, let me just say that Quinn has been a total crankypants all night. He keeps throwing stuff at me and frantically waving his arms in front of his face when I try to offer him milk. He spent all afternoon at my neighbor's house with her twin boys. I wonder if they just got to him. He's usually such a good kid. Oh, and I think we can officially add a new word--bye bye--to his vocabulary. Well, that's all I can manage right now. Thanks, by the way, to all of you who sent cards, flowers, and food, as well as email condolences. We do appreciate it, even if we haven't gotten thank-you cards in the mail yet. Love, Us.

Leaving for Daytona Beach

Hi all,
Mom, Jalal, Quinn, and I are leaving tomorrow for Daytona Beach. We pick up my dad's ashes at 10 a.m. and then get on the road. My sister went home this morning. Wade came up yesterday afternoon, and Mom, Trish, and I spent the day planning the funeral and talking about what Mom is going to do about things. We put together a eulogy, and the plan is that I'm going to read it. I think if I try not to focus on the words too much I may be able to handle it. We've had so much support from our family and friends through this. The house is covered in flowers. I hope no more arrive while we're gone. We'll leave to come home next Sunday. I'm really not looking forward to this week, for the obvious reasons as well as the fact that we have to make some progress on the house. I don't know what we're going to encounter with that. The roof was leaking before they even came up here, and three visits from Tropical Storm Fay ought to have done a number on it. Plus there is so much to do with the financial aspect of Dad's passing, like finding his life insurance policy and seeing if his pension and SS benefits pass to Mom. Trish and I are trying to help teach her how to be independent, but it's going to be a long process. I guess we'll figure it out. Well, I better go. Long day ahead of us. (By the way, on a happier note, Quinn passed the 20 pound mark at his 1-year appointment, so he gets to sit facing forward in his car seat now. You couldn't imagine a happier kid.)
Love, Us.

In Memory of My Father

Hello friends,
My father, Red Langston, passed away Thursday night at 9:15 at the age of 66. We had moved him from Greenville Memorial Hospital to a hospice house at about 4:00 in the afternoon. It was a beautiful place (it looked like a lodge in the woods), and the nurses were so caring. Trish, Mom, and I were all by his bed, holding him, when he very peacefully just left the earth. In the background we had a CD playing, and the song that played as he passed was "Go Rest High on That Mountain." It was just as it should have been, and he is in no more pain. His body has been restored. There was a definite sense of peace in the room. Thank you all who offered prayers and wonderful words of inspiration, peace, and hope.

Robert Everette “Red” Langston—Born April 18, 1942, in Henderson, NC, Red passed away August 21 in Greenville, SC. A Daytona resident since 1969 and a retired Marine and water treatment plant operator, Red spent his life pursuing his first love, bluegrass music. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Judy, daughters Trish Langston and Barbie Halaby, sister Linda Mallick and grandson Quinn Halaby. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 30 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Daytona Beach. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Open Arms Hospice/McCall Hospice House, 1836 W. Georgia Rd., Simpsonville, SC 29680.

Love, Us.

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming

So my parents are still in town. Dad's in the hospital here in ICU. His sodium levels were low, his potassium was dangerously high, and he was so weak he couldn't walk, even with his walker for support. Uncle Marcus, Jalal, and I literally carried him/pushed him in his walker from the hotel to my house (well, from the hotel to the car and the car to the house) Saturday night, where he slept sitting up on the couch for more than 12 hours. We knew we couldn't get him out of there again, so we had to call an ambulance and get him checked into Greenville Memorial. They saw some abnormalities on his EKG, so we're waiting to see if that is anything. He has a UTI, which they say could explain some of the confusion. He is very out of it, barely able to speak, confused about where he is (he thinks he's in Florida), and on IV fluids. I hate to say this because things could always be worse, but really this isn't fair. It was just two weeks ago that Louella passed away, only a week since her funeral, and now Quinn's first birthday party will always have this memory hanging over it. Can we please have just a little break? Maybe nothing could happen in September? Pray for that. A quiet, boring, uneventful September. Love, Us.

A Long Day Ahead

Hello all! My parents have been here since Saturday, so it has been a long week. I can't STRESS that enough. ; ) To finish off about our California trip, we had a nice reception at Marla's parents' house after the funeral, during which Quinn impressed people with his awe-inspiring eating habits and ran across the living room over and over again. He dutifully charmed everyone. The following day, Sunday, Jamel's boss gave him another day off so we decided to spend it as a family doing something fun. We'd had enough sadness. Even though everyone didn't get moving until almost noon (not everyone has an early-bird baby in their room, I guess), we ended up going to Disneyland. I know, kind of weird after a funeral, but we all agreed that's what Louella would have wanted. She loved to see everybody spending time together and getting along, which we (mostly) did. It was so cool to see Quinn experience the Disney thing for the first time. We have such cool pictures of us on Dumbo. (I know I'm WAY behind on posting pics. Our camera hasn't been able to connect to the computer. We fixed it today and will catch up soon.) It was really great for all the cousins to spend so much time together. Quinn fell in love with Hayley, and she couldn't get enough of him.
We had a bit of trouble getting home. Jalal managed to get us seats together on the flight, but he had a hard time sleeping for the first couple hours. We got a fair number of dirty looks and rolling eyes even though he was comparitively an angel. I can't stand it when people can't be a little understanding of how hard it is for babies and toddlers to fly for four and a half hours straight without getting to walk around. Come on! Our flight from Atlanta was postponed an hour and 15 minutes, and then our luggage got left behind. So we got home at almost 2 in the morning minus our suitcases. They didn't get delivered until 4:30 the next afternoon. Whew. It's all over though for a while. We've discussed setting a rule that we don't travel again if it can't be done on a road trip, at least not for a year or so.
Then we had just a few days to unpack, recover, and sleep before my parents got here. That has been tough, as my dad isn't very mobile and won't eat enough to keep his strength up. At least they seem to be enjoying Quinn and his antics. Right now, Trish and Wade are on their way here. They should be here in another hour or so. I'm so excited. And my bridesmaid dress got here just today!! Can you believe that luck? So we'll both go get fitted tomorrow, but first is Quinn's first birthday party!! I'm so excited! My Aunt Jacquie and Uncle Marcus are coming from Tennessee, too, and they haven't even met Quinn yet. Barry, Vicky, Aundrea, and Erika are coming up for the day as well. That's so cool. So I'll be sure and post some pictures and stories about the day in the upcoming week. I better go finish cleaning up and I still have some work to do on an edit. By the way, I need a job. If anyone knows of anyone who needs freelance copyediting or proofreading that I can do from home, send them my way. Arcadia is stopping their freelance work, and my job search so far has been less than fruitful. So help me stay a WAHM if you can. Thanks! Love, Us.

Settling Back In

So we're back from California. What a trip! I left here last Thursday with Quinn, and it was a long day. Jamel and Marla picked me up from the airport, and Alex, Nick, and Gabrielle met us there. We had to stay up way too late, of course, because of the time change and because of catching up with everyone. Jalal had a heck of a time getting out there, even though he left at 4:30 in the morning. He fought tooth and nail with U.S. Air to get on a flight that arrived in LA before 10:30 at night. They were complete jerks to him and didn't even try to help out. He eventually left Pittsburgh after buying a separate ticket on Southwest. Then he went to Chicago and Tucson before getting into LA at 2:00. It was still a tight squeeze getting to the funeral home by 5:00, but we just made it, literally right on time. It was actually nice to see all those people, and Louella had a lot of friends. Her coworkers were wonderful, and everyone had such nice things to say about her. Big surprise, she was an incredible woman. Mike and Crystal even made it, which was wonderful. I know Jalal appreciated the support, and it was nice for me to have friends of my own there, seeing as how I was the most "outsider" of any of the family. There were a lot of beautiful, big flower arrangements, too, which is appropriate, considering how much Louella loved flowers.

The funeral was tough. Marla wrote the eulogy, and even though I'd already read it a couple of times, it still got to me when she read it. The music was beautiful and so was the sermon, even though the priest didn't know Louella. Quinn decided to get cranky mid-service, so Marla's mom came up and took him. That was so sweet because Jalal and I just weren't up to focusing on him at the moment. After the eulogy, they played the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" from the CD we made Quinn when he was born. That meant so much because she listened to it all the time, right up until she died, and it always calmed her. And it's the first song we play for Quinn every night before he goes to sleep. We'll always think of her when we play it.

Well, there is a lot more to tell about the weekend, but it's midnight and I need to get some sleep. I'll try to finish tomorrow, just in time for my parents to come visit!!! (Cue Psycho music) Love, Us.

In Memory

Louella Ruth Halaby, an incredible woman and my mother-in-law, lost her battle with cancer on Sunday night. I am so thankful that she is no longer in pain, for her suffering was more than anyone could bear in her final days. Jalal, Quinn, and I had the wonderful and heartbreaking opportunity to say our good-byes to Louella less than a month ago. She was so proud of her three sons, and for those of you who know Jalal, you know she had much to be proud of. She was amazed that so many people she didn't even know had been praying for her, and according to my sister-in-law, she got some comfort from the family's prayers with her during the past week. Evidently, she was most comforted by the CD that we made for Quinn when he was born, a CD he falls asleep to every night. The first song on it, Iz's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" mix, will be played at her funeral, as she mustered the strength to mouth the words even when she could no longer speak. Of course, we are all in such mourning for our great loss, even as we celebrate her life and rejoice that she is now with her parents and her husband. There is much more I could say, but I really can't cry anymore. My head is killing me and I ought to get to sleep. Quinn and I leave Thursday morning for California. Jalal leaves Friday morning from New York (work training). The viewing is Friday from 5 to 9 p.m., and the funeral is Saturday at noon, both at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. The family asks that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to the American Cancer Society. A memorial fund has been set up in the name of Louella Ruth Halaby. For those of you who are interested, I've copied the information below. I'll try to post next week if I'm able. Thank you all for the compassionate outpouring of love and support. We need it and appreciate it. Love, Us.

DONATIONS: American Cancer Society Memorial Program
San Gabriel Valley Unit
50 North Hill Ave. Suite 200
Pasadena, CA 91106
Make Check Payable to American Cancer Society and on the memo line write "In memoriam Louella Ruth Halaby"
DONATIONS ON LINE
www.cancer.org

"Not the Mama!"

Remember that sitcom with the dinosaurs, and the baby always yelled "not the mama!" at the father? It's been the opposite at the Halaby house. Quinn looks at me and says, "Not the dada!" Seriously, he's been saying "dada" since before we moved here, and I got my first "mama" tonight at dinner. I was sitting with him as we ate pot roast, and I asked if he could say mama. He said "am-am" a few times (backwards?) before he finally said "Mama." I was so excited! I said "Yay, Quinn" and he started clapping for himself. He ended up saying it about five times. I just discussed this problem I have with my sister the other day. I know I should call Jalal first every time something big happens. But I can't help wanting to call Trish first! So I gave in this time and called Trish. But I only talked to her for a moment before I called Jalal. He was excited about it, too, even though Quinn refused to say "mama" while he was on the phone. I just can't believe he's doing so much all at once.
Quinn is loving this walking thing. He has now taken up to five steps at a time, and it is so funny to watch. He balances with his back against the couch, tummy pooching out, a look of utter concentration on his face. Then he takes two big steps and two or three tiny ones before collapsing. Last night, while Jalal was playing with him on the floor, Quinn tried to turn around while he was standing. He did this funny little pivot thing by moving one foot in three tiny steps to turn himself around. We got such a kick out of it.
So I guess I better get back to work before I call it a night. Hopefully there will be more to report soon. Maybe Quinn will learn his ABCs this week. ; ) Love, Us.

Girl Scout Pledge

So, random post: My sister just called me (we got off the phone about half an hour ago) solely to ask if I remembered the words to the Girl Scout Pledge. She was testing me, which is not all that surprising. She managed to remember them during a discussion with Wade about their experiences as Scouts as kids. So, with only one word of prompting, I did it! After probably a dozen years, I actually remembered all the words. Here they are, for those of you who are curious:
On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law.
(Note that this must be read in a singsong voice, pausing every three words.)
Also, in what shouldn't really be a side note at all, Quinn took his first steps today! Toward the end of Laura's baby shower, I was talking to Laura's mother-in-law and sister-in-law when he turned from me and took one step toward the coffee table before lunging at the table. So of course I freaked out (in a happy way) and we tried to get him to do it again, this time on video. Along with a few minutes of false attempts, we actually got a couple of steps on video. I'm so proud of my little boy!! Love, Us.

California

My little monster is unpacking a box of CDs. Isn't that nice? He helps without being asked. Hmmm. So I knew I wouldn't get to finish that post earlier this week. Since I've had a lot of people asking about Jalal's mom, here's the scoop, along with a brief recap of California. Louella was very happy to see us. She spoiled Quinn by feeding him ice cream a few times. I kept my mouth shut, as I should. That's about all she eats now, since all dietary restrictions have been lifted. Good for her. Jehad, Jalal's oldest brother, the one Louella is living with, said she was so looking forward to seeing us that she had lots of energy the week before we came. But she didn't have much left when we got there. We had little bits of time when she was really "there," but not many. We took care of a lot of business, like picking out her cemetery plot and funeral services, going over the financial situation, and sorting through her old house. The three sisters-in-law even went through all her jewelry (so sad). I guess that was necessary, but it was also depressing. Anyway, it was great to see all the kids, even though my 2-year-old nephew, Brendan, says, "I don't have to" to everyone. We did have some fun, like going to Malibu Beach, Chinatown, and Olvera Street (Little Mexico). And we had some major milestones, like Quinn's first tooth (finally!!). He also learned how to wave (so charming!) and started to clap. Louella's caretaker, Gina, fell in love with Quinn and he returned the favor. The second to last night we were there, Jalal made a special dinner for his mom (and everyone else). He plated hers up all fancy and added a handmade tomato rose. It was beautiful. He's such a good son. So then we had to say goodbye. That was tough. We each took turns spending some time with Louella in her room. I think Jalal and I both spent the whole hour it took to get back to the hotel crying.
Jalal heard from his brother a couple of days ago. Jehad says she's not doing very well. They took her off the long-release morphine, which was giving her hallucinations. Now, on quick-release morphine and sedatives, she's pretty out of it most of the time. He said she had been sleeping for the last 24 hours. So, keep her in your prayers.
We're going to a baby shower today for my friend Laura New. I'm so excited to see her. I can't wait till she has the baby.
Yesterday was the day Quinn broke tooth #2! He went down for a late nap after we got home from his eye doctor appointment (all good for now), and about 45 minutes later, he woke up screaming. After he refused to eat more than a couple of miles, I knew there was something wrong. Sure enough, his other bottom tooth was popping through! He's starting to catch up with the teeth. Well, I better get going so I can pack up the car. More later. Love, Us.

Many Apologies

I know it has been a long time since I posted, but I didn't realize just how long. I know you'll all understand, since life has been just about as crazy as it gets lately. It will probably take me a couple of posts to catch up because I don't have enough time to sit down for an hour and write! First of all, happy 4th of July to all. We just got home today from the lake house with Willie and Caroline and Vicky and Barry. It was so much fun. I wish Jalal had been able to stay the whole ime, but he had to work a lot. So he stayed from Thursday night until early afternoon Friday and came back after midnight Saturday until we all left this afternoon. We spent the time swimming in the lake (brisk!), eating barbeque, talking, drinking, and just catching up. On Saturday, the Connellys and Quinn and I went to the Coon Dog Day in Saluda, NC, which was hysterical. It was exactly what you would expect. Quinn had his first taste of funnel cake, God help us. Isabel is so grown up now and talks a blue streak. I think she said more in the first ten minutes than I've heard her say the rest of her life combined. She is so beautiful and sweet. Aundrea and Erika would barely let me hold Quinn, and Vicky wasn't far behind them. It was nice to have some time off from him. He got a little scared by all the firecrackers going off at the lake (some of them sounded like cannons), so we spent that time watching them from inside the house. I gave him some Tylenol that night, too, both because of the noise and because he is teething really bad. That reminds me. Quinn got his first tooth one week ago today, while we were in California. It is still growing out, but he is chewing on everything! I'm convinced he'll have another one popping up this week. So that was a pretty good night's sleep. He also learned how to wave while in California and charmed everyone with that new trick. He really loved waving at Erika and Aundrea until they would wave back. Well, I'm going to go ahead and post this in case I don't get to write more tonight. Love, Us.

I'll Take the Letter "Q" Please

You know how some summer camps have a "talking stick" that gets passed around and only the person holding it can talk? We need one for parenting. The person holding the stick is the one who has to watch Quinn. Or I can just be responsible myself and close the laptop whenever I'm not working on it. I stopped working the other night for just a couple of minutes to do something in the kitchen. Quinn decided he was going to help Mommy get her edit done. Jalal saw a whole bunch of text highlighted on the screen and jumped over the gate to get to Quinn and the computer. Not only had he typed some gibberish, he also somehow removed the letter Q. Hmmm...the letter Q? His initial? Seriously? Considering how many keys there are on a keyboard, that's a pretty big coincidence. Or is it? He may be small, but he's not stupid. Jalal gave him a bath the other night and said Quinn was putting his face in the water! I saw him do it tonight, too, and he's trying to drink it! We got him these little fish squirters and he loves it when I squirt water into his mouth.
So Louella is doing a little better. Jehad got the nurses to back off on some of her meds so she wouldn't be practically comatose, and she is now lucid enough to help take care of some of her final details (will, power of attorney, burial plans, etc.). She's even sitting up and watching TV and things now. Jalal talked to her yesterday and she was so happy that we were coming to see her. She's still fighting.
Now I need to go back to Charleston tomorrow. One of my friends from Arcadia lost her husband on Tuesday, and I feel like I need to be there for her. It's a very sad situation, so please say a prayer for her and her family. Quinn and I are staying with Barry and Vicky and Aundrea and Erika. I am so grateful to them. They'll even watch Quinn while I go to the funeral on Saturday morning.
Anyway, as a result of everything being so crazy, I better get going. I need to get some stuff packed up and some work done. I'll try to keep you posted over the weekend. Love, Us.

Whirlwind Life

Just when things start to settle down, life gets in the way. The last time I wrote, I said we might have to go see Jalal's mom, Louella, in August. As we were planning that trip, Jalal spoke to one of his brothers about the situation. Turns out Louella isn't doing too well. The doctor took her off the chemo and put her into Hospice care. The cancer has spread all over, including to her breasts. So after 9 months of fighting this, she's now going to be staying at home and the Hospice nurses will try to make her as comfortable as possible until she's ready to move on. She is really out of it, from what I hear from my sister-in-law, "hallucinating" and talking to family members who have passed on. So after some very difficult emotions, we've planned a trip out to LA next week. That's right! We leave Monday night for Atlanta, fly to LA Tuesday morning, and stay until the following Monday. I think she's waiting to see Jalal, so it's good that we're going so soon. We just hope she holds on that long. But we don't want her to linger in pain. So this week is going to be crazy just trying to get everything done. Yesterday we made some progress, most notably getting haircuts for both of us and getting Jalal's car washed. Today, I have a huge to-do list, including turning in our lease renewal (yeah, we're sticking around), cleaning MAJORLY (we had an incident with spaghetti sauce on the rug last night), and packing for the trip. Plus, we've got story time at the library.
Yesterday was Quinn's 9-month check up. We both like the new doctor, so that was good. He got a good report. He does seem to be shrinking, though. Since he was about 6 weeks old, he has consistently been in the 10th percentile for weight. Between 4 and 6 months, his height jumped from the 50th to the 75th percentile. I kept waiting for his weight to jump up and start to catch up to his height, but the opposite happened! Now he is exactly 18 pounds (the SEVENTH percentile!) and 27 1/2 inches long (the 13th percentile). Jeez! How does my kid eat like a horse and still manage to be the smallest kid in the world? Okay, I'm exaggerating, I know. And the doctor says he is very healthy. He still doesn't have any teeth, so maybe that will make a difference? So of course I'm very sensitive about it, as I have always been. So I'm trying to give him as much food as he wants to eat now. And I think I might sneak in another small feeding in the mornings if he'll take it. The doctor also recommended a pediatric opthalmologist for Quinn to have a check up because of my experience with retinoblastoma. So that appointment is set for next month. I'm not worried about it really because we've paid attention to his eyes and haven't seen any indication that something is wrong. But I'm glad we're checking it out. Anyway, I need to get back to cleaning house. I put in a work order for the stove because one of the burners is not working right (and it's the only big one, the other three are small). So if they are going to come fix it, I better clean the kitchen.
P.S. Thank you to Lorraine, who wins the brownie cutting question from a couple of months ago. For those of you who don't remember, my brownies were ripping and looking messy when I cut them. The trick Lorraine offered is to cut them with a plastic knife. It works! Thanks!
Love, Us.

My Little Bruiser

Quinn is a beast. Seriously. The more he moves around, the more he beats up on things, including himself. Last week, he gave himself a nice black eye. At the same time, he had scratched the bridge of his nose. It was pretty deep (I think he did it with his fingernails, my fault), and it looked bloody no matter how much I washed it. I guess I should be grateful it's not worse. He loves to hit things, whether it's beating the baby monitor against the glass coffee table (aye aye aye), smacking his own remote control against his crib bars, or just smacking me on the chest every time I pick him up. I know he's just exploring how things work, but I fear for our stuff.
I got the swatch for my bridesmaid's dress today. It is beautiful. But I'm not going to tell what color it is!
I am starting to plan Quinn's first birthday party. We wanted to have it in Charleston, but now it looks like we might need to go out to California to see Jalal's mom. So we may have to have a smaller party in Greenville. But I'm still planning themes and stuff.
Yesterday we went to a Baby Signs class at the main Greenville library. It was a lot of fun. Quinn didn't pay any attention to me, so if he learned anything, it was because of the moms around me. I met a couple of nice people. I'm trying to use the signs I remember around Quinn as much as I can. We learned mommy, daddy, drink, milk, juice, banana, cereal, eat, sleep, blanket, teddy, stars, light, sun, water, bath, bubbles, duck, fish, frog, and all done. There are probably a few more I can't remember. Oh yeah, like dog and cat. I also am trying to teach him please, thank you, and more, which either I know from the ASL I've learned or my sister told me. It'll probably be awhile before he can sign back but maybe it will ease his communication frustration until he gets totally verbal. Oh, and I wanted to tell you what he does when he doesn't want to eat something (very rare!). He squints his eyes. He doesn't squeeze his mouth shut, which I think is funny, but if I try to give him a bite of food he doesn't want, he squints. It cracks me up. He's eating the heck out of some cantaloupe right now. And it seems this time around he doesn't like brussels sprouts. ???
Well, he's resting now since he started to get very cranky. We're going for a walk in an hour and a half, so I'm going to try to get some work done until then. Jalal has tomorrow off so I thought I'd try to take the day off, too, so we can celebrate his first Father's Day together. Love, Us.

Quick Story

Okay, I really need to finish my edit today because we're going to Mother Goose on the Loose at 11:00, but I wanted to tell this story really quick. I have Regis and Kelly on in the background and they just said that ice cream trucks are now not allowed to play music because residents have complained (probably in New York). Anyway, it reminded me of the other day when Quinn and I were playing. I heard kiddie toy music going on and I couldn't for the life of me figure out where it was coming from. I thought Quinn had left a toy on, and I literally went around and around the room looking for it. Finally I looked out the window and saw the ice cream truck. I was going crazy! It kept playing for probably five minutes, too.
So I promise I'll write more later, either today or tomorrow. Love, Us.

Late Lazy Morning

We all went to bed late last night, so we slept late this morning. That means no church today. I did get an email and a phone call from someone at LifePoint yesterday, so that was nice. So a lot happened last week. I'll try to hit all the big points, but I may have to come back later. Wednesday morning, I went down to the Simpsonville library and signed Quinn up for the Summer Reading Program. Now he can attend all the special events this summer. The first one we went to that day, called Mother Goose on the Loose. It was a story, rhyming, music thing with about 25 kids there, all under 2. I think Quinn had a good time, but he got a little tired and clingy toward the end. It was nice to get out and be around other kids our age. We'll go back this week too, as long as I can get him to nap early enough. One day last week he slept almost three hours in the morning. While I was loading up the stroller for that library trip, we met a neighbor, Chrissy. She was walking her twin boys around the cul-de-sac and offered to help me get the stroller in the trunk (Quinn was "helping" too). Her boys are 11 months old. We talked for a few minutes and agreed to walk together in the evenings. She came by at 7 that night and we walked again on Friday night. Even though it's that late at night, it's still very hot, and I'm obviously out of shape. She was prepared to run a marathon when she got pregnant, so she's in much better condition than I am. It's nice to have someone to walk with, though.
Quinn and I had lunch with Leah on Friday. That was the day he had his long, late nap, so he was in a great mood when we met for lunch at 12:45. I love getting together with her. I also got online that day and found a website called Carolina Momma. It's basically a message board. I found a local message board of Greenville moms, some of whom are planning a play date at a park down the street in a couple weeks. So I'll join them there and maybe meet some more people. I posted a message looking for a book club, but nobody so far knows of one. I may have to plan one from scratch.
Yesterday, Jalal had the day off and we spent the whole day together. We finally took a long-overdue (read "expensive") trip to Babies R Us. We bought gates for the kitchen and the front hallway, as well as a cushion for the coffee table. And last night, Jalal split up the play yard and blocked off the fireplace. So now I can say the living room is mostly baby-proofed. (Mostly because the cleanliness of the couch and coffee table will come into play. But I don't feel like I have to watch him every second now. I know he can't get to the dangerous things. He's currently exploring his new freedom now. What a tornado. We also went to the mall and walked around. It was just supposed to be for a while to have a cool place to spend some time. But we ended up staying there for a long time. I forget that this is a big mall compared to those in Charleston. Jalal found three sportcoats for great prices. I found some shorts and a pair of crop pants. I just can't bear to keep wearing jeans in this weather. It's been hitting 100 this weekend. When we finally got home, we gave Quinn some time to run around. He went crazy, giggling and squealing and climbing over everything. It was so funny. We finally got him to calm down and go to bed around 10, much much later than his usual bedtime. So now his whole schedule is about two hours behind usual. I'll probably make sure he takes a shorter nap this afternoon so he can still go to bed at his regular time. Well, that's pretty much what we've been up to. Love, Us.

"911, What's Your Emergency?"

So, I can't believe I forgot to tell about this earlier. Quinn has played with the phone for a couple weeks now, but he's never done more than hit 3 and # a few times. This morning, he dialed 91111. Great. Jalal grabbed the phone and ended the call, but obviously not before it connected. They called right back asking if everything was okay. Glad to know that they are quick responders here, but I can't believe my kid called 911. Jeez.
He was still cranky tonight, and he wouldn't even talk to Aunty Trish on the phone. I don't know if he gets shy or if he just doesn't get it, but he won't even squawk when I hold the phone out or put it on speakerphone. He does smile and tilt his head and sometimes try to eat the phone, but that's about it. I know he's a smart kid, but sometimes I wonder. Like at dinner tonight. I was talking to Trish while preparing his dinner. I cut up a whole meatball and put it on his tray while I worked on some brussels sprouts. It was a couple minutes later that I realized he wasn't eating. He had been sitting there with a piece of meat in his hand, almost smooshing it into his nose, but he refused to take his pacifier out of his mouth. As soon as I popped it out, he frantically shoved the food into his mouth. How long would he sit there starving, I wonder? What a weird kid.
So I had a first of my own today. I watched a TV show online for the first time ever. I have been looking forward to that new show In Plain Sight about the U.S. Marshalls overseeing the Witness Protection Program. I missed the pilot on Sunday, so I found it online and watched the whole episode tonight on the laptop. I love this thing! It was a little bumpy in places, but it was great. I never could have even tried that on our PC. I really liked the show. She's a smart aleck, so I guess I identify with her. (No comments from the peanut gallery.) It still had 20 minutes (out of 65) left when I figured I could put it on full-screen. Hey, I never said I was tech savvy. Okay, if my eyes get any drier, they are going to get stuck in the "open" position, so I'm going to get going. If anyone gets a random call from a Mauldin number, it's probably Quinn and I apologize. Love, Us.

What a Day!

Whew. I'm worn out. Quinn is so cranky today. I think he's getting a tooth any time now. I wish he would so he would stop crying. We had to make a trip to the bank today because my deposit of almost $600 never made it into my account. Turns out someone else got lucky and they deposited it into someone else's account. So I got hit with more than $100 in overdraft fees. After sitting in the bank for almost half an hour, they got it cleared up and credited the fees. Thank goodness our rent check didn't bounce. Turns out our overdraft protection never got hooked up to our savings account either. Like I said, what a day!
Quinn had a big day yesterday. Jalal didn't have to work, so we went to a place called Hollywild. It's a sort of zoo for famous animals. It was so crazy. They have the lion that Disney used as a model for the Lion King and all these animals that have been in commercials and movies and such. A lot of the park serves as a petting zoo. We fed llamas, goats, deer, and emus. They had a safari ride, where we got to feed deer and emus from the side of a bus. The emus were pretty scary, and they looked like they thought Quinn would take better than the stale bread we were giving them. I kept him pretty tight on my lap. He got his hand licked by a bison, too! He really got a kick out of it. The rest of the park was pretty cheesy, but the safari ride was great.
Last night, I decided to let him learn to climb stairs. I know it sounds stupid, but I was reading What to Expect the First Year, which said a child who knows how to climb stairs is much safer when presented with an unprotected staircase than a child who just knows stairs are off-limits. So I let him climb the first two stairs, thinking he would get tired and that would be it. A couple minutes later, he was grinning at his daddy from the top of the staircase! What a kid. Well, I'm going to get back to work. If I haven't mentioned it before, not a lot of housework gets done when we take days off work. Love, Us.

Ahh, Peace and Quiet

Quinn is down for a nap, though the occasionally rustling I hear tells me he is not totally passed out. He was tired enough after lunch to snuggle up next to me and put his head down on my chest, so he better sleep. Now I hear him playing with his toys. Oh well. As long as he's calm. Jalal is off to work for the evening. He came with me to church this morning. We went back to the place I tried last week, LifePoint. He said he liked it because it was small, though he did say it was "churchier" than the other places he's been to. And he called the music "ChurchStock," which I thought was hysterical. It really did make you feel like you should be wearing daisies in your hair and a peasant skirt or something. Not that it was bad; it just is so much tamer than West Shore. Anyway, it's been a busy week as I've tried to work as much as I could. Ok, I'm back. So, I'm taking a break from editing for a few minutes. I think after Quinn goes to bed, I need to focus on the house for a while. There are still so many boxes and things that need to be unpacked and put away, so I'm going to knock some of those out before I go to bed.
So I met up with Leah for coffee on Friday. We're going to have her and her husband over for dinner, but she's picking up ER shifts now and is on call a few nights a week (she's a nurse), plus Jalal's schedule is so evening heavy, it might take a few weeks until we can find a night everyone is free. But then we'll have taco night! I'm excited about that. We haven't a full-on taco night since we had our couples care group over to our house, which must have been almost two years ago. Can that be? Jalal fries his own taco shells and makes fresh pico de gallo and guacamole, and he puts everything in martini glasses for flair. That man knows how to throw a dinner party, let me tell you.
Yesterday, we needed to get out of the house, so Quinn and I went to Falls Park again. We bought one of those ground blankets with the nylon backing so we can even use it if the ground is damp. As big as it was, Quinn still spent most of his time on the grass or in the dirt. He only tried to eat one leaf, so I consider that a success. He did destroy my water bottle. He is obsessed with water bottles, and he thinks they exist for him--to drink out of, play with, and chew on. (Still no teeth, by the way, for those of you on tooth-watch.) We had lunch out there and stayed for about an hour and a half. As soon as we got in the car, Quinn collapsed and fell asleep doubled over in his car seat. It was pretty funny.
So Jalal is going away for his first training from Marriott. He planned to go to one in Tampa, but then it got cancelled. So he picked New York City instead. (How cool is that? He gets to pick whichever one he wants to go to. Though his boss said flying to Seattle was a little much, so it's not unlimited.) He will be away for 6 days in July. I wish I could go. That would be so much fun. Quinn and I could sightsee all day and we could go to dinner and shows at night. Wonder if recreation could go on that company credit card? I'm just trying to find a time when I can go visit my sister. Maybe we'll get our dresses in soon, and I can take them with me. I need to call the bridal shop tomorrow and see if the color swatch has come in. Seems like it should have by now. Well, I guess that's enough for now. I'll go work for a little bit until my little bit wakes up. Love, Us.

Another Sunday, Another Church

Quinn and I wentto try another new church today. He didn't have time to get a nap in before we left, but he fell asleep in the nursery on one of the girls' shoulder. I really enjoyed the service and the people were very friendly. I was greeted when I got there and taken on a tour, which is more than I can say for the church last week. The nursery was great and a lot of people came up to me to introduce themselves. I would really like to go back, and I hope Jalal likes it there. The one thing all these churches have had in common is that they almost seem claustrophobic compared to West Shore. After going to church in a movie theater for years, normal ceilings seem so low! Quinn slept all the way home and then for another hour and a half. After he woke up, he ate a huge lunch: chicken, peas, lima beans, gouda cheese, pita bread, and strawberries. He's even getting pretty good at using his new sippy cup with handles. He's been in a great mood all afternoon, talking up a storm and playing nicely without destroying things.
Anyway, Jalal had the whole day off yesterday and we had a wonderful time together. We bought some photo albums at Kohl's because we are trying to start organizing all our pictures together in albums. Daunting task. I know. In the afternoon, we went to Freedom Weekend Aloft, an annual festival with a hot air balloon race and concerts. We walked around a while, found out it wasn't a good idea to take Quinn up for a tethered hot air balloon ride (next year), and sat on the grass to watch the hot air balloons take off. I think there were about 14 of them, in all different patterns, most of them rainbow colored. It was the neatest thing I've seen in a while. Oh, and we saw Radio! The guy from the movie that Cuba Gooding Jr. played. That was so crazy! After the balloons were off and floating around town, we left and went to a Mexican restaurant down the street from our house. It was fantastic, even though it was karaoke night. Quinn ate his own meal, a cheese quesadilla. It is so nice to go out and be able to feed him real food and not have to sit there and spoon baby food into his mouth. What a great eater.
The other night I got peed on twice. I was getting a bath ready for Quinn. I was kneeling beside the tub testing the water. I had just taken Quinn's diaper off and had him sitting on the side of the tub until the water warmed up. Suddenly, I realized that he was peeing, all over the side of the tub, the floor, and my shirt. So I plopped him in the tub, cleaned up the floor, took off my shirt and gave him his bath. Afterward, I was drying him off on his changing table and was just about to slip a clean diaper under his butt when he shoots a stream of pee straight into the air. I slapped his diaper over him in time to avoid getting wet myself, but I did have to change his changing pad cover. What a mess.
So, tomorrow is Memorial Day and Jalal has the day off. I think we'll try to go to the pool if the weather is nice. Maybe we'll grill steaks or something since we just got our propane tank refilled. I wish everyone a happy Memorial Day and thank all those who've served our country. Love, Us.

Entering the New Millenium (only 8 years late)

We bought a laptop today! Woohoo! I know it seems like a totally frivolous expenditure, but it really will help me get more work done. Now I can work downstairs while Quinn plays and he won't freak out because he can't see me (separation anxiety is fun, let me tell you). It was on major sale and even came with a free wireless printer. So all I have to do is complete 5 more edits than I would have otherwise and it's paid for! Plus, Jalal can use it for work. His boss asked him just the other day if he was ready to travel. It will only be to Charlotte, but he can keep up with his restaurants even when he's out of town for a couple of days. I'm excited about the computer. It's fast, and it's pretty. (I know some girls like that! Hah!)
Anyway, Jalal took Quinn on a field trip to Publix so I could get some work done, so I shouldn't spend much time blogging. I wanted to share with all of you the ridiculous stage-mom thing I just did, though. Some of you already know, but I signed Quinn up for a Parents magazine cover photo contest. I mean, there are some cute kids on there, but I don't think they have anything on Quinn. Seriously, one third of the judging is on personality, and I think you'll all agree that this kid has too much personality for his own good. Check out our gallery to rate and recommend him, though it doesn't affect the judging. The most recommended ones get into a weekly newsletter is all. I'm after the big prize! http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=168900566
I guess I'll get back to work now. Later. Love, Us.

Another Week Gone By Already?

Where is the time going? Seriously, I am sorry I haven't been keeping up as well with the blog. Sometimes I feel guilty writing and posting on here when I should be working on freelance work. But now I have the whole night to do both, so I don't feel so bad. Quinn had a couple of "firsts" this week. He ate his first hamburger by himself at Five Guys, and he went swimming for the first time. The burger was a big hit, but I kept wondering if Child Services was going to come after me for feeding him hamburger this young. I guess it's not that bad. It's not like it was a hot dog or McDonald's. He had a hard time concentrating, though, because there were people around. And if there are people around, Quinn feels it is his duty to entertain them with his big cheesy grin. He always picks the cute girls, too. Is that innate? Good grief. So, it was very overcast yesterday and we only had about an hour before it rained, but we went to the pool at our complex and played around in the cold, cold water. Quinn seemed to enjoy himself, though he played it cool and didn't get too excited. We have this inflatable tube baby holder thing (sounds awful, I know) and he just sat back and chilled out for a while as Jalal and I fussed around him and took pictures. He's already a water baby. Thank goodness.
We finally got his records transferred and an appointment made with a new pediatrician. I think we're going to like this guy, but we didn't do interviews like we did the first time around. Quinn will have his 9-month check up next month, a few weeks late, but we needed to wait until Jalal's health insurance kicked in. Though I'm sure the doctor won't say this, our child is a beast. Jalal and I were playing with him (or rather, letting him play while we tried to rest) this morning in bed. He climbs, stomps, and crawls all over anything in his way, even spread-eagling himself on my face a few times. He also has this nasty habit of trying to open your eyes for you if you are sleeping or just trying to. That's not the Peek-A-Boo I taught him! And he's fascinated with my teeth, always putting his fingers in my mouth and pulling my lips away from my teeth so he can poke them. Maybe if he got one of his own soon it wouldn't be so interesting. But still, less than a week away from 9 months and still not a tooth in sight. It doesn't stop him, though. Now he feeds himself one meal a day. This week it has been salmon, peas, sweet potatoes, and sometimes string cheese. He shovels peas into his mouth like they are going out of style. As soon as he eats up what I've already made up, I'm going to see how he likes baby lima beans. The salmon he really seems to like. I just baked it plain and pulled it into pieces. The really little pieces he had more trouble with, so I cut them bigger the second time. The kid can really pack away some food. It's nice that he's getting to use his partitioned plate. We have a cute tiki hut plate that I think we got from Caroline, Willie, and Isabel. Two days ago, he let me know he was done by dropping the empty plate on the floor. Thanks, kid. It is nice to be able to do something else while he eats, though. I usually can wash up the dishes or unload the dishwasher during dinner, and tonight I prepped my dinner--skillet lasagna. It didn't work out too well. The lasagna didn't quite get cooked all the way. I think next time I would have to pre-cook the noodles.
Well, Trish decided on the bridesmaid dress color and I ordered my dress the other day. I couldn't believe it when the girl pulled out the forms I had filled out and said, you know which dress you're getting, right? Um, not really. They hadn't written down the style number, so I had to go search for it again. That was weeks ago! We found it without too much trouble.
I'm sure there is more I meant to write about and can't remember now. So I'll sign off for now, post some pictures and try to get back on in a day or two. Love, Us.

Mother's Day

Well, I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was great. Jalal and Quinn made me breakfast in bed--eggs with chicken sausage, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, toast, and an apple. It was so nice. I also got two very sweet cards, a windchime, and an attachment for the tub so I can give Quinn a bath without bruising my knees. Mother's Day came at the end of another weekend in Charleston. Friday morning, Quinn and I set off for the Holy City yet again. We met up with Liz, Ang, Jen, and Bret for lunch at Melvins (mmmm...cheeseburger). While I waited for them to show up, the nice lady working there tried to feed Quinn Captains Wafers, ice cream ("it's just milk!"), and banana pudding. If someone says no thank you twice, wouldn't you take a hint? I'm not feeding my eight-month-old whole milk and high fructose corn syrup! For crying out loud. Anyway, we had a great time watching the boys interact, both of them with recent head injuries from trying to stand up. From there, we went to Arcadia to visit with the old coworkers. Quinn flirted and impressed everyone with his speed-crawling and leg-climbing skills. He also inspected a few cubicles to make sure they were up to par. Rob, zip that backpack! ; ) After we checked into the Red Roof (ick), I changed for the wedding and dropped Quinn off at his Auntie L.C.'s house. It was on my way there that I realized I hadn't brought a bottle. Jeez! So I had to run over to the Teeter and pick up something that he'd never used before. Lauren said he did fine with it, though. He spent the evening chasing her cats, Hootie and Graham, around the apartment. I had a wonderful time at the wedding. Jackie, one of my oldest friends from Charleston, came back from New Orleans to marry Parke. I made it JUST in time. It was at the Maritime Center, and despite a little wind, it was perfect. It was like a Shore Thing reunion. A bunch of us who have all worked at A Shore Thing on the Market were all there, as was one of the owners, Paul. So it was Paul, me, Jackie, Desma, Megan, Colleen, and Robin. We were missing Fiona, who had to go to West Virginia because of a death in Tristan's family. It was crazy reminiscing. I'm thinking of putting together a "Where are they now" newsletter about all the girls who have worked for Ruth and Paul over the years. Two, Jackie and Terri, have just gotten married, and Angela, Heather, and I have all had babies within the last year. Pretty crazy. Anyway, I danced a little at the wedding (can't pass up my theme song, "Brick House") and now, two days later, I still can't feel my two outside toes on both feet. Is that a problem, do you think? I know my heels were high, but seriously? So I hung out at Lauren's talking for a while before taking Quinn back to the hotel. That night and again the next morning, I realized how spoiled I am now about hotels. Thanks, Jalal. The bed was crummy, and there wasn't even a hairdryer! We met Anna for breakfast at Skibo's on James Island, which I highly recommend. Then, once I found out Jamie wasn't back in town yet, we set out for home. A quick turnaround but I was glad to get back to Greenville. It's time to catch up on housework and freelancing. Gas isn't getting any cheaper, you know! Tomorrow I have to go order my bridesmaid dress for Trish's wedding. I'm so excited! Well, it's late and I should go to bed. As soon as I find my camera from wherever I packed it Saturday, I'll post a couple of pics from this weekend. Love, Us.

Catching Up

Well, I guess I have at least two dedicated readers because I had a couple of people ask how last weekend went. Sorry I haven't posted. It was a crazy week as we got ready for our trip back to Charleston. I won't let it happen again. So the visit from Trish was wonderful. We had a full day of wedding dress shopping planned for Saturday, but she found what she wanted at the very first store. They were so kind and helpful there that she went ahead and ordered it! I'm so happy for her. All I'm going to say is that it is white and beautiful. We also found the bridesmaid dress for me, but she hasn't decided on a color yet. I won't tell you what that looks like either since they are similar in style. I'm sorry Trish could only stay a couple of days, but I know I'll see her again soon.
The rest of the week was kind of a blur. Wednesday I planned a little birthday celebration for Jalal (he turned 30 on Saturday) and made him a special dinner and dessert. His favorite dessert since he was a kid is strawberries and angel food cake, so I fancied up a store-bought cake with layers of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I thought it looked pretty good, until yesterday. He told one of our friends that it didn't look like much but it tasted good! Well, fine then. See if he ever gets it again.
On Thursday, Quinn had a couple of big tumbles. He tried to climb the coffee table and bumped his forehead. He got a little bruise and a bit of a lump, though it didn't look half as bad as I thought it would. He let me put some ice on it, too, which surprised me. Later that day, he tried to climb over my leg (I was sitting on the floor with him) and tumbled into his sippy cup. That looked worse than the coffee table!! He has about an inch-long scratch on his temple. He even cried a lot longer on that boo-boo, I guess because it scratched his skin. Poor kid. Jalal keeps telling me that this is just part of the process, and I know that. I know he's going to fall, and he's going to hurt himself, but I still feel like I should be able to protect him better. I could cushion the coffee table (which I've said I was going to do for two months now), but I can't keep his sippy cup from him! All weekend I called him Captain Lumpy-head.
Speaking of the weekend, it was back to Charleston on Friday! It was finally time for the first annual Charleston Dragon Boat Festival. I called Sterling when we got into town and she got me on a practice boat later that afternoon. It was a tight squeeze, though, since we were supposed to be at a rehearsal dinner for Dave's wedding at 7:00, and the boat didn't get back to the dock until 6:15! Whoops!
Dave and Stephanie's rehearsal dinner was at a beach house on Isle of Palms, and it was nice and casual. Quinn was a hit and tried to stay up the whole time we were there. He was extremely well-behaved until he fell asleep on me around 10:00. The next day was the big day. We had 49 teams participating, which is huge for a first festival. The weather was gorgeous, but it was a little windy at times. I paddled four times, three for the regular heats and once for the cancer survivor race. We came in 2nd, 1st, and 2nd in the regular races. Go team! Our team name, by the way, was Paddle Like You Stole It. How funny is that? It was wonderful to see everyone again. I even got to see an old friend who used to paddle with us, Kellee, and her husband and daughter. Some of my friends came out to see us, including Billy and Laura and Dave, Cam, and Marshall. Jo Ann was awesome enough to take over Quinn-sitting when Jalal had to leave to get ready for the wedding. All in all, it was a great day, even though I got a little too much sun. I reapplied potent sunscreen a few times, but I guess it just wasn't good enough. So I'm a little tender from that and a little sore from paddling. Not to mention my tailbone hurts from the boat seats. I think it was a success. Well, Quinn is awake now and starting to beat things against his crib rails, so I better go get him. I'll try to finish the rest of this tonight and get some pics up. Later. Love, Us.

Today's the Day!

Trish is on her way! I'm so excited. My sister is going to be here in just a few hours, and I can't wait to see her. She can't wait to see Quinn! Who by the way decided to stand up in his crib this morning. Great. Now we have to take down his mobile and drop his mattress as low as it will go. We already dropped it down once when we moved in. Well, I'm not going to write much today because I still have a lot to do before Trish gets here. I have to plan what to make for dinner, map out all the bridal shops in town, and clean up the living room a little. And I have baby clothes strewn all over my bed because he's moving up into a bigger size. I have to go through and pull all his too-small stuff and pack it away because Trish will disown me if she sees Quinn in pants that are too short. That's her pet peeve. Jalal says she's worse than DSS! She does love her nephew. I should go. Love, Us.

Happy Birthday, Quinn

Today Quinn is 8 months old. We went to a movie today. It was Quinn's first time at a movie theater. Can you believe that? I haven't been to a movie in probably 5 months. I love going to movies. So we went to Target and bought some necessities and then drove across the street to what we thought was a movie theater. (It wasn't very flashy, not like the Regal on Mall Drive in Charleston.) Jalal jumps out of the car, comes back, and calls work and says, "I'm not coming in until 3:00 today." I couldn't believe it. So we grabbed a quick lunch and then watched "Horton Hears a Who" in a theater all by ourselves. Quinn slept through most of it, but it was nice anyway.

So we all went to church together on Sunday. Quinn went into the nursery with Leah, the girl I hung out with last week. He seemed to have a good time. Service was nice. I'll probably still try a couple other places before we settle down, but Jalal seemed pretty comfortable there, too. The pastor followed up with an email and we got a phone call from someone there, too. Not too pushy, but friendly.

Well, I'm going to go see what I can find for dinner. I tried a new recipe last night, chicken with grape sauce, which was okay. Jalal is working tonight, so I don't have to do anything special. Maybe I'll just make a big spinach salad and leave the oven off in honor of Earth Day. It's the least I can do. Later. Love, Us.

Brownies

I just baked brownies. Now don't think I'm Betty Crocker or anything. The brownies were. I'm not. Hence the brownie mix. But I have a huge problem. Well, in the grand scheme of things I'd have to admit it wouldn't count as "huge," but it's my blog and I can exaggerate if I want to. Every time I try to cut brownies, and believe me, it's more often than I'd care to admit, they "tear." Does that make sense? They don't cut smoothly, no matter how long they've cooled or how well done they are. If anyone has a solution, please post a comment telling me how to cut nice even brownies. Jalal wants to take some to work, but I'm so embarrassed by the presentation that I won't let him yet. Solve my brownie quandary, please, and let me move on to more important issues, like where to put the shadowbox of a bathroom in the bathroom. That's another of my quirks. I have to have pictures of bathrooms--toilets, bathtubs, sinks--in my bathrooms. I have a cute little shadowbox that even has little cloth tissues in the trashcan. I'm a dork, but I like it. We have enough "high art" that I'm allowed a little dorkiness in the bathroom. And the kitchen. That's where we have the lifesize ceramic chef's head and hand that hold a bottle of wine as if he's drinking it. We love that thing. Jalal's mom, Louella, gave it to us, and it cracks me up. It only holds our most honored bottle of wine, which has been my bottle that I got in Tuscany the summer I graduated college. I'm saving it for a special occasion. (Wedding, anniversaries, birth of our baby, hmm...what else is going to happen that's more special than those??) I hope it is still aging nicely. Well, I do want to write about something more profound than brownies and kitchen decor, but I should really get some work done first. More later. Love, Us.

Mmmm. . .Saturdays

I have to admit, even if Mondays don't feel like Mondays anymore, Saturdays still feel like Saturdays. It's supposed to rain here all day, which will probably interfere with my plans to take Quinn to the community yard sale. Our whole complex gets together and has an annual yard sale. I'm sure I can find one or two things we don't need. Or as my dad used to say, something I didn't know I couldn't live without. Speaking of my dad, I talked to him the other night and was very frustrated. After 10 minutes of conversation, about us and what we've been doing, he says, "How's your leg?" I asked what in the world he was talking about. He said, "You just had surgery on it." I said, very patiently, "No, that was Trish." "Oh, I thought this was Trish!" Jeez. So when I said Jalal took the day off and we went to the zoo with Quinn, he didn't see anything wrong with that picture? So then he asks me how many days a week I go into the office now. I said, "Dad, I quit my job when I moved three hours away. I don't go into the office anymore. I don't work there." Ohhh! Good grief, Charlie Brown.
Well, I have gotten a lot of freelance work done this week. This is good because Jalal has the day off tomorrow. So I can spend the day with him instead of with the computer. Plus, Trish is still planning to come up next weekend. I miss her and can't wait for that. I have to map out all the bridal shops so we can have an organized plan of attack. Charge! (Or as Wilma Flintstone would say, "Charge it!")
Quinn and I met that girl from church, Leah, yesterday for coffee (or iced chai and lemonade in our case). We talked for an hour and a half. I feel like we got along really well. Jalal said he'll go with me tomorrow if his schedule doesn't get messed up. We can put Quinn in the nursery since Leah will be in there. I hope she likes me as much as she likes Quinn. I wonder how many of my friends with kids have asked that about me? I recognize a baby lover (stealer? Moi?) a mile away. Well, I better try to work while I can. After Quinn's nap, which he hasn't really started yet, I think we'll try to hit the yard sale. Later. Love, Us.

To the Zoo!

So yesterday Jalal actually took a full day off. Seriously. No meetings, training, or popping in for a few hours. We took advantage of the day together and went to the zoo. Greenville has a very nice little zoo only 15 minutes or so away from us. It was a little frustrating for me because Quinn didn't seem to SEE some of the animals. I don't know if it was hard for him to focus through the cages or look beyond the trees or what, but he did seem to enjoy what he saw. There were a couple of elephants, some giraffes, lions, a beautiful red panda that Jalal and I thought was just incredible, monkeys, and a family of orangutans. The baby orangutan, Bob, was so funny. He reminded me a lot of Quinn. He would play around, fall over, chase his mama. His mama was so sweet, too. She played peekaboo with him by covering up with a sheet and would help him climb up after her by pulling him up by the hand. She even gave her man a kiss on the lips as she passed by him. At one point, she came over to the glass where Quinn was standing and knocked her fists right where his hands were. He didn't really know what to make of it. It was so much fun.
We had lunch downtown and then came home to rest for a while. Jalal tried to take a nap while I worked, and he discovered just how hard it is to nap with the little one around. Not so much. Later I suggested we go find a bakery and get something sweet. I was hoping for something like Kaminsky's. We found someplace not like that, but it had a bunch of small pastries that looked amazing. We got a nice assortment--tiramisu (my fave), strawberry shortcake, cannoli, and something called a cake ball. It was like a chocolate ganache covered in a thick chocolate shell and mint candy sprinkles. Oh my God, was it good! After Quinn went to bed, Jalal and I settled in for the finale of the Biggest Loser. He asked if we were really going to eat pastries while watching it, and I said, "Absolutely." Mmm . . . no regrets.
Today was pretty uneventful. I worked for a while and Jalal did a lot of stuff around the house, including making a baked ziti (or masticcioli, I guess). He hasn't made that in a long time, so I was happy. And I didn't have to cook dinner! He put our big paintings up in the living room and the framed posters in the stairwell. Not only does it feel more like home, but our footsteps don't echo quite so bad going down the stairs. We also unpacked all of our liquor and wine today. Since we don't have a pantry here, they are lining the tops of the cabinets in the kitchen. It really makes us look like alcoholics, even though we almost never drink at home. Maybe if we did it wouldn't look so bad! Well, I'm going to go clean up the living room a little bit before I hit the hay. Good night. Love, Us.

Caught in the Rain

Quinn and I took a little walk up to the CVS to buy birthday cards for some people, and though it was a little chilly, I didn't think it was going to rain before we got home. It started sprinkling just as we left the store, but it never rained any harder than that before we made it back. Quinn fell asleep on the way home, so he never noticed it. He's still sleeping downstairs in his stroller, giving me a chance to work and update all our loyal fans. (Thank you both. Tee hee.)
Ever since we rearranged his room the other night and gave him some nice open space (and the monkey Ryan gave him--thanks Ry), he's sleeping much better. He's also started to eat table food on a more regular basis. Partly as a result of the high cost of baby food, and the fact that he loves chewing his Cheerios, we have started letting him eat bigger pieces of food, well, just pieces period. He had peas and turkey from the table last night, when we had a birthday dinner at Fiona's parents' house. And Jalal let him eat half his strawberry off his birthday cake. He was a very happy boy after that. This morning he shared a banana with me when he was still hungry after finishing a container of baby food. He ate very well, picking it up with his fingers and everything. He certainly is much happier eating what we eat, but I know we have to be careful about it, too.
Church yesterday was pretty good. It was smaller than I'd expected, which was nice, but still bigger than West Shore. It actually reminded me a lot of West Shore. It was casual for one thing, with almost everyone in jeans. They had a bigger band, with lots of horns, but the music wasn't nearly as rocking. And the drummer? Nothing on Willie West. (For those of you who haven't been there, if you go visit, you'll see what I mean.) I think I'll go back, but I also want to try a couple other places for comparison. I did have a few people tell me that they had a nursery and I was welcome to put Quinn there, but they weren't too pushy about it. He was very well-behaved. He only squawked once, during the sermon, because the woman sitting next to us smiled at him and he wanted to talk to her. She actually was very nice. We talked a lot and she invited me out for coffee this week. She's a nurse and was just in Charleston for the Cooper River Bridge Run last week. Maybe some of you even saw her there! I think I'll give her a call, maybe Wednesday, and see if we hit it off. She certainly fell in love with Quinn. Can you blame her? He's such a flirt! He squawked his way up and down the aisles of Publix the other day and everyone thought he was just the cutest thing! Never mind that you could probably hear him from a mile away.
(Didn't get to post this after I wrote it yesterday. Sorry.) Love, Us.