Lori & David's BLOG

Sold!

2005-02-05T18:17:00.000-06:00

[Lori]: So our house has (finally) sold, and we are now officially without a place to live come March 29! Of course, there's always Chez Parents, but we'd rather avoid that if possible for all concerned. We've seen a couple houses we like though...decision time is rapidly approach. Exciting, but stressful. As so much of life seems to be these days.
Strangely warm here now...50s for a couple day here now. I do not trust this warm spell. March is going to be awful...it's a karmic necessity. (and to think I once won the Optimist Club speech contest!)
Molly is doing well, growing like a cute little weed. She's smiling more and more, which is just too adorable. She's got her two month check up this Tuesday...it will be good to have her checked out, but they are also going to poke her with needles which I dare say will be sad making for all concerned. Wish us luck!

Brrr...excitement!

2005-01-14T12:27:00.000-06:00

[Lori]: So it's cold today...seven degrees below zero (-7). The high today will be -5. Tonight the low will be -20 or something. It is winter, and we are alive.
And although that is exciting, what is even more exciting is the impending arrival of our beloved friends Beth and Alex this evening! Coming in from Baltimore where is was 60 degrees yesterday, they might be in for a shock. Although having lived here before hopefully they will dress appropriately. We will find out. They are coming to meet Molly, so look for photos on the web site soon.
Fun, friends, food, beer, talk...too much fun is in store for us this weekend. Hope everyone has a good one.

Too long

2005-01-13T14:20:00.000-06:00

[Lori]: Ugh, it's been too long since I last posted something here. What's the point of having a blog if it is not kept up? I can't stay on top of this simple thing, and they (ah yes, whoever "they" might be) let me have a child?! What is this world coming to?
I lost something I wrote here a couple days back, which made me sad and mad and so I did not bother to try again for a while. Real mature, huh. I am here now.
Perhaps in an effort to be more timely or frequent or something I will just write short little notes here, to remark on what Miss Molly and I are up to. Today, we are focused on trying to stay warm. Dang...it is evil out there. I like winter, and have been waiting waiting for it, but this is a little much...zero currently, and the temp is still going down, down (like the sun in Gail's awesome poem, for those of you familiar with that work of art).
Molly is beginning to wake, so I will be going. We will read a book (If You Were Born a Kitten, perhaps?) and then work on thank you notes. If you are owed one and have not received it yet, our profuse apologies. We are going as fast as we can.

Beauty

2004-12-20T21:39:00.000-06:00

[Lori]: Not much to report, I just feel compelled to post something here on ye olde bloggee. It's been too long, and I aspire to do this with more regularity.
As I write this, I occasionally glance over at our daughter, who is resting in her bouncy chair at my feet. She is sweet and a vision...to me, at least. And David. And everyone who has met her, I dare say. Have you met her? Would you like to? All it will cost you is your willingness to have your picture taken with her. Seeing our friends and family with her is a vision as well...a simple pleasure, and another moment of beauty. Yes, I am getting more cheezy in my old age. They tell me the hormones are still raging within me, so I blame them. But I wouldn't have it any other way...being touched by such things is all right.

We wait anxiously for snow.

Parenthood

2004-12-11T21:56:00.000-06:00

[David]: It is no longer impending, it is has arrived.

What I like: her little baby snores; when she grabs on to my finger; her
chubby cheeks; being able to comfort her when she's crying; when she has the
hiccups and looks like she's having fun having them; calling her nicknames
(pumpkin, fussy pants, chubby cheeks, Molly tamale, my little burrito, et
al.); reading books to her (from Mr. Brown can moo! to the Odyssey).

What I don't like: worrying about money; worrying about her health; sleep
deprivation; Lori's sleep deprivation; not much else.

Welcome home, Molly!

2004-12-08T20:41:00.000-06:00

[David]: After five tortuous days of waiting and worrying, we brought Molly home from the hospital tonight. She's healthy as can be, eating well, and the antibiotics she was taking while in hospital have done the trick. Lori and I are exhausted from going back and forth to the hosptial and worrying in between. We're both very relieved now.

I have finally changed a diaper (two actually). The count should be higher by now, but that's one of the benefits of having a baby in intensive care – they change diapers, too. Although I've come out of this experience with a strong distaste for hosptials, the folks in the N.I.C.U were all wonderful and deserve the credit for getting our daughter off to a healthy start.

IT'S A GIRL!

2004-12-04T12:15:00.000-06:00

12-4-2004, 4:15 am
9 lbs, 3 oz, 20.5 inches long
No drugs!!
All are doing well. More soon . . .

hermie's on the way!

2004-12-04T02:10:00.000-06:00

From Heidi:

Hello, I am here at Lori and David's watching celebrity poker on Bravo. Lori is in labor, which is why we are watching stupid TV. Thus far Lori is doing fine but does note that contractions hurt rather a lot. They recently called the hospital and were told to go there when contractions were about 3 minutes apart. They're between 4-7 minutes apart currently. David is doing "fine" and is rather sleepy yet nervous. We are drinking coffee. I just returned from renting several videos (apparently the hospital has VCRs, although not DVDs).
So that's what's happening about now. We'll keep you posted.
Go Baby Crabchip!

Maybe today????

2004-12-03T11:30:00.000-06:00

[David]: We have a regular doctor's appointment this morning. We hope that they can do something to "get things going". Keep your fingers crossed.

Still waiting

2004-11-29T21:20:00.000-06:00

[David]: Pregnancy actually lasts 10 months, not 9. Nobody tells you that until you are already pregnant. What I'm learning now is that the last days and weeks of pregnancy might just be the hardest because of the intense waiting – not knowing when or where or how. Everyone asking, "No baby yet?" People calling to make sure we didn't have the baby and forget to tell them. People saying, "the baby just isn't ready yet."

Maybe we're just impatient people. Or maybe this is the first lesson of parenthood, to learn that things don't happen when you want them to, that you can't plan for them, can't do anything to make the kid do what you want without at least a little negotiation. (Even with some negotiation there are no promises. I've already talked to the kid in Lori's belly offering all kinds of bribes to make him or her come out. It's silly that I even do this, but somehow I think it will do some good.)

So we wait along with everyone else. It's not quite ready, the time is not right, it will come with it comes. No baby yet.

Now

2004-11-27T13:33:00.000-06:00

I currently sit in our neighborhood coffee shop, enjoying my allotted intake of caffeine for the day. It is good. I walked down here in the first measurable snowfall of the year...it is beautiful and calming, and about time that we got some snow. November has been rather un-November-like this year, so I am glad to see the snow. I think it means Hermie should come now...no, nothing yet. Anyhow, I am happy with the snow. I am also happy to be sitting here in this coffee shop...very St. Paul. Half of the people in here know each other, and the other half soon will...strangers chatting each other up, I love it. Do all coffee shops have this effect on people?

Epi -

2004-11-25T01:19:00.000-06:00

A lovely night was had this evening. It felt like a Friday, but is of course actually Wednesday...thank you Thanksgiving!
David, Heidi, Craig, Alan and I went out to Punch for dinner...wonderful and delicious traditional Neopolitan pizza, yum. Good food, good conversation...we then retired to Craig's for a post-dinner beer, which was fun too. There we discussed epigrams, epitaphs, and epithets. Conclusion: everyone should have a dictionary in the living room like Craig and Pete do. So the point of this post is that a good evening was had, but NO HERMIE YET! Argh...we are excited and anxious and ready to get this show on the road!

Tonight

2004-11-22T22:06:00.000-06:00

I type this as we watch Smokey and the Bandit in the comfort of our living room. The exciting chase scene just ensued, featuring David's Aunt and Uncle's old house as well as David's grade school and childhood football field. Fun. I am also having mild contractions...we will see how all this goes. At least we know how the movie ends.

Week 34

2004-10-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

Today marks the end of week 34 (I think). We could have less that 2 months to go before meep meep makes an appearance. I'm very excited. Next week we have our next midwife appointment, then we have the birthing classes next weekend at the hospital. I have a feeling I'm going to learn more than I would like, but I'm ready. The whole thing seems like so much of a mystery to me. I want to find out what to expect.

I'm traveling a lot for work this month which is kind of a drag. But it's best to get it over with now. I want to stay home in November, December, January as much as possible. Lori is doing well as far as I can tell. The baby is kicking visibly now, though it is starting to subside, which is normal. Sometimes Lori asks me to try to wake hermie up by talking to and rubbing her belly. And it actually works. Very cool. We still have our moments when we look at each other with panicked faces and ask, "What the hell are we doing?"

Impending parenthood

2004-10-15T13:18:00.000-05:00

Stayed tuned for information on Baby Clement and related thoughts from Lori and David . . .