Priceless & A Game of Scavenger Hunt...

1 lawn mower gas can...$5
1 soft scrubby car wash mitt...$7
2 jugs of poison ivy killer spray...$20
Waking up after a huge nor'easter at 4 AM to find 3 feet of water in your crawl space...priceless



And yes that is a fallout shelter sign! The one thing that didn't get wet!






Can you find the following items in the picture below?

1. Hubby's weighted bat for softball practice/warm up "submerged in water"
2. A snow shoe "submerged in water"
3. An 200 gallon oil tank "submerged in water"
4. A shop vac "submerged in water"
5. A hot water heater "submerged in water"
6. An oil burner "submerged in water"
7. A well water pump "submerged in water"
8. An electrical cord "submerged in water"
9. Tiles that form our picnic table out back in the summer time "submerged in water"
10. A garden hose "submerged in water"
11. Fold up chairs "submerged in water"
12. Mop "submerged in water"
13. 3 feet of water "submerged in water"
14. Rain drops "submerged in water"

Are you seeing a pattern here...submerged in water!!!!

Li'l Foot's Baptism...

Our little girl was baptized this past weekend and wow...what a gift! It doesn't take much to get me emotional and I seized this opportunity!!! We had a wonderful time. The baptism was so beautiful...thank you Fr. T!!! You ROCK!!!

The dress was made by my mom and it was beautiful. It happened to be made out of my mom's wedding gown during a snowy day last year for my niece, and

Daddy, will you hold my hand?

The world just needs a few more...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

I'm just...

...not intimidated by the police officer I passed last night on my way to the train who was drinking a "juice box" type containter of soy milk! Should I be?

100 things about my yesterday...

1. It rained!
2. A LOT!
3. Our crawl space under our house...3 feet of water!
4. Mr. Oil D. Burner died
5. Wake today
6. Funeral tomorrow
7. Survived by father, Mr. Oil Tank
8. And wife, Ms. HOT Waterheater
9. And stepson, Mr. Water Pump (not a blood/oil relative of Mr. Oil D. Burner)
10. Donations accepted in place of flowers
11. Hubbie stayed home
12. Daycare open
13. Fire dept came to pump us out
14. Fire dept left
15. Pump didn't work
16. On the Pumper Truck
17. Fire dept came back
18. 3 feet of water pumped out
19. Took less than 15 minutes
20. Needed heat in the house
21. Pellet stove
22. Best purchase EVER!
23. But need pellets
24. Call Home Depot
25. No pellets in stock
26. Call about 3 different Home Depot's
27. No pellets in stock
28. Call Dill's Best
29. No pellets in stock
30. Call specialty pellet stove store
31. No pellets in stock
32. Delivery truck supposed to be there today
33. It's not
34. It's delayed because of the weather
35. Maybe arrive tomorrow
36. Grrrrrrr
37. Need heat tonight
38. Commute into work
39. 3 HOURS
40. Assess the mess from train window
41. Rivers are overflowing
42. Parkways are rivers
43. Ducks without homes but a lot more swimming realty
44. Quack
45. Minivan cab in "parkwaynowariver"
46. Wake today
47. Funeral tomorrow
48. Mini Cooper in "parkwaynowariver"
49. Wake today
50. Funeral tomorrow
51. Actual time spent at work
52. 1 WHOLE HOUR
53. Sit on other side of train going home to see the other side of the tracks mess!
54. Damage assessment...Ugh!
55. Pick Li'l Foot up from daycare
56. Wade home
57. Commute time going home
58. 2 HOURS
59. Assessment of soggy hubbie at home
60. All things considered
61. Better spirits than I expected
62. Search for pellets continues
63. # of daylight hours left to find pellets for heat at night time
64. 5
65. # of options left to find such pellets
66. 1
67. A friend
68. Yay for friends!!!!
69. # of pumps they had at there house coming from the basement
70. 3
71. Phone call to insurance company
72. Do we even have flood insurance
73. NO!
74. Are we gonna try and get help anyway?
75. YES! You bet your bippy! Can't hurt to try!
76. Cause really...
77. Who wants to spend 4,000 - 5,000 on an oil burner?
78. Oh me...oh me!!!!
79. NOT!!!!!!!!!
80. I answered their questions
81. Carefully considering my answers
82. Now we wait for them to get to our claim
83. Amidst about 10 heaps of claims on their desks
84. PRAYING for money to help
85. Still praying...shhhhhh!
86. Dinner last night?
87. Leftover meatloaf on sandwiches
88. YUMMY!
89. Dessert? You ask...
90. Why yes...indeed!
91. Leftover Canolli Cake from Li'l Foot's baptism this past weekend
92. Oh My Gosh....Holy YUMMY!!!!
93. Bath for Li'l Foot last night?
94. Ummmm...no...Not so much!!!!
95. Water = slightly brown tinged from sediment
96. Or from something I don't want to know about
97. Which we're not talking about
98. IEW!
99. Bed?
100. COMFY and SNUGGLY...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...Hunny stop snoring :-D !!!

One time deal...

I really do not want to complain about pumping...because I know the benefits it will have for my sweet baby girl. I have to vent about it once though just to get it all out on the table and then I can move on.

First...cleaning the pump stuff after using it is annoying. I can't find the right place to do it.

Bathroom:
If I try and clean in the bathroom, the sinks are either motion sensored and don't sense that I'm there or you push down on the handle to make the water come out and it only stays on for like 5 seconds and then I have to hit it again...and again...and again...and...well you get the idea. And then the water also gets extremely hot in the bathrooms if you use the sink for any extended amount of time. I'm talking scorch the flesh right off my skin hot!!! And then there's the privacy factor...these bathrooms are like Grand Central terminal at 5:15 p.m. How many people honestly need to know that I'm pumping and see me clean the pump stuff.

Pantry/Kitchen:
If I try and clean in the kitchen then I contend with a whole different audience. Not only the women I would encounter in the bathroom but also the men. The temperature of the kitchen faucet on my floor never ever gets hot at all. It's room temperature at best. The temperature of the faucet on the floor where I pump is perfect...I can control it...it's hot when I need it to be hot...not scolding...and it's cold when I need it to be cold. Then if I clean the stuff on the floor where I pump, no one up there knows me Which if you look at it in a certain perspective could be a good thing but also could be one of those things that's frustrating because you know they look at the back of my head like, "what the hell is that contraption she's cleaning...all I want is a cup of water and she's monopolizing the sink with whatever that is she's cleaning!" Many a times I've been cleaning and someone just wants a simple cup of water so I have to stop...talk to them...lose control of the sink and then find the right temperature again after they've left. And then I have to wonder if people stand there and think..."Iew, that's had her milk in it and she's cleaning it in a common sink." Oh and more than once I've cleaned the stuff in a sink where there's people leftover containers from lunch that they just leave to soak in the kitchen sink basin. Not my problem if something splashes into their stuff...they shouldn't have left it in the sink in the first place. I try not to get into their stuff, but Hmph!

And then there's the actual pumping which isn't so bad at all. It actually is nice to get away from my desk, because I have a habit of sitting here all day, eating my lunch at my desk and not getting away at all. What I wouldn't give for a little table that I could use. Right now...I use a box on wheels to put the pump on and my stuff. It's taller than I am when I'm sitting down so it's hard to turn the pump on and off and adjust the pump settings...grrrr! The most embarrassing part of this whole thing is when the pump loses suction because I'm reaching for the pump settings or whatever the case may be and then the thing makes these losing-suction-type-noises which are loud to me and I have to believe someone outside the door at her desk can hear it. As it is, once I'm all hooked up and the settings are correct, I zipper shut the compartment so that the sound of the pump is muffled so no one can hear it outside the door.

I think that about covers my gripes. I hate complaining about this as it is so important to me to be able to do this I just wish the circumstances to which I do it were a little more accommodating to a woman's needs and comfort.

From the Tuesday Confessional Box...As heard on AOL IM

Me: forgive me Fr. Goo for I have sinned...it has been eons since my last confession...
Fr. Goo: yes my child
Fr. Goo: unburden yourself
Me: well I was in the cafeteria and I swear I heard the chocolate chip cookies tell me to take them...one for left and one for right...so I did seeing as how I spent over $8 for my lunch and they told me to and all!
Fr. Goo: say three "Hail Mrs. Fields" and I'll see you at your next confession
Me: thank you Father
Me: but father what about the act of contrition
Fr. Goo: haha...ok, now you're stretching the limits of my church knowledge!

**The incident is never to spoken of again...and I haven't eaten the cookies yet and I'm NOT taking them back either!!!

Conversations in bed...

This doesn't often happen so I had to write about it to make sure everyone shared in my excitement...

You all know how I totally suck at placing celebrities names and figuring out what quotes go with which movies...etc. etc. etc. Well last night we broke the barrier with this one...A bit racey because it happened to be while we were laying in bed, but nothing more than that...promise!

Scene from our bed last night...(painting the picture...Baby is already in her crib sleeping...television just got shut off...and we're bedding down for the night fluffing each pillow to the correct position)

And then I feel hubbie put his hand on my hip and say: "Hey, that's not a pillow!" and then say... "Name that movie?"

And the following took place:

Me: Well I know that is Steve Martin who said it...I can place it in my mind!
Hubbie: Steve Martin is right.
Me: YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hubbie: Yeah, so what movie!
Me: Planes, Trains and Automobiles???? (I said very hesitantly, hoping upon all hope this time I would actually have succeeded in movie trivia.)
Hubbie: Yup!
Me: YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hubbie: Now who was Steve Martin talking to in the movie?
Me: John Candy?????????? (again, hesitantly!)
Hubbie: Yup!
Me: YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hubbie: You're going to tell this story and brag about this tomorrow aren't you!
Me: Ummmmm...YEAH!!!!!!!! This doesn't happen...like...EVER!!!!

Need I remind you that it WAS about 10 PM at night...and I answered all questions correctly with a very tired brain! This conversation drained the last bit of anything out of me for the night. The next thing I knew it was morning.

Some day maybe I'll be good at movie/music/celebrity trivia...until such time I'll just remember this conversation and bask in my correct answers that ONE TIME.

Smiley...

Baby's 1st Easter...

Baby's 1st Easter...

And you know what that means...

Cute Baby...

Cute outfit...

Baby stockings with the ruffles on the butt...

Bunny rabbit...

Easter grass...

Easter basket...

Bumbo Seat (thank you aunty)...

Many different rattles to get baby's attention towards the camera...

One family dog that we could've done without because baby stopped paying attention to the rattles and watched the dog instead (not in the direction of the camera...

Mommarazzi...

Photo shoot...

Hundreds of pictures...

And it all comes down to this...

Someone forgot to tell...

...my physical therapist that when I lay face down in the table with the hole in it for my face and then when he starts digging into my muscles I tend to relax, and that little storage space underneath the table where they have towels (clean towels) on it was a target. A target for what you may ask? Well relaxation means...drool!!!! And I could've been a relaxed puddle of flesh had I not been concentrating so hard on trying not to drool on the clean towels. I fought like a rock star to keep the drool in...successfully I might add!!!

Guess what I got...

No, not the Audi TT I've wanted forever!

No, I didn't win the lottery!

No, I didn't get any sort of diamond jewelry!

No, I didn't get a promotion!

No, I didn't get a raise...ok I did, but it was my annual review!

But I did get this...











Do you know what that is?

That is my very own key!

I am a key person!

I can get in and get out of the storage closet I pump in on my very own!

With that key!

That key...the one next to my laptop security key!

The one on the left holds the power to get me in and out and on my way.

And I don't ever have to call or email the maintenance staff again to let me in.

YAY!!!!!

I love my Aunty Pocklock...

Who's keeping who warm here?

Reminiscing...

Remember when I went and had this ultrasound...










Oh my goodness...now I know that baby in that picture is a girl. We didn't know that at the time!!! And now here she is...










Remember when I was pregnant and I couldn't help but eat this whole thing...










I want one now...but alas...there are no over-the-top cupcakes anywhere in sight :-(

And then decided to make up for it I should probably do something healthy so I stared at this (it wasn't memorable so I can't remember if I ate it or not)...

Today was the first day of daycare...need I say more?

First of all let me start by explaining that I put my little munchkin down last night to sleep at 8:30 and this morning when my radio (which has found a country music station somehow) went off this morning at 5:45, I proceeded to take a shower (she's still sleeping), get dressed (yup still sleeping), gather my stuff and go downstairs (still sleeping), let the dog out...and in (still sleeping), put all our stuff in the car (still fast asleep)...now I'm at the point where I have to wake her...WHAT? WAKE HER??? you say...yes, wake her!!! I think from now on she'll sleep in the clothes she'll wear the next day so if this happens again I can transplant her from crib to car seat (oh wait that won't work because she'll go to daycare with a dirty diaper and then they'll freak out or something). **sigh** So anyhoo...I got her up, changed her diaper, got her dressed in her little pink outfit, so there was no mistake she was a girl on the first day (although one change of the diaper by the staff and it would've been a dead give away that she was in fact a girl...duh!!!!). And then we were off to her first day. She scootched (that's technical term for fussed...look it up) pretty much the whole way there because sitting in a car seat was not, in her book, what she had in mind...she had something more along the lines of eating/milk/full belly in mind. Well you should've thought of that little missy...before you slept through our morning routine on the very first day! Perhaps tomorrow she'll get it and wake up sooner, but I have to say it was nice to be able to get things done without worrying if she was sitting in her bouncy seat or swing crying.

So we get to daycare and ring the bell (it's a locked door and they can see you in the little camera when you ring the bell) and decide whether they want to let you in or not. Luckily they let me in!!! The infant room teacher was waring...get this...POOH SLIPPERS!!!! I need them!!! I've needed new slipper since a couple weeks into my maternity leave when my Eeyore slippers lost there tail (in other words died). So of course after seeing the Pooh slippers, I whipped out my Winnie the Pooh tattoo...I'll have to show Ms. C my license plate tomorrow!!! Forgot all about that!!! So while Ms. C got Li'l Foot's stuff settled (sheet on the crib mattress, blanket in the crib, diapers, wipes and ointment in the little box above the changing table labeled "insert her name here", extra changes of clothes and binky/paci in the cubby marked "insert her name here"), I fed her. And while I fed Li'l Foot, Ms. C's little 10 month old crawled around on the floor...soooo cute!!! Someday Li'l Foot...someday that will be you crawling around...no rush!!! I also briefed Ms. C on what to expect as specified in the list below:

1. She LOVES to be swaddled...TIGHT!!!!!
2. Pacifier, only if nothing else works!
3. I'm not gonna tell ya what she's really good at because she'll prove me wrong and make a liar out of me, so I'll just et her show you herself what she's good at.
4. A & D ointment on her tushy at diaper changes until her Yeast infection goes away...don't worry about the Nystatin cream the doctor gave us it goes on only 3 times per day so I'll apply it in the morning and at night and hubbie will apply it when he gets her home in the middle of the day.
5. Don't worry about not telling me the milestones that she hit while she's here so you can spare my feelings that she didn't do it for me first...I'm not one of those mom's that will get upset if her child does something for someone else first...the fact that she did it is what's important...so bottom line tell me if she rolls over for you or crawls or scoots from one end of the room to the other...I wanna know! I'm a big girl, I can handle my daughter doing it for someone else first.
6. On the subject of diapers...change them often...if you feel it's full don't wait...do not pass go...do not collect $200...change it, cause you never know when the next wave of pee or poop will come and let me tell you from first hand experience, it's not pretty!!!
7. Hubbie will be here at 2.
8. Her paperwork (in triplicate) is in her bag and yes I know I'm a first time mom and yes I even went so far as (wanted to use the word neurotic but didn't so as to avoid a permanent "crazy freak 1st time mommy" label) to include pictures of the people who are allowed to pick her up...and that would be me...hubbie...grandma and sliebel!!! my daughter doesn't leave unless you've made a positive identification of the person standing before you with the pictures I've enclosed in the envelope. I know you didn't ask for the pictures but you got them anyway. I won't object to asking for a drivers license too! Any deviation from those allowed to pick her up...will be given in expressed written consent and no doubt I'll give you a picture of that person too. (So a-pop if you want lunch with Li'l Foot let me know...we'll work something out and God knows I have enough pics of you!!! :-)
9. I think that about covers it. I am entrusting you to care for my child...and i know this is a good place and I have faith.

And then it was time! I am sure everyone wore their galoshes out today...and if you didn't well then you were just plain stupid cause you knew I was dropping Li'l Foot off at daycare the first day and that was sure to lead to a break in the flood gates. And believe me, I've been known to wash out small villages. Well, I couldn't prolong it any longer. I just had to leave. I kissed Cassie on the forehead what seemed like a million times and grabbed my keys and made my exit. As I walked out the door, Ms. C said "you can call anytime" (in that sad sort of "poor 1st time mom" leaving her child at daycare voice)...to which I replied, "I'm gonna try not to!" (I said between tears with an extremely shaky voice!) as I continued to walk down the hall. I cried in the hall, I cried exiting the building, I cried in the car, I cried at the stop light, I cried walking from my car to the train, I cried standing on the platform, I cried in my seat on the train, I especially cried when I heard the "my battery is dying you better recharge me" chirp that came from my cell phone in the depths of my bag. Eventually the crying subsided but if I can offer one word of advice to 1st time mommies...don't wear contacts the 1st day you bring your child to daycare...they'll only get washed out to sea or rubbed off your eyeball!!! I managed to hang on to mine but it was no easy task!!!

Guess what...I didn't call the daycare ONCE all morning...NOT ONE TIME!!!! I restrained myself. I kept myself relatively busy...plus I pumped and then had Physical Therapy and then had lunch and by then it was almost time for hubbie to pick Li'l Foot up anyway so why bother calling. Hubbie was instructed to call AS SOON as he got home to tell me what happened. Well he didn't call right away and when it got to be 2:10...I called the house and was briefed on how it went.

7:34 a.m.: I left
7:45 a.m.: she had a bottle because I didn't really feed her enough which I knew but I had to go or we would've all drowned
8:40 a.m.: she napped
10:10 a.m.: she woke up
10:45 a.m.: she had another bottle
11:30 a.m.: she went to sleep again
2:00 p.m.: daddy arrived and was woken up so she could go home

Somewhere in there she had her diaper changed 2 times and they were only wet!!! Oh no!!! She didn't poop yesterday either...the elusive poop monster is going to rear its ugly head at any time. Good grief...she's gonna explode, but according to the doctor its normal for breastfed babies to go days without pooping...ick!!!

So that was her day in a nut shell. She is now at home, keeping daddy comfortable and watching some of the only television she's allowed to watch...YANKEES BASEBALL...she's allowed to watch Guiding Light too!!! :-) It's Yankees opening day and at the moment, it's the bottom of the 7th inning and the Yankees are winning 6 - 5 against the Rays. Posada homered and Damon left the game with a calf cramp. (Hmmmm can you picture hubbie and Li'l Foot during the 7th inning stretch!!!)

Stay tuned for coming tales of Li'l Foot's adventures at daycare!

Oodles of photos...

Happy Baby...














Sleepy Baby...














First day the kitty snuggled with me and Baby...














Baby KO's the hedgie...














If looks could melt a heart...