Cousins and Uncles

Cousins and Uncles
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Holy Crap but my last post was lame! Tedious, boring, dull dull dull!

Let me tell you what the Maynard household was like last night. I'm driving home from work, and as I'm about to turn off into our subdivision, I get a text message from Jon: "BRING BEER". So I turn around and head towards Decatur.

Just inside the city limit is a classic gas station/liquor store combination. As I'm paying for my 12-pack of Michelob Light, the owner of the store gives me a free beer. It's a Budweiser Select in one of those aluminum bottles. I guess they aren't selling very well if they have to give them away, but hey a free beer is a free beer.

I get home and I'm greeted by the wail of a 9-month old and the anguished look of a frazzled father. Brenden needed a hug, a bottle, and a diaper change. Then I fed him dinner which consisted of diced chicken (thighs are the best - more flavor plus they don't taste like pencil shavings if you overcook them) and green beans plus the occasional goldfish cracker. I help him eat, as well as chase the cats off (they are eyeing his diced chicken) while I work on my aluminum beer.

Once he's happy (and I'm working on a Michelob), I wash out the aluminum bottle and give it to Brenden. He is absolutely thrilled as he cruises around the room and bonks objects with his new bottle. I have noticed (as many parents have before me) that a child's interest in a toy is inversely proportional to the amount of money spent on it.

Dad & Son

Dad & Son
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Letter to Brenden Month 9
So I'm only 3 weeks late. It's been a hectic Month! This one is going to be short, too.

Brenden, honey - you are still developing at a rapid pace. We have pretty much stopped feeding you baby food, except for some of the fruits. When I change your diapers, you vaccilate between fighting like mad with me and laying still, all happy, with your legs up in the air.

You are cruising pretty well. You can almost make a full circuit of the living room by holding onto things. Matter of fact, you are starting to get bored with just the living room. I hope it turns warm pretty soon, so I can spend some of our weekend afternoons keeping you from eating bugs outside.

Most of all I love how you are starting to sleep through the night. You wake me up occasionally with a 'WHAAA!' but you settle back down pretty fast.

You are so huggable, hon. Don't grow up too fast, ok?

Happy

Happy
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Cutting my teeth on bars
And rusty chains, I’m gonna break my
Rusty cage and run


Now lets see how many hits I get because of Soundgarden. Anyway, here's a pic of el jefe when he was in the hospital earlier this month. As you can see his disposition was unaffected.

Here are my reviews I haven't linked to:

Corpse Bride
Class of 1984
Pulse
Pride & Prejudice
Good Night, and Good Luck.

Some of the grammar and syntax errors really make me cringe. I have been in a hurry lately, as is the editing staff (they are overworked, I am running after my kid).

I am reviewing Everything is Illuminated next - all I know about it is a hobbit stars and that creepy guy from Phantoms directed it.

Ed's Tag

Ed's Tag
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I truly need to start posting more. I have kept writing reviews for Cinemablend but I have been too lazy to post links. I shall do that shortly.

My brother has finally unloaded his Atlanta house and will be moving up to Andover, Massachusetts at the end of this month. That sucks, the skydiving is much better in this part of the country! I wish him and his wife, Jen, well in the People's Republic of Taxachusetts.

Alabamastan is a much better place to live! Unless you want a beer or a sex toy.

And now for a slightly melancholic moment and brief movie review:

When Johnny Cash died I recall making the comment that he must not have wanted to keep fighting because his wife had died. That was just a romantic notion on my part; I knew just enough about Johnny and June to know their romance was legendary.

I finally saw Walk the Line last week and I now wonder if my comment wasn't more true than I believed. If you go by the movie, Johnny Cash was a weak man who just desintigrated when his first marriage went to hell. The pills didn't help either.

I saw Ray and a lot of people have commented on the similarities to the story. The biggest difference of course was that Ray Charles had a very tough streak in him and that's what pulled him through his problems.

If Walk the Line told the truth, if June Carter (and her family) hadn't helped Johnny Cash, we would have lost that legend a *lot* earlier than we did.

The thing I admire most about Ray Charles is his strength. The thing I admire most about Johnny Cash is June Carter Cash. No wonder he passed away only four months after she did.

I can't watch Cash's video for his cover of 'Hurt' without bursting into tears.

Brenden's First Blog Entry

outdoors
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

; jj z] nmoiy79 gy yiuoi;puok fgcxff

Feeding

feeding
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Wow, have *I* been slack!

This week has been pretty hectic - about a month ago I noticed a bump under Brenden's skin when I changed his diaper. I thought it was odd, but it was small so I ignored it.

It remained there, about the same size, but he is due for his 9-month well-baby checkup this coming Monday so I thought I'd point it out to his pediatrician then.

Monday night, howerer, I noticed it had gotten appreciably bigger, so I took him to the doc on Tuesday. She was as puzzled as I was. It wasn't red, and it didn't bother B too much when we poked at it, so she ordered some blood work and made an appointment for us with a pediatric surgeon.

Jon took him to this appointment on Wednesday afternoon. The surgeon took one look at B's bump then at his blood work - his white blood cell count was pretty high - and told Jon to get B admitted to the hospital.

Pook kid was put under and they drained and cleaned what turned out to be an abcess. We had fought mighty hard with diaper rash for a while until a local lady told us about Boudreax's Butt Paste. Yeah, silly name, but that cleared his rash up. Unfortunately the rash had gotten bad enough that he had open sores at one point. Open sores + poop = nothing good.

We got out of the hospital this morning. He was kept on an I.V. for the administration of antibiotics - plus we were there for so long becuase they wanted to rule out a staph infection (staphylococcus aureus - there's words to strike fear in any parents' hearts!).

Turns out it was plain old e. coli.

Brenden did a phenomenal job of staying confined to a hospital crib for 2 + days. Apparently (and I'm totally projecting here) he inherited some of my easygoingness along with his dad's charm and exuberance.

So anyway, I owe a Letter Month 9 which I hope to get to soon. Brenden is currently tearing up our computer room so I know he's none the worse for wear.

Top Down

top down
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I love this photo of Brenden!

My computer's CPU took a dump sometime last week. I'm pissed.

I also have a sinus infection. I went to see the doc yesterday - I was tested for strep throat then they took X-Rays of my noggin. The doc told me the infection was 'pretty nasty' and that my maxillary sinuses were 'filled with pus'.

Ew ew ew ew ew!

I have this vision now of someone giving me a bear hug and my head exploding like a huge zit.

I just need the flu or bronchitis now and I will win Winter Season Bingo.

Dad and Son Day

son and dad 3
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Yesterday Jon took care of Brenden while I worked. This time it went pretty smoothly because Jon knew to devote the entire day to Brenden, and to not even pretend to try to get any work done.

We had Hamburger Helper last night, only with deer meat. Doesn't that sound like a "You might be a redneck if.." joke that Jeff Foxworthy rejected? Actually we have a freezer full of deer meat. A friend had a banner year deer hunting, and he gave us a deer and all we had to do was pay for processing.

I know some people blanch at eating wild game, but I have a simple philosophy: "If it's dead it's groceries".

Rocker

Rocker
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

After sending an email to Nancy explaining the missing word in my post below (I'll fix it eventually), I figured I better post something to cheer her up.

Enjoyed our Vacation

Sleep 2
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Happy Valentine's day, everyone.

As you can see, Brenden and I got caught up on our rest in Oklahoma.

I'm somewhat upset today - our daycare provider is closing up shop and becoming a loan officer at a bank. Jon and I spent yesterday looking at other daycare options. We found someone surprisingly close; I'm just not sure I like her as much as I like Shayne but I guess that remains to be seen.

We saw one place and I'm still bothered how the kids looked more like herded cows than kids. Brenden would never get the attention he deserves in a place like that.

I was listening to the news on the radio and heard a story about some woman who killed her baby by cutting off her arms. What the hell is wrong with people?

Climbing mom's leg

Climbing mom's leg
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Here's my latest movie review.

Letter to Brenden Month 8

Well my darling little child: I just reread the month 7 letter; at this time last month you weren't even crawling! Just last night you were chasing the cat. He tried to maintain a dignified but hurried walk but after the 3rd time you grabbed his tail he took off running with a huffy "Meow!".

I spent this last week trying to keep you from knocking your brains out of your skull. Most of the time I was successful but every once in a while you'd fall down and go "bonk". I'm impressed by your collection of bumps, bruises, and scratches. And the foam bumper thingies I bought for the coffee table and fireplace have already paid for themselves.

Speaking of the coffee table - last night you stood in front of the table facing your dad and I. We were eating our shrimp fettucini alfredo and occasionally feeding you a small piece of pasta. I swear once we get back from vacation I'm going to start planning meals around things you can eat with us. We'll see how well that goes.

You have also once again decided you don't want to use a binky. You started up again when your two front teeth started to make their move. Now that they are through the gum line you spit it out. I'm almost sorry because giving you a binky at 2 in the morning would usually put you back to sleep. Now I just have to let you sit there and bitch because no one will let you out of your cage. Oy! I'm so tired....

4 things meme

Sunday Morning
Originally uploaded by Iguana Mama.

Nancy tagged me with the "4 Things" meme. Here goes:

4 jobs I've held:

1)Software programmer
2)Pager repairer
3)Pizza delivery person (for 1 whole day!!)
4)Breakfast cook at Mrs. Winners

4 Movies I can watch over and over:
1)Aliens
2)Jaws
3)Dawn of the Dead (original)
4)Toy Story

4 Places I have lived:
1)Isla Verde, Puerto Rico
2)Stone Mountain, Georgia
3)Statesboro, Georgia
4)Decatur, Alabama

4 TV shows I love:
1)Battlestar Galactica (new one)
2)24
3)Lost
4)Spongebob Squarepants

4 places I've vacationed:
1)St. John, USVI
2)London, England
3)Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
4)Playa Azul, Costa Rica

4 favorite dishes:
1)Arroz con pollo
2)Buffalo Wings
3)Kung Pao Chicken
4)Puerto Rican Roast Pork

4 sites I visit every day:
I visit a lot of blogs but I thought I'd keep those out.
1)Sluggy Freelance
2)CinemaBlend
3)Instapundit
4)Virgin Islands On-Line (forum)

4 places I'd rather be:
1)At home with my son
2)My dad's place in Oklahoma
3)Cinnamon Bay beach, St. John, USVI
4)At home with my son

I'd tag my brother Edward, but that slacker hasn't updated his blog in *months*!

PS: the photo is of Cinnamon Bay.

More Brenden Blatherings

Droopy Pants
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Hey, it's the beginning of a new month. as far as my weight goes, I am finally past the 150 psychological barrier. I weighed in at 148.4 this morning. Woo-hoo!

My goal for February is around or about 143. Then I won't be too far from my prepregnancy weight of 140.

I looked back in my postings and I had porked out somewhat just before we went on vacation to Costa Rica. So the good news is I'm not too far away from wearing my old clothes, but the bad news is that when I hit 140, I'll still have 10 pounds to go.

Oh, yeah. I was going to blather about Brenden, wasn't I? Very well: 2 nights ago B and I were taking our bath when I realized one of his (many) rubber ducks was listing to port. I realized he must have taken on water (the duck, not B), so I picked it up and squeezed it.

The duck made a rather disgusting noise as water gushed out of the small hole on its bottom. Brenden started giggling. So I filled the duck up and squirted him with it. All of a sudden he was just laughing his little butt off!

Dad heard the commotion and came in and checked in on us. He took command of the duck and squirted both of us for a while as Brenden had the time of his life. It was so cute!

It wasn't so cute last night, when he woke up at 1:30 and refused to go back to sleep. Usually he does, but I could tell by the way he was complaining it wasn't going to be easy. I let him get up after a long 15 minutes of howling and gave him some water. I got tired of him pulling my hair so I put him back in his crib and he stood up and wailed for another good block of time.

I got up again and held him, hoping he had tired himself out. He had, and I let him fall asleep in my lap and put him back in bed without a complaint at about 3am. B, I love you honey but mom has to go to get up at 5! Jon was nice enough to get out of bed at 5:30 to let the howler monkey out of its cage so that I could catch a little extra sleep.

Standing up

what
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I don't know why, but ever since Brenden learned to crawl inch-worm style, his physical development all of a sudden took a quantum leap. I was getting a little worried at the beginning of the year, because he didn't seem to want to learn how to sit up, or to crawl. He seemed happy with just rolling everywhere. I started working with him on sitting him up as did Shayne. He didn't take to it until he started the inch worm. Then all of a sudden: boom! He figured out a real crawl from that point in about 2 weeks, mastered sitting up, and as you can see from this picture, he can pull himself up to a standing position. Holy crap -he's going to be running in a marathon in a few months.

I had a blast watching him over the weekend struggle to stand upright. He'd fight and grunt and sweat like he was climbing Mount Everest and every once in a while I'd see his head peeking over the coffee table. He'd lose his grip, fall or sit, and then bitch about it for a while. I'd make sure he hadn't cracked his head open then leave him alone. Finally he figured it out.

Jon lowered his crib mattress as far as it would go last night. It was a good thing, too because B woke me up this morning and he was standing up in his crib, his eyes just peeking over the railing. He seemed to be saying "bust me outta this joint, lady! I need my formula fix!"

Oklahoma again

Ilu and B 2
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Hey, cool beans!
Brenden and I are going to go to Dad's place when Jon goes to Puerto Rico so that Ileana can spoil him some more.

We're going to fly out to Little Rock and Ilu's going to pick us up. It should be interesting flying with B. No we haven't taken him up in the Cessna yet. We're going via commercial airlines - thank goodness both airports are small ones - Huntsville and Little Rock. Going through security will be much easier than going through say Atlanta or Memphis.

I got Brenden his own seat because holding him, even for just an hour, will be almost impossible. That boy likes to crawl!

Mr. B

Mr. B
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

El Jefe is doing much better. He also put everything together and is crawling everywhere. I spent the weekend following him as he cleverly found the gaps in my baby-proofing plans.

At one point yesterday, I let him crawl into the kitchen with me. I was washing his bottles when he crawled up to my feet, grabbed one of my legs, and started chewing on my sweatpants. I called him an "anklebiter".

Weightloss is steady: I weighed in at 150.6, which I know is a little higher than last Monday, but this weigh-in was without all the dehydration.

I'm way jealous of my husband. He is going to Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to skydive in a few weeks. We tried to think of a way for all of us to go, but it just boils down to 1) time, 2) money, and 3) taking care of Brenden. Maybe some other time.

The real reason dinosaurs became extinct

The real reason dinosaurs became extinct
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

If it looks like B doesn't look too good in this picture you aren't mistaken. Brenden had been running a fever the last 3 days. The doc said he was probably fighting a viral infection like a cold.

Tuesday night he woke up and he was just burning. I took his temp and it was 103.4. I called the doc's after-hours service and the nurse on duty advised me to give him some children's tylenol, let him drink as much liquid as he wanted, and give him a warm bath.

We got his his temp lowered to about 101 and then I let him sleep a little bit. He woke up about 45 minutes later all sweaty and crying, but his fever had broken. Emergency room trip avoided.

And you also might notice from this pic he's sitting up. He doesn't tip over any more, either. Once he started trying to sit up it didn't take him long to perfect it.

Hey, check it out: no pics of Brenden today! Maybe later.

I weighed in today at 150. If you are following along, I was 155.8 at the beginning of last week. Food poisoning can take a chunk out of your weightloss, although I don't recommend it.

This entry is just a quick note: To Nancy, to prove I read my comments: By your command I have resumed writing movie reviews for Cinemablend. Also: I hope you and Anthony feel better soon. Being sick sucks.

Carrots for Dinner

Carrots for Dinner
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

My ingenious child has come up with 2 different methods of locomotion! Both are fairly unique among the baby set:

You already know about his 'steamroller' method. Now he has learned how to undulate towards something. Really! He'll rock back and forth on this hands and knees, then throw his arms forward. He'll then lay down on his belly and pull his knees underneath him, then lift up on his hands and knees again.

I'm so proud! *sniff!*

Plush Invasion

Plush invasion
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Brenden laboriously sat up yesterday evening! Totally unassisted!!! And as I sat there in awe of his accomplishment, I realized he had no real concept of gravity. I hurriedly stuck a pillow behind him just as he toppled over. Life at Chez Maynard should be highly entertaining the next couple of weeks as he refines this skill.

My weight loss has resumed; I am at 155.8 as I type.

I got tagged to do the 5 wierd things about me meme by Helly. So here goes:

1) I am more in touch with my masculine side than with my feminine side. I always have been. Now while I insisted I didn't care what the sex of our baby would be, I admit I breathed easier when we found out he is a boy. I was worried about how to raise a girl because I was never into that girly-girl crap. I hate dresses and makeup, and I never had one fantasy about my wedding. Matter of fact, my fantasies resemble action movies more than historical romances.

2) I love fruit, but I hate it baked into anything. That's right, I don't like apple pies, peach cobbler, or strawberry ice cream although the fruits that go into these concotions are awesome. Pies should have chocolate or meat in them.

3) I can't smell shit. Literally. I can't smell anything at all, for that matter. It drives me nuts. I presume it's due to my allergies. I tend to spice up my food to the nth degree because of this problem.

4) Oh, no. I can't tell you that. It's too wierd.

5) Elevators make me nervous. I can't stand them and I'll take stairs any time it's possible. I have no idea why; I'm not claustrophobic.