Author: kakakakaty

Happy Birthday, Maggie

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Today is M’s second birthday and I’m a bit in shock that we have arrived at this date so quickly.  She is such a fun kid that I couldn’t wish for her to be anything different.  Outgoing, quick to laugh, easily adaptable, independent, daring and sweet.  She loves to read, climb, run, play with her baby dolls and animals, color, sing and explore.  Two years ago her arrival rocked our world and taught us that we never before knew our capacity to love.

Tonight we decided on an impromptu night in Little Italy – dinner at Mama Santa followed by gelato at Presti’s Bakery.  Then we walked around the area, with M insisitng on swinging from our hands in between us, and came upon what looked to be a brand new playground where she ran off all her energy.  It was a delightful evening of quiet celebration.

Her big bash was this past Saturday and we had a houseful of about 17 people to help us celebrate.  M loves having other kids over so having her cousin’s here as well as her friends was celebration enough.  It was a great time.

She helped make her birthday cupcakes.

Having tricycle races with her cousin.

Devouring a cupcake with Aunt Jill (AKA “JMH” from comments).

Playing Project Runway with Grandma & Daddy.

Writers Block

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My job often involves writing and usually I’m writing on subjects about which I know little.  I write fund-raising letters that are about medical advances in research and treatment.  Sometimes these letters are easy and fun to write – the topic strikes a chord and the people I collaborate with are full if information and ideas.  Other times these letters are dreaded and pushed back, mostly because the content is in no way sexy.  It’s tough to write a compelling fundraising letter when the talking points you are given include bolus movements or glomerular filtration rates.  I know to some people these terms are very important and part of what they live with everyday, but my goodness it’s hard to write about them for a mass mailing.

There are three people on my team and we work in a cubical farm with about 20 others.  We’ve always been louder then the other others, but when we are all facing deadlines and are staring down one of the harder subjects group procrastination becomes a big part of our day.  We do anything but write.  One person has a jammed printer – hooray! – we can all spend the next 20 minutes trying to fix it.   A quick question to another about the correct use of a semi-colon turns into a conversation that digresses into a 10 minute discussion of today’s headlines. Our desks have never been more clean and organized.  Inevitably paper airplanes and crumpled up papers with jokes on them start flying over cubicle walls in an effort to alleviate the stress. We design elaborate plans for a nap space under our desks like George Costaza. We make up our own definitions for medical terms we don’t know and laugh too loud, annoying the others on the floor.

Eventually there is no more time – you have to finish what you are working on and get it off to the proper parties for approval.  We hunker down and slog through the process and the departments always love what we do for them.  But procrastinating deadlines can make a day stretch out forever.

Updates and Such

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There is so much going on right now that I feel like we are zipping through weeks at a time.  Our vacation seems to be the carrot at the end of the stick right now.  We will be spending a week in Hilton Head in late October; we’ve never been down there in the fall and we wanted to take advantage of having no school schedules to check out a favorite destination in a new season.   We’ll also be visiting a college friend on the way home.

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This weekend is the bash to celebrate M’s 2nd birthday.  I can’t believe she will be 2 next week and can’t believe all that’s happened since we celebrated her 1st: a new house, two new daycares and a host of other transitions.  We’ll have about 15 people (including 5 kids) over on Saturday and I’m trying to get ready.  I know I will still be a psycho-Martha-Stewart-drone all morning before the party.  It’s one of the few times I’m a typical Virgo – I love party planning but I get crazy stressed about all the tiny details.  This year I’m trying to be very Zen.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

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I’ve been doing Weight Watchers @ Work for about 4 weeks and it’s going very well.  My employer is paying for it as part of our wellness initiative.  I’ve lost about 15 pounds (and have more then several left to lose) but am feeling like the last several days I’ve been stuck in a state of inertia.  I need to start working out on a more regular basis again.  So many people have praised the 30 Day Shred that I have it next on our Netflix queue.  I need a few options other than walking to get me back to a regular schedule. 

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I’m so excited about this.  I hope it pans out because I think it would be amazing!

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M was about 70% potty-trained via the lazy-parent method at her old daycare (this method is where you let the daycare staff do the training and just follow their lead when at home. I highly recommend it).  We have never really tried to train her but she had been interested in sitting on the potty for several months and in the last month had actually started using it with regularity.  With the switch to the new daycare/preschool she isn’t using the potty at all.  I need to talk to them about working with her some more now she is settled in.  She’s there for 40 hours a week and if they don’t work with her she’ll never get it.  I don’t feel she needs to be out of diapers yet, but I also don’t want to loose all the momentum and interest she had gained before the switch. 

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I go to Chicago for 5 days next week, leaving the day after M’s actual birthday.  I’m looking forward to it but also hate to be gone that long for work.  It’s a long time to be gone from my family and I feel guilty for leaving Mark as a single parent for that long.  The guilt is all mine, he is a wonderful and more than capable parent who has not said one word about going it alone for that long, but I still feel bad.  Plus, although we get reimbursed, the trip is a pretty big outlay of cash and that’s something we don’t have much of right now (2 more payments and a major debt is cleared and I cannot wait).

Whirlwind

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Last week M moved to a new daycare/preschool. After months of trying to decide if we should stay at the previous place – a brand new facility where M was one of the first kids to start but staff turnover was high as they got their footing – we finally decided to move to a Jewish-based* facility with great teacher tenure and education levels. We made the choice to switch a few months ago and in that time the old daycare got it’s act together and M had a wonderful teacher for her last couple of months.  It was hard for us to leave “Miss C” as she and M had a great bond, but we knew the new place would provide a more stable atmosphere for M in the long run.  Miss C was sad to see M go and got her a slew of good-bye gifts including a wheelie Dora backback which M loves.  We made the staff cupcakes and got her teachers gifts as a way to show our appreciation; they were all very caring and affectionate towards M and we tried to make sure they knew we were leaving because of management issues, not teaching issues.  Miss C has offered to babysit and we will be calling her soon.

Moving to a new daycare is nerve-wracking for both the kid and the parent so the new place has a “transition period” that takes place over the first week.  Basically, the child is there for increasing amounts of time as the week progresses.  Day one: 2 hours with parent in the room, Day two: 3 hours with parent still in building, Day three: 4 hours and parent can leave, etc.  In theory this is a great idea as it made for a gradual and easy transition and M adapted very well to her new class without any fuss or crying at all. However, most people send their kids to daycare because they have to WORK and need childcare!  So last week I burned about 24 hours of vacation time to accommodate this kooky phase-in.  Luckily we had some extra work on the past two weekends so I earned about 16 hours of flex time or I would have used up even more vacation time, which is rapidly dwindling.  

So between working both of last two weekends, shuttling between the new daycare, work and home the last week was crazy.  But, I got to enjoy some fantastic one-on-one time with my 2-next-week girl and I truly enjoyed every last second of it.  She has such an amazing personality; she runs full-tilt towards everything she does, laughs easily and talks my ear off.  We had honest two-way conversations, sang songs, took excruciatingly slow walks around the neighborhood, finger-painted and colored, and had a grand time together.  Weekends tend to go by too quickly and are full of tasks aimed at keeping the house from falling apart so having last week was a real joy.

Today, I got some bonus time.  Since Ike still had some oomph left as it passed through last night the new daycare was without power and closed today.   I had gone in to work early to get a jump start on the backlog of projects and got a call from Mark at 8 telling me the news.  Since he has significantly less time off then I do, I was back home today playing with our girl.  

I have without a doubt had a blast playing SAHM these last few days, but I know I have a load of work waiting for me at my office.  I was in the office a few precious hours last week and tried to get some work done in the evenings.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually be IN the office to do some of it.  I’m grateful that I have a boss with two kids of her own and totally “gets it”.  I’m going to miss the “M time” I’ve had but I’m ready to get back to a normal schedule.

*We’re not Jewish and it’s not a religious school but they do teach the culture and history including celebrating the holidays and welcoming the shabbat with challah and juice on Fridays.

Happy Birthday Belly!

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I am wrapping up a nice birthday weekend here in Cleveland, full of great local food.  Saturday night we went to Pier W on Michelle’s recommendation and had a superb feast.  While we waited for our table I had a Bombay Sapphire Cucumber Lemonade which was a refreshing new taste combo and Mark had a Grey Goose and cranberry which had to be sent back for more cranberry – as served it was basically a glass of straight vodka.

We were not seated by the windows as I had requested when making the reservation but we were situatied at a table with a great view, nonetheless.  We decided to go all out and get two of everything and share. Mark started with the lobster bisque which was incredible.  I had to wrestle the dish away from him to get my share, then I had to restrain myself from licking the bowl clean.  I had the crab cakes which while very good, weren’t anything special.  

All week I had been thinking about the rave reviews Michelle had given the king crab legs and I was sure that was what I was going to order.  However, there were so many good things on the menu I opted for the bouillabaisse while Mark took on the crab legs (he had to promise to share several bites with me).  I’ve never had bouillabaisse before and I was glad I tried it here – the broth was savory and full of herbs and the fish and shellfish were plentiful.  Mark’s crab was sweet and succulent, the legs were enormous and there was more than enough meat to share.  While I was glad to try it I was happy with my decision not to order it as my entree – it was too much of one thing for me.  

We finished off the meal with two shared desserts.  Mark got the chocolate-peanut butter bomb, which while very good got his usual reaction – not enogh peanut butter.  I had the chocolate crème brûlée which was amazing. Mark thought it seemed like more of a pudding but I loved it and it was a huge dose of chocolate that I wanted.  We liked Pier W and it was a good “special occasion” place. Michelle’s recommendations have pointed us to many restaurants I don’t think we’d ever have found on our own.

Today we lazed around the house – Mark made me pancakes for breakfast and I got a nice long nap.  This evening we decided to have an impromptu early dinner out.  We were going to stay close to home but the Shaker Heights restaurant we went to appeared to have closed down.  Faced with a choice of what to do I declared that we should go have my favorite Cleveland eats: Bar Cento pommes frites.  After a plate of those oh-so-good potatoes Mark had the daily special of lasagna which he said was the best he’s ever had and I went with the heirloom tomato margherita pizza which was, as always, incredible.  I love their crispy crust!

While we were at Cento we saw both Chef Sawyer and his wife, the fabulous Chef’s Widow, who was working the bar.  Mark kept trying to get me to go introduce myself but my shyness won out and I never did. Besides, I felt a bit awkward and stalker-ish about going up to her and saying “Hi!  I read your blog all the time!”  How are you supposed to introduce yourself in real life to someone who’s blog you read all the time?  I need a blogger etiquette class.

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Thank you to my parents who gave me money for a pedicure to take care of my nasty feet.  The pedicurist at Dino Palmieri had her work cut out for her but did a hell of a job! (thanks Erika, for the reccomendation to this salon; I love my new haircut!)

Thank you to my co-workers who got me a gift certificate to Pier W – it helped make the final bill a bit easier to handle!

And thanks to my hubby I will be taking this class soon.  I can’t wait.

Ewww!

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You know what happens to blisters after they drain and dry out?  The top layer of skin eventually peels off. And when those blisters are UNDER thick callouses then a huge, thick layer of skin peels off exposing tender new flesh underneath.  

Great times, people.  Great times.

An Amzing Failure

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Here’s the play-by-play of my 3-Day weekend for all interested.  It’s very long…

Day 1:  At the opening ceremonies I managed to run into my training-walk buddy, Anne and her walking partner, Lisa.  As they herded us to the stage for the speeches and kick-off we somehow ended up in the front of the holding area.  This meant that we were some of the first walkers on the course around 7 AM.  We walked and chatted throughout and got to know Michelle, another single walker from Upstate New York we had met during the opening ceremony.  The walk was beautiful through the Eastern Suburbs.  It was very hot (about 89 degrees) but there was a good breeze blowing.  Pit-stops consisting of toilets, snacks, water/Gatorade fill-ups and medical tents were every 3-4 miles along the route and I drank a full 32 oz. of liquid between each one.  I alternated between Gatorade and water, hoping to ward off dehydration and hyponatremia which we had been sternly warned about.  I didn’t eat much as the combination of eating, the heat and walking left me feeling sick.  The day passed quickly and despite feeling blisters growing on my heels the walk went smoothly and I finished around 2:30 PM, apparently I was one of the first 200 off the course.  I had no intention of walking that fast but just walked and chatted with my group.

Camp was impressive.   There were food tents, an enormous dining tent (with seats for the nearly 1600 walkers and crew), a “main street” which had sponsor tens, about 4 dozen porta-potties, shower trucks and medical tents.  I got my gear and a crew member helped me locate my tent spot and set up my tent.  This is when I realize that the tents were SMALL and hot.  I was a lone walker who had a stranger as a tent mate.  This meant I would be sleeping in a 6×6 area with a stranger.  To make matters worse, my tent location was a good 100 yards from the nearest bank of porta-potties.  I was not feeling positive about the night ahead.  I showered and re-connected with Anne and Lisa in the Pepperidge Farm tent on cushy chairs and couches.  I knew Michele had opted out of the tent option and was stating in a local hotel and I started to think that was a good choice.  By the time I was done with dinner I was over the camp experience and got the hotel number from Michelle and booked a room – best choice ever!  I came to find out about 120 walkers were staying in this hotel, so I was far from the only one.  I was a much happier person to have my own bathroom and air conditioning.

Day 2 started shaky after a bout of stomach issues that arose around 3 AM. I was sooooo grateful to have my hotel room at that point.  By 6 I was feeling better and had a few bites of breakfast before the walk started at 6:45.  It was a chilly morning but I was sweating – not a good sign.  I was drinking 32+ oz of water each hour to ward off dehydration.  By the first pit stop (3.7 miles) I felt better and had 32 oz of Gatorade before refilling my bottle with water.  During the next leg of about 3.2 miles I could feel the blister on my left heel pop.  I stopped and re-taped and powered though to lunch (10.9 miles in) and ate a few bites but quickly became nauseas.  I re-taped my feet again and downed more Gatorade.  My pace was much slower and as I was trying to protect my heels from the pain of the blisters I apparently changed my stride because my knee started to ache and I realized I was walking on the balls of my feet.  About half-way between lunch and the next pit stop I felt the other blister pop.  A few blocks later I had to admit defeat and flag down a “sweep” van – it was full!  Guess I wasn’t the only one struggling on day 2. 

I waited for another van and rode to the 13-mile stop where the medical tent checked out my feet and found two gigantic blisters that are the size of my palm. To make matters worse the new blisters were on top of old blisters that had formed underneath calluses on day one. They “red carded” me and I was medically sidelined – not allowed to continue.  I hung out in the medical area for a while, icing my sore knee and letting my blisters air out.  I was grateful I wasn’t one of the dehydrated walkers hooked up to IVs or the woman who was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  Having blisters ground me seemed wimpy but my health wasn’t in danger.  Eventually I got on the bus to take me to camp; it was also full by the time we left – 60 seats of those unable to continue; the walking wounded.

After getting back to camp I found Anne and Lisa again and hung around for a bit.   I had called Mark to come get me to save on cab-fare to the hotel.  I was great to see him and Maggie after such a long and painful day.  We went to the hotel and decided it was dumb for me to spend another night there so we gathered my things and went home.  There I was able to just sit with my feet up and keep them clean (walking around camp and even the hotel barefoot was pretty gross with open sores on my feet!).  I slept very well except for when the sheet hit my poor sore heels.

I was really disappointed and angry at myself for not finishing but the pain when I walked was no joke… I honestly can say that un-medicated childbirth hurt less. A nurse at my final pit stop reminded me that the walk is to raise money and awareness about saving the tatas and not just to walk 60 miles.  Every step made me wince and I had already walked 32 miles – that is nothing to scoff at.  She told me it wasn’t worth hurting myself in the long run to try to go a few more miles.

On day 3 I walked/hobbled the final mile in flip-flops and took part in the amazing closing ceremony which made it all worth it.  They moved it into the convention center due to the threat of rain. It was pretty cool to walk in as 100s of others cheer you on.  After assembling and getting our victory shirts we lined up and walked into the main hall, greeted by cheering family and friends.  The crew of 275 volunteers came in followed by the 150 survivors who walked. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.  It was pretty amazing.   This walk raised $3.1 million for Komen for the Cure and is added to the over $300 million previous walks have raised. 

Thank you to all of my donors to helped me along my journey.  I will be doing this again with the mission to complete all 60 miles …and maybe they’ll find a cure along the way.

Thank you!
C.TRAC information solutions
Michael Martin/Printing Concepts, Inc.
John & Annette Gaeth
Mike Gaeth
Dick & Mary Lou Sanders
The Sopa Family-John, Sue, Elyse & Alaina
Lindsay Bessick
Linda Diechert
Chris And Gretchen Landes
Bill & Bonnie Gaeth
The Gajewski/Doering Families
Greg Moore
The Hughes Family
Kathleen Bannister
Tony & Erin Gajewski
Kathleen, Craig & Caroline Niess
Vin & Vinnie Karnik
Debbie Stambaugh
Jan Reinsel
Tom Menchhofer
Karyn Jones
Ray Hoffman
Amy Wuest
Patricia Komarek
Heritage Elementary School Staff, Lima OH

On the Flip Side

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The 3-Day is over.  It was amazing and awful at the same time.  

I learned a few things:

I don’t do tents

Blisters can bring you to your knees.  

Michelle, Anne, Lisa and especially Virginia are my heros.

My husband rocks (I already knew that, but he made my weekend great).

A full story is coming very soon…

Stay Tuned

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I have so much to chat about but not enough time lately.  The 3-day is looming large at the end of this week.  I spent some time last weekend and Monday with my mom who is recovering from surgery.  I have to figure out what to pack and how I’m getting to the start of the walk at 5 AM on Friday.  M is starting to use the potty on a regular basis.  I need to get birthday invitations out. 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet…

Stay tuned.  I will write more next week.