I smashed my hand. I actually did this on Monday but this is how it looks today.
We are in the midst of a giant project at work, as we integrate new software into my department. Right now, my team is meeting for an hour and a half daily to try to push this through.
On top of that my same team is starting SQL training for certification. Today was our first 2 hour class.
So, how, you may ask, are you getting any work done? I have no answer for that. 
Rick took Riley to gymnastics tonight and they got home just as I was getting on a conference call with my March of Dimes peeps. Riley came out and said, “Daddy got us a surprise.” I waved her off, then Rick came around the corner with a slice of cheesecake.
Contrary to popular belief, I did NOT instantly throw the phone down and run after him. I calmly finished my call (I love you guys and miss you so much! Thanks for all the laughs) before heading into the kitchen to see if anything was left. My share was waiting patiently for me. Photo credit (and plating design) go to the mister.
I’m not sure if her eye was itchy and she fell asleep scratching it or what, but this doesn’t seem like a comfortable way to sleep.
Also, this picture reminds me of an ultrasound. You have to really look at it to see the picture. But I didn’t think it was fair to flip on the light so that my cell phone would take a better picture.
And that, reminds me of when I was pregnant with Riley. I had my first ultrasound with her at about 7 weeks because I had some spotting after my first pelvic exam. She was just a little dot but it was love at first sight. I had my second ultrasound at 17 weeks. It was a level 2 ultrasound to make sure that she didn’t have any of the same issues as my brother John. She got a clean bill of health and we also found out SHE was a SHE. Hilariously, we decided to keep that a secret. My brother Joe stopped by the house after our appointment and I told him that it was a secret and “we’re not going to tell you her name either.” HAHA. I’m an idiot. I know.
My next ultrasound was at 25 weeks when I was admitted to the hospital. Everything still looked good and we got some great pictures of her hanging out in there. Had I know then that we would see her face to face about 60 hours later, I probably would have been a little more panicked.
Our final ultrasound was about 12 hours before she was born. They did a doplar ultrasound to see if she was getting any of the nutrients that she needed my from failing body. The news was not good so it was a pretty somber experience. Then I leaned down to my belly and said, “You’re going to be okay”. I’m not sure if it was a question or a statement, but she rolled over in my belly and we got a good look at her with her hand in a fist and her thumb sticking up. I’m sure it had probably just come out of her mouth, but I like to think that she was giving me a big ole thumbs up.
So…tangent. But I hope she reads this some day and that makes her smile.
Riley had a birthday sleepover tonight at the Holiday Inn (indoor pool). We made plans for a grownup birthday party of our own but they had to cancel due to illness. Rick ended up calling around downtown because it was the end of Devour and got us in at the Milano Inn.
The food was really good and we had a nice adult night out. I ordered the Timballo and Rick had chicken parm.
We ended the evening watching a horrible movie with Steve Carell called “Date Night”. There were a few laughs in it but not enough to make it worth the two hours we wasted watching it. When it was over, we caught the tail end of another Carell movie called “Dinner for Schmucks”. Sadly, it was worse than the first one and maybe even worse that “Evan Almighty”.
This makes me sad because I’m a pretty big fan of his so I’m off to announce my favorite Steve Carell moments (in no particular order).
Today’s picture is of the menu (my cell died before I could get a picture of our food – but Rick took one that I’ll add if he gets it to me) plus a bonus picture sent to me from the birthday party.
We came out of the gym at 9PM to find that our car was completed covered in ice. Our twenty minute drive home turned into about an hour but we made it home safely.
After purchasing roses for his grandparents’ graves, Rick gave one to me too…sort of. I found it in the backseat of the car when I got to work on Monday. It was pretty floppy but I stuck it in a bottle of water and voila…it finally bloomed.
Hopefully you read that title and heard the thunder crashing and a dramatic “bum bum bum” like I hear in my head when I think of it.
So Riley is going to be ten in about six weeks. I’m trying not to dwell on that because it literally doesn’t seem possible. Like many kids, Riley started planning her “next birthday” as soon as the last one was over. At some point in time, she decided that for her tenth birthday, she wanted to something for the NICU. Then in October (after going to DC for the March of Dimes), she decided she wanted to do a “baby shower” for the NICU and have everyone bring something to the party that could then be donated.
Fast forward past phone calls with contacts and we finally settled on what she wants to do. She wants to have a big party (probably at church) where we can make gift bags for NICU families to get when they “graduate”. This will help us bypass some hospital regulations and also have it be an “ongoing” project. Gift bags will contain a blanket, a toy and a card from Riley. I’m also contemplating dropping in an encouraging note of my own along with some literature to help with the transition from hospital to home. We think the blanket project is perfect because her Granny Great made hundreds of isolette blankets in the years after Riley’s birth. So it seems perfect that Riley would pick up that project and run with it. She already has raised $80 to help buy supplies. We’re looking at buying fleece to make “tie blankets”.
So anyway, we spent an hour or so this evening checking prices and trying to figure out what we could get. For $10, we could make a pretty good gift bag. Fingers crossed that come March 2, we’ll have everything a little more organized.
Today’s picture is from our shopping trip.
Today started much earlier than any of us wanted. A thunderstorm roared through at about 1AM, and I heard the pitter patter of little feet as someone came and begged to lay down with us. The wind was roaring around and the lighting was enough to rattle the house so we all squeezed in together and eventually went back to sleep, until around 5AM, when another one started up. We all eventually got up and started our day.
Today was was parent/teacher conference. It went fine with no surprises. She had quite a few triumphs and a few things to fix. All in all, she got a thumbs up from her teacher.
I also had a meeting at the hospital to try to facilitate a new relationship with March of Dimes and Riley Hospital. It went great and I see wonderful things in our future.
I might have also taken a nap yesterday with Riley. If I had, I bet it was awesome.
Today’s pictures are of the radar when I got up, as well as a picture of Riley who fell asleep in the chair after gymnastics. I thought the picture was funny because her body appears very short, but of course she was just folded in half.
Today was “one of those days”. I started a new project at work that is sure to be a long, drawnout, stressful affair. Riley was spending the day with Uncle Jason because today is MLK day. I had lunch scheduled with friends and Riley had gymnastics.
Like many days, I had to pack up the car for the 14 hours that I would be gone.
Lunch for Riley? Check
Riley’s leotard? Check
My paperwork? Check
Drinks for gymnastics? Check
The trophy? Check
I made it through the first half of the day by looking forward to lunch. We had trouble finding time to do Devour Indy with Brian and Kari so the four of us made a lunch date at Fogo De Chao.
Anyway, I got stressed out trying to find a parking spot downtown as I was running a little late from a meeting that lasted longer that expected. Some of the power was out downtown so that didn’t help. As I was getting out of the car, I got a little nervous that someone would steal the trophy and my little camera that was on the seat. There was nothing I could do about the tropy, but I threw the little camera and a couple of other things into the glove compartment…which then refused to shut. I rattled a few things around, and slammed it shut…just in time to catch a ketchup packet that was hanging out. It exploded and doused the 2 foot tall trophy in lovely red goo.
Having no choice but to leave it, I ran off to lunch, then proceeded to clean it once I got back to work. NOW, there was no way I was going to carry a 2 foot tall gymnastics trophy into work to scrub it so I just carried out wet paper towels and dry paper towels. Eventually one of my friends suggested Lysol wet wipes (got rid of the smell AND dried on ketchup). Totally cracked me up, though. At least I didn’t break the dumb thing and it is now resting comfortably at the gym.
Today’s picture is of the gaucho serving Rick one of the 15 types of meat that we had at lunch. Food coma!
