All is (Almost) Right in the Baseball World

The Yankees finally clinched their postseason appearance last night after a difficult September of baseball. I was on the edge of my seat many times, waiting for the magic number to hit zero, but either the damn devil rays would end up winning a close game in extras or Mo would uncharacteristically blow a save. It all came to an end last night, when they beat the blue jays and secured their spot in October.

Of course, the season isn't over yet, and while I'd definitely prefer the AL East crown, I can appreciate the idea of resting the starters and getting them physically and mentally prepared for the long road to come. Bring it on!






In other baseball news, Cincinnati is actually an exciting place to be right now. The Reds clinched their first playoff appearance in 15 years.



I'm not really a Reds fan, but I'll root for the home team as a National League favorite. I'm not fair-weather enough to go out and buy a t-shirt or anything, but I'm super excited for all my Reds-loving friends who are just over the freaking moon that their team is FINALLY in the playoffs. I want to go out and give them all giant hugs. Selfishly, I'm also hoping that the World Series showcases the Yankees and the Reds, so that the pinstripes will come to town.

15 years is a looooong time to wait for October baseball. In that respect, I've definitely been spoiled as a Yankee fan. Toddler Charlie will be spoiled, too. It's easy for people to forget that the Yankees sucked (and sucked BAD!) for most of the 80s and early 90s. I lived through that, minus a brief stint when 8-year-old me decided that I wanted to be a blue jays fan because it was a "pretty bird" and my favorite color was blue. (Thanks to my uncles for setting me back on the right path there!) But other than that, my time as a Yankee fan has been smooth sailing, especially when I was in high school and college, where I depended on those consecutive postseason appearances as a matter of pride and connection to my hometown friends and family.

Yankee baseball is a touchstone for me. Something that lets me feel close to the family that I miss so much on a regular basis. The texts back and forth as the innings tick by, the frustrated vent-session emails the morning after AJ takes the mound, and the late-night celebratory phone calls when they get a W after postseason games. My phone starts ringing in the 9th inning and doesn't stop until everyone has called to share the joy: brother, sister, mother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma. That's just how we roll. It's so far beyond just a game to us. It's a way of life, it's a point of togetherness, it's a common thread that spans the miles and the generations. And I'm so excited to pass down that excitement and togetherness to my toddler.

Did you Know....

The Yo Gabba Gabba! CD makes for a surprisingly upbeat and enjoyable drive to work?

Learn something new every day.

There's a party in my tummy. So yummy! So yummy!

Link of the Week

This is another old favorite of mine. The good thing about the Interwebs is that they're cyclical, so everything that's old can easily be new again. Kind of like ThreeBrain's Wheeeeeee!, the Llama Song, and the Hamster Dance no wait, never the Hamster Dance. Never.

Anyway, this is an old classic that's not for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It's called Don't Even Reply: Emails from an Asshole. Site description:

This is a collection of e-mails I have sent to people who post classified ads. My goal is to mess with them, confuse them, and/or piss them off.

My own personal favorites are Disguised Weapons, Turtle Sandbox, and The Shaniqua Chronicles (Parts 1, 2, and 3).

Happy reading!

Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is brought to you by Mrs4444!

First things first! The Woodchuck Pumpkin Cider has arrived! In the smallest quantity imaginable! My friend (and fellow cider connoisseur) Alison and I have been stalking the local liquor stores and the Woodchuck homepage and Facebook page waiting for news of the release. It's finally here! Unfortunately, it was released to a whole SIX locations, and each location got a single case. Thanks to Alison's quickness with the Facebook posts we were each lucky enough to snag our own six-pack.

Yum! It was definitely a unique drink experience. It wasn't nearly as sweet as I was expecting it to be, but it was still tasty. The pumpkin flavor wasn't very strong. If I had to compare it to something, I don't think I could. I found it a little heavier than the everyday Woodchucks that I'm used to drinking. But all in all, it was good.

It's officially fall, but the high today is 91. WTF, Cincinnati? I want my cool weather.

I'm playing in a softball game tonight. I'm skeered. It's been a good 9 years since I've pitched or thrown in a real game. Even though it's just for fun and no one is taking it too seriously, I don't want to make an ass out of myself. I made C practice with me last night but all we had was a tennis ball. Not really the same. I played softball for years, up until I moved to Ohio. During my entire tenure as a pitcher/outfielder I never once got a hit. How sad is that?

I'll have to try to channel Sabathia and hope I don't end up with Burnett.

Speaking of Sabathia, oh, eff that. I'm not even going to go there after last night's disastrous loss to the devil rays.

Charlie has FINALLY remembered how to sleep. It's amazing what a full night's sleep can do for the psyche. I thought I was going to lose my mind for a while there.

I downloaded the form to be reinstated to my grad school program. The only things standing in the way of me and my PhD are the qualifying exam and a dissertation. I'm much more worried about the qualifying exam and the theory, which is why I haven't finished it yet. I need to just suck it up and get it done. The dissertation will write itself, and I'm super excited about what I want to do.

I'm starting a new project at work that's my own idea and my own design and I get to build it from the ground up. I'm going to design a database and mapping tool for women's and children's health- and economic-related data. I'm really excited about it and I can't wait to share it with everyone.

Have I mentioned lately how awesome my job is and how much I love it? I thank my lucky stars every morning when I drive past my old office building.

Remember my post about needing creative input? Well, I figured something out on my own for once. This is our finished quilt:

We won second place, which means we all get to pick a day to come in late or leave early. Hooray for extra PTO! I did the squares in the second column.

Office QOTW:

Last night's season premiere was better than I had expected, given the disappointment of last season. There were a lot of funny moments. Unfortunately, most of it was visual hilarity, which doesn't translate well into a QOTW. One of the best spoken moments came at the very beginning, when we learn that Gabe is now dating Erin. Andy explains that he isn't mad because he's gone through anger management, and then walks us through one of his visualizations.

Oh look, a humpback whale. How pretty. And it's eating Gabe.

Another Video. Lucky You.

At some point last night or ass early this morning I woke up and turned off the alarm clock. I opened my eyes when I heard Charlie screaming and when I rolled over the clock said 6:12. By that time I'm usually dressed, have lunches packed, and am on my way to wake up C so that we can start getting Charlie ready together.

(C asked me if I'm sure that I set it to begin with. I did. One of my Cs in my OCD is that I check the alarm clock a million times before I go to bed, and then check it again a few minutes later.)

I didn't even have the luxury of throwing on lazy clothes and throwing my hair in a sloppy ponytail, because I have to be introduced to our board of directors this afternoon.

I blame it all on the fact that Charlie is still not sleeping. In an effort to outdo Monday's feat, yesterday Charlie fell asleep at the lunch table and on the see saw. Now THAT'S talent.

Anyway, the point of all of that is that I usually compose my posts way too early in the morning, and since I lost out on all of that time I'm just cheating and posting another xtranormal video. Don't worry, it's funny. And funny-funny, not sad-funny.



Although I have to admit, I did see a lot of my own habits in the blond chick. I like to think that I don't come across all holier-than-thou, but, if anything, this will just make me more vigilant about not pushing my ideas on others. I have plenty of friends who eat Goldfish, and I even let C eat them when we're on playdates. What kind of mom (or friend!) would I be, otherwise?

Emergency C-Sections

Since I'm really still asleep, I'm sharing this video instead of coming up with something witty to say. It's going to have to do the job for me, since my sleepless toddler has sucked my brain out.



He's also shown that he's destined for Mensa by performing a feat that took me 15 years to complete - he fell asleep during Spanish lesson in school yesterday. Of course, I use the terms "lesson" and "school" very loosely, but you get the idea.

I Think I'm Losing my Mind This Time

So as I mentioned last week, Charlie appears to have forgotten how to sleep. I'm sure it's not as simple as that, but that's what it feels like.

He usually manages to fall asleep scream himself to sleep around 10:15, then is up again at 1:30, 4:00, 6:00, and sometimes even other times in between. It's not that I'm thrilled about letting him wail on his own, just that I'm completely out of ideas.

I feel like we've tried everything. Thought he might be scared (damn that whole abstract thinking thing), so we gave him a nightlight. Tried staying in there and rubbing his back until he was sleeping, which worked, until I moved an inch away and then he was back on his feet and screaming. Tried no blanket, more blanket, different blanket. Warmer PJs, cooler PJs. Checked his ears and checked his teeth. I even tried sleeping in there with him, but that didn't help, either. As soon as we shut the door he stands up, turns on his light, and screams. So we tried leaving the door open, and that didn't work. We tried leaving the light on. All he wants to do is go downstairs. Sorry, Charlie, you can't go downstairs. It's bedtime.

It's completely heartbreaking, because I feel like I'm letting him down somehow because I can't help him go to sleep. I also feel like I'm not being the best parent that I can be, because I'm running on no sleep and my nerves are shot. I'm getting frustrated and, dare I say, annoyed with the whole situation. When I hear him yelling down the hall in the middle of the night my first thought is "you have GOT to be effing kidding me," rather than wanting to rush to his room to see what he needs.

I woke up this morning thinking that I felt like a zombie. I know it must be really bad when I want to say that, because zombies scare the crap out of me and I go out of my way to not think about them, at the very least compare myself to them. I suppose the upside is that it's good birth control. It's worse than it ever was with a newborn because the checklist is so much longer. It's so far beyond just being hungry or needing a diaper change.

I'm hoping this is just a phase and he'll grow out of it soon. He's got to be tired, right?

Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is brought to you by Mrs4444!

My child won't sleep. What happened? He slept for an hour on Wednesday night. An HOUR! Last night was a little better, but not by much. The weird thing is that he screams even louder if C or I go in to sit with him. TG for Dunkin coffee, that's for sure.

About halfway through my shower yesterday morning I looked over and saw that there was a spider in there with me. I tried to wash him down the drain, but he just kept climbing back up. I did a thorough shower inspection this morning, deemed the shower to be spider-free, turned the water on, and got in. 5 minutes later I look down and the spider is BACK IN THE SHOWER!! Not a good start to the day.

Yesterday I heard Just a Friend by good old Biz Markie on the radio on the way to work. It made my morning a little more bearable.

The Derek Jeter controversy is getting old. If it had been anyone but the Yankees, no one would have cared. Come on. How do you even know it was all an act? I bet that if you were holding a stick and a ball hit that stick close to your hands goign 90+ miles per hour, that might not feel so great.

Leave my captain alone!

I'm not even going to get into the ugliness that was the series against the Devil Rays, except to say that I stayed up waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too late to watch my boys lose in extra innings.

Last night we were watching the first quarter of the Cincinnati Bearcats football game and there was a commercial encouraging people to test drive the "German-Engineered Buick Regal." Really? Last I checked, Buick was a GM brand. So much for pride in American manufacturing. (no, I don't drive an American car, but I can still point out hypocrisy when I see it)

Speaking of the Bearcat football game, someone forgot to tell them to show up for the game. This has not been a good week for my teams. Let's not even go to the disaster that was the Monday Night Jet game.

I've rediscovered the awesomeness that is a hair clip. Sure, it's not the most attractive style in the world, but the extra 8 minutes of sleep I get by not blow-drying my hair are well worth it. Besides, it's not like I was ever the most fashionable person, anyway.

We've been replacing our CFL lightbulbs with LEDs as they blow out. C is completely enamored with the technology. I think they're ugly and I don't like the light they give off.

The Office comes back next Thursday! Can't wait for the return of Jim and Pam and my Friday Fragments Office QOTW!

On a semi-related note, Angela Kinsey is going to be on Yo Gabba Gabba! this Sunday. I'm way more excited that Charlie is :)

Oops

I guess I need to be a little bit more careful about what I say while we watch sports on TV. Charlie's new favorite phrase? "Bengals suck."

Not only does that make me a somewhat trashy mom, but it will also make Charlie the least popular kid in the class, even if it is an accurate statement, since we live in Bengal country.

But seriously, how do I keep a straight face? It's nearly impossible for me not to laugh at it, even though I know I can't.


In other Charlieisms:



Charlie (while he's heading up the street): I'm going to a baseball game!

Me: Oh really? Who's playing?

Charlie: DJ Lance!



I kind of doubt that.

Creativity Needed

At my new place of employment we participate in an annual United Way fund drive. Our office also does an art contest to go along with it, and the winning team gets an extra half day of vacation. We were randomly split into 5-person teams and my team decided that we're each going to decorate two squares and make a quilt. Well, really, one team member decided on that course of action, the other three agreed that it was a great idea, and now I've been sucked along for the ride.

The themes for this year's fund drive are "Building Social and Economic Equity and a Healthy Environment" and "Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Live United."

WTF am I supposed to do with that? On 6-inch quilt squares, no less? I can't embroider, I can't draw, and I can't paint. The only thing I can think of so far is to go out and take pictures and make them into iron-ons. But what would I take pictures of? I took my camera with me to the market last week so food could be an obvious representation of the "Healthy Environment" aspect, but that just seems so cheap.

If I had more then a week you bet your ass I would have sent them out to my super-talented-artist sister in NYC to do them for me :p


Other than this art contest I still love my job and I'm still glad I came. I'm actually in the process of building a database for women's health indicators, including data on pre- and post-natal care, c-section rates, fertility treatment coverage, and breastfeeding, just to name a few. I'm super excited to get this resource out!

Link of the Week

It was brought to my attention that I appear to have way too much time on my hands because I constantly post links to sites that I think are fun and interesting on my local parenting board. Sadly, that's not really the case. In reality, I have a loooooooong list of websites I love, but I rarely have time to visit all of them. So I've decided to create a weekly post to share some of my favorite links. Some of them might be new to you and others are old classics.

This week's link is Hyperbole and a Half.

I randomly discovered Allie's blog sometime in 2009, shortly after she opened her blogger site. This blog is not for the faint of heart. She's rude, hilarious and sarcastic, everything I look for in the people I surround myself with. Part of me thinks that I should be concerned that I often find myself completely able to relate to her posts, but then the other part of me tells that part of me to STFU, because she's totally awesome and a fantastic role model.

I don't know that I could pick a favorite post of all time, but I did enjoy her grammar lesson and the alot, her explanation for why it's normal to be afraid of spiders, her failure at being an adult, and her guide to awkward social situations. Then, of course, there's the horror movie post. Even C agreed that I could have written it myself. Hell, I still get all creeped out if I'm sleeping in my room and I start to think about the TV downstairs. I start picturing that creepy Ring girl crawling out of it and then I have to turn on the lights.

Undies!

Charlie went to daycare in his undies today. I talked to the director about it on Friday and she said that if he was potty trained at home then there's no reason why we shouldn't let him give it a shot at school.

He picked out his Batman undies to go with his Batman shirt. Fingers crossed for dry pants all day!!

Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is brought to you by Mrs4444!

Tonight I'm going to a massive mom's night out. More than 40 moms from an online community that I belong to are descending upon a local restaurant. Margaritas and queso dip for everyone!

Look what I found last night - Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale. OK, well maybe C found it in his Sam Adams Fall Variety Pack and then I stole it from him, but either way it was freaking tasty.

Wow, two posts and two mentions of alcohol. Think I'm a lush yet? No? Well here's a third. Not only did Woodchuck bring back their delicious Fall Cider, but they're also releasing a Pumpkin Cider this year! It's only going to a few select cities, and thankfully Cincinnati made the list. It will only be on the production line for 150 minutes! Time to start stalking the Party Source!

Ok, no more alcohol posts. Let's move on to a slightly more depressing topic. Last night I learned that all dreams do not come true. Football returned last night, and sadly, the Saints defensive line was not able to take down Favrererere and break his leg on the first play. Oh well. At least the vikings lost. Go Jets!

I found this little thing outside my garage last night.

Had no idea what it was. I didn't get a picture of the fangs, but it had two bright orange fang-like things that unrolled from what I guess was it's mouth. Can't really google "brown bug with yellow fang thingies that looks like a Pokemon." But wait! In a google image search for the Pokemon called Caterpie this little guy actually showed up! Turns out it's an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in the final stage before cocooning.

That's all the nature I need for a while.

Kitty Charlie Darwin is adjusting nicely to life in our house. He's very playful and sleeps a lot. He's also very patient with Charlie. I love hearing Charlie talk to his kitty. He automatically uses that high-pitched voice that people use when they talk to babies. It's very cute.

Our house feels so much more complete with a four legged friend running around.

I was faced with a moral dilemma this week when the red sux played Tampa Bay. I reeeeeeeally want Tampa Bay to lose every freaking game. NEED them to lose them, is probably more accurate. I just can't get past the idea of wanting the red sux to win. It's just not in my nature.

We have seven games left with Tampa and three with the red sux. I can't take it! Hoping for more of this in my life when October rolls around.

I redesigned my blog after some confusion about whether or not I was *still* pregnant. Nope. I think this picture says more about me than the old one did. Regardless of how cute the superbaby picture was, it was waaaaay out of date. Two years out of date, in fact.

Have I mentioned that I love fall weather? I hope that it's here to stay. Cool at night and perfectly pleasant during the day. No more of this 90 degrees BS, ok?