NewYorke.org

Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:39:00 +0000

Sevy asked for pizza for dinner last night. I was hoping she'd repeat it, but she wasn't to keen on talking when there was so much eating to be done.

Scooting

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:47:00 +0000

Sevy's starting to walk now, so here's her scooting for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

I've you're happy and you know it

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:54:00 +0000

I was trying to capture Apes tickling Sevy's feet, but as soon as I turned on the camera, B started singing.

Houston Amtrak Station

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:23:00 +0000

I had intended to go to check out the station and pick up my tickets last week. Unfortunately, I got really sick and didn't make it out there. I was even tempted to go yesterday (day of departure) afternoon, just so I knew where it was. At this point, I wish I had.

To call it a station is an exaggeration except maybe in the purest form of the word: it isn't going anywhere. The station consists of a solitary building in the middle of what appears to be an abandoned parking lot under the freeway. There is no platform and no fencing, the train just stops behind the building.

The second I pulled into the parking lot I knew that my truck wouldn't be there when I got back. The ticketing agent confirmed that no vehicles would be safe after closing at 11pm. I was lucky enough to have some friends come and pick up my truck so that it wasn't left overnight. The ticketing staff were kind and helpful, holding my key for me until my friend arrived. The HPD officer on site was not helpful or courteous in the least (they rarely are, in my experience). He basically told me that if I didn't get the car moved before the train left, it was my problem.

In all, these issues at the Houston "station" wouldn't be so much of a problem in the daylight. However, the train never stops in Houston during the day.

Putting my money where my mouth is

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:55:00 +0000

As I've said before, I think the TSA is a gross misuse of powers never granted. But, I need to go to Arizona this week. My train has just departed.

Replacement

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:23:00 +0000

B: You were asleep so we replaced you with a board game.

Seven's Blessing

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:59:00 +0000

My letter to Southwest Airines

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:03:00 +0000

Here’s an email I sent to Southwest Airlines tonight. I urge anyone else who is concerned about the TSA to write their congressional representatives, airports, and airlines.

I am a fairly-frequent flyer. I go between between Houston Hobby and Love field sometimes 3 – 4 times a month. My family frequently flies to Dallas because it’s more convient than driving. However, as the TSA continues to infringe upon travelers, there is no longer a convience factor.

It is my understanding that airports may choose to provide their own security rather than submit to the underpaid, undereducated, unscreeened TSA agents.

The two airports I travel through the most, Hobby and Love Field, have significant space used by Southwest, the main airline I travel with. I would like to let you know that my family and I have decided we will no longer fly as long as the TSA has a presence at our airports.

Chatting with B

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Chatting with B

Here's a little bit of B's time in the hospital room with Seven. I added subtitles because through much of it you can't really here what B's saying.

Chillin'

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 02:26:00 +0000

Seven Chillin'

More Hospital Photos

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:43:00 +0000

Big Brother

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:55:00 +0000

B (in his best sing-song voice): Calm down, your big brother's here!

First Photos

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:35:00 +0000

Click for the album.

Nesting, Stage 2-- IKEA adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:55:00 +0000

I mentioned before that Dave and I went to IKEA for $35 worth of organization materials and left with a whole living room worth of desperately long needed couches and accessories. What I didn't mention was the consequences of that decision. You see, the problem with buying furniture is that you have to get it home somehow. Yes, IKEA does have delivery options, but why have something delivered when it fits so nicely in the bed of your truck.

When you buy something big from IKEA, you go downstairs, give your receipt to an attendent who pulls the boxes for you. Then someone helps you get them in your vehicle. I, of course, kept my hands out of this whole process. Not going to get to close to gigantic boxes being flung around when I'm so pregnant. Dave and the Ikea guy loaded it all up in the truck. Nice and tight. I thought about mentioning the need to use a tie down, just incase, but it really was in there pretty tight. And IKEA does a good job with those boxes. They are meant to be taken home by "normal people". (Haha, yea right!)

Keep in mind, this whole story is 9 days before we are having this baby. Dave and I both are feeling incredibly protective and not willing to place myself and our little girl in any danger.

So they load it up, nice and tight, and we head out across Houston at 4pm. Just enough time to get across town before rush hour hits in it's fullness. If you don't know anything about the HOV system in Houston, it is the worst in the country. Even people who have lived here for 10-15 years struggle to use the system. It's tough to get in, and practically impossible to get out of. But it was rush hour, so we decided locating the HOV lane was our best bet. We get just past down town (4:30, traffic is pretty heavy) and one of those ginormous boxes in the back starts to shred! Of course, where are we? In the HOV lane... No exits! No way to get out of this thing, so we just keep going... 10 min later, this thing was in shambles an we were still where? Stuck in the HOV lane.

Pieces of our brand new couch start FLYING out of the bed of the truck! Yep, It's now 4:45, traffic is rushing past us on all sides. Fortunately, we were Where? The HOV lane. It only allows one lane of traffic, so Dave commands, "Stay in the truck!" and stops the traffic to retrieve this thing. 9 days before delivery, you pretty much follow any command that insures your safety. So, Dave gets the item, puts it in the back seat and we head onward. This happened THREE times!!! That's right, You know those idiots with crap falling out of their truck in rush hour traffic... THAT was us! Blocking half of the HOV lane, everyone having to slow down to 30 to pass. OH, and did I mention it had been raining??? That's right, so everything that fell out was now covered in mud! (Sighs.)

Eventually the back seat was full. No more room for our mud soaked couch pieces. Dave worked on it for like 25 min, trying desperately to get it all stable. No such luck. I kept waving the tie down ropes at him, but it really was a two person job. I knew he needed assistance, but.... remember... I was due in 9 days and had been firmly commanded not to place myself and the baby in danger. So I sat there... watching my husband struggle alone, with 5:00 traffic zooming by.

Finally, It becomes obvious that this two-person job just wasn't going to get done alone. So... I need you to picture this... Dave and I, both in our nicest professional clothes. (We had gone in for our last ultrasound and a date before the baby, we really looked pretty good.) Blocking half of the HOV lane in full rage 5:00 traffic. Me- I could not POSSIBLY have looked more pregnant! Holding up these huge boxes, so Dave can climb on top to get these tie downs around everything. I couldn't help but laugh. (I was really surprised no one stopped to help... seriously... this is not the Texas I grew up in.)

So, we get it all tied down. On the way home, Dave shakes his head, "I should have just taken the delivery." I had to ask, "Why? How much was it?" "50 bucks!" HAHAHAHAHA!!! So, the moral of the story is... TAKE THE DELIVERY.

Our new living room

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:02:00 +0000

So Dave has now emerged into frantic nesting too. My version includes organizing everything in our house . Dave's includes trips to Sams and Costco, stocking up on anything we could need.

On Thursday, our nesting worlds collided. We had our last ultrasound.... Officially 1 week and 4 days before our Zoë is born. We went out to eat alone while we still had a chance. Then we went to Ikea... I needed some closet organizers (making room for our little girl). Dave was looking for a glider rocking chair.

We left the store with closet organizers, a couch & love seat (I love them!), and accessories. Our living room now looks quite lovely. All right, it wasn't THAT much of an impulse buy... We have both HATed those couches ever since I was dumb enough to accept them as a hand-me-down 6 years ago (they were already 7 years old at the time.) The couch had a Giant hole in it 12 inches and the springs were sticking straight up. Fortunately, it was hidden. None-the-less, not a safe place to lay an infant. It was time!

Not good timing with the mass quantities of funding disappearing from our coffers, but in spite of my typically too-cheap-to-spend-$-self, it just needed to happen. We actually looked for one in June, but I was too busy puking or comatose for us to be successful. And, somehow, it was the right thing to do in spite of the timing.

We got an inexpensive rug and a couple of matching throw pillows. And I Love It!!!! My living room now resembles me and what I like rather than whatever someone else gave me. Hallaleujah! I feel like I've been let out of unable-to-decorate-my-own-house prison.

Languages

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:59:00 +0000

B: "Do developers learn a new language when they make the games for the iPod?"

Pounding Dave

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:51:00 +0000

Well, with the help of Tylenol and Benadryl each night before bed, I'm now sleeping at least to 4am and feeling much better. Bless Dave's heart.... I turn over like 10-15 times a night. My belly's so big it almost takes a forklift to turn myself over. I have to build up some serious force.... Poor Dave keeps getting beat up... 4-5 times a night, I find myself pounding the guy in one way or another. It's a good thing he loves me so much.

2 good weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:39:00 +0000

Well, I had two good weeks there. I am truly grateful. I feel a lot better about life. I got a lot of important preparations done. Most of the crutial things are done. Still got plenty to do, but it really helped.

I fear I've now slipped back into a painful insomnia phase. Awake half the night cause both hips hurt too much to sleep on them anymore. But, it's all good....
2 1/2 more weeks. Then I'll be up all night still, but we will have our little baby girl. We are all so excited!

Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:51:00 +0000

For the record, I understand and absolutely respect the values of many of my peers who shy away from Halloween activities on Sunday.

But Dave was reading someone's blog this week. She said something interesting that may have just changed how I feel about the topic. She is a non-member who loves the gospel and is married to a member...

She said... Jesus said suffer the little children to come unto me. Halloween is the one day a year when we have children, of all ages, knocking on our doors. She said, "What would Jesus Do?" He would welcome them. He would bring his very best candy, so that they would know and remember his home, and want to return.

I have a teenage LDS neighbor who hasn't knocked on my door in years. I miss her. I was delighted for her to knock on my door again. Imagine her surprise when she was greeted with a bowl full of the coolest (nostalgic packaging as if from the 30s) full sized candy bars. "Oh, Wow!!!," she said. "Here, you can have another one too. " ("She's my favorite." I told her friend. ) Any opportunity to let her know that she is both loved and welcomed in our home.

I haven't always been as welcoming as I should have been. But, I'm starting to think maybe the blogger was right... That is what Jesus would do. Never miss an opportunity to love.

Nesting

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:29:00 +0000

I'm so on a maniacal cleaning spree. Cleaning, throwing out, or storing everything in sight. Including some things that I'm sure I've rarely touched in the past 6 years in our house. Friday, I plowed through like 5 different piles if stuff, scrubbed all the cabinet doors in the kitchen and the refrigerator, yesterday steam cleaned all the carpets (with Dave's help- Thank goodness), today scrubbed down the laundry room. B came by.... He says, "Mom, what are you doing?" Me: "Oh, just cleaning." B: "For Seven.?." Me: "Ya. Just gotta make sure everything is clean for the baby. I cleaned like this before you came too. Lots of preparations."

I just thought... What a wise little boy! He really gets it. I guess somehow, this whole nesting thing just makes sense to him.

Preparations

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:21:00 +0000

Dave is self employed and I work part-time. We have medical insurance, but no plans are offered for those who are self employed cover maternity. Dave called our doctor and hospital before we got pregnant and it looked like the bill would be around $5K. WRONG. More like $12K! (That is a LOT of $... And There is a Big difference between $5k and $12K).

So, I've been working on it all year (when I was awake). Collecting the resources is like trying to fill a giant swimming pool with a fire hose sized siphon draining it at the same time. But, now it's time.... The "last" (yeah right) $7K is due in like 2 weeks when we register for the hospital.

I've been working with fervor to find and pool the resources...
Filing Dept care reimbursement account
Filing Medical reimbursement account
Resubmitting unpaid accident claim from last year
A couple of remaining pay checks
AFLAC and maternity disability forms (after the baby's born)

Whew! This is what it means to take care of a family.... Filling out lots of forms. A new kind of nesting.

I created this crazy spreadsheet yesterday of what's coming in and going out when. I'm grateful. Somehow, it's all gonna work out.

Of course, we still have another $10K liability by the end of the year. (Shakes her head and laughs). Somehow this is all gonna work out. Sometimes, you just take a big, deep breath and know that Heavenly Father is gonna take care of you.... He Always Has!

Relatively normal

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:45:00 +0000

So, for about the past almost 2 weeks, I have felt relatively normal. Ok, well not "normal", but what I assume is "normal for a woman who's 8 months pregnant". It's amazing.... I'm not in a walking coma, not puking, not a total insomniac, and not in so much pain that I can't function....This must be what "normal" pregnancy is like.

I remember when I was a kid, my P.E. teacher bringing in this medicine ball. It was about twice or three times the size of a basketball and Really heavy to kick or move around. Being 8 months pregnant is like carrying around a 25 lb, dense and amazingly muscularly firm, wiggly/ randomly lopsided medicine ball inside your abdominal cavity. Don't want to move too fast for fear that you'll knock the medicine ball out of it's careful symmetry. Or, heaven forbid, Cause harm. Couldn't move very fast anyway with this ginormous heavy weight. I find myself taking long, hot baths at the end of the day to relax the muscles that have been working so hard to balance this gargantuan weight and to bring circulation back into my feet.

But I must say, this really isn't too bad. I can deal with this level of discomfort. Especially when I know that we will be having a little girl coming soon. This must be what most women experience. No wonder they keep getting pregnant... If this is as bad as it gets for them.

It's been nice. I've had enough energy to get some nesting done.... Taking care of those tasks that are vital to having a stable place for our little girl in just a few weeks. I just feel so much better knowing that I've taken care of those things. I got her pack-n-play (bassinet) set up in our room, went through all of Ian's stuff for gender neutrals, handed down 8 boxes of Ian's clothes (ages B-3) to make room, made some drawer space in our room, got rid of several piles throughout the house, and made a little stack of B-3 month clothes for our little girl. I cleaned out the refrigerator. I'm sure I'll have a mad cleaning spree at some point, but no point right now... Too much time to get it dirty again. But I am grateful to have the energy to take care of my family!

Why I work...

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:54:00 +0000

I the church, few women with small children work outside the home when their children are small. I respect this choice and feel it is best for most families. But for me, and my family, things are different.... I work (part time- 3 days) for a couple of reasons.
1) I really love what I do. Every day, I make a real difference in the lives of people with disabilities. A unique difference, one that only I can do. Heavenly Father has planted in me the desire, and trained me up, to make a difference in the world.

2) But more than that, because I want B to have as much time as he possibly can with BOTH parents. I work 3 days and bring home 50% of my family's income. This allows Dave to pay himself only about 50-60% of what he's worth, so his business can grow. Because the financial demands of his family are more reasonable, he doesn't have to work 60-70 hours a week to grow his business meet our needs. Consequently, he spends more time with his family and our son than any man I know! He is available and loves to be with his family. Dave works 40-50 hours a week, but he adjusts his efforts, so that much of it is relaxed time (uploading stuff or making simple changes to his software) after B goes to bed. Taking a few extra hours, or an extra day, to be with his family is par for the course.

I grew up with a workaholic father... Driven by the desperate desire of a very young father to meet the unattainable needs of his family- until he finally cracked. I remember him getting up at 4 am, leaving at 5am, home at 6-7pm, too exhausted to function. Grumpy, tired, unrespected. Never knew or enjoyed his kids. But he worked his is butt off, every day.

I see lots of families where the mother is home, but the dad works 50, 60, 70 hours a week and/ or is gone for weeks on end. Not criticizing their choices.

But for us, the Best choice, is to give our children BOTH of their parents.... Happy, productive parents, who have time and energy to enjoy and treasure every moment, as much as possible.

Motherhood

noreply@blogger.com (Apes) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:06:00 +0000

I must admit, Motherhood bewilders me. You would think that after having had one baby (and numerous ultrasounds) that I would believe that there was actually a baby girl in my belly. But, to be honest, it's still a weird concept for me. Ok, so logically, I get it. And sure, there is definitely some tiny creature doing gymnastics in there. But really, truly, a baby girl... No way. It all seems so incredibly unreal.

I guess because there is a real disconnect between what my body is doing (H.F. is managing that job) and what I am doing... Donating "personal" space and raw materials for a good cause. It's obvious to me that I am not the one in charge of the project... Genetics, hormones, Heavenly Father... Ya. That's who's in charge here.

Me... I'm just doing my best to survive the experience without permanent damage. ;) (well, besides the usual, "your body will never, ever be the same" that goes along with every pregnancy.) I figure the best thing I can do to take care of her is to take care of myself. And get our life/ home ready (which is tough when you can't lift more than 10 lbs).

In the meantime, I just smile every time my little gymnast goes for another round of summersaults, knowing that she must be doing ok. So dearly excited that almost nothing else in this life matters... My family and my baby... That's all that matters.

B is a Mac

noreply@blogger.com (DCY) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:55:00 +0000

B is definitely a Mac. Today he said:

Too bad Lego Harry Potter is a Windows game. If it were a Mac game, it would not be so slow.