Gratuitous Baby Pics

I got bored uploading pictures, so more will pry pop up here next time i have nothing to say, but for now here's some pics from our week up north.
Here's the dudes & Xander the poodle, rolling around on the floor. For the most part, my parents' dogs were really good. Zoe wanted to love them to bits & decided it was her mission in life to guard them again scary things (like the mailman, passing cars, neighbors, falling leaves, etc.) & Xander mostly ignored them, except for diaper changes, which he thought were very interesting. (really, what is it with dogs & poop?) Here's Conrad passed out in my mom's lap on their porch after an especially good bottle. I love "drunk baby" pics.

& Val, in the front seat of our lincoln after a quick diaper cahnge at a fair. Not sure why he's giving the steering wheel the stink eye in this picture, but it makes me laugh.

At the fair, hanging out listening to a local do really weird covers of old dean martin songs

Con man, very excited over his bottle. The dudes really love the great outdoors. :)

Me, taking Conrad for a little stroll on the beach. You can see lake huron in the background-- it was like glass. A bit cool for swimming, i thought, but the locals didn't agree. I love the great lakes... it's like looking at a little ocean.

Introducing Con to sand. He wasn't sure what he thought of it, but he liked when I poured it over his toes. Conrad is more of a grass kind of dude, I think.

My mom & Val at the beach. Val LOVED sand. In this pic he's trying to roll off his gram into the dirt. When we got him home, he was covered in sand. Sand in his hair, his toes, his diaper. I would have thought it would drive him nuts, but the dude apparently likes being dirty.

I have loads of other pics of us at various fairs & lots more at the beach, but darn blogger takes so long to upload pics.

Mostly we hung out outside every chance we got. Who doesn't love the beach, right? :)

Vacation is Over.

We're back. sigh....
I didn't realize how badly I needed to get out of here. (I took the dudes north to my folks' place on lake huron for the past week. it was WONDERFUL.) Even though I was stilll doing the bulk of the work that I usually do (all baby related, of course), somehow it was refreshing to be doing it in another place. I feel like myself again, not a boring, bored housewife.
& boy did I need to recharge. I feel so much better I didn't even feel like complaining that N hadn't done laundry, washed dishes or gone grocery shopping since I left. It was like the house was frozen in time. poor N really missed us, which made me feel less like a comfy piece of furniture & more like a valued wife. I know that sounds awful, but I really think sometimes you have to leave to make a guy realize what he's got. & I hate feeling like furniture.
I have some great pics of the dudes doing all kinds of fun baby things up north (babies at the beach, babies at the fair, babies on the deck, & other sundry activities), that i'll try to get up in another post. N is working late tonight, the boys are asleep, & I should be doing homework, but i'm lacking the motivation.
hoping the sense of well-being I picked up this past week hangs out for a while... with school & the lay off stress, I could really use the extra zen-ness in my life. at least I finally got a bit of a summer vacation. bring it on fall-- I'm ready.


p.s. i promise i'll catch up on blogs soon.... i'll read up the next couple days & reappear in comments, i swear!

Doing the Right Thing

i think i've posted before about the possibility of N getting laid off this fall. if i haven't, well, it's a possibility.

michigan's economy is seriously in the toilet. i know it's tough everywhere, but our unemployment is over 14% (by far the highest in the nation) & with the death of the american car co.s & pending plant shut downs, its only going to get worse. lots worse. 100 troops (state police) are getting laid off at the end of the week. (did i mention the governor is also closing down 9 state prisons? great idea, right? release felons & cut back on law enforcement... sounds safe.) if no money materializes soon, 200 more troops, including N, will be laid off come october. what about the stimulus money you say? well, there is some doubt as to whether the state filed things properly to get the money in the first place, & there are rumours that the governor is threatening to deduct the amount of the law enforcement stimulus from the state's budget for the police (effectively taking the law enforcement stimulus & putting it to a completely different use.) who knows if any of this is true, but things are looking bad regardless.

on to the point of my post-- this week, the state police union sent out a private ballot to all of its members, asking them to give up 40 hrs of pay to keep the 100 troops who are getting laid off this week working until october (when they WILL be laid off, potentially along with the additional 200). it may not sound like much at first blush, but its around $500 a month, which for a blue collar or single income family (like ours & most trooper families) really adds up. so that leaves us with a dilemma-- is it better to selfishly look to the needs of your own family first? or to think of the families, many of whom are your dear friends, who will shortly have no income & no benefits if you don't give up the pay? on a larger scale, will the state police as a whole look selfish if they refuse to work without pay to keep their comrades working, thus harming their chances to get state reps on their side? (i find this a questionable argument, since last year the state police bailed out the state government & drained its own stash of money, which the state will not repay, to prevent layoffs then, but it is something to consider.) since layoffs are definitely coming in october for the 1st 100 troops, & likely for an additional 200, does it even matter which way you vote?

N has made his decision & i support him fully, (i will not be revealing which way we went-- i don't want to sway your opinions), but it was a choice we struggled with. the sh*tty economic situation here is forcing some tough moral choices, & i'm wondering what you all would do... what do you think? when times get tough, is it every man for himself, or does success depend on our determination to stand together?

At least the boys are doing well....

Update on my dudes: We had a check up for both guys today. Con is doing better on his prevacid-- the reflux isn't totally cured, but much better & hpoefully will continue to improve. He's up to 8lbs 13oz now! Val we had in bc he's been having puking episodes where he projectile vomits his entire feeding-- it's like The Exorcist & very not cool. The pedi. couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, so we're going to continue to watch him & if he starts doing it more than once a day we'll have to have some more tests done. For now we're just watching him & hoping it's bc he's a big piggy-- little dude now weighs 9lbs 2oz!! They've been getting up to eat like every hour & a half this week, which is brutal, but at least they're growing well.

In less cool news, the state of MI is in huge debt & doing major budget cutbacks, & the incredibly stupid powers that be have laid off 100 state troopers, including most of N's class. Although the cuts this time weren't deep enough to affect N, alot of our friends will be out of a job come June. & the next round of cuts, (which they're threatening), would include N. Which would leave us in all kinds of trouble & likely force us to move out of state, which we REALLY do not want to do. We specifically moved here to be near family & raise our kids, & while we will do what we need to in order to get by, the thought of leaving our home & family is more than I can bear right now.

In more uncool news, my 94 yr old grandfather, who until recently has been in amazing health, is in a semi-coma state after a surgery. My dad is on his way to Grand Rapids to be with him now & we're hoping he makes a come back-- he's done it before & is the toughest old guy I've ever known, so if anyone can do it, I'm sure he can. He's always been in such great health & seemed so indestructable despite his age that I just can't picture things without him. So please, if you all can spare a moment, think some good thoughts for him.