TB Scare

This is just great. A night nurse at Northside Hospital, where Mairin was born at the same time that Mairin was born, tested positive for turberculosis. Luckily, we are not one of the 37 newborns that were put at risk. I can't decide whether to be super super ticked, or chalk it up to life. On another note in my disappointment with Northside...a newborn screening that we had requested was not done. The nurse said it was, but the lab says it wasn't.

However, Northside (aka, the Baby Factory) is definitely the place to have a child if there is any possibility of complications. The deliver 50 babies a day there! The doctors were great, but some of the nursing staff and technicians leave a lot to be desired. Can you say bedside manner without the 'tude?

Happiness is baby smiles! 

Cheers to JK Rowling!

Harry Potter (with spitting English accent)!! Yes, I am a sucker for Harry Potter. I have enjoyed the first five books and am looking forward to my Amazon order coming with #6. What an amazing legacy JK Rowling has created. If I could only have half the imagination and time and patience to put together a story like this. Kudos to Ms. Rowling for creating such a wonderful place!

When I was growing up, I was one of those kids that read constantly. I mean, I got in trouble in school by reading during class. I lied to my parents telling them I was scared and to leave the hall light on. Only so I could continue to read my favorite books by the light of the hall. CONSTANTLY. There were a few books that I remember that were some of my favorites. I've been buying them periodically on Amazon so that I can re-read them (haha) and so my kids might experience the same escapes into other places that I loved so much. And, since I'm writing here, I thought that I'd sometimes put them here too so that some of you might go "oh yeah! I remember that one!" or even check them out at the library.

The latest ones I've gotten are the Wrinkle in Time series by Madeline L'Engle. I loved these! My favorite memory is of the people in the other world that did everything at exactly the same time, such as all the kids bouncing balls in rhythm.

Today, I ordered From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. This is one that most people don't know. It's about a brother and sister that move into a museum. It reminds me a little bit of the movie, Terminal. The kids hide in the restroom until closing and get change out of the fountain. As a child, I was always fascinated with being in a museum after closing and doing anything I wanted. I can't wait to read this again!


I'm also on the hunt for a series of books and I can't remember the titles. It's about a nerdy, loner girl who's only friends are a younger nerdy (and somewhat overweight) boy, an elderly neighbor woman that is a witch, and an older man (think he helped the elderly neighbor). The books are primarly about adventures of the girl and the elderly witch woman. The stories were somewhat dark, but entertaining. I believe I read them around 4-6th grades sometime. Let me know if anyone remembers them!

I swear, she's not always asleep, but she sure is cute when she is! 

First shots

We went for Mairin's one month checkup today. She's up to 8 lb, 13 oz! And, she's 21 inches! Man, they grow so fast! The doctor says she is doing great and was very surprised that Mairin has started rolling over. She can roll from her stomach to her back on a level surface. Scared the dickens out of me when I came to get her out of her crib and she was all wedged up against the railing. We'll have to watch her much more closely now. She also got her hepatitis B shot. I've NEVER heard her scream so loud. Had it lasted longer than the 3 seconds until I picked her up, I probably would have gotten upset too. There's nothing worse than seeing your kid in screaming pain.

Anyways, all is well in Atlanta! Just wanted to give a quick update for the remote peoples!

Now what am I gonna do??

I was feeding the baby this morning and turned on the TV. Turned to my favorite daytime channel, TNT, for some entertaining Buffy action. Then ER, Judging Amy, Angel, Charmed, etc. And dang it! The British Open is on until 3!! Golf!!!!!! What the heck?

Now let's think about this. Who watches golf? Men. I would venture a guess that it's a game watched by professional men. Now, what professional man is home in the middle of the day to watch golf? And how many moms are at home, looking for a little entertainment that IS NOT golf?

*sigh* Maybe I'll have to watch Oprah instead.

This is what makes the late nights all worthwhile! 

Hurricane Mairin

As you all know, hurricane season has officially started in the south. Hurricane Dennis came through Florida/Alabama on Sunday. We are STILL getting remnants of the weather system that was Dennis. Lots of rain and thunderstorms. Though, the sun is out right now. It should start storming around rush hour.

Then we have Hurricane Mairin here in Curleyville. She starts blustering around midnight and hits full force around 2. I have about 3 hours of non-stop baby action each night. I hold her, then change her, then feed her, then burp her, then change her, then hold her until she dozes off, then put her down. After 15 minutes she wakes up again and we start it all over again. No wonder Daddy is so tired each morning and Mairin and Mommy sleep off and on until 11 or 12. But she's so cute that it doesn't seem like too much of a hassle unless she's superduper upset.

My days consist of getting up around 8. I feed the baby, feed the mommy, feed the dog, and surf the web. Then we all nap until lunch time. Then I feed the baby, feed the mommy, change the baby, and watch Prime Time in the Daytime on TNT while all this is going on. Then Mairin goes back to sleep and I get to shower. Yay! Then I work on thank you notes (I'm getting them done slowly but surely). Then it's more feeding/changing/burping/holding action. I'm AMAZED how much time a baby takes! But now she's down for the late afternoon nap and I can blog and then on to WOW until Mapgeek comes home!

I'm Never Gonna Grow Up!

Ok, this is funny. I saw a commercial today for the play, Peter Pan, which is being run here in Atlanta. Starring.....Cathy Rigby!

You've GOT to be kidding me! Cathy Rigby is like mid-50's. And she's playing the never-aging, young boy from Never Never Land (I'm hearing a Jacko joke here somewhere). How could anyone watch this production and imagine Peter Pan is not a middle aged woman? Maybe she'd be better off playing Tinkerbell.

Thinking of London

Lots going on today. The Tube and several buses in London were bombed during rush hour this morning. Lots of people killed by terrorists. Watching the news this morning, I see familiar places that Mapgeek and I visited just a few months ago. My sympathies to the English and their beautiful city.

I'm sick to death of extremism. It reminds me of the whackos in the US that are so pro-life or the militants that are so anti-goverment. Violence to promote beliefs, just in case anyone disagrees with them. As we all know, there is no reasoning with these people. No point in discussions or rational thought. It's like dealing with a small child. As that appears to be the case, let them make their demands. Then let's leave Iraq, Afghanistan, and any other place they think we should. Then, let them exist in whatever "peace" they find. However, as that is not really reasonable for the rest of us, let's first annex the oil fields, then leave. Or better yet, let's find alternative soures of fuel, including ANWAR, then leave the little bastards to their virgins. Human rights violations (at the hands of these freaks) be damned.

Ok, I'm done ranting. I could go on and on about this, but I'm sure it's all be said before. Makes me unbelievably ticked.

All worn out from the busy day on the lake. 

Momma and Mairin. She loves The Contraption!  

Vacation! (aka, "Squint and you can see Mexico")

We made our first official family vacation this past weekend. The Parlier parentals have a lake house on Watts Bar Lake in Kingston, TN (southwest of Knoxville). We took babygirl up there along wtih Granddaddy and Grandmom Parlier and brother Peewee and his wife. We had a great time doing not much of anything, or at least I didn't do much of anything. I didn't even get in the car for three whole days! Living in Atlanta, that's the same thing as heaven. I have a feeling that we're going to be up there a lot this summer. Yay!

The best part about the Fourth of July in Tennessee is that fireworks are legal. So, on Sunday night, us and all our fellow rednecks lit it up out over the lake. Someone just down the river had some serious rockets going on. Wonder how you get those??

Hey y'all! Watch dis! (redneck's last words)

I sure miss living in Tennessee. Or maybe it's the small, southern town I miss, though Chattanooga isn't really that small. But, it doesn't have all the transplants that Atlanta has. Nor the 'tude.

Can I bum a smoke?

Georgia's smoking ban went into effect on Friday. I absolutely, wholeheartedly DISAGREE with this ban. It's a total infringement on private businesses. Isn't that unconstitutional??? If I own a bar and want to patrons to be able to smoke, it's my decision. It is NOT the government's. If you are a nonsmoker and want to protect your air and health, then don't go to that establishment. Duh. When did the almighty goverment become responsible for my decisions about my health?? However, I do AGREE with a ban on smoking in goverment buildings. The goverment "owns" them and can do what the people want with them. This just astounds me that laws like this pass with little argument. It's the ongoing baby steps that Big Brother makes while crossing the line to governing the personal lives of our citizens. People can make their own decisions. WE ARE NOT LEMMINGS!

Ok, enough. The funniest thing I saw about this law, is that the "Father" (as the AJC calls him) of the legislation lives on a chicken farm. Now which do you think is worse for our environment...96,000 chickens and associated waste, or someone smoking??

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