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??

Check it out...

Daddy's Little Princess 

First hair wash and not happy. Is this a hint of things to come?? 

The Poop Machine

Seriously contemplating a poop.

Just got back from the baby doc. The Monkey has surpassed her birth weight by 4 ounces. Yay! Must mean we are doing something right. This is good considering that, I swear, she’s got to be pooping almost everything she’s taking in. I’ve never seen so much poop! And we are flying through the diapers. I now understand why people talk about how expensive diapers are. I bet we go through 15-20 a day. This includes the brand new diapers that we put out for her, which she promptly pees or poops on. However, we’re getting better at the poop game and more efficient diaper management.

Mairin is also getting the hang of the day/night thing. We’ve been trying not to let her sleep too long during the day. The unbelievable effort at keeping a sleepy newborn awake is rewarded by 5 straight hours of sleep at night. Which is rewarded by less sleepy and cranky parents. Meaux is also getting down with the routine. He wants out too during the 5 am feeding. We really need to get the yard fenced in so Meaux can go out by himself.

More poop news coming….

Daddy's chest - my favorite place to sleep. *sigh* 

Getting a head start on World of Warcraft. She's gonna be a gamer! 

Awake, alert, and yellow. We're preparing her to dive as you can see by the fishies. 

Beautiful Mairin Day 1 

She's Here!

Sorry sorry sorry for the long delay in posting! Curleygirl v2.0 (aka Mairin Abigail, aka Baby MAC, aka Little Monkey) was born on June 11. She has been the my number one priority the last two weeks so I have been neglecting most everything else (I apologize for not calling some of you!). I won't go into details about labor and birth. It's sufficient to say epidural is my friend. Mairin has a head full of pretty brown hair, the biggest gray eyes (any thoughts as if they will be blue or brown?), and these long legs and fingers and toes (courtesy of Grandaddy P).

Mapgeek has been home this week with us. Next week is the first official week of me and baby. Our schedule right now consists of eat, sleep, poop, eat, sleep, poop. An occasional shower thrown in (while Daddy babysits) and some gaming time, though people I run into don’t understand the frequent AFK’s. Next week, we plan on eating, sleeping, and pooping. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated since I know you’re anxiously awaiting more news! :)

Newt and Hillary

I watched the Daily Show last night on the Comedy Channel. It’s a half hour “news” type show hosted by Jon Stewart. Typically I enjoy it, though I find Jon a little too left for my tastes. Last night, Newt Gingrich was on. I’ve was impressed with Newt during the interview. He and Jon bantered, but not the nastiness you typically see when you get a leftie and a rightie together. Plus, Newt laughed, which was great to see. Finally, a politician that doesn’t appear to take himself too seriously. The interesting thing is this health care deal that Newt and Hillary are working on. “Non-partisan” they say, which makes me suspicious (seeing how it’s Newt and Hillary). Are the two giants playing nice to see if we all will notice how above the political fray they are? Most likely. My only comment about their plan is that it seems very Big Brother-ish. I'll have to read more about it.

I sure wish we had more politicians that were up front, logical and less emotional in their arguments, and not so hypocritical. Do they all think we’re stupid? And when did the Constitution go out the window?

Pet Peeves

Ok, I just got back from the grocery store. Our friendly neighborhood Publix. At our Publix, there are two parking spots designated for expectant mothers. Being 1 day away from my due date, I take advantage of not walking the extra 20 feet. Some young thang in a silver Accord pulled into one of them. She was dressed in gym clothes and if she was pregnant, she certainly wasn’t showing, though I guess I shouldn't assume. Then, last weekend, Mapgeek and I came out of Publix, where we had to park next to the expectant mother parking spot, as they were both taken. We were followed out by a middle-aged, gray haired woman who had one of the young bag boys pushing her cart with her 5 bags to her 700 series BMW, which was parked next to us in the expectant mothers spot. Now, if she was pregnant, I'm a monkey's uncle. She was very loudly explaining to the bag boy (I’m sure for our benenfit, seeing how I can’t hide the pregnancy), how she feels that the expectant mother parking spots can be used by anyone. Give me a break. Can you say…BUSTED!!

What is wrong with people? I understand that these spaces (all 2 of them) are not governed by any laws. I also realize that some people do have problems getting around. However, if you're less mobile because you're 100 pounds overweight, go see your doctor and get a medical reprieve. That's why God invented handicapped stickers. What happened to courtesy? What happened to the care and nurturing of mothers? When did people get so lazy? (Did I point out that the young thang just came from a workout????) I hope these people and anyone else that is the center of the universe is ashamed.

And I feel the exact same way about people that abuse handicapped spots (having been previously in a wheelchair with a broken leg). However, in that case, I can call someone to apply that $500 fine. Yay!

One more day

We met up with our Charlotte friends (‘Nato and ‘Manda) last night for dinner at El Azteca in Sandy Springs. They come in town once a month or so for training and work. We sure miss having those guys around! Found out that ‘Nato is off for a year in Iraq this fall, somewhere south of Baghdad. He’s been in the National Guard for years and years. Mapgeek and I are super proud to know him and hope that he comes home safe and soon.

Now that I’m not in the office for a while, I’m finding that I’m not nearly as bored as I thought. I got my laptop set up for wireless networking, so I can work anywhere in the house (couch, bed, outside). Plus, I keep thinking of all this stuff that I still need to do. Is that nesting?

My client gave us two travel books for a baby present. She knows how much we love to travel. One is “1,000 Places To See Before You Die” and the other is ”No Touch Monkey: And Other Travel Lessons Learned Too Late”. Of course, first thing we did was go through the 1,000 places to see what we’d already seen. We’ve been to so many places! Our next Europe trip, unless we go back to London, will definitely have to be Italy. Our next big stateside trip will need to be the coast of South Carolina. I’ve not been to Charleston since high school and barely spent any time in Savannah. The travel bug continues.