The Phantom Battery

Grant will put anything in his mouth.

As Jennifer was flattening her hair for church, she noticed Grant sitting amid the broken pieces of a toy cell phone (at just 1.15 years old, Grant already knows how to hold it up to his ear and babble). She collected all the pieces, but couldn't find one of the phone's two button batteries. A long search on her hands and knees failed to produce the Smartie-sized pill.

The two parents reasoned, 'He won't eat broccoli florets, why would he eat a metallic battery?' Everyone moved on.

At night, however, Grant cried in his crib for over an hour, which is unusual for him. He normally puts in a worthy 5-minute effort, then calls it quits. But this increased the likelihood that an ingested battery was giving him fits. So they pulled Grant out of his crib, and the little guy thought he was the champ (increased effort, increased results).

Now Jennifer drafted Joseph into the search. The two groped the floor for over an hour, then called the "My Baby Swallowed a Battery, What Do I Do Now" hotline (202-625-3333). They suggested taking Grant in for an X-ray.

At 10:00 pm Joe drove Grant to his hospital. By this time Grant was tired. His body was like a soaked towel; they spread-eagled his little body over the x-ray film and snapped a picture. 10 minutes later the verdict arrived: No battery.

So now, each of the kids have emergency room experience. Madison chopped off the tip of her finger while performing circus tricks on her chair. Logan was rushed to the ER after a few weeks of life because he was full of mucus (still is); then had to have a sweet pea extracted from his left nostril (always something green); and then had to have his forehead stitched up after tripping on a stair.

Kids.

Fun times!

 Logan, Madison, Joe and I went to a Cleveland Indians game. Grant enjoyed playing at a friend's home! We got a little rained on, but fun was had by all.

Kids coloring. Grant only ate the non-toxic crayons.

BTW, Grant still isn't walking, but he has mastered the stairs! I still get a little nervous and try to watch him when he is going up or down, but he's fast! As you'll see, he kind of slides down--he keeps his left leg straight and his right leg bent just in case he needs to stop (like if he sees something mouth-worthy on the stairs, or realizes that the fun is upstairs).  I just watched the video and can't figure out why it cropped his head off, or how to fix it. Sorry! He also is finally getting more teeth--four are coming in on top. We laugh when we see his tongue rubbing his upper gums--it would be weird to all of a sudden feel something hard and sharp coming out of those baby-smooth (and swollen) gums!

We're still planning to move. Life is feeling back to normal.  The sunshine and warm weather help keep our spirits up. I'm basically finished with my first three credits, and need only three more before September to keep my teaching cert. current. I called the Idaho State Dept. of Ed., and they said I could even take a class I had taken before. Life's not too bad! I actually am kind of excited, and told Joe I could work for a while and he could be the stay-at-home dad while he started up the practice. He quickly turned my offer down... must be he realizes that staying home with the kids isn't all play-dates and macaroni and cheese!

Joe is working away at getting a web page up and figuring out marketing stuff for the practice he hopes to get started in a month or so. Stressful? Yes. But he's excited, and even though we both have doubtful moments, we are hopeful and feel like this move--literally and figuratively--will be a great blessing.  

House for Sale!

If you haven't seen our home, check it out! 

Some of our favorite things about our home:

• Feels comparatively new (it was built in 1949, but it's in great shape. And for those of you unfamiliar with the east--1949 is relatively new for a house!)
  
• We have an attached garage (many of the homes out here have a detached garage behind the home.)
• We have a great backyard
• We live a 5 minute walk from the park, which has a great pool, playgrounds, tennis courts, and playing fields
• We a few minutes away from several shopping centers
• The playroom is right off the dining room, so we can entertain or clean, and the kids are never out of sight!

If you know anyone looking for a home out in Cleveland, send them our way!

(I put a picture of Madi's room up because the one on realtor.com doesn't show how cute it is! And this picture is super faded for some reason. In case you can't tell, the colors in her room are pink, purple, and green. I love it!))

Additional Niagara Falls Pics

Jenny is Going to Kill Me

Voila! Here's is my cute wife after her in-the-doghouse husband forgot to bring her changing clothes to transition from a temple trip (Palmyra) to Niagara Falls. Her mother kindly let Jenny borrow some extra shoes, and we stopped at a Dollar Tree to pick up some socks. She was quite embarrassed. She wasn't very thrilled that I took this picture in the first place, and I'm pretty sure she won't be impressed that I posted it. (Although, doesn't she look happy?)

Turning 1

Joe and the kids are making chocolate chip cookies. Joe said he'd cook if I'd blog. They say hi!

Grant turned 1 on March 20! It was hard choosing which baby picture to put up: crying and slimy, or sleeping and peaceful. I chose sleeping because he is a happy and content little boy. He's not walking yet, and I don't think he's got any interest in walking yet; although today he did think it was fun to walk with mom and kick a soccer ball. He plays well with the other kids, but definitely knows how to scream and fight back when he wants something, especially if that something was taken away. All in all, the past year has gone incredibly fast, and I suspect that the clock will continue to tick faster each year. We love you, Grant-e!

We had a very small, very simple party for him--we returned home from Texas the midnight before. I (mom) felt a little bad that we did so much less for his birthday than for Logan's or Madison's, but luckily Grant doesn't seem to know or care.

 

(Insert joke about eating the high-chair strap when food is gone.)

Unlike Logan a nd Madison, Grant had lots of cake and even some ice cream before turning 1. 

Here's Madison and Logan on their first birthdays. Who do you think Grant looks most like?

Have You Missed Me? A random rant.

Hello! Our lives have been crazy lately. I'm sure you understand. We've been taking down wallpaper, painting, chipping paint, painting, tearing out tile, putting down new floors, packing, and cleaning. We bought a home that we wouldn't have to fix-up. Mostly we haven't had to do too much. And since we've only been here for about 18 months, we don't even need to do too much painting. But the realtor suggested a few things, including replacing the bathroom floor. OK, so we've known for a long time that we needed to do something about the bathroom floor. We've even called a few bathroom floor people to come fix it, but never followed through. Well, we finally have time to fix our bathroom floor and a few other things for someone else to live in our home. Isn't life ironic?

My parents and some WONDERFUL friends have helped us out.... babysitting, lending a steamer, lending a saw, wall-prepping, and helping us put down the new bathroom floor. So many more have offered to babysit and come over to help pack, organize, clean, etc. *I still might call you!!!

Joe is busy taking care of business... health insurance, loose ends, applications, TX bar-exam study, and (reading) books about starting your own practice and immigration law.

I get easily stressed out, but I'm surviving. I know we have a Heavenly Father who is watching out for us, and I am thankful for the friends and family who have shared their love with us.

We are almost ready to put the house up for sale. We are leaving for TX in a few days to scope out the area and decide if this is really the path we should take. We have often recognized the many options in front of us, but at no time have I so identified with Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Less Traveled"

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Grant turns one this month. The kids think it's fun to have dad at home. I'm glad they aren't old enough to understand the stresses on our lives; they think we are in a great adventure. And we are. They are the reason we live, our hopes for the future. And I'll leave you with a picture of Grant catching bubbles. I wish I had it on video so you could see his delight and laughter when "catching" a bubble.

FAQ

This is a brief post to answer a few "frequently asked questions."

1. We are most likely moving to Dallas, TX, or thereabouts. If I had to put a percentage on it, I'd say it's slightly north of 90%.

2. Perhaps most importantly, our next child will indeed help us carry on our tradition of having a baby in each state we live in. Personally, I hope that Dallas will be our last stop, but if Jenny has her way, I guess we're looking at two more moves!

3. We don't know when we are moving. The realtor came over yesterday to inspect the house. The market outlook is bleak, but she was encouraging. We will know more about when we will move depending on when the house sells. There's a chance we may be a family apart for a while.

4. I will hopefully be taking the Texas bar in July. Luckily I've been well trained in a few federal practice areas, which means that I can practice some federal law in Texas until my Texas license kicks in.

5. Will we miss Cleveland?

Jenny will.

For the most part, Cleveland has not been the most pleasant experience for me. Besides the job toxicity, the weather is horrible, the taxes are high, and the roads are poorly maintained (and while I'm at it, does anyone know why they don't use reflective paint to stripe the roads??? When it rains, I have no idea what lane I'm in!).

Aside from all that, we truly treasured the opportunity to live near Kirtland and get in touch with that era of church history. We've learned a lot. We've also grown to really love the people in our ward. There are some amazing hearts, minds, and helping hands. My guess is that if we were leaving Baghdad, we'd feel the same regret over losing such great people. At the same time, being students most of our married career, we've left and seen leave great people before; I'm sure the next stop will have some equally amazing spirits.

6. Many have asked how Jenny feels about moving to Texas. I'm sure she would appreciate the opportunity to answer for herself, but I'd like to publish her honest feelings before she has a chance to delete mine and replace them with a more political answer:

She doesn't like it. Facially, there are many things to like about Texas (according to her). She will like the part where the state doesn't tax the air you breathe. The schools are pretty good. People are nice. She can see major sporting events (seriously, Jenny says this. She thoroughly enjoyed going to see the Indians and Cavs while we were here, and I'm pretty sure she thinks LeBron James is hot). And the cost of living is relatively low.

But you know those prideful Texans. It bothers Jenny that Texas flags adorn every building and logo. I'm not sure why, but it does. And going to Texas is in some way giving in. But I'm grateful she has such an open mind.

7. Finally, we get asked a lot about how our parents feel about our move, both leaving Jenny's parents and getting closer to mine. In general, I'm sure that both would rather us be closer. But both sets of parents are supportive, and want what's best. As long as we're close to a major airport, I don't think either would have too much of a problem should we decide to move again in a few years.

February 18, 2009

Cut day.

Cleveland was dank this Wednesday. I drove the entire 9-mile potholed commute into work thinking about the ominous weather. I knew that this commute was likely my last.

On Tuesday I received an email requesting a meeting for me to meet with the partner-in-charge of my firm's Ohio offices. The work had been slow, and was getting slower. Once it became clear that the workload lull might very well turn into the new status quo, I knew that jobs at work would have to be eliminated.

And on Wednesday, mine was.

The firm responded to this economic crisis by dropping over 30 people. Good people. I'm sure the decision was difficult for those who made it, but that hardly eases the pain.

Fortunately Jenny and I saw this coming. We had already started putting out feelers several months ago back home in Texas. Additionally,--and I don't want to disparage my firm in any way--I was far from happy at work. I had already decided that professional growth would have to come from a new opportunity outside the firm, so my resume had already graced a few eyes before being told to update it on Wednesday.

Despite having already decided to leave, there's still a sense of disappointment at not being able to do it entirely on my own terms. I wanted that preemptive strike. But that hardly matters now.

From here we will, along with half of Cleveland, put our house on the market. We will go back to Texas (where Jenny has been DYING to go for ages), and seek opportunities there. Most likely it will be Dallas.

Last Saturday the Welch's were kind enough to watch our children (on V-day, no less) so that Jenny and I could go have lunch. While Jenny was eating the ice cream dessert we were supposed to be sharing, I told her that I had a spiritual prompting that this would be my last week at work. She accepted it. From that point forward we began to make plans for our next move.

I truly believe that this same spirit is guiding us now. We've felt its presence in our hearts, and in our friends' kind words and deeds. Perhaps I'm overly existential, but this will be one of those stories we tell our kids about how bad things happen so that greater things can come our way.

In the meantime, we are excited about the work we have ahead of ourselves.

The things kids say

Logan, the teenager

This morning as we were getting ready for church Logan, our 5 year old, gave us a sneak preview of a decade hence by asking me bluntly, "Dad, why don't you know anything?"

Madison, the nurse

We gave Jeff Beachum a ride home following church. In the van, Madison took it upon herself to educate him: "Boys have penises."

Grant, the magician

Since Grant can't speak, he has to find other ways to communicate. He's developed a superb disappearing magic trick. He hides the first joint of his index finger deep in his nostril. All the time. He thinks that's the coolest thing since mom and dad left an open bag of chocolate chips out.

The third child.

So the kids and I (Jenny) went to my folks' place in PA for the weekend, which meant I had to be the driver and mediator for the children. We headed home after church, and I conveniently forgot to put a movie in the portable DVD player we use to keep the children quiet during longer drives. It is Sunday, after all. Instead we decided to sing Primary songs, read books, and talk. As expected, Grant, who sits between Madison and Logan, fell asleep almost immediately. Madison was next, then Logan, although the older two children woke up about an hour later. We then sang songs and talked. Then they began to play. Their voices got louder and louder. Then toys started to get passed back and forth--over Grant, of course. Then I heard things like, "Don't touch him." And, "Oops, sorry baby." I kept warning them not to wake Grant. Then I started to worry. Why wasn't he waking up? Was he ok? They were noisy. And touching him. And then I worried that maybe the blanket I had put on him was actually covering his head and he couldn't breathe. So I asked Logan to move the blanket. That, too, got passed back and forth. I became more worried and asked Logan if Grant was ok. "Yeah, mom." I was starting to really worry. So I actually reached back to see if I could feel him breathing. Yep, he's fine. It's amazing what a third child can sleep through.

One of Those Days

Gotta love Cleveland.

Today I invested a good half hour digging my car out of the driveway. I then traversed the 9 miles it is from my house to my office in the grand-prix-worthy time of 1.5 hours. Five minutes after getting to the office, the firm sends everyone home. Thanks.

Before I go further, I'd like to ask any who may know why Cleveland sent their plow drivers home early, too.

On my lovely drive back I successfully maneuvered the obscene amounts of snow the entire way . . . until getting to the home stretch: L----- Rd. L----- Rd, the venerable lane where the McGregor estate rests, had yet to be plowed. I got stuck immediately.

After much cajoling, I managed to inch forward my little Kia Optima right up to our driveway, where the car, positively and unequivocally, got stuck.

So I devoted another hour shoveling the driveway (again), digging out my car, and creating a nice little path from the car to my driveway. After all that exertion I thrust my trusty shovel into the snowbank I had just created with a wonderful sense of accomplishment. As I exhaled I noticed a flashing light coming around the corner. Who would have guessed? A full day after plowing everyone's road but mine, the city's winter hero--the plowman--tumbled down my street and shoved all the snow I just dug away from my car, back onto my car!

I wanted to cry.

I didn't.

I love this place.