Drowning in the shallow end of the gene pool

You know your dog is a moron when...he leaps to catch embers in his mouth as they waft out of your fire pit.

Never said he was bright.  But I didn't think he was THAT stupid.  I can see it now: "So, how did your dog get third degree burns on his tongue?"  DUH!!!!!

Going back out to enjoy the chimnea.  And an adult beverage.  With my hubby.

The birthday party - of sorts

Well, the theme to our party was...there was no theme. We had brats, homemade and homegrown mashed sweet potatoes, beer/"juice", cupcakes and presents. A good time was had by all. Especially when Auntie Karen "Ti-Ti" and Grammy and Papa all called at the same time and sang to Elizabeth collectively on speaker phone. (wish I had THAT on video!)

A newfound love of opening presents - For the first time she's got the realization that something fun is in that wrapping. I have a few "present opening clips", but we'll put the "un-PC"' one with Jeff and Casey making snide remarks on the back burner for now.

Despite the fact that her forehead bruises belie her inexperience in walking and her cheeks are proof she got in a fight with the cat, she looks good for two. At least it doesn't set a flawlessness precedent that she'll never be able to live down. We'll wait a few years to give her THAT complex.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

She's "two" today, and is happy to tell everyone just how old she is. Hasn't gotten the fingers thing down yet, though. Her birthday t-shirt is laid out on her dresser, and mommy needs to go get a little cake (wish I had time for baking one, but she'll never know...). And wrap her presents. And go to work. And hopefully get back in time for Uncle Casey and Auntie Kim to come over. Small "party" tonight, maybe we'll have a big one once the basement is done. When she's "three". ha. Gotta go make the salsa. Can't believe she's two.

ELIZABETH WALKS!!!

While at grammy and papa's, Elizabeth broke free from her baby walkers. On September 23, she walked from one side of the living room to the other, bribed by grammy of course. Here's a cute video proof. She loves to "wear" her bathtowel. It's wonderful to have her walking. Even in the few days she's been home, we can do so many more things. She can help put stuff away. She can follow mommy down the hallway. She can play on her baby slide without help. She's not running yet, so I'll get back to you on how wonderful walking is in a few weeks.

Weddings, basements or "why I spent two weeks without my kid"

A week after the KC incident, we packed up the Outback for a trip to Ohio for my cousin Nick's wedding. Elizabeth got to spend some quality time with Grammy and Papa. For pics from this stay, where she got to have an early birthday party, see: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QYtGbRy4aMXEw

Nick and Allie's wedding was a lot of fun. The first time Jeff and I were back at Our Lady of Peace since we got married nearly 5 years ago. Then we checked into our hotel room at the Hampton Inn downtown, which ended up being a lot of fun. To see downtown from a tourist point of view was something we hadn't done in a while. But back to the reception. Held at the Union Club, a beautiful old private club in downtown Cleveland, Jeff and I had our jaws wagging at the architecture, paneling, stairways, art, blahblahblah. That was, until they started the swing music. For pics from the wedding, check out my Shutterfly album: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QYtGbRy4aMXIA

Monday morning, Jeff and I left little Lizzy Beth in Cleveland and headed back to Chattanooga to "hit it hard" on the grim task of plowing through a huge chunk of work on our basement remodel. In case you haven't noticed, there is nary a day here at Casa DeFlinnerFranco where we aren't fixing something. Unfortunately for Jeff, I had to get back to work, so he was left to toil alone in a VERY QUIET house. Mudding, sanding, painting. Rinse. Repeat. We have an enormous basement space, and it's an enormous job for one man. And one can't do these things with a toddler. Mud, paint, sandpaper...hmmm...sounds like lunch for most toddlers.

If there's one thing you think we'd have learned in 6 years of home renovations in two different homes, it's that things take at least 3 times as long as you plan for. And they cost at least that much more than you planned on. This makes Visa happy. Oh, yeah...and they NEVER improve marital bliss. Until they're done, then there is much rejoicing. Needless to say, not done yet.

Two weeks without my kid. Now that she's back, I could sleep in her room I'm so giddy. See next post for Elizabeth updates

Adventures in KC

In early September, I headed to KC for a recruiting fair at my medical school. Usually, I'm quite excited to head to KC, but I wasn't feeling so good (thanks to a colleague passing around another stomach bug - my third one since February!). So things were not looking good as I headed out on my favorite, Southwest Airlines.

Despite "weather", we had an uneventful flight to KC. Where it was raining, and would continue to rain the whole 28 hours we were there. So, suffice it to say, this trip was shot. Anything fun to do to waste time in KC is outside. What to do when it's raining and cold? Eat, Drink, and go to the mall! Note that eating wasn't high on my list that week.

Went to the biggest Marshall's I've ever seen. Found a gorgeous red Italian suede purse on clearance, which lifted my spirits. Mistakenly celebrated purchase with large piece of cake and coffee, which would haunt me for the next twelve hours (remember, eating was a no-no!). Then spent next twelve hours in pure agony.

Managed to eek out standing for 2+ hours at recruiting fair (thank god my resident companion was NOT ill and took over for me!). Then headed back to said mall to waste 3 hours until flight back.

This is where it gets good. Standing in the KC airport, a friend from TN calls and says, "Aren't you in KC? There are TORNADOES in KC!" Hmmm. really. Sure enough, huge front showing on TV. Note, I don't do "weather" when I fly. And at this point was too sick to use the gin-and-tonic Xanax substitute. gack. So, what to do? Head to the bathroom! In the KC airport, there are no hooks to hang a purse on. Just this teensy little shelf above the toilet. I'm in this stall with a suitcase, a tradeshow display case, and me. So...the new-aforementioned dreamy soft suede purse is placed precariously on the shelf. I shift weight (no turning around possible here) to take care of the job at hand when I hear "Plop". No. no. Insert expletive here. Multiple expletives. There was my prized purchase, bobbing in the bowl. Quickly I snatched it up, in time to save my camera and cell phone. Furiously attempting to dry inside and out with thin airport toilet paper, I nearly forgot why I was there. The only thing my mother asked when I told her the story was "was the water, um, still, um, clean?" Yes. Thank God for small favors.

Now, back to the tornadoes. We sit a the gate, watching this horrid front on the TV monitors that are conveniently placed every 15 feet. Though late, they call us to board. We hear "Tornado warning, northwest Clay County". hmm. That's us. Like little sheep we hand over our boarding cards and head down the gangway. Only to turn around. Halfway down. Pilot says"they've evacuated the control tower, perhaps we should follow!"; Mentions something about three small sets of wheels in a vehicle meant to fly, but not horizontally. Gotcha.

Then they evacuate the terminal. To the adjacent underground garage. (In KC, the terminals are separate with walk-up gates) Thank god for imodium. Despite the seeming grim circumstances, airport personnel did a fabulous job, as well as Southwest Airlines personnel. Once the all clear was sounded, we were herded with priority back to the gate, used the passenger list and ID's to check us back in, both at the security point and at the gate, and had us in the air within 45 minutes.

What a day. We won't even talk about getting lost trying to find my hotel in Nashville.

Did I mention that book about my air travel adventures? Someday...

Did we mention we're busy?

After multiple comments that blogs need to be updated, I'm making an effort to update the last month of Doctor Mom-dom.

July through February is pure nuttycakes at work, because this is prime time for recruiting new residents to our program. So every few weeks or so, I head to some random city in the southeast to tell any student who will listen how wonderful it would be if they did their family medicine residency in Chattanooga. Though fun, this absolutely disrupts my life to no end. Add to that hours of reviewing applications on my computer at work, and, well, I just don't have much time for blogging.