Sometimes it Sucks

So, I know I just wrote about how things are great and all that. Well, I should have known better than to tempt the "gods" or whatever.

Hello, I am writing to you from the Crowne Plaze hotel in Saint Louis, MO. I spent the night being entertained by a creepy troll-like magician and "networking" with a slew of cool media and agency types in a really cool location, the Transportation Museum in STL. The place was very cool. I was with my boss and our company's CEO.

Backing up to this afternoon, I sit in an office with my client and their legal compliance person discussing a contract with a potential vendor. The fire alarm rings and we are shuffled out of the building with the other 2,000 employees of the world's largest car rental company.

We get back into the office and I get a call from hubby. He is calling from my sister's phone because he is on the other line with the boys' pediatrician. When the boys went in for their one year check up they took blood. The results came back and apparently the boys have "high" lead levels in their blood. I ask "What does that mean". He doesn't know. So they say we HAVE to bring them back in the next day (tomorrow) for additional testing for lead and "some other things". I ask WHAT OTHER THINGS?

He doesn't know.

Are my boys going to be developmentally delayed?

Doesn't lead paint cause retardation?

Seizure?

DEATH!?

So I sit here in the hotel counting the minutes until I can get on the plane anc fly back to Laguardia and then get in the car to take me back to HOME. I anticipate getting home aroun lunchtime and then we take the boys to their doctor at 3:00. This is torture - for me.

Could this be related to any of the China-made toys? Is it our old house? or hosues? Is it from the window replacement construction we recently completed which released century-old paint and dust into our home air? I don't know. But I do know that if they do have dangerous levels of lead in their blood we will likely put the house on the market and buy a brand spanking new house with ZERO lead paint.

Please pray for us or whatever. And please send me some good vibes so I can cope with this. I realize that this is the benchmark for how I may deal with problems they may face throughout their lives. I have to be OK with this and trust the doctors and the tests. I know this. It is just so hard because I am not there to hug them.

Long, long honkin' time

Yes, I know. I am sorry. It's been too long. I have not called. I have disappeared off the face of the Earth. But I did manage to get my boys and myself and my hubby through one full year. Yay! Now I am ready for a nap or a stiff drink. Or a nap AND a stiff drink (not necessarily in that order). Maybe even a smoke. That would be a cigarette, not the other "bad" kind of smoke. But as I have been warned by my ever-loving mother "she will tell my boys what a good mother I was" as I lay dieing from smoking a cigarette at my cousins wedding. *sigh* life is hard, ain't it?

But really, it's not. It's just dandy. I am only positive about where we've been and where we go from here. I do feel like I spent the past year living in somebody else's brain, not to mention somebody else's body. Now I am very relieved to report that both seem to be on their way back to me, their rightful owner. We seem to have successfully exorcised those foreigners from our being. Phew! Now we just need to be very, very careful that the renewed me doesn't go and get herself knocked up again....that would be falling backwards wouldn't it?

But really. The front walk was finished. Ernie did a great job. Now there are three other homes in our little Hubbard Heights neighborhood who are building strangely similar walkways...he started something. Too bad he couldn't have gotten something for his backache.

So, I'm watching Singing Bee - best show EVER. Those of you who know me know that I woudl totally go home with that trophy. Oh yeah. It would look awesome on my mantel too.

But I digress. I think.

So my kids are one. My job is killer. I am getting recruiter left and right from the likes of Google, Starwood Hotels, Avenue A, it is sick! Former clients are contacting me about doing consulting work. I am HOT! And loving it too. But really, I have a great gig where I am and it just isn't the right time for me to explore too many other options. But mama ain't stupid either. I'll just say that I listen to whatever they have to say, even if it is with mouth agape. All of a sudden everyone wants me, two young adorable boys, a grown man who shares my home, my boss, my client, GOOGLE (yes, the Google), and others who would mean less to those of you who aren't obsessed with the world of search engine marketing and interactive mumbo jumbo. Please don't take this as bragging. I'm really not. I am simply sharing with you all my amazement at how uncannily ironic life is. Remember about a year or so ago when I had no job and was 5 months preggers with twins and FREAKIN the F**K out!? Well, here is karma in effect. Believe.....

So, of course there are more than a million pics to post for y'all to share in the joys of the Adzentoivich summer. Many of you were there. There were so many "events" these past three or four months. Weird. The next thing the hubby and I are looking forward to is seeing Bob Dillon and Elivs Costello in Bridgeport, yes B'port. What we CTers used to refer lovingly to as "the armpit of Fairfield County" - nice, I know. But now there is this new stadium venue there and all of these great acts come to the 'port. So we're going. We have a few baby sitters now - one being my sister who recently relocated from the West Coast to our basement. And the other being this lovely Peruvian girl I found on Craigs List - I've been meaning to thank Craig. Thanks!

OK - husband and sister have just returned from their various lucrative ventures. Time for me to take my leave and enjoy a gin and tonic.

Look again soon for pics. I've missed you so.

SWAK *

Ernie Joins the Brotherhood of Masons

No, not the Freemasons. That would be too cool.

The actual hands, on, stone-working masons. In all of his spare time, he has undertaken the huge project of rebuilding our front walkway. Not only is he rebuilding it, he is laying blue stone bordered by belgium block. AND he is adding a side walkway and a flowerbed.

He is Superdad.

Stay tuned for pics of the finished product!

The Passion of the Peeps

I wish it was my own silliness that came up with this (I lifted it off of some NYU web site).

Happy Easter to all my peeps!

The Inevitability of it All

What is "all"? You may ask. Well. ALL. Everything. Life.

I always thought that people said that once you had kids you felt young again. That you suddenly saw the world through their eyes. That everything seemed possible.

Something must be wrong with me. Really. Depression? Obsession? Neurosis? Paranoia? Pessimism? Psychosis? All of the above? Probably. Or at least a combo platter of a few.

When the boys were first born (7 months and one week ago) I was overjoyed. I was awestruck by them and the fact that I actually GREW two people inside myself (me?). I was intimidated by the smallness and tenacity of them.

And I was tired.

And I am still tired.

And now I am fat, too. (you, know - the breast feeding it let's you eat A LOT. No more breast feed - no more instant fat burnie uppie.). And tired.

I have become accustomed to the exhaustion. I never thought I could but somehow it just happens. You wake up one morning and feel really awesome because you had 6 hours of sleep. 7am is sleeping in. And somehow it is all OK. You go on. You make it to the office, work until 6 or 7 and then come home, do baby stuff, go to sleep and then do it all again. It just works itself out. I suppose it has to really. Life goes on, as the saying goes. And you just sort of ride the tide the best you can.

So my problem comes from the extreme proximity I feel to my own mortality. Before the boys were born I understood that life comes to an end, we all die, etc. I am well-read in the writings of the Dali Lama, the Apostles, and Lao Tzu (or whoever wrote the Tao, I am having such a stupid moment right now, can't think). I am acquainted with the philosophers, Shakespeare, all of the great thinkers. I even studied Metaphysics. I understand the Universal. Though I wasn't necessarily convinced that God existed in the Catholic sense, or if there was a Heaven and a Hell - I was OK with the idea that one day we would all be gone from this life. I was OK with that.

Now - well, all I can think of is that I will die, Ernie will die. We will leave our boys in the world alone. Our deaths will be painful to them. My parents will die and leave their grandkids - I know how badly it hurt me when my grandfather passed away, it still hurts. And the idea that my boys will die is too much for me to take. My heart explodes a little bit and I get dizzy just aknowledging the fact. Even if they live to be 100 - they will still die. And I don't think that is OK. I know they will suffer throughout their lives. And THAT IS NOT OK! I think I am going to throw up now.

I don't understand how people can say that when you become a parent you see the world through your children's eyes, blah, blah, blah.

Does my issue stem from too much exposure to The Cure and Morrisey in my youth? Did I OD on Marilyn Manson in the 90s? I am usually such an optimistic person.

I don't know how or when I will ever get past this. I expected to worry. Parents always worry about their kids. But my thought process is absurd. I am worried about their life leading up to their inevitable death.

Don't get me wrong. I also think about things like taking them to the farm in the summer. Teaching them to swim and to ride a bike. Going to see them in the game, or the school play. Watching them take their first steps.....

But then I read these assinine books telling me things like:

• any food you give your 7 month old has the distinct probability of choking him to death
• don't ever leave your baby in his high chair for five minutes while you prepare his breakfast in the next room - he will surely get the strap wrapped around his neck and suffocate to death
  
• do not, in any circumstance, wash your child's clothing or dinnerware in detergent! And NEVER EVER use bleach in your home if children are living there. The mere presence of these things will surely cause your child's skin to blister and he will undoubtably be blinded for life. Instead, clean everything you own with Vinegar
• always keep your child facing backwards in his car seat. Even if this means that your child will have to bend his legs and do leg presses against the back of the seat while riding in the car.
• give your 7 month old finger foods, such as peices of fresh fruits like pears. And in no circumstances should you feed your 7 month old fresh slices of slippery fruits, such as pear, or it will certainly slide down his windpipe and kill him at the lunch table
• the 7 month old's diet should be primarily breast milk, or formula (milk-based), but do not give your child dairy products such as yogurt, milk or cheese until after 1 year of age or a severe allergic reaction may occur resulting in death

What do you do with information like this? Is it truly meant to be helpful? If so, How? I don't get it.

I have decided to stop reading all of the books. It is not helping my mental state.

Does anyone have any positive advice on how to introduce solid foods to your 7 month old? Any ideas on how to keep a child alive past his first birthday while still having clean clothes and a mold-free bathtub?

I guess a dirty house is inevitable too.

My neurosis aside, my boys are doing very well in spite of me. They are very large. At their 6 month Dr's appointment the pediatrician said "They are perfectly average - for NINE month olds!" Thank god.

Need to Install A Child Safety Seat?

Check out this nifty web site that will tell you how.

There are also certified persons in most states who will install your car seats free of charge. In Fairfield County CT there are a few firemen in the Stamford/Greenwich area who are certified to do this and they hold clinics a couple of times per month. We were shocked when we had them install the infant seats in our Hyundai when the boys were little. It was incredible to see the lengths they went to in order to make sure those stinking bases stayed in place on the back seat. Picture large fireman type kneeling on top of the car seat base in the tiny backseat of our Hyundai hatchback while fireman type number 2 snaked around him to insert the seatbelt buckle into the recepticle. We were never able to replicate it.

Nobody Builds an Aqueduct Anymore

I am sitting here thinking about the great civilizations and my degree in Art History. I am thinking - wow, we sort of suck. I mean our generation created the internet. And that is pretty cool. But does it really have the same impact as The Aqueduct?

Have you ever played Civilization (or Civ, as we call it around here)? I mean, once you build an aqueduct your civilization grows. They are enabled to create agriculture and hospitals. Everything becomes more hygenic, waste management emerges. All possible because someone figured out how to transport water from a place with plenty to a place in need.

Such a simple idea to affect so many throughout many, many generations.

Does anyone do that anymore? I know I don't. Sure, the internet is civilization-changing but not on the same level. It doesn't allow people to live longer or better. It really is just another medium for commerce and information. It isn't a necessity for better living or better health.

Conversly, it may actually have a detrimental affect on your health if you spend too much time with it.

This may be a stupid post. I know. It has been so long since I posted anything and there have been oh so many thoughts in my head of late. So you will have to humor me. Or just skim.

Call Child Services

I guess I am really the worst mother ever. Really. So call. Now.

Here I am. Late in the evening....

My darling husband has decided today was a good day to drive out to our place in Pennsylvania and get out car inspected (cuz, you know, all of our cars are registered there. Don't tell Jodi Rell - she's the Governor of CT, I think) and check on our place. Last month our electric bill was double...even though we haven't been there and the heat and water, etc. have all been shut off since the fall. We think, might we have squatters? Hmmmm....hoping I don't get a call telling me that hubby T'C et.al. are in the midst of confrontation with scary ATV-type folk (what does that mean, anyway?).

So Ernie is in PA. Today it was me and my boys. My cousin and her daughter and her friend came over for a visit. It was nice to pull my head out of the 15 year old Champion-sweatshirt-and-running-pants (Running pants? Nobody around here doing any running) day and speak with adults. They came and left, and the boys and I enjoyed a few hours of screaming before dinner.

Dinner was a bust. Only one boy decided to eat. The other one just figured he'd continue to scream. It felt good for him. Not so good for me.

So then I made the executive decision that there would be no bath tonight. For anyone. The boys seemed fine with that. In my defense, it is difficult enough to coordinate a double bath when there are two adults in the house, but when it is just me - and it has been just me all day - it is darn near impossible. So I surrendered.

Then we all went upstairs and I filled the humidifier (which hasn't been cleaned in about a month) and emptied the diaper pail. Then I changed each boy into pajamas and cleaned their faces and bottoms with a wash cloth. I attempted to give Baby A a bottle but alas, he was still not hungry. So to bed he goes with no dinner, no bath and no bottle.

Then Baby B has a swig of the bottle and takes only 3 ounces. This is a kid who typically takes 8 ounces in a shot. But 3 it was and I couldn't argue. He proceeded to fall asleep. OK.

Each is in his crib with the dirty water spewing hot mist from the humidifier. I stealthily grab the baby scissors and cut each of their 20 fingernails while they lay asleep. Ahhhh I win this battle!

Once asleep, and after doing the laundry and dishes and preparing the baby food meals for morning and emptying all garbage pails....I have a giant chocolate chip cookie for dinner and grab my laptop and head upstairs.

I check the boys and they are fast asleep. Their Rock a Bye Baby CD playing softly in their room.

So I creap back downstairs and grab a bottle of wine. Ahhh... the thought of a night to myself drinking wine and catching up on my blog reading. What decadence. And what a bad mommy. I am alone with the kiddies (and the kitties) and I am enjoying a glass or two (or three or five) of wine. C'est Teribile!

But that is the truth. I even feel like sneaking out back to have a cigarette. What will ever become of my children?

Oh, did I mention that while imbibing and indulging in the blogosphere I am watching The History of Sex on The History Channel (actually, I only caught the last 10 minutes of it. Now it is all about the Visigoths and the Roman Empire - seems like the same thing to me)?

I tell you, I am an abhoration!!! (is that a word? It must be the wine talking now...)

Bye, Bye Will!

Adios Will (AKA The Well-Groomed Head)! My boss is leaving me. He is going to the "Gateway to the West" to work for the competition. Best of luck to you - and DON"T STEAL MY CLIENTS!!!!!

Just teasing. Good luck. Thanks for sticking by me during all of the crazy baby-ness. You have been extremely cool to work with/for and now everyone knows it. :-)

Car Seat Photos

I don't know why, but for some reason I cannot add the photos I wanted to add to the blog post about the new car seat. Annoying.

Here they are. Graco Snug Rides then....and now.

New Car Seat(s)

The boys have outgrown their little Graco infant car seats/carries. Remember these?

Well, they are now past both the height and weight limits. I can't believe they have grown so quickly. I mean, everyone says that "they grow so fast!" but you don't understand what that means until you see it for yourself.


So I did my research and found that this seat has an excellent safety rating, and also a good ease of use rating, yet falls in the mid-range of price. Believe me when I say that I was almost swayed by the pretty Brittax convertible car seat, even with it's $250 price tag. But I resisted and did my research using my trusty Consumer Reports Best Baby Products book (see link below), and found that this seat was indeed better and cheaper. Who would have guessed?



So we now have our two new car seats strapped tightly into our new minivan. We have to call the Greenwich Fire Department to find out when the certified car seat installers are on duty. There are only two of them in thr county and they are both stationed in Greenwich. We had them install the bases of our Graco seats when the boys were newborns and could not believe how tighly they were able to get them in. We have tried to replicate the results but to no avail.

I have crossed the line...

...and bought a minivan

Oh yeah...ain't she sweet?

Pretty bad-ass...no?

I am ordering an undercarriage neon lighting package from my local too-fast, too-furious dealer (oh yeah, that might actually be my dad - Specialty Automotive. If you don't know, don't ask...). Notice the hot after-market tinted windows? How about the slick Mopar fin at the top of the hatch door? So smokin'. Umm, umm, umm. Watch out.

So, I am a true suburban mom. So much for strolling through Union Square with my babies. Or walking around the Grand Army Plaza Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning buying fresh Fontina. Instead I will drive my babies in the minivan to the mall and change them in the changing room at Macy's. Just doesn't have the same ring to it.

But please don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. Yes, we are extremely fortunate to be able to live where we do in a house that is big enough for two boys, two cats and a dad who must have one bedroom serve as a recording and composition studio. Yes, I know. I also have three vehicles sitting in my driveway, even is one is a minivan and one is a Hyundai (and the other is a monster truck Ford f150). I do realize and appreciate all that we have. It is just that it is such a dichotomy. I mean, who am I? I really don't even recognize myself. I am stalking Craigslist for baby sitters instead of for apartments, concert tickets or whatever else that sounds cool.

Geesh. I guess maybe I am having some sort of mid-life crisis, though I'd like to think I am only at 1/3-life. Or whatever.

I think I am just a complainer. God, please don't ask my husband to confirm this because he will heartily go off for about 4 hours with examples of how this is true while he toasts you with the very expensive scotch he saves for special occasions, such as when he is right and I am proven incredibly wrong. But honestly, I see an injustice or imbalance in the world, whether mine or someone else's, and I feel I must point it out and share it with everyone around me. Regardless of how annoying that may be.

So, work has been great. I have a new boss who is very cool. A woman who is top of our field. I finally have a mentor. I went on my first business trip since entering motherhood. I spend the night in St Louis last week. It was supposed to be two nights but my original flight ended up being a free tour of the 5 Boroughs of Manhattan. We took off from Westchester County airport and never got above 5,000 feet. They could not get the cabin pressure to adjust. So we flew around in circles above Manhattan for two hours burning off fuel so we could land back at Westchester County airport. Did I mention that this was in a 40 seat plane? I mean it was tiny. I got to see Times Square from a $1,500 vantage point. I am serious when I say we were so low that I could read the signs.

So I ended up spending that night in my own bed and flying out very early the next morning. I went to meetings and to a grown up dinner. I even got to wear a suit. That night I slept like a dead person in a bed made of heavenly clouds and pillow of the finest down (it was the Ritz, afterall), not stirring until 6:30am, when I was awakened by the phone and a knock on my door offering me the morning paper and a carafe of coffee. Bliss.

But I did miss my boys and high-tailed it out of there to get home by 10pm that evening. I think it was a successful trip. My next one is planned for this week but will be out and back on the same day. Hard on mom but easy on the kids.

So you might infer from all of this that the whole "Being a mom to twins has made me an insane zombie" thing has grown old. And you would be correct. I can happily say that it has all become 1,000,000,000% easier than it was the first 4 months. I never, even want to relive those months. Really. We are all much happier now. The husband/wife thing is a bit strained, but the mom/dad/kid thing is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better. Wow. I never thought it would feel like such a turn around in what seems like such a short period of time. All of the suckiness is gone.

If you wonder why there have been little to no blog posts I will have to blame it on my work. Since going back to the office full time I have been transitioned onto our biggest account as the lead account manager. It has been hectic but rewarding.

I must now run off to the train station to pick up Ernie who was in the City playing with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus in the Museum of Natural History togniht. But don't worry, my mother in law is sleeping upstairs. I am not leaving the boys alone. She goes back to Vegas tomorrow - then we'll see if I still think things are so much easier.

Until then, keep on riding dirty my friends.

MLK Post by a Frazzled New Mom (Are you tired of this same old lament yet....)

You Rock, MLK. Thanks for all you did for us. Can't say lots has changed, still lots of people using the 'N Word' and all that, but you know...it's better. I guess. What do I know, I'm a white girl? I do know the news is always talking about how the cops are shooting folks because they are in a particular part of town, or their skin is particularly dark....still seems like there's a long way to go.

But on the lighter side of things (OK, that pun was unintended, and actually it sounds a little creepy, but I am going to leave it anyway)- MLK Day is a day of rest in the advertising world AKA I get the day off. And last year on MLK day I found out I was preggers when I got two pink lines on my plastic pee stick in the middle of a snow storm. I remember walking in the snow to Target in Brooklyn to buy a box of tests because I couldn't stand to wait a day to find out. Look how much can change in a a year...but I digress.

So, today I have a few minutes to write in my blogs. Everyone keeps asking me what's up because I never write anymore. It's not that I don't love you, I do, really. It is just that now that I have gone back to work in the office full time I can't seem to find time to write. The boys require less time but more effort. They sleep more but need to be entertained, or want to be entertaining, when they are awake. And so I must oblige. I am hoping that once they are able to play with EACH OTHER it will allow mommy more time to herself. Is this a pipe dream? Only time will tell.

The beginning of the year has been busy for the A's. We went to visit Great Grandpa Germano on his 89th birthday Jan. 7th (Oh yeah, and I had a birthday on the second, but we won't talk about that).

4 Generations
Great Grandpa Germano and WaylonErnie made his first-ever bundt cake from scratch. Both boys have rolled over in each direction. Grandfather Adzentoivich became Super Grandpa within his first 2 hours with the boys. Grandma and Grandpa Wood bought a timeshare in Antigua so we all will have a place to party into the future. Auntie Dee is in Hawaii. We had a party with all of our friends and their babies from NYC (And the Young-Crozet's who have just returned home to the states after 3 years in Switzerland!).

(Waylon, Leia & Vladimir)
Me, Waylon & Vlad ( 4 1/2 mos), Melissa & Noah (4 1/2 mos), Emily & Simon (9 mos), Krista & Leia (6 mos)Ernie and I have had the flu, the boys somehow managed to keep healthy. Vladi and Waylon had their 4 month vaccinations followed by a 102.2 fever. We made a trekk up to IKEA in New Haven in a fog storm in a borrowed minivan whose defrost button is broken...And now we are looking forward to shopping for a minivan of our own (Well, I am looking forward to it, Ernie keeps grumbling about the payments...).

That being said, I never got the chance to post my traditional Year in Photos for 2006. I promise to try to get to that before January is over. In the meantime, I will post some shots of the first two weeks' goings on.

Happy MLK Day! Keep on Rockin' in the Free World!Adzentoivich Totem Pole...

Congratulations!

Well, well, well. Good news all around it seems.

Congratulations to my cousin Carleen and her new fiance Jeff. They were engaged on Christmas Eve. A September 1st wedding is in the works. We are so happy for them and couldn't imagine a more appropriate pairing!

Congratulations to my dear friend Stephanie (not cousin Steph, for those of you who also read her blog) who had a baby girl at 9:26 this morning. No name as of yet (I know what that's like...having waited 4 days before naming our boys). I was hoping for a boy to whom I could hand down scads of adorable clothing, but alas no. This is Steph's first child.

And lastly, congratulations to my former agency for being named Best Search Agency of the Year for 2006. Kudos, guys. I would like to think that although the employee roster over there looks much different than it did in Jan '06, we all had something to do with that success. Hurrah.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes folks. It's that time of year again...my birthday.

Thank you, thank you.

In lieu of gifts, please order one of these energy efficient light bulbs and replace one regular bulb in your house. You will save money on your electric bill, and you will help save our environment. Really.

Happy New Year!

Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU all for your generosity surrounding the birth of our sons Vladimir and Waylon. We have been overwhelmed by the kindness of our extended family. Since bringing the boys home from the hospital in late August our lives have been a whirlwind of non-stop diapering, feeding, rocking, changing and swaddling. As your thoughtful gifts continued to arrive well into the fall we lost track of who was sent thank you notes and who was not. Please accept our deepest apologies if we overlooked you. You must all know that we did receive your gifts and appreciated them more than we could ever express. The boys have a veritable clothing boutique hanging in their closets stocked by all of you! We have opened savings accounts for each of them with the generous gifts that were made for such a purpose. We have bought hundreds (likely thousands) of diapers and baby wipes with the gift cards we received. All of the books and CDs have been read and listened to multiple times. All of the food and goodies were delightful and all of the great advice was priceless. We honestly could not have made it through these first few months without all of you. And though we always knew how great you all were we certainly could never have expected such generosity!

As we head into 2007 we feel extremely blessed to have these two beautiful boys in our lives. Though overwhelmed at times, as all new parents must be, we cannot express the happiness they have brought us. If you haven’t met them yet we invite you to stop by the house any time. We are both surprised by how much we love our new role as parents to these two cool little guys. The experience has been quite unexplainable. Who would have guessed?

We wish you and yours the best of everything in 2007. May you find health, happiness and good fortune before you and look back at 2006 with fond memories. We look forward to spending time with each of you in the coming year.

With Love,

Ernest, Nancy, Vladimir and Waylon

Merry Christmas!

Blowing in the Wind

We have a new view from the front porch of the house at Adzentoivich Woods. Windmills. 13 of them to be exact.

HUGE windmills.

If you don't want to click the link I'll just tell you - they cost $70 million and are 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Huge freakin' windmills!

Here is a photo of the new view (this is a mountaintop, not a hill, mind you)...And another (look closely)...One of the things we cherished about Adzentoivich Woods was the fact that when there you felt as if you were the only people in the world. You could see no neighbors, no roads, nothing.

Complete solitude.

Nature in it's natural state.

I have mixed feelings about these new addiitons to our environ. On one hand they are really, really cool. I mean really. They turn so slowly and silently. Giants on the hillside quietly bringing life through the wind to humanity. Harnasing the winds and squeezing from them electricity.

Clean power.
Responsible power.
Natural power.

Little or no by-products. No pollution (hello, co-gen plants?).

Almost majestic in their pursuit and stature.

Calming to behold and somewhat humbling.

Heck, we were even thinking of putting one up on the farm - though not nearly as large. And cousin Anne trekked halfway across the country in a gas-guzzling SUV to pick one up for her place.

Off the grid, self-sustaining power. Hope for the future.

On the other hand - HUGE FREAKIN' WINDMILLS SEEN FROM MY FRONT PORCH!

YouTube and Cat's Eyes

So I uploaded that last post from my digital camera to my computer, then to YouTube. I posted it to the blog straight from the YouTube interface. For some reason I have heard that several people have been unable to watch it. Sorry for that. It is really just a random video of the boys laying on their tummy-time mat while Vladi cries and Waylon pedals his feet. So, sorry about that if you can't see it. I am new at the whole YouTube thing - at least the contribution aspect of it. Maybe I did something wrong when I uploaded it.

Yesterday morning, Ernie and I were sitting on the bed feeding the boys when Godzilla sauntered into the room. I looked at him as he walked past my side of the bed and continued to schlep underneath the crib into what is known around here as "cat jail" (the slats of the crib make it look as if the cat were in jail). I noticed his right eye was completely swollen and discusting. The inner eyelid thing was all pink and HUGE.

I said "Ernie, go look at the cat and put medicine in his eye" (this is not the first time this has happened to Godzilla, he seems to have allergies)

He said "But I am feeding a baby"

I said "I don't care, give me the baby and take care of the cat. His eye is really bad"

He said "Wow, that's a first. Take care of the cat instead of the baby?"

I said "Look at his eye and you'll see why"

So Ernie gives me the baby, now I have two. He goes to get Godzilla who of course doesn't want to be gotten. Once he catches him he yells to me from the other room...

"I think he lost it"

I yell back "Lost What?"

He yells "I think he lost his eye"

Me "REALLY?"

He "I think so!"

Me "Well, call the vet! Call Rick and bring him over there right away" (Rick being our parent's friend who is a vet two towns over)

He "OK"

.....time passes

I think about where his eye could possibly have gone. Under the diningroom table? Under the refrigerator? Into the fireplace? And how would we ever find it? Would it start to eventually stink and lead us to it? Hopefully before the boys start to crawl...

Me "well, is it there?"

He "I think so. I dunno. I put some medicine in it so we'll see. I am going to watch him"

Me "OK"

Later....

He "Wow, his eye looks 100% better!"

Me "Oh good, so it is still there."

He "yeah"

Only that evening did I think about it and realize that it would be quite impossible for our cat to "lose" his eye. I mean, it is attached and all that. This I found to be quite comical. Both Ernie and I thought it was perfectly probable that our cat's eye could have fallen out from extreme paw rubbing or some such thing.

This is what happens when you are subject to extreme sleep-deprivation. Your cat can lose his eye and you don't really think a thing of it other than, I hope we find it before the babies do. It all becomes one big Fellinni film.

Playtime