Status Update

I'm at the coffee shop this morning ready to crank out a chapter that's due in a couple of weeks. Last week was a busy one, with the parents here for a visit and then a visit from the norovirus. One was more fun than the other by leaps and bounds.

I'm trying not to feel too bad about how long the dissertation is taking. People who started my program after me have now finished or will be finishing soon, and if I would just stay off Facebook, I'd never have to know about that. I was accepted to participate in a dissertation writing retreat at the end of May, though, and I'm thinking it will be just the boot camp that I need. Hooya.

The Chopper

I really dropped the ball (ha! get it?) on this MLB challenge, and I want you to know that I am sorry about that. As the Minnesota Twins have taught me, you can't win them all.

In other news, Sam turned 15 months this week. He has decided against walking on his own so far, but he does look very proud when he walks holding the hand of mom or dad. Everyone tells me to stop wishing for the walking because my life will change considerably when he's even more on the go, but I'm ready for it. Let's do this thing, Sam.

Even though he can't walk, Sam is quite a communicator. His words are limited to mama, dada, nana, chicken, cheese, down, and thank you, but he manages to get his needs across with various signs, pointing, and the occasional thrown item. I'm amazed by how much he understands and the clever ways he makes himself understood. Good job, Sam!

The best part about Sam at 15 months, though, is how affectionate he is. There is no shortage of kisses in our house--for us, for his dolls and stuffed animals, for his pillow pet, for his trucks, and my favorite, for his food. We're just glad Sam's sweet potatoes know how much he loves them before he shoves them in his mouth.

Basically, we continue to be pretty darned excited to have this little guy in our lives.

San Francisco Giants

Well, this dissertation is a giant task. I spent a couple of weeks away from it while writing an article with my adviser. It's a really good article, though. Maybe the best one we've written. This dissertation, though, is not the best thing I've written. So far. I'm sure it will be better once I enlist the editing expertise of leeway and savvy. Just a heads up, pals. It won't happen for a while, but you should be prepared.

Milwaukee Brewers

I took a few days off from this blogging challenge to visit with my sisters, Becky and Cassie, and nephew, Greysen. They were here for five whole days, and we had a blast just chillin' together. They all live in Helena, Montana, home of the Helena Brewers, Minor League baseball team for the Milwaukee Brewers. My dad and brother-in-law, Andrew, took Greysen to a Brewers game once, but he was more interested in the mascot than the game. During his time here, Greysen taught Sam how to drive cars, make car sounds, and put cars in their "parking spots" when you have to leave them to eat, bathe, or sleep. For now, they aren't so excited about baseball, but we'll work on it.

Minnesota Twins

For someone who doesn't know much about baseball, I really love the Twins. Always have, actually. I totally wore out my sweatshirt from the '87 World Series, for example. My best memories of the Twins, though, have to do with my dad, who loves them even more than I do. I think The Twins may be the only reason he comes to visit us (The Twins and his grandchild. In that order.) Today, Dave participated in the 2012 Twins Draft where he battled for the games we'd like to attend against the two other couples who share our season tickets. It's a pretty cordial affair, but we really wanted tickets for the weekend in April when my parents will be here. And we got them! My dad can enjoy himself after all.

Between the draft and this blogging challenge, we are totally ready to hit the ballpark.

Detroit Tigers

Indiana Rock on a California Roll, I'm so glad you asked about other baseball related things that Sam is into! Because he does know how to roar like a tiger. A Detroit Tiger? Maybe. I don't know what tigers in Detroit sound like, but Sam's tiger is pretty breathy and demure. Like an exhale. This sound is one of many in Sam's animal repertoire. He can also trumpet like an elephant, moo like a cow, cluck like a chicken, woof like a dog, mew like a cat, ee-ee like a monkey, hiss like a snake, and beat his chest like gorilla. My favorite, though, is the rat-a-tat-tat like a woodpecker that he learned from his cousin. He can't otherwise talk or walk yet, but we're still very proud of his many accomplishments.

St. Louis Cardinals

I just learned about a new blogging challenge (thanks, Pronto!) which requires a post each day of March related to a major league baseball team. At first, I thought this sounded really hard. And then when I tried to write my post, I found out that it IS really hard. But I'm going to do it anyway. Here goes.

Sam and I look at cardinals everyday from the bay window in our family room. He doesn't know how to say cardinal yet, but he does say "tee"when I point them out. I figure that's pretty close. I'm guessing they have cardinals in St. Louis too, but the cardinals we see are right here in St. Paul. 

Now if we could only get some Blue Jays or Orioles to land on our feeders this challenge would be a cinch. 

The Sunshine

I spent the first part of the day on campus pretending to be a grad student who has it together enough to be speaking about research on a panel for a department recruitment event. I think I pulled it off. And it was nice to see some peeps who, like me, are fighting the good fight against procrastination and to meet some new, wide-eyed recruits who, unlike me, will probably finish this program in a respectable time frame. Now I'm at one of those challenging moments in the day where I have 45 minutes of childcare left and don't really know which of several projects on which to get started. And I am wondering if I should just call it quits on the brain work and go walk in the sunshine for a while. The answer seems obvious.