Reports Abound (Weather, Ryan, Me, Harrogate, Etc.)
Topic: This and That
This was taken March 3, when we had our first big snow of the year. It was just getting started. We wound up with a good inch or two on the ground. This morning I woke up with the feeling it was snowing. I looked out the window and my suspicions were confirmed. It's been snowing all day and there are now a couple of inches accumulated. It doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon, either. It's very pretty. I was thinking of taking Ryan out to play in it. He's got the perfect jacket for it. However, it is extremely cold out, and sometimes very windy. Not a good combination. Besides, I just don't feel like being cold!
A lot of cold air comes through the windows in the front room and the master bedroom. The landlord doesn't want to redo them though, because they are stained glass and a major cosmetic feature of the house. Luckily we manage to keep warm anyway.
It still amazes me that around here March is the big snowfall month. Just a couple of days ago it was warming up (40's instead of 30's). It was nice. It was also bringing out the ever-popular spiders. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about them in the months to come. (Barry, I'll have my bug vacuum at the ready!)
Yesterday was my friend Sarah's son's birthday party. He's turning three. It was a fun party. There was food, cake, and a bouncy castle. I pretty much knew everyone there, so that was nice. Ryan seemed to have fun. The party was cute. It was Bob the Builder/construction themed. The coolest were these drink containers shaped like little construction cones. They had a hole for a straw at the top, and Sarah had written each of the kids' names on them. It was really cute.
I talked to Larry last night. He seems to be tired, but otherwise fine. Nothing new going on with him.
Thursday, I took Ryan in his stroller and walked to the shopping area to get a couple of things. There was a small farmer's market going on. Apparently it takes place every first Thursday of the month. I can't believe that in the many times I've been to the shopping area over the last seven months, I never before wound up there on a market day. It was something different to browse. I bought some scones from one vendor. Ryan and I enjoy scones with jam and clotted cream. It makes tea taste sinfully good.
I think I am almost over my sore throat. Just been trying to make myself rest. A day or two more should do it, I hope. I've got things I need to do and a race coming up Friday.
Ryan's doing great. His appetite has returned with a vengeance! I think he's making up for when he was sick, and gearing up for a growth spurt. His stomach has become a bottomless pit. It seems like he's always eating now.
The other day I was carrying him, and walked past a bow. Ryan said, "Bow!" What amazed me, was that he hadn't heard that word in at least a day or more, and he remembered the word for the right object. He's still mainly talking in his own language, but I know he understands a lot. If I ask him to pick something up and put it in the trash, he can do that. If I ask him to go and get his shoes, he can do that. With the trash, he now knows certain things go in it. When he was done with his yogurt, he took the empty container to the trash without me asking him to. As far as talking goes, he manages to get across what he needs just fine. I figure he'll talk when he's good and ready (basically, when he can't get across what he wants without talking!).
Ryan seems to like Thomas the Tank Engine. When that comes on, he'll stand there and watch the whole thing (which is about five minutes long). Most of the time, he just ignores the tv. What's scary, is that he seems to like the Teletubbies, too. Before I had Ryan, I vowed there would be no Teletubbies in my house. Those things kind of freaked me out. However, after watching them a little bit, they seem relatively harmless.
Last night there was a thing on tv, "The 100 Greatest Kids Shows." Scary thing was, it was interesting to me! It was mostly British stuff, since the program was produced over here, and the shows voted on by British people. (I didn't see much of it, since it was a long program and I had other things I wanted to do.) Has anyone else seen, "Bod?" For a while, Nick Jr. Classics was showing it. Interesting little show. They were showing that and "Mr. Benn," "Bagpuss," and some other weird shows. I think old weird kid shows are kind of cool, especially at night. Unfortunately now they are showing something called, "Rainbow," which is completely gay. I'm sorry, but it is. Grown men should never wear tight-fitting, brightly colored overalls. Ever. I don't care what decade it is!
Wow, I can't believe it's almost 4pm already. Where'd the day go?

Thank God It's Friday!
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Blue Purring Obnoxiously Loudly
Topic: This and That
This has been a most excellent day!
Ryan's all better, for starters. (My throat still hurts, but that does not dent my good mood!) Ryan and I went on post today to check the mail and mail back the two LEFT moccasins LL Bean sent me. I got two wonderful packages! One from my Mom, and one from my Aunt Jean. (Hi Mom! Hi Aunt Jean!) The box from my Aunt was completely unexpected. The box from my Mom was much anticipated. Both boxes made me very happy! I called my Aunt to say thank you and had a great time talking with her. Later, Ryan and I had pizza and made chocolate chip cookies. After putting Ryan to bed, I got online and had some wonderful e-mails in my inbox. After I post this and send a quick e-mail to Larry, I am going to pop some popcorn and settle in for night one of my own personal Harry Potter film festival weekend! :P

Quick Update
Now Playing: Shakira
Topic: Ryan
Just wanted to post a quick update. Ryan seems to be over his lower intestinal woes. Yay! He seems almost back to normal. I, however, have had a sore throat since last night. I am trying really hard to nap when Ryan naps (which was only once today) and get to bed at a decent hour. The rest seems to help. The house work can wait.

Rhapsody In Ryan
Topic: This and That
Ryan seems to be on the mend. Last night he slept right through the night. Unfortunately things turned ugly in the morning with a bad bout of diarrhea requiring an emergency bath. Ryan's energy levels are up, but not back to normal. The rest of the day he didn't have any bad attacks, thank goodness.
I went on post because we were completely out of some things so I had to go to the commissary and BX. I also needed gas and it's not as expensive on post. While in the car I caught part of Gershwin's, "Rhapsody In Blue." It just does not get any better than that. The man was a genius. That piece of music brings me to tears.
I am really tired. I think I am coming down with something. *sigh* oh well. I know I've been run down the last week taking care of Ryan. I thought a solid night's sleep would fix me right up. Apparently not. I suppose I can't expect to recover from a hard week in one night.
I am going to go to bed shortly though.

Rhapsody In Ryan
Topic: This and That
Ryan seems to be on the mend. Last night he slept right through the night. Unfortunately things turned ugly in the morning with a bad bout of diarrhea requiring an emergency bath. Ryan's energy levels are up, but not back to normal. The rest of the day he didn't have any bad attacks, thank goodness.
I went on post because we were completely out of some things so I had to go to the commissary and BX. I also needed gas and it's not as expensive on post. While in the car I caught part of Gershwin's, "Rhapsody In Blue." It just does not get any better than that. The man was a genius. That piece of music brings me to tears.
I am really tired. I think I am coming down with something. *sigh* oh well. I know I've been run down the last week taking care of Ryan. I thought a solid night's sleep would fix me right up. Apparently not. I suppose I can't expect to recover from a hard week in one night.
I am going to go to bed shortly though.

Better, Sort Of
Topic: Ryan
Just wanted to check in. The last several days have been a blur of sick toddler. :( Ryan seems to be a lot better today, though still suffering from lower intestinal woes. I've done way more laundry than any one person ought to have to do. (Thank God for washing machines and dryers!) I'm hoping maybe tonight will be a barf-free night, and that maybe Ryan will only wake up once or twice rather than several times.
Has anyone out there ever had any problems with ibuprofen? It seems to make Ryan throw up. Just curious if anyone else has had any trouble with it. This month should be interesting. If all goes well and Ryan and I stay healthy, there's a birthday party on the 11th, a card-making spouse's coffee on the 13th, and a race on St. Patrick's Day. If the weather improves, I would like to try geocaching some more.
Also, Ryan will be 18 months old on the 18th!

Ryan's Sick
Topic: Ryan
Ryan is sick. It started with fever on Tuesday, then starting 2am this morning, he's been throwing up. I took him to the doctor, but the doctor said it's a virus so there's not much to do but wait it out. The last couple nights have been pretty rough. I'm wondering if it's even worth it to go to bed.
On a slightly brighter note, we got an inch of snow here. It's really pretty. I took Ryan out on the front porch and his face just lit up. He stuck out his hand to catch snowflakes.

Snow
Topic: Harrogate
I am amazed. It is snowing quite thickly out, and yet there is still golden late afternoon sunlight through it all and blue sky overhead. It's quite beautiful. The snow is a dry snow. It is snaking across the road in ribbons.

I'm Spartacus! Oops, I mean Harry Potter!
Topic: Silliness


Yep, that's me - special and important! :D
Okay, okay, silly I know! But it's not every day I get to be Harry Potter. *grin* I am now into the fourth book (Goblet of Fire). I don't know why I didn't read these a long time ago. They are great fun and very entertaining, and those are two things I definitely need in my life.

Happy March
Topic: This and That
First I would like to say a belated happy birthday to Dylan! (He's the son of my good friends Mike and Casey.)
I can't believe it's March already.
I would like to call the photo to the right, "Let's See Who Called." I just thought it was funny the way Ryan was leaning back on the couch and looking at his toy phone.
Speaking of Ryan, he's got a fever today. Of course the clinic at MHS AND the one on the economy are closed. I called the Tricare advice line and they reinforced what I'd been planning on doing: giving him some Tylenol and waiting and seeing. Tylenol seems to have done the trick. Ryan's not given to having fevers, so I will definitely keep a close eye on him (as if I don't anyway!).
I would like to mention that I completely skipped over a personal anniversary. On Feb. 11, it was twenty years since I first started my paper journal. Crazy! I still keep my paper journal now, even though I have this blog. I haven't added up how many spiral notebooks and blank books it takes up, but I know it's a fair amount. I love journaling and actually feel a compulsion to do it. Also, my recall is so bad that if I don't write everything down, I'll wind up forgetting most of my life! :P (Actually, once my memory is jogged, whatever it is usually comes flooding back to me. It's just the jogging part that's the rub.)
I've been thinking that I would have liked to have had a blog while I was in Germany. I have my paper journal of course, but it would have been kind of neat to have an online daily record of my time there.
It's been clear and sunny the last couple of days here, but windy and COLD. We're talking freezing and below, cold. Brrr!
One of the days on the weekend, I walked to Starbucks (had Ryan in the stroller). The barista teased me a little. I said it had been a while since I'd come in and he said, "What, like three or four days?" :) I said, "That's a while!" (I really do think it was longer than that, though.)
Yesterday was the first meeting of the new playgroup on post. We only made it about halfway through. Ryan seemed tired and a bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of kids (and adults) in a relatively small space. It was nice, but just too many people. Also, I think Ryan was coming down with his fever, but I didn't realize it at the time. Another thing I was thinking, was that at the time I thought it odd that at the last few gatherings of children and adults that we'd been to, Ryan seemed to want to leave after a little while. I always thought he enjoyed people, noise and commotion, the change of scenery. It dawned on me that Ryan likes gatherings of adults. Well, can't say I blame him. I am much more tolerant of kids now, but I am still not exactly what I would call a kid person.
Today the landlord came over. She's going to get the most drafty window in the house redone and probably will get some of the radiators replaced. She also suggested switching gas/electric providers. Hope that helps with the heating bill! It will be nice if we can stay in this house. Moving is such a pain and I like this location.
Hope March finds everyone healthy and happy.