911. What's Your Emergency?

Date: Thursday night, about 7:30pm
Scene: Me, sitting on the couch with a glass of wine, feeding my baby and watching the Nanny Diaries
Key Players: Melissa, Addison, the two dogs, and wonderful nextdoor neighbor, Lesley
Husband: ****working late

So I'm just unwinding for the day feeding Addison her bottle before bedtime and enjoying a little glass of wine when the worst smell overcomes me. Seriously....distinct smell of something burning...most likely plastic. I look around thinking...am I imagining this? But, no....Harper, our shih-poo is down the hall with his nose in the air showing me something is not right.

I grab Addison and go down the hall, and the smell is really bad...can't tell what it is, and I don't see anything. Think quickly....dryer is off, stove is off...since when do I plug in a curling iron.....what could it be????

Assuming the worst, I grab the bottle, baby bag, and Addison....dogs can fend for themselves, and got out of the house through the back door....didn't even bother closing it...I'm in a little bit of a panic.

I walk through the alley and knock on my wonderful next door neighbor's house, while I try to call Andy telling him to get home as soon as possible ****work can wait. Lesley goes next door...bless her...and confirms the smell. Not knowing what to do...and sitting on the fence somewhere between calling 911 and not wanting to over react, I call the non-emergency fire dept. line. Who knew such a thing existed? Thank you Lesley.

Well, they tell me to hang up, call 911, and not go back in the house. So I follow directions, and they tell me the fire dept. will be there shortly. I tell them sirens are not neccesary.

I hear sirens. Loud. Neighbors coming out. Fire engine pulls up, and 6 fire men get out in full gear....I'm talking axes and everything. I try to explain that there actually is no fire, but a really bad plastic smell.....I have a baby, and am just trying to be careful.

Firemen search the house, the attic, the garage......nothing, but assure me I did the right thing by calling. Thank you for helping salvage some of my pride. One of them pulls out an empty plug-in and tells me I might want to watch those. I sheepishly take out all 6 that haven't been replaced in God knows how long.

Fireman leave, but tell me to call them if it happens again, and husband pulls up after ***a long day at work. After a little bit of a laugh at relaying the story to my ***hard working husband, we put Addison to bed and settle in for the night.

*****My husband's true whereabouts have been changed to protect his reputation of a truly caring husband and father....which he is!!!! I wouldn't want him to feel guilty for catching a few beers with the guys while his wife and child were dealing with traumatic stress at home alone...with the fire department.

Flower Child

I know it's a ridiculous accesory, but I've had it since I was 2 months pregnant and I have always been looking for a reason for her to wear it. Well, there's not a good one. So I just put it on her anyways and got some pics for proof that it actually was worn. Meanwhile, she's having a go at her new toy. It's kind of like an exersaucer, except she goes around the activity table. It's got this keyboard that has different animals that play different genres of music. Which one did she prefer and play continuously? The Hip-Hop Monkey. My little gangsta!

Growing like a weed

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Addison and I just returned from a weeklong vacation to Grand Rapids Michigan to visit my great friend, Heidi and her daughter Ava. We were lucky to get to travel with our friend, Alicia as well. Alicia, Heidi, and I taught together for two years, both in Klein and Conroe. Heidi and I have known each other since we were 12 years old, and is one of my oldest friends.

We all had such a great time just relaxing and enjoying the FABULOUS weather! It was so great to escape to weather that stayed in the 50s, 60s, and 70s pretty much all week. Heidi and her husband Mark just moved to Grand Rapids in February and bought this awesome house on gorgeous property on the Thornapple River. It was so great to have dinner outside on the deck every night and just enjoy the view.

I was a little worried about how I would deal with Addison on her first airplane ride. She really did great, especially considering what we went through coming back yesterday. Here are several things that you never want to hear when trying to catch a flight home with an overtired 4 month old....and only one diaper left in your bag....but we heard them anyway.

Friday
1. Your flight has been delayed at least 3 hours, but it could be longer.
2. Someone's not happy (Heard from many random strangers, referring to Addison.)
3. Flight 3015 to Houston has been cancelled.
4. You must rebook at the ticketing counter....in a line of 100, with 2 agents.
5. I can re-route you through Chicago tonight and then to Houston at 6am tomorrow. Are you kidding me??!!
6. Ok, you're right...that's crazy, you have a four month old. Let's put you on a flight at 5am tomorrow from Grand Rapids to Chicago (O'Hare) where you will have a 45 minute layover, switch airlines and fly into Houston at 9am.

Saturday
1. Heidi wakes us up at 4:15 am....that's 3:15 our time. Addison is none too happy.
2. We get selected for "special screening" at the airport, which takes over 30 minutes!!

We did luck out with a few things though.
1. My bag only weighed 49.5 pounds after some very strategical packing. Yea for no extra charge!
2. We had the nicest flight attendant ever!!
3. Extra leg room on both flights!
4. Got to Houston without a hitch and reunited with Daddy. Yea!

Even though we had a few headaches on the return trip, our vacation with Heidi, Ava, Mark, and Alicia was so fun. Here are some pics!

Heidi's backyard....seriously beautiful.

Enjoying the sunset.

View from living room

Addison loved the Exersaucer....why didn't I register for one of these???

Staredown with Ava.
Ava sharing her milk with Addison

Ava giving Addison a kiss....
and a nice pat on the head!

Bath time!

Mark's big catch!!


Man and his pooch going fishing.

4 Months!

We just got a few more pics done of Addison at 4 months. My photographer is wonderful because my little girl wailed the entire time, fell asleep, and was not cooperating to say the least. We still managed to capture a few sweet ones. We just got back from a fun week in Michigan.....lots of fun airport adventures and fun with friends....pictures to come!

My new favorite thing!

I thought twice about posting this. Mainly because I'm selfish. You see they only sell these for a short time and HEB is the only place I've found them. I stock up every once in a while and buy four boxes. I would buy more, but then that might look ridiculous....that, and I can't fit much more in my freezer.

They are absolutely incredible. I made the mistake of letting Andy taste one and now he's hooked too. They fall apart in your mouth, and are only 50 calories. The best part is the price. $1.62 for 16 pops!!

While most people are out shopping for necessary supplies for this impending tropical storm/hurricane, what am I out doing? Stocking up on Wylers. By the way....didn't even realize a storm was headed our way until a few hours ago. They don't give weather warnings or storm updates on Baby Einstein or Praise Baby.

Trying something new....

A week of firsts from Addison

Mom is taking a break from blogging and letting me take over. I had so much fun this week getting to see all FOUR of my grandparents and decided to show off for everyone a little bit.

yes, this is me standing...I know, very advanced for 3 1/2 months. I'm trying to remain humble.

My favorite new snack is my fingers....and anyone else's.

Grandpa is so much fun. I love to stand up and have also discovered how to roll over....you can't stop me.

Sat in the bumbo....it's cool for about 5 minutes.
Love my new jumperoo!!!! Thanks Aunt Heidi!! Can't wait to see you next week. Also, mom wanted to know if we can borrow your jumperoo when we come see you in Michigan. Said something about how it's hard to transport on the plane.