A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

A Little Bit of This
Some time ago, I joined an awesome web site called, Indie Bloggers. Lately, I’ve been a little remiss with submitted posts, because, well, I’ve hardly had time to keep up with my own damn blog. Which, I’m sure is obvious to my loyal readers. However, I submitted my post that I wrote about my house hunting adventures a long time ago, and thought it just got lost in submission hell. Well, lo and behold, it’s up on the site today! Ah, it’s nice to be syndicated.

So go check it out, it’s a great site. Lots of awesome writers are part of the group.

A Little Bit of That
Ever question religion? The power of prayer? Well, Friday, when Andrew was at his regular (not the urologist) checkup with his pediatrician, the Dr was concerned that he was not standing up and cruising the furniture yet. As were we, which was a topic we planned to discuss at the visit. Well, he ordered a hip X-ray, and recommended we enroll him in physical therapy with Columbus Children’s Hospital. So those of you who have been reading my blog regularly, and know all the ups and downs we’ve been living through with Andrew lately, you’re saying, “Wha? What else can go wrong with this little kid?” So Friday was not a good day for me. Because in addition to learning about all the deficiencies with my youngest son, I get a call from the speech therapist at my older son’s future school where he is enrolled in Kindergarten. They held an “evaluation” that Dave took him to last Thursday, and discovered he has articulation problems, is socially introverted, and has trouble with motor skills such as cutting and writing. My first response was that if his preschool teachers could hear anybody put the words “CJ” and “socially introverted” in the same sentence, they would surely think they were crazy. So we chalked that up to kindergarten jitters. The articulation problems came as no surprise, and we expected him to most likely visit a speech therapist in the fall, because he does stutter occasionally and has a lisp. And last but not least, the motor skills? Well, I’ve seen him hold a pair of scissors and he cuts just fine, and he writes his name and other words with ease. CJ has been in a very good preschool for the past 2 years, and I have no doubt he will excel in kindergarten, even before we address his speech problems. I appreciate the attentiveness on the part of the teachers at the school, but these days all this scrutiny seems a little like the professional way to “cover-your-ass”. But alas, the prayers from grandma seemed to work. At least someone is going to Church in this family. She was so upset about the possible physical problems with Andrew, she began to pray immediately for him. So for a kid who was just getting a hip X-ray on Saturday at noon, who then decides to start pulling himself up and standing a mere 6 hours later, the timing is a little suspicious. And I kid you not. Since mid-day Saturday he is already an old pro at pulling himself up and stands all the time now. Obviously the hip X-ray came back with no abnormalities, and perhaps it’s divine intervention. Personally, I think the trauma of the hip X-ray scared him into walking. He must have known that we mean business now, and that it’s time to make his debut. I was so excited!

A Little Bit of This
We are closing on the house on May 25th. I’m so freakin' excited I can hardly stand myself. We are literally tripping over ourselves and toys in the place we live in now, and in another strange coincidence, the place we rent now is starting to fall apart just in time. The hot water heater is leaking, when you turn on the outdoor faucet it leaks into the basement, the wood around the French doors leading to the backyard is literally rotting and falling off in pieces, and the holes in the screens are getting so big you can put your fist through them, hence the big wasp we discovered in the kids room one morning. I know it sounds like I live in the ghetto, but I really don’t, it’s just a 2 bedroom townhouse that has seen better days and we are busting at the seams. Personally, all I want at this point is my $500 security deposit back. So I plan to make it so clean you could eat off the floor. I would be surprised if our landlord screws us, because he’s a pretty nice guy, but after renting various dwellings over the past 15 years since college, nothing would surprise me. So it’s all about packing and cleaning in our household these days, while teaching a 15 month old to walk, while trying to entertain a 5 year old. It’s fun, fun, fun. Wanna come over?

A Little Bit of That
And finally, my transition here at work is in full swing. I’m transferring into the marketing group and it should be a much better fit for me and for my skills. What’s funny is that 4 years ago, when we had just moved to Columbus and I was beating down doors to find a job, I couldn’t get arrested in a marketing firm, and so I had to settle on the only job I could find that was nowhere near a match for my skills. Now that an exciting opportunity such as this has landed in my lap, it’s a little unbelievable. Lesson to the kids: perseverance and making friends with the right executives will get you far in life. The weight of providing for the family rests clearly on my shoulders, and I’m treading into uncertain waters, so it would be insincere of me to admit that I am not scared of something new, especially at a time when I just bought a house. And by the quotes I’m receiving for home insurance, I’m getting poorer and poorer by the minute…