A new definition of heavy

Okay, so given the choice between categorizing myself as a light drinker, or an average or heavy drinker, I'll choose heavy, if we're talking about a party occasion such as Cinco de Mayo. But I have to say Evite's drink calculator brings a whole new meaning to the word 'heavy':
I've had some pretty drunk nights and I don't think any of them involved me drinking 3 beers and an entire liter of booze in two hours.

Lucas's First Real Dinner

Lucas is such a picky eater that I generally end up cooking one thing for Jen and I, and then making Lucas either something completely different or at least a heavily modified version. This isn't what I want to be doing for the rest of his childhood/teenage years. The goal is that he eats what we eat. So I decided to start transitioning him that way. I started off light on him, by making something I was pretty sure he would eat all of and that Jen and I would like too. I made some chicken strips by breading chicken with Bisquick and baking it, along with some oven fries and corn. And he ate every bite! It's weirdly satisfying to have your child eat everything you want him to when it's been a kind of struggle for 2ish years.

20 Week Ultrasound

Sorry it's been a while since I posted (over a month!). I let myself get out of the habit of writing and it became a hard thing to get back into. But I'm back and plan on posting several times a week again. Stay tuned!

We went in for Jen's 20 week ultrasound last week, where they check on the fetal development, make sure there are no red flags, and if it is at all possible, they also try to determine the sex of the baby. The pieces all looked to be in the places they were supposed to be and all the development seems to be progressing the way it should. As far as the sex goes, unfortunately we didn't get a printout of the picture the ultrasound tech took of the "region" but here's what he said: "Yep. 100% boy. No doubt about it."

So that's two boys for us. We've already started thinking about names and doing a little research. I looked through a long list of atheists (some surprising names on there) and there were definitely some names that I think would make great names for our new boy. As before with Lucas, we're going to keep our name ideas to ourselves and not make a final decision until after he is born.

I will post the ultrasound video this week. I don't have any info I need to blur out of this one so it's a simple matter of d/l the file to my computer.

Cool poem... chew it over

Much Madness is divinest Sense –
To a discerning Eye –
Much Sense – the starkest Madness –
'Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail –
Assent – and you are sane –
Demur – you're straightway dangerous –
And handled with a Chain –

–Emily Dickenson

MERT

Friday I completed my Medical Emergency Response Team Training. So now I can be helpful or something. Actually, the hardest part of the whole thing was getting good at taking a blood pressure. I hope to never have to use any of my training, but I'm ready just in case.

Oh, and I got a 2-way radio... someone is supposed to come show me what to do with it. I have no clue; am I supposed to carry it on me all day? What's the etiquette in meetings? I suppose if there really is an emergency I need to respond to that I would need to have the thing on me. My hope is that the designated ERT channel doesn't have chatter on it unless there's an actual emergency. I really want to be helpful but I also don't want to be the asshole disrupting meetings.

Okay, maybe I should try listening...

I always forget how much more of the song you hear when you put headphones on. And now I realize that the song "Sheep" by Pink Floyd is a totally obvious attack on people who follow with blind faith. I know what you're thinking, "Duh dumbass, the song is called 'Sheep.' Where the fuck have you been?' And I have no idea how I missed this before. Although in my defense, the best and most blatant part of the song is spoken in a kind of computer voice that you can barely hear over the background music. It was only with my headphones on that I caught it. It's pretty funny, at least to me. Here's what that part says:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of karate,
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.

Catch-up #3: Death in the Family

On Tuesday my mom called to let me know that my grandmother (my Dad's mom) had passed away earlier that day. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for a few years and had taken a turn for the worse in the last week. She apparently died in her sleep sometime Monday night/Tuesday morning. She was the last of the three grandparents I spent a good amount of time with as a kid and felt pretty close to, the others being my Dad's father and my Mom's mother. Even though I knew for a while that she was slipping away and had said my goodbyes a couple of years ago, it still hit me in a weird way.

My Mom waited to call me Tuesday until around 6p so that the news wouldn't affect my day; it was very thoughtful of her, unfortunately Tuesdays I have class until 10p so I still had quite a bit of my day left! I found myself only half listening in my History class. Then in my English class I tried to participate at my normal level, which is a lot, but every time I started to give an opinion on the pieces we had read or on a theory derived from them, I felt like I didn't know what I was saying. I wasn't even sure if I was making any sense or if it was even English coming out of my mouth. It felt like there were thousands of words spinning in my head and I had to locate and grab each one individually to make it come out. On our break in class I actually decided to ask the teacher if I was making any sense. She said I was completely and asked if I knew what was causing me to feel like I wasn't, so I told her about my grandma. It felt good to get out what was in my head and kinda spill my guts a bit.

I don't know when any sort of memorial will be but apparently it won't be for a little while. It'll be nice to get together with family and remember her.