So Sporty...

Here's my Baby Ween wearing her cute little Converse.

"Above the Ridgers" at their best...

This was the look that must have been on my face when I crossed the parking lot at the grocery store today. I was on my lunch hour and I come out of the store and hear...

"Come back here you little asshole."

I didn't want to look, but I did. There was a mom trailing behind her two small kids as they walked back to their car. I just couldn't believe she said that to the little boy. I couldn't believe she said it to him in public. I don't even want to think about what she says when no one is around to hear her.

Stylin Baby Ween

Okay, as you all know by now I am a shopper. Now that Baby Ween has come along it's gotten worse. I could probably count on one hand the new items I have purchased for myself in the last 14 months but Baby Ween has a wardrobe that would rival a fashion model. Over the weekend I was looking for brown shoes for her for the fall. But when I walked down the aisle to see if I missed anything I saw these. So back to the bench we went and Baby Ween tried them on. She fussed through most of it but we came away with two pairs of shoes. I can't wait to get a picture of her wearing them.

Re-Connecting...

When Baby Ween was in the NICU at CHOP there was a baby across the room from her that I will call "B". Like Baby Ween he had surgery right after he was born but he had additional issues that Baby Ween didn't have. "B's" mom and her sister sat by his bedside all the days that Matt and I sat with Baby Ween but we never talked. They knew where we were from because they heard us talking to the hospital staff. One day "B's" grandpop talked to Matt for a few minutes and it turned out that they were from Matt's hometown. On the day we left CHOP we said goodbye to eachother and that was that. Through several coincidences it turned out "B's" mom worked with someone we knew at a local hotel. We had a party at that hotel on Saturday night for the sister-in-law's 40th birthday and "B's" mom was there.

Almost fourteen months after our babies were born we finally got to talk. It turns out "B" left CHOP the same day we did. He's been back several times for some continuing care but he is doing well, crawling and growing bigger everyday. Baby Ween strolled around the party while "B's" mom and I talked. We agreed they've both come so far from those first days and that the time has gone by so fast. I was happy that I got to talk to her and that her son is doing well. She was happy to see BW doing so well too. I hope our paths cross again and that things continue to go well for her and her little boy. It was nice seeing her again, under much better circumstances this time around.

In The Bitter Barn...

When someone is upset at work (usually the women) the owner of the place asks if we're in the bitter barn - well yeah I am. Does anyone want to know why? Oh, probably not but I'm going to tell you anyway. I'm mad because....

• We don't have money to pay our vendors so they've stopped delivering the materials we need to make product for our customers. And we don't know when or where the money we need is going to come from.


• Many of our customers think they are the only ones we have and that we are just sitting around waiting for them to send work our way. They don't understand that sometimes we're busy taking care of other customers and can't drop what we're doing and move them to the front of the line all the time. Then they make it seem like we're providing bad customer service. WE CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH PEOPLE!!!!!


• We just had a vendor, who promised us completion of a project in two weeks - tell us they don't even have the coating compound we need and that it will be "a couple of weeks" before they get it - then it's another two weeks to actually coat our project. Our customer needs the items on August 15th and they are going to freak out when we call and tell them we can't deliver.


• Of male customers who don't like hearing what I have to say about their projects because I have a vagina so I have to get another man at my company to tell them the exact same thing I already said.


• We are in a severe paper towel and toilet paper shortage
• We don't have a working copier and I need to make copies on my home printer to keep doing my work.

I'm beginning to think my expectations are too high and that's another thing that makes me sad. I know it sucks a lot of places. Everytime I turn around someone is working longer hours then they should for the pay they are getting, and other people are being told that half of the people at their company will lose their jobs in two months.

I'm 35 years old and I worry how my family is going to survive the next 40 or 50 years. I worry about health insurance, life insurance, job security, the economy, the quality of our schools & education, how EJ will get into college, how to pay for college, everything. I wonder what we'll do when Matt is 50 years old and some company decides he makes too much money and that he's replaceable. You can only plan for so many contingencies. I feel like I don't have the luxury of missing even one step without it having profound ramifications that I can't even imagine yet. I'm just too tried for all this shit.

Beefcake.....

Matt and I determined over the weekend that Baby Ween is driven to fits of hysteria by me saying "Beefcake" in the voice of Cartman.

We discovered said phenomenon after deciding that Baby Ween has got some thick legs on her. Pair those thick legs with her new baby size running shoes and she looks kind of beefcake. Cute baby beefcake not Brutus the Barber Beefcake. So I started saying "beefcake" and she cracked up. I made a video of it for posterity because I couldn't resist her baby laughs.

BEEFCAKE!!!!!!

Our Baby Ween...

About the Gemini Child

A Quick and Agile MindYour Gemini child will look up at you with bright, merry eyes, making you laugh as she makes it clear there's a lot going on in that head of hers. And if she starts talking at an early age, she's just living up to her nature! Gemini children tend to be communicative, charming, and social, but even if your Gemini child is a quieter sort, she's still quick-witted, curious, and mentally engaged with the world around her. Make sure she's always surrounded with books and puzzles to stimulate her mind, and give her plenty of space and supplies for her many projects.

Gemini children love anything new, and they tend to bounce from one activity to the next at a moment's notice. As soon as they master a new challenge, they'll grow bored with it and move on. Their mood may also change in the blink of an eye. Many Gemini children are indecisive or change their minds often. The other side of this coin is their adaptability. Gemini children often prefer variety of experience over depth of understanding, but as their parent, you can help them focus and develop a particular area of strength.

Your Gemini will excel at cerebral endeavors like reading, writing, and debate, as well as anything requiring dexterity, such as playing the piano. Due to their variety of interests, Gemini children tend to have many friends and will often be the center of the circle, naturally excelling at what we grown-ups call networking.

Well It's One Way To Get Some Time Off...

We were told on Thursday that as of Monday (8/4) we would be working a 36 hour work week and that our office will be closed Fridays. Supposedly it's only for the month of August...mmm hmmm.

I can't say that I'm surprised, nor am I really upset by the development. I'd be more upset if the company goes under, but we're all hoping, that like many times before, that doesn't happen.

I guess I'll try to get some things done these next four weeks - though with Baby Ween under foot - it might not be as productive as I hope.