Shakespeare presents...Tummy Time

Last weekend Ella experienced her first Shakespeare play. Our friend Heidi took us to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at Navy Pier’s Children’s theatre. The characters and fairies amazed little Carmella. She paid as much attention as she could before falling asleep on my lap. Afterwards she got to meet three of the actors…below is a photo with one of them (out of costume).

Isn't she adorable!!

After the play Ella got in some tummy time. She likes to play with her toys in front of the mirror in the office. Check out the video. She is bopping along to the music and looks like she is just about ready to crawl away.

So much to say...

Carmella would like to share a story with you. Your interpretations are welcome.

Here are a few more images of our little one. I can't believe how fast she is changing. Check out her crazy long eyelashes.

Renaming the Blog

Instead of the Vig Family Blog, I think we need to change the name to “House Woes”. You’ve all heard about the lights and the watery basement. Our next challenge…a stopped up drain. You all know how cold it has been around here this past week. So when the water didn’t go down the drain after my shower yesterday, I was afraid that the pipes had frozen over. Before you experts say anything, I had to discover for myself that that was not the problem.

What I didn’t know was that frozen pipes cause a loss of water flow to the faucet. The indicator is a slow to nonexistent trickle of water to the basin, or tub in our case. Since I was able to have a warm, wonderful shower after a hard workout, I figured our pipes weren’t frozen at all. We most likely had a clogged drain.

I didn’t immediately think it was a clog because it came on all of a sudden. Plus we have one of those fancy hair stoppers in the tub to prevent stoppages. Yet again, God is on my side. See, after the basement water issue, I went out and bought a huge box of baking soda. It just figured that I didn’t make the purchase until yesterday, the day I needed the box for more than de-odorizing the basement (which, by the way, is completely dry now and doesn’t smell like wet carpet at all anymore).

I dumped a cup or two of baking soda into the tub of water and chased it with a cup or so of vinegar. Then we went to bed for the night. The next morning I heard Mark turn on the water in the shower. Shocked, I jumped out of bed to find that all the water drained out of the tub after all. Mark said that it still drained a bit slow, but it was working. I gave it one more treatment and this time chased the vinegar and baking soda down with about 8 cups of boiling water. Problem solved.

Just for good measure, I treated the bathroom sink too. Oh the things we learn when we become grownups and own a home. Some days I wish I were the infant and someone could take care of my every need.

Until the next crisis,
Sharon.

How Cold is too Cold?

You know it’s cold outside when…

1. You take a deep breath in through your nose and your nostrils freeze shut.
2. The car’s outside temperature gauge reads -5 when you are only half way down the street. 3. There is ice on the inside of your windows.
4. The snow blows loosely around for three days.
5. You get brain freeze without drinking or eating something cold.
6. All you seem to want to do is drink tea and sit by the fire with a good book.
7. No one is at the grocery store in the middle of the day when it is usually packed with seniors and moms with babies.
8. The cart guy at the grocery store is wearing a bright-orange face mask and full snow gear.
9. Schools are closed due to severe cold.
10. You can’t be outside for more than 3 minutes without being painfully cold.

Our mailbox has been like this for over a week now.

This is the inside of our door lock.

No one will be using this swing set for awhile.

So we stay inside and play. Ella loves looking at her reflection in the mirror. She is just about big enough to spend time in the jumper…but she is more interested in sucking on her fist.

Getting to know a little more about us...

My sister, Laurel, lifted this from Mama Hen over at Long days, Short years because it looked like fun and, more importantly, required very little effort. Since I agree with her about doing things that only require minimal effort, I decided to copy it from her and bolden the items both Mark and I have done in our lives thus far...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (both)
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (This is all Mark)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Sharon--in Africa)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (Mark, on a high school field trip) --I didn't realize you could still do this. I've been to the statue and walked around it. Does that count?
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (this is on the to do list)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person (Mark has)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (again, Mark)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language--Does Ndebele count? Even if I can't speak it anymore?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41 Sung karaoke (it's an art form in Tokyo, as Mark discovered first-hand)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted--do the crazy charachures at a carnival count?
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (How about Snuba?)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (do home movies count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60 Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (again all Mark)
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I suppose fish doesn't count...)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee--I haven't. Mark has.

Home Ownership Blues

The joys of homeownership continue to haunt my dreams. A few days ago it was the lights—(Cousin Andy came up with the solution so now our outdoor lights work—way to go Andy!). Now we have a water issue in the basement.

The Lord really has a way of getting me to notice things. See, if the light problem never happened, I wouldn’t have been in the basement and the door to the pump room would still be closed. So I wouldn’t have had a need to go down to the basement to shut the door. If none of that happened, I would still be going along on my merry way without discovering the large puddle of water on the carpet by the pump room door.

Apparently the pump that takes care of the air conditioner, humidifier and furnace moisture stopped working and water backed up in the pump room and overflowed into the finished part of our basement. I was quite annoyed at this little discovery. However, you should all be proud that I did not have a break down or a major freaked-out moment.

Our extremely home-apparatuses knowledgeable neighbors literally bailed us out (again). Our neighbor actually went to Home Depot for us to purchase a new pump and all the necessary parts to go with it. Then he took the time to install it for us all in the same evening. Thank you Mr. K.

Thankfully the humidifier is back on because it is supposed to get to -10 degrees this week. We were already feeling dry…little Ella has a stuffy nose and a little cough after only one night and day of low humidity levels in the house. Surprise, surprise, it is snowing right now outside. It literally snows every single day here. We are getting another 4 to 6 inches tonight and a blizzard is supposed to hit tomorrow. Joy.

Ella Rolls Over

Well, that's one way to get out of doing tummy time.

Outdoor Light Fiasco & Seemingly Distant Memories

A lack of sleep teamed with a dollop of worry put me over the edge the other day when I broke the main power switch on the fuse box. It all started when I realized that our outdoor lights, which are supposed to be on a timer, and Christmas lights, on a separate timer, weren’t coming on at night. The best I could figure is that the outlet was not working. So someone suggested checking the circuit breakers first before calling an electrician. I tried the individual switches and nothing seemed to do the trick, so I decided to switch off the main power. Brilliant is not my middle name… The stiff switch slammed into the off position just fine, but when I tried to turn the power back on…nothing, still nothing, STILL nothing…I couldn’t get the thing to go back to the “ON” position. Ugh… Frustrated, and a bit nervous, I started to freak because this not only meant no lights, but no heat as well. With an infant in the house and snow coming down outside, I panicked. I called a few people and finally got my friend Kathy to come over and help me watch Ella while I focused on helping the electrician to get us out of this mess.

A miracle happened that day. I called several electricians and they all told me that we might need to replace the entire panel if the switch didn't reset. After doing some research, I found out that the fuse box we have is a Challenger—a company that is no longer in business. Finding a main switch of this brand is near to impossible. So if they couldn’t fix it we would have to pay close to $1200 to replace the entire pannel. Praise God they were able to reset the system without a replacement part or new unit.

The down side is that my outdoor lights continue to be a separate issue and still do not work. I guess that will have to be a problem for another day. As for now we have lights, heat and smiles on our faces.

CHRISTMAS PAST
Since we didn’t get to spend Christmas at our own home, I am just now getting around to taking down the tree and decorations around the house. It’s such a sad event seeing the glitter, sparkle and twinkle disappear with every ornament I put away. Yet I get a funny sense of satisfaction organizing the decorations—trying to pack them even better than the year before. Yes, you can say it: “OCD”.

All of this just makes our time in Cape Cod seem so long ago. We spent a lovely week on the snowy ocean while friends and family came to see us and stay a while to share in the spectacular view and meet Miss Carmella. Here are a few more photos of our time…

[Meeting cousin Bruno Anthony and Mark's sister, Laura and brother-in-law, Frank.] [The whole Vig family together.]

[Finally "Antie" Wendy and "Uncle" Jeff get to meet and love on Carmella. They even brought a twin for her to play with.]
[Enjoying a story with "Auntie" Wendy.]

[Hanging out with pals Tammy and AJ.]

[Our dear friends from Northampton St. came to see us. Little Ivy was so excited she couldn't stop petting the baby.]

[Snow, sun, the beach is so much fun...]

[Spending quality time with Dad.]

[First time in a pool.]

-Hope you enjoyed the picts. We are all caught up now...back to daily life as we know it. We all miss the ocean and the rolling hills of New England. We'll be back soon.

Snow Storms and Flight Windows

Boston and Chicago both got slammed with heavy snow and other nasty weather conditions a few days before Christmas. Our flight was scheduled to depart Chicago on Wednesday night (Christmas Eve). We expected a delay--but crossed our fingers and toes that a miracle would happen so we could get out that same night. Tuesday’s flights left hundreds of travelers stranded at O’Hare. With Christmas Eve flights booked as well, those folks were pretty much out of luck. I for one, did not want to join them in an airport Christmas celebration. Thankfully the Lord blew the storms away and cleared a path for our departure. We were about 3 hours delayed--but not canceled.

Ella travelled beautifully on her first plane experience. She cried a tiny bit while we waited to take off and then again on the landing, but was a perfect angel for most of the flight. We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Vig’s house just in time to say Merry Christmas and fall asleep until the sun came up in the morning.

[Ella in her 1st Christmas sleeper on Christmas morning.]

After a simple gift exchange, Carmella got to meet her Great Grandmother Elsie. What a treat for both of them.

We had a relaxing afternoon and fun time visiting with Mark’s folks.
The next day we took off for Cape Cod where we spent the remainder of our vacation on the beach. But before we left, my dear friend Aimee from my college days came over to see us for a while. After a nice long chat, sadly, I had to say goodbye to my friend and get packed up for the next part of our journey…

Backtracking a Bit to Catch Up

Thanks for being so patient with us… After our trip to Boston for Christmas I have had little time to get on the computer. So I haven’t had time to update Facebook or the family blog. I thought since the trip was so packed full of fun and visitors, that I would blog a tiny bit every other day so no one gets too overwhelmed.

The week before we left, we spent quite a bit of time with friends—some long-time friends as well as new acquaintances. Tom, his wife Kathy and two of their kids came out from Pennsylvania for a graduation ceremony. They were able to find a break between snow storms to come over to our neighborhood for a wonderful visit over lunch. Ella was so tired she fell asleep in Kathy’s arms. Awe, such a sweet baby…

I love going to our home fellowship group on Thursday nights. We get to hang out with really great people and usually end up bring home some kind of baby gear. One of the families in our group has a nine month old baby girl, so as she grows out of things, we end up inheriting them. Please see exhibit A below. “Just hanging out.”Ella and her mommy love to read books together after a nice morning nap. This was the morning of our departure to Boston two Wednesdays ago.

…to be continued.