Weekend Washout

No exciting blog today folks.

I have been sick as a dog all weekend. First with the bad cold I can't shake and then last night I got Jack's stomach bug, so was up all night. The low point of my weekend was lying on the bathroom floor at 2am this morning wishing for the world to end.

So far Craig's not got it and I hope I don't pass it back to Jack. This sucks!

Pictures of the Little Fella

I haven't posted too many pictures of the little fella this week so I took a few today while we were house-bound watching the Buckeyes beat Michigan. Oh, what a fabulous win for our boys. Big Ten Champs and going to the Rose Bowl or maybe something else ......

Okay, back to the matter in hand. Here's three brand-new pictures of our little love:

Obsessed with Mummy's spinny office chair

Looking very dashing in the JCB hat his nana Lloyd & grandad Tom got him

Informing me that he's just thrown everything over the baby gate and down the stairs

Our New Motor

Here is my new car - a 2005 VW Golf GLS turfbo diesel injection, or TDI to be less waffly.

I just bought it today and I LOVE it for the following reasons:

1. It will do 45 mpg
2. It's fast
3. It's got gadgets - heated sports seats, heated mirrors, alloy wheels, tinted windows, sunroof, automatic AND manual transmission but don't ask me how that works as I have no idea
4. It's a 4-door hatch-back so it's sporty but also kid friendly
5. It will last forever

Reservations?

1. It was expensive
2. It sounds like a diesel, but I kinda like that
3. The horn that goes off when you lock it is funny. Instead of the usual "beep" or "pomp" it goes "purp", like it ate too much cabbage.

So, here it is....

Obviously not our car, but I wanted to show what it looks like and I got home in the dark - so I took some pictures off the internet.

Eggs are my Best Friend Right Now

This was Jack last night - hanging out with us, sat on Matt's knee.

When he woke at 6.30am this morning and I went to his room he'd been sick everywhere & was really pale. He perked up enough that Craig tootled off to work so I gave him his milk, which made a fast and furious exit all over the kitchen. I won't be too detailed but it was so appalling that I stood looking at him in stunned silence for about 10 seconds before I realised what was going on. He looked back at me, equally stunned and then I had some kind of brain shut-down because I couldn't remember the doctors number, or even how to call up the address book on my phone. It took me about a minute to gather myself and call the Doc, who informed me it was a bug and to try and get him to drink Pedialyte. She sounded like I'd woken her up from her sick bed and was a bit blunt. She actually finished off by telling me to "brace for a messy morning" and hung up. Oh, thanks.

Craig brought some Pedialyte & stayed long enough for me to get Jack's bedding & clothes into the washing machine. As I was rinsing Jack's pants I felt something in the pocket and pulled out a green plastic pickle! Those moments make you calm down and smile to yourself.

He was okay the rest of the day and I've managed to keep some food and fluid in him, with just one more sick episode this afternoon. Fingers crossed he's over it and is now in bed asleep.

I tried to give him bland food today - toast, egg, cheese and biscuits. Egg was definitely the food that got the thumbs-up from Jack and seemed to stay down. Gerber's chicken noodle & carrots, errr, not so much. After I "Googled" this subject tonight some tips talked about "BRAT" - bananas, rice, apple sauce & toast. Anyone else got ideas?

The Final Whistle of 2006

Gina & Matt came over tonight & we watched the HBO Special about the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. It's the big game this Saturday.

Here's a little video of last years final whistle in Ohio Stadium. See if you can spot me & Craig. We're on the right-hand side of the field, wearing red.






Ps: Wuthering Heights last night was pretty good. Robert Cavanah played Heathcliff, Orla Brady was Kathy. Course I dreamt about it all night!

My Quest for Kathy & Heathcliff

My new Wuthering Heights dvd arrived today courtesy of Amazon.com and a moment of spending weakness on my behalf. I LOVE this story and have read the book by Emily Bronte several times, probably inherited the fascination from my older sister Jenny who would go back and switch places with the heroine Kathy if they ever invent a time machine.

Since the first 1939 film with Sir Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff, I have seen several film versions that rate from bad to painful. The most recent being a Hollywood offering where Kathy & Heathcliff were actually spoiled teenagers living in Orange County and both surfing dudes. Even the version with Ralph Fiennes as a credible Heathcliff, Kathy was played by Juliette Binoche (who's French) so every time Kathy was supposed to talk in her burly & rough native Yorkshire accent, she sounded more like a pussy cat purring. In others words, I'm always looking for films because I'm desperate for one of them to do the book justice

Getting it right would be no easy task, The book spans 3 generations and two families, which is complicated enough, but the thing no one has captured yet is the powerful, raw and sometimes evil love affair between Kathy & Heathcliff.

We're going to England soon and I'm going to take Craig to "Bronte Country" to a village called Howarth where the Bronte sisters lived in the old parsonage. It's a gorgeous, quaint little village in the moors. The old church still has stocks outside! I'm also going to drag my sister along so she can finally take me to Top Withens (picture above), which is supposedly the inspiration for the Earnsaw family farmhouse, called "Wuthering Heights".

Okay, I'm off to load up my dvd player, with bated breath....

Three Posts Today!

Veterans Day was observed today in the US. When Jack's a bit older I'd like to take him to a parade or something but for today we just took the time to have a family day.

Indoor Play Areas?
I should have spent this weekend working and doing physics homework but I wasn't very successful. Mostly because I want to spend time with Craig and Jack but also because every time I try and do computer work, Jack comes along and pulls wires, opens drawers or tries to climb on my knee. Craig tells me to shut my office door but I just can't. So, it means I have to work doubly hard all week now but it was worth it today to spend a lot of time playing with Jack.

When he got bored, we took him to a local mall that has an indoor playing area and he played solidly for an hour. There were several other parents there like us - glad to be out of the house. If any local friends have suggestions for indoor play areas please tell me, as the winter is LONG!

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Car Update Part 2
We checked out a couple of car dealers this afty. Looks like the only turbo diesel right now is the VW Jetta and there's a waiting list. Humf. We are right on the edge of turbo diesel mania in the USA - I just know it! Even if diesel is 50 cents/gallon more than gas, they typically get 40-45 mpg and they last forever. I'll keep looking.

I looked at a Toyota Yaris today too but it was too small and weird. The odometer is in the middle, on top of the dash - which would annoy me. Not seen a VW Rabbit yet. Chevy Aveo too small. Ford Focus too boring. Better stop before I offend someone who has one of these cars. Suffice it to say I haven't found my ideal car yet.

Another "Add-on" Video

You know, I may just tag on a favourite YouTube video now & again. There's so many good ones. Here's one that gave me a giggle:

One for the Buckeye fans

Okay this is NOT sour grapes but come on! His knee is not down, he doesn't have the ball. This is a fumble, right?

Rabbits, Buckeyes, Little Monkeys

Car Update
After some helpful advice from people (thank you) I have decided to at least start looking at another car. So, I've been doing a spot of reading up and I like the VW diesel Rabbit. I'd really like the new diesel Touareg but we don't have 60 k handy. The reason for diesel? Well, we had a diesel car in England and we LOVED it - the fuel economy was amazing and the fuel burns clean so it's got better environmental-friendliness than both gas and hybrids. Now, the trouble is that clean diesel has only been in the States since May 2007 so getting hold of a diesel car is going to be hard. I did see a Jetta TDI today while we were out shopping but they still look too much like a "Euro box" for my liking. Will keep you posted.

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Beloved Buckeye's Loss

I went to the stinking game yesterday. When I left the stadium and rang Craig we were both obviously upset at the loss to Illinois. But after 24 hours to reflect I've come to the conclusion that it might not be a bad thing. We're a young team and our schedule this year wasn't super tough. I'd hate to go into a BCS Championship and get our arses handed to us again by an SEC team. That would be WAY too much to bear. I still haven't recovered from the last time - I don't think any Buckeye fan has. I'm very proud of our student athletes - I think they had an awesome year and I'm excited to see us beat the blue scum next Saturday and get a chance at the Big 10 title.

Tomorrow night & all this week it's the HBO Special "Michigan versus Ohio State: The Rivalry" I'm so excited to see it as Matt & Gina's tailgate in the Minnie Winnie is on there!

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Jack the Lad's Antics

Lastly, a Jack story and short video - not related to each other.

First the story - I was sat in the living room yesterday morning and Jack toddled off into the kitchen. Craig was walking Cody. I didn't run after Jack as the kitchen is child-proof and the gate was across the stairs.

After about 30 seconds I hear this low noise: "mmmmmmm, splish, mmmmmmm, splish, mmmmmmm, splish"

I say "Jaaaack - what are you up to?"

No response but again "mmmmmmmmmm, splish"

I go to investigate and I find...

Jack, holding up his plastic golf club to the fridge water dispenser and he's dispensing water all over the kitchen floor. WHERE did he learn that? Little bugger.

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A short video of Jack being generous with his cheesy cheddar goldfish......

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Last but not least, Happy Birthday to Sheila! My step-mum and Jack's Grandma.

Oh, and a video I have to post...

The new married life - I'm upstairs "Blogging", Craig's downstairs "Stumbling" (not literally, not yet) and sent me this video.

We love this sport & the people and I'm going to post about skydiving as part of NaBloPoMo. We met at a dropzone (me rookie, Craig on a team & cameraman), we honeymooned at one. We never did this though - Holy Cow!