Maren loves all things water - her pool, a bath, drinking it, spraying Daddy with the hose, running through sprinklers in neighbor's yards...here she is with cousin Allison in June.
Friday, July 27, 2007
On a Lighter Note
Maren now talks in her sleep! This morning at 4:00 AM I heard her saying "No! No!" quite loudly. I rushed into her room and she was lying in bed, eyes shut and totally asleep. She must have been dreaming about me forcing a vegetable on her...all she's had for two days are dry Cheerios and orange juice...but she is sick and normally a very good eater.
Living in the Hood
We love our little city neighborhood...but we do live in an urban area and crime always goes up when the economy is in the tank.
Here's what happened yesterday when I was home with Maren (who has an ear infection)...(sent to a couple of co-workers who knew I was at home)
Holy crap, on top of everything else, just helped stop a robbery.
Was about to take Maren into the yard when I hear talking a see a large guy on a mountain bike in our shared driveway. Have never seen him before and he looks out of place and neighbors are not home. He rides the bike to the end of the driveway where our neighbor two doors down is standing with her hands on her hips. I stick my head out of the porch and she sees me and says “Call 911. They’re trying to steal my son’s bike.” GOOD LORD. So, I call and am trying to describe the situation and I walk out the front door with phone, Maren on hip (looking like hell as always), and hand the 911 operator to my neighbor.
She describes the two guys who are now running down our street to Eastern. I am very clear to tell the operator that I am calling for 9XXReynard, not 8XX (us) so we are not repeat offenders.
Here's what happened yesterday when I was home with Maren (who has an ear infection)...(sent to a couple of co-workers who knew I was at home)
Holy crap, on top of everything else, just helped stop a robbery.
Was about to take Maren into the yard when I hear talking a see a large guy on a mountain bike in our shared driveway. Have never seen him before and he looks out of place and neighbors are not home. He rides the bike to the end of the driveway where our neighbor two doors down is standing with her hands on her hips. I stick my head out of the porch and she sees me and says “Call 911. They’re trying to steal my son’s bike.” GOOD LORD. So, I call and am trying to describe the situation and I walk out the front door with phone, Maren on hip (looking like hell as always), and hand the 911 operator to my neighbor.
She describes the two guys who are now running down our street to Eastern. I am very clear to tell the operator that I am calling for 9XXReynard, not 8XX (us) so we are not repeat offenders.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
HP in the Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118523218924275494.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
So...the reviewer at the WSJ agrees with me about HP and the Christian themes in the book. I'm embarrassed that I didn't immediately recognize the two scriptures found on tombstones in the book.
So...the reviewer at the WSJ agrees with me about HP and the Christian themes in the book. I'm embarrassed that I didn't immediately recognize the two scriptures found on tombstones in the book.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Harry Potter and The Open Championship
Whew! What a weekend. We are wiped out! The emotions, the drama, the tension...for the arrival of HP and The Deathly Hallows AND for the outcome of the Open Championship (aka the British Open) had us on the edge all weekend. Maren has been unaffected by her parents' craziness.
The UPS Man dropped off HP at 12:30 on Saturday. Maren went to sleep at 1:30 and thank goodness she is still taking two hour naps...I read til 3:30. Stayed up til 1 AM (I did play with her and make dinner...had to put the book down until she went to bed at night). Three cheers again that she is a good napper - she was down for her morning nap at 9 AM and I finished HP at 10:50 AM.
PLOT SPOILER ALERT
Is Harry Potter Jesus? That thought came to me in the shower...he goes willingly to die, he's resurrected and love defeats death and evil...hmmm...maybe I'm reading too much into it. I enjoyed it just as much as the other books. Sad to see it come to an end, but a VERY satisfying ending. May have to re-read it at a slower pace (700+ pages in under 24 hours...which would be more impressive if it was not written on an 8th grade level) is a lot to absorb.
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
For those who aren't aware, John's second passion after the Buckeyes is golf. Today was the Open Championship, the British Open to Americans. Back and forth, people up and down the leader board, bogeys, birdies, hitting it into a creek...and then a four hole playoff to determine the winner. As John says, "Who needs Survivor when you have sports? That's the orginal reality TV." I know some people say that golf is boring or hard to watch on TV, but it was a very exciting day, made all the better by the fact that ABT (Anyone But Tiger) won.
The UPS Man dropped off HP at 12:30 on Saturday. Maren went to sleep at 1:30 and thank goodness she is still taking two hour naps...I read til 3:30. Stayed up til 1 AM (I did play with her and make dinner...had to put the book down until she went to bed at night). Three cheers again that she is a good napper - she was down for her morning nap at 9 AM and I finished HP at 10:50 AM.
PLOT SPOILER ALERT
Is Harry Potter Jesus? That thought came to me in the shower...he goes willingly to die, he's resurrected and love defeats death and evil...hmmm...maybe I'm reading too much into it. I enjoyed it just as much as the other books. Sad to see it come to an end, but a VERY satisfying ending. May have to re-read it at a slower pace (700+ pages in under 24 hours...which would be more impressive if it was not written on an 8th grade level) is a lot to absorb.
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
For those who aren't aware, John's second passion after the Buckeyes is golf. Today was the Open Championship, the British Open to Americans. Back and forth, people up and down the leader board, bogeys, birdies, hitting it into a creek...and then a four hole playoff to determine the winner. As John says, "Who needs Survivor when you have sports? That's the orginal reality TV." I know some people say that golf is boring or hard to watch on TV, but it was a very exciting day, made all the better by the fact that ABT (Anyone But Tiger) won.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Just one step on the right side of the law...
A peek into a night at the Gregg house…
While John and I ate dinner last night, Maren danced around the table and did one of her favorite things – played with John’s cell phone (she had already eaten). At first, she was just holding it up to her ear and “talking,” and then, she started pushing buttons on the phone. Every minute or so one of us would grab it and close the phone so that no calls connected. John thought it would be funny to call the cell and watch her since she dances when it rings (ring tone is the old “Batman” TV show theme song), so he called her using our house phone, but kept saying things to me (doing dishes at this point) like, “My phone isn’t working, I’m dialing and it’s not ringing.” and “What’s my number again? I never call myself.” I tell him his number and keep washing.
Suddenly, a knock at the door…and John says, loudly, “If it’s someone selling something, I’m going to shoot them.” (We have no guns, but are constantly bombarded with kids selling candy bars and raffle tickets and people trying to sell us new windows.) I hear mumbled conversation at the door and the next thing I know, there is a GR Police Officer in our kitchen! Apparently, SOMEONE at our house had called 911. I am horrified and we are both apologizing profusely, immediately blaming the baby for playing with John’s phone…although the officer pointed out that the call must have come from a landline. We again blame the baby. The officer was very nice, said he had a young daughter himself, but that they had to come and check it out. He takes John’s name and date of birth for paperwork and we follow him to the door…where we see two cruisers in the street (only a week ago the first GR Police Officer in 21 years was shot and killed investigating a domestic disturbance, so the police are all on edge). AAAHHHH.
We could not be more white trash at this point (also, Maren is wearing a pajama top and diaper – no bottoms, I’m wearing a D4G polo shirt with my “garden shorts” and John is in scrub top and old shorts…we might as well be in a trailer…there are toys everywhere and the house is not very clean). They’ve sent two cruisers to check out the situation and the guy who came into the house is obviously wearing body armor under his shirt. TOTALLY embarrassing. The neighbors are probably going to kick us out of the hood.
So…after they leave we discuss the calls…and John realizes that HE must have called 911 while trying to use our home phone to call his cell (which starts 91). I tell him that he has made Maren his accomplice at 18 months old.
If I don’t show up for work one day, you will know that our entire family is in jail.
While John and I ate dinner last night, Maren danced around the table and did one of her favorite things – played with John’s cell phone (she had already eaten). At first, she was just holding it up to her ear and “talking,” and then, she started pushing buttons on the phone. Every minute or so one of us would grab it and close the phone so that no calls connected. John thought it would be funny to call the cell and watch her since she dances when it rings (ring tone is the old “Batman” TV show theme song), so he called her using our house phone, but kept saying things to me (doing dishes at this point) like, “My phone isn’t working, I’m dialing and it’s not ringing.” and “What’s my number again? I never call myself.” I tell him his number and keep washing.
Suddenly, a knock at the door…and John says, loudly, “If it’s someone selling something, I’m going to shoot them.” (We have no guns, but are constantly bombarded with kids selling candy bars and raffle tickets and people trying to sell us new windows.) I hear mumbled conversation at the door and the next thing I know, there is a GR Police Officer in our kitchen! Apparently, SOMEONE at our house had called 911. I am horrified and we are both apologizing profusely, immediately blaming the baby for playing with John’s phone…although the officer pointed out that the call must have come from a landline. We again blame the baby. The officer was very nice, said he had a young daughter himself, but that they had to come and check it out. He takes John’s name and date of birth for paperwork and we follow him to the door…where we see two cruisers in the street (only a week ago the first GR Police Officer in 21 years was shot and killed investigating a domestic disturbance, so the police are all on edge). AAAHHHH.
We could not be more white trash at this point (also, Maren is wearing a pajama top and diaper – no bottoms, I’m wearing a D4G polo shirt with my “garden shorts” and John is in scrub top and old shorts…we might as well be in a trailer…there are toys everywhere and the house is not very clean). They’ve sent two cruisers to check out the situation and the guy who came into the house is obviously wearing body armor under his shirt. TOTALLY embarrassing. The neighbors are probably going to kick us out of the hood.
So…after they leave we discuss the calls…and John realizes that HE must have called 911 while trying to use our home phone to call his cell (which starts 91). I tell him that he has made Maren his accomplice at 18 months old.
If I don’t show up for work one day, you will know that our entire family is in jail.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Tim's 40th birthday party!
Here I am, stealing the limelight at my Dad's
friend Tim's 40th birthday party!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Maren - 4 mos
Here is Maren Elizabeth on her first trip to Hilton Head in April 2006, she is 4 months old in this picture!
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