Prayers For MLM

Though I'm not one to typically share something like this, I thought I'd share what I'm currently praying for as it relates to Margot's palate surgery. As we prepare for the big day, we ask for your thoughts and prayers. Here are mine:

1. I pray that Margot won't be scared and that she feels her mom and dad's presence even though we won't be in the room with her.

2. I pray that her surgeon and anesthesiologist are well prepared for the surgery and take the proper time to understand Margot's case so that the procedure is done as well as possible.

3. I pray that she sleeps a lot after the surgery so as to allow her body to heal and so that she doesn't remember the pain.

4. I pray that there are no surprises and no complications. **This is an important one, for some reason.

5. I pray that she doesn't sneeze during her recovery because I imagine that it would really hurt!

6. I pray that she adjusts to her temporary feeding style and arm restraints quickly.

7. I pray for strength for Margot, Tucker, and me.

8. I pray that those around us are gracious when we aren't ourselves, or fall short of our commitments while we juggle day-to-day tasks and Margot's recovery.

9. I pray that once she's healed, Margot is the same sweet, bubbly, and curious girl we know now.

10. I pray that when she's older and she understands that she was born with this, that she's compassionate to others who are sick or in need of treatment. I also pray that she loves herself, flaws and all.


Margot's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow and we should be in the hospital a few days.

11 Months

Today, Margot is 11 months and 11 days old. 

I cannot believe how big our baby girl is!

I tried to take the pics the way I have in months past, but Miss Wigglefritz had other plans.

So I took these pics...

Standing in her chair...so bold!

Margot had a bad fever yesterday but seems to be back to herself today. She and I stayed home to make sure she got lots of rest and also to avoid sharing her germs with her buddies Hazel and Anushka at daycare. In Margot's world, there's little that some snuggling and a nap can't fix. 

We love her so much!

The Art of The Early Bird Special

While we were in Boston, we visited with the Larmons and the Diases on Saturday night. Our three families of three had dinner chez Dias on Partridge Street in Somerville. With baby bedtimes cramping our style just a bit these days, we made it an early night.

As you can see below, Margot had a blast! Actually, our poor girl was beyond exhausted and caught up on some shut eye in Graham's crib shortly after this pic was taken. That Dias boy is such a gentleman...

Graham, Margot, Ollie

Tucker, Margot, and Matt

Margot snuggling with Christy.

I fell in love with Christy and Matt's house. They bought it as a "fixer-upper" and have transformed every inch of it. It's warm and full of character. They described their neighborhood as being like the Wonder Years. I absolutely loved it!

 Graham (who somewhere got the nickname Graham-bo) was a man on the move, just like he was here with Tucker.

Ollie, Braden, and Graham reading a riveting novel. 

With Larmon 2.0 on the way, I'm thinking Braden may have been taking notes on how to wrangle two boys at once.

More reading, this time with Matt.

Three mamas with three blue-eyed munchkins.

By about 7:30, we'd had play time with the kids, a full dinner and dessert, and were on our way. 

Here's to the early bird special!

Thanksgiving In Boston

My sister Sarah, her husband Bill and their two kids, Ava and Braxton, moved into a new house this fall. In honor of the first holiday in their new digs, we all found our way to Boston to celebrate. It was also Margot's first Thanksgiving which made it extra special, too.

As many trips home begin, this one started before dawn on Thanksgiving morning. We left the house just after 4am in order to catch our flight at 6:30am. Everything went smoothly and we landed in Boston around 7:45am. Though it can be exhausting, we love traveling early.

Margot being the good traveller she is, at BWI airport.

Priscilla, Tucker, my mom, and Sarah

 Our first Thanksgiving day photo!

 Margot and her auntie Sarah

 Margot playing with her new giraffe while the grown ups ate dinner.

Thanksgiving day paparazzi was in full-effect with my dad, me, and my aunt Nancy who visited us from Cape Cod.

 We walked the neighborhood after dinner...

 and Margot took a snooze.

 The houses in West Roxbury are beautiful! For a long time, it's been an Irish Catholic neighborhood; all of the neighbors have names like O'Connell, O'Brien, McDonough, etc.  Though the history of the neighborhood is interesting, demographics are starting to change, and we like that:)

 My mom and Priscilla, chatting as they walk the pooches.

 On Friday, we bundled up and took the commuter rail into the city. 

 Sarah and Braxton, Priscilla, Dad, and Mom on the train.

 I love this...here's the guy who punched our tickets. No machine or computer involved. 

 Dad, Sarah, me, and Braxton in front of the library in Copley Square.

 Tucker, Margot (sunbathing) and me in front of Trinity Church. The new rector from Trinity preached at our church on Capitol Hill last year just after he was ordained. We loved him!

 The Public Gardens....Braxton and Ava went nuts!

 The Make Way For Ducklings bronze ducks are a popular tourist spot.

 Braxton, Ava, and Margot tore it up at the playground. It felt like a lot of kids had been 

cooped up for too long!

 Sarah, my dad, Tucker, and Priscilla strolling along Commonwealth Ave as Bill, my mom, the kids and I followed along.

 Only in Boston: this Irish Social Club has recently been revived and opens only on Sunday nights. Apparently, it's quite the spawt!

 After a long day, Sarah and Margot snuggled.

Oh Boston...I will always love (and probably always miss) that city. 

Girls Night in Baltimore

Last weekend, my sweet friend Jen flew down from Newburyport, MA to spend the weekend in Baltimore with our friend Kelley and me. We turned Saturday into a day of going to the spa, eating lots of yummy food, and even getting our hair dos done!

At the Fork and Wrench. So delicious!

We celebrated Jen's birthday and she was serenaded with a lovely rendition of happy birthday.
Gor-geous. 

  

Me and Kelley, looking oh-so-glamorous.

On Sunday, Tucker and Margot drove up to meet us for brunch at Mama's. We ate lots of oysters...

and caught up with Dan and Stokie!

Margot says "hooray for girls weekend!"

And Then There Were Walls!

Things are moving along well. We hope to start tiling next week!

Looking towards the stairs. 

Yes, there will be a height limit, but 6'4" and under will fit! 

Looking through where the pocket doors will be to the front room.

Election Day, Near and Far

While Margot and I held down the fort at home, Tucker was in the great state of Montana, supporting the re-election campaign of Senator John Tester, and also President Obama. In the past, Tucker has spent the weeks leading up to the election in such majestic places such as Florida and Nevada. This time, when given the choice between Ohio and Montana, he chose the latter.

Tucker snapped these pics while out canvasing near Butte.

Back in Takoma Park, Margot waiting in line to cast her ballot. She was very disappointed when she realized you have to be 18 to vote!

As we were walking to the car, I heard a man say in a booming voice "Excuse me, may I ask you a few questions about your voting experience?" I turned around and it was Armando Trull, a reporter for our local NPR station, WAMU. The brief interview was aired during Morning Edition, about 25 minutes after he recorded it. I felt famous! 

This past election day was a memorable one, as election days go. Not only because we were so eager to see the results of the presidency race but also because of the many ballot initiatives in Maryland.  At issue was the expansion of casino gambling, equal rights for gay couples, and the DREAM Act where students who are non- US citizens can attend a Maryland state University and pay in state tuition.  Thankfully, we now have equal rights for gay couples in Maryland and no matter a child's immigration status in the state, they will have an affordable option for college.  Not so wonderful is that we will also have the expansion of casinos in our state. We'll see how that plays out...

Sandy

I am counting my blessings.

This storm came down hard on us for hours on end, and by some miracle, we never lost power or sustained any damage. Thank God.

On Monday night, we all slept in the living room together, just in case any trees fell on the house. Tucker and I slept on the couch and Margot was in the Pack n Play, waking up every few hours,  confused, wondering why she wasn't in her crib. It was a relief to wake up at 4am to the tranquility of rain drops only. The wind had finally stopped.

We are the exception with this storm, though, and many people are struggling to figure out what to do next. For some people, the devastation they're experiencing will have a profound effect on their lives and the lives of their neighbors for years to come. For some communities, this storm is like an instant recession where suddenly there are no jobs and no money to fuel the economy. I keep asking myself: "what would I do if that was me?" as it so easily could have been. I'd probably do what many are doing now: putting one foot in front of the other, and praying for grace and compassion from those who can help.

Sandy has highlighted two important points for me.

The first was raised by Governor Cuomo who said that we need to take a step back and see what's going on from a climate change perspective and acknowledge that these once-in-a-lifetime disasters are now regular occurrences. We need to own our contributions to these weather patterns and plan strategically and economically at local, state, and federal levels so that we can address the needs that arise when these now regularly occurring crises hit. (Think: 100 year flood in North Dakota,  1+ year drought in Texas, Irene, Katrina, Snowmageddon, Tsunami, wild fires in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, etc.)

This is where the validity of FEMA comes in. There has been a lot of negative banter about FEMA and how disaster relief would best be handled exclusively by state and local governments through block grants and relying on the charity of others. This article (and many others) summed up for me why FEMA still needs to remain in tact, the way it was designed to work in times of great need. Bravo to the leadership in our country that is ensuring that our relief workers respond quickly and efficiently, without hesitation to our most vulnerable. Some of these heroes are working to restore my aunts neighborhood which is struggling to get back on its feet.  She has shared with me how the experience of enduring a storm like this is unsettling, and in some ways, breaks your heart.

Sandy has left the east coast reeling, though the only future I can imagine is one where our communities and spirit come back even stronger than before. Still, I wonder how these events will effect Margot's perception of the world and what she will assume is "normal" for these kinds of events.

I'm not sure what the whole message is here, but I think the conversation needs to continue.