Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Up up and away

Andrew and I made it safely to Taiwan.  I think the journey went better than I even imagined.  Before going I had a few fears that I could not shake, and thankfully Andrew didn't force me to face any of them in reality.

1. Andrew will cry inconsolably and I will get death stares (threats) from other passengers.
Actually he was amazing.  Honestly I think he may have cried for a total of 5 minutes for the whole journey.  To be fair, I intentionally avoided situations that would upset him so I ended up holding him a lot more than I planned to.  I figure this was a fair trade-off to avoid the mob of angry transpacific sleepers.

2. Andrew will not be able to nurse on the plane because the situation is too different than what he is used to.
He definitely had no issue with this.  I was able to successfully feed him on take-off and landing which evidently cures the annoying ear popping problem.  He wasn't too squished on the long haul flight into Hong Kong because the seat next to us ended up being unoccupied!  Woot woot!

3. There will be a messy blow out either from the little boy's bum or from my airsickness.
Without going into too many details, we were quite successful at reigning in all types of unwanted messes.  At the eleventh hour I found my motion sickness wristbands and had no travel related nausea.  Andrew enjoyed our trips to the bathroom for diaper changing because he could pull out the paper towels positioned over his head.  


I not only avoided fears but also was pleasantly surprised about a few elements of our journey.  It is always great to be blessed beyond your expectations!


1. People are really nice when you have a baby.
I already knew this to some extent but I was encouraged by the smiles and comments as Andrew and I took this first journey together.  From flight attendants to random ladies in the bathroom, I felt very supported.  On the leg from Hong Kong to Kaohsiung I was not even in line yet but a gate employee lead me to the front and we were one of the first people on the plane.


2. Time flies when you are with a baby.
Typically on flights I get restless after awhile and get very very eager to leave the plane.  I love watching all the movies we never seem to see and all that, but I tire of it quickly.  This time I was not really that restless at all.  Taking care of Andrew gave me a big distraction and in some ways it wasn't all that different than a normal day at home with a little less wiggle room.


3. We had a great seats on the plane.
I knew on paper where our seat would be but it turned out to be some pretty swanky digs.  We were in Row 30 seat C.  This is the first aisle seat in the bulkhead middle after business class.  Andrew's bassinet was positioned on the wall in front and the bathroom was on the other side of that wall.  I felt like we had our own private suite.  The flight was not too full so there was never a big line or a lot of people bothering us in this location.  As mentioned above seat D was free so I spilled over into that seat with extra baby gear and when I took my naps.  The only downfall was that seat E was another solo mama/baby combo.  Young
Benjamin was good for the most part but I would wake whenever either baby made a peep. Below are some pictures of Andrew's bassinet where he slept some, played some, and drooled a lot!

 Me and my baby chilling in 30C before take off!

 Andrew checking out his bassinet.

 I don't know if Andrew really liked watching Midnight in Paris but the screen was quite intriguing!

 You can never go wrong with a nice hand after 8 hours of flying.

 Andrew looking sleepy after making his first landing in Hong Kong.  The bright reading light adds a nice effect don't you think?
 At our gate in HK, notice the sign behind says "Kaohsiung now boarding".  Even though our flight was a little delayed it was easy to get through to our transfer in time. 
 Creepy Art House shot of Andrew's double reflection in the window of the plane in HK.  It was raining a bit but didn't deter us.
 Andrew got to play in the adjoining seat for a bit before another passenger came to occupy it.
 Waiting for our baggage in Kaohsiung, it came so quick Grandma and Grandpa weren't even out there when we arrived!
 We travel in Swiss style!
 Grandma's first hug!  I didn't think we would ever leave the parking lot!
Andrew eyes Grandpa with a smile as I try to tackle the stinky diaper he thankfully produced as we pulled into the parking garage.


All in all fun times.  Andrew slept ok last night, although I would have appreciated a few more hours.  Today we are going to explore a bit and I think we are heading out to Stephen's school in Taichung tomorrow!  No rest for the not to weary travelers.

Oh and check out Super 8 and X-men First Class if you haven't seen them!

-rachel

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Airborne!

It is official, as of 3:51pm CT, Rachel and Andrew's plane has departed for Hong Kong.  It was 25 minutes late, but Rachel said before boarding that it was no big deal.

Which means I am officially on my own in the US.  Rachel is very nervous about my eating habits - that I will either (1) eat a lot of junk and/or (2) spend too much money eating a bunch of junk.  Only time will tell what my motivation level will lead me to do...

So is there anything I should be doing, now that I have the bachelor life for the next 2 weeks?

And from my wife's perspective, is there anything I should not be doing?

Monday, September 26, 2011

Last night at home!

Andrew was feeling the tension.  At his normal bedtime, he fought the urge to sleep by flipping over and sucking on his pacifier with reckless abandon.  Instead of the normal 5 minutes to go to sleep, he held on for nearly 30 before succumbing to slumber.

Meanwhile, Rachel is 90% packed and, despite a long mental To-Do list, is prepared for her 18-hour journey from Chicago to Kaohsiung.

Bon voyage, I say!  Come back soon!  I will miss these faces!

-alan


Sunday, September 25, 2011

Jackpot!

Good news came this week: our application for the "Energy Savers" grant from the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association was approved.  When we purchased the house, which is a 1920s era bungalow, we registered it with the association.  This made us eligible for discounts and grants, in addition to a cool plaque.

The grant we have been approved for is a $4000 award from the city that can be used for updates such as insulation and energy-efficient appliances.  In the coming weeks we will be contacted by a contractor who will perform and energy assessment and recommend how to use the money.

Four grand to invest in the house for doing nothing more than a couple of applications?  Sweet deal!

Meanwhile, Rachel is packing now for her trip to Taiwan.  So much to do!

-alan

Monday, September 19, 2011

New camera!

Back in the summer, when I participated in the Field Museum's Genetics program, I also signed up to try out some of their pilot lessons.  For a price, of course.  In addition to an overly generous stipend (considering the time commitment), they doled out Flip cameras so that we could video tape the pre- and post-lesson discussions with the students.  It is mine to keep, and so I am using it in the meantime to get some footage of the little guy.

Nothing too exciting - he is only 4 months old, after all - but it seems like it be useful to document!





I find it hard to remember what I posted about last.  Better go check it out...

Ok.  It has been a lean month on this blog, hasn't it?  I hope you have not completely abandoned us.

Rachel has been getting involved more at Ogden (my high school).  She came with me on a field trip last week, as I took my AP class to Lincoln Park to play make observations of plants in the conservatory and collect water samples for testing.  The kids all loved seeing Andrew, though most were too tentative to get too close.




Today, she was back in the afternoon because she is volunteering to do some leadership development with our incoming student council leaders.  She prepped hard for her first meeting today, and the newbies expressed thanks for her efforts.

Between these visits, my fellow staff are now well acquainted with the family and so the "How's Andrew?" questions should only increase.  Not a bad thing, but I need to get my sound bites ready!

Speaking of, Andrew is a drool monster.  His shirt is constantly drenched in saliva.  People ask constantly if he is teething.  I have no idea...and he seems young.  But every old lady at church has some grandchild who got teeth early.  Never argue with grandma, right?

His real Grandma came last weekend.  We had a fun time, including taking in his first Northwestern football game.  We won!

He is a fast sleeper now that he is flipping to the belly.  Nap and bedtime usually consists of one trip to the bedroom to replace the fallen pacifier, and then he is out.  It is not as cute to watch the back of a sleeping baby's head, but it is a fair tradeoff if he nods of quickly.

 Andrew at the park on Labor Day


At home, work on the house is still on hiatus until the Taiwan trip.  When Rachel leaves, I will spend more time finishing up the projects around here: reinstalling shoe molding, toe kicks, basement shelving, etc.  Enough to keep my busy but not too much to be daunting.  I had toyed with the idea of renovating the bathroom during this time, but it seems we have used up our renovation budget for the year.  Unfortunately, we jumped the gun and bought a new vanity, which sits in our garage.  I should bring it into the basement before winter hits.  Phil, how soon will you be here?  :)


-alan


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Back to school!

My, time flies.  It has been a week and a half since posting, and that is mostly due to my starting work.  Not just teacher meetings, but actual classes.  Today was day #4 with students, and I am starting to get names down.  All the misbehaving ones and all the eager to participate ones.  The quiet ones....sorry, give me a couple weeks.

I am teaching 120 students across 4 chemistry classes and 20+ in an AP Biology class.  It has been a strong start thus far.  It is so much more comfortable starting out year 2 in a school compared to year 1.  Less uncertainty.  Well, let me rephrase.  I am more comfortable with the uncertainty now.

Given that my time is somewhat preoccupied, I will nudge Rachel to post some pictures sometime soon.

I am also in transition from housework to football.  Between school and my obligation to ingest copious amounts of college and pro football, the free time has whittled down to nothing.

On that note, congratulations to Northwestern football, who overcame my doubts and fears to defeat Boston College.  We are 1-0 and look good! 

-alan