"Ma Ma"

FINALLY!  Abby's newest word;

"MA MA"

Ok, I'll just set the stage here a little...I went to pick Abby up from daycare last night and when I walked around the corner, into Abby's view she yelled out "Ma Ma!" and took off crawling towards me.  I was so happy to hear those words come from her mouth that I almost started to cry!  It's been a long wait for me since she's been saying "Da Da" since she was about 6 months old.  Nicole (daycare provider) then told me that Abby said it for the first time today at lunch but she was hesitant to tell me until she knew Abby was saying it to me at home.  A working mom's worst fear is that she will call the daycare provider Ma Ma and not their mom - and Nicole being a mom (and a working mom before this) knew how bad that can hurt.  Obviously, babies/toddlers don't mean it but it still kills you a little inside...

Low and behold, Abby now says Ma Ma and knows that momma is me!

Here's our little conversation on the way home...

Me: Miss Abigail, did you have a good day today?

Abby: Ma Ma

Me: Did you have fun at daycare?

Abby: Ma Ma

Me: Did you play with all your friends?

Abby: Ma Ma

Me:  Nicole said you were very good today.  I'm very proud of you!

Abby: Silence. (She's eating her shoe - her favorite thing to do in the car)

Since she no longer wants to have a conversation with me, I decide to call Joe and tell him about the good news!

Later that night after Joe arrives home...

Me:  Abby, can you tell daddy what word you learned today?

Abby:  Ma Ma

*OK, since she's been saying Ma Ma all evening I thought I would be clever...

Me: Abby, who's your favorite?!

Abby:  Da da!

Me:  What!  Sigh.  My brilliant plan backfired...little stinker.

Joe:  *A huge smile...he knew what I was trying to do and it didn't work.

My fault I guess.  I should know better.  We don't play favorites, but since she's so little and doesn't understand I thought it would be funny for Joe and I.  Fail.

Our little Abigail is and always will be daddy's little girl! 

I am smitten that she has learned a new word!  My favorite of them all!

HAPPY 11 MONTHS BABY GIRL!

PS...I'll try to get her 11 month update up this weekend.

Thank You...

I received this email a few weeks ago because I am part of a team that delivers some pretty amazing results.  Yes, I have days that seem like they will never end and work in the corporate world that sometimes can feel very ‘political’ but in the end, I LOVE what I do.  

I aid in the miracles of life.  I help deliver therapies to those who need it so that they can see their children grow, their grandchildren grow and even a few cases of parents being able to see their children recover from heart related illnesses.

I save people.

No, I’m not the doctor.  I’m not the innovator that came up with the idea of an implantable device, but I’m part of that team.  I work hard everyday to ensure that our life saving devices and technology get to those in need around the world.  It’s amazing to me to see the hard work and passion from everyone on those said teams.  It melts my heart and brings tears to eyes to hear this;

Dear Colleagues,

I am returning from NJ right now where my Dad was implanted with a Protecta XT CRT-D device (along with Sprint Quattro Secure 6947, Capture Fix Novus 5076, and Attain Ability Plus 4296 leads).  While he has dealt with persistent AF for about five years and had an MI 20 years ago, he’s been in very good health.  That changed two weeks ago when after a stress test, he was told by his doctor that his EF was 25% and he had a widening QRS.  An ICD was then indicated as soon as possible, with possible Bi-V pacing.  Today could not have gone more perfectly.  Special kudos to Dan Pinero, Jim Voelbel and Mike Cortese who set us up at Jersey Shore Medical Center, and assisted throughout the entire process with EP Steve Zuckerman and EP/Implanter Ashish Patel.  The team performed flawlessly as Patel quickly accessed my Dad’s CS and achieved a perfect RV lead placement with optimal pacing parameters.  My Dad immediately went to 100% pacing, and by the time he got to his hospital room, he looked like a new person.  After a few weeks of healing, he will get his Carelink Monitor to keep in touch with Dr. Zuckerman for remote management during his winter months in Florida.   

I’ve been a Medtronic employee for 17+ years, but never before have I been as proud or thankful for the extraordinary people of Medtronic as I am today.  Like you and the team, I’ve had many “Mission moments” seeing patients achieve full life with our therapies, but today hit home for me like never before.  My Dad is my best friend, and it has been devastating for me to see him decline in heart health over the past few years.  Just hours after his device implant, I could already see the difference, and I will sleep well tonight knowing that he is protected from Cardiac Arrest. 

To the great engineers who designed his generator and leads, to the diligent production workers who put them together with such quality and care, to the skilled field team who ensured flawless delivery, and to every single employee of MEDTRONIC CRDM who played a role in my Dad’s successful day directly or indirectly …. I say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your excellence, compassion and commitment to the Medtronic Mission.   

Please pass this note to your entire organization to express my deep gratitude for everything you and your team do every day.  Everybody on the CRDM TEAM needs to know the enormous difference they have made in my Dad’s life and that of our entire family. 

Your grateful colleague and friend,

Chris

These letters are bittersweet.  It kills you to hear patient stories, knowing that people and families are suffering but at the same time it feels wonderful to be part of something so amazing that it's turning people's lives into something better, something they may have lost hope in.  Nothing compares to the days when I get these letters, or the days that our patients come in to say ‘thank you’ in person and bring the whole organization to tears.  I hope you have as much satisfaction and pride in your job at the end of everyday as I do mine.

A lot can happen in two weeks!

I've been busy.  (We've been busy).  The last two weeks have just flown by.  The house has come a long way which I will share in this post but there have also been some other big events/news like;

Joe and my second wedding anniversary!

My baby sister's bridal shower!

My other sister's engagement!

Someone close to me announcing they will have a little bundle of joy of their own next spring!

I will do a some posts on a couple of those topics later.  In the mean time, check out our progress!

 Siding done and garage doors installed.  (I will take more pictures this weekend.  It's too dark after work, but the picture above shows some progress)

Front porch and sidewalk done!  I can't wait to put a couple rocking chairs on our front porch!

 Interior paint is done! (Ok - we have one more coat to do in the upstairs hallway.)  Trim is next.  Aren't our doors pretty?!  LOVING the 3 panels.

Master.  WOW - pretty green huh?!  It's growing on me.  I like it better with the white trim and the hardwood floors will be the perfect touch. 

Bright, fun colors in a kids bathroom is a must!  Also, the cabinets my dad and Joe made are perfect! 

The wonderful cabinets are installed in the master.  Has anyone seen a great stool that would fit perfectly under my make-up bar/vanity?  I'm open to colors!  No yellow though - that will be used in our 1/2 bath.

 The pretty maple wood floors are done in the kitchen and dining room

I love this detail.  It will be very pretty when the carpet butts up to it.

Here's a few pictures of the guys working on the cabinets and a sneak peek of our kitchen cabinets.  The base cabinets will be going in tomorrow!

I LOVE the stain color.  I was nervous but it turned out so pretty!  I'm also super excited for my garbage pull out, the pull out spice rack and the soft closing hinges!  No more loud bangs and finger pinches!

Thanks for everyone who has helped us with painting, building cabinets and flooring.  Also, a pre-thank you to all of you coming up this weekend to help out!

Two years ago today

I married my best friend.

This man...

makes my heart skip a beat and puts butterflies in my tummy.

I am smitten

I am in LOVE!

Yay for drywall!

The house is really starting to look like a "house" on the inside.  Drywall makes such a difference.

See what I mean?!

view of front entry, office, stairway and walk-thru closet on the right

kitchen and dining room

view of walk-thru closet, kitchen, pantry and hall to garage entry

just a different view, this one you can see the half bath

mud room

mudroom and view of walk thru closet (I'm really loving how big that closet is!)

half bath

master

master bath

master closet, Joe & Abby are in the master bath, door on the right leads to the laundry room and through that you see the hallway and into the forth bedroom.  (looks like a maze!)

bedroom 2

bedroom 3

bedroom 4

upstairs hallway; bedroom 2 & 3 on the left, main bath on the right, laundry straight ahead and 4th bedroom around the corner on the left.

Do you know how hard it is to take pictures of bedrooms?  I swear there's no good way to do it.  Anyways, things are moving right along and before I know it Joe and I will be there painting.  I can't wait to start sharing more pictures when we get the flooring in and start decorating a little...at least they will be a little more exciting for you all too look at! ;-)

Oh, and yes you saw that correctly!  We have wired the master bath to have a TV mounted on the wall above the tub!  Ha-ha, if I just got you to roll your eyes, imagine this; winter nights, warm bath, glass of wine, candles, and your favorite TV show.  Ahhhhhh, I can almost feel myself unwinding as I write it.  I can't wait....

Has anyone recently painted a room in their house that they love?  What colors are people/you swooning over?  I have all these ideas floating around in my head but I can't seem to make a decision on what I want.  Maybe I will do a post soon with all my ideas and what I have been looking at for inspiration!  Those are always fun to share.  It will give you a break from looking at boring, dirty, construction pictures!

Ok, really it's called the Pleasant Valley Tree Farm.  You may remember my post about this same place last year.  If not you can read it here.  Times have changed a little since then.  Abby was able to enjoy it with us this year.  She's still a bit young for most of the activities which means every year it will be more and more fun for her to go.  Unfortunely Joe was not able to go with us as he was working hard to cross off some of the line items on our house To-Do list but you can bet we took plenty of pictures to share!



hehe - a little belly shot!



this is a fake horse by the way...