What's up with the Downings?!?

This Blog is Sooooo Boring . . .

2009-12-10T14:43:00.001-08:00

. . . but photos are a good way to spice things up!

This is the Munchkin's newest game . . .

. . . to close the door except for her little hand holding it open and then pull (or push) it open and cheerfully greet you.

You've heard of bathroom reading? Well, this is the Munchkin's version.

Slightly shy at modeling the design of her new hat. Guess ya can't really blame her!

The cutest little duck you ever will see!

Ow.

2009-11-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

Ho-hum. This week is going to be a long one!

After combating a doozy of a migraine yesterday (I'll spare you the details), I woke up to a mild headache and still-upset stomach this morning. So, as must be done each day, I went about my tasks, feeding the Munchkin, dressing the Munchkin, trying to amuse the Munchkin while trying to complete a project for work, and then sighing with relief when, at last, it was her nap time.

I took her upstairs, gave her a pacifier, and tucked her into bed with her dolly. She was as happy as a clam and so was I as I walked out of the room and headed downstai . . . CRASH, BANG, KONK, MOOOAAAANNNN.

Yes, friends, I fell down the stairs--and none too gracefully. Can I just say, "Ow!"? So now here I am, bruised on my backside, elbow, ankle, and still suffering from a mild headache and a still-upset stomach. Did I say it's going to be a long week?! *Sigh!*

Adventures!

2009-07-26T17:57:00.001-07:00

It's obvious that we don't get around to posting very often--so when we actually do post, it's like our camera is vomiting all over our blog--pictures everywhere! Hope you don't mind the smorgasbord of pictures. ("Smorgasbord" is an AWESOME word, in case you never thought about it--in fact, maybe I'll name my second child Smorgas . . . Ummmmm, wait. On second thought, if you break that name down, it is "s-more-gas." Maybe that's not such a good name for a child).

Here we go . . .

In spite of her hat strap being in her face, she looked pretty happy.

Joe jokes that even for a baby, Miss Ellie is too casual.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HAPPY JULY 4th

We went to a parade--as has become the custom, much to Joe's chagrin. But since it's MY birthday, and since I love parades, we go to parades ;o). Really, he's a very good sport!

A local farm insurance agency had a float in the parade, complete with dancing cows. Now, I don't know about you, but I've never in my life seen a grown man dressed as a cow dancing in a parade to "Mambo Number Five." And if that wasn't funny enough, the cows were complete with cardboard manure. It was so shocking that it was hilarious.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PICNIC

Our church had a Pioneer Day/Independence Day picnic at a local state park. We enjoyed the beauty and . . . well, see for yourself:

Um, okay.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAR-TAY!

We went to Joe's sister Karlyn's to celebrate our brother-in-law Dane's birthday. Karlyn has a pool that she freely shares with us. So we tried to get Ellie in the pool--sadly, the water was just too chilly for her (though Joe and I had a blast!). Instead she just hung out in her swimsuit for most of the afternoon and posed for the camera.

Sunday Afternoon

2009-07-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today our plans to deliver flowers and cookies to family and neighbors fell through--nobody was home! So instead we just puttered around the yard and took random photos of ourselves and our house. Prepare to be completely and utterly amazed (hahah!) . . .

Action shot!

Daddy and Ellie, who is wearing an elfish expression.

One of the gorgeous stargazer lilies growing in our backyard (for which we can take no credit--the people who owned the house before us had some serious green thumbs and an eye for gorgeous flowers!).

"Ooh! Lemme touch!" But, alas! She was not allowed to touch the flowers.

"Oh, Daddy, be quiet!"

Whatever we were looking at must have been interesting.

This photo is so cool! Joe has some mad wicked photography skills! These are the mums by our mailbox--our house is in the background.

I squeezed her so hard that her tongue popped out!

These are some of the cookies we wanted to take to the neighbors. We got the idea for these cookies from my friend Anika. They're cake mix cookies topped with a large marshmallow topped with frosting--except for the ones that are just topped with marshmallows, then topped with chocolate chips. Yummy!

And this last one is just for laughs . . .

Bye!

Looking for Some Jewelry?

2009-07-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Joe isn't, but every once in a while I like to look for some! And it just so happens that my sister-in-law Cory has started a jewelry company: Fandangles Designs by Cory.

Really, Cory has been making jewelry for a few years now, but she just recently opened a shop on Etsy. And let me tell you, this girl is quite talented when it comes to design. I love her creations--especially her necklaces! And this week she's having a sale on all her earrings--each pair is only $4.00! Yes, folks, that's right--$4.00 US. (Sorry to all our Canadian readers, but I don't know what that is in Canadian currency.)

So, if you are havin' a hankerin' for jewelry, you might consider visiting her site: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7557770

Here's my favorite of her necklaces--it's called My Purple Garden.

My Buddy and Me

2009-06-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here with my little lap buddy (a.k.a. Ellie the Muffinhead). We had to stay home from church again today--that's the second time in a month. I have just been so sick! Hopefully the Z-pack I started yesterday will cure me!

Anyway, so Ellie and I have been sitting at the computer this afternoon watching animal videos on Youtube and reading blogs. And I realized that we needed to post on our blog again.

As I sit here typing, Ellie is fighting me for a chance at the keyboard. Since she's been old enough to sit up, she has always loved to type like Mommy does. So here's her addition to this post:

vd t
j vb bn c cv ;/,,.

(In case you didn't notice, her favorite key is the space bar.)

Now, here is our favorite, most recent sequence of photos:

"Hmmm. Should I or shouldn't I?"

"I choose this one!"

"I hope this one will taste okay."

This is our Deere, Joe's favorite toy. And Joe is Ellie's favorite playmate. And Joe and Ellie are my favorite playmates. So clearly this picture has meaning for all of us!

Aw, man . . .

2009-05-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may not know what salt potatoes are, they are little potatoes that are about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. You boil them in salted water and when they are tender, you slather them in butter. YUM! Often you can buy the salt potato packages that contain the salt and the potatoes. Imagine my delight when the salt potato packages were on sale--I bought two!

Tonight I thought I'd do something nice and make some salt potatoes for Joe and me to eat when he got home from his church meeting. It was my first time making them, but I wasn't too worried--how hard is it to boil potatoes? So I washed the potatoes, added the bag of salt to the boiling water, and then added the potatoes. Thirty minutes later, my mouth was watering for some tasty taters!

I put 'em in a bowl, slathered on the butter, and took a bite. As I chewed I wished I hadn't. WAAAAAAY too salty. Oh, the disappointment! The agony! My stomach tried to hold down the food while my brain beat itself up for adding all that salt. What a total waste of good potatoes! Grrrrr.

So, if you haven't made salt potatoes before, here's some advice: don't use the whole bag of salt that comes with the potatoes--only use half (or less!).

Tea Time

2009-04-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we participated in the Tea Party in front of the Federal Building in downtown Syracuse. It was an enjoyable and memorable experience.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Tea Party movement, it is a series of nationwide demonstrations protesting high taxes and runaway government spending. The Tea Parties were organized by individual citizens and coordinated via the internet through bloggers and other venues. It is an attempt by the ordinary citizens, the “silent majority,” to get the attention of politicians at both the state and federal level and let them know that we have had enough.

Tiffani and I attended with Ellie, dressed in a onesie specially decorated for the event. I took a couple of hours off of work to attend. It was a great event with a lot of people in attendance (easily a few hundred). The picture of the crowd was taken at the end of the rally when at least half of the people had left. The people were friendly and welcoming, making for an enjoyable afternoon.

There are a lot of rumors circulating about the Tea Parties and those who attend them, so I thought I would clear up a few based on my own personal experience as well as what I have read from other reliable sources.

Myth 1: This is just a publicity stunt orchestrated by the Republican Party (or another conservative political organization).

Truth: The Tea Party movement has no affiliation with the Republican Party, or any other central organization. It has been organized from the ground up by independent citizens, collaborating via the internet, to coordinate a national movement. Each of the 300-500+ Tea Parties was organized individually.

The Tea Parties are also open to people of all political persuasions. And both political parties were denounced. There has even been talk that this movement may mark the end of the GOP, not a resurgence.

Myth 2: Participants are just angry that Obama got elected.

Truth: President Obama has certainly been a catalyst for this movement, but he is not the sole object of frustration. Participants at our party expressed concern over the direction of government over the last several decades. Condemnation was heaped upon politicians of both parties at all levels of government. The reckless spending of the Obama administration has only helped to spur on the protests.

Myth 3: The participants are racist.

Truth: Absolutely not. This is an alarmingly common accusation, but completely unfounded. There was no hint of racism at the rally I attended. Likewise, I haven’t read one word about racism in relation to any other rally. Yet this is the first accusation spoken by every pundit that is critical of the Tea Party movement and its participants. Apparently these critics can’t accept the fact that citizens have honest disagreements with the president’s policies and behaviors. But that is the fact. This is not in any way a racist movement.

Myth 4: The participants don’t want to pay taxes.

Truth: We understand the importance of paying taxes. We do pay our taxes. Everybody who attended had their own reasons for being their, but among the main reasons were over-taxation, blatantly irresponsible government spending and a government that over-imposes itself on its citizens.

Myth 5: The participants are a bunch of angry extremists.

Truth: The participants are a bunch of ordinary citizens. Many of us took time off from work to attend the rallies. While I don’t know the life stories of everyone who attended, what I saw were good, honest people who are worried about the direction their government is taking them. We have jobs and families. We pay our taxes. We obey the laws. Violence was condemned. The Tea Parties were carried out in a friendly, peaceful manner.

For an informative review of the April 15^th Tea parties, see the following article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123975867505519363.html

Joe and Tiffani's Amusement Every Other Day of the Week

2009-02-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

Our baby amuses us in ways we didn't know were possible. For example, last Saturday we fed her rice cereal for the first time. We were captivated just watching how she slowly took in tiny amounts of cereal, stirred them around in her mouth with her tongue, then swallowed--or spit all over her chin.

In addition, we fit into that group of people consisting of parents who shamelessly think that their baby is the most adorable child in the whole world and proclaim that thought rather loudly to our friends and family.

So knowing the two above points (and underscoring that we believe that she is the cutest thing since puppies and kittens), you can understand that we spend much time photographing her and making movies of her to entertain ourselves (and, of course, create memories of her childhood). One little ditty is a short little movie that we wish to share.

So without further ado . . . a video starring the one, the only, Miss ELLIE!

Joe and Tiffani's Tuesday Night Amusement

2009-02-25T06:06:00.000-08:00

Clarification . . .

2009-01-30T13:18:00.001-08:00

So, that last post, the one dated "December 29, 2008"--that was actually posted on January 30. I originally typed a draft on December 29, but then ran out of time before I could post it. But it looks like the original date was preserved. Anyway, the perfectionist in me just needed to clarify.

And since I'm posting this message, I might as well post some more pictures from the Holidays. As I am doing this, Ellie is serenading me in the background. It's her newest habit--to sing and sing, which then progresses to screaming until I pick her up. Such a nice trick. NOT.

"Hi, Everybodee!"
(Where's red-eye reduction when you need it?)

Ellie-bean.

Grandpa teaches Ellie to use the thingy (what are those things called, anyway?!).

"Oh! You caught me!"
Grandma and Ellie

Finn: Ellie! I am shocked that you would say such a thing!
Ellie: Bwahahahah

The fam

Grandma and Grandpa with their beloved grandchildren--Ellie the Elf, Finn the Frustrated, and Burton the Benevolent (he was trying to comfort Finn--what a sweetie!).

The Fam, sporting our lovely American Eagle clearance hats
(minus the kiddies, who got cheap dollar-store wear).

One happy Grandma!

Having a Happy Holiday

2008-12-29T17:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas . . . a month later. I admit it, I'm WAAAY behind on posting pictures. But better late than never, eh?

We had an awesome time visiting, eating, visiting, eating, playing Guitar Hero, eating, and visiting. We tried Marie Callender's frozen banana cream pie for the first time. Ooh! To die for. I wish they had it in the East!

So here they are--pictures that we had taken/took while visiting Tiff's fam. And so, "We weesh you enyoy!"

Chillin' on da couch. My mom bought us all matching hats from American Eagle--clearance, baby! They're actually really nice hats. My favorite is the large blue ball on top. Seriously.

Daddy Joe and Ellie. Cute!

Uncle Matt and Ellie. As you can see, we decorated her with as many accessories as possible. I suppose you could say she was our travel Christmas tree.

Us and the lovely snow . . . and MOUNTAINS! Oh, how I miss the mountains!

Aunt Li-li and Ellie. We actually caught her (Ellie, not Melissa--albeit she is also snuggly) being snuggly on camera!

Finn, Wayne, and Melissa. Wayne looks a little drunk, but he really wasn't. Well, maybe drunk on the joy of Christmas, but not drunk from alcohol.

Uncle Jess playing with Ellie.

Ellie in Grandma and Grandpa's pretty yellow tub--yes, folks, I said "YELLOW." My parents' bathroom has yellow porcelain fixtures (which make cleaning the toilet a fun job). Ellie looks somewhat terrified in this picture, but she really was having a good time kicking and splashing.

Ellie, Finn, and Burt--actually holding still for a split second. They are such adorable kids!

Proud daddies--Jess, Joe, and Wayne with their respective offspring, Burton, Ellie, and Finn.

The Munchkins. Poor Burt doesn't look too thrilled to be there--he's just too mature for the babies.

Ellie in her adorable, fancy hat, made by Auntie Cory.

Ellie lookin' punk in Finn's Harley Davidson do-rag. And Grandma (not lookin' punk).

What is Your Gender?

2008-11-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note today, because I found this bizarre. My dad sent out a link to a survey for adult children of gay or lesbian parents. The first page of the survey asks for basic information about yourself, including your age, ethnicity and gender. But instead of the usual two options, the gender question offered six choices. Frankly, I don't even know what three of them are. Are these other options becoming common on other forms? Maybe I'm just out of the loop.

Peace at Last!

2008-11-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

We certainly love our Ellie, but in the evenings she can be a real terror. For weeks now she has started to get cranky shortly after I get home from work. When she's not eating, she's fussy, and it can last till well into the night.

This makes it difficult for us to get things done, as Ellie needs one of us to tend to her almost constantly. Tonight was especially difficult because I needed Tiffani to cut my hair, meaning we would both be unavailable. Ellie was good for the first half of the haircut, but started to get cranky after that. By the time we were finishing up, she was near crisis stage.

After the haircut, I went to clean myself up while Tiffani vacuumed up the hair. As soon as the vacuum cleaner turned on, Ellie got quiet. Within minutes, she was fast asleep:

She stayed that way for almost an hour. Looks like we'll be doing a lot more cleaning in the evening!

Ouch! I've been shot!

2008-11-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

Today was a big day--Ellie received her two-month shots. Not fun for any of us, I assure you. Even the poor nurse was sad. Little Ellie got three sticks with the needles--but she handled it like a champ! She cried when the needles went in, but her tears didn't last long thanks to the nurse. She had some serious skills! (Shot-giving skills, bow staff skills, nun chuck skills, etc.) All the needle pokes were finished in 10 seconds flat! If Ellie were older, she'd have liked the groovy yellow band-aids the nurse gave her!

[HERE I WAS GOING TO POST PICTURES OF HER COOL BAND-AIDS, BUT THE PICTURES WERE OF HER BOTTOM HALF AND TURNED OUT TO BE LESS THAN TASTEFUL--BESIDES, WE ALL KNOW WHAT A BAND-AID LOOKS LIKE.]

The rest of the day the Muncher (my nickname for Ellie--short for "Milk Muncher") spent sleeping and being totally calm and mostly quiet (except for some pain-filled whimpering), which is a big indicator that she must not feel so well. She's usually way more vocal and alert. Poor little Muncher!

Stop the Insanity!

2008-11-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

So I was flipping through radio stations this week and guess what I found??!! A station that started playing Christmas music 24/7 the day after Halloween! What the . . . ???! Did I miss the month of November?
I know that I don't have to listen to the station, but what's the rush? Couldn't they wait at least until the day after Thanksgiving?

Baby, We're Back!

2008-10-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus necessitated by the birth of our first child Ellie the Jelly Belly ("long" as defined in the blogosphere), we are back! Of course, this applies more to me than Joe, since I felt less than human, and he just didn't get around to posting anything.

Ellie is now exactly six weeks old--and she has grown so much. She's still a looooong baby, but now she's up to 10 pounds and 9 ounces (from her after-birth weight drop of 8 pounds and 9 ounces). Her little face has filled out, resulting in enlarged--and still adorable--chubby cheeks and a double chin. Take a look:

OK, so her double chin ain't so visible, but how could you miss those cheeks?! And take a look at her foxy Cleopatra sleeping position . . .

So, Miss Ellie has also accomplished some major things in the past six weeks. But these are just two--her most recent accomplishments:

She started smiling--for real, not just in her sleep. Of course, maybe she's just mimicking our smiling at her--but regardless, she has the sweetest little smile. It just fills our hearts with joy to see that little face brighten up with a grin. That may sound cheesy, but it's so true!

She contracted and fought off her first cold virus (which she so generously shared with me).

Now, because it is late, I must end this blog post. But I suspect that many of you would like to see some more pictures, so I'll leave you with some of my most recent favorites.

Playing hide and seek with Momma

"Ahhh . . . don't hate me because I'm beautiful!"

Daddy and Ellie like to snuggle

Name that movie: "I can't put my arms down!!"

Joe and Ellie modeling her new outfit
(compliments of our friends Shara and Aaron)

"Ohhmm." Ellie likes to meditate on a regular basis ;o)

Peaceful sleep--which she accomplishes only with both arms stretched over her head

More Baby Pictures!

2008-09-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

After a long weekend, I am back at work and finally able to post some pictures of baby Elizabeth. Some of these were taken at the hospital on September 11, the day after she was born. The others are at home.

For some reason, I find this picture of Will looking at Elizabeth very interesting.

Grandad with his new granddaughter.

Aunt Kaytlyn.

The new mom with her pride and joy.

Elizabeth in the loving hands of her grandma (Tiffani's mom).

And chewing on her blanket while being held by her other grandma.

I love this picture of Tiffani and Elizabeth after we returned home on Friday, the 12th.

She looks like she's thinking hard about something. Probably trying to figure out how to perfect her pterodactyl shriek.

Munching on her fingers in her dress.

This one is rather unique.

She has beautiful hands and very long fingers.

Our little choir girl!

And the happy family all together.

Our Baby Has Arrived!

2008-09-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce the birth of our baby, Elizabeth NaDene Downing (Ellie). She was born September 10 at 8:45 pm. Ellie is 9 lbs 3 oz and 22 inches long. Mother and baby (and father) are exhausted but otherwise doing well.

Word Verification

2008-09-09T05:39:00.000-07:00

What's up with these word verification things? I just posted a comment on my sister's blog, and I had to try like three different ones before it accepted it. Whenever I'm not going to post something, they always look easy and clear, like this one. When I want to post a comment though, I'll get a 15 letter one that's all twisted up and contorted so that no human being could clearly read it. There must be a solution that keeps computers from automatically posting comments, but that can still be read by humans.

Does anyone else have trouble with these things, or is it just me?

September has already been too long!

2008-09-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's only September 7--and yet, it seems that September has already lasted an eternity! For the curious among you, that's one way we convey the message, "NO BABY YET." We are going wild with anticipation--and we're both a little on-edge, too. We're one day overdue--how many more days to go???!!

Today I'm noticing that I am experiencing additional discomforts--I mention this not to complain, but to merely marvel at how much things are starting to go awry at the end of these nine long months! So far, these are a few of the alleged "discomforts":

Waking up 5+ times a night to go to the bathroom--I am doubtful I'll even have to wake up that often to feed the baby when she arrives (but I could be wrong!!)
Numb hands--I can't grasp items without my fingers and palms going numb; I even drop them on the ground. Joe had better stop me from doing dishes, don't you think?! ;o)
Strange pains in the legs--These odd-and-very-uncomfortable pains are possibly indications of sciatica. Sometimes I'll be walking and suddenly have to involuntarily stop and collapse my body because of the shooting pains in the joints between my legs and torso. How embarrassing--especially when in the grocery store.
Swollen ankles--In fact, when I want to show off my pregnant edemic ankles, some friends ask me, "What ankles?" Gee, thanks, guys!
Excessive lower back pain--Disintegrating discs are the bane of existence to those who experience them--and, yes, the pain is exacerbated by the excess weight of pregnancy.

Anyway, pregnancy has been a great experience. And it has been a challenge, too. But nothing truly worth anything comes without effort, sacrifice, and some degree of suffering. I'm sure that must be why so many women adore their children :o)

We'll let you all know when our little Tinkerbell decides to make her appearance. Until then, happy blog reading!

Electricity: our friend

2008-09-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

. . . so why is it so elusive???!!!!!!

So we have the apartment and the stuff in the apartment (thanks to Joe, Jerry, Dane, Kayt, Mother Downing, and the Elders Quorum from the Syracuse Ward!) . . . now all we need is electricity! Who knew it could be so difficult to get the power hooked up?!

We contacted National Grid (the power company) last week to request new service. Then when nothing happened, Joe called back, and they told us they had no record of our request. So then last Saturday they told Joe that we'd have to wait until Tuesday because of the Labor Day holiday. Then I called them yesterday--and they assured me they'd hook up the electricity later in the day--and when we showed up at our apartment last night to do more cleaning and organizing, there was no power. Of course. We even had our first official guests--Father Downing and Will--I thought it kind of funny that they got to enjoy the dark with us. They brought us some beautiful Alstroemeria flowers, a lovely vase, and some root beer. So we sat in disorganized, dusky apartment with the door cracked open while we visited. That certainly wasn't the way I envisioned entertaining our first guests, but at this point, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised--our lives over the past month have just not been what we expected.

In other news, no baby yet--nor do we have her name chosen (we're waiting to see what she looks like before we give her a name). BUT, today is our 40 week exam, complete with another sonogram. We love sonograms--seeing our baby wiggle on the screen is always very enjoyable--although I'm sure that seeing her wiggle in person will be a zillion times more enjoyable. We're hoping that she'll come see us soon! Really and sincerely! I'm beginning to understand why women are so miserable the last week or two of pregnancy--it's painfully uncomfortable!

Well, until next time, may you find great joy in your electricity. And may you not be 9-months pregnant.

Fabulous News!

2008-08-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

Dahlings, you just don't know how fabulous this news is!!!

Nope, no baby yet! But we do have an apartment! Yes, indeedy! A place to call home--which means that Tinkerbell will have her own room to sleep in--and that Mommy and Daddy can now quit worrying about being homeless (well, not totally homeless, but without an address of our own--BTW, thank you, Mother Downing, for letting us borrow yours!).

We found out TODAY that we'll be moving in TOMORROW--yes, it's last-minute, we know (kind of like the rest of our lives during the past two months). But one positive to doing all this moving this weekend is the possibility that with the increased activity, Labor Day might truly become Labor Day for Tiffani. Another positive is that maybe Tiffani will be able to find the USB cable to her camera so she can download some pictures to post on this bloggie-blog. After all, reading only text on a blog isn't much fun.

Anyway, we're sincerely hoping that this move will end the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants characteristic our lives have assumed. We don't like it--it just IS NOT comfortable! Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants living is not healthy for those obsessed with organization (a.k.a. people like us with mild forms of OCD). Or maybe it is. Maybe it's a lesson in learning to lighten up. But it's not a fun lesson.

A Fairly Good Day

2008-08-24T18:13:00.001-07:00

It's the end of August and that means it's time for the Great New York State Fair! On Saturday, Tiffani and I attended the fair with Dad, Karlyn, Ti and Ty. We had tons of fun. There was no shortage of good food to eat and fun things to see and do. Here are a few pictures from our fun-filled day:

This is what we would look like if we were farm animals.

It was still early in the day.

Tiffani enjoyed the Rainbow Milk Bar in the dairy building. We all love the milk bar.

This is at a children's play area in the dairy building that was built by Will and Lee Dreamer (a long time family friend). I helped Will build this periscope that Ty is looking through.

Face it. I make one fine lookin' dairy princess.
Tiffani didn't know she was the cow when she put her face through the hole.

So does Ty.

One of my favorite stations is the state police area. Here they are doing a rappelling demonstration.

Here's a picture from the banana derby. One of our major goals for the day was to see monkeys riding dogs. Mission accomplished.

Here we are with Senator Chuck Schumer. He was very friendly, but we still plan to vote against him next time he is up for election. Sorry Chuck.

The Homestretch: a limerick

2008-08-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hesitant to leave a note,
Tiff posts to Blogger some words that she wrote.
Nothing really great and nothing really huge,
Just random stuff . . . so don't you go snooze!

We are still homeless, in spite of our trying
to find a rental; you see, we're not buying . . .
YET. But soon we hope to have
a little apartment about which to rave.

We went to the doc last week--he said
that Baby Tink has a great big head.
9.6 cm, or something alike;
Makes me want to go on strike . . .

From giving birth. Tinkerbell also weighs
7.6 lbs--ahead of her days
of 36 weeks; instead she's the size
of a 38-wk-old baby--oh, my!

So, "Cut out sugar," the doctor said,
And, "In your dreams!" ran through my head.
No more chocolate? No more sweets?
"What on earth am I going to eat?"

The first few days I did real well,
Then over the weekend, my "diet" failed!
Joe and I ate sweets galore,
And then I was filled--didn't want any more!

Tomorrow we go to the doctor again,
These weekly trips will eventually come to an end.
And in spite of my swelling and sugar attacks,
We hope that our little one is close to on-track!

Joe called the movers, to see where our stuff
ended up; and, to their credit, they didn't hedge or bluff,
But said that they took our possessions to Rochester
"Give us a week and will bring it to you, all the best-er."

So we're happy to know that our stuff is quite safe,
'twould be quite expensive to have to replace!
And hopefully we'll have Baby's clothes and car seat,
in time for delivery--that would be really neat!

So those are events most important to us,
At this transitional time, we're trying not to fuss.
And within a few weeks we'll have more to report,
Have pictures and all, it will be quite the sport!

We give thanks to our family, who do kindly allow
us to live in their houses and torment them for now.
Without our great family we would be in a pickle!
So we say many thanks! And then buy you popsicles. Or something.

The END!

Victory! - Take that, Verizon

2008-08-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

Today is August 9, the last day in the billing cycle for our cell phone plan. We have 700 minutes on our share plan. We used 683 this month.

Normally 700 minutes is enough for us. I hardly ever use the phone, except for brief 3-4 minute calls. Tiffani does more calling than me, but usually leaves the long calls to the evenings and weekends, when it's free. So we were shocked last month when our bill was twice what it normally is. We were over by 156 minutes. And at $0.45 a minute, it really adds up.

So this month we faced a problem. Our phone usage was outstripping our available minutes and we had to deal with an impending move, which required making a lot of phone calls to out-of-network phones during the day. We had to call landlords about apartments. We had to coordinate with the moving company. We had to close accounts. All this on top of our normal phone needs, and it was too late to increase the minutes on our plan.

So we did everything we could to keep our calling down to a minimum. We saved personal calls for nights and weekends. We checked our minute balance online every few days, and calculated how many minutes we had used per day versus how many we had left per day. Early on it didn't look good. we had averaged almost 60 minutes per day and had less than 15 minutes per day remaining. Then it was 12 minutes per day. Then 7. Near the end of July we had less than an hour to last us two weeks.

In the end our phone bill was saved by staying with the Flansburghs. By using their landline, we were able to cut our phone usage down to almost nothing. Over the last week Tiffani and I used a combined total of 19 billable minutes on our phone. Of course, if the Flansburghs' phone usage is billed by the minute, we will owe them a hefty sum of money. But the point is that despite outrageous odds, we beat the phone bill and even ended the month with a small surplus of minutes.

Take that, Verizon!

Unemployed and Homeless

2008-08-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Tiffani and I spent the last week unemployed and homeless. Although it was fun, I don't recommend doing it for too long when your wife is almost 8 months pregnant.

To elucidate, I quit my job at Raytheon last month. My last day was July 25. The following week we moved from Lowell, Massachusetts to Syracuse, New York. On Wednesday, July 30, we drove to Syracuse with all of the belongings we could stuff in our cars. The rest of our stuff is in a moving truck somewhere as far as I know. At least it was loaded into a moving truck last Wednesday. I haven't seen or heard of it since. Our life's possessions could be at a flea market in Mexico by now, for all I know. ("But at least we have the bassoon," adds Tiffani.)

Since leaving Lowell, we have been nomads, living out of our suitcases. We took up residence in an abandoned house on Syracuse's east side while looking for a suitable apartment. Once the residents return, we will probably have to move on. We did find a place to live, but it won't be available until the end of the month. Nothing like moving the week before your wife's due date! What fun!

For the record, I am once again employed. I started my new job at Sensis yesterday. I'm still new to everything, but I think I'll start to get the hang of it soon. Everyone says it's a great company, and so far I have found nothing to prove them wrong.

Till the next time I get around to posting!

-Joe

Welcome to our blog!

2008-06-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

Welcome to our blog! After having thought 'I should create a blog' at least 750 times over the last three years, I finally got around to spending the three minutes required to actually complete this goal. The result of my efforts is here before you: a window into the trivial, yet occasionally mundane happenings of the Downing family (assuming I ever get around to writing additional posts).

Enjoy!

-Joe