I gave Robin a nice warm bath tonight. After Kevin got him dressed for bed, we laid him down in his crib and started up a musical toy that plays “Lullaby and Good Night.” Robin laid there calmly and quietly, fascinated by the music. He looked so sweet and I just wanted to snuggle him into my arms. He fell asleep and lasted for about an hour, got up for a late night snack, and is now back in bed again. I just hope the “snack” tides him over for more than just another hour.

When Kevin got home from work, we all went for a walk (including Robin in a Baby Bjorn strapped to the front of Kevin) along the Green Belt area behind their house. It’s a lovely grassy area that is great for a nice stroll in the evening. The weather has been comfortable, although it sprinkled a bit this morning and got pretty chilly (into the 40’s) tonight. I wore shorts last Friday, but have had to be in long pants everyday since then.

I’ve been doing mostly baby care and helping Soula with some chores around the house. I did get to watch the finale for Design Star last night and watched the Emmys. I almost wished I hadn’t wasted the evening watching the Emmys, though. The show was one of the worst I can remember. The jokes weren’t funny, the musical and tribute numbers weren’t all that good….and Ryan Seacrest as the host? Say no more.

Am off to bed with the hope that Robin gives me a reasonable night’s sleep.

Robin is the most adorable as well as the sweetest baby I could ever want for my first grandchild.  He looks a lot like Kevin looked as a baby, but has enough of Chrysoula in him to allow him to be his own special person.

I care for him when he wakes up during the night as well as during the day when his mom and dad are doing other things.  He really is a good baby and doesn’t cry all that much.  When he does cry you know it’s either because he needs his diaper changed or because he’s hungry.  He’s still pretty small, just beginning to fit into the 0-3 mo size clothing.  He has lots of brown hair and deep blue/grey eyes.  Not sure what color his eyes will be when he gets older, but they are really beautiful right now.

I plan to have lots of pictures by the time I get back so you can see for yourselves.

Heading up to Seattle in a few hours to see the baby!  Still have some last minute packing to do, so can stay on here for more than a few minutes.  Will try to post from up north if I have time.  Will be back on Sunday, 9/23, with LOTS of pictures!

Patrick, Veronica, Brett and Summer came over this afternoon loaded with steaks, macaroni salad, and potato salad.  We had a nice cookout in the backyard after they swam in the pool for a bit.  It was a very pleasant and relaxing way to end the weekend.

I got lots of cleaning done yesterday and am finishing up the laundry this evening.  Didn’t get my errands run, but that’s ok.  I’ll just make a few stops on the way home from work on Monday and Tuesday.  Since I have most everything done here at the house, I won’t have tons to do here when I get home…so getting home a bit later than normal will be alright.

Sorted out all the paperwork that had been accumulating on my desk and in other spots around the house last night.  Had planned to do this early in the evening, but had a wealth of phone calls prior to getting started.  First Kelly called around 7:30 pm.  While I was on the phone with her, Tom called.  I called him back after finishing talking with Kelly and, while I was on the phone with him, Kevin called.  So I called him back after finishing talking with Tom.  It was a wonder the battery in the phone didn’t give out when I finally finished up at 10:30 pm!  I still had to sort all that paperwork, so I started in.  Since I had let everything pile up since mid-August due to the influx of visitors, I had a lot to go through.  Finally got to bed around 2 am.  I slept in this morning until 10:00, and it felt good to stay in bed and then get up to a clean office.

Almost forgot to mention that the new gardener I hired showed up yesterday morning…and, OMG he was great!  He cut and edged the front yard, trimmed the front hedge, trimmed the ficus tree next to the front door, and then started in on the back!  He trimmed the bushes along the back fence–the ones I HATE to trim ’cause it takes me forever–as well as all the miscellaneous shoots that continue to grow through my fence.  Then he cleaned all the leaves and other residue from the concrete decking around the pool.  He could only do about half the bushes in the backyard, but says I will feel like I have a new yard when I return from Seattle.  Oh…he’s also going to replace about 1/2 dozen of the sprinkler heads in my front yard that are leaking.  I am so glad I decided to do this.  Knowing I no longer have to do all this work in the backyard is fabulous!  While I like working in the yard, it was getting a bit ridiculous.  Every time I stopped doing yard work for a few weeks, it would become overwhelming, requiring that I do nothing but work out there non-stop for days.  This is great.  Now all I have to do is water and put in new plants occasionally.

I am sooo happy that this weekend is FINALLY here.  No one is coming to visit.  I have no where that I have to go.  I only will be doing what I choose to do.  While I will be making a lot of choices to do a lot of things, they will be my choices.

I can finally clean the house the way I want to do it and at my own pace.  I’m going to start in on the kitchen and then work my way into the dining room, living room and my bedroom.  Not really a lot to do, so it shouldn’t take too long for that part.  Next I’ll do the floors (that will take a while after the parade of people in and out of here over the past few weeks) and then the main bathroom.  Finally, I’ll finish up with my bedroom and bathroom.  My goal is to have the house nice and clean before leaving for Seattle–and also so that Vanessa comes into a clean house.  In between all that I’ll be doing lots of laundry so that I’m ready to pack Wednesday night.

I have a few errands to run so that I’m not going nuts every night next week after work.  I’ll probably wait until Sunday to do the errands so that I’m able to devote an entire day tomorrow to the cleaning.

I chose tonight not to attend a 60th birthday party for a woman from work at the Altadena Country Club tonight.  The past few weeks have been so intense and stressful and I just needed to have a night off to myself.  While most of the work parties are nice, after spending an entire week with these people I find it difficult to give up my Friday night for socializing with the people I’ve been around for the past 5 days.  Don’t get me wrong, I like most of my coworkers.  But I also like getting away from them and everything associated with work when Friday night finally gets here.  And so I made the choice not to go to the party.

And it appears I was rewarded for choosing to stay at home tonight.  As I ventured into the family room a few minutes ago a wonderful sweet scent was coming in through the open windows.  That’s right, the night-blooming jasmine is blooming!  I’ll have five more days to enjoy it before leaving to head up north.  And I hope it’s still blooming next weekend so that Vanessa (who will be staying here for a week) can enjoy a bit of it as well.  Be sure to go out back when it gets dark, Vanessa.

At this time next week I’ll be packing my bags for my trip to Seattle.  Will probably start some of the packing this weekend since I’ll be taking a bunch of hand-me-down baby clothes with me and can get those packed ahead of time.  I’m sooo ready for this trip.  All the news I hear from Kevin and Soula makes me that much more anxious to get there and hold that little guy.

I’m also waiting for the wonderful scent of the night-blooming jasmine.  I’m worried that an influx of grasshoppers in my yard may have done in the jasmine this year.  I keep looking for blooms, but don’t see any.  And the heat may also have contributed to the lack of blooms.  This is the time when the yard should be flooded with that wonderful scent, but thus far nothing.

Was so busy last week, that I forgot to post about the debacle at Burning Man.  Some asshole decided to torch The Man early on Tuesday!  The fire crews were able to put out the fire, but about 85% of The Man was burned and had to be rebuilt in time for the actual burn on Saturday.  Don’t know if I posted about this earlier, but the webcast of the burn was spectacular!  Lots of fireworks and a huge mushroom cloud of flames that ignited The Man.  It was the best I’ve ever seen.

The trailer is back in the driveway and numerous burners have been by to retrieve their possessions from the bowels of The Brave III.  There is still lots of stuff inside and I assume a lot of it belongs to Patrick and will be emptied out this weekend.  He needs to get inside and do a thorough cleaning, trying to get rid of as much playa dust as possible.  He and Veronica are planning to take it camping at the end of the month and I’m sure they don’t want to sleep in all the nastiness that’s coating the inside (and outside) right now.  Fortunately the temps will be cooler this weekend and he should be able to work on it without melting.

Work is going well this week.  I’ve got almost everything caught up for the end of the month financials as well as having the payroll work done so that I can send it off next week before I leave and not worry about any problems with it.  I’ll be spending the next two days working on audit stuff–yuk!  At least I have things in order so that I can devote full days to the audit.  Had hoped to have everything completed by the end of September, but I’ll be happy if I can make it happen by the end of October at this point.

Soula took Robin out for his first trip into the world today.  Of course everyone thought he was adorable and I think she came home feeling great about the trip.  She’s on her own this week since Kevin had to attend a gaming conference in Austin, TX and won’t be home until Friday.  I’m sorry the timing didn’t work out so that I could be there with her while Kevin is away.  I’m glad she was able to get out of the house with Robin, though.  This will make it that much easier the next time she decides to venture out.

Well, I think I’m caught up, so time for a soak in the tub.

All the guests have left.  I took Brian and Stacey to LAX last night.  They wanted to go early ’cause it was air conditioned at the airport and was not at my house.  There was no traffic and (except for the setting sun in my eyes) the drive was easy and I was back home by 8 pm.  After talking with Kevin for a bit, I soaked in the tub and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching Design Star on HGTV.

I’ve done little today, other than talk on the phone with Sally and Kelly.  Today is the hottest day so far.  Last time I checked it was 106 degrees.  If it would just cool down at night, it would be somewhat tolerable, but last night it was still 90 degreees at 11 pm!  I can’t even think about opening a door or window ’cause too much warm air comes into the house.  Supposedly it’s going down into the 90’s tomorrow.  Never thought I’d be grateful for the 90’s.

Vanessa will be staying here this week while she finishes up getting her mom’s house emptied prior to escrow closing on the 14th.  I’ve still got to strip all the bedclothes from the new guest room and wash everything.  Should have gotten started first thing this morning, but just couldn’t get going today.  The heat and all the guests for the past 2 weeks necessitated a day off.  And, after all, it is Labor Day and I always heard that was the day you took off work to celebrate your labors for the year.  Hopefully next weekend will be a lot cooler and I can get the house cleaned up prior to leaving for Seattle.

Patrick will be home tonight, but not until late.  I talked with him around 9 am as they were on their way to Reno.  I expect they’ll leave Reno around 10 or 11 am and they anticipated it would take them 12 hours to get back here.  I think it will be longer due to the Labor Day traffic and won’t be surprised if they don’t get in until well after midnight.  They had a good time and Patrick has lots of pictures and videos.  Since it’s hotter here than it was at Burning Man, the trailer will sit until the temps go down.  It’s just too damn hot to try to unload it right now.

While I’d like another couple of days at home, I’m really looking forward to spending the entire day in a/c at work tomorrow.  And it’s only 4 days this week and 3 days next week…and then I’m off to Seattle and the baby! 

It got up to something like 105 degrees today.  And right now it’s still in the 90’s at 10 pm!  Same tomorrow, same on Sunday, same on Monday.  Last summer was hot, but not these continuous 100+ days.  And the humidity!  For whatever reason, moisture is building in the atmosphere and the air is thick with humidity.  There are even flash flood warnings in the upper deserts and mountains.  At this point I am really looking forward to my trip to Seattle and the cooler weather.  I won’t even mind having a bit of rain…just a bit, though.  And a bit doesn’t mean rain every day!

Stacey and Brian went to Universal today.  I think they had a good time, but the oppressive heat made it difficult to enjoy some of the attractions.  Sorry, but the Backdraft show just wasn’t something they wanted to deal with in 100 degree heat!  Other than a few things they chose not to do, I think they enjoyed the tour of the backlot and the rides and shows they did attend.

We stopped and picked up chicken from El Pollo Loco after I picked them up at the train station and they went swimming while I watered the plants and flowers in the back yard.  My poor flowers are really taking a beating from this heat.  It’s really a wonder any of them are still alive and blooming.

I finally fired my gardener today.  He only cuts the grass and trims the bushes in my front yard…and his crew has been getting really lazy lately, leaving weeds around the roses in the front yard and blowing loose leaves under the front bushes.  They could accurately be described as “mow, blow, and go!”  The new guy I hired is really not a new guy but someone I used many years ago.  Francisco (his name) will be doing both the front and back yards…and that includes trimming all the bushes in the backyard as well as cleaning up any debris around the edge of the pool.  And he’ll be doing it for the same price as the other guys!

One of Patrick’s friends posted a message from Burning Man today.  Apparently they’ve had a few dust storms that have produced white-out conditions and lots of wind.  Today they also had rain, but got the benefit of a double rainbow after the storm.  Even though an arsonist burned the Man early (on Tuesday), he was rebuilt and will be officially burned tomorrow night.  And then they pack it all up and leave on Sunday for Reno where they’ll spend the night before they head back to Pasadena on Monday.  I expect I’ll have the trailer in the driveway again, but it WILL be moved back to Patrick’s place by next weekend.

I had hoped to do some cleaning in the garage while Patrick had all his camping stuff moved out, but the temps out there with no insulation in any of the walls is twice as hot as in the house.  Possibly Patrick will wind up storing a lot of his gear in the trailer and won’t bring it back into the garage at all.  We live in hope!

Any visitors to California should keep this in mind for future reference:  August is very hot in So.Cal. and I don’t have central air!

I woke up at about 3 am to the sound of huge thunderclaps!  It scared the shit out of Murphy and he wound up at the bottom of my bed, refusing to get down and back into his own bed.  Then the rain/hail started.  Didn’t last for long and you couldn’t even tell it had rained this morning because the intense heat had already dried out everything.

And when I say intense heat, well…..it got up to 102 degrees today!  It’s supposed to stay in the 100’s through Sunday and “cool off” down into the 90’s through the rest of next week!  The “low” tonight is predicted to be 70.  My house is unbelievably hot except in the bedrooms where I have a/c.  I’m leaving the one in my room running all day and keeping the front of the house tightly closed up with all blinds pulled.  That’s keeping some of the heat down, but really not enough to make it comfortable.

Saturday and Sunday will be the worst since we’ll be home a good portion of the day.  We’ll probably go out somewhere on Saturday, but there’s really no where to go to escape the heat other than a mall or somewhere like that…and I just can’t see myself hanging out at a mall all day!  So, I’ll probably wind up dropping Brian and Stacey off at a movie or something.  If it gets too hot, I’ll either retreat to my bedroom or take a dip in the pool.

We went to Panda Express for Chinese food for dinner tonight because it was too hot to even think about cooking.  Tomorrow they are going to Universal, so I’m not sure whether they will be here for dinner.  No matter what, though, I don’t plan on doing much in the way of cooking until this heat lets up.  When the house is already feeling like it’s 85-90 degrees inside, I can’t see making it even hotter by using the stove.

There are lots of clouds in the sky tonight, so perhaps we’ll be treated to another wakeup call from thunder and lightening.  It’s kinda nice though since we rarely hear thunder around here.

And are they ever cute!  Here’s the link http://picasaweb.google.com/kmaginn.  The new pictures are in the album called Robin at Home 2.  I can’t wait to get there and hold that little guy!

It was wonderful to get back to work today and enjoy some calmness.  Lot’s of people are still on vacation so there’s not much happening out of the ordinary.  I spent the day reviewing mail from the past week and dealing with timecards and payroll.  Don’t know what went on last week at work, but quite a few people seemed to be in really pissy moods.  I’m just going to stay down at my end of the hall in my office doing my own thing and staying away from all of them.  I refuse to let them drag me down into their pit of negativity.

Tonight I have the entire evening to myself…for the first time in about 10 days!  The house is in reasonably good shape (oh yeah, there are still things that I could be doing) so I’m just going to take it easy tonight and enjoy the peacefulness.  Brian and Stacy are going to the beach tomorrow, so I expect they’ll be here for dinner.  And then I’ll get a break again on Wednesday when they go to Disneyland.  I didn’t realize how much I enjoy having no one living here.  Patrick better not fuck up his relationship with Veronica ’cause I don’t want him coming back!

The hills just above and to the west of us caught on fire today.  Thankfully the firefighters were able to keep things under control and it seems to be out as of now.  I was worried due to the fact that the wind picked up this afternoon which could have really been a problem.  Just what I didn’t want to have to deal with after this past week as well as the week ahead with Brian and Stacy here.

Weird weather also hit this afternoon when the remnants of Hurricane Dean came through and we got a bit of rain.  First drops I’ve seen in months!  Hope it moves out of the way of northern Nevada and doesn’t wet down the burners too much.  Maybe they’ll be happy to get a little wet though since the temps are expected to be in the high 90’s all week.

Patrick (and about a dozen others) met up out in front of my house this morning at 4 am and headed off to Burning Man.  My driveway is clear, my house is emptied of camping paraphernalia and a good chunk of my garage is emptied out as well.  They will arrive at a hotel in Reno late this afternoon to spend the night and part of tomorrow, and will leave Reno tomorrow evening to arrive on the Playa at midnight for just over a week of camping in the desert with 30,000-40,000 other crazy geeks and hippies!

We had a great party last night prior to their departure.  Close to 40 people were here and I think they all enjoyed the cookout and the chance to visit with Julia and Pat from Canada.  Julia hadn’t been here for 5 years, so it was kind of like a mini reunion of sorts.  I was happy I was able to make this happen for Patrick and his friends.

My nephew, Brian, and his girlfriend, Stacy, arrived at LAX around 11 pm Thursday night.  I think they had a good time at the party even though they were a bit tired from the time change.  I sent them off to Hollywood today on the Gold Line/Red Line train to do all the touristy stuff like Graumann’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood Walk of Fame (stars in the sidewalk), Roosevelt Hotel, etc, etc.  They left around 11 am and haven’t called me as of 1:30 pm, so I’m assuming they made it there ok and didn’t get lost on the train system.

They’re going to be doing all the normal first-time tourist stuff (Disneyland, Universal Studios, Dodger Game, Venice Beach, Melrose Ave, Chinatown) and I’m happy to send them on their way each day.  I have absolutely no desire to join them.  I wouldn’t mind going to Disneyland again, but not in the summer when the park is packed with tons of other tourists.  And there’s always the pool in the backyard if they wind up with a few hours to spare.

I am ready to go back to work on Monday.  This past week has been so hectic and tumultuous that I need some stability back in my life.  I know I’ll have a lot to do at work, but I’m ready to just focus on that and not have to deal with the daily change that has been my vacation.  And, after only a week, I’ll get to enjoy a three-day weekend and the anticipation of only another week and a half of work before leaving for Seattle!

I need to get the house and yard cleaned up today and tomorrow, but am just taking my time doing it.  It’s kinda nice to just sit around doing nothing for the first time in almost 10 days.  And it’s very nice to have no noise in the house…no one talking, no tv, no music, no doors slamming.  Nothing but the quiet lapping of the water in the pool while the pump is running.  I think Murphy and the cats are also happy to relax today after the non-stop stimulation of being petted and held for the past week.  Murphy got so worked up last night that he stole a piece of chicken from someone’s plate and nipped at Patrick’s hand when Patrick tried to take it from him!  Too much of everything for all of us.

It’s a good thing Burning Man only happens once a year.  I know I couldn’t take it more often than that…and I don’t even go! 

The day is just beginning.  Get prepared for bedlam.  It started in heavy duty yesterday.  We wound up with bodies all over the place and the driveway filled with Burning Man stuff.  I have so much to do to get ready for Brian’s arrival tonight that I just don’t know where to start.  I hope I don’t fall asleep on the way to the airport to pick them up ’cause I know I will be that tired at 10 pm tonight.

I’m trying to clean and keep all the Burning Man stuff (and party stuff) in one place, but it’s beginning to get overwhelming.  My bedroom is in fairly good shape, so at least when I go to bed at night I have a relatively calm place to retreat to.

Right now we have four people, 2 dogs and 4 cats staying in the house.  Floyd (Patrick’s dog) will probably be here at some point as well.  Tomorrow I expect 30-40 people here for this party…what was I thinking!  Plus all the Burners will be out in the driveway packing up the truck and trailer.

Brian has no idea what he’s coming to.  Surprise, surprise!  He may never want to return.

I can’t believe it’s only Monday.  I’ve done at least a week’s worth of stuff over the past three days…and have at least that much more to do over the next three days.  And I really don’t know how I’m going to get everything done.  I’m going to need a vacation to recover from my vacation!

Patrick’s friend Julia and her boyfriend, Pat, are spending this week at my house before leaving with Patrick and his friends for Burning Man Saturday morning.  I thought they were coming later this week, but they changed their plans and got in at about 2 pm Saturday.  As a result, Patrick and I went crazy Friday night and Saturday morning getting rid of stuff–throwing it out, putting it away, throwing it in the laundry or stuffing it in places unknown in the garage.  The house was relatively straightened up when they got here, but there was still lots to do.

I still had to finish caulking the tub so that we could handle all the showers over the next week, so had to go to OSH for supplies, then to the grocery for food and sodas, then home to get busy on the tub.  I finally got it finished by early evening.  Then fixed a big spaghetti dinner with garlic bread and salad.  Thankfully, Julia and Pat went to bed early and, after soaking in a warm bath, I collapsed.

On Sunday I spent the day doing laundry, working in my room and doing various cleanups around the house.  Dinner was beef brats on the grill, macaroni, corn and salad.  By about 8 pm my back was killing me, so I soaked in another warm bath and relaxed for a bit in front of the tv.  Julia and Pat went to see an improv show in Hollywood with Patrick and a few friends.  By 11 pm we were all ready to head off to bed.

Today was shopping day for food for the week, Burning Man, and the big party Friday night.  I had to clean out and compact everything in the fridge before we left so there would be room for everything (I hoped!).  First we went to Albertsons and then came home and unloaded the car and put away perishables.  Then we headed to Trader Joe’s where we bought another full load of stuff.  From there we went to Ralph’s and picked up anything we still needed, including six 30-packs of beer!  Two will stay here for the party, the rest will go to Burning Man.  It took most of the rest of the day just to get everything sorted out and put away.  Everything fit in the fridge, but just barely, and there’s no room for anything else.  So I have to wait until Friday to buy the chicken for the party ’cause there’s no where to store it.

Dinner tonight was orange chicken, rice and salad.  I am already sick of cooking.  I haven’t cooked this many meals in a row for years!  I’m ready for fast food!

Tomorrow I’m staying home and finishing up cleaning the kitchen and trying to get the back bedroom cleared of stuff that’s been stored there for the past year or so.  Also have more laundry to get finished.  Wednesday and Thursday will be for cleaning bathrooms and floors as well as cleaning up the backyard a bit and hosing off all the plastic chairs.  Vanessa will be arriving sometime on Wednesday, so I have to wash all the living room slipcovers to make sure to rid them of as much cat hair as possible since she’ll be sleeping there.

And then Brian and his girlfriend arrive Thursday night.  They get in at LAX at 10:15 pm, so we won’t get back to the house until around 11:30 pm.  They will no doubt want to go right to bed since it will be 2:30 am Ohio time.  And I will be grateful to head off to bed at that point as well I’m sure.

On Friday the craziness begins.  Patrick has to pack up the trailer and his truck with all the Burning Man stuff for everyone who’s going with them.  I have to take Brian to get a rental car and go to the grocery to pick up the chicken and anything else still needed.  Then it’s home to start baking the chicken and the baked beans.  I’m going to get some disposable aluminum pans to make cleanup that much easier.  In fact, as much as possible disposables will be used.

The Burners will be leaving around 4 am on Saturday–yay!  My driveway will be empty for the first time in weeks!  I’m hopeful I get to rest on Saturday and Sunday.  I think Brian and his girlfriend will be heading out to see LA.  I’ll probably spend a bit of time cleaning up all the residue from Friday and then am going to crash.  I actually think I’m going to be happy to get back to work next week.  It will certainly be more restful than my ‘vacation’ week. 

The auditors returned today to turn my mood of joy into one of hatred.  Oh they asked about the new baby, but then they started in on me.  What is this?  Why did you do that?  Provide documentation for something else.  It’s like they are trying to find anything and everything that I did wrong.

I’ve done nothing really wrong–of course there have been a few minor errors–but nothing terribly wrong.  Since this is the first real audit we’ve ever had, they are going back to 2003, digging through old records.  And it’s hard to remember what happened last year, much less back to 2003!

Meanwhile, I’m having to deal with my regular work and every bullshit problem that comes up since half the staff is on vacation.  One of the admin assistants called me to solve a problem and, when I couldn’t, she slammed the phone down on me!  That was more than I could take and I marched down the hall, pointed my finger in her face and told her she was NEVER to slam the phone in my ear again!  She apologized heavy duty.

Then my new admin assistant fucked up on sending the checks out again.  Every week it’s one thing or another that isn’t right.  When I started working there I was given a pile of bills to pay, had no training, had to use an ancient accounting system on an ancient computer and still managed to do it right.  I keep thinking that maybe I’m too picky, but some of the mistakes are just flat out carelessness.

All this has resulted in severe stress exhaustion tonight.  I tried to recaulk the bathtub (with Patrick’s help) and finally gave up.  I think the caulking compound I was using wasn’t fresh enough and just went on too thick.  I’m going to stop at OSH tomorrow and buy some new caulk and see if I can get it finished tomorrow.

At least I’ll be off work for a week after tomorrow.  I could never do audit work for a living. I would feel too terrible putting others through what I’ve had to go through over the past few months.

Even though all I want to think about right now is Robin, other things have been going on around here.

Patrick brought his travel trailer over here last Friday night and a bunch of his friends showed up Saturday morning for a painting/repair party.  They finished most of the painting by the time it was getting dark Saturday night, and it looks pretty good.  He’ll be working over here this weekend getting things packed up for his annual trip to Burning Man on 8/25.

Vanessa (and Pixel) spent the night here on Monday.  She rented a U-Haul to take the last of her belongings up to Los Osos to her new apartment.  Pixel seems to like visiting here and getting to hang out with Murphy all day in the backyard.  And it seems Murphy likes having a friend, too.  It’s amazing how well they get along.  And now Honey is starting to investigate Pixel. Pretty soon she’ll be wanting to curl up with him.

I have 2 more days at work and then I’m off for all of next week.  I have tons of stuff to do around here to get ready for Brian’s visit next week.  In addition, Vanessa will be here Wed, Thurs and Fri nights and Julia (Patrick’s ex-girlfriend from Canada) will be here with her boyfriend at about the same time and will be going to Burning Man with Patrick and his friends.  It seems I will have non-stop guests for almost 2 weeks!

In addition, we’re having a big party on Fri, 8/24, to send off the Burners and give Patrick’s friends a chance to see Julia again and meet Brian.  I’m fixing barbequed chicken, potato salad, baked beans and lots of snacks…for probably about 30 people!  It’s been awhile since I’ve had a party, so this should be fun.  Why not add to the craziness of a houseful of people by bringing in even more!

And, just in time, the night-blooming jasmine has started to bloom!  I just noticed it last night as the scent drifted in through the back door.  Brian is lucky he picked this time to visit, ’cause it will be absolutely the best for sitting outside in the evenings.

I decided not to call Kevin tonight, restraining myself from calling every night.  Thankfully, he called me!  I got to hear from Robin once again and also convinced Kevin to take more pictures.  Will post the link as soon as Kevin uploads them.  They all sound calmer tonight.  They took him to the pediatrician for the first time today.  He’s already gained a bit of weight and is now 19″ long.  Sounds like all is going well and everyone is settling in.

OK, here’s the link for the new pictures.  Even though Robin’s hair looks kind of red, it’s his scalp that’s red resulting in his brown hair looking red.  I guess that has to do with being a preemie.  The picture with the phone laying next to him is when he was talking to me!  Here you go….enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kmaginn/RobinAtHome

I just got off the phone with Kevin…and with Robin!  Kevin held the phone up next to him as he cried and then he made a few little squeeking noises.  It was so cute!

It seems their biggest problem right now has to do with sleep, both for them and for Robin.  Robin sleeps about 2 hours at a time which is not long enough for either mom or dad.  No doubt they’ll work it out within a few weeks, but those will seem like an extremely long few weeks.

I never thought I’d want to listen to a baby making noises on the phone until now.  It was absolutely the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.  I now know why I had kids…so I could nowÂhave the joy of a sweet little grandbaby! 

Robin went home with mom and dad today.  They thought they were going to have to move from the birthing center to a room in the pediatric unit and packed up everything for the move.  Apparently the birthing center needed to free up their room for others coming in.  However, their doctor showed up at just the right time and said they could go home rather than moving to another room.  So they really had to pack it up and head for Robin’s new digs.

There’s been a bit of figuring out all the logistics of where Robin should sleep (bassinette right now rather than crib) and where his stuff goes as well as introducing him to the current residents of the house–2 dogs and 2 cats.  I haven’t yet talked with Chrysoula and only had a brief conversation with Kevin today.  He’s supposed to call later this evening to fill me in on all the details of their first day at home.

I am so bummed out that I can’t be there with them right now.  I know it doesn’t make sense for me to change all my plans (and it would be extremely difficult to do), but I so wish it were possible.  My nephew, Brian, and his fiancee are coming to stay here next week for 10 days.  The timing of their trip makes it pretty much impossible for me to change my plans.  Oh well.  Things don’t always work out the way you’d like. No doubt Kevin will be happy I’m there when it comes time for him to go back to work.

Thank God for digital cameras, though!  As long as they keep posting pictures, I’ll be able to keep up with him.  So keep snapping away, mom and dad!

Here are a few links from Kevin and Soula as well as one of their friends with pictures of before the baby arrived, Robin right after birth (someday he’ll be furious that his dad took these!), and Robin with mom, dad and many friends.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kmaginn/Robin

http://www.kodakgallery.com/silkblade_gallery/main/zod_birthday_0

I can’t wait to hold that little guy myself.  Unfortunately I have to wait a whole month before that happens.  I have a feeling it will be a very long month even though I have lots going on here between now and then.

Kevin has called many times since Robin’s birth to update me on everything and anything going on.  The first bowel movement was very much TMI.  When I finally saw the pictures last night, though, it made everything very real.  Tonight will probably be their last night at the hospital…and then things really get crazy when they have to do it all on their own.  It will be scary, fun and oh so wonderful.

I’m a grandma!  Robin Michael Alexander was born this morning–1 month early–by caesarian section at 5:25 am.  He’s a really little guy, weighing 5 lbs, 6 oz, and is only 18 inches long.  Kevin says he has his mouth and chin and Soula’s nose, and has a head full of dark black/brown curly hair and dark brown eyes.

Mom is recovering from the surgery and is still hooked up to lots of IV’s.  Dad is very excited and is on a real adrenaline high right now!  Kevin took lots of pictures, so I’ll post info on them when available.

How exciting is this!