Sarah Palin @ Ship Uni

As mentioned on my last post, Iain had the opportunity to hear Sarah Palin speak at the University this past week. He waited in line with thousands, yes, thousands of others to get into the field house to listen to her speech. Over 10,000 tickets were handed out, but only about 4,500 people got in to see her live. Iain was one of the lucky (?) ones. Overall, he enjoyed listening to her and said that she was definitely a motivational speaker to those who share the GOP views. He also mentioned that her accent was incredibly strong and at times, he could not understand her. A friend of mine whose husband is a university police officer worked with the Secret Service to escort Governor Palin from the field house to the Performing Arts Center to greet those who had been watching her on big screen TV's. He noted that she was tiny (5'2 at most) and that he also had a hard time understanding her in their brief conversation. One cute thing to mention was that she pulled on a "Ship Happens" t-shirt over her suit before going into the Performing Arts Center (I work at Shippensburg University). I thought that this was a clever thing to do. From what I understand, those who support the Republican ticket truly enjoyed hearing her speak. The College Republicans were all fired up! But then again, the College Democrats were as well. Anyway, it was a memorable event for Iain, but he has told me that if he gains voting rights (after eventually becoming a citizen), he will most likely register as a Democrat or possibly an Independent. We have a few more years for that, but perhaps, he will be able to vote in the next election. Could it be Obama vs. Palin in 2012? Maybe this is just the latest CNN rumor... until next time!

Quick Update!

Just a quick one since I am at work (bad I know but I didn't take a full lunch hour). Iain is currently freezing his butt off waiting in line to see Sarah Palin. She is on campus for a Road to Victory Rally. Apparently 7000 tickets were given out and when I walked him over to the University Field House, the mile to get into the venue was at least a mile long. I'm not a huge fan so I opted to spend the evening with my favorite 6 month old, but I am excited for Iain to see such a large political figure in person. Hopefully he gets in before her 5:15 speech. Unfortunately, it is 35 degrees outside with a brutal wind so I fear that my hubby will be a Popsicle until he makes it inside the doors. For those of you who are also not fans, go to this website for a laugh: http://www.palinaspresident.us/. Please do not go there if you are a McCain/Palin supporter because I don't want to offend you. The important thing is- go vote! Your voice is important.

Favorite Email Forward

I absolutely hate email forwards with the exception of ones that allow me to tell you my favorite color, movie, vacation, etc. and those that are extraordinarily funny. See below: Excerpts from a Dog's Diary...... 8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing! 9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing! 9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing! 10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing! 12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing! 1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing! 3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing! 5:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favorite thing! 7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing! 8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing! 11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary... Day 983 of my captivity...My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Bastards. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now................ (Do they really love us??? I am starting to wonder) LOL

E-Bay

I know that all of you are dying to keep up with my E-Bay progress. To date, my, I mean, Callum's Jumperoo has been mailed via USPS. We should receive it in 2-9 days. He will be bouncing away very soon! Also, I have promised Iain to limit my E-Bay interactions in the future. It is definitely addicting and being the semi-competitive person that I am, it isn't always a good thing to be bidding for desired items (must win, must win). He is right about the Jumperoo- we could have had a brand new one already. My need to win will be controlled in the future. Callum is currently enduring his third cold since starting daycare. I never knew so much snot could come from a being so tiny. He's done well with his sleeping this week and I think his second daily dose of cereal could be playing a role. I don't think I'll know what to do the first time he sleeps from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. I am starting to think it's never going to happen. Iain, bless him, handled the feeding last night, but I feel like I am more tired when I get extra sleep. This makes no sense, but I think that months of sleep deprivation causes you to crave more sleep when you get more than normal or if you get consecutive hours of sleep verses chopped up hours. Who knows... but they are right- having a baby changes everything... for the better. :-)

October Update

So far October has been a fun and enjoyable month. As posted before, we attended the Apple Harvest Festival for a fun day out with family. Last weekend, we traveled to Uniontown to visit Pappy Al, Grandma Deenie and cousin Gianna as well as to see my brother, Matt, sister-in-law Jennifer and nephew Jacob. We also had the pleasure of meeting my youngest nephew Elijah Joseph (Eli). Callum and Eli had about as much fun as two babies aged 5 and 7 months can have together. They smiled at one another, held hands a couple of times and had all of us in stitches watching them interact. I know that they will be great buddies and probably be lots of trouble together this time next year! Callum also had his second bath in Grandma's kitchen sink and took it much better than the first one. It was a very enjoyable weekend and we hope to see everyone again very soon. The trip from North Carolina to Pennsylvania is pretty long for Matt, Jen, Jacob and Eli but we hope that they come back up again in the near future! Well I've recently been introduced to EBay. I've never been on the site before, but my staff assistant, Danielle, suggested that I check it out as a possibility for cheap baby gear. I've been eyeing a Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo for the past month. They are kinda expensive-- $80 or so at Target and Babies R Us-- and I had been trying to find a discounted one at Amazon.com or on consignment somewhere. No luck. Amazon has the cheapest ones at $64.99 (we have two day pre-paid Prime shipping so there is no cost for this). Anyway, during my lunch break Thursday, I managed to find two Jumperoos on Ebay in the $30 price range. Man was I drooling over those. Now I almost won the first Jumperoo due to my super suave bidding skills, but got shut down at the last minute by soupfatherwife with his bid of $50. As Iain kindly pointed out, with my $49 bid and the $16 postage, I would have been paying the same cost for a used toy compared to a new Jumperoo as available on Amazon. (Boo to him- at least I didn't win.) Well, I kept my eyes open and the second Jumperoo was listed at $35 and with my superb bidding skills, I managed to hold off Ebay users t***r and 2***g (names hidden for privacy) and win the Jumperoo for my little guy! This time I managed to save us $5. Iain was not impressed. The important thing is that the Jumperoo is paid for and in true Sloan fashion, I can say that I won on EBay! On a final note for this update, Callum attended his first Halloween party last night and had fun for about 20 minutes. He was about the cutest penguin on the planet in my (biased) opinion. However, all the noise, lights, and people at the party drove him into his normal hysteric state that occurs if he is around strangers or out of the house after 6:30 p.m. We exited the party quickly after his howls scared most of the other children there. Iain and I are confident that he will become more braver with time and hopefully enjoy many Halloweens with us.

Apple Harvest

Our latest adventure was going to the National Apple Harvest Festival which takes place in Adams County, PA about 30 minutes from Shippensburg. As you can see from Callum's smile, we all had a good time. We spent the afternoon with Aunt Karen, Uncle Tedd and cousins Ben, Mindy and A.J. as the pictures show. Callum did well with the day out although he did show off his lungs for Uncle Tedd and Aunt Karen on the way home (too many hours between bottles leads to an angry and hungry baby). Overall, Iain and I continue to enjoy Callum. He changes from week to week so dramatically that it is is just amazing to watch him. His latest and greatest thing is laughing. He has an adorable baby chuckle that I just live for. Now we are regularly trying to do anything and everything to make him laugh, which means that we are making fools of ourselves all the time. Callum's also finally noticed the cats. We let him pet Henry yesterday which Callum enjoyed but Henry did not. I think Henry lost some fur in the process- sorry Henry! I also think that all three cats are going to lose weight once Callum starts moving. A good thing for Shuster- not so much for Ivy. She is skinny enough.

Still Sick

Callum and I are still fighting our colds. I think that we are both better, but it is going on two weeks since we first came down with them. I know I am feeling better and I think that he is also feeling better, but we made a trip to the pediatrician to double check Callum's health. Our doctor today was Dr. Hanigan who was very nice and helpful. She said that Callum is doing alright and that he is just getting over a cold. Unless a fever arises, she has no doubts that he is going to feel better very soon. Callum was quite a pleasant chap today and he even slept for almost 12 hours last night with only one feeding. I was so proud of him! Hopefully this can continue. His favorite sleeping position is face down, tush in the air. Iain and I have no idea how this is comfortable but he will sleep for hours this way. I'll try and post a pic soon, but I am blogging from work at the moment. If you need a good laugh- go to my sister in law's blog via the Sloan chronicles to hear about her run in with the squirrel. I didn't think I would ever stop laughing. Thank god everyone is safe now. On another note- Welcome October! This is definitely my favorite month due to the changing leaves and Halloween. Callum will be a penguin this year. We can't justify trick or treating since we would obviously be eating the candy, but we just HAVE to dress him up. Stay tuned for some cute photos!