Relay for Life and St. Patricks Day

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY 2009!

When I took Ava to the doctor for her "after pneumonia" well visit - we found out she still has an ear infection. Therefore, we started on another round of antibiotics. At least the nebulizer is put away for now...

Ava has two great college student baby sitters. Our first weekend in March we went to see events in which they participate. Stacey is a Hartwick student active in a sorority - Ava went with me to "Bid Night" - this is the event where each Greek Organization publicly announces the students invited to participate in their new member development process. Here is a picture of Ava with Stacey.

Her second babysitter is a student from SUNY Oneonta that works at the daycare center. Ava LOVES her - If Caitlin is working day care, I am chopped liver as soon as we walk in the door. Caitlin rides for the SUNY Oneonta Equestrian team, so we went to see her ride in the show hosted by Hartwick over the weekend. My Mom came to visit on Saturday, she seemed to enjoy the Hartwick activities that we participated in and I felt good knowing she was here with me instead of home alone the weekend after Dad passed.

Last weekend Ava was at her Dad's, so I walked for 12 hours in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life - it was a lot of fun. Thanks to the people who helped me to raise money for the American Cancer Society and also to those who walked with me :). Here are some pictures.

Some of the Hartwick Staff (no Fran is not in the picture - I need to work on that)

Hartwick Students and Staff

The next day I attended my first water polo match, Hartwick has a team. That is a really tough sport! Then I went to a HC men's lacrosse game - it is fun having Athletics report to me, especially on beautiful Spring days. That night I went to a Binghamton Senators hockey game and dinner with Carol. Carol is the most amazing friend in the world!

I am still kind of afraid to sit still, because when I do, I spend too much time thinking about Dad... Please keep my family in your prayers - my brother and sister are taking his death very hard and they are exhibiting their trauma physically.

Buddy (my cat is sick again) so I met our vet this week. I think he will be o.k. On Wednesday night, it was not about Ava's toilet soup (referencing back to January) or Buddy the cat's infected anal gland, but my dog Topi was sick and painted every carpet from the second floor to the door going outside from the kitchen with nasty brown sh __ __. Anyone have a trick for getting dog s__ __ t out of carpets? Fortunately Ava was sleeping during Topi's episode, so I was not fighting with her interest in poop while cleaning... Also, the guy, whose name is Fran, has not run screaming away after the last month - he felt pity for me when I called to describe what had happened and brought over more carpet cleaner for me when mine ran out - I did not have enough to do the whole house and Ava was sleeping....

Sorry for sharing that gross story - but this is blog about our life, and as Ava ages past potty training and my animals move along in life, I never want to forget how large of a role cleaning up bowel movements and urine have been the last two years. Three years ago, I would never have been able to imagine it....

Spring break started today... YEAH. I still have to work, but hopefully I will have some time to work at my desk. Tomorrow we are going to a HC lacrosse game and then out to Albany to see Grammy Belva and Emily.

February 2009 - An interesting month...

So - I have been a blog slacker... sorry.

Ava -

The Oneonta area families that have adopted from Asia hold a "Chinese New Year" celebration and Ava and I were invited. We had a lot of fun. We did crafts, met about 15 other families with children adopted from Asia, and participated in a Dragon Dance. We also found a new favorite Chinese Buffet. A few people from Hartwick have participated in International Adoption and have been careful to introduce themselves and offer support as a new member of this community (China, Russia, and Ethiopa). The pictures above are from the New Year Celebration - Ava and I even had a picture in the local newspaper...

Well, if you remember she had a bad case of bronchitis in January. On February 16th she had a fever so I took her to the doctor again and guess what - pneumonia and an ear infection - so another 14 days of nebulizer treatments, steroids, and antibiotics kept us busy at home.

Me -

Work - I had my first set of Board of Trustee Meetings as the VP of a College - talk about an interesting experience - especially with the economy taking a nose dive. I received positive feed back from the Board members and my colleagues but it didn't make me any less nervous each time I prepared to present or challenge people in a discussion. One of the more exciting things that happened was that I was asked to go out with some of the Board Members (alumni) for drinks after one of the formal dinners. We ended up at a small out of the path bar called "No Place" - it was very much - a no name, no place local kind of bar and when I walked in with my Chanel suit and patent leather heals I stuck out like a soar thumb - the guys took their jackets & ties off - but I was not so lucky. Note to self for the future - keep an extra set of more casual clothes in the car when the boys come to town. I also realized that when the Board of Trustees are in town, Ava needs to spend the weekend with Dad because the days are very long. Two weeks later I attended a dedication for our new gymnasium at the College - it was a lot of fun - but once again lots of testosterone. Ava was at her dad's that weekend also, so the two weekends I could have spent unpacking or relaxing were spent working long hours.

Personal - My friends talked me into trying Match.com - so I did. I did not like it... so that was very short lived. But on the last day of the Board Meetings (Valentine's Day) a friend, who is a guy, asked me to go to a hockey game that night. I said yes. I didn't even think of it as a date... but it turns out it was a date. He had impressed me earlier that week when at a basketball game he asked if Ava could go to the other side of the gym to see the cheerleaders before the game started. I said sure (assuming I would take her) then he asked, "will she walk over with me"? I figured why not give it a try and the two of them walked hand in hand over to the cheerleaders who passed her around like a little doll and then she was introduced to the new love her life - the college mascot "Swoop". Swoop is now spoken about daily in the house and is our screen saver.

When they came back to to our seats, Ava spent the rest of the game angling for his attention, eating the food of the other people around us, and dancing each time the music came on during time outs - she got a lot of attention that night. I thought it was cool and was thrilled that Ava had been more open to moving among my friends at the game and was not staying as attached to my hip as she had at earlier games...

Back to the "new friend" story. So anyway, as we were walking to our cars on the way out of the board meeting he asked if I wanted to grab dinner before the hockey game - I said sure why not. We had a great dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant - he had paid enough attention to me previously to know that I like hockey and that Ava was Vietnamese, so I might want to try this restaurant. I could not believe what a great time I had and he paid - was it a date? Over the next few weeks it became clear to me that we could become "more than friends" - so I have a little skip in my step when I think of him :).

On a very sad note - my Dad Phil Gott (step dad - but he is my dad in all sense of the word) passed away on February 27th at 61 years of age - http://celebrate.dailyherald.com/Syracuse/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=124816258 . He married my mom when I was 8. I am the oldest of 6. The timing and method of his death was his decision - so it has been very hard for us to come to terms with. My family, friends and the new people I have met in Oneonta have all been wonderful! Thank you so much for your support.

So - yes February was a very strange month for me - stress and success at work, trying to decide if it is o.k. to feel good about the feelings I am having for a "new friend" in my life, and loosing my Dad unexpectedly. Thank God for Ava, my mom, brothers and sister, and my friends!