Wednesdays with Lou

I usually write my Wednesday post on Tuesday night while we watch TV but since this Tuesday is the start of the Cavaliers season I'm taking tonight off. I have big expectations for this season and Cleveland is prime for a Championship. Go Cavs!

Since I'm not writing a regular blog post this week I'll post a couple pictures of Dominic from this month.

Teach me Tuesday

We are going over the Respiratory system now in A&P and my professor solved a mystery that I have been wondering about for my entire life. What the heck is that "hangy ball" for in the back of your throat!? The answer is so simple. ::drum roll please:: The purpose of the uvula is to push food down your throat and keep it from going up your nose!!! Sometimes it can fail--aka milk coming out your nose, but most of the time it's serving an important function!

Misc. Monday

We had such an action packed weekend, Friday-Lou took Dominic over to his Grandma & Grandpa Grasso's house! He had a blast walking around the 10 person dining table and playing with newspaper! Saturday morning, we headed over to visit with Grandpa Daly & Aunt Anna. Dominic loves going over there because there's always something good to eat!! Grandpa Daly fed him some kiwi & grapes! Yum! He also showed off his walking skills while chasing their dog, Abby! Saturday afternoon we watched the Buckeyes win, baked bread for the first time ever, and carved our pumpkins! Then we packed up the pups and took them to a field for a good run! It was so fun to see them flying around the field! Sunday morning we went to visit Dominic's Great Oma (Great grandmother). He crumpled up her Sunday newspaper in no time and was all giggles. Then we headed out to visit with Oma/Grandma/Granola Gaby (Brooke's mom-we're still working on a name! lol) and had a blast chasing around Bomber-yelling Dog Dog Dog! After all that fun, we went across the street to a Metropark's indoor playground. A super fun discovery we will definitely utilize in the winter! I think Lou had the most fun of all! lol We came home, watched the Browns then headed out on our bikes to geocache for a while! We found two! :) Wow, I'm exhausted just looking at what we did! It was so much fun getting to visit with ALL the grandparents and TWO Aunt Anna's! Dominic showing off our pumpkins! From left to right: Dominic's pumpkin complete w/2 baby bottom teeth, Brooke's Elmo pumpkin and Lou's Cookie Monster
Lou, TJ & Sadie racing! Speedy lil things!

Bomber & Dominic. He's showing off his Halloween costume, a turtle

Just like Mommy, Dominic loved the turtles! (good costume choice huh?)

Weee! On the slide!
Family Fun Day!

Daddy & Dominic in the tunnels

We had a lot of fun in the tunnels too!

Wednesdays with Lou

Geocaching

Brooke, Dominic, and I have officially completed two Geocache outings. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called Geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. We uploaded the app for that onto our new iPhones so that we could start our adventures. We went for our first time about three weeks ago with our good friends Matt and Robyn and their two kids Reagan and Ryann. We searched for four and found three. We got hooked instantly but it’s almost Winter so we’ll probably have to put this hobby on the shelf until the weather warms up again. We got lucky with the weather this evening so we went out for our second time on our bikes around the area. We searched for four but only found one. We’re still getting the hang of this and are excited to go exploring again. This is a great family activity that I’m sure Dominic will really enjoy as he gets older. He’s already a little explorer around the house so watch out next summer.

Dominic and Ryann on his first cache. It won't be long before he's leading the group on our adventures.

Brooke found her first cache today!

To learn more about Geocaching check out this website. http://www.geocaching.com/

Fun with Spammers

My brother, Pete, is the managing editor for Pest Management Professional magazine and keeps a blog for it. He recently wrote two hilarious blogs about some fun he had with Spammers. Check out the following links for a very funny read.

http://pgrasso.wordpress.com/puppies-from-cameroon/

http://pgrasso.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/fun-with-spammers/

If you like the links post them to your facebook or twitter account at the bottom of the page and share it with your friends. Speaking of Twitter I finally broke down and setup a Twitter account http://twitter.com/LouGrasso10 Having the capability to be online 24/7 with my iPhone now has really opened up a lot of opportunities and has increased my efficiency significantly.

I know this blog post is link heavy but I found a lot of really interesting things online this week and wanted to share them.

Misc. Monday

I apologize for the lack of posts, but this semester is really tough and taking up a lot of my free time! I'm trying really hard to do well and it seems like I have a HUGE exam (or TWO like this week) every week! This weekend we went to a local Apple Orchard with our good friends and picked apples and pumpkins. It was a super fun break from studying!

Dominic thinks that it's so funny to put his sock in his (and ours) mouth and walk around! I agree with him--hilarious!

All snuggly warm at the pumpkin patch! He reminded me of the kid from "The Christmas Story" lol

Family Fun on the Hayride!

The Bally, Sayers and Grasso families! These were my best friends growing up and now our kids can grow up together! :)

Daddy & Dom on the hayride back-it looks like Dominic's top tooth will be coming through in a bit so he was chewing on his mitten non-stop!

Wednesdays with Lou

Big Walker

I have to start this blog post by saying how proud I am of Dominic for learning to walk last weekend. I am so impressed and inspired by him each day and last weekend was a big moment for us. Good job Dominic!

iPhone

“There’s an App for that” is more than a slogan, it is a way of life. Brooke and I have had our new phones for almost a week and are slowly getting used to them. I fully believe if the iPhone was available on other networks than Apple would have a monopoly in the phone market. There would be no need for any other smart phone because the iPhone does it all. “There’s a map for that” may be true but so far with AT&T I have full service everywhere I am which is more than I can say when I was with Verizon since I never got coverage in my Office and now I do.

There are thousands of Apps out there so the hard part is trying to find the right ones for you. I am big on organization and have downloaded a grocery list app, to do list app, and errands app. With my old phone I would just keep my lists in either the memo sections or just type it in the calendar for that day so I wouldn’t have to carry around little pieces of paper with me. Everything I needed was in my phone. The map applications are also unbelievable and it’s as good as having a GPS without paying for a separate device or service. So far one my favorite Apps is one that Brooke found called Nutrition Menu. You can enter the food you’ve eaten for the day and it keeps track of all the nutrition you’ve consumed and how much more or less you need of certain food groups. I’ve used this program for the last 3 days and realize I have a heavy protein and sodium diet. I don’t know if the protein is so bad but I am going to be more aware of my sodium consumption.

I saved the coolest App for last, Red Laser. This App can scan barcodes and then looks up the product online to price check it for you. So if I’m looking at an item at Target for $20 I can scan it and Red Laser will tell me how much the item is online and since I’m already online I can go ahead and purchase it right then if it’s cheaper. The other idea I had was if I find good deals at discount stores I can scan an item and see if it’s selling for more online and then purchase the item locally and post the item for sale on e-bay and maybe make a little profit.

This phone is so smart and user friendly. I couldn’t be happier with our decision to change and am very thankful to my brother Steve who was instrumental in us switching over. If you have an iphone or have any App suggestions I’d appreciate hearing it.

Biggest Loser

I wish Tracy would have went home last night on biggest loser instead of Coach Mo. Biggest Loser is generally a show without a villian but Tracy plays that part perfectly. I really hope she goes home in the next episode.

Buckeyes

The Bucks rolled again last week beating Wisconsin 31-13. I know 21 points came from our Defense and Special teams but that’s why they’re on the field too. Football is a team game and we were the best team on Saturday despite our Offensive struggles. My prediction for this weeks game is OSU 30 Purdue 10. Our Offense bounces back this week and scores 3 TD’s and 3 field goals.

Eleven Months Old!

Yes, you read that correctly-Dominic is ELEVEN MONTHS OLD!!! So what has Dominic been up to this past month? I'd get carpal tunnel typing it all but here are a few biggies:

*He got his first two bottom teeth!
*He says new words such as "Dog" all the time and is pointing at everything.
*He can crawl up all 3 flights of stairs in our house
*Oh yeah, HE CAN WALK!!!!

Taking his monthly picture has gotten tough the last couple months. Mainly because we have to raise the crib every 13th to take the picture. Also, it's nearly impossible to get an 11 month old to sit still. I've enclosed the out takes as well as the best of the worst pictures.

The best one we could get

You can see his two bottom teeth here

"ENOUGH PICTURES!"

Dominic's new "face" he does this surprised face all the time lol.

Teach Me Tuesday

In honor of our new Iphones and the "Cool Facts" app I added..I thought I'd share some tidbits!

One punishment for an adulterous wife in medieval France was to make her chase a chicken through town naked!

All of the Earth's continents are wider at the top (Northern End) and smaller at the bottom and no one knows why.

McDonald's salads contain up to 60% more fat than their burgers.

Your hair grows faster in the morning than at any other time of day.

And in honor of this month:
99% of the pumpkins sold in the U.S. are for the sole purpose of decoration.

LOL Not too much of a lesson-but good conversation pieces! I'll be working on another post for today after class...Dominic's 11 month post!!

We've got a walker!

What an amazing weekend! Dominic has been flying through his milestones this past month and this weekend was no exception. Friday night we stood Dominic up and he could stand steadily for over 30 seconds, we waved a toy in front of him and he took one step! We weren't sure if it was a fluke or a glimpse into the near future.

On Saturday evening, before bedtime, we tried again..this time our brave little boy took FIVE steps! We were SOO excited! Little did we know that on Sunday, our little overachiever had more surprises up his teeny, tiny sleeves! As soon as his feet hit the floor this morning he was straight up walking!! He wobbled across the room and over to his toys. Throughout the day his movement became less wobbly and more fluid. I just can't believe how much he's changed in 3 short days..and now Mommy will be chasing a walking baby around all day!! :) We are SO proud of him! Way to go Baby Boy!!

Show Us Your Life-Favorite Team, Traditions, Tailgate

This weeks installment of Kelly's Korner's "Show Us Your Life" is one Lou & I were most excited about-Favorite team! We definitely have a fav here in the Grasso house--We LOVE the Buckeyes! I thought it only fitting to do a co-blog today with both Lou & I writing.

TBDBITL
If you're not familiar TBDBITL stands for The Best Damn Band In The Land which is an understatement if you've ever heard them play. They may be the best band in the Universe. We're biased we know but nothing gives you chills quite like the band entrance before each game. The Band is an integral part of game day before during and after. Before the game the Band leads a pep rally (SKULL SESSION) in St. Johns Arena less than a mile from the stadium in front of a roaring crowd of over 10,000. Skull Session started in 1957 and since 2001 Coach Tressel has brought the team into Skull Session on their walk into the stadium to address the crowd and pump up the fans just hours before kickoff. From Skull Session the team walks as a group through the crowds of Buckeye Fans to the Stadium to get ready for the game.

TBDBITL at Skull Session

Script Ohio
The OSU marching band first performed the The dotting of the "i" in "Script Ohio" formation on October 10, 1936. The incomparable Script Ohio is a band formation that takes three and a half minutes to execute. It begins with a triple "Block O" formation, which unwinds at the direction of the drum major, into the word Ohio, literally written by marching band members. It's capped off with the dotting of the "i", in which a sousaphone player high steps, from the second "o" to properly complete the "i". The Crowd goes crazy during this and creates an electric feel in the stadium.

Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is nicknamed the Shoe because of it's horseshoe shaped architecture. The Shoe has gone through major renovations over the years adding seats and enclosing the open end of the Stadium. The current capacity is over 102,000 and Ohio State has never finished lower than fourth nationally in average home attendance since 1949.

Oh did we fail to mention that Brooke's brother played for THE Buckeyes from 2003-2008..look at this awesome sack on Northwestern's QB

Gold Pants
In 1934 Ohio State's new head coach Francis Schmidt was asked how the Buckeyes would do against rival Michigan. His reply, "They put their pants on one leg at a time, the same as we do!" His teams bought into the philosophy, rattling off the most successful stretch in school history against that team up north. OSU won the next four Michigan matchups by a combined 114-0 margin. Schmidt founded the "Pants Club", which still exists today as reward for a win over the Wolverines. Since 1934, each player and coach receives a miniature pair of gold pants for each victory over Michigan. The charms contain the recipient's initials as well as the year and score of "The Game". As a wedding present my brother Brett gave me his Gold Pants from the best OSU/MI game ever, 2006 OSU 42 Mich 39.

Here is Brooke, in her usual Buckeye gear complete with the essential Buckeye Beads, Brother's pin and Gold Pants

The OSU/UM rivalry is huge here in Ohio..so I couldn't let my 1 week old son experience his first "GAME" without the proper attire! *Just an FYI, not only did he Blow out poop on Michigan but he peed on it as well! That's my boy!!*

Let's GO BUCKS!!! O-H....I-O!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

3 Words Thursday

Wednesdays with Lou

Dominic Sleep Schedule

Dominic has the most erratic sleep schedule imaginable. Last weekend Dominic slept 12 straight uninterrupted hours Friday night and 11 straight uninterrupted hours Saturday night. Those days are few and far between. Dom sleeps in spurts. We get one good week and then one bad week. Even on nights he does wake up he does end up falling back asleep after some comforting by Brooke or I. He continues to throw us for loops as last week nothing could be done to console him so we picked Dominic up and rocked him in the chair. I ended up holding Dominic while we both slept for several hours a few nights last week. Comfortably I could only do it for a couple hours but it was nice to hold Dom while he slept. It’s a realization that he’s growing and getting older and these days with him now are moving way to fast. He is almost a year and the moments we’ve had with him at 3, 4, or 7 months are gone. It’s time to start making more memories with Dominic and with him he makes it easy.

I – Phone

I’ve been with Verizon for 7 ½ years but have had the same phone, Palm Treo 650, for about 3 years. I’ve passed up the phone upgrades because I don’t like Verizon’s phones. I’ve looked at the Blackberry’s but don’t like the small screen, the scroll ball, and that it’s not a touch screen. Verizon’s network is great and I’ve never had a problem with coverage except for in my Office. So as great as Verizon’s network is it wasn’t helping me out from 9-5, 5 days a week while at work. I use my phone mostly for txt message and keeping track of my schedule. I talk to Brooke most of the time and the only time I’m away from her (at work) I don’t get coverage so again, why stay with Verizon? This week Brooke and I are both getting I-Phones and switching to AT&T. Having internet access and the functionality and versatility of the apps on the I-Phone make the switch an easy decision.

The I-Phone was rated best in smartphone satisfaction. More than nine in 10 (92%) of current I-Phone users say they have their ideal phone, 90% have recommended the phone. However, Verizon is the ideal provider for 86% of smartphone users surveyed, yet only 38% of Verizon smartphone customers say their current phone is their ideal smartphone, the lowest percentage of any provider. Interestingly, Verizon has none of the most satisfying smartphones but still maintains a leadership position in network satisfaction on the perceived strength of its network, CFI Group said. For AT&T, the opposite is true. It has the most satisfying smartphone but lags in provider satisfaction, in part because of its network problems associated with its I-Phone customers’ overwhelming data use. CFI found that four in 10 (40%) I-Phone users switched providers to get the phone. Brooke and I are officially statistics and part of the 40% who switch to AT&T for the I-Phone.

Buckeyes

OSU looked great last week against Indiana. Our Offense scored four touchdown but we missed 2 field goals. Our Defense was again amazing only giving up 1 touchdown by our first string. I think what frustrates me the most about Pryor is he’s inconsistent. He’s still learning but at times it seems like he runs harder and throws better and then another play he’ll run out of bounds or try to finesse a pass and blow it. As long as he shows improvement every week I’ll be happy and by the end of the year our Offense should be unstoppable. Combine that with a stingy Defense and we should be one of the top 3 teams come Bowl Season.

The Buckeyes host un-beaten Wisconsin on Saturday at the Horseshoe. Wisconsin is going to try and run on us and I don’t see it happening. My prediction this week is OSU 34 – Wisconsin 10. Go Bucks!

Teach Me Tuesday

Last week I had 3 exams..yes 3. Two on Tuesday and one on Thursday. In my program I have to earn a grade of "C" or better in order to pass the class..I really like to do the best I possibly can and right now I've earned an "A" in every.single.class I've taken in the program. Now I know that it's okay to not do perfectly-but I want to be great at my job. As a Rad. Tech I would be dealing with REAL people and I want to be a confident & efficient technologist. So that explains the studying..here's the break down of my grades from last week (so far)
A&P Lab=98%
Cross Sectional Anatomy=94%
A&P Lecture=I'll know by 11:15 Tuesday morning...I'll update when I get home!

So my studying seems to be paying off! I know I didn't really "teach" anything today but rather am blogging about all my learning! :) I do have a tidbit about Lactose Intolerance, but am going to learn a bit more before blogging. <---People who are lactose intolerant are actually the normal ones, everyone else has a gene mutation!

Show Us Your Life-Baby Gear

This week's installment of Kelly's Korner, "Show Us Your Life" is titled "Show Us Your Baby Gear-what you'd recommend to have or not have". As first time parents registering we thought we had to have everything on the market. As early as the first 2 months we realized our mistake. Lou would hold up an item and ask if I've used it yet...uh no..but I will. *This conversation happened a lot as there are many items and outfits Dominic never used or wore* But here are a few of our MUST haves and Wish we hadn't!

Must Haves:

Boppy Newborn Lounger
The Boppy Newborn Lounger seems to be the most comfy place (other than mom or dad) for a baby to lay (or at least that's what Dominic made it look like). Dominic napped on the lounger until he outgrew it or began to get a bit more mobile in his sleep. The cushion is shaped like a big donut so the baby sits in there safely, allowing for the outer cushion to kinda cradle the baby as they "lounge". I also loved that the cover came off and is easily cleaned.


Chicco Capri Stroller
While searching for umbrella strollers I noticed one similarity amongst the less expensive ones--they are SHORT! I am 5'9'', not an Amazon woman by any means but I just didn't want to be hunched over while Dominic & I strolled around. This Chicco stroller is more expensive than most but was SO worth the money. The stroller itself is very well made, sturdy and easily collapse able. I also love the clip that is attached to the stroller to lock it in the collapsed position. It also comes with a shoulder strap which makes it very travel friendly. This stroller is pretty tall and very comfortable to use. The only negative I have about the stroller probably has more to do with the person pushing it (me) than the stroller itself..but I find that while strolling I hit the back of the stroller often with my feet (dangerous for a Mom who wears flip flops until it snows!) Other than that, I highly recommend the Chicco Capri Stroller.

JJ Cole Essentials Blanket

I love love love this blanket! Besides being super cute visually-it's so practical! This 5x5'', waterproof blanket is a perfect play place at the beach, picnic at the park or as I used it in the winter, as an indoor play mat. The fabric is so easy to clean as well! But I must say, what I like most about this blanket is that it folds up neatly into a messenger bag with strap for convenient transport & storage!!

Wish we hadn't:

Infantino Sling Rider

While registering I looked at this sling which sat in it's box in the closet and imagined getting all my housework done easily with baby Dominic snuggled up close & safe. HAHA..oh if I only knew! Where is the sling now? In it's box, in the closet. I did try it out a couple times but 1)it's extremely hard to get the baby in and out of there comfortably. 2)If you try to use it with a small infant the sling kinda swallows them up. Dominic hated it! 3) If you are trying to use it with a bigger, older infant-it's terrifying! I just didn't trust two Velcro tabs to hold my wriggly baby in there. Dominic would try and pull himself out and move all around..even as an older infant the sling still swallowed him up. I've seen some really neat slings out there and I wish I would have shopped around a little more before choosing this one.

Noggin Nest Head Support
I really don't have anything bad to say about the head rest other than we just never used it. It was too bulky to put in the car seat and didn't fit on the incline to sleep at night. By the way we registered for two because we had all this ideas of where we would use it..Lesson learned.

Diaper Genie
Upon listening to many words of wisdom from our friends who were new parents we decided to NOT get a diaper genie and I will pass this recommendation on to every pregnant woman I see! It was an easy decision-I mean it can only go in one room and I'm pretty sure Dominic doesn't care where he's at when he decides to go! Plus they are expensive and then there's the special bags you have to buy. More trouble than it's worth. We bought the generic scented bags (they're very cheap and come in ridiculous quantities!) and when Dominic has a stinky diaper we just bag it up and wah-lah! Problem solved...and I still have all 3 wishes left! ;)


Thanks for stopping by! :)