.remedy.

The kind of music we listen to reflects our personality, so suggesting music to others can be tricky. It has happened to me before that I watched a film or purchased an album just because someone raved about it and I hated the film or the music. Anyway, now I am going to suggest to you that you should get the album Remedy by the David Crowder Band. You can listen to part of the songs at this site. Enjoy!

.snapshots.

.serenity.

No, I am not talking about one of the best sci-fi movies ever, written and directed by Joss Whedon. I am talking about a disposition free from stress, or the absence of anxiety, because this is how we feel when Nina sleeps. And she sleeps well, we can't complain. We prayed for a quiet baby and Nina usually sleeps around 7-8 hours each night. Hooray for sleep!

.at.your.own.risk.

We promise, this is going to be the last post on the toe. This is how the toe looked 48 hours after the surgery.

.update.on.the.toe.

So, I went to the doc today, and voluntarily submitted myself to torture. All, because I really don't want to wear flip-flops all winter long, and cold weather is approaching fast. Anyway, the only thing that hurt (A LOT!) were the two shots of local anesthetic that he gave into my toe. I was holding Arpi's hand during that - he said later that he was afraid I might break it. For the rest of the time, I felt nothing, and I didn't look, I just knew that the doc was working on something because both he and the nurse were pretty busy around my foot.
When I came home I took a painkiller, [vicodine, my best friend :)] and since then I have felt fine. I will need to get the bandage changed daily for another two weeks, so for that time I will have to keep wearing flip-flops, come rain or anything similar. Should be interesting.
To all who prayed for me today: thank you! I survived!

.the.giggle.

.nothing.happened.

I would like to inform all those interested, that the doc postponed my toe-operation until Monday morning, because the swelling hadn't gone down enough yet. So I need to keep applying the stuff he gave me and taking the meds he gave me, and continue trembling until then.

The good thing though seems to be that I am getting more and more eager to get rid of this stuff, so who knows, maybe by Monday morning I won't even mind the pain at all ...

.the.fist.

Used by some for unarmed combat (i.e. punching), but Nina uses it to replace her pacifier. She loves to suck on her fist. She is smart, it is a good choice, since your fist is always handy.

.breaskfast.anyone.

Last night our friend and neighbor, Neil made some amazing pizza, and we were blessed to partake of some as well. However, there was one slice that was left over after we had all had our fill. So, I wrapped it in foil and promptly placed it in the fridge, only to realize this morning what a grand idea that was. It became part of my breakfast, and as I was munching on it, it dawned on me, that cold pizza is one of the best breakfast foods ever, at least for me. There is just something about it ... Of course, we would never eat cold pizza for dinner or lunch, but it is amazing for breakfast.
Anyway, this gave me the idea of conducting a small research about our friends' favorite breakfast foods, no matter how strange. (What could be more unusual than cold pizza?) So comment away, people! I am curiously awaiting your input ...

.in.expectation.of.pain.

Terrible pain, that is.

Reason being, that I have an ingrown toenail on the big toe on my left foot. I have had this before, but it always went away on its own, so I was hoping for the same this time as well. No such luck. I will spare you the gross details, but suffice it to say that as of yesterday it has felt and looked (especially looked!) bad enough to make me pay a visit to the doctor today.

He, of course gave me some medication (one to make the inflammation go down, and Betadine for disinfection), and matter-of-factly informed me that when I go back on Friday, he will cut out the part of the nail that shouldn't be there, and burn out the "wild flesh" (as he called it) that shouldn't be there.

To all this, I thought to myself:Yey! No, not quite, as you can imagine. For some reason, having part of my flesh (be it wild or not) be burnt off doesn't sound particularly appealing. Even though he will use local anesthetics, the prospect of all this will be enough to fill my heart with dread and fear from today until Friday.

If anyone has a story of surviving something even remotely similar, please, don't hesitate! Share! Encourage! Pour the balms of encouragement on my frightened soul (and toe) :)

.77.

Eleven weeks, that is how much time has passed since Nina came. She arrived two weeks early, but we didn't mind, since extreme heat was coming. Extremely pregnant, extreme heat, no good.

Nina gained about 5lbs (2.2kg) since she came home from the hospital, the 0-3 months clothes don't fit her since two weeks ago, and the 9-20lbs (4-9kg) diaper is just about the right size. So, here are two of the latest pictures I took of the girls. My girls.

.home.sweet.home.

The last few days I have caught myself daydreaming of the streets and places in my hometown of Subotica many times. More times than usual. And then it dawned on me: I must be homesick! Come to think of it, the last time we were home was at the beginning of May, and that was four months ago, and as Nina's passport doesn't seem to be anywhere near to being done, (thanks to the amazing efficiency of the Serbian Consulate in Budapest - so far we've been waiting for 8 weeks) it might yet be a while before we get to walk on Korzo (the walking street), and eat a good pljeskavica (Serbian equivalent of the hamburger).

Until then, I will have to be content with visiting the webpage of the city, and looking at pictures like this one...

p.s. I am aware that some of you who read this blog haven't been home in MUCH longer than me. Please know that I am in no way trying to compare my homesickness to what you might be experiencing (e.g. "the kifli-cravers" - you know who you are). Hats off to you! :)

.nina.pictures.

Nina Pictures is the name of a folder on my desktop where I collect all my pictures of our precious chipmunk. This last week more than a few good pictures landed in that folder, thanks to MacKenzie Rollins, our photo journalist friend who lives in Sarajevo, Bosnia at the moment. She left today to go back to the land of magnificent čevapčići, burek, and tufahija. We miss you already!

Nina is ten weeks old today. Can anyone provide sufficient proof that we actually had a summer? Oh, I remember the 107.5F (41.9C) heat in July, but I really can't believe that 70 days have passed since Nina's arrival. She was 11lbs 14oz (5.4kg) on Wednesday when she got her second vaccine. She did not cry much or fuss much, she ate a bit less than usual during that day, but that was it. About two weeks ago she decided to try sleeping through the night. Guess what? Andi and I both like her idea very much. We are great supporters of sleep (and good food). So, since then she sleeps through the night about 4-5 times a week. She usually gets a bath at night, she has some milk, we put her down in her room and she is out until early morning.

But, without further ado, here are some of the pictures Kenz took of Nina.