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        <title><![CDATA[]]></title>
        <link>http://www2.richmond.com</link>
        <description><![CDATA[Lifestyles :: Relationships_Special_Occasions :: Parenting]]></description>
        <language>en</language>
            
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                <title><![CDATA[16 months]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/17/16-months-15685/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/17/16-months-15685/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[JR, The other morning I came downstairs (after your Dad let me sleep in a bit &#8212; take note of such things) to find you puttering around with your toys. You looked up at me, smiled, and said, &#8220;Hi, baby!&#8221; That pretty much encapsulates how you are lately: totally and completely adorable. That&#8217;s not to say that you don&#8217;t, um, challenge us from time to time. The biggest issue in my mind has to do with food. I pray every day that soon you&#8217;ll realize that man cannot live on bananas (now called &#8220;mimis&#8221;) and pretzels (&#8221;pabas&#8221;) alone. Occasionally you&#8217;ll ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:45:20 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Life crisis and new rules]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/12/life-crisis-and-new-rules-09480/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/12/life-crisis-and-new-rules-09480/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I cried a lot this morning. And, no, I&#8217;m not pregnant (SHANNON) and I wasn&#8217;t watching Parenthood (the show, not the movie, although the movie also makes me weep&#8230; openly). I slept for about 2 hours last night. The night before that? Preeeeetty much the same. Same thing for the night before that and the night before that. So that&#8217;s been awesome. Although I said things are better with the whole day care/me working out of the home more situation, my feelings this week are not so much in line with that statement. Work is stressful right now - you ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:07:42 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Cop-out]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/10/cop-out-89947/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/10/cop-out-89947/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I&#8230;uh&#8230;eesh, I really have no excuse for the lack of posting other than OH MAH GAH I&#8217;m busy and tired. So! I presenteth bullets&#8230;eths. JR is being kind of butthead about food lately. Meaning he only wants to eat bananas and pretzels. I also found out that he only eats at day care if one of the teachers sits with him and chats him up during lunch. So that&#8217;s awesome. And by &#8220;awesome&#8221; I mean &#8220;not at all awesome.&#8221; I&#8217;m loving how the UK version of The Office is on Hulu now. My skin is in another funk &#8212; normal ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:14:50 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Better]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/05/better-59495/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/05/better-59495/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re a month into JR&#8217;s new routine of going to day care and my new routine of being in the office 3 1/2 (give or take) days a week. I must say, things are going swimmingly. Aside from that whole missing an entire week due to a cold/ear infection that caused a ruptured ear drum. Details, details. While some days I hate (hate, hate, hate, haaaaate) dropping him off, overall, we are handling things well. He typically cries when we leave, but I can hear him stop as soon as the door shuts. He also cries when we go to ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:14:45 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[And there was much woe]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/01/and-there-was-much-woe-80516/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/mar/01/and-there-was-much-woe-80516/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Last week JR&#8217;s class had &#8220;Wacky Wednesday.&#8221; While I&#8217;m sure this event was planned purely for the teaching staff&#8217;s enjoyment, we played along because, come on, who doesn&#8217;t want to see 13 toddlers dressed like idiots? Well, JR doesn&#8217;t, apparently. (I understand that a striped blazer, plaid shirt, and sweatpants aren&#8217;t crazy-wacky, but hey, we wear boring clothes over here. It was the best we could do.)]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:02:13 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Inappropriate swooning]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/26/inappropriate-swooning-64836/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/26/inappropriate-swooning-64836/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Ok, I know that he was performing this to benefit the victims of the earthquake in Haiti&#8230;but MY LANDS, Mr. Timberlake is quite attractive when he sings this: (I know it&#8217;s cut off a little bit to the right there. I have no clue what to do about that, but you get the idea.) (And my apologies to Kristin for 1) having to hear about this again and 2) for getting this song in her head. Again.)]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:11:35 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Latest things]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/22/latest-things-63461/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/22/latest-things-63461/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I meant to write this weekend, but I spent it enjoying my now healthy son and not reading my email. It was pretty great. But, alas, I now have some catching up to do. Womp womp womp. So! A list it is&#8230; Guys, Jersey Shore. I know I&#8217;m way late with this one (as I was with Lady Gaga) but Oh Lord, I love it so. I can&#8217;t even explain why. Wait, yes I can: fist pump. Also: Caprica. I was hesitant because seriously, why mess with a good thing? I&#8217;m not *totally* hooked at this point, but it has ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:26:35 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[15 months]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/17/15-months-45826/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/17/15-months-45826/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[JR, Ohhh, baby boy, it&#8217;s been an interesting month. A great one, but interesting. The biggest change was you starting day care. Overall you&#8217;re doing well. You&#8217;re still having some trouble napping since you&#8217;re used to snoozing away in a quiet house, as opposed to a room filled with other little ones. Your teacher assures me that it just takes a while and pretty soon you&#8217;ll be conked out like the rest of them. You seem to like being with the other kids. One of your teachers even said to me, &#8220;He&#8217;s been in day care before, hasn&#8217;t he?&#8221; I ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:00:38 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Five stages of a child' illness (as experienced by a couple)]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/14/five-stages-of-a-child-illness-as-expe-69936/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/14/five-stages-of-a-child-illness-as-expe-69936/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Stage 1: Breeziness Hmm, he feels a little warm. You know, he was a little sniffly and crabby today. Let&#8217;s just give him some Motrin and put him down early. He&#8217;ll be fine tomorrow. My, didn&#8217;t we handle that well? Stage 2: Panic Is he wheezing? I think he&#8217;s wheezing. Did you take his temperature? 103? What do we do? Can you call your mother? Please call your mother. I&#8217;m going to keep redialing the doctor&#8217;s office until they open so we can schedule an appointment. Is he wheezing? Stage 3: Mutual hatred You think you&#8217;re tired? *I&#8217;M* tired. How ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:44:38 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Leaking snot OUT OF HIS EYES]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/10/leaking-snot-out-of-his-eyes-82766/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/10/leaking-snot-out-of-his-eyes-82766/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a rough few days. Last Wednesday JR started showing signs of a wicked case of the grumps. We assumed it was teeth (which wasn&#8217;t completely off), gave him some Motrin and went about our business. The grumps continued steadily until Saturday evening. And then Saturday evening marked the beginning of a multi-day crying streak that has yet to cease. The child is sick. SIIIIIIIIIICK. Sick in a way that has made up for the complete lack of sick we have experienced in the almost 15 months he&#8217;s been with us. Fever, cough, crying, runny nose, runny eyes (yes, ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:48:55 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Bee bee bee]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/06/bee-bee-bee-76488/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/06/bee-bee-bee-76488/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[This is pretty much what we hear all day&#8230; The throwing thing is definitely a skill he acquired from a classmate. We&#8217;re working on it.]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:57:14 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[School days]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/04/school-days-49306/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/04/school-days-49306/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[(Ok, not school days. But day care days sounds weird.) So far, JR has spent 2 1/2 days in day care. Monday was kind of a test run; he only stayed a couple hours due to delays from the snow, but he&#8217;s spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday there. Here&#8217;s a picture of us outside of the center Tuesday morning. (Please excuse my dumb face. I&#8217;m just going to say that this was in the middle of me taking a deep breath. There were lots of those that morning because OMG MY BAY-BEE.) It&#8217;s going well so far. I&#8217;ll spare ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:24:44 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[New trick!]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/02/new-trick-69128/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/02/new-trick-69128/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Courtesy of Susan. Please excuse the ponytail. His hair has gotten out of control and is driving me crazy.]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:41:54 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Skin status: pleased]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/01/skin-status-pleased-82961/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/feb/01/skin-status-pleased-82961/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Because I know you all care so much. I&#8217;ve been on the topical stuff for a little over a week and I can already see a difference. I&#8217;ve had no irritation whatsoever. None. Zero. Huzzah! Things are balancing out, my face no longer hurts, and I&#8217;m feeling pretty, pretty good. While I have still gotten a couple blemishes, they are totally small and manageable (I imagine that people like Taylor Swift or Alexis Bledel get zits like this). More zits are to be expected with topical treatments at first &#8212; they tend to draw the bad stuff up and out ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:40:08 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[You didn't hear about the polar bear?]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/31/you-didnt-hear-about-the-polar-bear-20931/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/31/you-didnt-hear-about-the-polar-bear-20931/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[So we just finished season 5 of Lost. We watched the first two seasons via Netflix a long time ago, but I lost interest at the start of season three. Ross hung on for a bit but abandoned ship around the time the writer&#8217;s strike hit. But, knowing that the show was almost over and that people were singing its praises once again, we decided to give a second chance. We&#8217;ve spent the last couple months starting from the very beginning (which I highly recommend considering all of the craziness that goes on with it). After spending several weeks engaging ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:30:25 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Being brave]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/29/being-brave-28617/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/29/being-brave-28617/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[For the past few months we&#8217;ve kind of been in limbo in regards to child care. We&#8217;ve had three (THREE!) babysitters since October. Each one of them was helping us out while looking for a more permanent, full-time job. And what do you know? Every last one of them found one. Do you want to know how to solve the unemployment problem in this country? Anyone looking for a job should come spend five minutes with JR. They will be employed in a matter of days. So, daycare it is. After many (many, many, good Lord, so many) phone calls, ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:05:04 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Ga ga, ooh la la]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/23/ga-ga-ooh-la-la-77520/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/23/ga-ga-ooh-la-la-77520/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Most people who know me in real life and talk to me on a regular basis are probably thinking &#8220;AUGGGH, she&#8217;s going to talk about Lady Gaga again?&#8221; Yes, yes I am. Until a couple months ago, I really had no clue who Lady Gaga was. But somehow she managed to sneak her way into my brain and consume about 54% of my thoughts. Guys, I think she&#8217;s a genius. Not necessarily a musical genius (although I do love her music). Like a genius-genius. Here&#8217;s why&#8230; Before she was Lady Gaga, she was Stefani Germanotta and sang songs like this: ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:52:51 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[100 things - Tina edition]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/23/100-things---tina-edition-22346/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/23/100-things---tina-edition-22346/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m on a roll! Since she loves these so much, I decided to do one for her. 1. Tina&#8217;s full name is Christina. This is important for you to know for some reason. 2. We met at my old job. 3. There was much commiserating over lunch. 4. Tina&#8217;s favorite movie is Independence Day. 5. She has memorize The Speech. 6. She loves disaster movies. 7. The second I left the theater after seeing 2012, I texted her in all caps, telling her she needed to see it. 8. Tina went to my rival-ish high school. 9. She knew a ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:55:12 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[100 things - Stephanie edition]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/22/100-things---stephanie-edition-37522/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/22/100-things---stephanie-edition-37522/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[(Remember when I said I was going to do these and then I did two and stopped? Well, I&#8217;m trying again.) 1. Stephanie was my roommate freshman and sophomore year of college at University of Richmond. 2. We were randomly paired up. 3. Before school started in August of 1999 (GAWD!), we decided to meet up and get to know each other. 4. While talking on the phone to set up our meeting, Stephanie described herself as &#8220;small and with red hair.&#8221; 5. She wasn&#8217;t lying. 6. Stephanie grew up in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. 7. She has a younger ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:29:34 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[New routine]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/22/new-routine-74165/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2010/jan/22/new-routine-74165/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Ok, I know I&#8217;m kind of beating a dead horse with the whole clear skin thing, but hey, at least it&#8217;s a break from all the OMG HAVE Y&#8217;ALL SEEN MAH CUTE BAY-BEE??? Ahem. So, skin it is. I did something great this week. After much hemming and hawing, last week I bit the bullet and made an appointment with a dermatologist. By some miracle, even though I called on Tuesday, I manged to get to see someone today. See? Baby Jesus wants me to be pretty. My reasoning behind this was &#8220;Hey, at some point I learned to stop ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:05:09 EST]]></pubDate>
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