The scientist in the crib

Melina's scientific career began this month as she [was] volunteered to test Nice Cubes, a new kind of frozen organic baby food being studied at the OSU Food Innovation Center. The cubes (which aren't actually cube-shaped at this stage of testing) are microwaved for 30 seconds and then fed to baby just like regular jarred food. Melina has to try them alongside regular jarred organic baby food. So far, we have only tried one flavor (sweet potatoes). I vastly preferred the Nice Cubes to the jarred variety, but Melina seemed indifferent. Perhaps she was having an off day; we will try again several times before making a final verdict. Melina is now the third generation in our family to test foods for OSU. My dad tested sports drinks, I tested french fries and ice cream (oh, what a heavy burden that was) - and now Melina is carrying on the proud tradition.

Melina contemplates the new life within

I didn't expect to be a grandmother quite so soon...

Busy, busy, busy

Melina and I have been busy little bees lately. Last week she and my mom went with me to a work meeting in Seattle. We all lived in a very small hotel room together for three days, which was an interesting adventure. Apart from severe sleep deprivation, it worked out pretty well. Melina got to go swimming for the second time in her life in the hotel pool. She LOVED it. She kept trying to push away from me like an impatient mer-baby anxious to swim on her own. I think this kid is definitely ready for swimming lessons, if we can find a pool warm enough for her. (She doesn't have a lot of blubber, and she gets cold fast!).

Apart from swimming, Melina also got lots of attention from the people at the meeting and got to see mom at work, which I know will be meaningful to her as she contemplates her career objectives. She also ate a lot of Spanish rice, crawled around on new carpets, abandoned her sleep schedule, and cried most of the way home from Seattle.

Ugh

I'm recovering from a bout of food poisoning - or stomach flu, not sure which. I was up all night on Wednesday night puking every hour for about seven hours straight. Yesterday I was a complete useless wreck, but I'm crawling back to normalcy now. Luckily my parents came over yesterday and took care of Melina while Jeff was at work. I couldn't have done it by myself. I had a fever of about 101 most of the day.

Ugh.

Watch this and weep

I found this very sweet music video via Bridgermama. It reduced me to a blubbering wreck, but I'm feeling sorta fragile today.

...and this will get you laughing again

This mama looks amazingly relaxed for someone with quadruplets!