tfl: The Flatiron Life

I don’t know if you heard, but the streets are safe, clean, and well maintained through out the PRChi. The City managed school district is churning out well educated young citizens. The government operates with an efficiency never seen in government before. So, on to more important issues.

This weeks This American Life explains the Sub-Prime Mortgage/Credit Crisis very well. When the crisis is explained clearly without any blame being laid, it is actually really easy to understand. I feel like I have a much better since of what happened and a bit more of why.

It really shows why, despite what the FED might try to do, the market (i.e. all of us) lacks faith in the banks right now.

So you may have noticed that the last few weeks, if not the last few months have been a little light on the blogging. For good reason. Here’s an update on the insanity that has been the Tomaw household. . .

Teeth - While not exactly a schedule filling event, I know eager friends and family will be interested to know that little Jonah has sprouted his first two teeth. He was really not terribly happy about it at first, but I think he’s starting to get used to teeth. He holds his mouth a little differently now and puts his fingers in to touch his new chompers.

We’ve also started Jonah on rice cereal. It’s a delicate process, only going well if Jonah is hungry, but not so hungry he just wants to nurse and tired enough that he doesn’t resent sitting still, but not so tired he needs to take a nap. When it all comes together in a perfect feeding, he eats an entire bowl of cereal. When the feeding forces are against us, the meltdown starts after just a few spoonfuls. Regardless of whether it’s a good feed or a bad feed, there is usually one successful swallow for every three spoonfuls wiped up off the little guy’s chin. . . or hands. . .or hairline. . . or thighs.

Baptism- As Jacob mentioned, Jonah was baptized two weeks ago. It was a beautiful and meaningful service. Jacob and I believe the church is a vital and influential community in the life of a child. We feel very blessed to know that present at Jonah’s baptism were grandparents, god parents, and church family that will take very seriously the commitment they made to guide Jonah in his faith.

Moving- Well, we’re still searching for a permanent home for a good portion of our belongings, but we’re no longer tripping over boxes. We are very happy with our new neighborhood and our extra bedroom. With room to prowl and carpet to roll on, George is acting more like a normal cat. We’re still sleeping on an air mattress, but that should change this week.

Moving is such an unsettling thing. (I guess that sounds silly. It is probably literally the unsettling thing.) You never realize how natural living in your home has become until you move to a new one and are forced to adopt an entire new set of motor patterns.

Mystery Allergy- At the age of 27 it appears I have developed an allergy manifesting itself in the form of a rash. Now that I’ve typed that, it sounds like an understatement. For a while it was like my legs were on fire. Two emergency rooms, two dermatologists, one general practitioner, seven medications, one biopsy, and two and a half weeks later, the rash has healed, although I will need to follow up with the last dermatologist before I find out what gave me the black death. Very frustrating and very bad timing.

Graduation- This past week was my final final finals week. Forever. (I think.) It has been an inspiring, but project intensive quarter. When I was working full time and going to school, I thought I was pretty good at juggling a full schedule. Mothering and going to school is way way harder.

At last I’ve graduated with my MBA, qualifying me to use terms like leverage and synergy and invoke the proverbial thirty thousand foot view. It feels good.

Thank you to everyone who shared the highs and lows of the last few weeks with us, especially those of you who helped with Jonah while Jacob was out of town. We are a very fortunate family indeed. We are looking forward to a delightfully lazy summer, catching our breath and enjoying all that our new neighborhood and Chicago have to offer. We wish you all an equally rejuvenating summer and hope to be blogging more regularly over the next few months.

Congratulations are in order to Joscelynn.

Yesterday, Saturday, she graduated from Loyola University Chicago, School of Business Administration with a Master’s Degree.

She has worked very hard at this for the last 3 years, through a wedding, 2 moves, a house hunt and purchase, Jonah, and a sometimes difficult husband. She has been able to juggle all of this while being an excellent wife and mother.

I am very proud of her. The effort she has put in is already paying off; I can see more confidence and strength in her. I know it is going to continue to be an important part in our family and in her work, no mater where that work takes her.

Go forth and set the world on fire. -St. Ignatius of Loyola

I am glad most people grow up in environments where the media and activists do not play a role.

A vice principal in New Jersey punished some kids by giving them lunch detention. They had to eat lunch on the gym floor. Not off the floor, but while seated upon the floor.

I can see Kevin, JR, Brian, Corey, Joe, and I having made a ruckus one day and being punished that way. These kids were in elementary school; when I was at Highland and we had finished lunch, our options were to sit on the floor along the walls or go outside for recess. When it rained there was on less option.

Why might this be news? Did I mention the principal is black and the kids are hispanic? The school district investigated and said the punishment was “demeaning and unsafe.”

If Jonah comes home and tells me something like this happened to him, it is another time I hear myself telling him, “So?”

It is about time for an investigation if you ask this Hoosier.

Wow.

OK, we are moved. There is still a lot of stuff in boxes. We need to reevaluate our storage strategies, less closet space and no where for our bookshelves. There are also a lot of things I need to sell or give away because I don’t want to put them away to gather dust for the 4th or 5th time.

I mostly have our condo ready for out renter. I gave him the keys yesterday and he moves in on Saturday.