Vacation!

So the presentation went as expected... the stove didn't actually "work", in that it didn't heat or sense, but it looked great so the presentation went well, considering. The audience was very forgiving and seemed to understand the complexity of the problem and therefore rated us high (we came in third out of seven). You can watch a video of the presentation at: http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www/index.html (click on "infinite range"). You can also check out the other teams' projects there.
I'm officially on vacation now and loving it. Eric has is final critiques this week. Then on thurs. we head to LA for my brother, Sandy's wedding. It's promising to be a swanky, fun time! I even bought new makeup!
Merry Christmas to all....

Sarah

Looking forward to tomorrow

So tomorrow is the final presentation for the undergraduate product design class I'm in. This class has been absolutely mad. The team I'm in seems to have aimed for the stars and barely reached the treetops. We are making (with emphasis on STILL MAKING 24 hrs before the presentation) an electric stovetop the can sense and heat a pot anywhere on the surface. As of right now we have some mild heat. No sensing, no water boiling. We have been working basically round the clock for the past month. Apparently we should have been working round the clock for the past three months. The worst part has been that only two out of the sixteen of us have much experience with electronics. I am not one of them. I imagine that I have learned a lot from this class but it might take a semester, or lifetime, to get a sense of what that was. I really think the expectations for this class are ridiculously high for the time we're expected to accomplish them. But that's just me. I'll post photos of the final product (it does actually LOOK really cool, even if it doesn't work) after tomorrow.

new video!

So, as Eric said in his post life here is hectic. Graduate school at MIT with a baby at home is exactly as stressful as everyone said it would be. The shear vastness of knowledge that people at this school have (and that I don't have) is humbling and has taken a bit of a toll on the ol' ego. BUT, I persevere. I'm in a undergrad senior level design class and these kids are crazy. All plan on going out and making at least $100 grand after graduation-- compared to the kids I graduated with who's main concern was which ski mountain they planned to take up residence in after graduation. The overall culture shock is a bit more than I expected. But, despite all that bad stuff I am learning A LOT, which is something I like to do. Mica, of course, is doing great. Singing, talking, running, peeing in the potty. All that good stuff. She loves her daycare and only sits on other kids occationally (or so we're told). Enjoy the film!


more mica from Sarah Reed on Vimeo.


Mica 1 from Sarah Reed on Vimeo.


p.s. I would LOVE some advice on how to get these videos to not be so blurry and pixelated if anyone can tell me!

Shots of importance.

Pictures and words for November 1st.

So I am writing and putting up pictures because we have neglected to do so since last month. Wild to think that we are already into November. I have already been in school for five weeks and I am loving it. I haven't taken that many pictures with the Digital camera this term because we are really working exclusively with film. Black & White and color film. I really like color printing but it looks and sounds as if it is on its way out. To be replaced with digital soon. I have been getting alot of great feed back from the professors and the other students. Great to be in a creative and supportive environment. But they really treat this school like a job. Very strict policies regarding being on time, deadlines, and equipment usage. Really not a problem for me but for the folks that had never had a job in the past. It has been tough for them. Enough about me. The ladies are great and continue to become more amazing every day. Mica just had here first Halloween that she could really walk around and trick or treat. Mommy and daddy have lots of candy now.

School Starting

So I officially start school tomorrow (well, really, I register tomorrow). I'm wicked excited and actively suppressing any feelings of panic. I've been going to orientation events all week and the kids there don't seem THAT smart, really. Eric was nice enough to join me on a MechE field trip today around the Boston Harbor Islands (granny watched Mica). It was fun and sunny. I've posted a new compilation for viewing. The breakfast scene is a bit long but I think it's worth the time (but she is my kid and all, so I love looking at her). Love to all.

New Video (Finally!)

So we're finally settled in enough here in our new digs to be able to sit down and post some new stuff. Unfortunately all of the video I've taken since we moved won't move onto my computer but I've made a fun conglomerate of some older stuff. Get ready to boogy! The dancing queen is in the house!
BTW, if someone savvy with these things can tell me why some old videos on this post have spontaneously stopped working I'd be much appreciative.

More Pictures

More Pictures for the Masses

End of July, Begining Tomorrow

Alright. We have been very busy with our new lives here in the Greater Boston area. We are dug in and the art is on the walls. We are eating out side in the backyard almost every night, while tasting tasty treats from my new Grill (thank you dad). Love that grill. Any way. Mica continues to become more and more amazing as the hours go by. She is putting words together and making simple sentences. Just like her father... It tends to be hot here in the summer and the need to be sprayed with water is great. So we have found the water structures at several playgrounds. Not to mention the time we spend at the beach in Maine. Love Maine. My family has had the pleasure of playing in the sand and splashing around in the shallows with Mica and they love it. Michelle and Elisa are in a tight competition for favorite Auntie. Hard to tell who will win the award but it sure is fun to be able to go back to bed when you pass Mica off at 5 a.m. Love you Both. Mimoo is also having time to spend with Mica My mother has been down from Maine to babysit, that is great. About me. I have been doing some fishing, lots of house stuff, grilling, and part time super-hero work. Photos are going well and am really excited to go to my first class. for now that is the story. But we will have more soon. enjoy the pics.
Eric

A few new pictures

We've just been up in Maine at the Reed's beautiful house. It was grey and dreary but a treat to be up there, nonetheless. I expect to spend much more time up there this summer! It's been an eventful couple of weeks since Eric and Blue arrived. I spent my first weekend away from Mica last weekend-- which meant that Eric spent his first weekend alone with Mica too! He took her up to Maine so he had help from his eager mother and sister, Elisa. All went well and my boobs just barely managed to not explode from the lack of nursing. On a sadder note, my grandfather passed away last Monday. He was 96 and it was certainly time for him to go. It's tough either way, though. Then on tuesday we signed the lease for our new place! It's a single family home about a 15 min walk from my mother's house. It has a big back yard and lots of space to grow. It's a bit dilapidated, but we don't need anything fancy-- just space. It's a block from Fresh Pond which is a big resivoir with a park all around it. Great Blue walking. And according to the real-estate lady Ben Affleck's mother lives around the corner and when he's visiting he takes is daughter to the local playground. Goody.
Enjoy the pictures and we'll post more soon! Love to all the San Fran. folk, and we miss you much. To the Colorado folk-- we'll see you soon!

We've arrived!

Ok, still no pictures, which is really why everyone reads this anyway, but I thought I'd update that we have all safely arrived in Boston. Mica and I flew in via the red-eye (predictably painful, but could have been worse) about a week ago and Eric and Blue just drove in today. Us girls are VERY happy to see them! We've been searching for apartments but still haven't found "the one." I'm confident it will appear, though. Apparently here in Boston not only is our dog a liability but Mica is too! There's a law that says that for a child under 6 to live in an apartment it has to be deleaded-- which is a huge and costly renovation, not appreciated by owners. So our field is narrow. Eric took pictures along the way so we'll get some of those up soon and I'll try to take some pics of Mica too. Our wires for hooking up the video camera are packed away in the containers so probably no video until we move in. Sorry.
Hope all are well around the country.

much love.

moving update

We move in 6 days and counting. No new pictures or movies to post but I thought I'd share thoughts anyway. San Francisco has been a great city and at the same time very difficult. I would say it's not the best place to move to and immideatly get pregnant. Maybe this transition (to parenthood) would have been hard no matter where we were, but I can't help thinking that the abundance of bars and young pretty people made it just a little bit more awkward. We've made some great friends here-- family friendly and not. Young people here are ready and willing for the world to spill down on them. I think (hope) we go to Boston, wiser, more mature and more understanding of what we need to be happy. Hopefully we can find it.

Lots of firsts!

Hi all,
It's been a fun month for the Reed family. March was busy and then Mica and I got sick, but once that was all over we've been doing much better. Mica is talking up a storm. New words every day! She's really good at mimicking an will try to say nearly anything you encourage her to. I got inspired by a friend to attempt some early potty training. I got it all set up way in advance-- got the potty, the training pants, the book... ANd she's been watching ME go for months. Amazingly the first time I tried to have her poo on the potty she did! It was incredible (highly orchestrated, but incredible nonetheless). Unfortunately the excitement more or less ended there and she has since pooed in the hallway directly outside the potty at least 3 times. I might give up for now and wait until she's a bit older. It was fun while it lasted, though.
We've been instituting some new sleeping policies, that while they are hard, seem to be working. Mica has been moved out of our bed and into her crib. We're not allowing her to get out of the crib or nurse at all until morning (although as part of the weaning process we have been waking her twice at night to feed, and will be dropping it down to once tonight). This is a HUGE change for her, and me and it's been a bit traumatic for both of us. What really worries me is if this is so hard what am I going to do when she goes off to Kindergarten?!! Or, god forbid, wants to go to college!!! She is sleeping much better, however, which, for all of us, is long awaited.
The biggest news as of today is that we've just gotten back from our first camping trip with the little Bean! We went with 15 of our closest friends here and it was great fun. We camped amongst some enormous redwoods and drank great wine. I still have a belly ache from the chili! Mica and Blue both had a blast. I barely saw Mica as she wandered from one eager caretaker to the next, and she slept great considering our tent was barely 10 feet from the party (so that we could hear her when she woke). It was great and makes us very excited for some good east coast camping this summer!

Sarah

Pictures For The Masses

April Already.

Well I have been told that people are getting tired of the last post and they need their fix. Well. You ask and you shall recieve. Sarah, Mica, and I are doing well and are gearing up for the move. We just got back from an amazing trip to Oahu and I learned that it really is that amazing. Pictures above show just a small part. Thank you Kathrine and all the crazy Swedes. Sarah has not only been excepted to MIT but she has already been given her Research position (of her choice). Mica just found out that she is going to to be attending Harvard in the fall:) Im sorry thats not true at all. Mica has been making great leaps in the language department. She can say (not all in order): mama, dada, bob, eye, ear, blue, woof, No, clock, bird, car, dog, and can also make the sound an elephant makes "with the whole arm". She can also point at her ear, eye, nose which she kind of said this evening and her belly button. I am sure that there was something I missed but you all get the drift. She is getting faster and has now figured out how to get down in the crawl position and slide backwards. Stairs are her favorite thing to play with going up and down for as long as you can stand it (while holding her hand of course). Enough about those to glory hogs. I am doing well and just three days from a well deserved unemployment. I gave my notice and Im out. I have had a pretty good run at this job and for all who know what I have been doing I only had to go to workmens comp. Twice. Not bad. I have become very tired of being hyper vigelant and stressed about the saftey of myself and of others. I have been sleeping less and angry more. Not a good combo. I have givin myself some time to be at home with Mica more and to enjoy SF before we leave for our next Adventure. I have learned alot but look forward to getting away from this field for a while. Well thats the scoop for now. Until next time. Tight Lines.

We have exciting news! I got word last week that I got into MIT's Masters in Mechanical Engineering program! I'm astounded and very excited. What this means is that we'll be moving back to Boston in June! So to all the east-coasters: we're comin' home. It's going to be a lot of work but I think we're up for it. Eric's still not sure what he's going to do for work so if anyone has any suggestions I'm sure he'd love to hear them.
Otherwise life is chugging along and Mica just keeps getting cuter. Poor bean has another cold! She seems to be the definition of the "snot nosed kid."

More photos

Some shots from the zoo. Love My Family

Hello

Well its been a while since I have posted and I have lot to say. I have been busy with work, my new hobbie, health issues, Sarah, and of course Mica. I am still working for Edgewood and getting more comfortable every day. What that means is that I am able to do the hard work that needs to be done while I am there and leave it there when I go home. It has taken some hard practice but it is working. I am building the relationships and learning alot about Emotionally Disturbed kids. At the end of the day I feel like I did some good in some small way. That I think is job satisfaction. I have also been getting into the photo game. Like Sarah said earlier in another post I got her old AE-1 going which turns out is a workhorse of a camera and a great learning camera. It allowed me to take alot of pictures and spend lots of money on film and developing. I got some great shots and it made me think in ways I hadn't before. I was never one for doing art as much as appreciating it. Well now I DO ART. I have had a great time walking this city and beaches finding the little lovelies that can be seen through the view-finder. I have even taken pictures of something other than Mica. I kinow its hard to believe. I am looking into getting a flicker page going and then you can bookmark even another of our sites. Well I hope you are all doing well and enjoy all the photos I am about to load onto the page.
Love ERIC

Mica Salad

She's screaming in excitement, really.