Two parents, four children, and our adventures in food, music and travel.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Cravings and new cars
For the past few days, I've been craving bacon. Normally, I almost never eat meat (only because it's often not appealing to me -- not because I'm a vegetarian -- but that's a blog for another day), so this craving is really weird. With this baby, I've had some unusual cravings (for me). There's been a few times now where I NEEDED bacon, and then another time when we were food shopping and I found myself buying hotdogs (either Nathan's or Hebrew National -- the only kind there are, as far as I'm concerned) (I'm showing my colors as a food snob, I'm afraid) and sauerkraut, which were then consumed at 11pm that night. I think that the "toddler cardio" of chasing Andrew around must be helping me keep my weight in check, because I'm on track with the last pregnancy, surprisingly enough. Sometimes I scare myself with what I want to eat, but I realize that it's really okay to give in from time to time and just have exactly what I want. So for breakfast today I had an avocado, tomato and bacon sandwich with mayonnaise. The only saving grace in this meal was the homemade bread I used. =0
Today on the way to the mailbox with Andrew, I noticed something by the dumpster: a black, rugged plastic, little-kid pick-up truck! Now, I've never picked anyone's garbage before, and as all of the apartments in our complex surround and share the dumpsters, I felt especially awkward doing this, but...well, Happy Spring to Andrew! It's used but in great condition, and it is propelled by the child's feet, which stick through the bottom. I always wanted one when I was little, and when I saw this, I just couldn't pass it up.
This is a gift for me too! For the past half-hour, he's thoroughly amused himself by climbing in and out, beeping the horn, and spinning the steering wheel. So great!
My questions are: is the taking of other's trash ethical? Should I have asked someone? If so, who? My landlady was in the office -- should I have asked her?
(Note: pics of the little guy in his new "caw" will be posted tomorrow -- I'm currently at my monthly download limit for Funtigo.)
Today on the way to the mailbox with Andrew, I noticed something by the dumpster: a black, rugged plastic, little-kid pick-up truck! Now, I've never picked anyone's garbage before, and as all of the apartments in our complex surround and share the dumpsters, I felt especially awkward doing this, but...well, Happy Spring to Andrew! It's used but in great condition, and it is propelled by the child's feet, which stick through the bottom. I always wanted one when I was little, and when I saw this, I just couldn't pass it up.
This is a gift for me too! For the past half-hour, he's thoroughly amused himself by climbing in and out, beeping the horn, and spinning the steering wheel. So great!
My questions are: is the taking of other's trash ethical? Should I have asked someone? If so, who? My landlady was in the office -- should I have asked her?
(Note: pics of the little guy in his new "caw" will be posted tomorrow -- I'm currently at my monthly download limit for Funtigo.)
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Baking with Mommy
One of our favorite things to do is baking together. It's something that we both enjoy doing, and there's always a fun snack at the end! Another plus is that I've become a better baker from all the practice. =) Also, it enables me to get something done, and in the meantime he thinks it a toddler activity, so everyone wins.
Tasting the dough is all part of the fun. The trick is to quickly get past this stage in the baking so that we actually have enough to bake at the end of it all!
Tasting the dough is all part of the fun. The trick is to quickly get past this stage in the baking so that we actually have enough to bake at the end of it all!
The Last Bottle
This is Andrew drinking his bottle before bed last night. It will probably be his last bottle ever, which is kind of sad. I love cuddling him while he drinks his bottle...the way he strokes my hair, the way he looks at me so peacefully, totally enjoying the whole experience. I felt like I needed to wean him now though before the baby is born, because otherwise, I'd have to wait quite a while before making the attempt. It's easier to battle the will of a 1-1/2 year old than a 3 year-old. Once the baby is born, I don't want him to have too many changes beyond that for a while. It'll be enough for him to adjust to having a sibling!
Really, Nobody Cares
Listening List For the Week:
Showbread: No Sir, Nihilism is not Practical
Denison Witmer: Philadelphia Songs
Ed Gein: It’s a Chame
The Witness Protection Program: He Has the Technology
Over the Rhine: Changes Come (Live)
Blindside: About a Burning Fire
Sigur Ros: ()
Not Waving But Drowning: An Anthology of Sorts
Daniel Ryan: Piping by the Oaks of Mamre
Reuben Morgan: World Through Your Eyes
Frodus: And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea
Raft of Dead Monkeys: Thoroughlev
Check them out if you care.
Showbread: No Sir, Nihilism is not Practical
Denison Witmer: Philadelphia Songs
Ed Gein: It’s a Chame
The Witness Protection Program: He Has the Technology
Over the Rhine: Changes Come (Live)
Blindside: About a Burning Fire
Sigur Ros: ()
Not Waving But Drowning: An Anthology of Sorts
Daniel Ryan: Piping by the Oaks of Mamre
Reuben Morgan: World Through Your Eyes
Frodus: And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea
Raft of Dead Monkeys: Thoroughlev
Check them out if you care.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
MOPS
Yesterday morning, Andrew and I went to this group called MOPS, or Mothers Of Preschoolers. I didn't really know what to expect, but the premise sounded good: meet other moms and spend time with them for two hours while Andrew and other little people got babysat in another room. Two hours! A whole morning accounted for, and then to home for a nap! Then just the afternoon to entertain the boy, and the day is over! All of this was very attractive to me. Not even the $20 registration fee could deter me. I was buying two hours of freedom.
After a few early morning errands (dropping Greg off at work, and a brief bit of shopping), Andrew and I pulled up to New Hope Baptist Church. Andrew was feeling fantastic from his breakfast of a bottle of milk and several little cups of cheese doodles (they were at the check-out counter at Staples for impulse buys...Andrew is an impulse buyer), and jumped out of the car to start running circles around the parking lot. After collecting him and all the paraphernalia found orbiting around small children, I marched us both inside. As I was doing registration, Andrew wandered off down the hall in a recent display of independence to check out the classrooms already containing children. When I finally brought him to where he'd be spending the morning, he took one look at a ball machine and never gave a second thought to me as I quickly slipped out.
The meeting itself was really nice. There was a surprisingly extensive and tasty buffet breakfast spread -- sausage strudel, donuts, deviled eggs and tiny quiches along with both red and green grapes, chunks of pineapple and watermelon. Since I can't eat sugar anymore, I was expecting to have to pass on the whole affair, so I was very pleased. We all gathered around this one table to put together a simple craft, then settled in with our breakfasts and listened to a lady talk about MOPS International, and a fundraising walk (check out the "Support me in Great Moms Walk" link under my links to the right side of this page) that we'll be doing at the end of April. I expected this to be dry, but the lady was good and held our interest well. After that, we were broken up into pre-assigned small groups -- something that I usually avoid like the plague -- and I proceeded to enjoy myself there too. The lady leading our discussion was friendly and outspoken, the ice breaker questions were not embarrassing, and I started to realize what MOPS really is.
MOPS is a support group for moms in the greatest degree. Not only do the get together for pre-scheduled meetings once or twice a month, but they make connections and stay connected. The small group leader has the responsibility to contact each of the members of her group via e-mail or phone call at least once a month. The personal touch is built right into the system. Normally, I wouldn't invite some stranger to pry into my life, but the touch was so light, it was welcome. Now that I'm a mom of a toddler, I've realized my very real need for local support and contact with other moms.
All of this may not sound like much, but I can tell you that I felt like I'd been given the world yesterday. After spending two hours of Andrew-less time, I felt refreshed, although I wasn't really sure what had just happened or why I felt so good. Still it's hard to explain why this all meant so much to me, but perhaps if you tried staying at home all day (every day) with a baby/toddler for over a year and then suddenly found something like this, you'd understand. All I can say is, it was great.
After a few early morning errands (dropping Greg off at work, and a brief bit of shopping), Andrew and I pulled up to New Hope Baptist Church. Andrew was feeling fantastic from his breakfast of a bottle of milk and several little cups of cheese doodles (they were at the check-out counter at Staples for impulse buys...Andrew is an impulse buyer), and jumped out of the car to start running circles around the parking lot. After collecting him and all the paraphernalia found orbiting around small children, I marched us both inside. As I was doing registration, Andrew wandered off down the hall in a recent display of independence to check out the classrooms already containing children. When I finally brought him to where he'd be spending the morning, he took one look at a ball machine and never gave a second thought to me as I quickly slipped out.
The meeting itself was really nice. There was a surprisingly extensive and tasty buffet breakfast spread -- sausage strudel, donuts, deviled eggs and tiny quiches along with both red and green grapes, chunks of pineapple and watermelon. Since I can't eat sugar anymore, I was expecting to have to pass on the whole affair, so I was very pleased. We all gathered around this one table to put together a simple craft, then settled in with our breakfasts and listened to a lady talk about MOPS International, and a fundraising walk (check out the "Support me in Great Moms Walk" link under my links to the right side of this page) that we'll be doing at the end of April. I expected this to be dry, but the lady was good and held our interest well. After that, we were broken up into pre-assigned small groups -- something that I usually avoid like the plague -- and I proceeded to enjoy myself there too. The lady leading our discussion was friendly and outspoken, the ice breaker questions were not embarrassing, and I started to realize what MOPS really is.
MOPS is a support group for moms in the greatest degree. Not only do the get together for pre-scheduled meetings once or twice a month, but they make connections and stay connected. The small group leader has the responsibility to contact each of the members of her group via e-mail or phone call at least once a month. The personal touch is built right into the system. Normally, I wouldn't invite some stranger to pry into my life, but the touch was so light, it was welcome. Now that I'm a mom of a toddler, I've realized my very real need for local support and contact with other moms.
All of this may not sound like much, but I can tell you that I felt like I'd been given the world yesterday. After spending two hours of Andrew-less time, I felt refreshed, although I wasn't really sure what had just happened or why I felt so good. Still it's hard to explain why this all meant so much to me, but perhaps if you tried staying at home all day (every day) with a baby/toddler for over a year and then suddenly found something like this, you'd understand. All I can say is, it was great.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Naked Truth
You've probably seen that picture of Andrew in Greg's shoes that I just posted. The end of the story is, Greg and Andrew were taking a shower. After the shower Greg went downstairs to get a diaper. When he returned, Andrew was bending over, his finger fully buried in a little pile of poop. Andrew had never seen his poop before in "the wild", and was facinated. This was hilarious, but I'm glad that Greg cleaned it up.
Digitalized!
Finally, we have a digital camera! It came by UPS today, and I am SO EXCITED! Unfortunately, the SD card that I had bought a while ago isn't the right kind for the camera, and with the card that comes with the camera, I can take only about 10 shots. Oh well. I guess a large capacity card is next on the list.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Nobody Cares
Even though nobody cares, here's my listening list for the week:
The Bowels of Judas: Broken Jaws Smile Crooked
Tantrum of the Muse: The Downtrodden and the Sidhe
Belle & Sabastian: Dear Catastrophe Waitress
The Beta Band: Heroes to Zeroes
The Von Bondies: Pawn Shop Heart
The Daughters: Canada Songs
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: Save My Soul
Nat King Cole: Unforgettable
Brother Danielson: Brother is to Son
Havalina: Space, Love, and Bullfighting
Odon Soterias: Anno Domini
Sixpence None the Richer: Divine Discontent
Gerg
The Bowels of Judas: Broken Jaws Smile Crooked
Tantrum of the Muse: The Downtrodden and the Sidhe
Belle & Sabastian: Dear Catastrophe Waitress
The Beta Band: Heroes to Zeroes
The Von Bondies: Pawn Shop Heart
The Daughters: Canada Songs
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: Save My Soul
Nat King Cole: Unforgettable
Brother Danielson: Brother is to Son
Havalina: Space, Love, and Bullfighting
Odon Soterias: Anno Domini
Sixpence None the Richer: Divine Discontent
Gerg
Friday, March 18, 2005
Circulate!
When I was pregnant with Andrew, my midwife advised me to remove refined sugar from my diet, since both my mom and grandma have suffered from varicose veins, and since it's genetic, it may easily affect me too. Once someone gets varicose veins they never go away, so I followed her instructions and was very disciplined about my diet. (While refined sugar is in your system, it thins the walls of your veins and arteries. When pregnant, there is such an increase in blood volume that the circulation often becomes congested and sluggish. If the veins and arteries are thinned out, they are much more likely to bulge out, causing varicosities.)
Watching your diet carefully and being self-disciplined while raising a toddler, however, is something else entirely. Already it takes a heck of a lot of creativity to convince yourself that the peanut butter and banana with soymilk is going to satisfy you even though all you really want is a donut and coffee. With a toddler, I've noticed that my creative powers are already stretched thin with amusing him, feeding him, understanding him, etc, so there's not a whole lot left for me. Now all of these are reasons, of course, not good excuses -- I'm just telling it like it is.
Anyway, the other day I had the car, and Joy, Andrew and I were out doing stuff. Dunkin Donuts started looking really good. We ended up stopping in there, and instead of just having "a little something", I had...two donuts. After my valiant attempts at not eating too much white sugar, the donuts tasted a little too sweet, but...yeah, I ate them anyway. A few hours later, I noticed a deep throbbing in the back of my lower left leg. By the time dinner was over, I could hardly walk over to the couch, I was limping so badly from the pain. The next day I called my midwife, and she had me buy compression knee-highs, cayenne pepper capsules and this herbal mix called vari-gone.
I feel way better now (except for a constant heat in my stomach from the pepper), but Greg and I noticed something -- these knee highs are the same things that older ladies wear to keep their feet from swelling! I've never thought about it before, but that's why their ankles and feet often look like fake legs. You learn something new every day! (And now you know how to improve your circulation!)
Watching your diet carefully and being self-disciplined while raising a toddler, however, is something else entirely. Already it takes a heck of a lot of creativity to convince yourself that the peanut butter and banana with soymilk is going to satisfy you even though all you really want is a donut and coffee. With a toddler, I've noticed that my creative powers are already stretched thin with amusing him, feeding him, understanding him, etc, so there's not a whole lot left for me. Now all of these are reasons, of course, not good excuses -- I'm just telling it like it is.
Anyway, the other day I had the car, and Joy, Andrew and I were out doing stuff. Dunkin Donuts started looking really good. We ended up stopping in there, and instead of just having "a little something", I had...two donuts. After my valiant attempts at not eating too much white sugar, the donuts tasted a little too sweet, but...yeah, I ate them anyway. A few hours later, I noticed a deep throbbing in the back of my lower left leg. By the time dinner was over, I could hardly walk over to the couch, I was limping so badly from the pain. The next day I called my midwife, and she had me buy compression knee-highs, cayenne pepper capsules and this herbal mix called vari-gone.
I feel way better now (except for a constant heat in my stomach from the pepper), but Greg and I noticed something -- these knee highs are the same things that older ladies wear to keep their feet from swelling! I've never thought about it before, but that's why their ankles and feet often look like fake legs. You learn something new every day! (And now you know how to improve your circulation!)
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