Here is an excerpt from e-baby and Jambuca's cooking show this morning. Dress code is pretty casual around here.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Bad Blogger! No Cookie for You!
I haven't been keeping up with blogging well at all lately. That's partly, as I said, because work is insane. It is also because once the kids are in bed, it's just a pain in the tookus to get on the computer and write. There's no way I can write while they're awake. Not while e-baby is in this WHY phase, at least.
So when SNG asked me whether I wanted a netbook for my birthday, my first thought was, "What the heck will I do with a netbook? I never use the other computers we already have." But then I thought about it more. Why don't I use them? Because it's too much trouble to USE THEM. A netbook would be something I could leave on my side of the bed, ready to drop on my lap and start writing at bedtime. It is super lightweight and small, so it wouldn't make me feel trapped under a machine. And it would be mine mine mine, so I could leave some things logged in so I wouldn't have to put in passwords on all my webpages which would reduce a good 40% of the annoyance of using a computer when I'm already kind of tired.
So here I am, typing a blog entry with my new netbook (yes, I know, 2 weeks before my birthday), and it's very nice. The only trouble is that they had to rearrange some keys to make them fit. There's no dedicated End key; you have to Fn-PgDn. And PgDn is not in the right place. The touchpad is a poor design. But I'll get used to it, and maybe I'll start posting regularly again.
What is up with the alphafamily?
E-baby is getting close to her birthday and has been pracicing on her bike a lot. She can balance really well and is nearly ready for a pedal bike-- once she gets tall enough. I want to get her a trailer bike in the meantime, but SNG is nervous about her falling off. He wants to get her a teeeeeny custom painted Madone.
Jambuca continues to be fat and happy. He is doing really well with solids. Maybe too well. He dives into his baby food like a heroin junkie, especially sweet potatoes.
I'm looking at the triathlon series for next year and trying to decide which ones to do. I'm planning on a relay with 2 of my cousins (I got stuck doing the run- dangit!:-) and 2 friends from work are going to train with me for another sprint or two as well. No international distance races this time. Sprint tris are like a fun, intense workout. International tris are downright uncomfortable. I can be uncomfortable at home for free, thanks.
Every year since e-baby was born I've said that I'm going to do triathlon again "next year" and I still haven't done it. Wish me luck in getting my schedule in order to do it this time!
So when SNG asked me whether I wanted a netbook for my birthday, my first thought was, "What the heck will I do with a netbook? I never use the other computers we already have." But then I thought about it more. Why don't I use them? Because it's too much trouble to USE THEM. A netbook would be something I could leave on my side of the bed, ready to drop on my lap and start writing at bedtime. It is super lightweight and small, so it wouldn't make me feel trapped under a machine. And it would be mine mine mine, so I could leave some things logged in so I wouldn't have to put in passwords on all my webpages which would reduce a good 40% of the annoyance of using a computer when I'm already kind of tired.
So here I am, typing a blog entry with my new netbook (yes, I know, 2 weeks before my birthday), and it's very nice. The only trouble is that they had to rearrange some keys to make them fit. There's no dedicated End key; you have to Fn-PgDn. And PgDn is not in the right place. The touchpad is a poor design. But I'll get used to it, and maybe I'll start posting regularly again.
What is up with the alphafamily?
E-baby is getting close to her birthday and has been pracicing on her bike a lot. She can balance really well and is nearly ready for a pedal bike-- once she gets tall enough. I want to get her a trailer bike in the meantime, but SNG is nervous about her falling off. He wants to get her a teeeeeny custom painted Madone.
Jambuca continues to be fat and happy. He is doing really well with solids. Maybe too well. He dives into his baby food like a heroin junkie, especially sweet potatoes.
I'm looking at the triathlon series for next year and trying to decide which ones to do. I'm planning on a relay with 2 of my cousins (I got stuck doing the run- dangit!:-) and 2 friends from work are going to train with me for another sprint or two as well. No international distance races this time. Sprint tris are like a fun, intense workout. International tris are downright uncomfortable. I can be uncomfortable at home for free, thanks.
Every year since e-baby was born I've said that I'm going to do triathlon again "next year" and I still haven't done it. Wish me luck in getting my schedule in order to do it this time!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Commute Conversation
e-baby: 'What are these strings on my toy butterfly?'
me: 'Antennas'
e: 'Lantana?'
m: 'No, lantana are flowers. Antennas are on bugs.'
e: 'Butterflies eat the pollen on the lantana'
m: 'That's right'
e: 'What are antennas?'
m: 'They're like fingers for a bug.'
e: 'Like spiders?'
m: 'No, spiders have legs. Bugs have legs and antennas.'
e: 'But I'm talking about spiders.'
m: 'Spiders have 8 legs.'
e: 'Like octopuses!'
m: 'That's right'
e: 'Do octopuses eat spiders?'
m: 'I bet they would if they could'
e: 'Octopuses eating the snake with the spider in his mouth! Would that be a good plan?'
m: 'That would be an excellent plan!'
Never a dull moment.
me: 'Antennas'
e: 'Lantana?'
m: 'No, lantana are flowers. Antennas are on bugs.'
e: 'Butterflies eat the pollen on the lantana'
m: 'That's right'
e: 'What are antennas?'
m: 'They're like fingers for a bug.'
e: 'Like spiders?'
m: 'No, spiders have legs. Bugs have legs and antennas.'
e: 'But I'm talking about spiders.'
m: 'Spiders have 8 legs.'
e: 'Like octopuses!'
m: 'That's right'
e: 'Do octopuses eat spiders?'
m: 'I bet they would if they could'
e: 'Octopuses eating the snake with the spider in his mouth! Would that be a good plan?'
m: 'That would be an excellent plan!'
Never a dull moment.
-- Sent from my Palm Pre
Monday, August 3, 2009
Half a Year and a Half Bithday Party
Jambuca is 6 months old today. Six months is an important milestone-- he got to have "real" food for the first time (baby rice cereal) and everyone else had some half-birthday cake.
Since I've been so quiet in blogland lately, thanks to an insane amount of stuff going on at work and at home, there's not much record of what he's been doing the past few months. So in honor of the big half-birthday achievement, here are some highlights (nothing here is unusual for a regular 6-month-old baby, but I like to have a record of these things, and the blog is a good way to do that).
Jambuca is a very different kind of baby than his venerable big sister. Both of them are perfect to me, but I am glad that I had her first and him second, because he is one of those babies that fools people into thinking they're baby-whisperers. He's a parent-whisperer. I'm pretty sure he will get away with a lot more than e-baby will.
He's a very jovial fellow and laughs at everything, especially in anticipation of something funny or a tickle. Anticipatory baby laughs are the best. He likes to see himself in the mirror and busts out in belly laughs that seem to say "Damn, looka' me! I'm a HANDSOME little fella! WOO mama, look at me workin' it."
He's interested in toys, where "toys" are anything that can be grabbed and shoved into his mouth. Examples include straws, coffee cups, my hair, e-baby's hair, a nose, a shirt, a washrag, a teddy bear, a carseat strap, the railing of the crib... you get the idea. If he can see it, he'll mouth it. That reminds me-
He's trying so hard to be mobile. He can easily push up onto hands and knees, but for now getting to stuff is mostly a matter of rolling around. He rolls around a lot because while he can sit upright, and he can play with a toy, he cannot, it seems, do both at the same time. He ends up rolling on the floor eventually anyway.
He is also very, very interested in eating. When he got to try cereal for the first time this evening, it rocked his tiny little world. He made some faces that suggested he had NO idea WHAT had just happened or how to take the news, but he kept coming back for more food, so it wasn't all bad.
I've included some pictures of the shin-dig on Flickr here.
And here's a bonus video of e-baby singing to her baby brother and helping him with the candle.
Since I've been so quiet in blogland lately, thanks to an insane amount of stuff going on at work and at home, there's not much record of what he's been doing the past few months. So in honor of the big half-birthday achievement, here are some highlights (nothing here is unusual for a regular 6-month-old baby, but I like to have a record of these things, and the blog is a good way to do that).
Jambuca is a very different kind of baby than his venerable big sister. Both of them are perfect to me, but I am glad that I had her first and him second, because he is one of those babies that fools people into thinking they're baby-whisperers. He's a parent-whisperer. I'm pretty sure he will get away with a lot more than e-baby will.
He's a very jovial fellow and laughs at everything, especially in anticipation of something funny or a tickle. Anticipatory baby laughs are the best. He likes to see himself in the mirror and busts out in belly laughs that seem to say "Damn, looka' me! I'm a HANDSOME little fella! WOO mama, look at me workin' it."
He's interested in toys, where "toys" are anything that can be grabbed and shoved into his mouth. Examples include straws, coffee cups, my hair, e-baby's hair, a nose, a shirt, a washrag, a teddy bear, a carseat strap, the railing of the crib... you get the idea. If he can see it, he'll mouth it. That reminds me-
He's trying so hard to be mobile. He can easily push up onto hands and knees, but for now getting to stuff is mostly a matter of rolling around. He rolls around a lot because while he can sit upright, and he can play with a toy, he cannot, it seems, do both at the same time. He ends up rolling on the floor eventually anyway.
He is also very, very interested in eating. When he got to try cereal for the first time this evening, it rocked his tiny little world. He made some faces that suggested he had NO idea WHAT had just happened or how to take the news, but he kept coming back for more food, so it wasn't all bad.
I've included some pictures of the shin-dig on Flickr here.
And here's a bonus video of e-baby singing to her baby brother and helping him with the candle.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Yummy Dance!
SNG picked up salmon on his way home from work today. He also got a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a box of neopolitan tofu ice cream sandwiches. E-baby and I opted for the sandwiches and both of our heads are about to explode from delicious delirium. E-baby is running around like a maniac doing the yummy dance (kind of like a happy dance, I think). SNG tasted mine & realized he chose wrong in picking the Ben & Jerry's.
If you haven't tried tofu ice cream sandwiches, you will have difficulty imagining just how delicious they are. Go get some and report back. I'll wait.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
In My Absence, Life Goes On
I haven't blogged in about an age and a half. I wish I had more time because there are a lot of things I am behind on (including one little girl's 2nd birthday present getting into the mailbox and I don't know how many thank you notes that aren't yet written). I haven't even really been on the computer for fun in a couple of weeks, because work has gone mad-crazy and home is crazier. Tonight the kids are asleep, my parents are in town but out visiting a friend, and SNG finally gave up the laptop to go watch the TDF. So I blog.
Jambuca's 5-month-day was yesterday! Here are some highlights on him:
*He's rolling (and rolling and rolling) and most of the time when I go in to wake him up, he's on his belly.
*He's getting good at recognizing some cues for things like eating (well, mostly just eating). If I say "Want some milk?" he makes this cute "heh-heh" laugh and cranes his neck as if trying to reach for milk.
*His favorite color seems to be purple. Anytime he sees something dark purple, he gaaaaazes at it, sucks his thumb intently, and then wrangles the thing into his mouth. "Puuuuuurple. Give me the puuuuurple."
*He is really interested in watching people eat. If I eat while I'm holding him, he tries to snake a bite from my fork. Any day now he'll end up with a mouthful of chicken or apple pie. Yes, I will be starting him on cereals on his 1/2-birthday. Not any sooner that that, though, because, well, he is a CHUNKER and doesn't really need to put on more weight.
*He's in size 3 diapers, and Huggies are too tight around his belly. It's the cutest pudge-gut I've ever seen.
*He is easily the happiest baby on the block. He's cheerful most of the time, and really just cries for food and when he's tired. He sleeps like a champ for usually 10-12 hours a night. When he's awake, he's looking for someone to laugh with.
E-baby and Jambuca are so obviously going to be best buds, and she's taken to calling him "little man" which is so funny coming from her. We let her stay up late last night to see 4th of July fireworks. It was her Granny's birthday, too, and she's kind of got Independence Day mixed up with Granny's birthday, resulting in this interpretation of the fireworks show:
"Granny is the angel, and she flies WAY up in the sky to spark the fireworks. She puts the pink one over where the green one is, and moves the green one to where the pink one is. Then we say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! FIREWORKS!"
Here are some pictures, for your viewing pleasure.
At the Festival for the Eno (look at that boy's legs!)
E-baby and some roses
Buddies
Happy baby
Jambuca's 5-month-day was yesterday! Here are some highlights on him:
*He's rolling (and rolling and rolling) and most of the time when I go in to wake him up, he's on his belly.
*He's getting good at recognizing some cues for things like eating (well, mostly just eating). If I say "Want some milk?" he makes this cute "heh-heh" laugh and cranes his neck as if trying to reach for milk.
*His favorite color seems to be purple. Anytime he sees something dark purple, he gaaaaazes at it, sucks his thumb intently, and then wrangles the thing into his mouth. "Puuuuuurple. Give me the puuuuurple."
*He is really interested in watching people eat. If I eat while I'm holding him, he tries to snake a bite from my fork. Any day now he'll end up with a mouthful of chicken or apple pie. Yes, I will be starting him on cereals on his 1/2-birthday. Not any sooner that that, though, because, well, he is a CHUNKER and doesn't really need to put on more weight.
*He's in size 3 diapers, and Huggies are too tight around his belly. It's the cutest pudge-gut I've ever seen.
*He is easily the happiest baby on the block. He's cheerful most of the time, and really just cries for food and when he's tired. He sleeps like a champ for usually 10-12 hours a night. When he's awake, he's looking for someone to laugh with.
E-baby and Jambuca are so obviously going to be best buds, and she's taken to calling him "little man" which is so funny coming from her. We let her stay up late last night to see 4th of July fireworks. It was her Granny's birthday, too, and she's kind of got Independence Day mixed up with Granny's birthday, resulting in this interpretation of the fireworks show:
"Granny is the angel, and she flies WAY up in the sky to spark the fireworks. She puts the pink one over where the green one is, and moves the green one to where the pink one is. Then we say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! FIREWORKS!"
Here are some pictures, for your viewing pleasure.
At the Festival for the Eno (look at that boy's legs!)
E-baby and some roses
Buddies
Happy baby
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Boring Post-Pardum Weight Loss Post
OK, I am really frustrated with the fact that I weigh a few pounds more now than when I returned to work two months ago. WTF? Isn't nursing supposed to make you LOSE weight? Well, it didn't with e-baby, and it hasn't with Jambuca either. Really, it just makes me hungry and a little bit lethargic. When I was pregnant with jambuca, I said that the best I'd expect is to maintain my weight until he is weaned. But this is ridiculous and I have to do something because darn it, I am almost at SNG's ideal weight (!!!) (No offense, sweetie). So here I am, setting out goals, and setting out plans for achieving them. You are lucky enough to have clicked onto my blog to read about it. I won't be offended if you take a nap.
I realize that putting it in big, overarching terms doesn’t help at all, but so what, here is the big picture:
BIG GOAL:
Lose 15 pounds (putting me at my pre-e-baby pregnancy weight)
BIG PLAN:
Eat less, exercise more (duh)
Now, here are the specifics in bite-size chunks (heh. heh.):
Goal: Lay off the snack foods.
Explanation: e-baby has snacks between (and alongside) meals, and while most of the snack foods are reasonable as toddler snacks go (goldfish crackers, whole grain saltines) most of them are irresistible to me (the crunchy little iced oatmeal cookies, cheese, dried fruit). I don’t mind if she has calorie-dense snack foods, but I shouldn’t be snacking on them, too.
Plan: Buy her snacks that I don’t care to eat. Nutri-Grain bars, for instance, are not my taste at all but she loves them. Trouble is that there aren’t a lot of things like that, unless they’re REALLY unhealthy, like ice cream and gummy bears. And of course I’m not feeding her ice cream and gummy bears for her between-meals snacks.
Plan: Stock up on raw veggies to crunch after work while I make dinner. Stop buying the snack foods that I have trouble resisting (although I like for her to eat dried fruit, so those will have to stay).
Goal: Intake fewer calories overall
Explanation: Duh. I eat too much. Not rocket science.
Plan: I’ve been cooking with butter more than I used to for certain things, particularly leeks. I like the butter because it makes the leeks taste SO good, and olive oil is a poor substitute. I could cut that amount of butter way down and substitute a little olive oil and salt, but bring the total fat down to half.
Plan: Keep a food log (FLOG) of everything I eat. It’s easier to say no to that second biscotti if you have to write it down. Shoot for 1700-2000 C a day, which should be plenty to sustain milk supply for Jambuca.
Goal: Stay hydrated
Explanation: I am often so busy that I forget to drink water. Breastfeeding and dehydration-- a bad combination.
Plan: Fill and drink a 1-qt Nalgene bottle at least twice a day at work. Then it's easier to keep track of whether I'm drinking enough.
Goal: Improve core strength and posture
Explanation: I can carry around 2 children a lot, but my posture is paying for it.
Plan: Do Pilates every evening before bedtime, but do the push-ups and planks in the morning because I’m usually too tired for them in the evenings. Gee, I wonder why?
Goal: Improve cardio fitness
Explanation: I just feel lethargic a lot of the time.
Plan: Walk to work 2-3x a week (already doing this, most weeks). In the summertime, SNG will have to pick us up because it’s usually too hot and BUGGY to walk home (yes, Buggy. The biting flies are ferocious)
Plan: Get in one 1-hr bike ride each weekend (NOT already doing this-- oh, how I miss my bike!). Could take e-baby in the trailer if she wants to go.
Goal: Eat at least 4 superfoods a day. (If you don't know what superfoods are, you can Google it)
Explanation: I can feel that I am in needs of anti-inflammatory foods. My carpal tunnel is as bad as ever.
Plan: Stock up each weekend on enough for the week, and get everything cleaned/cooked/prepared on Sunday.
Examples: Frozen broccoli, fresh leeks, fresh spinach, strawberries, frozen cherries, garlic, sweet potatoes, greens (the farm provides these), zucchini
Goal: Coordinate with SNG so we BOTH get more exercise
Explanation: SNG needs to get more exercise, too. Not that I’m saying he’s fat. But, um, perhaps I have already said too much. Anyway, he wants to bike to work once a week and bike at least once on weekends.
Plan: He should ride on days that I am not walking to work and I should walk on days that he isn’t riding. We can watch the weather and our calendars and plan his bike day in advance. Whatever day I ride on weekends, he will ride the other day. He might tag along on rides with the neighbors. SOON, Jambuca will be big enough for the trailer and we can actually ride together (YAY!).
OK, so that was a boring post. But it's out there, and I'll hopefully continue to feel motivated enough to stick to my plans.
In other news, SNG, e-baby, Jambuca, Dianaverse and I are heading to IKEA in Charlotte tomorrow! Woohoo!
I realize that putting it in big, overarching terms doesn’t help at all, but so what, here is the big picture:
BIG GOAL:
Lose 15 pounds (putting me at my pre-e-baby pregnancy weight)
BIG PLAN:
Eat less, exercise more (duh)
Now, here are the specifics in bite-size chunks (heh. heh.):
Goal: Lay off the snack foods.
Explanation: e-baby has snacks between (and alongside) meals, and while most of the snack foods are reasonable as toddler snacks go (goldfish crackers, whole grain saltines) most of them are irresistible to me (the crunchy little iced oatmeal cookies, cheese, dried fruit). I don’t mind if she has calorie-dense snack foods, but I shouldn’t be snacking on them, too.
Plan: Buy her snacks that I don’t care to eat. Nutri-Grain bars, for instance, are not my taste at all but she loves them. Trouble is that there aren’t a lot of things like that, unless they’re REALLY unhealthy, like ice cream and gummy bears. And of course I’m not feeding her ice cream and gummy bears for her between-meals snacks.
Plan: Stock up on raw veggies to crunch after work while I make dinner. Stop buying the snack foods that I have trouble resisting (although I like for her to eat dried fruit, so those will have to stay).
Goal: Intake fewer calories overall
Explanation: Duh. I eat too much. Not rocket science.
Plan: I’ve been cooking with butter more than I used to for certain things, particularly leeks. I like the butter because it makes the leeks taste SO good, and olive oil is a poor substitute. I could cut that amount of butter way down and substitute a little olive oil and salt, but bring the total fat down to half.
Plan: Keep a food log (FLOG) of everything I eat. It’s easier to say no to that second biscotti if you have to write it down. Shoot for 1700-2000 C a day, which should be plenty to sustain milk supply for Jambuca.
Goal: Stay hydrated
Explanation: I am often so busy that I forget to drink water. Breastfeeding and dehydration-- a bad combination.
Plan: Fill and drink a 1-qt Nalgene bottle at least twice a day at work. Then it's easier to keep track of whether I'm drinking enough.
Goal: Improve core strength and posture
Explanation: I can carry around 2 children a lot, but my posture is paying for it.
Plan: Do Pilates every evening before bedtime, but do the push-ups and planks in the morning because I’m usually too tired for them in the evenings. Gee, I wonder why?
Goal: Improve cardio fitness
Explanation: I just feel lethargic a lot of the time.
Plan: Walk to work 2-3x a week (already doing this, most weeks). In the summertime, SNG will have to pick us up because it’s usually too hot and BUGGY to walk home (yes, Buggy. The biting flies are ferocious)
Plan: Get in one 1-hr bike ride each weekend (NOT already doing this-- oh, how I miss my bike!). Could take e-baby in the trailer if she wants to go.
Goal: Eat at least 4 superfoods a day. (If you don't know what superfoods are, you can Google it)
Explanation: I can feel that I am in needs of anti-inflammatory foods. My carpal tunnel is as bad as ever.
Plan: Stock up each weekend on enough for the week, and get everything cleaned/cooked/prepared on Sunday.
Examples: Frozen broccoli, fresh leeks, fresh spinach, strawberries, frozen cherries, garlic, sweet potatoes, greens (the farm provides these), zucchini
Goal: Coordinate with SNG so we BOTH get more exercise
Explanation: SNG needs to get more exercise, too. Not that I’m saying he’s fat. But, um, perhaps I have already said too much. Anyway, he wants to bike to work once a week and bike at least once on weekends.
Plan: He should ride on days that I am not walking to work and I should walk on days that he isn’t riding. We can watch the weather and our calendars and plan his bike day in advance. Whatever day I ride on weekends, he will ride the other day. He might tag along on rides with the neighbors. SOON, Jambuca will be big enough for the trailer and we can actually ride together (YAY!).
OK, so that was a boring post. But it's out there, and I'll hopefully continue to feel motivated enough to stick to my plans.
In other news, SNG, e-baby, Jambuca, Dianaverse and I are heading to IKEA in Charlotte tomorrow! Woohoo!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
It's an ABBA Kind of Day
This is a belated video birthday card for my mom, but everyone else can enjoy it, too.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Post-Partum Hair Club
One of the few perks of pregnancy is that, for many of us, your hairs stop falling out of your head. So there you are, fat and tired, but with fabulous, thick hair. For me, my legs also got super freckly, but the freckles go away after a few months (which is really weird when it happens).
And just like the proverbial free lunch, the hair is temporary. I've estimated before the amount of extra hair. Figure a person loses ~100 hairs a day. In pregnancy, say you lose (conservatively) half that. Forty weeks of gestation and that's in the neighborhood of 14,000 extra hairs waiting to take the leap. When the kid is 3 mo old or so, BOING! Hairs everywhere. And now you've still got the normal 100 a day popping off. Over a few months' time, the house, the car interior, and the office become abstract hair sculpture.
SNG won't store his hairbrush in the same drawer with mine. Because the hairs leap onto his brush. I just thought someone might want to know that.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Pictures!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Party, Party Weekend
It's no wonder both children behaved like orcs this morning: that was one seriously busy weekend. It was also seriously fun, so the orciness was worth it.
Friday night we went to see and play and dance along with my friend as he played blues guitar followed by the Raleigh Drum Circle's monthly Rhythmicity. Both my frind and the RDC are celebrities to e-baby now, and she was over-the-moon when she was allowed to play the guitar afterwards.
Saturday morning we went to see Elmo live in concert (do not laugh, I can throw you for distance and will not hesitate to do so). The four of us went with PIC, LeBon, and c-baby. E-baby loved it, c-baby liked it, Jambuca thought it was a bunch of noise for no good reason, and the rest of us thought it was a little too long and way too expensive. Still, I'm glad to have had the experience. I saw at least 3 other mothers I know there with kids e-baby's age, so I felt a little better knowing I wasn't the only one with SesameStreetSucker written on my forehead. I agree with PIC that the most fun part was having lunch together afterwards.
Sunday afternoon was our Joan of Arc day bonfire, also known as the semi-annual burn-stuff-in-our-backyard party. That was super duper extra fun. I would love to throw a party every single weekend, if I could be sure someone would actually come to it. Maybe SNG and I should open a nightclub when we retire. A nightclub with a firepit.
I forgot to take pictures at any events this weekend, but I do have some awesome shots of e-baby and Jambuca doing what they do best that I'll upload to Flickr soon.
Next Friday and Saturday we'll be picking blueberries for the first official weekend of blueberry season, and Sunday we'll be eating blueberry pie, blueberry cobbler, blueberry muffins, blueberry bread, blueberry jam, blueberry pancakes,...If you're hungry, you know I love guests!
Friday night we went to see and play and dance along with my friend as he played blues guitar followed by the Raleigh Drum Circle's monthly Rhythmicity. Both my frind and the RDC are celebrities to e-baby now, and she was over-the-moon when she was allowed to play the guitar afterwards.
Saturday morning we went to see Elmo live in concert (do not laugh, I can throw you for distance and will not hesitate to do so). The four of us went with PIC, LeBon, and c-baby. E-baby loved it, c-baby liked it, Jambuca thought it was a bunch of noise for no good reason, and the rest of us thought it was a little too long and way too expensive. Still, I'm glad to have had the experience. I saw at least 3 other mothers I know there with kids e-baby's age, so I felt a little better knowing I wasn't the only one with SesameStreetSucker written on my forehead. I agree with PIC that the most fun part was having lunch together afterwards.
Sunday afternoon was our Joan of Arc day bonfire, also known as the semi-annual burn-stuff-in-our-backyard party. That was super duper extra fun. I would love to throw a party every single weekend, if I could be sure someone would actually come to it. Maybe SNG and I should open a nightclub when we retire. A nightclub with a firepit.
I forgot to take pictures at any events this weekend, but I do have some awesome shots of e-baby and Jambuca doing what they do best that I'll upload to Flickr soon.
Next Friday and Saturday we'll be picking blueberries for the first official weekend of blueberry season, and Sunday we'll be eating blueberry pie, blueberry cobbler, blueberry muffins, blueberry bread, blueberry jam, blueberry pancakes,...If you're hungry, you know I love guests!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Like A Kick to the Chest
I just realized that I have been back at work for the same amount of time as I was out of work on maternity leave! Wha?! It feels like I'm still unpacking into my office. People are still asking "Are you back at work ALREADY?"
In the scheme of things, three and a half months really isn't a very long time, but it's a lifetime in baby years. When every day sees new developments, and every interaction seems significant, and multiply that by two kids, time goes on the log scale all of a sudden.
In the scheme of things, three and a half months really isn't a very long time, but it's a lifetime in baby years. When every day sees new developments, and every interaction seems significant, and multiply that by two kids, time goes on the log scale all of a sudden.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Nearly Perfect Day
This morning, SNG & I slept until 7:15, the kids slept until 8, and we cleaned up the house really well. Then we cleared out the pine straw from the last section of our garden and repotted the last of the seedlings. We also installed our new silly frog-playing-a-horn fountain.
At lunch, SNG took the truck to get 2 trellises and 17 bags of pretty pea-gravel, while I took the kids to Sonic (our Sonic won't let you keep the tray on your window. WTF?). E-baby loves their grilled cheese. I like having the children in a confined space where they can't hurt themselves or each other. Jambuca likes to be fed in the car. Everyone's happy.
After lunch, it rained like mad, so the kids & I watched SNG shovel pea gravel into the just-cleared section of the garden, now known as the zen garden. We put in all the plantings & the trellises, the weather cleared up, and the yard was a glorious spectacle of red, yellow, purple, orange, white, pink, and green. Later in the afternoon, our cul-de-sac hosted a big neighborhood street party, and e-baby 'sold' every single flower from our garden to the other neighborhood kids when she set up a florist shop behind the gardenia bush. I heard her charging anything from forty cents to 200 dollars. Our garden is just green now, but that's ok. What's the point of flowers if nobody's going to enjoy them? Jambuca was passed from neighbor to neighbor all evening until he was pooped from all the attention. I know I've said how much I love it here, but I'll say it again- I love our neighbors.
Both kids went to bed without any argument and now I will, too. Good night!
At lunch, SNG took the truck to get 2 trellises and 17 bags of pretty pea-gravel, while I took the kids to Sonic (our Sonic won't let you keep the tray on your window. WTF?). E-baby loves their grilled cheese. I like having the children in a confined space where they can't hurt themselves or each other. Jambuca likes to be fed in the car. Everyone's happy.
After lunch, it rained like mad, so the kids & I watched SNG shovel pea gravel into the just-cleared section of the garden, now known as the zen garden. We put in all the plantings & the trellises, the weather cleared up, and the yard was a glorious spectacle of red, yellow, purple, orange, white, pink, and green. Later in the afternoon, our cul-de-sac hosted a big neighborhood street party, and e-baby 'sold' every single flower from our garden to the other neighborhood kids when she set up a florist shop behind the gardenia bush. I heard her charging anything from forty cents to 200 dollars. Our garden is just green now, but that's ok. What's the point of flowers if nobody's going to enjoy them? Jambuca was passed from neighbor to neighbor all evening until he was pooped from all the attention. I know I've said how much I love it here, but I'll say it again- I love our neighbors.
Both kids went to bed without any argument and now I will, too. Good night!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Learning about Laryngitis
I caught a cold last week and lost my voice (again!!), which was bad timing because I also had to teach all this week. Luckily, my co-instructor could cover for me when I couldn't go on for all the coughing. Oh, and extra bad timing because Thursday night I was scheduled to give the speech at the Teacher's Appreciation Dinner for e-baby and Jambuca's daycare.
So yesterday, desperate to get my pipes back, I did some Googling on laryngitis. From all the reputable websites I read, I learned that it's a really, really bad idea to whisper through laryngitis. You're better off either croaking (if you can) or writing things down. Or, presumably, signing, but if you're the only one in the room who knows a little ASL, it may as well be Mandarin. I was really surprised to read that whispering is as hard on the larynx as shouting. It doesn't feel that way to me. But I tried not whispering at all yesterday, and whaddaya know, I am starting to sound better today. Ordinarily, I'd have another day or 2 without a voice.
I croaked through the teachers' speech, everyone laughed at the right times and smiled at the right times, although I suspect that everyone really just wanted me to shut up so they could dig into their dinners. Still, it was fun.
I still have to teach all the next 2 weeks, so hopefully this voice thing will be completely healed by Monday. This weekend we're going to a birthday party, trying to get a visit with my aunt, uncle and cousins who are in town, and experimenting with pre-cooked frozen breakfast sandwiches. As in, making them from scratch, freezing them, and having quick, easy breakfasts all week. Has anyone ever tried to freeze cheese or scrambled eggs? Any advice before I ruin a bag of groceries?
So yesterday, desperate to get my pipes back, I did some Googling on laryngitis. From all the reputable websites I read, I learned that it's a really, really bad idea to whisper through laryngitis. You're better off either croaking (if you can) or writing things down. Or, presumably, signing, but if you're the only one in the room who knows a little ASL, it may as well be Mandarin. I was really surprised to read that whispering is as hard on the larynx as shouting. It doesn't feel that way to me. But I tried not whispering at all yesterday, and whaddaya know, I am starting to sound better today. Ordinarily, I'd have another day or 2 without a voice.
I croaked through the teachers' speech, everyone laughed at the right times and smiled at the right times, although I suspect that everyone really just wanted me to shut up so they could dig into their dinners. Still, it was fun.
I still have to teach all the next 2 weeks, so hopefully this voice thing will be completely healed by Monday. This weekend we're going to a birthday party, trying to get a visit with my aunt, uncle and cousins who are in town, and experimenting with pre-cooked frozen breakfast sandwiches. As in, making them from scratch, freezing them, and having quick, easy breakfasts all week. Has anyone ever tried to freeze cheese or scrambled eggs? Any advice before I ruin a bag of groceries?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)