My brother and I were talking the other day and he told me that, during a recent exercise in long-term life planning, he realized that he would turn 40. Let me just tell you that my brother is 28 years old, so he isn't turning 40 soon, but someday. And it hadn't occurred to him before that moment that someday, in a way he can imagine and almost put his finger on, he will turn 40.
I know how he feels.
Let me first say that 40 isn't old. Not by a long shot. No, 80 is old, 90 is old. Forty is somewhere in the middle, but it is older. It is settled and career and mortgage and gradeschoolers. Your 20s are for questioning things, making mistakes, trying new ideas, and setting things up for later. Your 30s are for attending to those mistakes (um, debt, hello!) and seeing some of those earlier plans through...maybe getting married, maybe having a kid, maybe progressing in a career. At least that is what I think the next decade holds for me. OK, so I have the husband and kid already, but we are just getting started. We are just creating our family and figuring out what being a family is. The next decade will solidify all that, make it easier (I hope), and make it better.
But 40...what the hell are your 40s for? I can't even think that far ahead. Maybe they are for enjoying all the hard work that got you to where you are. Maybe they are for getting back to some of the things you gave up in your quest to progress. Maybe they are for knowing who you are and what you want and how to get it. That doesn't seem so bad at all. (Or maybe every decade is the same...now that would suck.)
I am 30, and soon my brother will be 30, and then soon enough we'll both be 40. That is OK. I don't dislike aging. In fact, it is really nice to know that this year is over, the next year is starting, and it holds lots of new and exciting opportunities. We're not getting old, we're getting older. I like getting older. I am kind of a crazy old lady deep down anyway, so why not ring in the new year with that attitude! I will still hate this so-called rock-and-roll the radio insists on playing, I will still go to bed at 9:30pm, and I will still throw rusty cans at the kids who won't get OFF MY LAWN. (Alright, so I made that last one up.)
Happy new year to everyone. May the next year, and all the years after that, be better and brighter than the one before.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas day...
Evelyn and her cousin, A. A is only one month older than Evelyn. They are about the same height, but Evelyn is much...what's the word...more substantial than A.
Down with Sophie is cousin H, age 3. Evelyn was totally smitten with her. She followed H around the house. H was totally smitten with the dogs.
This final picture is of Evelyn, in her cute new Christmas pajamas, opening her favorite gift of the morning--a play purse. She loved that thing. Also the cow puppet, singing phone with buttons, and animal farm.We had a great Christmas. Much less stressful than last year. It was nice to stay home, sleep in our own beds, and not drive anywhere!
I'm pretty sure Evelyn grew over the Christmas weekend. She can now get up on the couch by herself, climb up on the kitchen chairs by herself, and pull the oven door open with ease. ALL TROUBLE. Curses. It's only a matter of time before I walk into the kitchen and find her standing on top of the table, or the kitchen counters, or the stove. Hopefully not the refrigerator... (Jacob, I'm looking at you!)
Happy new year to everyone!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Traditiooooooon...tradition!
This post asks the question, what are your Christmas traditions? (It also over-uses the parenthesis.)
The first Chritmas Jon and I spent together as a married couple, we were in Japan. That wasn't conducive to starting a new tradition (although it would be awesome to go to Japan every Christmas!) and so we put things off a year. The next year we had a little baby (yay!) and we started to adopt the traditions of our two families into one.
We have pink-and-white sandwiches on Christmas Eve (the white is chicken, the pink...bologna), watch a Muppets Christmas Carol (because it is the only holiday movie I like), and then go to bed early (um, because we do that every night). On Christmas morning we open presents and eat pancakes (pancakes!) and then prepare for dinner. Nothing too complicated.
This year we are instituting Holiday Tradition #4: New pajamas on Christmas Eve. Mostly because Evelyn needs new PJs, but also because new PJs are fun. Hooray! Perhaps without knowing it I have also created Holiday Tradition #5: Make a crappy home-made holiday ornament using glitter. (Last year I tried my hand at Martha Stewart's beautiful cinnamon dough birds. They instead turned into stars covered in green glitter. This year I tried my hand at salt dough ornaments. They aren't as bad as the cinnamon stars, but I won't be sending any photos in to Home Beautiful, let's just say that.)
I realized for the first time last year how much more fun Christmas is with a baby around. Evelyn wasn't even old enough to open her presents, or to appreciate gifts, or to understand that this new thing was for her. She didn't know the reason we celebrate Christmas, or that it even was a holiday. But it was still a lot more fun with her around. I imagine that will be even more true this year.
Especially since she'll be wearing her awesome new PJs...
The first Chritmas Jon and I spent together as a married couple, we were in Japan. That wasn't conducive to starting a new tradition (although it would be awesome to go to Japan every Christmas!) and so we put things off a year. The next year we had a little baby (yay!) and we started to adopt the traditions of our two families into one.
We have pink-and-white sandwiches on Christmas Eve (the white is chicken, the pink...bologna), watch a Muppets Christmas Carol (because it is the only holiday movie I like), and then go to bed early (um, because we do that every night). On Christmas morning we open presents and eat pancakes (pancakes!) and then prepare for dinner. Nothing too complicated.
This year we are instituting Holiday Tradition #4: New pajamas on Christmas Eve. Mostly because Evelyn needs new PJs, but also because new PJs are fun. Hooray! Perhaps without knowing it I have also created Holiday Tradition #5: Make a crappy home-made holiday ornament using glitter. (Last year I tried my hand at Martha Stewart's beautiful cinnamon dough birds. They instead turned into stars covered in green glitter. This year I tried my hand at salt dough ornaments. They aren't as bad as the cinnamon stars, but I won't be sending any photos in to Home Beautiful, let's just say that.)
I realized for the first time last year how much more fun Christmas is with a baby around. Evelyn wasn't even old enough to open her presents, or to appreciate gifts, or to understand that this new thing was for her. She didn't know the reason we celebrate Christmas, or that it even was a holiday. But it was still a lot more fun with her around. I imagine that will be even more true this year.
Especially since she'll be wearing her awesome new PJs...
Friday, December 18, 2009
Anonymous
Twice now, an anonymous person has posted a comment to one of my 2007 blog posts. The comment was made on the same post, and included the same language both times:
Excuse me, where may I buy a unicorn?...
I wonder who this person is. I wonder why this person wants a unicorn. I wonder why this person think I could help them find a unicorn, why he or she (but, come on, it's a she) believes in unicorns at all. I wonder if this is some really offensive comment and I'm just not hip enough to know. (Oh, if it is and you are hip enough to know what it means, I apologize.)
It is the weirdest anonymous comment I've received. Twice.
The only other anonymous comment I've received was a a very angry (teenage?) girl, upset that I was making fun of the New Kids On The Block reunion tour and new song. I guess she thought my assessment that it was TERRIBLE was not only wrong, but offensive and stupid and I should be put in my place via anonymous blog comment. I laughed and then wondered how she found my little blog post. I think she must have Googled NKOTB and searched 27 pages into the results to find my post and get really upset about it.
Ah, internet. You are a mystery.
Excuse me, where may I buy a unicorn?...
I wonder who this person is. I wonder why this person wants a unicorn. I wonder why this person think I could help them find a unicorn, why he or she (but, come on, it's a she) believes in unicorns at all. I wonder if this is some really offensive comment and I'm just not hip enough to know. (Oh, if it is and you are hip enough to know what it means, I apologize.)
It is the weirdest anonymous comment I've received. Twice.
The only other anonymous comment I've received was a a very angry (teenage?) girl, upset that I was making fun of the New Kids On The Block reunion tour and new song. I guess she thought my assessment that it was TERRIBLE was not only wrong, but offensive and stupid and I should be put in my place via anonymous blog comment. I laughed and then wondered how she found my little blog post. I think she must have Googled NKOTB and searched 27 pages into the results to find my post and get really upset about it.
Ah, internet. You are a mystery.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Little girls
Our little girl is becoming, well, a little girl. She is getting a personality and a sense of humor, likes and dislike, favorite things and favorite people. I think I posted recently about Evelyn's newfound love of her blanket. She takes it everywhere. I know it is a developmental thing, and it will likely turn into a headache at some point, but it makes me so happy to see her so happy with something that is all hers. She loves it, and that is wonderful.
I also learn every day how much she knows. I really don't give Evelyn enough credit for how much her little brain is absorbing. She can't speak yet, but she knows the names of a lot of things. Ask her to go get her shoes, and she will. Ask her to give up her pacifier, and she will (or make a game of NOT giving it to you). She knows the name of the dogs and I think she can say Tucker (tukatukatukatuka). Ask her to point at various objects and she will. It blows my mind how much she knows. Even things I've never heard said around her. The other day Jon asked Evelyn to point at the bee in her book, and she did! Now, maybe Jon always asks her to point at the bee, but I've never heard them talk about it before and it's not like the dogs and sheep and cows that she fawns over in most of her books. But she knew what a bee was! Awesome.
As for sense of humor, Evelyn is developing a real goofy side. There is a farmer in one of her books, and I don't know what is so funny about it, but everytime we get to that page she points at it, and as soon as you say, "yes, that is a farmer," she gets a huge grin and giggles. She thinks it is hilarious to play keep-away games, and the other night Jon was wearing dress shoes and Evelyn would walk up to them, touch the toes and then run off laughing. I don't know why it is funny, but Evelyn does, and she makes herself laugh. Much like her mother.
Amidst all this fun, Evelyn is also throwing larger and more frequent tantrums. Don't get me wrong, they are still small and infrequent, but they are there. In Costco last night she got REALLY upset when her little sample of tortilla-crusted tilapia was all gone. And cartoons...lord almighty, she loves this one set of cartoon shorts from 1946. Thankfully they are actually pretty good. Great music, interesting animation. Her favorite is Peter and the Wolf, with The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met a close runner up. My favorite in her group of favorites is "All The Cats Join In." It's a jazz interlude...
So we are trying to limit the cartoon watching, doing a little before her morning nap and before bed, but sometimes she gets so mad! She'll whine and moan at the TV, making her scary wolf face, trying to grab any remote control to turn the TV on. She just loves those shorts!
Anyway, it is so fun to watch her grow up. I wonder what she'll be like when she is 6 or 16. But for now I am trying to enjoy these little things before she is all grown up. It will be here too soon.
I also learn every day how much she knows. I really don't give Evelyn enough credit for how much her little brain is absorbing. She can't speak yet, but she knows the names of a lot of things. Ask her to go get her shoes, and she will. Ask her to give up her pacifier, and she will (or make a game of NOT giving it to you). She knows the name of the dogs and I think she can say Tucker (tukatukatukatuka). Ask her to point at various objects and she will. It blows my mind how much she knows. Even things I've never heard said around her. The other day Jon asked Evelyn to point at the bee in her book, and she did! Now, maybe Jon always asks her to point at the bee, but I've never heard them talk about it before and it's not like the dogs and sheep and cows that she fawns over in most of her books. But she knew what a bee was! Awesome.
As for sense of humor, Evelyn is developing a real goofy side. There is a farmer in one of her books, and I don't know what is so funny about it, but everytime we get to that page she points at it, and as soon as you say, "yes, that is a farmer," she gets a huge grin and giggles. She thinks it is hilarious to play keep-away games, and the other night Jon was wearing dress shoes and Evelyn would walk up to them, touch the toes and then run off laughing. I don't know why it is funny, but Evelyn does, and she makes herself laugh. Much like her mother.
Amidst all this fun, Evelyn is also throwing larger and more frequent tantrums. Don't get me wrong, they are still small and infrequent, but they are there. In Costco last night she got REALLY upset when her little sample of tortilla-crusted tilapia was all gone. And cartoons...lord almighty, she loves this one set of cartoon shorts from 1946. Thankfully they are actually pretty good. Great music, interesting animation. Her favorite is Peter and the Wolf, with The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met a close runner up. My favorite in her group of favorites is "All The Cats Join In." It's a jazz interlude...
So we are trying to limit the cartoon watching, doing a little before her morning nap and before bed, but sometimes she gets so mad! She'll whine and moan at the TV, making her scary wolf face, trying to grab any remote control to turn the TV on. She just loves those shorts!
Anyway, it is so fun to watch her grow up. I wonder what she'll be like when she is 6 or 16. But for now I am trying to enjoy these little things before she is all grown up. It will be here too soon.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Dinner guests and an insane asylum
The incident of the Devil's Eggs. No, not deviled eggs, but the devil's eggs, because that is what they were. Let me back up...
Over Thanksgiving weekend, Jon and I decided it would be lots of fun to throw a holiday dinner party. We invited 11 people, 6 were able to attend (and thank goodness for that because we don't have enough silverware for 11 extra people). Anyway, the party was on. We had one vegetarian guests so we planned our menu accordingly.
As the day drew closer I got increasingly crazy. CRAZY, I tell you. Crazy. I have, um, issues when people come over to the house. I worry that no one will show up. I worry that the house isn't clean enough. I worry that the food won't be good or won't be done in time or won't...whatever. It doesn't matter. I more than once uttered the phrase, "I hate everything! Let's cancel the party!" Thankfully, Jon is much more level-headed.
We had originally wanted to make endive BLT bites for an appetizer. As we thought more on it we decided it was a bit too complicated and so we changed our menu to include deviled eggs. Delicious. Classic. Retro. Yum! I make great deviled eggs. Seriously. So I figured it would be a pretty easy appetizer to whip up. The first batch was cooked up on Saturday and put in the refrigerator until Sunday morning. We tried peeling the eggs but they would not peel. Not at all. It was bad. So I made a second batch and tried to peel them while they were warm, but it was still really hard. I don't know what the problem was! Of the TWENTY eggs I cooked, 8 turned out OK. So I split them in half, put the yolks in a separate bowl, and put everything in the refrigerator while I worked on something else. Alas, when I pulled the eggs out of the fridge, they were frozen!! Ugh. The incident of the devil's eggs.
(This will go down in legend alongside the Spite Potatoes, but that is another story.)
****
After all the madness and worry, our little dinner party went off without a hitch. Mixing old friends and new, we had great conversation and lots of laughs. There were no deviled eggs, but the roasted potatoes with sour cream, and cheese with salami and crackers were more than enough as appetizers. We made duck-and-chicken pot pies (and one vegetarian pot pie!), roasted asparagus, tossed salad and homemade challah (it is Hanukkah, after all). Red velvet cupcakes rounded out the meal.
I hope everyone had a good time. I told Jon after everyone had left that I hoped the next time we have guests over I wouldn't get so crazy. Then we both laughed, because that will never happen. I will always get crazy.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, Jon and I decided it would be lots of fun to throw a holiday dinner party. We invited 11 people, 6 were able to attend (and thank goodness for that because we don't have enough silverware for 11 extra people). Anyway, the party was on. We had one vegetarian guests so we planned our menu accordingly.
As the day drew closer I got increasingly crazy. CRAZY, I tell you. Crazy. I have, um, issues when people come over to the house. I worry that no one will show up. I worry that the house isn't clean enough. I worry that the food won't be good or won't be done in time or won't...whatever. It doesn't matter. I more than once uttered the phrase, "I hate everything! Let's cancel the party!" Thankfully, Jon is much more level-headed.
We had originally wanted to make endive BLT bites for an appetizer. As we thought more on it we decided it was a bit too complicated and so we changed our menu to include deviled eggs. Delicious. Classic. Retro. Yum! I make great deviled eggs. Seriously. So I figured it would be a pretty easy appetizer to whip up. The first batch was cooked up on Saturday and put in the refrigerator until Sunday morning. We tried peeling the eggs but they would not peel. Not at all. It was bad. So I made a second batch and tried to peel them while they were warm, but it was still really hard. I don't know what the problem was! Of the TWENTY eggs I cooked, 8 turned out OK. So I split them in half, put the yolks in a separate bowl, and put everything in the refrigerator while I worked on something else. Alas, when I pulled the eggs out of the fridge, they were frozen!! Ugh. The incident of the devil's eggs.
(This will go down in legend alongside the Spite Potatoes, but that is another story.)
****
After all the madness and worry, our little dinner party went off without a hitch. Mixing old friends and new, we had great conversation and lots of laughs. There were no deviled eggs, but the roasted potatoes with sour cream, and cheese with salami and crackers were more than enough as appetizers. We made duck-and-chicken pot pies (and one vegetarian pot pie!), roasted asparagus, tossed salad and homemade challah (it is Hanukkah, after all). Red velvet cupcakes rounded out the meal.
I hope everyone had a good time. I told Jon after everyone had left that I hoped the next time we have guests over I wouldn't get so crazy. Then we both laughed, because that will never happen. I will always get crazy.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Babysitting
Jon and I have decided that we need a date night. Not just a one-time thing, but a weekly or semi-monthly thing. Getting out of the house, going to dinner later than 5 o'clock, not worrying about who brought the sippy cup and if Evelyn is going to sit still long enough to wolf down a cheap dinner. No, we want slow meals, movies, browsing at bookstores, quiet, stillness. We want--nay, we need--some alone time. Away from the house, away from the TV, away from the clutter and mess. Alone.
To that end, we are interviewing and hiring a regular babysitter. Ack! The horror! Leaving our little baby angel with a stranger! But I think it will be OK. We're trying to hire someone with a lot of experience, background checks, reference. We're hiring an adult, not a teenager, and we're interviewing her in advance. I wish we had some friends in our area that have kids so we could do a babysitting swap, or get recommendations on a babysitter. Alas, we do not, and so we turn outward.
I remember babysitting as a young teenager. Twelve...13...(wow, that seems so young). I remember hating it but doing it because, I don't know, because that was the thing to do! I earned like $5 an hour and it seemed pretty sweet. Maybe "hate" is a strong word, but I just wasn't into it. I never liked other people's kids (still don't, really), and I would put them to bed really early so I could watch TV or finish homework. And so, even though I was an incredibly responsible teenager and never did anything BAD while babysitting, I wasn't really on-the-ball, either.
I don't want that kind of person taking care of Evelyn. Maybe if she were older, or...no, who am I kidding? I doubt I'll ever feel comfortable leaving her with a young teenager.
Anyhoo...I am rambling. Probably because this whole idea of leaving my most precious and sweet little baby with a crazy stranger off the street is a jarring idea. Even if she isn't a stranger off the street. And even if she is very qualified, has a clean background check, has glowing references, and works in childcare for her 9-5 job. Even if all those things are true, she still is a stranger. A STRANGER. In my house, with my child.
Now that idea of a nanny cam doesn't seem so ridiculous...
To that end, we are interviewing and hiring a regular babysitter. Ack! The horror! Leaving our little baby angel with a stranger! But I think it will be OK. We're trying to hire someone with a lot of experience, background checks, reference. We're hiring an adult, not a teenager, and we're interviewing her in advance. I wish we had some friends in our area that have kids so we could do a babysitting swap, or get recommendations on a babysitter. Alas, we do not, and so we turn outward.
I remember babysitting as a young teenager. Twelve...13...(wow, that seems so young). I remember hating it but doing it because, I don't know, because that was the thing to do! I earned like $5 an hour and it seemed pretty sweet. Maybe "hate" is a strong word, but I just wasn't into it. I never liked other people's kids (still don't, really), and I would put them to bed really early so I could watch TV or finish homework. And so, even though I was an incredibly responsible teenager and never did anything BAD while babysitting, I wasn't really on-the-ball, either.
I don't want that kind of person taking care of Evelyn. Maybe if she were older, or...no, who am I kidding? I doubt I'll ever feel comfortable leaving her with a young teenager.
Anyhoo...I am rambling. Probably because this whole idea of leaving my most precious and sweet little baby with a crazy stranger off the street is a jarring idea. Even if she isn't a stranger off the street. And even if she is very qualified, has a clean background check, has glowing references, and works in childcare for her 9-5 job. Even if all those things are true, she still is a stranger. A STRANGER. In my house, with my child.
Now that idea of a nanny cam doesn't seem so ridiculous...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Race car bed!
I have a problem. A big one.
You see, the problem is that my husband is the EASIEST MAN IN THE WORLD to shop for. Maybe the easiest person in the world to shop for. The entire world. That little kid in Germany who loves race cars and all he wants in the whole wide world is a race car bed and race car books and race car sheets and race car clothes? He's got nothing on Jon.
Jon, as you may know, has a lot of little things that he loves--like tattooing or photography or great shoes or cashmere cardigans--and all of these little things are easy to buy. The question is never, "what should I get Jon for Christmas?" No, the question is, "what of the 100,000 things that Jon would like should I get for him now, and when should I stop coming up with really awesome ideas that trump the previous awesome idea so I don't go overboard." Alas, I have gone overboard.
Other people are harder to shop for, so I put it off and dawdle and try to come up with really great ideas for them, but my mind always circles back to really great ideas for Jon! It's a curse!
So I'm still stumped by my sisters (they are 4 and 8...I have no good ideas. Think they want a camera bag or a book of tattoo flash?) and my nieces (age 1 and 3...again with the little girls!). If you have a child in this age range, feel free to send ideas.
You see, the problem is that my husband is the EASIEST MAN IN THE WORLD to shop for. Maybe the easiest person in the world to shop for. The entire world. That little kid in Germany who loves race cars and all he wants in the whole wide world is a race car bed and race car books and race car sheets and race car clothes? He's got nothing on Jon.
Jon, as you may know, has a lot of little things that he loves--like tattooing or photography or great shoes or cashmere cardigans--and all of these little things are easy to buy. The question is never, "what should I get Jon for Christmas?" No, the question is, "what of the 100,000 things that Jon would like should I get for him now, and when should I stop coming up with really awesome ideas that trump the previous awesome idea so I don't go overboard." Alas, I have gone overboard.
Other people are harder to shop for, so I put it off and dawdle and try to come up with really great ideas for them, but my mind always circles back to really great ideas for Jon! It's a curse!
So I'm still stumped by my sisters (they are 4 and 8...I have no good ideas. Think they want a camera bag or a book of tattoo flash?) and my nieces (age 1 and 3...again with the little girls!). If you have a child in this age range, feel free to send ideas.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Guess who is going through a growth spurt?
Evelyn!
At 15 months old, she is 25 pounds, 3 ounces (the 83rd percentile). This is down, percentile-wise, from her 12-month weight. I think she was like 93rd percentile then. But...
She is 33 inches tall! That is the 98th percentile for height. In fact, she is the size of an average 22-month-old. The height percentile went up from her last appointment (from 95 to 98, I think). Anyway, she is big. Huge. Tall. Awesome.
In all ways, she is healthy, happy, and developing right on track.
Everytime we have an appointment at the pedicatirican, we get these percentiles and heights and weights, I wonder what Evelyn will be like when she stops growing. Will she stop when she is 10? 12? 18? Will she be like her Aunt Claire, a six-foot-tall beauty? Or like her mother, a slightly taller-than-average woman? (I guess, technically, I am more than "slightly" taller than average. What is average anyway? 5'4" for an American woman, right? I guess I'm the height of an average American man instead.) It is so fun to watch Evelyn grow, to wonder about the future, to make predictions and know they will be totally wrong. (Like the blue eyes...the blue eyes were in NONE of our pre-birth "what will she look like" predictions.)
The pediatrician said we are getting into some prime "terrible twos" time now, which is just plain mean since she won't be two years old for a really long time! He said 15-24 months is really hard, with tantrums and pushing boundaries and clinginess and center-of-attention-having and molars coming in and crankiness. I can attest to all those things starting to happen. I'm just sad to learn this is the tip of the sucky iceberg!
But parenthood never ends, it just changes. Bring it on!
At 15 months old, she is 25 pounds, 3 ounces (the 83rd percentile). This is down, percentile-wise, from her 12-month weight. I think she was like 93rd percentile then. But...
She is 33 inches tall! That is the 98th percentile for height. In fact, she is the size of an average 22-month-old. The height percentile went up from her last appointment (from 95 to 98, I think). Anyway, she is big. Huge. Tall. Awesome.
In all ways, she is healthy, happy, and developing right on track.
Everytime we have an appointment at the pedicatirican, we get these percentiles and heights and weights, I wonder what Evelyn will be like when she stops growing. Will she stop when she is 10? 12? 18? Will she be like her Aunt Claire, a six-foot-tall beauty? Or like her mother, a slightly taller-than-average woman? (I guess, technically, I am more than "slightly" taller than average. What is average anyway? 5'4" for an American woman, right? I guess I'm the height of an average American man instead.) It is so fun to watch Evelyn grow, to wonder about the future, to make predictions and know they will be totally wrong. (Like the blue eyes...the blue eyes were in NONE of our pre-birth "what will she look like" predictions.)
The pediatrician said we are getting into some prime "terrible twos" time now, which is just plain mean since she won't be two years old for a really long time! He said 15-24 months is really hard, with tantrums and pushing boundaries and clinginess and center-of-attention-having and molars coming in and crankiness. I can attest to all those things starting to happen. I'm just sad to learn this is the tip of the sucky iceberg!
But parenthood never ends, it just changes. Bring it on!
Indoor blues
It's that time of year. Cold. Wind. Snow. Aching ear canals and nipped fingers. What is a parent to do?
Evelyn loves being outside. She will bundle up to a certain degree (usually pushing her hat off, but that is another story), and play in the snow or walk around the recently-plowed sidewalks until Jon or I make her go inside. That is like 15 minutes outside, though, and she would really rather be out-of-doors for big parts of the day. She is happier outside, sleeps better after she's played outside, and generally behaves better. Not to mention when she is outside, she doesn't ask to watch any dog shows or singing cow cartoons.
Thankfully, Colorado only has a few really bitter cold snaps each winter, and the snow is almost always followed by a lot of sun, but it is still hard to get outside this time of year. So what are some good activities for toddlers to burn off that energy when they can't really play outside?
Evelyn loves being outside. She will bundle up to a certain degree (usually pushing her hat off, but that is another story), and play in the snow or walk around the recently-plowed sidewalks until Jon or I make her go inside. That is like 15 minutes outside, though, and she would really rather be out-of-doors for big parts of the day. She is happier outside, sleeps better after she's played outside, and generally behaves better. Not to mention when she is outside, she doesn't ask to watch any dog shows or singing cow cartoons.
Thankfully, Colorado only has a few really bitter cold snaps each winter, and the snow is almost always followed by a lot of sun, but it is still hard to get outside this time of year. So what are some good activities for toddlers to burn off that energy when they can't really play outside?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Blanket = sleep
Oh, my darling daughter. Isn't she fabulously adorable? Yes. And she is also enjoying that graham cracker. Here she is with her auntie Rosie and her rocking horse, at her grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. All the best things in the world!
Thanksgiving was lovely. Really great food (um, best sweet potatoes ever!), lovely company, lots of relaxing, etc. Evelyn wasn't at her best, what with being away from her own bed and all, but she was pretty good. She really liked the wooden rocking horse in the picture above, as well as a cool dog book Carol has at her house. Oh, and all the people telling her how cute she is. Wait, maybe it's just me that likes that!
After Thanksgiving dinner I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox with Jon and Rosie and I loved it. LOVED it. So much fun, and beautiful, too.
The rest of the weekend we spent getting ready for the next holiday by cutting down a Christmas tree, decorating it and the house, and putting up lights outside. Our house is exploding Christmas joy, so be prepared. We underestimated Evelyn's grabbing height and already we have a couple broken tree ornaments. She also has taken quite fondly to candy canes. Sigh. Yes, she has inherited my sweet tooth.
Other things this week: Evelyn has suddenly become very attached to one of her blankets. She pulls it out of her crib, drags it around the house, drags it through the front yard, chews on it, leaves it on the floor for the dogs to walk over, pulls it over her head, covers the dogs with it, etc. I don't know if this is short-lived obsession or a new "attachment item," but it is already causing issues because that dang blanket was SO dirty. We had to wash it. But alas, Evelyn didn't sleep well last night. Finally, at 3:30am, after Jon had tried all other tactics to get her to sleep, he went and got the blanket out of the dryer and gave it to me to give to her. Usually, after Evelyn has been awake for a while at night (which isn't very often, really), she gets mad as a bee if you try to put her back in her crib. But once she saw her blanket, she just snuggled up with it, fussed for a second, and then went back to sleep. Ugh. Blanket = sleep. So I went online this fine Cyber Monday to try and find a replica blanket, but to no avail. They don't make them anymore! At least not that I could find. I guess we better hang on to the one we have!
Also, Evelyn got her first real goose egg. She slipped and hit her head on a table and ended up with a big goose egg welt on her forehead. Poor baby. I think it hurt me as much as her. The table also scraped her head, so after the bruising went down, she still has a big scratch on her forehead. I hate it when she gets hurt.
And so I guess that is all. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.
Thanksgiving was lovely. Really great food (um, best sweet potatoes ever!), lovely company, lots of relaxing, etc. Evelyn wasn't at her best, what with being away from her own bed and all, but she was pretty good. She really liked the wooden rocking horse in the picture above, as well as a cool dog book Carol has at her house. Oh, and all the people telling her how cute she is. Wait, maybe it's just me that likes that!After Thanksgiving dinner I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox with Jon and Rosie and I loved it. LOVED it. So much fun, and beautiful, too.
The rest of the weekend we spent getting ready for the next holiday by cutting down a Christmas tree, decorating it and the house, and putting up lights outside. Our house is exploding Christmas joy, so be prepared. We underestimated Evelyn's grabbing height and already we have a couple broken tree ornaments. She also has taken quite fondly to candy canes. Sigh. Yes, she has inherited my sweet tooth.
Other things this week: Evelyn has suddenly become very attached to one of her blankets. She pulls it out of her crib, drags it around the house, drags it through the front yard, chews on it, leaves it on the floor for the dogs to walk over, pulls it over her head, covers the dogs with it, etc. I don't know if this is short-lived obsession or a new "attachment item," but it is already causing issues because that dang blanket was SO dirty. We had to wash it. But alas, Evelyn didn't sleep well last night. Finally, at 3:30am, after Jon had tried all other tactics to get her to sleep, he went and got the blanket out of the dryer and gave it to me to give to her. Usually, after Evelyn has been awake for a while at night (which isn't very often, really), she gets mad as a bee if you try to put her back in her crib. But once she saw her blanket, she just snuggled up with it, fussed for a second, and then went back to sleep. Ugh. Blanket = sleep. So I went online this fine Cyber Monday to try and find a replica blanket, but to no avail. They don't make them anymore! At least not that I could find. I guess we better hang on to the one we have!
Also, Evelyn got her first real goose egg. She slipped and hit her head on a table and ended up with a big goose egg welt on her forehead. Poor baby. I think it hurt me as much as her. The table also scraped her head, so after the bruising went down, she still has a big scratch on her forehead. I hate it when she gets hurt.
And so I guess that is all. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Pie!
First, some bad news. Jon's shop is not going to happen. Well, at least not in the location we orginally thought. The story is long, but let's just say that we can't come up with $25,000 to make some changes to the building, and even if we could, it is ridiculous that the landlord didn't own up to his responsibilities to make the changes himself, and even if he is a cheap $%^#, he could have done the right thing. And so, instead of that, we are getting bought out of the lease and will recover about 50% of the money we've put in. That isn't ideal, but c'est la vie. An expensive learning experience. But, despite all this, I feel good about the decision. Yes, the location is great, but if going into this location means dealing with a crazy landlord, a hateful lawyer, and a litigious situation, we'll pass. And...scene.
But now, some good news! I made pie! Delicious pie! Would you like to try it yourself? Hooray!
Pear and Cranberry Pie
(taken from an episode of some show on the Food Network. I watched it once and can't remember the name. It was an Alton Brown recipe.)
Put the sliced pears and dried cranberries inside a collander, place it on top of a small sauce pan, toss pears with 1/4 cup of the sugar, and set aside. Wait a good 30 minutes for the pears to mascerate just a little, releasing some of their delicious juices into the sauce pan. At this point you can A) reduce the pear juice/sugar mixture by half over medium heat, or B) just set the pear juice aside.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Yes, 500. Adjust your oven rack to the lowest position and place a rimed baking sheet on the rack. While the oven preheats, the baking sheet will get good and toasty, helping to crisp up the bottom crust.
Roll out your pie dough, put one half in the pie tin.
Toss the mascerated pears and cranberries with the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss, toss, toss. Mound the fruit into the pie tin and dob the butter bits on top. Cover with the second pie crust, crimp the edges and cut a few slits for ventilation. Brush the pear juice over the top crust, but not the edges, until well covered, and then sprinkle the remaining one tablespoon of sugar over the top.
Put the pie into the oven on the preheated baking sheet. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the pears are cooked through but not mushy.
Let the pie sit for quite a while before cutting. Alton Brown recommends up to four hours! Madness! I lasted about an hour before I had to dig in and try a piece.
Enjoy!
But now, some good news! I made pie! Delicious pie! Would you like to try it yourself? Hooray!
Pear and Cranberry Pie
(taken from an episode of some show on the Food Network. I watched it once and can't remember the name. It was an Alton Brown recipe.)
- Double pie crust (I had store-bought in the freezer, so I used that)
- 3.5 pounds of pears, peeled and sliced (I used a mix of red pears and bartlett pears)
- 1/3-1/2 cup of dried cranberries (depending on how much you like cranberries. Also, I think this would be really delicious with blueberries.)
- 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp white sugar
- 2 Tbsp AP flour (or tapioca flour)
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (or some zest. I used both and Jon thought it was too much)
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg (the orignal recipe calls for a lot more, but I thought the pie tasted too nutmegy--personal choice here)
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp butter, cut into small cubes
Put the sliced pears and dried cranberries inside a collander, place it on top of a small sauce pan, toss pears with 1/4 cup of the sugar, and set aside. Wait a good 30 minutes for the pears to mascerate just a little, releasing some of their delicious juices into the sauce pan. At this point you can A) reduce the pear juice/sugar mixture by half over medium heat, or B) just set the pear juice aside.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Yes, 500. Adjust your oven rack to the lowest position and place a rimed baking sheet on the rack. While the oven preheats, the baking sheet will get good and toasty, helping to crisp up the bottom crust.
Roll out your pie dough, put one half in the pie tin.
Toss the mascerated pears and cranberries with the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss, toss, toss. Mound the fruit into the pie tin and dob the butter bits on top. Cover with the second pie crust, crimp the edges and cut a few slits for ventilation. Brush the pear juice over the top crust, but not the edges, until well covered, and then sprinkle the remaining one tablespoon of sugar over the top.
Put the pie into the oven on the preheated baking sheet. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the pears are cooked through but not mushy.
Let the pie sit for quite a while before cutting. Alton Brown recommends up to four hours! Madness! I lasted about an hour before I had to dig in and try a piece.
Enjoy!
New moon on the rise
I have not read any of the Twilight books, nor have I seen any of the Twilight movies. Maybe I will at some point, just to understand the madness, but that day is not today. What I will do is post a mock Twilight screenplay by my favorite movie reviewer, Eric D. Snider. Enjoy!
(And by the by, I take great issue with werewolves who change from man to beast without the curse of the moon and at any time they choose, and also with vampires who can walk around in the day and don't want to kill humans. I mean, come on! Joss Whedon would be so disappointed...)
********************
MY SCREENPLAY ADAPTATION OF STEPHENIE MEYER'S "NEW MOON"
By Eric D. Snider
Scene 1
CHARLIE: Happy birthday, Bella! You're 18 now, old enough to make adult decisions and choose your own path!
BELLA: Eh, I think I'll just keep doing whatever Edward wants.
CHARLIE: If I had any actual relevance in your life I'd be concerned. Anyway, here's a camera. Use it to take pictures of your friends.
BELLA: When you say "friends," do you mean "friend," and do you specifically mean Edward?
CHARLIE: Who else would I mean? The classmates you've been ignoring since you first laid eyes on Whitey von Pastyface?
* * * * *
Scene 2
BELLA: Hello, my undead stalker! How are you?
EDWARD: Brooding and tortured as always.
BELLA: Wonderful! Hey, Charlie gave me a camera. Could you, a vampire, please stand here in broad daylight so I can take your photograph? Oh, and hold this cross, this holy water, and this clove of garlic, too.
BRAM STOKER: (turns over in grave)
JACOB: Hey, Bella! Remember me?
BELLA: By the steroids of A-Rod! Jacob, you're huge! I've never seen such a hunky, delicious slab of Indian meat! Tell the women in your village they don't have to go down to the river to do laundry anymore, they can beat their clothes against your abs!
EDWARD: I'm standing right here, Bella.
BELLA: Not now, Powder. Jacob, why are you so buff all of a sudden?
JACOB: Oh, um, no reason. This happens to all Native Americans when they turn 16. Hey, you don't have any Snausages on you, do you?
* * * * *
Scene 3
CARLISLE: Happy birthday, Bella! We thought it would be fun for you if we stood around posing like models while you opened some gifts from us.
BELLA: Well, I'm really not big on birthdays, but OK.
EDWARD: Bella, you're bleeding!
BELLA: Look, just because I'm in a grumpy mood doesn't mean you can blame it on --
EDWARD: No, you have a paper cut!
BELLA: Oh. That.
EDWARD: Let me get you a Band-Aid.
BELLA: Jasper, why are you pouring salt and pepper on me?
JASPER: Um, because you're bland? Hello?
EDWARD: Jasper! Do not eat my girlfriend!
BELLA: (thinking) Dear diary: Today Edward finally called me his girlfriend!!
EDWARD: That's it. Bella, the Cullens are leaving Forks, and we're never coming back. It's totally for other reasons, though, and not because Jasper tried to kill you.
BELLA: What?? What other reasons??
EDWARD: I don't love you. I don't want you. I'm no good for you. Stay away from me. I hate you.
BELLA: This is so sudden! It comes immediately after Jasper's attempt on my life and is clearly nothing more than you lying to protect me, and yet I take you completely at your word that you simply don't love me anymore! My heart is breaking! My dumb, dumb heart!
* * * * *
Scene 4
JESSICA: I'm so glad we're hanging out again, Bella! You were such a drag when you were depressed that I'd forgotten what a drag you also are when you're not depressed!
BIKER DUDE: Hey, sour-faced emo chick! Wanna ride on my motorcycle!
BELLA: Eh, sure, why not?
EDWARD: Bella! Don't do it!
BELLA: What the eff? Edward?
EDWARD: I'm here in ghost form, or possibly just in your imagination, to warn you against doing things that are obviously stupid and should require no special warning!
BELLA: I've missed you so much, Ghost Edward! But I'm doing it anyway.
EDWARD: Don't! It's reckless!
BELLA: More reckless than dating a vampire?
EDWARD: Don't argue with Ghost Edward!
BELLA: What are you, my conscience? Get lost, Jiminy Cricket.
* * * * *
Scene 5
BELLA: Jacob, I was hoping you would help me restore this old motorcycle and in the process fall deeper in love with me despite knowing for certain that you will never have me.
JACOB: I'd love to be your consolation prize! I just need to go for a walk first. Hang on, I'll get my leash.
BELLA: You're really sweet, Jacob. I'm gonna ride the HELL out of this motorcycle. Just you try and stop me, Ghost Edward....
JACOB: Bella! You crashed! Are you OK? Here, let me take off my shirt and leave it off for the remainder of the film.
BELLA: I approve of this.
JACOB: Sorry I've been acting a little weird lately. The other guys in my pack -- I mean tribe -- have been hounding me -- I mean bugging me -- to join them. Here come some of them now!
BELLA: Are they friendly?
JACOB: Hang on, I'll see. (Sniffs their butts.) Yeah, they're cool.
SAM: What's up, dawg? Sorry to interrupt your puppy love here. We're gonna go chase some cars, wanna come with us?
JACOB: You're barking up the wrong tree.
BELLA: Right, you're werewolves, I get it.
JACOB: What gave it away??
BELLA: Oh, probably the story you told me in the last movie about your ancestors being werewolves.
JACOB: In hindsight, that may have been unwise on my part.
BELLA: Vampires, werewolves -- it's like I'm living in "Monster Mash." My life is a Halloween novelty song.
JACOB: You should stay away from me. I'm dangerous.
BELLA: I've been getting that a lot lately.
JACOB: I'm gonna go carouse with my wolf buddies. As you can see, they're already shirtless, too.
BELLA: I know! I haven't seen so much smooth, underage beef since Safeway had a special on veal!
* * * * *
Scene 6
ALICE: Bella, Edward thinks you're dead, and he's going to kill himself! It's just like the end of "Romeo and Juliet," which you happened to be reading earlier in the movie! Who could have foreseen that it would come up again??
BELLA: Well, you, with your psychic powers.
ALICE: Yes. Also, anyone who's ever seen a movie before.
BELLA: We have to get to Italy to stop Edward!
ALICE: What about your father?
BELLA: My what now?
ALICE: Your dad? Charlie?
BELLA: I don't even know who you're talking about.
ALICE: I should warn you, Edward is trying to provoke the Volturi into killing him, and they are not to be messed with. They're creepy, soulless monsters -- and that's just Dakota Fanning.
BELLA: Please, I know all about vampires. They sparkle in the sunlight, they never drink blood, and they listen to Death Cab for Cutie. Duh.
BRAM STOKER: (head explodes)
* * * * *
Scene 7
ALICE: There's Edward! He's standing in the doorway of that church, revealing himself to the crowd!
BELLA: Edward! Stop! Put your shirt back on!
EDWARD: You don't want people to know I'm a vampire?
BELLA: No, it's just that after spending so much time with Jacob I'm embarrassed for you.
ARO: Edward, your girlfriend knows too much. She must be killed.
ALICE: Wait! I had a vision! In the future, Bella is a vampire, too.
EDWARD: Spoiler alert!
ARO: Well, why didn't you say you were thinking of converting? That changes everything! Mazel tov!
BELLA: My parents will be disappointed, but it's for the best. Interfaith marriages are so difficult.
* * * * *
Scene 8
JACOB: Oh good, you're back from Italy, and you brought a heroin addict with you. No, wait, that's Edward.
EDWARD: Cram it, Teen Wolf. Bella is mine now, and she doesn't need some mangy mutt slobbering all over her.
JACOB: Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
EDWARD: I don't like you now!
(JACOB becomes a wolf, lunges at EDWARD; EDWARD swats him on the nose)
EDWARD: Bad dog! Bad dog!
BELLA: (thinking) Where do his pants go, anyway?
EDWARD: Fetch, boy! (throws a rock; JACOB runs after it) Bella, I'll agree to turn you into a vampire, but only on two conditions. First, you have to marry me.
BELLA: OK. What's the second one?
EDWARD: No pets.
(Fade to black; roll credits; pump theaters with Axe Body Spray to neutralize the dangerous levels of estrogen.)
(And by the by, I take great issue with werewolves who change from man to beast without the curse of the moon and at any time they choose, and also with vampires who can walk around in the day and don't want to kill humans. I mean, come on! Joss Whedon would be so disappointed...)
********************
MY SCREENPLAY ADAPTATION OF STEPHENIE MEYER'S "NEW MOON"
By Eric D. Snider
Scene 1
CHARLIE: Happy birthday, Bella! You're 18 now, old enough to make adult decisions and choose your own path!
BELLA: Eh, I think I'll just keep doing whatever Edward wants.
CHARLIE: If I had any actual relevance in your life I'd be concerned. Anyway, here's a camera. Use it to take pictures of your friends.
BELLA: When you say "friends," do you mean "friend," and do you specifically mean Edward?
CHARLIE: Who else would I mean? The classmates you've been ignoring since you first laid eyes on Whitey von Pastyface?
* * * * *
Scene 2
BELLA: Hello, my undead stalker! How are you?
EDWARD: Brooding and tortured as always.
BELLA: Wonderful! Hey, Charlie gave me a camera. Could you, a vampire, please stand here in broad daylight so I can take your photograph? Oh, and hold this cross, this holy water, and this clove of garlic, too.
BRAM STOKER: (turns over in grave)
JACOB: Hey, Bella! Remember me?
BELLA: By the steroids of A-Rod! Jacob, you're huge! I've never seen such a hunky, delicious slab of Indian meat! Tell the women in your village they don't have to go down to the river to do laundry anymore, they can beat their clothes against your abs!
EDWARD: I'm standing right here, Bella.
BELLA: Not now, Powder. Jacob, why are you so buff all of a sudden?
JACOB: Oh, um, no reason. This happens to all Native Americans when they turn 16. Hey, you don't have any Snausages on you, do you?
* * * * *
Scene 3
CARLISLE: Happy birthday, Bella! We thought it would be fun for you if we stood around posing like models while you opened some gifts from us.
BELLA: Well, I'm really not big on birthdays, but OK.
EDWARD: Bella, you're bleeding!
BELLA: Look, just because I'm in a grumpy mood doesn't mean you can blame it on --
EDWARD: No, you have a paper cut!
BELLA: Oh. That.
EDWARD: Let me get you a Band-Aid.
BELLA: Jasper, why are you pouring salt and pepper on me?
JASPER: Um, because you're bland? Hello?
EDWARD: Jasper! Do not eat my girlfriend!
BELLA: (thinking) Dear diary: Today Edward finally called me his girlfriend!!
EDWARD: That's it. Bella, the Cullens are leaving Forks, and we're never coming back. It's totally for other reasons, though, and not because Jasper tried to kill you.
BELLA: What?? What other reasons??
EDWARD: I don't love you. I don't want you. I'm no good for you. Stay away from me. I hate you.
BELLA: This is so sudden! It comes immediately after Jasper's attempt on my life and is clearly nothing more than you lying to protect me, and yet I take you completely at your word that you simply don't love me anymore! My heart is breaking! My dumb, dumb heart!
* * * * *
Scene 4
JESSICA: I'm so glad we're hanging out again, Bella! You were such a drag when you were depressed that I'd forgotten what a drag you also are when you're not depressed!
BIKER DUDE: Hey, sour-faced emo chick! Wanna ride on my motorcycle!
BELLA: Eh, sure, why not?
EDWARD: Bella! Don't do it!
BELLA: What the eff? Edward?
EDWARD: I'm here in ghost form, or possibly just in your imagination, to warn you against doing things that are obviously stupid and should require no special warning!
BELLA: I've missed you so much, Ghost Edward! But I'm doing it anyway.
EDWARD: Don't! It's reckless!
BELLA: More reckless than dating a vampire?
EDWARD: Don't argue with Ghost Edward!
BELLA: What are you, my conscience? Get lost, Jiminy Cricket.
* * * * *
Scene 5
BELLA: Jacob, I was hoping you would help me restore this old motorcycle and in the process fall deeper in love with me despite knowing for certain that you will never have me.
JACOB: I'd love to be your consolation prize! I just need to go for a walk first. Hang on, I'll get my leash.
BELLA: You're really sweet, Jacob. I'm gonna ride the HELL out of this motorcycle. Just you try and stop me, Ghost Edward....
JACOB: Bella! You crashed! Are you OK? Here, let me take off my shirt and leave it off for the remainder of the film.
BELLA: I approve of this.
JACOB: Sorry I've been acting a little weird lately. The other guys in my pack -- I mean tribe -- have been hounding me -- I mean bugging me -- to join them. Here come some of them now!
BELLA: Are they friendly?
JACOB: Hang on, I'll see. (Sniffs their butts.) Yeah, they're cool.
SAM: What's up, dawg? Sorry to interrupt your puppy love here. We're gonna go chase some cars, wanna come with us?
JACOB: You're barking up the wrong tree.
BELLA: Right, you're werewolves, I get it.
JACOB: What gave it away??
BELLA: Oh, probably the story you told me in the last movie about your ancestors being werewolves.
JACOB: In hindsight, that may have been unwise on my part.
BELLA: Vampires, werewolves -- it's like I'm living in "Monster Mash." My life is a Halloween novelty song.
JACOB: You should stay away from me. I'm dangerous.
BELLA: I've been getting that a lot lately.
JACOB: I'm gonna go carouse with my wolf buddies. As you can see, they're already shirtless, too.
BELLA: I know! I haven't seen so much smooth, underage beef since Safeway had a special on veal!
* * * * *
Scene 6
ALICE: Bella, Edward thinks you're dead, and he's going to kill himself! It's just like the end of "Romeo and Juliet," which you happened to be reading earlier in the movie! Who could have foreseen that it would come up again??
BELLA: Well, you, with your psychic powers.
ALICE: Yes. Also, anyone who's ever seen a movie before.
BELLA: We have to get to Italy to stop Edward!
ALICE: What about your father?
BELLA: My what now?
ALICE: Your dad? Charlie?
BELLA: I don't even know who you're talking about.
ALICE: I should warn you, Edward is trying to provoke the Volturi into killing him, and they are not to be messed with. They're creepy, soulless monsters -- and that's just Dakota Fanning.
BELLA: Please, I know all about vampires. They sparkle in the sunlight, they never drink blood, and they listen to Death Cab for Cutie. Duh.
BRAM STOKER: (head explodes)
* * * * *
Scene 7
ALICE: There's Edward! He's standing in the doorway of that church, revealing himself to the crowd!
BELLA: Edward! Stop! Put your shirt back on!
EDWARD: You don't want people to know I'm a vampire?
BELLA: No, it's just that after spending so much time with Jacob I'm embarrassed for you.
ARO: Edward, your girlfriend knows too much. She must be killed.
ALICE: Wait! I had a vision! In the future, Bella is a vampire, too.
EDWARD: Spoiler alert!
ARO: Well, why didn't you say you were thinking of converting? That changes everything! Mazel tov!
BELLA: My parents will be disappointed, but it's for the best. Interfaith marriages are so difficult.
* * * * *
Scene 8
JACOB: Oh good, you're back from Italy, and you brought a heroin addict with you. No, wait, that's Edward.
EDWARD: Cram it, Teen Wolf. Bella is mine now, and she doesn't need some mangy mutt slobbering all over her.
JACOB: Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
EDWARD: I don't like you now!
(JACOB becomes a wolf, lunges at EDWARD; EDWARD swats him on the nose)
EDWARD: Bad dog! Bad dog!
BELLA: (thinking) Where do his pants go, anyway?
EDWARD: Fetch, boy! (throws a rock; JACOB runs after it) Bella, I'll agree to turn you into a vampire, but only on two conditions. First, you have to marry me.
BELLA: OK. What's the second one?
EDWARD: No pets.
(Fade to black; roll credits; pump theaters with Axe Body Spray to neutralize the dangerous levels of estrogen.)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
A non-update
It's been a week-and-a-half since my last post, but sadly, I have nothing to say!
I finished a really big knitting project and it turned out AWESOME, but I can't post pictures because it is a Christmas gift. Hm...that's not interesting.
OK, a small picture...
Ooh, Evelyn dialed 911 this weekend! Luckily, Jon had the presence of mind not to hang up so we could tell the dispatcher that, no, there is no emergency, and yes, our 14-month-old just called the police, and sorry.
Evelyn has started throwing full-on toddler tantrums. That's fun.
Let's see...well, Thanksgiving menu planning is in full gear, but that really isn't interesting, either! I got nothin'! Unless a butter-rubbed turkey with roasted brussel sprouts, sweet potato cakes, mashed potatoes, squash soup and stuffing muffins sounds interesting. I mean, it sounds delicious, but not interesting.
I will get my act together, take some adorable pictures of Evelyn, and get back to you.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Rice pudding
First of all, that was some damn fine rice pudding. I have it in my lunch today as well. I am excited to eat it. Would you like the recipe? Oh, ok, I have it right here!
- 1 cup of rice (both recipes I references said to use long-grain rice, but I only had normal-grain rice on hand, and it worked out just fine)
- 2 cups of water
- A bit of lemon zest
- A knob of butter
- 4 cups of whole milk (again, I'm sure you could use low-fat milk, but I had whole milk, the recipes called for whole milk, and I want a bigger bum, so I used whole milk)
- One vanilla bean, split (or vanilla extract, like 1.5 tsp)
- 2/3 cup sugar (I used mostly white sugar with a bit of brown sugar)
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 tsp. salt
Already you are excited, right? So cook the cup of rice in the two cups of water with the lemon zest and knob of butter in the water. You know how to cook rice, right? Good. (OK, if you don't, you cover the pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and wait until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.) I kept my rice extra sticky by NOT rinsing it beforehand (as you would for Japanese-style rice) and using the full 2:1 water/rice ratio. Don't let it get too dry. Move the rice to a bowl, remove the lemon zest and discard it. Wipe out the pan you were using, and pour into it the rest of the ingredients: milk, sugar, spices. (As an aside, if you are using vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean, wait to add the extract until the very end, and do it off the heat.) Bring to a simmer until the sugar is dissolved, add the rice back into the milk mixture, return to a gentle simmer, keep the lid OFF, and stir regularly until the whole thing is thick and delicious. For me, on medium heat, that took about 30 minutes. You want to get to a point where a spoon will stand up in the pudding by itself.
Now serve it up and eat! Can be served warm or chilled. It's just that awesome.
Well, I was going to write a post about how Evelyn is uber clingy lately, but only when I am home, and especially in the mornings, but now I have gone too long. Let's just say that she really wants me to hold her ALL THE TIME and she has taken to getting between me and whatever I am standing in front of (say, the stove) and pushing my legs until I move back and therefore have room to pick her up. She does not do this with her father. She is content to play by herself for a bit when she is with her father. But when I am home it is an entirely different story. If I am cooking, she wants to be held. If I am sitting on the couch, she wants to be sitting on me, or climbing up my chest, or sliding down my legs, or crawling on my lap. The constant tugging at my pants as I walk around is awesome, too. I have some working-mom guilt going on, because I totally give in to her every single time. (Also, this behavior is 10 times worse on the days I go to work. Weekends are much easier, at least on this front.)
I get so frustrated because, COME ON, I need to pee without you trying to get on my lap! And I need to get dressed for work without you crying and whining and flailing about on the floor. And I need to make dinner without holding a 25 pound baby because eating bean burritos and potato chips is not a balanced meal!
I am so spent by the time Evelyn goes to bed, even though I have only been home for a couple of hours, that the night is over for me. Two hours of pushing and pulling and crying and tugging and whining and grabbing is my limit.
But I love that baby. I do. So much. More than I can write because I don't have a vocabulary big enough to convey the amount and intensity of the love. I only wish that sometimes, in the evenings, just a little, I had my body to myself. It's a phase, right? Right?!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Mama Bear
My mom was here last week and a good time was had by all. Or, rather, I hope a good time was had by all. A good time was had by me, that's for sure.
Jon took some pictures, including a few using a crazy new camera, so I will post more about our week when I have the pictures.
A few random thoughts from the week:
1. I am eating less meat. Not no meat, but less meat. My goal is to abstain from eating factory-farmed meat. I have no problem eating a pig that was raised sustainably, lived happily for it's few years on this planet, was killed humanely, and then fed to me. I do take issue eating a chicken that was raised in the way most chickens are raised. I won't get into it. But it's not pretty. /rant
2. Evelyn is crazy smart. Like, CRAZY smart. It is freakin awesome. She is really good at copying what you do or say, and then remembering it later. Take for example the whale noises. My mom taught Evelyn to say "what a whale says." This noise is akin to humming, but all crazy. Like Dot in Finding Nemo. My mom taught Evelyn to talk like a whale, and then later in the day and even later in the week Evelyn could remember. Because she is a genius. She also licks her fingers when she gets food on them (instead of wiping them on her face or shirt), and this morning when Jon said "let's go downstairs," Evelyn walked to the basement stairs. Genius.
3. Every week should be three days on, four days off of work. That would ROCK.
4. I plan to make rice pudding for dinner tonight. OK, well, I guess having it for dinner won't be ideal. Maybe a little salad and then a whole lotta rice pudding for dessert. Yum!
5. We are having a few raucusy guys over to watch the Broncos game tonight. Two of them fight a lot. (Not like fisticuffs, but arguing quite loudly. It's annoying.) I think I'm going to have to put on my Mama Bear hat and tell them to Quiet Down or You'll Wake the Baby!
Jon took some pictures, including a few using a crazy new camera, so I will post more about our week when I have the pictures.
A few random thoughts from the week:
1. I am eating less meat. Not no meat, but less meat. My goal is to abstain from eating factory-farmed meat. I have no problem eating a pig that was raised sustainably, lived happily for it's few years on this planet, was killed humanely, and then fed to me. I do take issue eating a chicken that was raised in the way most chickens are raised. I won't get into it. But it's not pretty. /rant
2. Evelyn is crazy smart. Like, CRAZY smart. It is freakin awesome. She is really good at copying what you do or say, and then remembering it later. Take for example the whale noises. My mom taught Evelyn to say "what a whale says." This noise is akin to humming, but all crazy. Like Dot in Finding Nemo. My mom taught Evelyn to talk like a whale, and then later in the day and even later in the week Evelyn could remember. Because she is a genius. She also licks her fingers when she gets food on them (instead of wiping them on her face or shirt), and this morning when Jon said "let's go downstairs," Evelyn walked to the basement stairs. Genius.
3. Every week should be three days on, four days off of work. That would ROCK.
4. I plan to make rice pudding for dinner tonight. OK, well, I guess having it for dinner won't be ideal. Maybe a little salad and then a whole lotta rice pudding for dessert. Yum!
5. We are having a few raucusy guys over to watch the Broncos game tonight. Two of them fight a lot. (Not like fisticuffs, but arguing quite loudly. It's annoying.) I think I'm going to have to put on my Mama Bear hat and tell them to Quiet Down or You'll Wake the Baby!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Fall snow
We got two feet of snow.
Wait, let me repeat that, because it bears repeating.
Wait, let me repeat that, because it bears repeating.
We got two feet of snow.
For two days straight we were all stuck in the house watching the snow fall and fall and fall. And fall. And everytime we thought, "Wow, there is a LOT of snow! Surely it will slow down soon," we were wrong. Until last night around 10:00pm when the snow really did slow down and finally stop and we were stuck with two feet of snow. IN OCTOBER.
We have maybe the greatest neighbor in the history of neighbors who regularly comes by and uses his snow blower on our sidewalk and driveway. Yesterday, Jon asked if he would mind blowing in front and behind our street-bound car so that, hopefully, we'd be able to drive out after the snow stopped. He is a lifesaver. After Jon cleaned off my car this morning (what a great husband!) I was able to get out onto the road without much trouble.
The roads were icy and snowpacked on the way to work this morning, but everyone was taking their time and we didn't have any troubles with accidents or close calls. It did take two times as long, but that is OK.
For the two days were were stuck inside, we did escape about once each day to play outside. We bundled Evelyn up in her high-top sneakers, sweat pants, long shirt, puffy coat with the faux-fur-lined hood, lamb (bunny?) hat and microfleece mittens. She totally looked like the kid from A Christmas Story. She actually liked going outside, though. She walked along the cleaned sidewalks, tried to walk into the grass, got stuck, turned around, did it all again. Her cheeks were rosy for about four hours after coming inside, so she may have been in the cold for a touch too long, but she had a good time.
So now we are digging out and warming up.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Snowy day mac & cheese
It's snowing today. Snowing a LOT. So far, as of noon, we have about a foot out there. A foot! It is supposed to keep snowing through tomorrow evening so we'll see how much snow we get overall.
I am working from home today and probably tomorrow. One thing I love about working from home is being able to cook lunch. Today we whipped out the awesome America's Test Kitchen Cookbook and made baked macaroni and cheese. It was delicious! Of course, with a stick of butter and 5 cups of cheese (yes, I said cups), how could it be bad? I also made Evelyn some chicken nuggets.
(As an aside...before I had a child, I thought it was terrible how much crappy processed food kids eat. Looking at the children's menu at any average restaurant was sad: chicken nuggets, hamurger, spaghetti, french fries. Right. Then I had a toddler, and that toddler likes to eat food with her own hands, and she also gets cranky when she is hungry, and sometimes that time comes in the car, and sometimes we drive-thru Wendy's and get chicken nuggets. Urgh. We've tried giving her Luna Bars or granola bars or other hand-sized things, but they don't always work. Chicken nuggets always work. So, I decided to make some homemade nuggets, baked not fried, and hope for the best. She liked it. Yay! But really, it is a small victory in the large war against unhealthy food.)
So. Where was I? Snow snow snow!!! Cooking! Maybe, if I'm lucky, a little baking, too! The news just said this storm will intensify this afternoon. Curses. This is a lot of snow.
I am working from home today and probably tomorrow. One thing I love about working from home is being able to cook lunch. Today we whipped out the awesome America's Test Kitchen Cookbook and made baked macaroni and cheese. It was delicious! Of course, with a stick of butter and 5 cups of cheese (yes, I said cups), how could it be bad? I also made Evelyn some chicken nuggets.
(As an aside...before I had a child, I thought it was terrible how much crappy processed food kids eat. Looking at the children's menu at any average restaurant was sad: chicken nuggets, hamurger, spaghetti, french fries. Right. Then I had a toddler, and that toddler likes to eat food with her own hands, and she also gets cranky when she is hungry, and sometimes that time comes in the car, and sometimes we drive-thru Wendy's and get chicken nuggets. Urgh. We've tried giving her Luna Bars or granola bars or other hand-sized things, but they don't always work. Chicken nuggets always work. So, I decided to make some homemade nuggets, baked not fried, and hope for the best. She liked it. Yay! But really, it is a small victory in the large war against unhealthy food.)
So. Where was I? Snow snow snow!!! Cooking! Maybe, if I'm lucky, a little baking, too! The news just said this storm will intensify this afternoon. Curses. This is a lot of snow.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Pumpkin carving pictures!
Well, I can't seem to rearrange the picture order, so here they are, in reverse!
Jon's spooky pumpkin. 
An indoor shot of my pumpkin. I decided the Gene Simmons tongue was too much, so I took it off and added teeth instead.
Working so hard...
Being goofy...
Now, this is before the pumpkin carving, sometime last week I think. But it is the BEST picture of Evelyn. Oh, she is just so beautiful. Melts my heart.
And, finally, a picture of Evelyn looking sad for some reason, but really she is excited to be sitting in her awesome new chair! She loves that chair. We noticed she was crawling into any seat she could find...high chair, car seat, stroller. If it was her size and near the floor, she was trying to sit in it. So we got her a chair she can sit in (or crawl on) now, and then read in later. She loves it. Seriously. Love.
The
First, my spooky pumpkin! Isn't it awesome? Yes, yes it is. In fact, I dare say this is the best pumpkin I've ever carved. Maybe there are some benefits to turning 30... :)
Jon's spooky pumpkin.Jon carving his pumpkin. See the joy? That's real, people!
An indoor shot of my pumpkin. I decided the Gene Simmons tongue was too much, so I took it off and added teeth instead.
Working so hard...
Being goofy...
Now, this is before the pumpkin carving, sometime last week I think. But it is the BEST picture of Evelyn. Oh, she is just so beautiful. Melts my heart.
And, finally, a picture of Evelyn looking sad for some reason, but really she is excited to be sitting in her awesome new chair! She loves that chair. We noticed she was crawling into any seat she could find...high chair, car seat, stroller. If it was her size and near the floor, she was trying to sit in it. So we got her a chair she can sit in (or crawl on) now, and then read in later. She loves it. Seriously. Love.
The
End
Bed is better than Not Bed
That is our family motto. Bed is better than Not Bed. Because we love going to bed. All of us. Even Evelyn likes her bedtime routine, enjoys the pre-bed bath, likes to get her last bottle of the night, and then slips into sleep with nary a whimper or a cry. She just sleeps. (Now everyone together now, KNOCK ON WOOD. Because as soon as I type that our bedtime routine is going to go the way of the Dodo.)
Now, as much as Evelyn likes to go to bed, she doesn't always stay asleep. She goes to sleep well, but then she sometimes wakes up. Like both nights this weekend. We were up at least an hour each night, two hours one of the nights, with a fussy baby who would not go back to sleep. She was fussy and crying and hungry and happy and everything else. Exhausting. Jon took care of most of it, but Evelyn's room shares a wall with our bedroom, and the walls are thin.
If our family motto is "Bed is better than not bed," a closer runner up would be "Sleep begets sleep." When Evelyn sleep poorly, she usually naps poorly the next day, and then sleeps even more poorly the following night. It is a viscious cycle. (Have I posted that Evelyn is down to one nap per day? She is. It's a shame.) Finally finally on Sunday she took a good, long, serious nap, and finally finally on Sunday night she slept well. Until 6am, when she woke up. But that we can handle.
We still have nighttime feeding issues, which are largely due to parental laziness. OK, not laziness so much as "damn, we're tired and if we get an extra hour or so of sleep by giving this baby a 4am bottle then so be it!" No, I guess it is laziness. But that is not every night, just most nights. :)
So this weekend was pretty tiring. With a non-sleeping night-time baby, and then a very cranky and loud day-time baby, I was at my wits end by Sunday night. Thankfully Jon is around to make everything better. I have really gotten used to him being around all the time. It is nice. So nice. It will be one thing I miss when he goes back to work.
Also, pictures soon! Pumpkin-carving pictures! Stay tuned!
Now, as much as Evelyn likes to go to bed, she doesn't always stay asleep. She goes to sleep well, but then she sometimes wakes up. Like both nights this weekend. We were up at least an hour each night, two hours one of the nights, with a fussy baby who would not go back to sleep. She was fussy and crying and hungry and happy and everything else. Exhausting. Jon took care of most of it, but Evelyn's room shares a wall with our bedroom, and the walls are thin.
If our family motto is "Bed is better than not bed," a closer runner up would be "Sleep begets sleep." When Evelyn sleep poorly, she usually naps poorly the next day, and then sleeps even more poorly the following night. It is a viscious cycle. (Have I posted that Evelyn is down to one nap per day? She is. It's a shame.) Finally finally on Sunday she took a good, long, serious nap, and finally finally on Sunday night she slept well. Until 6am, when she woke up. But that we can handle.
We still have nighttime feeding issues, which are largely due to parental laziness. OK, not laziness so much as "damn, we're tired and if we get an extra hour or so of sleep by giving this baby a 4am bottle then so be it!" No, I guess it is laziness. But that is not every night, just most nights. :)
So this weekend was pretty tiring. With a non-sleeping night-time baby, and then a very cranky and loud day-time baby, I was at my wits end by Sunday night. Thankfully Jon is around to make everything better. I have really gotten used to him being around all the time. It is nice. So nice. It will be one thing I miss when he goes back to work.
Also, pictures soon! Pumpkin-carving pictures! Stay tuned!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Shop update
Shop update:
We got a lawyer.
'Nuf said.
OK, not really "nuf said," but there are so many freakin balls in the air and so many stress points that I am in no mood to write about it. Suffice it to say that by Nov. 1 we will either be moving forward with a new lease and the landlord in writing agreeing to pay for everything he is legally responsible for, or we'll be out of the lease and moving on to the next phase in our lives. If it is the former, fantastic...ish. If the latter, well, that will be a lot harder. Jon still wants to open his own shop, and it really is in the long-term best interest of our family, but this whole thing has left a bad taste in our mouths. We went in with little knowledge and a lot of optimism. I think if it doesn't work out Jon will start looking for a new space in the spring, but this time with a lot more knowledge and cynicism. Business. Ugh. Can't we all just be retired already?
We got a lawyer.
'Nuf said.
OK, not really "nuf said," but there are so many freakin balls in the air and so many stress points that I am in no mood to write about it. Suffice it to say that by Nov. 1 we will either be moving forward with a new lease and the landlord in writing agreeing to pay for everything he is legally responsible for, or we'll be out of the lease and moving on to the next phase in our lives. If it is the former, fantastic...ish. If the latter, well, that will be a lot harder. Jon still wants to open his own shop, and it really is in the long-term best interest of our family, but this whole thing has left a bad taste in our mouths. We went in with little knowledge and a lot of optimism. I think if it doesn't work out Jon will start looking for a new space in the spring, but this time with a lot more knowledge and cynicism. Business. Ugh. Can't we all just be retired already?
Friday, October 16, 2009
More awesomeness
Jon told me that Evelyn walked over to her diaper bag this morning, picked it up and brought it to him, and then wanted him to hold it and her. Apparently she wanted to go for a little ride! She is just the best baby ever.
Evelyn has a handful of words (or word/sounds) down pat. They are:
Mom (mamamamama)
Dad (daa-da)
Dog (da)
Sheep (ba)
Cow (voo)
Want (wa-AH, really loud)
Hi (hi)
Bye (bye)
Other occasional words:
Bear (rawr)
Pig (clearing throat sound)
Giraffe (gi-affe)
Grandma (ga-aa)
Tucker (uh-er)
Bottle (ba-uh)
Chicken (chee-chee)
Duck (ka-ka)
OK, so you wouldn't know what she was saying if you weren't around her all the time, but believe me--she gets the point across! Also she is totally genius with word associations. We saw some horses walking down our street two days ago and she made the sound for Cow. It does kind of look like a cow! See? Genius.
Also in the "holy crap, that's not gonna be good" department. Evelyn can reach the bottom of the door knobs in our house and can flush the toilet. She can also turn the TV on and off (a favorite past time), get things off the top shelf of our half-bookcases, and open the drawer to my nighstand and reach inside. Our little mischief-maker!
Evelyn has a handful of words (or word/sounds) down pat. They are:
Mom (mamamamama)
Dad (daa-da)
Dog (da)
Sheep (ba)
Cow (voo)
Want (wa-AH, really loud)
Hi (hi)
Bye (bye)
Other occasional words:
Bear (rawr)
Pig (clearing throat sound)
Giraffe (gi-affe)
Grandma (ga-aa)
Tucker (uh-er)
Bottle (ba-uh)
Chicken (chee-chee)
Duck (ka-ka)
OK, so you wouldn't know what she was saying if you weren't around her all the time, but believe me--she gets the point across! Also she is totally genius with word associations. We saw some horses walking down our street two days ago and she made the sound for Cow. It does kind of look like a cow! See? Genius.
Also in the "holy crap, that's not gonna be good" department. Evelyn can reach the bottom of the door knobs in our house and can flush the toilet. She can also turn the TV on and off (a favorite past time), get things off the top shelf of our half-bookcases, and open the drawer to my nighstand and reach inside. Our little mischief-maker!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
For the remote grandparents...
My last post of the day. I promise. But how cute is my franken-baby walking around?!
My baby is awesome
A few random pictures. First, a few of Evelyn at the mall, playing on the breakfast foods. She crawled up into the cereal all by herself! Second, Evelyn helping me get ready for work in the morning. She sits on the bathroom counter almost every morning and "helps" me dry my hair and put on make-up. Her favorite way to "help" is to chew on toothbrushes and hairbrushes.This is Jon at the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in Central Park. It was kind of creepy.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
No longer a Bobbler
A short post, because I am still waiting to get the pictures from New York.
First, we left for New York leaving behind our little bobbler in the capable hands of her Grandma Lew. But she was a bobbler; walking a little, but mostly crawling. When we got back we had a bonafide toddler on our hands. She crawls a little, but she is much more interested in walking now. Soon she'll be running. When we see her walking down the hall or acros the kitchen (she looks like frankenstein...it's adorable), we say "Hello, toddler!" I feel like Evelyn changed a lot while we were gone. From crawling to walking, but also her jaw got more square and she got a lot sassier. Her cries have new tones in them, and she screeches and yells more, too. She grew up. Our little toddler.
Second, I am really excited about the movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. I know my mom told me at some point that the book was very controversial when it first came out. People tried to ban it from schools. My mom got grief for reading it to her kids. I have no idea why. Baffling. But I hope the movie lives up to my expectations. It looks beautiful. Here is an interview with director Spike Jonze.
First, we left for New York leaving behind our little bobbler in the capable hands of her Grandma Lew. But she was a bobbler; walking a little, but mostly crawling. When we got back we had a bonafide toddler on our hands. She crawls a little, but she is much more interested in walking now. Soon she'll be running. When we see her walking down the hall or acros the kitchen (she looks like frankenstein...it's adorable), we say "Hello, toddler!" I feel like Evelyn changed a lot while we were gone. From crawling to walking, but also her jaw got more square and she got a lot sassier. Her cries have new tones in them, and she screeches and yells more, too. She grew up. Our little toddler.
Second, I am really excited about the movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. I know my mom told me at some point that the book was very controversial when it first came out. People tried to ban it from schools. My mom got grief for reading it to her kids. I have no idea why. Baffling. But I hope the movie lives up to my expectations. It looks beautiful. Here is an interview with director Spike Jonze.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Whirlwind
New York was fabulous. Saw friends. Ate dumplings. Saw more friends. Went to a beautiful wedding. Ate more dumplings. Savored the moments, slept in, danced with my husband, and enjoyed a baby- and dog-free weekend.
I will post more, with pictures, when we get them back from the photo processor. Jon used some crazy old film so he is really excited to see how it all turns out.
I will post more, with pictures, when we get them back from the photo processor. Jon used some crazy old film so he is really excited to see how it all turns out.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tears
Last night I cried. And cried and cried and cried. The lights were off and I was in bed and I just broke down. Because tomorrow I am leaving my baby ALONE for FOUR days. And by "alone" I mean in her house with her dogs and books and toys and under the excellent care of her third favorite person in the world, Grandma Lew. But it felt like I was about to abandon her. Leave her to the wild dogs with nothing but the clothes on her back. It was heartbreaking thinking about the four nights I won't be there to say good night, or give her a bath, or rock her in the dark. I cried because I know how much bigger and smarter she will be when I get back. What if she is sad? What if she is afraid? What if she thinks we are gone forever? What if it scars her psyche to think she is being abandoned by her parents? And so, I cried.
(After I cried I fell asleep to dream about having a crush on a boy and kissing that boy, the very boy who would be the key to letting me enroll in the freshman year honors class, the very class that my arch nemesis Blair Waldorf is trying to get into, the very nemesis who is equally upset when the boy I have a crush on picks three russian girls to be in the class and not us.)
When I woke in the morning I felt much better about leaving my sweet daughter in the hands of her wonderful and loving grandmother. The event of the night before was not unlike the night before I returned for work after maternity leave. I cried and cried and cried that night too, and in the morning I felt much better. I can say that I am only able to cry and cry and cry and then feel much better because I have a husband who lets me cry and cry and cry and doesn't make me feel stupid for feeling sad. He tells me it will be OK, and he is usually right, and he strokes my hair until I fall asleep. And then in the morning, when everything is back to normal, and I realize he was right and that everything is OK, I love him even more.
Tonight I will hold Evelyn very, very tight and give her ten kisses before bed instead of one. And when she pulls away and squishes her face up because she hates getting kisses, I'll pull her even closer and whisper "I love you" three times instead of two. Then we will all go to bed, and in the morning it will be OK.
(After I cried I fell asleep to dream about having a crush on a boy and kissing that boy, the very boy who would be the key to letting me enroll in the freshman year honors class, the very class that my arch nemesis Blair Waldorf is trying to get into, the very nemesis who is equally upset when the boy I have a crush on picks three russian girls to be in the class and not us.)
When I woke in the morning I felt much better about leaving my sweet daughter in the hands of her wonderful and loving grandmother. The event of the night before was not unlike the night before I returned for work after maternity leave. I cried and cried and cried that night too, and in the morning I felt much better. I can say that I am only able to cry and cry and cry and then feel much better because I have a husband who lets me cry and cry and cry and doesn't make me feel stupid for feeling sad. He tells me it will be OK, and he is usually right, and he strokes my hair until I fall asleep. And then in the morning, when everything is back to normal, and I realize he was right and that everything is OK, I love him even more.
Tonight I will hold Evelyn very, very tight and give her ten kisses before bed instead of one. And when she pulls away and squishes her face up because she hates getting kisses, I'll pull her even closer and whisper "I love you" three times instead of two. Then we will all go to bed, and in the morning it will be OK.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Pumpking Picking, year two
I think I have three posts to write. One about my impending trip of awesomeness, one about Jon's shop, and one about pumpking picking. We shall focus on the latter.
Remember one year ago...
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And this past weeknd....
My, how time flies.
We had a lot of fun picking pumpkins this year. Evelyn was much more engaged (obviously) and really really REALLY liked the farm animals. She almost exploded with delight at seeing the sheep (Ba!).
Remember one year ago...
And this past weeknd....
My, how time flies.
We had a lot of fun picking pumpkins this year. Evelyn was much more engaged (obviously) and really really REALLY liked the farm animals. She almost exploded with delight at seeing the sheep (Ba!).
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Car seat monitor
We've all heard about the horrible stories where children die because their parents accidentally leave them in the car. It just breaks your heart. It is hard to imagine ever leaving your child in the backseat. It's hard to imagine ever forgetting your child is in the car. But clearly, it can happen to anyone. So I've wondered if buying some sort of "child alarm" would be useful. Like a beeping that lets you know you left your lights on or your keys are in the ignition, just a little reminder that there is a child in the backseat. I don't know. What do you other parents of young children think?
http://www.carseatmonitor.com/index.php
The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor.
This is a little batter-powered sensor that affixes to the side of the car seat and senses when a car stops moving. After five seconds, a little mechnical "lullaby" starts to play, reminding you that your kid is in the back seat. Simple, easy, effective. Or so it seems.
Right now I think our chances of leaving Evelyn in the car are slim. One, she is LOUD. Very loud. Always. There is never any doubt about her being in the car. Two, she rarely falls asleep in the car anymore, so her giggling and yelling and saying "hi" to everything is everpresent. Three, as of right now, we are not taking her to daycare, where we could accidentally forget to take her and instead go to work and leave her in the car. That seems to be a recurring theme in these stories. Not exclusively, but often.
So I'm not running out to buy this thing or something like it right away, but it is an interesting idea. Would I let Evelyn sleep in a house without a smoke alarm? A carbon monoxide detector? No. Would I let her ride in a car without a seatbelt? No. Maybe this is just one of those static safety things that you hope will never be used, but you are so glad you have it if it is.
http://www.carseatmonitor.com/index.php
The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor.
This is a little batter-powered sensor that affixes to the side of the car seat and senses when a car stops moving. After five seconds, a little mechnical "lullaby" starts to play, reminding you that your kid is in the back seat. Simple, easy, effective. Or so it seems.
Right now I think our chances of leaving Evelyn in the car are slim. One, she is LOUD. Very loud. Always. There is never any doubt about her being in the car. Two, she rarely falls asleep in the car anymore, so her giggling and yelling and saying "hi" to everything is everpresent. Three, as of right now, we are not taking her to daycare, where we could accidentally forget to take her and instead go to work and leave her in the car. That seems to be a recurring theme in these stories. Not exclusively, but often.
So I'm not running out to buy this thing or something like it right away, but it is an interesting idea. Would I let Evelyn sleep in a house without a smoke alarm? A carbon monoxide detector? No. Would I let her ride in a car without a seatbelt? No. Maybe this is just one of those static safety things that you hope will never be used, but you are so glad you have it if it is.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Box Car Racing
Oh the little things...
Evelyn had a hoot in our homemade sleigh made from a box from Costco and some rope we had laying around. The faster we went, the louder she laughed. She is a little daredevil!
Yesterday was not a good one for little Evelyn's body. She had a major bonk on concrete and had a huge bruise on her forehead. She also skinned a knuckle and scratched her leg in the same fall. Then later that night we look over and see blood on the kitchen floor, dog bowl, and dishwasher because Evelyn had cut her finger on a cookie cutter she was throwing around. Crazy baby!
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