Week 2

Boring title, I know, but my mind is full of facts and statistics for all the exams I've been taking this week (3) and there's not much room for creativity. Fortunately, I had the camera out this week so there'll be a lot less talking and more viewing:

Saturday: It snowed. Not enough to be exciting, but enough to shut down the sidewalks to stroller traffic, so we pretty much just lazed around. H had full access to S so she was happy and I got to go for a walk by myself so that was thrilling.

Sunday: Church. Home for a quick nap for H. Homework. Off to friends to watch the Pats play and eat homemade pizza. Home to watch the second game. Homework.

Jumper from Aunt Patie =D

Monday: This was my "Thursday" day; H was up twice in the night and then for good at 0400. She was subsequently way overtired and in a rotten mood. Mine wasn't much better and the room kept spinning. I've been attempting to get to some kind of mom and baby group for, well, forever, but just haven't. So today, despite still wet sidewalks, I decided we would do story time at the library. I'd been assured by the "friendly" staff there that H was the perfect age for the group, so with hopes of meeting some moms and giving H a chance to socialize with folks her own size, we tramped over with H in the front carrier. Crazy warm out, I was in a fleece which I didn't need but I still bundled H up. She screamed and arched her back the whole way. Once there, no one was her age (all 2-3 years old) and all the adults were non-English speaking nannies who refused to look at me, much less return my smile or "hi". Grouched all the way home only to discover I *might* have given H frostbite on the cheek; it was pure white. Warmed it up (though it never felt cold), nursed her and she went down for a nap. Rest of the day a blur of whining, S home late, and me miserably failing my first exam.

Tuesday: Did not start auspiciously. I stepped on H's hand in the kitchen, she pulled the full garbage can over on her three times, and I was still sleep deprived. Also, we have a mouse. However, I had the car, so off to Market Basket we went. Detoured to Old Navy where I scored 3 cute new outfits/skirts/shirt/dress for H. While there we met another mom (actually, I met 3 moms and they were all so nice) from the west coast who had a baby girl born the same day as H. We chatted in line for quite some time, and I never thought to give her my name and number. Argh! The worst she could have done was refused to call, but it would have been lovely to meet up. Anyway, maybe I'll see her there again =D H was perfect in both stores, waved enthusiastically to everyone and "helped" carry whatever she could snag. Got home and went on a loooooong walk as the weather was beyond gorgeous. Made a pan of very gooey brownies with salted caramel on top and ate it with a spoon.

She actually does like the swing but was busy watching the big kids


 


On the slide

 Wednesday: The mouse ate the topping off my brownies. Which I didn't notice until I'd eaten a piece myself. Bold rascal. Continuing the salted caramel kick, I put some in my coffee. A.m.a.z.i.n.g. Took the train and walked to mom group at the doula house in Cambridge. H fell asleep just as we got there, so she melted down after 30 minutes. This time, all the kids way too young (6 weeks) so I guess we won't be back. H screamed all the way to Harvard then dropped asleep the minute the train doors shut. I record her screaming only to remind myself how judgemental in my mind I used to be toward parents who let their children melt down in public. Ha. Just try to keep it from happening/stop it. I've been humbled and come a long way in nine months. She took a fabulous evening nap, woke up just in time for dinner and church.

Homemade baked onion rings. Easy and addicting

Thursday: Laundry day! Four loads. H takes her resorting job very seriously and while I admire her work ethic, I wish she'd put it towards something actually helpful. Two so-so naps and then S got home on time (yay) and we had supper. H eats baby food (Happy Baby brand; delicious and organic) just fine except at supper when she sees what we're having and wants it. Last night was corn chowder so I out potato chunks on her tray and she went to town. S took H shopping and I took an exam (100%!) and got a bunch of studying done. When they got home, they'd bought 5lbs of potatoes. H was hilarious; she'd hook the grocery bag through her arm and then take off with it. I'm not sure what her thing is with potatoes, but she's loved the bag of them since she learned how to scoot. Also, it's so neat to see her figure out how to manipulate objects to do what she wants, and that she's starting to use tools. I know this is only interesting to the parent, but it gives me a lot of joy to watch her.

Examining the laundry basket

Talking to the tie

"what do you have, H?"

This face pretty much gets her whatever she wants

Friday: Huge racket coming down the street; a backhoe that has spent all morning tearing down the house next to us! H is only mildly interested and in fact is having no trouble napping through the noise. I have been glued to the window taking picts and videoing it for S. Makes you realize why houses look they way they do when tornadoes come through; houses are pretty flimsy! Currently making a meal for some folks and a bit extra for us (mashed potatoes, woohoo!) and studying. H is getting some 1:1 time with Mrs. M this afternoon so I can take yet another exam and get some more studying done. Then a forum project for the weekend and folks coming over and the week begins again.

Before

H more interested in her mitten than the house coming down

Sorta "after". The whole house is down now, but I ran out of memory

Hope you have a wonderful dry weekend!

Resolutions and the week's news

I'm well aware that resolutions are made only to be broken. But Steve and I already kept the only one we made for the new year (to cancel our gym memberships) so I'm going to make another one. And it is....*drum roll*...to blog once a week and recap what we did! I know, I know, almost too exciting to bear. Expect reports of loads of laundry completed (this seems to have been inherited from my gram; every letter I ever got from her has a record of the number of loads hung out), whining about school work postponed, and the usual antics of a baby. You can also expect that I'll abandon this in a week or so since that's what you do with resolutions =D

So, let's see what happened this past week:

Monday: Steve's mother and baby brother were visiting us, so Henri was getting lots of attention. The weekend really messes with nap schedules though, so when they all left for the International Auto Show, I stayed home with her to force the nap issue. Also, to complete a major project due that evening. It worked out well. I know I would have gotten whiny walking around an expo center looking at cars, Henri would have been all over the place wanting to crawl, and being home allowed us some quiet cuddle time as well as a good nap on her part. I also got a ton done and it sounds like the family had a blast at the show; I'm a bit jealous they got to drive Jeeps...A brisk walk in the afternoon cleared my head and got Henri her second nap for the day and then after supper they all cleared out to BerryLine so I could do my presentation. Listening to the recording of it, I apparently haven't lost my habit of talking too fast. The instructor was gracious, no one asked penetrating questions, and my semester has started with a 100% average. To complete the evening, S brought me back an Oreo frozen yogurt with strawberries.

Tuesday: S had to work so we all just kind of hung out at home with the "what do you want to do?" "I don't care, what do you want to do?". Rather thrillingly, I find that I share a love of Price is Right with Mom S, so we watched and cheered (Henri waves to the Big Wheel). I dragged them on a walk to TJ's in the afternoon once the snow had melted. Forgot that snow melt = wet puddles so there was a lot of skirting and soaked hems, but the temperature was great and Henri again got her afternoon nap. An early pick-up of S at work and then on to the mall where I used a gift card to purchase lip gloss (so frivolous and so fun!) and ate supper at Chik-fil-A. Not a Southerner, don't understand the appeal.

Flower from Guam made of some sort of plant material

Starting to share!

Wednesday: Family left in the morning =( Henri wandered around looking for them the rest of the day and was very disappointed when she got up from her naps and there was no one around. Slightly assuaging the pain was the mountain of laundry I completed (see? told you I'd talk about it!) and she had a wonderful time rolling in it and resorting my whites and darks for me. Church that evening. I dressed her in her new outfit from Aunt Melanie (jeggings with side buttons, pink shirt and frilly puffy vest) because what is church to babies except a chance to show off their adorable outfits?



Notice there are 6 (SIX) buttons here?


I mention this because of:

Thursday: Steve's no more on the bus than I realize, while making breakfast, that H has something in her mouth. Being we're in the kitchen, I'm not too worried cause she leaves puffs on the floor to snack on later (notice I didn't resolve to improve my housecleaning this year. WAY too unrealistic). I finished stirring the Cream of Wheat, put it aside, and saw ONLY FIVE BUTTONS on her pants. Yup, she'd pulled one off. And by the look on her face, swallowed it. I searched everywhere. She'd only had on the pants for maybe 15 minutes and her sphere of travel had been limited. I'd heard her playing with the buttons but assumed they were on tight because I'd checked them the previous night before putting them on. Very long story short, after multiple calls to the MD and nurse on call at her pediatricians office, I got sent to the ER for x-rays and evaluation. We went to Cambridge Hospital because it feels like a second home after all the time I've spent there in the past year. As I've come to expect, the service was prompt, kind and non-judgemental. Apparently every one's child has swallowed something (sorta like last Thursday when everyone has locked their child in the car at some point. You can refer to Facebook for that story. Thursdays are cursed). H was really really good until the last few minutes when we were way past nap time, but even then there was no major melt down. She let them examine her, she charmed everyone (of course the whole staff had to come by to see her) and they found nothing in the x-ray. So, either it's still lurking around the house ready to be swallowed at a later date, or it was of a material that doesn't show up on x-ray. Either way, S has put me on sole diaper duty for the next 72 hours. Most frustrating part of the day? The pediatrician calling me while I was waiting for the results to tell me he could make an x-ray appt for me. The nurse specifically said I couldn't do that when I asked!!!!! So instead of a free (and quick) lab visit, I had a 3-hour, $100 co-pay 1st-time-mom freakout moment. Not to mention the $7 in parking....
H was fine the rest of the day, took great naps and behaved well grocery shopping. Now that I let her sit up front in the shopping cart (after disinfecting the whole thing with baby wipes and hand sanitizer) she really enjoys our shopping adventures. Evening finished off with (good) pizza with friends and brownies a la mode.

Friday: Hopefully a quiet day. Lots of schoolwork to complete as I have an exam in Women's Health and many pages of reading to complete before then. After much protesting Henri is napping. It snowed last night and it's still on the walkways so I think I'll get to bust out the new boots S got me for my birthday when we take our afternoon amble. I attempted some photos of H this morning but she's decided the camera is a toy for her and throws fits if she's not getting to suck on the strap/watch playback of all the photos. It's hard to get shots of her when she insists on being behind the lens.

She's only supposed to have one wooden and one soft toy. As you can see, our next purchase is going to have to be a toy shelving unit. At least they're all "educational" =D

Cruising along

She's spotted the camera and is headed in to take possession

Random recaps: I'm not sure when all of these happened, but moments that stand out from the week
-H's first word is officially "Bob" (she babbles mama and daddy but only says Bob when we're reading 15 Animals by Sandra Boynton or singing the song so I guess that means she's associating word with objects. Sad she's fixated on a name-challenged pet owner, but it's still a proud moment)
-finding adorable valentine's cards for S
-our first library trip where H was given a new book
-becoming intrigued by the coupon lifestyle and hoping that the circulars I signed up for actually come
-buying a coupon organizer (small, with enclosed notepad)
-loving my 1 cup of coffee in the morning with peppermint mocha creamer
-constantly resetting the TV as H is pretty good at pushing buttons
-being very impressed with the rapid progress of H's walking skills. I'm in no rush for her to take off, but her balance is amazing compared with just last week and she's standing unassisted for longer and longer periods of time.

Along with keeping folks fed and the house in a reasonable state of liveability, I'd say it's been a typical week =D See you all next week with a recap!

Mushrooms

I'm not sure when it was that I decided mushrooms were yummy. I always thought they were gorgeous, a biology teacher in high school would make shitake tea every day that was a great break, and puffballs are still a treasured and hoarded find when on a walk. Eating them is a recent occurrence, though. Mom apparently doesn't like them so we never had them on the table and really, they look disgusting in any dish. So you won't be seeing any photos with this post. However, I have started to incorporate them into meals. They're inexpensive, filling, and an excuse to cook with butter and wine. They're also very rich, so when I tasted dinner tonight, I knew I had to share my semi-made up recipe. Basically, it's scalloped potatoes with mushrooms minus the rue I normally make. Here goes:

Preheat oven to 375
Butter a baking dish. I used my lasagna pan so it was a big one
Scrub and thinly slice potatoes. I left the skin on and I'm glad I did, but this was just a time saver. (You won't see many measurements here as I rarely measure even when using a recipe)
Thinly slice 1/2 onion
Slice 1 pound of mushrooms (or buy them that way)
In bowl mix 2 cans of cream of whatever soup (I used 1 mushroom and 1 chicken), bit of salt, pepper, scoop of mayo, few TBLS sour cream (that's all I had left), garlic powder, mustard powder, oregano.
Layer potatoes, onions and mushrooms. Spread with half the mixture, repeat. This filled my pan to the brim.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour over top of potatoes
Cover with foil and pop in the oven until tender. Took about an hour. Then uncover, sprinkle with shredded cheese (cheddar and Parmesan) and bake until browned, another 5 or so minutes.
Serve and feel the pounds pile on. Don't forget the ketchup for less refined palates.

Second mushroom note: Trader Joe's (the bestest grocery store in the world) has been featuring a different cheese every few days. Sunday it was 3 cream Brie with wild mushrooms. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. That's all I have to say about that.

In unrelated news, Henri has added emptying the dishwasher to her list of chores she enjoys, an Ikea trip was extremely profitable (for both the store and us) and Henri is loving her new highchair, the guest room is becoming a functional space, 1/3 of the 5 pounds of fudge I made yesterday has mysteriously disappeared, I really dislike kids for any length of time extending beyond one hour, the countdown is on for VT (!), back pain seems to be plaguing this family, the house never materialized,  we're still having gorgeous weather, and Fear Factor makes me throw up.

In news related to Trader Joe's, their shopping bags currently have gift tags on the front and the side panels can be cut out to make a decorative paper chain. 2 bags were enough to make a chain for the front window and it's quite festive.

Not that I post too often, so I know you won't be concerned, but we're off to God's country soon and shan't return till the new year. Merry Christmas!

The way babies are made

God knew what He was doing when He designed infants. Obviously this applies to a lot more, but we'll stick with young 'uns for the moment. When first born, there's this weird rush of hormones that has you sitting on the edge of your hospital bed just staring at the rise and fall of your newborns chest, no thought of being tired even though you haven't slept in 3 days or nights. And then after day 5 you're full of paranoid thoughts that has you convinced, though you'd love to put her down so you could nap, that a giant eagle is going to swoop in and snatch her if you take even one finger off her (please tell me I'm not the only one who was sure this would happen). Just when you're about to crack from the lack of sleep and the fact that your arm has gone numb from holding this bundle for 2 straight months, she smiles at you. And then you spend the next 3 months doing everything you can to make it happen again. Finally, at 6 months of age, you've regained control of yourself. You know she's too big for an eagle small enough to fit through your window to lift, you know SIDS risk is greatly reduced, and you're desperate for a pedicure. Should be simple, right? Leave her with one of the many (very kind) folks that's been clammering to watch her for you and take off for a few hours. She won't starve, you won't miss a huge milestone since she's not due for any for a bit, and she won't notice you being gone because (according to baby-care books) seperation anxiety won't hit until age 9 months. HA. Maybe it's because she was so overdue when she finally made her appearance, but Henri has full mastery of that particular milestone. And while I fantasize about getting my hair done or even eating a full meal in more than seven minutes, I have to give credit to a pretty ingenious creation. God knew I would have left her at the firehouse a few times there, or been one of those moms (you know who you are!) who "forgets" to get their kid from nursery until the irate worker seeks you out. So while she's pretty capable of existing for a reasonable amount of time without me glued to her, the temptation would be there to stretch that time out. And God decided that babies need their mom for the first full year of their life.
All that to say, I'm hoping to leave Henri with my folks and all of her aunts (6 of them!) and uncle (the cool, semi-scary, tatted up one) for a few hours in the evening so that S and I can have a date when we go home for Christmas. I don't know what to do on one anymore, and I doubt we have anything to talk about, but that will be OK because I'm fairly confident there will be a phone call 30 minutes into it to tell me my daughter is having an epic meltdown.

Completely unrelated, but we're still waiting to hear back about a house in Waltham we offered for. I think temporary insanity hit both of us, and the chances of us getting it are extremely minute, but if we do....well, this blog is going to become more of a "before and after"...with the "before" tempting you to call CPS because we even dared to bring Henri through it on a tour. There will also be a new cast of characters including Chambers, the orange cat that clearly belongs to the house and thinks we belong to him, and the racoon currently residing in the attic. Also an ancient asbestos covered furnace, two rotted out bathrooms, unidentified 2-year old stuff in the freezer, moldy windows, curved walls, marble thresholds, an awesome offset fireplace, two (!) staircases, one with insanely gorgeous carved details, a possible pantry, the need for complete replumbing and wiring, a total paint job, hardwood floors to drool over once they get stripped, insulation to lay, four bedrooms to configure, an extra room that will hopefully become the library/music room (should I paint it a deep green or more of a neutral tan?) a huge garage and a small garden area. Now if it'd only come with a secret stash of 50K that we unearth we'd be all set. Should know by Thursday!

Miss Clingy Independence

Well, we are seeing the emergence of toddler attitude already. Now that she can pull to stand and cruise on everything, Henri thinks she's master of her destiny. Until she gets stuck somewhere. Or gets something taken away from her. Or I step out of sight/reach. She's still not a cuddler but now there's got to be contstant physical contact. And my child has turned into "that one" that nursery workers everywhere hate and dread. Some say, "Aw she's tired". Others say "I'm not really good with babies". But I think the truth was summed up by a lovely lady in NY who, after I was texted for the second time in service, said "She has quite the temper". Yup, tell me about it.
Lest you think she's all horrid, she does have some justification for the contant whining. She has two teeth now and I think the top are coming in as well. She still has her cold and is stuffy and dripping. She's certainly having a growth spurt because according to our scale she's gained two pounds in a month. And she's just discovering that her actions have the same sequele of consequences so she's doing her best to figure that all out which I imagine to be very difficult.
So we're getting through our days with lots of prayers for patience. And plenty of walking practice. And access to paper for chewing because it's fairly benign and keeps her quiet.

Feeling better

Chalk this up the apathy that follows completing a large project for school but I don't feel like reading another module on 3rd stage. So I thought I'd just pop on here and let my faithful reading audience know that Henri is doing much better. I woke up to a pounding on my stomach and a very delighted face appearing and reappearing somewhere near my chest region as she jumped on me. Though a  bit whinier than usual, we're pretty much back to normal here. Phew, since that lethargy really freaked me. She's still stuffy so she got steamed again while I took my shower but it doesn't seem to bother her. Just a few hacks this morning so the cough is better. AND she slept through the night again. I don't know if it's because she's sick or because the past two weeks have been because of teething, but I love it! Course it would have been better if I'd gone to bed at a decent hour, but I kept expecting her to wake up again. And after Biggest Loser comes on Parenthood and I might see that as my soap....Anyway, it was brought to my attention that Thanksgiving is in 8 (EIGHT!) days?!?!?!??!!!! So, I'm guessing there will be no cute outfit made for Henri. But I do have a month before Christmas and with only one person's presents complete, it's time to break out the needles. Hopefully Ravelry will not fail me. Happy middle of the week procrastinating!

Firsts. and ramblings

To start with, this being a mom thing really knocked me for a loop. For some reason I thought I was cut out for it and that I'd handle it with grace and ease and know the right answer at least half the time. Enter a crappy birth experience (I'll write about that some day when I stop crying about it), a hopsital stay for clots pretty much everywhere (ER docs comment? "In the olden days you would have been dead." thanks.), breastfeeding that felt worse than any torture you can imagine, giving myself shots twice a day and a really messed up batch of hormones (PPD is a very disconcerting thing) and just the general exhaustion/fear/newness that surrounds becoming a mom, I never started or got a baby book for Henri. Nowhere did I record the firsts or gush about each little movement she made. For some reason I was too focused on trying to stay alive myself (did I mention I might have had a major touch of whacked out hormones?) and keeping Henri in a reasonable state of wellbeing. I don't know how moms can get organized enough to have newborn shoots and post loving descriptions of gazing on their sleeping infant.

 So, 6 months out, I have finally started her baby book. And I found the perfect one. It's called "The first 1000 days" by Nikki McClure and is perfect for those who are a bit disorganized. Basically, it's a journal with small prompts and gorgeous woodcut prints.


 There's minimal space for photos or such, so that's helping a bit with the guilt that I never got her footprints taken (who forgets to do that sort of a thing?! see, not cut out to be a mom). Each month to 24 months has two pages to record, well, whatever, and then there are sections for adventures and songs and books and such. And firsts. This is what I've been recording lately because I can't remember what happened in month 2-4 (I don't think a whole lot did, but it would be nice to remember when she first smiled....).
This month's firsts?
*1st food: An apple slice. She loves them. Has now also eaten mango, banana, cream of wheat, prunes, sweet potato, winter squash, lemons, peas (not a hit), applesauce, and mum-mums.

*1st tooth. Bottom left. She had a stuffy nose for two weeks preceeding so I knew it was coming but was still suprised when I found it. Very sharp though just a little pin-prick in size, and she's loving the way it feels against her tongue. That coincides with

*1st bite while breastfeeding. You can probably imagine the reaction.

*1st ear infection. Sooooooo sad for her about this one. I've only had one, and I was 13 at the time, so I know how painful they are. She hasn't seemed in pain, just had a low grade temp and croupy cough for the past 24 hours. I refused abx cause the studies show they're not effective for ear infections and should be used sparingly. So while I know they don't help, I just feel so guilty not doing something for her. When she gets older she'll be able to take full advantage of that guilt. For now she's just getting all the cuddles she'll tolerate and a VIP pass to the boobs.

You can be sure it's all going into the baby journal. And now I'm going to go gaze lovingly at my sleeping babe. And check her breathing because I'm still a paranoid mess....