Monday, June 29, 2009

A Regular Gene Kelly

We had some very nice rain come through here earlier today. I opened the doors to let the cool air in. Guess who had no problem with the water falling from the sky?

First he grabbed the umbrella from the front closet that was open. (I am not making that up.)


Then he ventured out to investigate.



See that? No reaction whatsoever to the cold rain pelting his head. I'm not sure if I'm proud or dismayed.

At least he came back in without going far. Now we need to work on his singing and dancing.

Friday, June 26, 2009

A quick recipe

This one is from our friend Sarah. It's not super healthy but it's quick and tasty.

Cheese Enchiladas
  • flour tortillas- about 8 (I use whole wheat/multi-grain)
  • 8 oz. sour cream
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 small can chopped black olives
  • 1 small can diced green chiles (look for this in the Tex-Mex section. Took me forever to find them.)
  • shredded cheese (2-4 cups)
Mix together all ingredients except tortillas. Spread about 2 T of sauce in tortillas. Don't over fill! Roll and place in 9 x 13" pan. Spread remaining sauce on top. Top with cheese. Refrigerate overnight (optional). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Yum!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fun and Games

I found a nice book at the library yesterday: Your Child at Play: Birth to One Year. I wish I had discovered it sooner as we're down to the last two months and I didn't see the subsequent volumes, but I'm glad to have it now.

It gives a brief overview, month-by-month, of some of baby's developmental milestones and how they are now interacting with the world. It also gives simple games and tips for making tasks a little easier. (Like using a piece of Scotch tape to keep a very wiggly little one occupied during diaper changes. Could have used that about 5 months ago.)

One of the activities for an 11 month old was 'finger painting' with flour. Big I thought it was a great idea and decided to also try 'tongue painting'. (Sorry the pics turned out blurry.)








Of course it all ended up on the floor after a few minutes, but I had some unexpected help cleaning it up.

How do you think he got it on his face?

Edited to add:

We had more art time today and I guess he's just decided to throw himself completely into his craft. Literally.


Sunday, June 21, 2009

Splish Splash

Big I discovered Grandpa's pond today.



He really enjoys the water at the swimming pool too.


Not to mention the tool set Daddy bought himself for Fathers Day.


Speaking of which, Happy Fathers Day, Craig. You're a heck of a good one! Aren't I a smart mama for picking you?


(Just thought I'd point out that Big I is actually sleeping in the photo. I didn't catch him at the wrong moment or anything. It's quite remarkable as he almost never sleeps for anyone except myself and even that takes some doing. See. Good daddy!)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Piggy in the Puddle

Big storms here last night and this morning. We spent part of the evening in the bathroom when the tornado sirens went off. (Ha! I almost typed "air raid sirens". That's what they sound like.) We only got the first bad line to come through. Most everything else went just south of us.

A section of fence did come down.


Luckily it looks like it can be reattached without any problem.

Big I managed to make his way outside to help assess the damage this morning. But he got distracted along the way.

See.

It was one of those moments that makes me glad I can stay home. If I had to hurry up and get ready and out the door to take him to day care and then get to work, it would have never happened. Or at best, I would have been exasperated that I had to get him all cleaned up. Instead, I could run and get the camera and have a good laugh. What a fun discovery for a little guy.

Monday, June 8, 2009

It's in the bag

It's never good when the dogs aren't at the door when we get home. It means they're into something. Today it was the trash. (Note to self, remember to close the pantry!)

There was no denying the main culprit today:


They were into the bag of dog food too. So now he really looks like a little sausage. A sausage all bagged up and ready to go.

Still, it's not as bad as last spring when we came home to this:


That was the last time we tried keeping throw pillows. Especially feather ones. (I still find stray feathers in the house.)

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Speaking of getting into stuff, what is it with babies and dishwashers? He climbs into it now.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Hey, we made it.

Last Friday Craig was out of town, so the little man and I took ourselves to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot at a booksigning. Big I was as good as gold (finding a corner in the back where he could crawl around helped) and Stephanie was highly amusing and a pleasure to meet. We even made her blog. You have to scroll down and "click to embiggen".

The entire time she was talking, though, I had to laugh at the guy from the bookstore. He's the one on the very far right in the picture there. Obviously does not understand the knitting thing. I don't think he laughed once. And she really is funny.

To wrap up the weekend with just the two of us, Big I took me to dinner on Saturday. Shortest date I've ever had... in both duration and height!

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I have not yet been able to get pictorial or video proof, but Big I definitely likes the swimming pool. The first couple of times we went, I would sit him on the side of the pool and tell him to scoot off so I could catch him. He would get a sly little smile, look around to see what everyone else was doing and then wiggle his shoulders, working up to a plop! into the water. Well, when we went the other day, he's gotten so good at it that I hardly had time to let go before he'd launch himself back in. He even got so cocky he'd look off into the distance while pitching forward. Very trusting boy!

He also has a special message for Grandma:



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A few garden shots from this morning:

My mini sunflower with friend on tow. (Actually, I need to look that bug up. I think it might be a cucumber beetle.)


Some yummy strawberries.


The monster mystery cucurbits. They're doing better than anything I planted on purpose.


Blooms on my hosta. Remember what those look like, Mom? No deer here to eat them.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The Business of Being Born

Craig and I happened across an excellent documentary on tv the other night. Every person expecting a baby should watch this film. The Business of Being Born outlines how midwifery and birthing center/homebirths provide a safe, meaningful and empowering experience for women during labor and delivery. It also discussed some very interesting aspects of hospital births.

For example, the U.S. spends more per birth than any other industrialized country and yet we have one of the highest mortality rates. And that about 1 in 3 births are ceasarian sections these days. Not to mention how hospitals and OB's have gone stark raving mad with the number of induced labors. Which leads to more epidurals (which DO have effects on the baby!). Which leads to more C-Sections.

With a C-Section, the mother and baby don't get the flush of hormones that trigger milk production and bonding among other benefits. Not to mention that after a C-section, the baby is away from his or her mother for up to several hours. That magic first hour of bonding is lost. And people want to schedule thsoe things for convienence?

I experienced a bit this phenomenon as well. As soon as I was within a couple of weeks of my due date, my OB/GYN (who, overall, I did like very much) started murmurings about 'we need to be having a baby by...' I took that opportunity to tell her that my body and my baby knew when they were ready, thanks, no Pitocin for us unless there was a problem. Two whole days (gasp!) after my due date the nurse was still baffled. "You don't want to be induced?" NO! Why would I volunteer for purposefully much harder contractions that may or may not truly induce labor but will probably result in me wanting to be drugged up, which slows labor, which leads to more PIT, which all can lead to major abdominal surgery. What is wrong with these people??

Sorry, this post wasn't intended to be a rant. Thank goodness for modern interventions when they're needed. My point is that they frequently are not. Women should be encouraged to trust their bodies to do what they are designed to do. Instead all they know of childbirth is the silliness they see on tv and they're petrified. Hardly a beautiful and meaningful experience when you have that mindset and then intervention after intervention piled on rather than encouragement and support. As my mom has said, "So many women think childbirth is the worst thing that can happen to them. It's not!"

I was lucky that the women who taught my childbirth class did an excellent job of explaining medications, how the body works during labor and basically gave us some information to help us take charge of our labor and delivery. They also discussed many of the surprising facts about hospital births in this country covered in the movie. Luckily, the hospital we used is fairly forward-thinking. So long as I told them my wishes, they were happy to comply.

The real gem in preparing (and afterward) though, was my doula, Mary. Why insurance companies don't cover doulas is a mystery to me. They would save money, especially considering the cost of drugs and potential surgery versus, say, $500 for a doula. (We were able to use Craig's HSA fortunately. Let me know if you want to know the tax info.) Mary was awesome in going over how we wanted labor to go, what type of pain relief we thought might work for me and so, so many other items that hadn't even entered my mind. (Check out this delivery planner if you're interested.) It was so reassuring to be able to call her up at midnight and say "I dunno. This is what's going on. What do you think?" She was worth her weight in gold and then some. (She's pretty petite, so it may be more than just her weight!)

My point in all this rambling is that the movie got me thinking through labor and birth again. I had a relatively easy labor and over-all enjoyed the experience. I believe a very big part of that was that I had information, a plan, and support. We told my doctor and the nursing staff at the hospital what I did and didn't want. I was empowered, not overwhelmed by nervousness and at the whim of what was easier for the staff or at least what they 'usually' did. I hope anyone having babies gets what they need in order to feel the same way. Even if out-of-hospital birthing isn't for you (or so you think!), check out the documentary. Netflix has it. It is biased, but as far as everything I've read, it's also all true.

Here's to happy, healthy babies!


(Happy 10 months to Big I yesterday. You've hit double-digits, bud!)