oh man...

Go share some love - after something that for so long has been wanted, it's now gone.

Unwellness

Tagged!

Meme about Me

Natalie tagged Malka

3 Things That Scare Me
• Sometimes a big, sudden noise. But that’s about it right now…

3 People That Make Me Laugh
• Mommy.
• Eemah.
• Quincy (he’s not a people, but he’s still funny. VERY funny.)

3 Things I Love
• My mommies.
• My bak-buks (Bottles).
• Scratching my ears!

Things I Hate
• When Eemah leaves the room after I’ve spotted her (I hate that!).
• When Quincy won’t let me grab his fur.
• When my mommies leave me at daycare (although I have been known to stop crying moments after they leave).

3 Things I Don’t Understand
• Where DO my mommies go when they leave me at daycare?
• And why Can’t I go with them?
• And why does Quincy run away when I reach out to pull his fur?

3 Things On My Desk/Table (or my highchair)
• Fisher Price tray attachment play thingy that makes noise and is so much fun!
• My messy fingers.
• My water bak-buk.

3 Things I’m Doing Right Now
• Sleeping.
• Talking in my sleep.
• Pushing through tooth #4.

3 Things I Want to Do Before I Die
• Celebrate my 100th birthday in 2105.
• Crawl.
• Crawl fast enough to catch Quincy and pull his fur.

3 Things I Can Do
• Stand while leaning on something, and my mommies behind me *just in case*.
• Talk your ear off.
• Laugh with abandon.

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
• Happy, giggly DIVA!
• Drama Queen!
• High Maintenance!

3 Things I Can’t Do
• Crawl.
• Eat finger foods (because my Mommy won’t let me).
• Tilt my bottle (although I can hold it really well. The gosh darn milk just won’t come out!).

3 Things I Think You Should Listen To
• My lengthy soliloquies; I have SO much to say!
• My Mommies singing to me.
• My ABC spin ball from leap frog.

3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To
• My ear piercing scream.
• Eemah saying NO.
• My coughing when I’ve aspirated liquid (milk, water, drool).

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
• Avacado.
• Fruit (any and all).
• Oatmeal.

3 Things I’d Like to Learn
• How to crawl.
• How to get what I want when I want it (instead of when my mommies say I can have it).
• How to get Quincy so I can pull his fur.

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
• Formula.
• Water.
• Formula.

3 Shows I Watched as a Kid (wait a minute--I'm not a kid anymore?)
• Access Hollywood.
• Fiddler on the Roof.
• OY Baby.

3 Babies we will tag:
-Mini Miao
-Mary Elizabeth
-LeAndre

What can my very earnest mother serve us now?

My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas will now have to be called My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nectarines.

After all, it IS actually healthier to eat fruit than pizza, I guess.

But I must say, Pluto, I hardly knew ye....

Ice Ice baby

Diversions...

We are in Boston this weekend, as Narda is doing a bit of work on Radio Golf here at the Huntington. She was with the show all over the country, and only left it for a spell when we adopted Malka. This was August Wilson's final show. The one he had just completed writing when he passed away in October. Narda and August had worked together for over ten years, and they had a very close bond. So this show is very important to her in so many ways... It was left in very capable hands, and the show has a lot of love behind it. Narda's been acting as Production Supervisor when it was in Baltimore, and now, as it's in Boston. She'll be back with the show full time in Chicago, and then bring it in to NJ and NY in the Spring. (Does anyone want to come stay with Malka and I for the five weeks she'll be in Chicago? Seriously! It could be fun.)

So um, whenever we go away, the FIRST thing that I want to do is go shopping. It's fun when you're out of town. So My first purchase today?

Isn't it cute! It's great!


It's bigger than my little leSportsac that's falling apart, and smaller than my other fabulous bag: -------->>>>>

(but in green. It's from Queen Bee creations - a great company in Olympia Washington that makes the bags out of vinyl - so they're not only waterproof, but non-leather, as well).




OK internets, I have a confession to make. EVER since high school, one of my best frends and I have had a few personal things that we HAD to have constantly updated with the newest and freshest and nifty-est we could get: Pens, coffee mugs, shoulder bags and personal planners. Ayup. Nerds. Sorry internet. I'm a card carrying nerd. I listen to Mugglecast and Pottercast and NPR's Wait, wait, Don't Tell Me on my Ipod. The music on there? I use it in the gym. I knit on the subway to work, I read Harry Potter religiously, and one of my favorite childhood memories? Seeing Star Wars with my dad when I was 8.

So, um, yeah. I HAD to have this bag. I first saw the brand in Baltimore, and the fantasy (aka drool) began. THEN Narda's best friend Lisa had one - Well, the deal was just as well as done. So the EMS store here had them. And they were ON.SALE. I just put all of the things away in it, and it all fits! YEAH!

It's the little things.

AND, we get to meet one of our internet friends tomrrow. Well, let me clarify - Dora, Erin and I met the LAST time Narda was in Boston, working on a show:


(Please ignore my WAY frizzy hair of 2 years ago...)

But now, we both have kids! And Arden, (Dora and Erin's daughter) turns ONE! on Tuesday! And Malka just turned 8 months old! On Thursday! It's WAY too exciting! (hence all of the exclamation points!)

We'll all be going to the Boston Children's Museum together, which will be very fun.. And, um, museums have one of my OTHER favorite indulgences when on the road: GIFT SHOPS. Drool and swoon.

So although this has been a working weekend for Narda, it's been really fun for Malka and I. (even though she has a cold, she's doing great, and is a real trouper! AND... AND! AND! She was SO SO SO SO SO SO SO good on the train. Narda and I kept wondering who replaced our plane hating screamer with a gentle, well behaved and giggly pumpkin!)

So, I'm off to go have a small glass of wine and watch a little tv. And knit. And enjoy this mini-vacation...

Product endorsement...

Malox.

Don't leave home without it.

Did you know that GERD, and the resulting occasional gas can be exaserbated by stress and anxiety? And that said gas can make one think it's one's heart? And that taking malox relieves said gas, and thus, the "symptoms?" I'm just sayin'...

So the stress:

-Malka's daycare situation is getting better, truly. She still cries and is the loudest one there in terms of screaming, but today she came home with not one, but TWO presents for her mommies! 1) Ba ba ba ba and 2) Daycare germs. And a cough. Which FREAKED us out - it sounded awful. We called the doctor for the first time in ages, and she was so wonderful with me on the phone, and reassured us that yes, it's a daycare cold, but as long as she's happy between the coughing fits (which she is) and there's no fever (just slightly elevated, at 99.9) that she should be fine. She suggested to elevate the head of her bed, so the learning by osmosis has begun, as she now has the Riverside Shakespeare and The Professional Chef under her mattress. We also removed her bumper. Her crib at daycare doens't have one, nor did the one we used in Portland, and she was fine. And it's WAY easier to change the crib sheet with that thing gone.

-Mom - the quick version is that I'm now helping her out financially. I'm taking over her rent payments. There's a whole bunch more stuff there in between the lines, but I honestly do not feel comfortable writing about it on the internet. I just don't know who reads this, and I'd rather keep that part private. But I can share that it now makes me part of the "sandwich" generation - kids who are taking care of their own parents and their own children at the same time. I secretly kind of hoped it would be later, but that's OK.

-New Job / Old Job - LOVE the new job - it's just stressful in the fact that it's a new job, and there's a lot to learn. Old job - they called and asked me to come in and help train my replacement... It's the right thing to do, so I said yes.

-Stupid Stranger comments: if ONE more random person comes us to us and says how chunky or FAT Malka is, I'll scream! She's PERFECT just the way she is! TRUST us, people, with all of the body image issues in our house, and my eating disorder history, and my organic cooking self, she'll be FINE! She's a BABY.

There's more, sure, but I just thought I'd give a quick update. I'm sorry that I've not been reading many blogs lately, but once I get out of the transition phase of the new job, and once we are more in the swing of things with daycare (or actually, with getting out of the house in the morning - OY! That sitcom is an entirely different post...) I'll be able to comment more.

But for now, please accept my apoligies, as I go off to bed. at 10:15pm. (I could actually go to bed at 9pm, but there's too much exciting tv to miss out on)!

Ooooo Child, things are gonna get easier....

My theme song.

Malka started daycare this week - it's AWFUL! She cried and screamed, and cried and screamd non-stop for the first two days. Then the reports were: "She screamed less." Yesterday, when we brought her in, it was 7:45, and she was one of the first kids there. Since her highness was up from 5:30am, I sat on the floor, played with her for a bit, and she gave all tired signs, so I put her down in her crib, hoping htat her little usual 15 minutes of fussy protest would be over by 8:05 or so, before the other kids arrived. She started screaming, and her voice was HOARSE. She had screamed herself hoarse on previous days! RIP.MY.HEART.OUT!

But she quieted down, and fell asleep. When we picked her up at 4:45 or so, her caregiver said she had a great day and didn't cry, except when she was hungry. (um, our kid, NOT cry? haha, but tell us that if it makes YOU feel better, lady).

She only wimpered for a few minutes this morning, and then was playing with some of the toys, and looking at the other kids. She twisted around to look out the observation window, and I ducked down quickly. She then turned around and kept playing.

I KNOW this will get easier. But I have such high expectations for myself as a parent, that it seems as if no one comes close to that standard. I just have to trust that she is being given a decent amount of attention and care. I'm not sure if she's napping as much as they say she is, but I have no choice but to trust them on that. She's doing OK otherwise, and is eating (which is a good thing), and interacting with the other kids.

I'm hoping to be able to slowly start to ask them to do things that encourage her motor skills, since she's a big baby, she's a bit behind in all of those moving things. She's quite a talker, however, and we have regular conversations including the words da da and la la and tza tza and pfffffttttt and she's bustin out a new tooth on top, so she now has 3 things to pierce my fingers when she puts them in her mouth. She's really progressing as a little person, and she's found her snuggle, which is SO special and wonderful. It's a special snuggle just for Narda and I, usually when she's tired, she'll burry her head into your shoulder. She clearly recognizes us as her parents, and it's wonderful. I wish I didn't have to leave her every day. But since I haven't won the lottery, and we are a "working class family," we have her in the best daycare we can afford.

I AM, to be honest, worried about the fact that she'll be 8 months old next week, and isn't crawling yet, or rolling from back to front; but it's not for lack of effort. She wiggles all over, and can propel herself in a circle and do a backwards scoot, but we're not sure if she's aware of the fact that she's actually travelling. She WANTS to move, she TRIES to move. She's 28 inches long and 26 pounds. That's practically the size of a 2 year old, and I SWEAR, we're NOT overfeeding her - in fact, she only gets 24 ounces or so per day (doctor's orders, but she's fine with that), and lots of healthy, fiber-full veggies, and lean meats, ALL organic! She also gets all of the water she wants, up to about 6 ounces per day. I puree most of the food I can, and we buy organic jars for all of the other stuff. She does get whole milk yogurt, and avacado is one of her faves, but they are healthy fats. We DO NOT, (contrary to the opinion of people on the street) feed our child fried chicken and grits, thankyouverymuch. She's a Kosher Organic baby. I know all babies do things in their own time, and she's probably fine, but I can't help but worry, as both her doctor's concerns, and the evidence of ALL of the babies her age in daycare prove otherwise...

Before and After

Before

























After

My closet was chaos, as you can see. One weekend later, and some Elfa shelving (SO easy to install!) and I have ORGANIZATION! Weeeeee!

I decided to paint the interior of the closet orange, to help brighten it up. I think it looks awesome! I also was able to put all of my clothes from the dresser into the closet.

The ultimate goal is to empty the dresser, and give it to Malka. We would then have room for two desks for both narda and I, as currently, we only have one very over crowded desk in there, and um, the cluttered mountain is mine...

so much to say, so little time...

-Vacation
-Malka hates planes
-My mom
-My awesome new job
-Gerd
-Da da and la la
-Stupid stranger comments
-Elfa
-Theresa Weatherspoon night at the Garden


-I'll do my best to get caught up. In the meantime, go give a hearty mazal Tov to Bri over at Unwellness. She's waited two years for this...

Happy 1st Birthday, Charlie!

Hope you like it!

Charlie's mommies

it sucks to be me...

So I have gerd. (gastro esophogeal reflux disorder) and it SUCKS. I take aciphex daily, and sometimes I feel that it's under control. So I forget sometimes, and then MAN do I pay for it later. I let my eating disorder take control, and I let food call the shots, not my gerd.

Below is a sample of all that I have to do. Sigh. Basically, I just need to eat hard boiled eggs, and toast. Yuck.

Tips For Managing GERD
(GastroEsophageal Reflux Disorder)
1. Decrease Reflux!
• Eat small, frequent meals.
• Avoid evening snacks and late night meals.
• Don’t lie down for 2-3 hours after eating.
• Avoid tight-fitting clothes.
• Elevate head of bed 4-8 inches when sleeping.

2. Minimize Foods That Allow the Lower Esophageal Sphincter
Muscle To Open:
• Fat (Aim for < 45 grams of fat per day.)
• Alcohol
• Carminatives (peppermint and spearmint)

3. Don’t Smoke!
•Nicotine relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter muscle and allows it
to open. (OK - THIS ONE'S EASY! I QUIT SMOKING 4 YEARS AGO)
•Smoking decreases the secretion of bicarbonate (an acid buffer).

4. Avoid Foods That Stimulate Gastric Acid Secretion:
• Coffee
• Fermented alcoholic beverages (beer and wine)
• Chocolate
• Caffeine
• Large meals, especially those high in protein.

5. During Inflamed States, Avoid Acidic and Spicy Foods Which
Irritate the Esophagus:
• Citrus fruit and juices
• Tomatoes
• Soft drinks
• Spices (red/black pepper and large amounts of chili powder)
• Alcohol -- all kinds cause superficial mucosal damage.

So um, basically, all of the Thai and Mexican that I enjoy? NO MORE. ugh.

But if avoiding those foods will allow me to NOT feel the way I have this evening, then I'm all for it.

Sorry it's been so long since a post. I'll write more about vacation and Malka's serious displeasure of planes and my first day at my new awesome job later, I've just been swamped.