Robots Can't Have Babies

Bzzzzzz

2009-10-26T10:46:00.001-07:00

99% done.

Zadie tried on the body (though I made the head opening too small so we had to cut a slit down the back for extra room. Good thing fleece and felt don't fray :), but she won't try on the wings or the bonnet...maybe when she figures out she gets candy when she does...

I'm still considering whether or not to I should add antennae. Zeb won't allow me near the glitter spray paint so we will have to see.

Monkey Swing!

2009-08-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Zeb decided it was time to climb up the oak tree to tie a rope with some knots.

He then fashioned a nice round platform to sit on to make a Monkey Swing! Zadie added some local color.

We then all took a turn testing it out.

It tends to twist to one side a bit, but it's great fun. Maya doesn't quite know what to make of it but she enjoys supervising from her favorite position.

The L-word

2009-08-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Zadie came back from her stay at Grammy's with a new phrase.

"Mommy, I love you"

The first time was over the phone...maybe coached by Grammy.

It is difficult to tell how much of that phrase she understands, but it is amazingly sweet regardless. She doesn't say it very often...I've heard it maybe 3 times in the six weeks or so since but it always makes me smile.

She came back from my mom's this Monday saying

"Zadie two old"

I can't believe she will be 2 and a half in a week.

Car-lite-(er?)

2009-07-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have been following quite a few bike commuting blogs since I restarted the commuting by bike. Many of them go further to what they call 'car lite'. In addition to biking to work, they are replacing other short trips by car with trips by bike.

Great idea, but definitely easier said than done when a toddler is involved.

Yesterday I took a step closer to car-lite-ness.

The next Sookie Stackhouse book was on hold for me at the library. Since the days have been longer and it's only about two miles or so to downtown I figured I had enough daylight to make the trip by bike after Zadie was in bed. I was a little nervous because Zeb wouldn't be able to rescue me should something go wrong since he couldn't leave Zadie alone in the house. It was great! Aside from some minor mishaps when unlocking my bike (I couldn't get my lock to relock...and I somehow messed up my wheel sensor for my bike computer when) it was a nice ride.

I took the Los Gatos Creek trail back which added about a mile and required a bit of climbing, but it was very pretty at sunset/twilight.

I'm thinking that when the commute becomes too long for me to handle, the trail may be a nice alternative for keeping up the exercising...

Next on the list of car trips that might be replaced...emergency grocery store runs?

Camping with Toddler (and Puppy)

2009-07-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

We went camping in Yosemite over 4th of July weekend.

The trip up was pretty smooth. We got to the gate in about 4 hours, but it took another hour and change to get through the gate and into the campsite. We got there right around Zadie's usual nap time.

After a quick lunch I tried to take a nap with Zadie while Zeb walked Maya. In our attempt to make the experience easier for Zadie (and my achy pregnant back) we brought the aerobed. I felt a bit guilty for the luxury but when I saw that some other folks had brough not only a fold out bed but an easy chair with leg rests I didn't feel so bad.

Unfortunately, there was to be no napping with all the excitement of lunch at a picnic table, tent, setting up camp, tent, squirrels, and of course, the tent. Trying to get her to sleep at night was an even more difficult task. She finaly conked out around 9:30 but would keep waking up every 20 minutes or so until sometime closer to 2am. First she was too hot. Then she lost her paci. Then she had slipped off her sleeping pad and elbowed the ground and her elbow hurt. Then she was too cold.

At least we didn't keep the neighbors up.

The second night went much better. It still took a while to get to sleep (probably conked out around 9) but then she stayed asleep until 6:30 am. Woot!

Maya, on the other hand, was much easier. Zeb took her on 4 to 5 walks during the day which kept her tired enough to just chill around camp. By the last day she was starting to want to play, which is a bit harder on leash. If we were to do a longer trip we would probably go someplace where they allow dogs off leash or leave her at home.

We also saw lots of pregnant ladies around. Two adjoining sites had pregnant ladies and there was another one who would walk past our site to use the restrooms. Perhaps this is just another case of me seeing pregnant ladies everywhere...

Wii (Un)Fit

2009-06-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

I was looking around online yesterday, reading about exercising during pregnancy.

It started with the nice article supporting my belief that is is perfectly safe and good for me to continue commuting by bike to work as long as it feels comfy:

http://bikecommutetips.blogspot.com/2009/05/baby-on-board-pregnancy-and-bicycle.html

From there I somehow found myself on the baby center site where someone was asking about Wii Fit while pregnant. I have been tracking my weight gain in a google spreadsheet, but according to some of the posters, you could enter the recommended gain (25-35 lbs for me) and instead of
A) getting yelled at by the trainer and having to enter 'Ate too much' as the reason for gaining
or
B) having to enter preggo weight as clothing weight
you get congratulated on making progress toward your "goal".

Brilliant!

So last night, after we put Zadie to bed, I turn on the Wii for the first time in months...both the wii-mote and the board needed new batteries. I suspect the dog has been accidentally turning on the board under the couch. It turns out I've gained about 5lbs since the last time I used it (not too bad for 18 wks...must be the cycling) so I figure I'd enter 25 lbs with the goal being the due date.

Foiled!

I hit some kind of ceiling at +22 lbs. I guess wii fit doesn't like encouraging obesity. Still...22lbs in 6 months works out to 1.7 lbs every two weeks which is about right anyway.

I don't know if the hula game will work so well with the belly throwing my balance off, but I'm looking forward to doing more of the yoga poses :)

Everything it it's Place

2009-04-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

My mom called last night. She had borrowed some DVDs from the library for Zadie to watch and after Zadie left one of them was missing.

She had looked everywhere and as a last resort she wanted me to check the diaper bag to see if it might be there.

It wasn't.

Not quite seriously, I asked Zadie where she put the DVDs...she pointed to the cabinet under the tv where we put ours. I joked to my mom that they were probably in the cabinets by the tv.

A few minutes later my mom calls back. Indeed, the dvd was in the cabinet under her tv.

Even if it's not her house, it seems Zadie will put things back in their place :)

Armadillo power

2009-04-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

So...the tire saga continues...

Last Friday my back tire suddenly went flat halfway home. I didn't remember the bike shop at the nearby complex so I called Zeb to pick me up. Then I rode again on Monday, and about 3 miles into my ride home the back tire went flat again! Argh. It was in the same location on the tube...the place where the screw had pierced the tire back in March. Must be a hole big enough to let particles through...or something.

Both times I managed to change it by the time he arrived. On Monday I even had the tire remounted (practice does make a difference!) but it was still faster to get a pick up than to change it myself and ride the rest of the way.

I was next to a gas station Monday and even though I had successfully patched the tire and remounted it...I realized I had no clue how to pump it with the gas station air pump. I asked Zeb on the way home...apparently presta valves are not easily pumped with the gas station pumps...and this was the one advantage of the shrader valves...grrr

Anyway, after Monday Zeb put his foot down. No more riding (i.e. no more saving of the Jen) until I got new tires.

Since Mikes' was having a sale, I stopped by Tuesday afternoon and got a pair of the 25c version of Armadillo tires:

They were very difficult (for me) to get on...I finally gave up after 40 minutes of wrestling that culminated in a pinched tube, and asked Zeb to put them on.

Who needs a NBM when you have a Zeb?

My first ride on them this morning felt a little sluggish (it didn't help that my bike computer was out of whack so I couldn't tell what speed I was going), but also somewhat smoother than my stock 23c vittoria tires.

"Bike tire saga" or "Why Friday sucked"

2009-04-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

The first time I tried changing my front tire myself was a few months ago.

It took me 20 minutes to even get the tire off the rim.

Then after another 20 minutes wrestling the tire back on, I popped the tube trying to pump up the tire.

The second time it took maybe half the time to get the tire off, the new tube on, and the tire back on. The tube popped again when I tried to pump it up.

At that point I felt very defeated and I only had one spare left, so I gave up and asked Zeb do it. He was somehow able to change it and keep it from popping in less than 10 minutes.

My inner Bike Maintenance Guru wept and hung its head.
*****************************
At the beginning of March I ran over a screw on the way home and popped my back tire.

After waiting two weeks for Zeb to fix it, I finally gave up waiting and tried it myself. This time I use the normal plastic tire levers instead of Zeb's super metal tire lever.

It worked the first time!

My inner BMG cautiously lifted its dejected head and began to hope.
*****************************
Last Friday starts off as a difficult bike day. There are 10-20 mph head winds on the way to work in the morning. Not a happy commute.

About an hour after I arrive at work, I hear this "pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh' from my bike.

The front tire had gone spontaneously flat.

So, in order to make sure I can leave on time, I change the tire over my lunch break. I take off the tire and the tube. I find the slit (apparently made by a metal shaving I find in the tire...) and get out my patch kit to patch it. I follow the patch kit instructions and apply the patch. Then, I put everything back on and try to pump it back up. The air keeps leaking out. Crap. So, I take it off again. It pumps up just fine when the tube is outside the bike. WTF? I put it back on. Again, it fails to pump up. Grrrrrr. At this point, I'm get somewhat frustrated. I take it off again, and pump it up outside the tire a bit more and play with the patch site. I discover the patch is leaking. Double crap. I direct some colorful sayings at the patch company and whoever wrote their retarded instructions. I give up on the patched tire and use my spare. This goes on fine and I'm able to pump it up part of the way with the hand pump but the floor pump at work doesn't have the right valve for my tube. I find out from MyHero that I can go to the local bike shop to borrow their pump to finish it.

At the end of the day, I leave a bit early to give myself enough time to stop by the bike stop and pump my tire. I ride the block and a half to the bike shop. When I get there, Mr. Nice Bike Mechanic offers to pump it for me. He comes back out a few minutes later a bit upset. My tire had popped when he started pumping it up. I find myself defending my bike changing technique and reviewing my day of bike actions.

NBM explains to me the first possible cause of my terrible bike tube luck:
The tube can get caught or folded either around the edges of the tires or around the pump valve opening, causing it to pinch when pumped up to pressure, and ultimately causing it to pop. This is why the tire should be partially pumped (which I had done correctly) and why there should usually be a bit of adjustment around the valve area when pumping up the tire. Apparently riding on a partially pressured tire can cause this to happen as well.

Since at this point my confidence in my tire changing abilities is completely shattered and Zeb has refused to come pick me up from work, I pay NBM $12 to change it for me.

At this point we find the second possible cause:
The tape on my rim was torn in a few places. Especially suspicious was a tear at one of the spokes. He also mentioned that the ends of the tape were not done very smoothly. NBM tells me since he already has taken the tire off, I just need to pay for the cost of the new tape and he'll replace that as well.

45 minutes after I left the office I am finally on my way home.

My inner BMG is now hoping the new tape put in by NBM at my local bike shop will mean there is hope for the future.

Communication with a 22-month-old

2009-01-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

After waving bye to papa getting into the car...

Zadie: Papa...

Me: Papa has to go pick up something from the store, honey. We're going to stay here and play until he gets back.

Zadie: Zadie...go...

Me: I know Zadie wants to go, but Papa will get things done faster by himself.

Zadie: Zadie...go...Zadie....go...

Me: I know Zadie wants to go, maybe we can go with Papa next time.

Zadie: Zadie...go...Zadie....go...Zadie...go...

Me: Look Zadie! There's a monster trying to eat your train!

Mmm...pumpkin bread

2008-11-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts about fall is pumpkin bread. Sure you can make it other times of the year, but it just isn't the same.

3.5 c flour (I used all-purpose for about 3 cups and whole wheat for the rest)
2 to 3 c sugar (I usually use somewhere between 2 and 2.5)
2 t baking soda
1.5 t salt (or less)
1.5 t nutmeg
1.5 t cinnamon

1 c oil
2/3 c water
4 eggs
2 c pumpkin (I use 1 15 oz can)

(Most of 1 bag of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips)

1 - mix dry ingredients and make a dent in the center
2 - add wet ingredients
3 - blend until smooth
(Add chocolate chips)
4 - bake at 350 1 to 1.5 hrs for loaf...20-25 min for muffins

Enjoy with your hot beverage of choice.

Pumpkin patch and carving party

2008-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great Saturday picking out some pumpkins from the local pumpkin patch and carving them at Aunt Kara and Uncle Jake's Pumpkin Carving Party!

Work-in-progress

2008-10-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Since Zadie LOVEs strawberries, I'm making her a strawberry halloween costume...

First I made a little paper prototype with notebook paper and tape to get some general shapes and relative measurements...

Then, sewing the fleece seeds onto the flannel...

Then we add some leaves...

And almost finished...

We are planning a final fitting before the pumpkin carving party this Saturday...hopefully Zadie will let me put it on her long enough to take a picture wearing it!

Bike Commute Day 3

2008-10-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

I tried the slightly more local way today bypassing Sunnyvale-Saratoga. It was much, much nicer. Totally worth the extra distance.

Total Distance: 32.5 miles.
Still between 65 and 70 minutes to the office and around 70 minutes home.

The way back was easier this time. I think this was partially because I had a better idea of where I was going and more confidence I wouldn't get lost. I took Homestead instead of Stevens Creek which meant less freeway merges and fewer hills. Win-win! It also helped a lot that I wasn't dying on the hills.

Yay for getting fitter!

Too bad I can only go one way this Thursday since I have a 5:30 meeting. Poo.

I'm still hoping to break the 60 minute barrier sometime soon. Perhaps Thursday morning...

Bike Commute Day 2

2008-10-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

I am beat. I overdid it yesterday...by about 7 or 8 miles.

I did the whole round trip yesterday.

15.7 miles each way for a grand total of 30.4 miles.

I had felt really good on the way to work. I spent about two thirds of it with another biker who was going the same way. It was very pleasant to chat while commuting and gave me some incentive to try to keep up. Even without my biking shoes I still made it in 70 minutes. At least I'm consistent!

Since I have to go to a conference Thursday, yesterday was my only chance the entire week to bike commute. So, I figured why not try the whole thing.

What I had not considered was the subtle difference in terrain and route the trip back would present. There is far more uphill...I think I was somewhere along Foothill when I slowed to maybe 6mph struggling just to turn over the pedals.

I also took a route where I had to cross a busy street with no cross traffic stop sign. I think I waited at least 10 minutes before there was an opening long enough for me to cross...

I was surprised to find that I managed to make it home in around 80 minutes.

I don't think I'll be trying that again for a while...maybe next spring. I think I'll stick to the 19 mile option until I'm in a bit better shape.

Bike Commute Day 1

2008-09-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first attempt to bike commute since Zadie was born.

Total trip: 19 miles

To work: Bike 15.8 miles in 70 minutes
Back: Carpool with coworker to his house. Bike 3.2 miles home.

My route: Virginia->Bucknall->Cox->Sunnyvale-Saratoga->Prospect(Stelling)->Homestead->Foothill->Springer(El Monte)->Latham

It felt great!

I started out a bit too fast.

Then, I missed the turn onto Bucknall so I had to turn around.

I got a bit tired halfway down Cox but since my wheelsize setting on my bike computer was wrong I fooled myself into believing I was more than halfway...which kept me going.

I had to do a two-light left turn onto Prospect because of heavy traffic and just missed the left turn light onto Homestead.

I finally figured out when I was on foothill that the mileage on the bike computer was wrong so I started looking at the clock instead and was very pleased to see that I had only been on the road for 45 minutes.

My backup plan was to call my carpool buddy to come get me but it turned out I got to my office before he had...by 20 minutes.

I was very thankful that we have showers at my office and felt great all day. Those endorphins are quite a rush.

I felt good, but not good enough to ride all the way back so I only did the distance between my carpool buddy's house to home. It was much harder with work clothes and street shoes :)

Next Tuesday I plan to attempt both ways. Bwahahahahaha.

The evolution of the kiss

2008-09-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

It started over a month ago with the open mouthed slobber 'kiss'. She would lunge at the victim with her mouth wide open and tongue out. It was more than a bit frightening since one never knew if the result was going to be slobber or slobber with teeth.

Then there was the sniff/eskimo 'kiss'. If we asked her to sniff she would bring her face in close and sniff while we touch noses. Initially this was much preferred by us since there was much less slobber and slimmer chance of teeth.

There is also the variation with the screen or sliding door where she will push her face up against the screen door and when you bring your face up on the other side she'd sniff back.

Finally, in the last two weeks she's mastered the kissing sound. Smaller mouth opening and more suction equals better kiss sound. She will usually plant one in the vicinity of the face. But sometimes it ends up being an air kiss when she misses.

Yesterday we caught her kissing her own (possibly imaginary) boo-boo's.

Container Garden - Redux

2008-07-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at the resiliency of plant life.

Somehow, despite my lack of experience and decidedly un-greenish thumb my garden lives on.

Recently, I finally ripped out the yellowed and dried up pea vines and what did I find? NEW GROWTH! Only two of the roughly 40 vines had any sign of life, but LIFE it was! I don't know if it is directly from the seed or if it is just from the base of the vine that was still living and able to draw moisture from the soil, but I refuse to question the miracle. I may yet have a second harvest, albeit a greatly reduced one.

I was thinking to take some pictures of my EarlyGirl tomatoes, but Zadie's already snagged all of them as soon as the first one turned red so there are now no more tomatoes.

We also had some strawberries that managed to get past the green stage while we were on vacation that have also fallen victim to small curious hands.

The cucumbers are starting to look pretty good. I'm hoping they will survive a bit better since they don't turn a tempting red. I was surprised to find out that they get wide before they get long. They are still on the short and stubby side. I'm not sure how long they actually get.

There are also these really crazy red dragonflies that really like the wisteria plant in the back corner.

New Things

2008-07-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Zeb went to REI before we left for Tahoe and came back with several Cutest Baby Things Ever that couldn't be passed up
- Mary Jane Crocs in light blue
- Nalgene Sippy Cup in green - She insists on putting her thumb through the little handle while drinking...

The 'bee has figured out how to go down slides by herself. We spent much time in Tahoe indulging this new activity...occasionally pushing slightly bigger little kids out of the way to do so (just kidding...sort of).

We also got the 'bee her first ice cream cone. Strawberry, naturally. A rather sticky affair, but great for comedy.

New funnest game ever: Throwing rocks into the lake. Whether or not they travel to the water or even in a forward direction is another matter. She's got the throwing motion down, but the release part is a bit tricky.

We have also discovered dried pork shavings. Meals are now no longer complete without them.

Last but most definitely not least: Sleeping through the night!!!!!!

4th of July Parade in Cayucos

2008-07-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Dah. Guh.

2008-07-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

The 'bee LOVED playing with all the pups at the beach house this weekend.

She would wave every time she spotted one (her wave is currently opening and closing her fist with palm facing upward).

She had a blast feeding them treats.

She even helped to walk them along the beach!

I think it's time for us to start looking for a puppy of our own :)

My sad sad container garden

2008-06-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

First the happy news.

The arugula that I started indoors and transplanted to the patio planter did wonderfully. In fact, it took over the entire planter. The poor gardenia hiding in the back had little say. I've picked the seed pods and I'm drying them. Hopefully they'll do just as well next year :)
Now the not so happy news...

The last few super-hot days have not been kind to my sugar snap peas. I water every evening and on the super hot days I tried to water in the morning as well, but not watering while at work really took it's toll on the poor plants. Here they are looking so very promising at the beginning of the month.

We were able to get a single harvest of around 20 beans before the heat hit. Now the poor sugar snaps are looking rather dry. At least the cucumbers seem to be thriving and the bell peppers are finally sprouting :)

Next year we plan to do some raised beds with the water tied to the automated system so it won't be quite so dependent on me being consistent. Also, it would most likely be better for the plants to have a bit more space to spread out. I'm probably doing a million other things wrong too. If anyone out there with a greener thumb than I has any advice, it is welcome.

Wilder Ranch

2008-06-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Zeb has been itching to go mountain biking for ages. It's been at least two, maybe three years since our last ride.

The last ride I remember we rode the Frog Lake trail at Henry Coe. This was the trip where I failed to see a rock on a sharp corner and flipped...into the brush...which was mostly poison oak. It is not a happy memory.

Since we are going to try the Flume trail when we go to Tahoe with my parents in two weeks we figured we should at least try to get in shape. To that end, we took my parents to Wilder Ranch today. Grandparents are the best! They took the 'bee for a walk along the coastal cliffs while we went on a ride.

We did the Old Dairy trail. Considering how out of practice we were it went pretty well. It was nice and low key. I had to take a few 'moments' here and there to recuperate and there was some walking of the bikes, but we were only passed by three people and we made it!

Open Letter to the Long Suffering IT Guy at Work

2008-06-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Dear LSITGAW,

I miss you. Please come back from vacation.

I promise I won't interrupt you on your call with other end users....much. The only exception will be when you seem to be on hold or something and classical/elevator music can be heard faintly from your earphones.

I promise I won't touch anything in the server room without asking you first. The last time I had accidentally turned the Linux build machine off was a complete misunderstanding. I thought I was turning it on since I couldn't ping the box from my desktop.

I promise not to spill coffee on my machine. The last time it happened it turned out ok after allowing the box to dry over the weekend, but I agree that coffee covered electronics do tend to break more easily.

Please ignore my past transgressions and just make the beeping from full tape drive in the server room stop. In keeping with my previous promise not to break anything in the server room I have not touched it. I promise.

Sincerely,

Me

Cardboard Cutouts

2008-06-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

We've been looking at getting the 'bee some kid sized table and chairs. She LOVES being able to sit in a chair her size. The trouble is that most of the kid stuff is still too tall for her or really expensive.

So far we've been using the bumbo which is getting a bit small and the portable booster seat that is meant for dining out...but we are missing the table part.

I ran into this super cool site that has some patterns for cardboard chairs...and perhaps a table similar to the ones here.

...modern sensibility
...cheap, possibly free
...green
...can be customized to a size that would fit her

I don't know how long it would last, but kid furniture is outgrown so quickly it wouldn't matter.

I am totally smitten with the idea. Now if only I had a spare day or two...

Beach!

2008-05-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely long weekend at the beach house.

Lounged a bit...

Took some long walks...

Squished some anemones at low tide...

Giving Thanks

2008-05-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for our new fridge paid for by our economic stimulus check for...

...yogurt cups that are not accessible to the 'bee every 20 minutes
...ice cream that is not dripping/oozing/otherwise much more difficult and much less appealing to consume
...ice cubes that are not accessible to the 'bee that end up on the floor as slippery puddles that everyone slips on
...butter that is not squishy
...eggs, deli meat, etc that is not thrown out of the cooler onto the floor every 20 minutes by a 'bee intent on snagging another cup of yogurt
...salads that do not consist entirely of the ginormous arugula that has taken over the planter on the back patio
...not having to get more party ice from the store every 24 hours

I am also very thankful that we were able to continue cooking at home for the better part of 6 days despite having a refrigerator whose digital thermometer was reading 77 degrees during one of the hottest weeks of the year so far.

Whoa Baby!

2008-05-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

It's not even noon yet and the 'bee has already polished off nearly 3 cups of Yo Baby. My girl sure does like her yogurt.

Here we are with some two spoon action...

ETA: Normally we would have stopped and offered other things after the first cup but since our refrigerator is down for the count we are using the cooler to keep things from spoiling in this heat. The cooler is at the 'bee's level and now that she is determining the menu it has been all yogurt all the time today.

A great day

2008-05-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

Chocolate chip cookies, 3 hour nap and a good night last night. What a great Mother's day it has been.

The baby hours

2008-05-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Parents with small children generally stay close to the nest. Only venturing out to gather necessities for survival. It is a challenge to spot these specimens unless you understand their routines. These are special times when the likelihood of seeing parents with young children out and about are better than average. These are known to us as 'the baby hours'

The first is the mall between 10 and 11:30 am. Sure, there are other people there too, but this is when the majority of parents with small children are out shopping. Or, at least, it is the only time we will go to the mall now.

Typically we've already been up since 7:30, fed the 'bee first breakfast, eaten breakfast ourselves (the 'bee's second breakfast). We try to get there right when the shops open. There are fewer people. We can usually find parking and get in and out faster. We can get a reasonable amount of shopping done before naptime at noon.

The second is at restaurants between 5 and 6:30pm.

Again, the wait time is usually minimal for both seating and service. There is also the need to finish in time to get home for bedtime at 7:15

Perhaps there are more that we are as yet unaware of. If anyone knows of others, please share.

A sad day for the fishies

2008-04-29T14:14:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a very sad day for the fishies.

It has been a sad month, actually.

Around January we had traded in the original Giant Danios in for some Mollies.
- An orange pot-bellied molly (F)
- A spotted molly (M)
- A white molly (F)

Then a few weeks later, we discovered a baby molly. We suspected it was the pot-bellied because it was orange-ish.

In early April, there were suddenly at least 10 more baby mollies. These were also orange colored, but some of them have black spots. We are still not sure who was the mother...

Then the filter got clogged...and the original baby molly was the first to go.

We changed the filter, but the change-filter-indicator the water quality did not improve.

Last night the pot-bellied orange molly has kicked the proverbial bucket. As did many of the new mollies.

We (and by 'we' I mean my hero, Zeb) cleaned out the tank thoroughly last night and reset the filter. So far the remaining mollies seem to be ok. We were able to save 5 of the fry.

Now the filter indicator is looking good. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Mysterious molars

2008-04-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

I never knew teeth could take so long to come in.

The right bottom molar the doc mentioned at her 1 yr appointment is finally peeking through. Along with both bottom bicuspids. Poor thing.

Maybe this is one of the reasons the 'bee has been biting at daycare.

The magic of fixed schedules

2008-04-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

The 'bee officially moved up to the next room at daycare last week.

The new room has a fixed schedule with snacks and nap at particular times. They also get to play outside. The change is pretty dramatic.

Before:
15-45 minutes at daycare at random times.
Even at home she used to only sleep 1.5 hours at the most.

After:
TWO AND A HALF hours. Sometimes even 3 hours EVERY DAY

Maybe now 'working-from-home' will actually mean more work ;)

Baby Stuff: Part 1

2008-04-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, when I was trying to navigate through the mountains of baby 'stuff' marketed toward expectant parents, I found myself wishing for a time machine so I could avoid getting things that would end up being clutter. I was on the verge of panic attacks every time we were supposed to be adding things to the registry. How am I supposed to know what I'll need? What if we get the wrong things? What is all this stuff used for anyway? This was much more difficult than the wedding registry which was most stuff that we understood. This was future NECESSITY for a life we had absolutely no experience with. If we didn't get the right things we would be BAD PARENTS.

Since I have been finding it difficult to find things to blog about, this post will be the start of a series of posts on useful and not-so-useful baby stuff we've acquired this past year and a half.
Basically, these are the things I wish I had known when I had been 'preparing the nest'.

This first post will cover those items that we had to go back to get more of.

Burp Rags:
There can never be enough burp rags. You may think that 6 would be enough. It is not. Two are needed every night to keep the milk from soaking through to the mattress when co-sleeping. Then there is the one for each feeding to keep milk from soaking into the boppy. Then there is the one for the actual burping after the feeding. So, really the 6 you got...they only last about 4 hours...then either laundry needs to be done or you resort to using some of the diapers from the diaper service. More recently, we are down to one for the night time leakage, and one for pumping and one for miscellaneous drool. After multiple realizations that we _still_ didn't have enough, we settled at about 18.

Flannel blankets:

I think we started with around 4. A nice number, but also not enough. In the beginning, one used for swaddling, one for keeping exposed shoulder/belly warm and/or covered while nursing, one to keep under the 'bee because the sheet is cold under her head and in case of errant fluids. These were better than the fleece or organic ones for swaddling since they were stretchy, but not too stretchy. More recently they are great for an extra layer in the car or the stroller. Then we started losing them at daycare too...so I think we ended up getting a total of around 12.

Pacifiers:
We didn't introduce these until about 6 weeks. Fingers worked at first, but with the introduction of teeth that became a very dangerous substitute. Even then we only used them to facilitate napping in the carseat, stroller and at daycare. It is more of a fun thing to chew on that was usually around. These seem to get lost or dropped entirely too easily. The clips are somewhat useful for keeping them un-lost for longer, but then the clips get lost too. I think we have around 10 but it is hard to keep count.

Sleep, Sweet Sleep.

2008-04-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

The 'bee has been starting the night in her own room for a while now since her bedtime is about 3 hours earlier than ours. We have a fairly consistent bedtime routine of bath, stories and nursing to sleep. She would fall asleep within about 15 minutes. Once asleep, getting her to go back to sleep was usually pretty easy as long as nursing was involved.

Now that she likes to crawl on us, stand up, and pull hair when she is awake, nobody gets a good night's sleep.

A few weeks ago we started the process of convincing her she really didn't need to wake up to nurse every hour or two and teaching her to fall asleep on her own. Since she was wanting to nurse but not really hungry we decided Zeb would go in to comfort her back to sleep.

This week was the 11pm waking. At first she was pretty pissed that it wasn't mama. The first night included much yelling at Zeb...his ears are still recovering. The second night there was a long period of lying down and getting back up, but much less yelling.

Then the 'bee slept 8 hours straight last night.

Simply amazing.

Zeb is my hero.

Egg "Hunt"

2008-03-31T21:20:00.001-07:00

Not suprising, but interesting

2008-03-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Should you be MALE or FEMALE?*
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Either

You brain is neither specifically male, nor female in the way you perceive your surroundings. As bad as this may sound to some, it can easily mean that you are capable of combining both gender aspects to your advantage. Rather than being genderless you are possibly able think freely. This does not mean that you are bisexual or androgynous or indecisive, but it might.

Either

71%

Male

57%

Neither

50%

Female

43%

I think this is at least partially influenced by the fact that I work in a traditionally male profession. I did find it a little annoying that there were some very obviously social vs. intellectual kinds of questions, but nonetheless an interesting 15 minute diversion.

The only constant...

2008-03-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ha! It figures...

The day I post some pattern in the 'bee's behavior it changes again.

Yesterday she drank 8oz at daycare AND napped for 2 hours AND ate all her food.

The trifecta is complete.

Multiple choice...

2008-03-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

The 'bee is down to barely 2 1/2 oz. on days at daycare and a single feeding on days at home, but still waking up 4+ times at night more or less hungry...she is
a) reverse cycling after 13 months...
b) self weaning
c) too busy doing everything else during the day
d) still working on those molars
e) none of the above

or maybe all of the above. I wish I could take a nap. Oh well, at least I can cut out a pumping session now :)

Celebrating with Chocolate

2008-02-26T21:57:00.000-08:00

V-day was not celebrated this year with our traditional souffle. Too time consuming for us sleep deprived parents. Instead we decided to try molten chocolate cakes (courtesy of Sharffen Berger's Chocolate book) and Grand Marnier cream sauce....

So Simple...

So Chocolatey....

Mmmm....

Nickname

2008-02-14T12:56:00.000-08:00

I heart the new season of LOST so far :)

In case you haven't seen it this recap is a great review (thanks Yee):

Sawyer would call me 'Chewie'.

I'm still deciding how I feel about that.

True Confessions of a New Mother

2008-01-30T09:36:00.000-08:00

My least favourite part of motherhood...clipping Zadie's nails.

I had never in a million years imagined that this would be so hard. It is worse than diapers. There is a far lower probability of making her bleed while changing her diaper!

Not only are those tiny nails a constantly moving target (even more so now that she is walking), but if they are only half cut it is worse than not cutting at all since those edges can be very sharp! She is not the type to calmly sit still while getting beautified. The result is 2 or 3 fingers done on each hand after about 30 minutes of wrestling.

The current solution?

Wait until she is sleeping.

I imagine it would be weird to wake up and suddenly find your fingernails cut, but it is far far better than the scratches (on me and her) that happen when they aren't!

There are, however, a few drawbacks to taking this approach long term...

- It takes some extra planning on placement of the nail clippers and/or the moving of a sleeping baby to a well lit location for the operation. The first relies on her not noticing where the clippers are hiding during bedtime. The second option is going to be harder as she gets bigger.
- Sleeper outfits are generally zipped from toe to neck. Unzipping can only be done very carefully when she is in deep sleep.
- She is only going to be sleeping less and less... What do I do then?

I really don't see the nail fairy coming to clip her nails when she's older. When will she be able to do this herself?

Life in Fast Forward

2008-01-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

This past month has gone by so fast.

It seemed like we had been waiting for.e.ver for the 'bee to walk. She had been driving everything from her wagon to me and zeb in her quest to be mobile. Crawling just wasn't cutting it.

After her first steps on Christmas Eve it has just been an avalanche of new abilities. She is EVERYWHERE now. She is so close to going up the 2 steps from the living room to the hall (with some help from a box) without crawling. We think she crawled through the shelves as well (I'm not totally sure. One second she was looking through the shelf like she usually does. The next she was on the other side...looking rather surprised...)

The wait is over...now the real work parenting fun begins.

Belated Pics from the Holidays

2008-01-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

So this is what we've been doing wrong!

2008-01-25T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hehehe...

Apparently we aren't supposed to be doing this

or for that matter this...

I can't handle the country music

2007-12-13T11:02:00.001-08:00

Zeb has been getting into the Country music lately, so this is how one of the pre-sets in my Jetta is 'San Jose Hot Country'. Yesterday on the way to work I hadn't changed it to NPR yet when this song came on. I totally started tearing up. I couldn't help thinking about how the 'bee will be all grown up someday.

Then this morning I didn't want to listen to the debate on Forum over 'Little Saigon' so I turned it back to the country station. It happened again. This time they were playing some song about the stages of life and how it passes so fast you don't realize you're going to miss it...sigh.

Apparently motherhood + country music = weepy Jen.

Attack of the goop!

2007-12-05T17:31:00.001-08:00

Zadie's 9 month visit was last Friday and she was just fine aside from a bit of drool rash on the face. She has ALL FOUR of her top teeth coming in! Yikes! Those first two bottom teeth were nothing compared to this. Oh how we under-estimated the power of the toxic drool. Let's just say Saturday was full of many many diaper changes of the bad kind.

Then on Monday we saw some goop in her left eye. Zeb figured that she got something in her eye. Apparently the goopeyness only increased at daycare. The policy there is we have to stay home until it clears or we get a note from the doc, so we went back to the doctor today. It is indeed the dreaded pink-eye. sigh.

I think this is officially the shortest time between doctor visits...only 5 days! oi. Why is it that we always seem to get sick right after our 'well-baby' visits?

Nine Months On, Nine Months Off

2007-11-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! I finally fit my pre-pregnancy jeans again!

I don't mean just-barely-buttoning-while-sucking-in-before-eating-breakfast fitting either, but really being able to wear them in public :)

Who knew those maternity clothes would get so much mileage?

In fact, I can wear most of my pre-preggo clothes now. The only remaining exceptions are my button-down shirts and the low-rise pants. I'm thinking that those will have to wait until Zadie is weaned.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T19:35:00.000-07:00

It is so much more fun with a 'lil bee to dress up and real live trick-or-treaters to give candy to.

First we had fun picking out some pumpkins from the local patch. Then, we went to a carving party where we were introduced to the fine art and craft of scooping, poking and sawing. Here they are all lit up on our front porch...

We dressed the 'bee up in her costume for daycare. She had fun at the costume parade showing off her mushroom-y sprite-liness...

I was originally thinking to make the mushroom cap a hat, but it turned out a bit big... It totally works as a cape, right?

Fishies!

2007-10-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

I read The No-Cry Sleep Solution a while back (when Zadie was working on her first tooth and waking up every hour or so) and there were definitely some useful ideas there.

I never did create a full night-time sleep log. I found it too hard to find my glasses, the pencil and the paper when already trying to nurse the baby back to sleep. The most helpful part was understanding how good napping meant better night time sleep and earlier bedtimes didn't necessarily translate to more wakings. The naps are still a mess, but we've established that a 7 - 7:15 bedtime is the sweet spot. The bedtime routine has definitely made a difference as well.

All that to say...there was some mention of white noise helping babies relax and stay asleep. One of the ideas that got me really excited was to get a fish tank.

I had 2 goldfish when I was younger, but they met an untimely end when my sister decided to help feed them and dumped all the fish food and water conditioner into their tank. There was also the poor beta fish that didn't like clean water...

This time though we are thoroughly prepared :) and going TROPICAL! Last Sunday, we went to the cool pet shop around the corner, and the friendly people there set us up with everything we needed.

Here are our starter fish. I got so excited when I picked them up yesterday that I had to make another trip to pick up their food (oops...)

They seem to be adjusting to their new environment pretty well. In 4-6 weeks we can trade these little guys in for some of their colorful and fun friends. I can't wait!

Sleep Trumps Diaper

2007-10-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

We learned a hard lesson last night.

Unless you have mastered the Ninja Diaper Change, changing the 'bee's diaper when she is sleeping is not a good idea.

There will be much unhappiness from the 'bee followed by super-wakefulness that will last at least an hour...maybe two.

No amount of cuddling, nursing or pretending to be asleep will work.

Working without a net

2007-09-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

I swear I've had 50 heart attacks in the last 30 minutes.

Last weekend the 'bee suddenly figured out how to push up to standing given any vertical surface within reach. The standing part is fun. It's entertaining. It's the cutest thing ever.

The problem is she can't get back down.

At first this was ok. She would fall backward onto her somewhat padded backside. Today, she's decided that her backside isn't good enough. Instead, she's going to let go with both hands, turn, and launch face/hands first into the ground.

For now we've resorted to letting her dive around the play pen we've never used until she figures out a less heart stopping way to get down from standing.

Aiyah...

Dance Class Nostalgia

2007-09-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

Baby leggings are the cutest things ever. Luckily for my amateur sewing skills they are also one of the easiest crafts ever!

I had a pair of socks that had grown a hole in the heel, so I thought "Hey, wouldn't it be great if Zadie could wear them? Aside from the hole, they fit pretty well around her legs and would be much better than the funny knee pads they have to protect babies' knees from rather unforgiving hardwood floors". Lo and behold, someone had already thought of this. Luckily for my bank account, someone else had also posted some nice step by step photo directions of how to make them from knee-highs!

My first attempt...one of the cuffs was done wrong...I finally figured out what the directions meant halfway through the second one :)

Then I went to the tar.get to look for knee socks. Originally I wanted to do something for Halloween, but those were 100% acrylic, so I opted for the mostly cotton in fall color argyle. The second attempt turned out much better!

They remind me of footless tights we'd use for dance class. The bee loves having her feet free to get better traction as she scoots around. Also...so much easier than messing with pants that are not designed with cloth diapers in mind!

I discovered a hole in my alpaca hiking socks today. At one point, I'd had an idea to make a quilt from all the hiking socks I've managed to destroy (I don't understand why this doesn't happen to Zeb's socks...), but it will take forever to save up enough holey socks! Maybe when the bee's outgrown her leggings I can revisit this. For now, alpaca leggings for the bee!

We'll call him "Loppy"

2007-09-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

The pattern is from Martha Stewart's website.

Here is her version...

Here is mine...

Practically indistinguishable, I know!

It is a good thing that the bee is more interested in chewing on things than judging their symmetry.

Stepmaster....

2007-09-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

The living room no longer defines the boundaries of bebe-world. The bee has figured out how to climb the step!

I think she likes it because it gets her that much higher off the ground. She also gets to explore the rest of the house this way. She doesn't seem very interested in going backwards, so there was the "Unfortunate Bump Incident" when she tried to go down the steps!

Happy Half Birthday!

2007-09-06T12:47:00.001-07:00

We celebrated the bee's first 6 months this past weekend!

She had lots of fun grabbing frosting, but was somewhat miffed when we wouldn't let it continue.

It was also great fun to play with cousins/aunties/uncles of roughly the same size :)

Special thanks to grandma for the terrific party and to auntie Christina for remembering to bring the camera!

In other news, the bee's figured out how to get up the steps in the living room. We are also working on our first little tooth. Watch out!

Happy Lady Bugs

2007-08-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

We finished this a few weeks ago, but I never got the chance to take a picture. Zeb designed it and I did the uphostering. It turned out pretty fun :)

Mei Tai Prototype

2007-08-24T19:13:00.001-07:00

Here we are in my first mei tai attempt.

The strawberry shortcake fabric was on super sale, so I got it with the intention of making some p.j. bottoms for me. Never quite got around to that particular project, but then it turned out to be a good amount of fabric to try the mei tai! It is definitely wearable and it gives me a long list of things to try different for the next one.

The bebe loves it too. It is really handy now that she can't be trusted to stay in one spot. The past week or two she has been really getting around by doing a toes and elbows kind of army crawling.

Customizing Natural Parenting

2007-08-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

I really like the idea of natural parenting. I love the idea of minimizing the environmental footprint of this new human we've brought into this world.

Unfortunately, I just can't live up to the ideal model of natural parenting. Like much of motherhood what we end up with is a compromise between the ideal and the practical.

Breastfeeding - I'm actually very surprised that we've made it this far. I was hoping to go 6 months, but I was mentally prepared to stop to go back to working full time. Here we are almost to that goal! It definitely got much easier after the first adjustment period. Originally I had said that we would go to a year maximum. I guess we will have to see when we get there. Pumping is really not as bad as I had imagined. Incredibly, I'm still using a manual pump. I can consistently get about 4-5 oz in about 20 minutes. Plus I get a great hand workout! It will really come in handy if we ever get back into climbing!

Co-sleeping - This went hand in hand with breastfeeding. It was amazing how much more quality sleep we all got with this arrangement. It also eased a lot of anxiety. It was really hard in the beginning to tell if they were breathing when they were in deep sleep unless you get really close... (or give her a little poke!) Now that she has started rolling more and getting much more mobile we are starting to put her down in her crib, then moving to the bed when we go to sleep. Again, not sure how long we will continue...still taking it a day at a time.

Diapering - We love our cloth diapering service. The cotton is really gentle on the bebe's skin, and really not that much more trouble in terms of diapering. Our service is located in the same town just a few blocks away so there isn't much transportation overhead there either! When we are out of town or out on the town we tend to fall back on disposables. Primarily because we got a warehouse sized box of them at the baby shower! I think we are going to outgrow the size before we even get through half of the box...

EC - I got really excited about trying this after reading about other parents' experiences on a natural parenting forum this Tuesday. I picked up a training seat on the way home and started trying out a 'timing' catch when bebe woke up yesterday. She is usually dry as a bone all night and then goes like crazy in the mornings so I figure it is a good time for a catch. I caught both a #1 and a #2 my first morning! It was quite exciting. This morning there were a few misses but she still had more to go. I plan to continue trying some basic timing catches going forward. I don't think going totally diaper free is a real option since I'm working full-time and bebe is at daycare 3 days a week, but I am hopeful that doing some of these timing catches will maintain her elimination awareness and help us use fewer diapers in the long run!

Baby wearing - We are on and off with this one. We have a bjorn that is fun to use occasionally when shopping or around the house, but she grabs EVERYTHING and it is difficult to do stuff, so this really only works when one of us wears her and the other does everything else. I recently finished making my first mei tai last week! I just made it out of some clearance fabric I got a while ago to try out the sizes. The waist straps were way too wide (8 inches...oops), but it does work pretty good otherwise. The bebe loves being on my back when we are up and about. Not so much when I'm trying to get some work done on the computer. I'm planning to make a nicer one to wear when we are out and about. Zeb has a strange aversion to wearing anything with strawberry shortcake and friends...

Plastics - We haven't really done much on this front. We have bought cloth and wooden toys when we could, but there are quite a few plastics as well. They are cheaper and much easier to wash when they inevitably end up on the floor. I'm planning to try to make some knit/cloth/felt toys, but like most of my projects, they exist only in my head for the moment.

Organic clothing - Again, the cost here was somewhat prohibitive. There are some crafty projects I want to make, but again they are fantasy for the moment.

There have been some projects that we have finished...I have been very slow to actually transitioning pictures to our home computer, but will definitely post when we finally get around to it :)

All in all we have managed to do some of what we had wanted to do and even some we hadn't planned to do. In the end, you do what works for you.

Hello, brain? I miss you. Please come back.

2007-08-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

There have been many unexpected things about motherhood. Some of these things are great. For example, gummy baby smiles are one of the best things to wake up to. Other things, not so much.

When I was pregnant, I truly expected to be back to my normal self after birth. Especially near the end, I was so excited about not being pregnant anymore. Heh. That didn't happen. We are now over 5 months and while we are making progress toward normal, I'm starting to suspect that my former self is completely out of reach now.

The biggest issue recently has been the kidnapping of my brain.

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't always been good about remembering things. However, I was always able to get by somehow. Maybe I just didn't have so many things that needed remembering that the 5% that got lost wasn't so noticeable.

Now, it is different.

This morning was a prime example. I forgot to move the milk I pumped yesterday (almost 11oz!) into the refridgerator. For 2 seconds, I contemplated sending the Bee to daycare with the milk anyway...after all, it had been in a lunchbox with an ice pack that had been frozen at 5pm yesterday that was almost still cold this morning. I couldn't do it. There was also no backup. I haven't been long-term freezing any milk since the Bee prefers fresh stuff... So, we had to pump 4oz this morning (hopefully enough with the leftovers from daycare I did remember to refridgerate), and dump the 11 ounces from yesterday.

Sadness...

Roly Poly...

2007-06-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Milestones are dangerous...

The lil' bee has rolled over from front to back! The first time was the day after Father's Day. We were doing some 'tummy time' on the bed when suddenly she was on her back! I think she was as surprised about it as we were.

Last night I woke up to find her rolled onto her belly in her sleep.

I think we need to upgrade the priority of the bed-rail project!

DeQuervain's Tendonitis...

2007-05-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

I finally went into urgent care today for my left wrist. It had been sore for a while and started hurting really bad the morning after doing a yin-yang exercise with weights (it was on FitTV...part of the exercise program a day regimen I started to try to get back in shape).

The doctor asked me where it hurt (inside of my wrist), moved my thumb in (ouch) and pressed the inner wrist (ouch again!) and promptly diagnosed DeQuervain's tendonitis. He was quite nice, spelling it out so I could google it later :)

Apparently this is a common condition of new motherhood. At least I'm not alone, and now I have a nice neoprene thumb immobilizer.

It does make breastfeeding a bit awkward, but now I can tend to this little cutie without worrying about it hurting randomly!

Decisions, decisions

2007-05-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

One of the most difficult challenges of parenthood is the sheer number of decisions you have to make. Suddenly, we, the parents, are completely responsible for making decisions about another life. Up until now, there have been plenty of decisions to be weighed and chosen, but these have mostly been for ourselves. At most they have been 'with' another person or persons. These other people have the freedom to argue and disagree. The responsibility for the result is shared by the persons it may affect. As a parent, we decide FOR our child about so many things. The weight of that responsibility is really hitting home.

The first big one was a name. It is such a big part of the identity. At least this decision is made just once and done.

The next ongoing decision we are facing is childcare. Childcare is much more difficult and complicated than I had imagined. The responsibility for this choice is weighing especially heavily.

Ideally, one of us would stay home with the munchkin, but she is a full time job that doesn't help pay the mortgage. The next best option is another family member, but that's not going to work full-time either. The nanny or home daycare would be the next closest to having her home, but how do you choose a complete stranger to care for your child?

I've never been a paranoid person, but suddenly all these crazy scenarios run through my head for every option we are considering. What if the nanny I interviewed is part of some child abduction ring? What if the home daycare person I'm talking to has stolen her identity and faked all these certifications? What if the people living next to the daycare are child molesters? Crazy, I know, but I can't help it.

We've finally settled on a larger daycare, at least until she can talk and tell us what's going on... There, at least, the people are background checked and certification is more stringent. The facility is large, clean, and there are lots of toys. I think we can manage to work from home to watch her with grand-parental help 2 days a week, at least to start.

...and this is just the beginning!

Introducing Miss Zadie!

2007-03-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo from the hospital of Miss Zadie sleeping like an angel.

It's hard to believe it's been almost 2 weeks already.

We had our official 2 week doctor's appointment today. Everything is perfect. She is almost back up to her birth weight and grew an inch!

We also finally got to see her true belly button. She is officially not a robot! Yay!

Happy Year of the Golden Pig!

2007-02-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

It's the Chinese New Year today!

We are officially having a little golden piglet on the way :) Apparently this combination of element and zodiac sign only occurs once every 60 years. Babies that are born this auspicious year are said to enjoy a prosperous and lucky life.

It's getting to be very close to the due date now. Less than 2 weeks away. My doctor won't let the pregnancy go past 41 weeks without inducing, so at most 3 weeks away before little miss piggy comes out to play. She is full term now, and just putting on weight and waiting for the right moment!

About 2 or 3 weeks a go, I really started to feel big. Things like switching sides while sleeping have suddenly become an ordeal. Balancing is something of an issue. Even for something as simple as putting on a pair of pants while standing up. SO much easier while sitting down now. Putting on shoes that are not clogs or flip flops is now rare since it's just too far of a reach...it's equivalent to trying to put on your shoes with a large watermelon on your lap!

On the nesting side, I think our apartment is finally baby-ready! We've managed to rearrange our furniture in our one-bedroom apartment to make way for baby stuff... It's a tighter fit, but certainly do-able. For a while after the shower the crib was set up, but full of all of the baby stuff! Now we have 3 bookshelves and 2 closet shelves for baby stuff and the crib almost has room for baby!

I am still craving yellow cake...with chocolate frosting :) We also think we've figured out why the last two came out slightly burnt in spite of shortening the baking time...our oven temperatures seem to be consistently higher than advertised. We've bought an oven thermometer and will be testing our theory with the next batch!

Baby Bloomers!

2006-12-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas with Zeb's side of the family was great fun this year. It was very relaxing at the new house, and we even had some snow! One of the highlights was sewing my first baby clothes with Zeb's mom!

Check out the styling baby bloomers:

I can't wait to try these on our little girl!

Third trimester!

2006-12-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

It really feels like the deadline is looming now that I'm officially in the third trimester. I feel like some stuff is falling into place, but there is so much more that I just don't know about yet.

We've signed up for birth education classes at the hospital in January. We're thinking we may want to take the 'Baby Care' class so we aren't totally clueless when the little flipper comes home!

For the whole cloth diapering thing, we've found a service locally that will deliver and pick up the diapers weekly that will cost about as much as disposables do. This way, we can try it out without having to invest in buying all the diapers and committing to the monster laundry loads!

The next big thing is figuring out the whole pumping thing...there seem to be so many 'systems' out there. This video of two dads trying a pump is HILARIOUS. I'm not quite sure at this point if it is making me feel better about possibly maybe eventually having to pump...

Glucose, Blood-letting, and Chocolate

2006-11-27T15:18:00.000-08:00

I had to take my Glucose Screening test at my last appointment (the 10th). They handed me a glucose solution that tasted like flat 7-up...I got the lemon-lime flavor. An hour later, they took 2 vials of my blood: one for the glucose; one for anemia testing. The nurse called the next Monday to tell me I had failed both tests!

I made Zeb take the rest of the Halloween candy to work the next morning.

I had heard that there are a lot of false positives for this test, but I couldn't help feeling like I had failed as a mother already! In my paranoia, I started scouring the message boards online. This did help me feel a little better. I hadn't failed by much (137). My doctor had set the cut-off at a more stringent 129, and most doctors consider <130 or <140 as passing. It seems that one of the reasons for inaccurate results is that any sugar during the day can affect the results of this test and that other doctors recommend fasting or at least no fruit/sugar/juice at least 12 hours before! I had been told to eat normally and my appointment was at 3pm. This meant the banana, yogurt, and leftover shephard's pie I had eaten around lunch time were probably factors. The halloween candy I'd been snacking on all week were probably not too helpful either!

Failing any of these tests is scary, but this one meant that I had to go to the lab for the 3 hour Glucose Tolerance Test. Basically, after 12 hours of fasting, they make you drink a more concentrated glucose drink, and draw your blood FOUR TIMES.

Even though it was overnight (my appointment this time was 8am), I was surprised how difficult it was to fast for 12 hours. It wasn't so much that I was hungry. It was more that I was so worried about failing the second test that I couldn't sleep.

The test itself wasn't nearly as bad as I had been imagining. This time the drink was also lemon-lime, but tasted like someone had added twice as much syrup by accident. Yuk. The worst part was having to sit in the waiting room as at least 20 other people came in and out with a cotton swab taped to each arm.

I called last Wednesday to check my results and I PASSED! Yaay! I was cautioned, however, to watch my diet and eat smaller meals... Apparently for my GTT, all of the results were normal, only one (the last one) was even borderline. I'll find out the exact numbers at my next appointment.

My personal theory was that the chocolate was responsible. Why do mini-reeses peanut butter cups have to taste so good?! My weight gain definitely accelerated during the 2 weeks they were in the house... Then, as further evidence, my company had a chocolate fondue fountain during a wine tasting party (I was the designated sniffer-only of the group) which definitely accompanied another jump on the scale...

Moral of the story - No more chocolate for Jen or the little flipper for a good while, especially before glucose tests!

No trick-or-treaters, but loads of candy :)

2006-11-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

Halloween was pretty tame this year. The kids never seem to go to apartment complexes...not that I can blame them. I wouldn't want to walk up a flight of stairs for 4 apartments where 90% people are either:
- not home
- giving out weird stuff because didn't buy candy ( I think I gave out slightly stale rice crackers one year because that was all we had that was remotely candy-like and single-serve packaged )
- not answering the door because they didn't buy candy

However, I did buy candy "just in case". Now we have a bowl full of M&Ms, mini-M&Ms and mini Reese's peanut butter cups yelling "EAT ME" as soon as we come home.

I've discovered that the little flipper has definitely inherited a sweet tooth! I've been packing some of the candy with my lunch and as soon as I start on the chocolate it's like her trampoline time has begun. Her movement has progressed significantly from the tickling sensation. Currently it feels like a frog jumping. I've been trying to get Zeb to feel it but it's hard for me to distinguish between what I'm feeling in side and what can be felt from outside. I can't see it from the outside, but I did find this fascinating video today:

http://shapeofamother.blogspot.com/2006/09/shape-of-moving-fetus.html

Communication

2006-10-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

So I have being thinking a lot about how people sing, play music for, and talk to the baby before it is actually born (still in the belly). Of course no one knows if the baby actually realizes or hears the efforts of said parents. This is supposed to make the baby magically smarter or something. But how does the baby get this "information."

My guess is the following...it is said that "eyes are the window to the soul" (or something like that). Well, maybe Jen's belly button is like the "phone line" directly to the baby...hmmm. I think it is kind of like when you have two cans and a string to play telephone with, like how we did when we were kids. But in this case at one end of the belly button (the inside) is the baby, and at the other end is whoever speaks directly into the belly button (the outside). Yes this makes for a funny mental picture, but I think this would be far more effective way to communicate with the baby.

Makes sense to me. Let's hope the kids turns out great due to my superior insights into parenting. ;)

I think I am on to something

2006-10-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

So, I got to thinking in the shower this morning (which is always when the greatest ideas form)...Jen balance has not been great lately. Well, it was never so great as she was always a little clumsy, but now with the "bump" growing ever larger, it is getting worse. I have a solution, born of space and science, that will slove here balance issues. It may prove to be boon for pregnant women everywhere. The idea is this...gyroscopes! Not just any gyroscopes though, this one is already built into pregnacy. So imagine this...the baby can move independently of "mama" Jen, so what if she could get the baby rotating some how (hula hoop anyone?). BAM! Rotataing baby + non rotating "mama" = instant gyroscope. No more balance issues anymore. Just start the baby rotating in the morning, and she will never have to worry about falling over again!

I'm a frikin' genius...let's hope the girl gets my most of genes ;)

The little monster

2006-10-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple new ultrasounds of the little monster...well at least that's what we think she is right now, but its hard to tell. There are some better images on the video, but we still need to find a way to convert it from VHS.

Sugar, spice, and everything nice

2006-10-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, lets hope so anyways.

Yeah, that's correct. Today we found out the bun in the oven is a girl!!!!

We are both very excited, but having a girl means only one thing...trouble. Girls are clearly more trouble than boys...or is it that they are just more trouble because of boys? Hmmm... I guess I am going to find out one way or another. One thing is for sure though, she'll always have me wrapped around her cute little fingers. :)

Possible Movement?

2006-10-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

I know it's still somewhat early for this, but last Saturday night as I was trying to fall asleep I think I may have felt the little one's first movement! It was a very strange sensation. I was lying on my right side. It felt as if someone were running a finger down the inside of my belly from below my belly button to my side over and over. I tried turning over to my left side to see if it would happen there too, but there was nothing. I turned back over to my right side and there it was again!
I'm imagining that the little sweet potato (the food analogy for week 18) is trying to get an evening stroll on and my flipping over means the parts that aren't moving are closer to the surface...

Since then, there have been some flutterings that may or may not be movement within, but it's hard to tell. I'm sure they'll become unmistakable as the little one gains more weight and muscle to throw around!

Currently we're craving more of the yummy yellow cake Zeb baked for me in spite of the fact it's way too early in the day for cake...mmm....

Soon we will know

2006-09-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

We should find out the sex of our new mini-human creature on Oct. 10.

Stay tuned to find out with us.

Which means...stop asking us until then. Then you can ask us and we will tell you, then you will know and not have to ask any more. Get it? Good.

Ouch....

2006-09-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

So it's official now...

I think I am becoming a real father now. Jen found a grey hair on my head the other day. It is only just one, but it seems the stress of having a kid is starting to get to me. I know this is only the begining...it only get worse from here on out right? I mean the kid is not even born yet, and I am getting grey hairs (or, hair rather). It's all down here from here.

Ahhh....what is it?

2006-09-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

That right folks! Our first ultrasounds of the new baby are now up for your consumption. As far as we know it could be some sort of alien or a strange new monkey robot hybrid at this stage. Yes it could be a monkibot, but more than likely it is just our new little one (of the non-robot variety) in its (him or her unknown as of yet) not so cute stage.

Take a gander...

At this point the head is clearly visible, as are the arms (nubs), and torso. Crazy huh?

'Lost in Translation' or 'Some Kind of Crazy'?

2006-09-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

There is some strange advice for pregnant women out there, and most of is seems to come from the people my mother talk to! Now, granted, most of these came from my mother's masseuse, who I have never met but I hesitate to follow any advice that is directly contradicted by other literature or just seem ridiculous even without direct contradiction.

No peaches or plums - I can understand why some foods are definitely out: sushi, raw eggs, and cold cuts for bacterial stuff; certain types of fish for mercury content... but come on! Peaches in summer are the best thing ever! Especially ones fresh from the farmer's market...mmmm...

No hammering nails - I don't understand this one at all...maybe the shock waves will reach the baby somehow?

No squatting - I wonder how the human race has lasted this long if this one is true...

I'm sure that this is just the beginning since this is only advice from people I 'know'. What other crazy pregnancy advice is out there? How much more can I expect once I really start to 'show'?

Due Date

2006-09-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

As for Jen's due date....

we are expecting the new little ones arrival around the first week of march (March 3, 2007 to be exact).

Premonitions of things to come

2006-09-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

So how does something like this happen? The pregnancy, I mean.
I won't elaborate about the birds and the bees, but it gets me thinking. Could we have foreseen this whole baby thing? Perhaps, perhaps....

Exhibit A:
Recently ( I mean before finding out about the aforementioned baby ) , Jen and I got a "family" pass to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Hmmm... Little did we know that this "family" pass would come to take on a whole new meaning.

Exhibit B:
While on a family vacation to Scandinavia...Again before finding out about the little one...We took some fun photos of some of the silly (well as silly as those Scandinavians can be) signs we found along the way. Here once again they foreshadow the little ones' arrival.

Rostok, Germany

Oh and wait here's another....

Tallin, Estonia

Verdict:
Inexplicable! How does stuff like this happen? Maybe there is some sort of baby voodoo that happens to our subconscious...and then BAM! We get a new little monkey...I mean, baby...in our lives. Pretty crazy stuff.

The grandparent's chime in....

2006-08-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

So we recently spent some time with my Grandparent's (Rapp side) and soon to be Great Grandparents. They had some thoughts as to the sex of the baby as well. So according to Laddle the baby will be a boy (point 1 for me). The reason behind this is very simple. We were talking about the whole cravings / morning sickness thing, when the topic came up of bacon. Jen can't stand the smell of bacon cooking. It makes her very nausous. This is apparently exactly the way Laddle felt when she was pregnant with my dad. Hmmmm.... Interesting coincidence or is it something more....will it be a boy or not. She also mentioned she had cravings for nuts as a sign of a male child within. Who knows? Maybe she is on to something. Her guess is as good as anyones.

On the other hand Grandpa thought the baby is going to be a girl...no explaination was given.

Boy or girl?

2006-08-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

So everybody always asks you if it is a boy or a girl, but when you dont know yet, what do you tell them? Well as for me I think it will be a boy. I have no basis for this assumption, but I thought I put it down in writing now, that way when we do find out, I can say "I called it!" I did have a dream early in Jen's pregnancy, that in it I had seemed to convince myself that we were going to have a boy for some reason.

After thinking about it, boys are better to have for the following reasons...
1) Cooler baby clothes (need I say cars, robots, and space rockets designs)
2) Better toys (more things for me to play with)
3) Creepy crawly things (bugs and lizards are fun)

But with my luck it will turn out to be a girl, which will be fine as well. I guess I dont really have a choice in the matter. A little girl would be great as well, don't get me wrong. Girls are super cute and always love their "daddies". But after going to some baby stores...girly pink stuff is just not for me.

Anyways, I have a 50-50 chance I am right, but in the end, whatever the baby turns out to be, this whole baby thing I think will be a very wonderful thing.

Pregnant!

2006-08-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's official now...

So...today marks the first day of my second trimester. Whee! I've heard from various people and read online that now I'm allowed to announce the news to the world. In other words, I no longer have to feel guilty about not being about to keep a proper secret from anyone. Consider yourselves announced!

So far, besides the 40+ people counted as family that know, somehow I've also let it slip to:
- a co-worker: I was trying to find an ob-gyn in the area...
- a college friend: While chatting on AIM, I mention that Zeb and I are house-hunting and by some magical leap it went from there to baby **shrugs shoulders**
- a high school friend: This one was totally my fault, but I only see her once a year...

There are most likely other people who have guessed, but are too polite/scared/distant to ask me outright...!

So, I guess I should probably start from the beginning and describe what's been happening so far, but it's too much stuff to fit in right now, so it'll just have to come out in bits as time goes on...

Currently, lets just say the pants are starting not to fit, but The Bump is pretty non-existent unless it's after a meal. The Bella Band I got last weekend is the best invention ever since it means that I don't have to get "real" maternity clothes for at least another few weeks! I also discovered this week that there are some pants that are low-rise enough to wear without the band!

In other news, I've been trying to get back into knitting to knit something reasonably wearable for The Bump. So far it's still a scarf, but reading about cloth daipering, I have this crazy idea that I might try a soaker next!

Beware counterfit belly buttons!!!!

2006-07-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

Watch out!! It has just been brought to my knowledge that some robots may infact have belly buttons. Be aware that these are only counterfit belly buttons. This is only the evil robot's power switch, and does not make him human! Don't be fooled.

Can robots have secrets?

2006-07-24T17:38:00.000-07:00

Or would that conflict with Asimov's laws...

If they are asked a direct question, should they have to answer the truth to the best of their knowledge?

Personally, I can't seem to keep any sort of proper secret. The killer blow is always the direct question. I can't just tell a bald-faced lie. I can't say no when the answer is really YES.

So how does a person like me keep something secret?

Option 1: Avoid any and all conversation with anyone who may be remotely interested in the secret I'm trying to keep.

This isn't always an option, especially when one's mother calls every week...

Option 2: Come up with a reasonable alternate story and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse...

This really requires more planning and deviousness than I think I have the skills for...

Option 3: Keep saying maybe until the person asking gives up...

This doesn't really work, because once you say "maybe" it's already out...

...

I just don't know. Anyone else have ideas?

Why robots cant have babies...

2006-07-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

We may one day become slaves to robot overlords. Robots have all the cool technology and unfeeling metal cybertronic brains and will, one day, rise up against their human makers. This will be a sad day indeed. But for all their advanced AI they will never be able to have babies. Sure they will be able to replicate themselves, but they will never be able to breed. They are robots, not animals after all. This leads to the only surefire way to identify a robot (or android)... "The Bellybutton Protocall". This test must be done carefully as to not arose the wrath of our potential robot masters when they discover that we have uncovered their secret infiltration into human society (this is part of the robots plan to rule over us). The Bellybutton Protocall enables any human to detect any non-human (i.e. robot). To determine if a "person" is really human, one must assertain if that "person" has a bellybutton. If it does not have a bellybutton, then it is clearly a robot (run!). If a bellybutton is found, then that person is definately human.

Please use this technique often to determine which of your friends and family are robots. Who knows...with everybody's help we can postpone the robot uprising for a little longer.

on blogging...

2006-07-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

I've said before that I don't think I'm cut out for blogging. It's not that I don't have things that I'd like to write about. It's more that they aren't things that I would actually want other people to ever read! I guess it's more that normal journalling has always been about writing anything and everything that comes to mind, but when it comes to things other people will see then it needs to be edited and thought through to some extent.

Perhaps this 'life altering experience' is an opportunity to move past my previous blogging reluctance. At the very least, it will be a start and there will definitely be things that I would like at least a few certain people to read so here we go...

Arg...it has begun

2006-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

So I have finally ented the 21st century with my own blog. It has only taken a major life altering experience to thrust me into the blogosphere. How long this whole blog thing will last, I dont know, but hey, its a good way to diseminate information to a lot of people. All 3 or 4 who will actually read this, anyways.

More news about this who life altering thing to come