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We're waiting for the kid; it's 14 days and counting!


He's here, he's here!

9/11 Is Over

Here's hoping for a new way forward.

The Happiest Baby on the Block

Our friends over at Noodle's Adventures loaned us this book to help us prep for the Resident Alien's arrival. The argument Harvey Karp makes, rather effectively if not a bit redundant, is that babies are born a trimester too soon because it is the only way our species could survive given the size of our tremendous brains. Had we stayed in to stew just a few months longer to learn a few more things, mothers would not have been able to successfully deliver us to the planet. And so, somewhere along the evolutionary path, it was decided that human babies would come a little earlier and be a little more immature than, say, a giraffe, who can stand and walk and run and do all of these other cool things within seconds of being born. The functions hardwired into our baby brains are much simpler and survivalistic in nature - keeping the heart beating, sucking, crying, and pooping. Unlike an animal that requires brawn to survive in the wild, our babies require brains to succeed, so our babies arrive with brains that are as big as they can be and still fit through the birth canal. Then, during the next three months - or what Dr. Karp calls the "fourth trimester" a baby's brain grows an additional twenty percent in size. (If you can think about it when your child is born, try recording what your baby is like at four-days old and then do the same when the child is four months old to compare the differences to get an idea how much your baby advances in such a short time.)

He also argues that some babies are natural self-calmers, meaning they just aren't fussy babies because they have some capability to monitor their own situations and keep themselves from getting over stimulated or bored. These babies are the ones you hear about that adjust well to being outside the womb, that may become fussy but hardly ever break into the red-faced wail, they can be put down to sleep without problems, and stay that way for longer blocks of time. (Dear Zeus, please send me one of these.) When your baby isn't one of these self-calmers, when your baby needs more time to adjust to being outside your belly, this is when you need to mimic the environment of the womb. You do this by using the 5 S's. As outlined many, many, many, many, many times throughout the book, they are as follows:

1. Swaddling
2. Side or Stomach
3. Shhhh
4. Swinging
5. Sucking

And briefly, here's what he claims they do.
Swaddling calms the baby by stopping the flailing arms and legs and focusing the baby's attention. The secret to a successful swaddle is that it is tight and does not allow the baby the opportunity to break free from the bundle. When to stop using the swaddle depends on the baby but Dr. Karp's research shows that most babies are ready to be weaned off swaddling by three to four months of age.

Side or stomach is about positioning the baby so it turns off the Moro (falling) reflex, which the baby experiences when he/she is lying on her back, and turning on the calming reflex, which imitates the baby's position in the uterus. It should be noted, however, that while the side and stomach positions are incredibly soothing, once the baby is calm and put to bed, he/she should only sleep on his/her back.

Shhhhing is a great tool for continuing to trigger the calming reflex. Shhhhing imitates the whooshing sound your baby heard while snugly packed in your womb. The secret for this tool is that it must be loud enough to pierce through your baby's crying. Translation, the volume of the shhhhing must match the volume of the crying in intensity. It might sound too loud and not comforting at all to us but the baby is used to the loud sounds he/she experienced when camping out in his/her mother's belly. The baby must be confused by the relative quiet into which he/she is born. The good thing is we've got plenty of other noisemakers we can utilize around the house and beyond to help save our voices - vacuum, hair dryer, automobile, static from a radio, etc.

Swinging is another tactic to try to switch on that calming reflex that is built in to your baby. This technique should not be confused with shaken baby syndrome, which can result from abusive shaking of a small baby. This technique uses small, vigorous jiggly movements to calm your baby, again, by mimicking the type of movement the baby experienced in the belly.

And finally, sucking. Now that you've got the baby's attention and his/her calming reflex has been activated, you can give him/her a nice hearty meal. Or, if they aren't hungry but are just looking for attention - remember, they are used to getting it 24/7 because they were so well taken care of in the womb - you can use a pacifier to help the baby drift into a peaceful rest. Dr. Karp recommends waiting a few weeks before introducing the pacifier to prevent nipple confusion if you are breastfeeding.

I think the doc has some good ideas and upon reflection there is merit in his argument, particularly when you consider that some peoples in the world don't have colicky babies because they carry their newborns constantly, offering the breast up to 100 times per day to meet and satisfy the baby's every need. I recommend this book to anyone who is having or who just had a baby. If you can't tromp your way through the entire thing as I did, Noodle's mom Sara said it was great to consult on the fly and there is a handy index to help guide you to the information you need.

The great diaper pail debate

Should we buy the...

Diaper Dekor Plus?
To use this pail you step on the pedal and throw in the dirty diaper. It has a triple seal to prevent odors and germs from escaping. And it holds up to 46 diapers per bag or about 590 newborn diapers per refill.

Or the

Diaper Genie II?
You can reportedly dispose of diapers using one hand while holding the baby with the other. It has an order barrier film and a clamp to lock in odors. An added bonus, the diaper only touches the film so there is no need to clean the pail.

Or the

Baby Trend Diaper Champ?
With a convenient one-hand design that locks in odors. And most appealing, no special bags to buy.

Darr and gin

Watching Chuck...

Darr: <insert slightly tipsy giggle here>
Darr: "This is a show for nerds everywhere."

Recipe Corner: Cream of Tomato Soup

We got a load of end-of-summer tomatoes from Luscher Farms earlier this week and the day was just dreary enough to warrant making soup so Darren broke out our favorite Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon, and found this recipe for Crema di Pomodoro. Darr recommends using an immersion blender (see pic) instead of transferring the soup to a food processor to process to a purée.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 1/4 pounds plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and sliced
2 potatoes, diced
scant 1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to serve
croutons, to serve

Directions:
Melt the butter in a pan. Add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for five minutes, until softened. Add the tomatoes and cook for fifteen minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, pour in three cups water, add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for one hour. Use an immersion blender and process the soup to a purée. Reheat, then stir in the cream. Serve with Parmesan and croutons (both optional).

Serves 4

To do - Thursday, September 27

buy cat litter
clean cat box
scrub floors
clean kitchen counters
organize kitchen cabinets (liquor and baking/cooking supplies to start)
wash car
vacuum car
apply Apple sticker to car window
purchase plastic storage bins
place superfluous crap in dining room in storage bins
ask Darr to remove filled bins to storage room downstairs
laundry
pick up vegetables
take Beauty the wonder dog to park
drop off donation at Goodwill
finish writing 'Thank You' cards
create phone tree
pack bag for hospital

To Do Progress Update 12:35pm:
Went to Kaady car wash, am advised they can't guarantee the wash won't break our roof rack, back up and head to open spot I saw on my way in next to the vacuum. Denied. A car has already slipped into the spot. Leave car wash in dirty car.

Head to Costco. There is Christmas wrapping paper and ribbon on sale already. Am tempted but truck on over to the aisle where the plastic bins usually reside. Usually. There is only one bunch left and they are not what I was looking for. Leave Costco with no bins.

Stop at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and find bins for twice what I would have paid at Costco. Use one of the gazillion coupons I have received from BB&B to save myself $2+. Leave with bins. Finally feel as if I am making some progress.

Hit New Seasons and pick up some cat litter. Drive home.

Go to park near the garage where the hose is so I can wash the car. Denied again. Management company vehicle is blocking my way and nobody is around to bitch at to get them to move it. Proceed to park car in regular parking spot with the understanding that car will probably not get washed or vacuumed today.

Am met at door by abused dog who is unable to understand why we are not spending the entire day at the park.

Decide to take a break. Eat chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips and a tall glass of milk. Need sustenance to attempt to try and get something of value accomplished today.

It's 5:37am - I'm famished and can't sleep

What do you eat when you're pregnant and fungry* and it's too early for breakfast? Brie and Wheat Thins with a tall glass of Summertime Lime. I've been on a Wheat Thins kick for the last few weeks. Darr thinks they're gross, he's a Stoned Wheat Thins fan.

*fucking hungry

Master parker

To my lil' guy,

This morning, on the way to yet another doctor's appointment to see how you are doing, your mother performed the most masterful parallel parking job ever. It truly was a sight to behold, and because I hope to pass along my driving skills to you, I have to share how it was done. Despite what your father may say, I am the better driver in the family. Except, maybe, in snow and ice. When your dad pays attention, he can be very good. The operative word being "when".

Anyway, the most perfect parallel parking job began with sizing up the parking space. We currently drive a Mini Cooper (named Sophie - you'll have your first motoring experience in her when we bring you home from the hospital). Sophie is a small car ("small" is a synonym for "mini", and a "synonym" is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same thing as another word in the same language) that we can park in numerous spaces that aren't available to drivers of larger vehicles, which is pretty much everyone else on the road. So...

Once you determine there is enough space, you have to position the car at the correct angle to back into the space. Throwing a quick glance over you shoulder to ensure you know where you are, where the curb is, and where any other surrounding objects are is a good idea. And it is the preferred method to using the mirrors, which can distort the scene and cause you to miscalculate the distance and space.

Now that you've positioned the car and you're moving backward, you want to steer the wheel to avoid hitting all things present - curb, polls, other vehicles, and the like. This is where the real skill comes in. You would have been proud of my clever wheel maneuvering today. A little to the right, a smidge to the left, back to the right, ease up on the gas, apply the brakes, shift into first gear, drive forward a touch and hot damn! Parking perfection. I've broken out the steps you can follow to achieve the same parallel parking success below.

Step 1: Locate a parking space along the curb.
Step 2: Assess the size of the parking space to determine if there is room for the car.
Step 3: Angle the car for backing up into the available space.
Step 4: Glance over your shoulder to orient yourself and your vehicle.
Step 5: Use the wheel, turning left and/or right as needed, to maneuver the car into the space.
Step 6: Be mindful of any vehicles parked behind or in front of you once in the spot and adjust the car forward or backward if needed.

On a side note, you are doing great. You must be happy because your heart rate was a lazy but strong 130 beats per minute. Probably you felt a tremendous amount of satisfaction from the release of endorphins I experienced after completing that fantastic parking job. I say you should ride that wave of goodness right into a nap and stop kicking me in the ribs - ouch. The size of the belly bump has decreased an inch because you are dropping into the escape hatch, a clear indication you will be here sooner than later. As you now appear to be using my bladder as a speed bag I must excuse myself.

Love,
Mom

Pictobrowser test

Cool, it works! I saw this type of slideshow display on another blog and wanted to learn how to do it, which I was able to do after a quick IM session with my lovely husband. This might be a better option than constantly referring folks to our Flickr account or uploading the many pics to blogger individually. Nice.

Gifts from around the States and from our neighbor up north

The Resident Alien has been bombarded with packages as of late so we decided to whip out the recently acquired digital camera, with new flash attachment, to capture some pics of the goods that have been pouring in from around the States and from our neighbor up north. A recent post about great blankets over at Herzing Luv & Kisses inspired our first shot of three - count 'em, three! - homemade-with-love blankies my super crafty mom made for her soon-to-be-born fifth grandson. I can't decide which one is my favorite because I love them all for very different reasons. Starting from the left - the flannel rag quilt is a recent addition to my mom's repertoire of homemade blankets and this one has the cutest dog pattern EVER DESIGNED BY HUMANKIND. Plus, the non-traditional color combination of nearly aqua-blue with bright yellow-orange and dark gray are fantastically different and wonderful. The lil' kid better show the proper amount of respect for this blanket or his mother (Holy crap, that's me!) will confiscate it for herself. In the middle, is my mom's first attempt at a real pattern quilt. First attempt. And it's perfect. And my kid got it. Finally, the knitted blanket on the right - the quintessential baby blanket, expertly crafted from super soft baby yarn.

Next, books.
From my next-door-dorm-neighbor Jess, who now lives among the Canadians (eh?). She managed to buy three that the little guy doesn't already own - a feat since the kid's library is starting to take over an entire eight foot shelf in his bedroom. As she works for Electronic Arts (if you are a gamer, you know this company well) she thought it prudent to capture our kid as a prospective future buyer of their software by also sending this...
An EA Canada shirt. Sweet. (Slippers by grandma.)

But wait, there's more. My sister sent over a basket of Gerber and Carter goodies for the R.A. - I'll have to do some exchanges since we are well stocked on the 0-3 month age range - and one of those soft books that we'll keep in the backseat of the car for the kid to play with while we motor on down the roadway.

And then there were hats, which we unsuccessfully tried to get Ellie MacPherson to model for us. Mabel, being quite adept at escaping our clutches when she senses our reasons for trailing her are nefarious in nature, slipped beneath the rocking chair and out of reach.
The hat on the left is a pumpkin design from a knitting book I sent to my mom and dad as a way to alert them that we were expecting. I phoned after I mailed the package to let her know there was something on the way for her and stipulated that it be opened when my dad was present. Before shipping, Darr and I thumbed through the various hat patterns, selecting our favorites, which I identified using little sticky notes. And just to be sure the message was received, I wrote a little inscription on the first page. Hopefully, this is the first of many hats the R.A. receives from grandma. The hat on the right is from Darr's friend Betty (of Tomokee the Dog fame). As explained in her accompanying letter, this pattern is from the Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter knitting book. It's an elf design inspired by Hermione's knitting endeavors. Cool.

Making do with what you got

So this title is a little misleading, because what we got is excess. Too many tomatoes, too much squash, too much cucumber, too much cilantro, too much too much. Also, too much basil. But, being industrious little lambs, we decided to dry our own basil. Yes, it's true, we hung it up in the kitchen, it dried, and we saved ourselves five bucks. Action shot at right.

My two things

I feel like using up some spare time and happened to come across "Two Things." Thanks to Cathy for sharing and giving me something to do with my pregnant self since heavy drinking and general cavorting are off the table.

Two names you go by:
1. Christie
2. Cosmo (my grandpa's nickname for me from Expo 1986)

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. socks
2. tee-shirt

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. read
2. hang out with my husband and/or friends

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. chocolate chip cookie
2. tall glass of milk (1% or 2%, please)

Two pets you had:
1. Maggie
2. Hannah

Two things you did last night:
1. visited the Apple store at Bridgeport
2. lusted over Darr's soon-to-be home computer (we'll purchase it once Leopard is released)

Two things you ate today:
1. Luscher Farms tomato with sea salt and pepper
2. brie

Two people you last talked to:
1. my mom
2. Darren

Two things you are doing tomorrow:
1. sleeping in
2. work

Your two longest car rides:
1. with Darr to Montana and back in one weekend (circa 1995)
2. family convoy when we moved my parents to Potomac

Your two favorite holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving

Your two favorite beverages:
1. water
2. Guinness

ETD May 2008

Last week we put a deposit down to get on the waiting list for the Mini Clubman. Here are a few pics of the car. Check out all of that room.

What does Interviewing and Floor Installation have in common?

So, I came across this quote recently, and it seems apropos for interviewing potential new hires and for our recent flooring escapades:

Want of Care does us more Damage than Want of Knowledge.
- Ben Franklin

Ah, so true, so true.

Installing IKEA flooring: Part two

Saturday we started working on the absolutely must do, cannot procrastinate flooring project that had to be completed before the arrival of the Resident Alien. Yeah, at 36+ weeks of pregnancy, it seemed like a good time to start laying down laminate and turn what used to be the spare bedroom/Darr's office into a room for the kid.

Long ago we made the decision to investigate what was under our carpet and we chose the spare bedroom/Darr's office as our location for the dissection precisely because it was rarely visited by outsiders. (That's code for it could look messy but that would really only bother one person.) What we found? Concrete. Rough, unfinished, gray concrete. Now, had we been active members in the land of motivated home improvement people, we might have done something cool with that like rip up all the flooring and refinish the concrete - maybe add some radiant heating to keep our feetsies warm - stuff of this nature. As it was, we bought some FLOR to go over it and called it good, that is until recently.

The project went something like this:
Day 1: Ends after approximately five hours of frustrating floor-laying labor in which it is determined the measurements are wrong and we need to start over. Fuck.

Day 2: Rip up the flooring that was measured wrong and get pissed off at each other. Day ends in silence as one person heads to the bedroom with a bag full of Kettle chips and the other retires to the living room couch and the sweet darkness that can only be found in a room that has flooring that was installed by someone else.

Day 3: Start over with high hopes for success. Make significant progress and end the day on a high note, although looming closet corners are cause for concern.

Day 4: Lay the rest of the flooring and then return to bedroom entrance, where it all began, to place the final board. It is believed the only way to get said board into the space to complete the project is to rip up all of the flooring we've just installed. Double fuck. Discussion ensues. Use hammer and crafty IKEA tool to pound final board into submission. Sweet success.

Following is a pictorial recap of the installing IKEA flooring project. We still need to add the base trim but I'm pretty happy with the result.

Marsupial parenting practice

Our Peanut Shell baby sling arrived the other day and with much good humor Ellie MacPherson allowed us to place her in it and cart her around so we could practice our marsupial parenting skills. If the R.A. enjoys our fashionably functional parenting gear half as much as Ellie appears to, we're going to have one content baby.

Joining the rest of America

Okay, okay. We have crumpled under the peer pressure of our family and friends and finally joined the rest of America. We signed up for Netflix. The first two movies in our queue: Good Night, and Good Luck (which Darr has already seen and says was excellent) and Mission: Impossible III. (Yeah, it was after midnight when I was picking my movies, that's my only explanation for that choice.) With any luck, they should arrive at my door tomorrow. Woohoo!

Photo corners and keepsake pockets

On Saturday, the baby journal I ordered for the Resident Alien finally showed up. I love it! It's an adorable journal. (Made by the lady who brought us such hits as Urban Babies Wear Black and Country Babies Wear Plaid.) I have visions of sitting down to record all of the cool baby things the R.A. does so he can one day read about his first days on the planet. Wait, what is that on the cover? What is that? A sticker?
No. That's no sticker. Now, I have never worked in the publishing industry and I can't say I'm privy to the decision making process of those folks who do. But I have to think, had I been present at any of the meetings that led to the creation of this cover, that maybe I would have stopped to ask why, on Zeus's green earth, a journal that chronicles the life of your child and is going to be something the family keeps around forever needs to have a marketing message printed on the FRONT COVER. <insert shaking head here>

Installing IKEA flooring

About three hours into the process...

Christie: Why do you do this to me?
Darr: I do this to myself. You're just collateral damage.

30 days countdown

Yep. It's the final countdown. And I don't mean that in a Swedish glam metal band called Europe kind of way, either. (If you're old enough, you'll know what the hell I'm talking about.)

We have made it to week 36. The R.A. is set to arrive in four weeks. Oh holy Zeus, we might not be entirely ready. For instance, our kid's room has no flooring, just scarred concrete sub-flooring that we found when we ripped the carpet out many moons ago. We don't have a changing station, although one has been ordered. We haven't yet landed on a name. I haven't created a phone tree. The crib we decided to get is on backorder. Zeus only knows when the mattress will be in. The hospital bag isn't packed. We haven't checked the camera batteries to ensure they are charged. The tires on the stroller need to be pumped up. And I haven't joined Netflix.

At least we have a car seat so we'll be able to get the lil' bugger home.

Recipe Corner: Rich Summer Fennel Soup

Sara lent us her copy of Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables so we could figure out what to do with the bounty of vegetables we've been getting from Luscher Farms on a weekly basis. For instance, this week's haul included tomatoes, basil, cilantro, summer turnips, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and fennel. Fennel. What do you do with fennel? Thanks to Farmer John, I now know. It should be noted that this soup pairs nicely with a fresh loaf of Como bread. Oh, and Darr thinks bacon would be a splendid addition. A sentiment to which I'm inclined to agree.

Ingredients:
Bouquet Garni
1 sprig parsley, stem only
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme

Soup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable or extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium or large fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (optional)
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons Pernod (licorice-flavored liqueur) (optional)
1/4 heavy cream
salt
pepper
chopped parsley (for garnish)

Directions:
Bouquet Garni
Tie together the parsley stem, bay leaf, and thyme sprig in a piece of cheesecloth.

Soup
Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for one minute. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the carrots, fennel, and potatoes and cook for five minutes. Add the tomatoes (if using), stock, and bouquet garni and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until the fennel is very tender. Remove the soup from the heat, discard the bouquet garni, and let the soup cool slightly. Purée the soup, using a food processor or blender, and return the soup to the pot. Stir in the cream and Pernod (if using). Heat over medium-low heat until the soup is heated through, but do not boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serves 4

Props to the dog

I must give props to Beauty the wonder dog today for her outstanding performance on our walk up to Grand Central Bakery for some bread to go with the soup I'm making for dinner (I'll post the recipe if it's any good). At the end of one of the neighborhood blocks we came upon a squirrel not more than five feet in front of us. Beaut's radar ears went up and her entire body tensed. The squirrel, unperturbed, continued on its merry way carrying a nut across the road. And Beaut, the most wonderous of wonder dogs, calmly followed my lead around the corner in the opposite direction. Good job, Beautimous Jones.

The Bright Forever

This book gets a rating of 2. I grabbed this book from Costco a few weeks ago when I saw the little "Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Fiction" sticker on the front cover. I don't always agree with the Pulitzer Prize pics - I absolutely HATED Michael Cunningham's The Hours - but I was intrigued by the enigmatic description on the back.

"On an evening like any other, nine-year-old Katie Mackey...sets out on her bicycle to return some library books.
This simple act is at the heart of The Bright Forever, a suspenseful, deeply affecting novel about the choices people make that change their lives forever."

What happens to nine-year-old Katie? How does their choices change their lives forever? The suspense is helped along with chapters short enough you can read an entire one while brushing your teeth. Martin gives each character a unique voice to relate the events of that summer, in particular the days leading up to and following from the night Katie hops on her bike and heads to the library. I want to say more but I don't want to give away too much of the book so I'll leave you now. Go forth and read this book.

What Mothers Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing

I've decided not to rate this book because it isn't the type of book that fits within my established ratings system. Would I recommend this to an expectant mother, yes. But if it came down to buying your own copy or getting one from the local library, hit the library and put the money you would have spent on it into your kid's college fund.

Psychotherapist Naomi Stadlen explores the unsentimental reactions to motherhood in various conversations with new moms. The never-ending fatigue, the sense of ineptitude, the emptiness that comes from leaving the workforce. Some mothers find themselves feeling tremendously guilty for doing "nothing" when they've spent the entire day doting on their little ones. It seems like nothing when we consider the daily tasks a mother might face - feeding the child, laundry, preparing a family meal, bathing the child, showering, washing the dishes, cleaning the house. (Anyone who performs these functions knows that they are not "nothing".) But Stadlen delves deeper to show that a mother's menial tasks don't begin to touch upon the more important acts she completes in a day - learning her child, responding to the child's every need, comforting her child, being instantly interruptible.

Is there a touch of the hippie in this book? Yeah. Did I buy every argument made on how a mother should be a mother? No. But it was a worthy read if only to learn that other mothers feel inadequate and unprepared to meet the challenges motherhood presents.

Odd husband behavior

It has been several minutes. Husband has dessert and yet has not started eating said dessert. Not sure what this behavior is other than odd. Will watch to see what he does next. Fear husband has been infiltrated by the same virus infecting people in The Invasion. And I thought it was just a movie...

Update 10:25pm: Dessert consumed. Husband appeared to enjoy the berries, whipped cream, and cake concoction. Will continue to monitor husband for next 24 hours.

Chicken, it's what's for dinner

I loves me some Internets

11:39pm - Watch trailer for a new movie coming out called Dedication
11:40pm - Realize I am bobbing my head to the trailer music
11:42pm - Begin Google search using "It may be the best thing," a refrain from the song
11:43pm - Open iTunes and search for the band Fischerspooner
11:44pm - Locate and purchase song

A magical cloud being...

It's long but worth every frickin' second.


Another example of Mr. O'Reilly's fair and balanced reporting, eh?

What has to be our next car

So, we need something big enough for the baby seat. My brother-in-law had the same problem a year ago and bought a BMW 325. Then traded it in for a Saturn Vue (one of those small-to-mid-size SUV things). He decided that wasn't big enough so now he's got himself a Chevy Tahoe. He looks like (a very nice) Tony Soprano driving around in that thing, I swear.

Anyway, this is what Christie & I want for our baby car: The Mini Clubman!

Check out these pics!


And plenty of space:

This is so awesome.

Cat pic found

Here's the latest from the old digital camera. It's an Ellie on my pregnant belly. Darr said she was giving the baby a hug. How cute is that?

When other people buy gifts for your kid - Part two

Thanks to Sara for hosting a fabulous baby shower for the Resident Alien. Sara provided us with all sorts of tasty treats to nibble on before we settled down to unwrap gifts and feast on Piece of Cake. She asked each guest to bring their favorite book from when they were kids for the R.A. so the kid came away with a small library of books, amazingly enough none of which I have already purchased for the little guy. The new titles added to his library include The Cat in the Hat (his first Dr. Seuss book), Comet in Moominland, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Carl's Sleepy Afternoon, Zen Shorts, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. We know the R.A. can hear us in there so Darr and I will be reading these aloud to him before he gets here. And since our friend is Dutch and has fond memories of a childhood of chocolate, I should point out that Sara gave Leonidas chocolates as parting gifts to the attendants. (I snagged a box but haven't tried them yet as I still have leftover Chantilly cake. Cake is good for babies, right?) Following is yet another collage of some of the cool things the R.A. received. This time I wasn't the one doing the purchasing, which I know Darren appreciates.

Note: The pics of the shower will be up on our web site shortly. (Many thanks to Tanya for taking the majority of the photos.) We had to unplug some computer equipment when the painters came to paint the R.A.'s room and we haven't reset the site yet.

Playing with my MacBook

MacBook comes with this cool application called Comic Life. I decided to take it out for a test drive when Alberto Gonzales resigned and where's what I came up with...

...wait for it...


I "borrowed" the photos of Gonzo from the NY Times and got the comic strip uploaded to our blog with help from my most fabulous husband.

Recipe Corner: Orecchiette with Broccoli, Sausage, and Roasted Peppers

I like this recipe more than Darr but he was wise enough not to complain too much when I made it tonight because, hey, when a woman is barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen making you dinner, it's really best not to bitch. Tastes just as good if you aren't growing a human.

Ingredients:
salt
1 lb orecchiette (penne will work)
4 oz ground Italian sausage (sweet or spicy, your preference)
9 medium garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press or minced
1 cup roasted red peppers, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 lbs broccoli, cut into bite-sized 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions:
Bring the water for the pasta to boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and pasta. Stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain and return to stockpot.

While pasta is cooking, cook the sausage in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking the sausage into small pieces, until brown (about 5 minutes). Stir in garlic, roasted peppers, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook until fragrant, stirring constantly (about 2 minutes). Increase heat to high, add the broccoli and 1/2 cup water, then cover and cook until the broccoli begins to turn bright green (about 1 to 2 minutes). Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until the water has evaporated and the broccoli is tender, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add broccoli mixture, oil, and cheese to the pasta in the stockpot. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6

Inappropriate Blog Entry: Massaging the what?

Disclaimer: This blog entry contains subject matter that may be offensive. Consider yourself forewarned.

Because I'm still awake, let's talk about perineal massage. I'm almost into my 35th week of pregnancy and apparently this is something I'm supposed to be doing to help prevent lacerations or the need for an episiotomy. (Yikes. Cutting or tearing anywhere near that particular region scares the bejesus out of me.) Oh great. <insert sarcasm here> Darr can help. At least he can according to the folks at the American Pregnancy Association, although (Zeus bless them) they are quick to point out "...this is not a sexual thing, but an exercise that can help make her labor easier."

What's happening with the R.A.? The lil' guy is closing in on 5 lbs and is beginning to fill out with the formation of fat under his skin. This will help regulate his temperature when he lands outside planet Womb onto Earth. His central nervous system and lungs are coming along nicely and he's got an excellent shot of surviving should he decide to come a little early.

No sleep for the pregnant

The R.A. has decided there will be no sleep for me tonight. Instead I'll occasionally stare at my lopsided belly where my lopsided baby is shifting around like those Mexican jumping beans I remember from my childhood while I read the NY Times. Here's a glimpse of what the paper has to offer at 2:09 in the A.M. on Thursday, September 6, 2007.

• Pavarotti is dead, having lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.
• Philanthropists get big tax breaks for giving large sums of money. (The nation's tax system offers the wealthy better tax breaks for charitable giving than it does the average taxpayer.)
• Rush Holt has drafted a bill to make electronic voting more reliable and less prone to fraud. It's missing one important thing, though, a ban on touch-screen voting machines.
• Apple cuts the iPhone price.
  
• Doctors link a man's illness to his microwave popcorn habit.
• NBC strikes a deal to sell shows on Amazon. (The greedy bastards decided not to renew their contract with iTunes because they want more control over pricing. I'll pay a $1.99 (iTunes current price for t.v. shows) for a show that I can easily and quickly download from iTunes but I'll be damned if I'm going to shell out an outrageous $3.99-$4.99 for an episode that is aired on t.v. for free using a service that is slow and unresponsive.)
• Larry Craig might not resign. Fight the good fight, my Republican friend.

(Reading interrupted by Darr kicking off his covers and accidentally burying Ellie MacPherson with the blankets. Must save cat. Okay, back to the...)

• Texas tycoon who broke the law by paying millions in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government to gain access to Iraq's oil.
• School cafeterias are shooting for a healthy menu, doing crazy things like banning fryers.
• Common food additives raise hyperactivity in kids, according to a study released today.
  
• To remember something, a cat has to do, rather than see. A cat uses "diverse neural pathways to remember different events." (I always knew cats were cool.)

Seriously, the kid is moving around in here. It looks like this (fast forward to 00:58 if you're in a hurry) and feels incredibly weird.

It's bright in this here condo

The painters have landed and with them paint for the condo walls. Our color of choice for the rooms being repainted (two bedrooms and the living room) is called Whip. It's your basic off-white white color. (Maybe ivory?) There is a touch of yellow but it's so faint you almost miss it. Man alive, does the color brighten up the place when compared to the dark purple and charcoal colors we used to have. The cool thing is that we'll be able to start piecing together the Resident Alien's room once it dries. We'll put the shelves back up, hang the artwork, and get the flooring installed. (Note to self: Buy flooring. Cork versus wood, anybody want to weigh in?) I'm looking forward to breaking out the rug we bought and finding the best possible placement for the lil' guys bouncy cow. Perhaps now I'll find the motivation to post an ad on craigslist to get rid of all of the extraneous pieces of furniture that are currently clogging up our dining room.

From a Buick 8

This book gets a rating of 4. It has been awhile since I dove into a Stephen King book. I like his stuff. It's entertaining. But I tend to think of it as less so when his story revolves around an old American vehicle. I don't care about Buicks. I don't care about enigmatic Buicks that spit out otherworldly creatures and then sucks humans into it. That being said, King does weave a good tale and I was able to hang on until the end. Hell, I might even recommend this book to someone looking for something to read.

So, what's it about? Storytelling - as the book focuses on "Then" and "Now" chapters where various characters dig into the past to explain as much as is possible about the goings-on in Shed B to one young kid named Ned. It is about camaraderie amongst a troop of state policemen who find this mysterious car and want to learn its secrets. It is about loss and acceptance.

When it hits you unexpectedly

Darr: Oh God!
Me: What? Dog fart?
Darr: Yeah.
<Darr abandons his place on the couch, fleeing the living room to the relative safety of the kitchen>
Darr: It is rich and verdant.

Hmmm...a rich, green fart.

Thinking about movies

I've been thinking about movies I watched when I was growing up and decided I'd make a list of the ones I'll have to share with the R.A.

1. Star Wars (1977) - Pop's pick. When I asked Darr if he remembered other movies from growing up, he said Rocky but that isn't a movie either of us feel compelled to share with the R.A.
   
2. Fox and the Hound (1981) - First flick I ever saw at a drive-in (went with my parents and older sister). Nothing is more cute than Copper stating "I'm a hound dog."
   
3. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - How else is the R.A. going to learn the importance of having Reese's Pieces on hand? And there is some continuity between a movie about an extra terrestrial and having your nickname be "Resident Alien."
4. Poltergeist (1982) - I'll use this movie to warn the kid about watching too much television.
   
5. The Natural (1984) - Best baseball movie of all time because of the last scene in which Robert Redford's character hits the ball into the lights at the stadium. The music that accompanies that cinematic moment is excellent (and still gives me goosebumps on my arms).
6. Footloose (1984) - The R.A. isn't learning to dance from Darr or I.
7. Weird Science (1985) - To teach the R.A. that nothing good can come from wearing a bra on your head.
   
8. Space Camp (1986) - So the kid will 1. know it's okay to be geeky enough to go to space camp and B) be introduced to the coolest movie robot ever created, Jinx. (Loads better than #5 from Short Circuit and even, dare I say it, R2D2.)
9. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - It's good to recognize there will come a time when my kid will want to ditch school. At least this movie will teach him how to get the most out of his day.
10. The Princess Bride (1987) - If only so the kid understands what his parents are talking about when we break out the "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die," line.
    

Baby blankets made from bamboo?

Who would have thunk it, eh? Bamboo blankets. Satsuma's bamboo baby blankets are made in the USA from 100% bamboo fiber. They have a unique silky soft feel, are machine washable, contain no harsh dyes or chemicals, and are perfect for sensitive baby skin. Plus, they've got a cute Satsuma as their logo. I had to buy one because, um, in my baby laundry glee a few days ago I shrank one of the wool blankets I bought for the lil' guy. Whoops.

The diaper debate

Yep, I'm researching diapers. This is the type of good time you can have when you're about to become a parent for the first time. It used to be a night out with the girls and martinis. Now, it's spending Saturday night reading article after article online about diapers. I think I've determined a potential course of action as far as diaper usage is concerned, one that is (at the very least) cognizant of the fact that we have an environment and that our actions will impact said environment, and one that will take into account our needs as new parents.

What I learned about diapers:

1. Net energy used in one year - A disposable diaper uses 29% less energy than home laundered systems and 20% less energy than commercially washed diapers.
2. Despite a higher reuse rate for home laundered cloth diapers, the home laundering system is energy intensive, using more energy than commercially laundered diapers.
3. Commercially laundered cloth diapers use a third less water through laundering and approximately 30% less energy.
4. There are two types of solid waste: postconsumer and industrial. Cloth diapers produce nearly the same amount of industrial and postconsumer waste - the difference is a result of commercial diapers being thrown out earlier than home laundered cloth diapers. Of the three options, disposable diapers produce the most solid waste, nearly twice as much as cloth diapers. (This includes substances thrown out: the diaper, child waste, and packaging.) (No real surprise here. The disposable diapers are filling up our landfills.)
   
5. Cloth diapers produce more waterborne waste. (Waste produced by raw material production, irrigation of cotton fields, laundering steps, and sewage treatment.) The waste from disposable diapers primarily comes from manufacturing and fuel-related processes.
6. The highest level of atmospheric waste comes from home laundered cloth diapers. The laundering process at home is so energy intensive that home laundered diapers produce more atmospheric waste through laundering than exhaust from transporting commercial diapers. (Yikes.) However, it is hypothesized that air-drying home laundered diapers could reduce the energy used by up to 37%, potentially leaving home laundered diapers as the preferred diaper.
7. Disposable diapers are preferred but they do produce substantially more solid waste. Cloth diapers produce half as much solid waste but use more water volume and produce more waterborne waste.
8. On average, a baby will need his/her cloth diaper changed ten times per day or his/her disposable diaper changed five times per day.
9. Cloth diapers can make potty training an easier endeavor because the toddler immediately experiences the discomfort in his/her diaper.
10. Super absorbent disposable diapers perform best in reducing skin wetness, thereby are most likely to prevent diaper rash. Cloth diapers offer the next best line of protection against rashes. Regular disposables provide the least protection.
11. Most daycare facilities require children to wear disposable diapers for convenience and hygiene. It also reduces diaper leakage and contamination of the day care setting when children wear super absorbent disposables instead of cloth diapers with plastic pants.
12. Home laundered cloth diapers is the least expensive diaper option.
    

What this means for us:
The various articles I read range from one to ten years old. During this time the market has been flooded with energy-efficient washing machines and dryers and the introduction of organic diapers - all things meant to decrease our impact on the environment. So, we've come up with a plan that we hope will work but realize may need to be tweaked to fit the R.A.'s needs, as well as our own.

It begins with gDiapers, a diaper that is neither cloth nor disposable. gDiapers have a washable, cotton outer part and a plastic-free flushable refill. (Because, they are plastic-free, it is okay to toss wet inserts into a compost. Just be sure you flush the poopy ones, that's what the gDiaper was designed for.) We would like try using these during the day when at home.

For nighttime and traveling, we'd like to try Seventh Generation (recommended by Sara). Chlorine-free diapers that are super absorbent and earth-friendly. Bonus - you can buy these in ginormous packs from amazon.com for a very reasonable price.

And then, once the lil' guy is older and we start to think about potty-training, we'll switch to commercially laundered cloth diapers for the day, hoping the uncomfortable feeling the kid gets when he fills his diaper will prompt him into toilet-using bliss.

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