Daughter went trick-or-treating for the first time last night with me. We only went to 6 homes. She seemed excited yet inquisitive ("mommy, why the hell are we walking around at night and knocking on people's doors?"). She didn't quite understand why she wasn't being invited inside to explore each person's home. I guess if you think about it from a first time toddler's perspective, it's a very strange concept. I wasn't so thrilled about her wanting to eat the candy but I'm trying to ease up on my analness as of late. I let her open and bite a little KitKat (my personal fav) but alas! she wasn't into it and handed it to me. We tried again with a MilkyWay and got the same result. Yes! I know it won't be long before all she wants is candy but right now I'm loving that she loves to eat veggies and fruit with the occasional bite of chicken.
Strangely, I seem to not be in a wolfing-down-chocolate-as-fast-as-I-can phase. I do go through these phases occasionally but they seem rare. I've been eating very lightly too. Hmmmm........
Dance lessons have been the opposite of fun lately. I just get annoyed doing exercises to warm up my abs and inner thighs. I don't wanna! Sometimes I just want to tell her, "Can't we just fuckin' dance?" But then I remember I wanted a lot of technique in my learning. Ugh. I found myself chatting through a quarter of the lesson about motherhood and I did the same with daughter's gymnastics teacher yesterday too. I'm sure it's obvious to them that I'm starved for adult interaction at the moment.
Unfortunately my husband missed Halloween last night as his whole company had a big issue that needed dealing with and not to mention one of our close friends who works there found himself going to take a routine dump but instead filling the toilet with blood. Not good. Mind you, he'd been feeling nausea for a few weeks and we were all trying to get him to go to the doc. Well, husband ended up taking his ass (pun-intended) to urgent care. They did a colonoscopy and saw lots of irritation and tearing. Nothing life-threatening but he'll definitely need some follow-ups. I'm glad he's okay. I know from personal experience that a doc digging in your ass for answers is NO party. It's traumatic. At least it was for me and I only had a flex-sigmoidoscopy. Why you ask? Well I had a bout of bleeding out of my behind too. 3 times in the last seven years to be exact. Anyway, for me, it came out totally normal and now I can say that I have seen my intestines. I feel so lucky. I know, I know TMI.
Other than that, I can't believe it's November and my daughter is going to be 2 years old in a few days.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
YES!
We stopped giving our daughter her pacifier for naps/night time completely over the weekend. Just like that - cold turkey. And guess what? It was no big deal! I couldn't believe it. Next hurdle....potty training!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Sad
Just found out one of my dance coaches is opening his own studio. It's too inconvenient for me to drive there so for now I guess I'm going to stick to one hour a week with my female coach. A little annoying, but the bright side is more money to save!
I happened on this blog and it just BROKE MY HEART. If you don't want to read it, it is a law student who has a new baby. After birth she noticed that he was having SCREAMING fits all day every 2 hours or so. After many doc visits and many diagnoses (colic, milk allergy, reflux) she finally got someone to do an x-ray because she told the doc (for like the 5th time) that when he breathes, she hears popping sounds. So they do the x-ray and are sent home to wait for the results. They get a call soon after saying to pack their bags and plan to stay at the hospital for awhile b/c what they found was very concerning. Well, what they found was multiple rib fractures and now the parents are being investigated for abuse and could lose their child. Right now it stands that the court doesn't want the case now BUT the parents can't be alone with their son - EVER. I can't imagine. I don't know this woman but I feel for her. She feels like she is being accused of abuse before they rule out other medial conditions that could cause this. I just don't know what I'd do.
Daughter is sleeping so I need to get back to my chores.
I happened on this blog and it just BROKE MY HEART. If you don't want to read it, it is a law student who has a new baby. After birth she noticed that he was having SCREAMING fits all day every 2 hours or so. After many doc visits and many diagnoses (colic, milk allergy, reflux) she finally got someone to do an x-ray because she told the doc (for like the 5th time) that when he breathes, she hears popping sounds. So they do the x-ray and are sent home to wait for the results. They get a call soon after saying to pack their bags and plan to stay at the hospital for awhile b/c what they found was very concerning. Well, what they found was multiple rib fractures and now the parents are being investigated for abuse and could lose their child. Right now it stands that the court doesn't want the case now BUT the parents can't be alone with their son - EVER. I can't imagine. I don't know this woman but I feel for her. She feels like she is being accused of abuse before they rule out other medial conditions that could cause this. I just don't know what I'd do.
Daughter is sleeping so I need to get back to my chores.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Here I am!
Well this has been the longest blog hiatus yet. I'm not sure why I have not blogged but then again, nothing major has happened either. Maybe that's why - most things seem trivial to write about. I'm not sure why I care since I'm like one of three people who actually read this. Okay, no one cares.
My daughter is going to be 2 years old next month. Where does the time go? We are having a small party (family mostly) for her and then comes the task of potty training and weaning her off her pacifier during sleep. Ugh. I REALLY hope it's quick and painless (the pacifier weaning that is - I have more realistic expectations of potty training). She's finally saying words and even a few short sentences. It is crazy to witness language development in a toddler. She's also getting quite good at using a fork or spoon to eat, drinking from a normal cup and jumping. What's next?
On the home front we have 2 new plants/trees: bougainvillea and a Hong Kong Orchid tree both of which are really going to look awesome once they bloom. We have also bought a new dishwasher and I'm LOVING it. It cleans great and is very quiet. The only complaint is that often the dishes are wet when the cycle is done. I've read that since it is an energy saver model, this is common. There could be worse things......like dirty dishes at the end of the cycle!
As for me, I've been dancing again for about a month now. I wish I could say it's going great and I love it but I would be lying. My muscle memory isn't coming back as fast as I'd like it to. Most of the time I feel like a huge, off-balance, fat, ugly ogre for most of the 2 hours of coaching I'm doing. Doesn't that sound awesome? I'm sticking to it because I know it will get better. I'm planning on going back to yoga (really this time) to help strengthen my non-existent core muscles. Regardless, it has been nice to get out of the house alone and do something that is just for me. I should have done this long ago as my husband kept telling me - but I'm very stubborn. He is patient with me, God bless him for that.
I'm going to write more later but now I must give my daughter a bath.
My daughter is going to be 2 years old next month. Where does the time go? We are having a small party (family mostly) for her and then comes the task of potty training and weaning her off her pacifier during sleep. Ugh. I REALLY hope it's quick and painless (the pacifier weaning that is - I have more realistic expectations of potty training). She's finally saying words and even a few short sentences. It is crazy to witness language development in a toddler. She's also getting quite good at using a fork or spoon to eat, drinking from a normal cup and jumping. What's next?
On the home front we have 2 new plants/trees: bougainvillea and a Hong Kong Orchid tree both of which are really going to look awesome once they bloom. We have also bought a new dishwasher and I'm LOVING it. It cleans great and is very quiet. The only complaint is that often the dishes are wet when the cycle is done. I've read that since it is an energy saver model, this is common. There could be worse things......like dirty dishes at the end of the cycle!
As for me, I've been dancing again for about a month now. I wish I could say it's going great and I love it but I would be lying. My muscle memory isn't coming back as fast as I'd like it to. Most of the time I feel like a huge, off-balance, fat, ugly ogre for most of the 2 hours of coaching I'm doing. Doesn't that sound awesome? I'm sticking to it because I know it will get better. I'm planning on going back to yoga (really this time) to help strengthen my non-existent core muscles. Regardless, it has been nice to get out of the house alone and do something that is just for me. I should have done this long ago as my husband kept telling me - but I'm very stubborn. He is patient with me, God bless him for that.
I'm going to write more later but now I must give my daughter a bath.
Friday, July 13, 2007
5 Questions
5 Questions...
Leave me a comment saying that you want me to ask you 5 questions.
I will respond by asking you five personal questions.
You will update your LJ or Blogger, etc... with the answers to the questions, and include this explanation.
:D
Thank you Juju for these questions!
1. Where and how did you and your husband meet?
This is kind of a funny story. We met at a housewarming party and he was actually there on a date with another woman. Because I thought they were a serious couple, I didn't feel funny about talking to them or him for that matter. His date sort of ran off and hung out with her friend and left us to chatting. He managed to get my number from another one of my friends at the party and the rest is history. *note* it was only he and this girl's second date so I don't feel like I stole him :) Besides who takes a second date to a housewarming party in the middle of the day and then ditches him? Her loss, my gain.
2. What is your favorite memory with your daughter so far? I'd have to say me and her daddy helping her out of me at her birth and "meeting" her for the first time. It's magical, I tell you. Also breastfeeding is up there too. Nothing better.
3. What is it about Africa that interests you so much? I'd have to say first the people - they are passionate about life and music and dancing despite hardships. Second - the land and it's animals. I've got a thing for giraffes and would love to see them in the wild.
4. What are the reasons you chose your profession? I'm going to assume you mean when I was a research scientist and not my current stay-at-home mom position :) I love science. Big science, meaning not little microscopic stuff and bench work. I also loved having a job where I knew I was making a difference in people's lives directly. The type of research is rare and I felt lucky to be researching such a big epidemic in our society (alcoholism). I also LOVE the hospital environment (kinda weird I know).
5. What is the greatest parenting advice you have learned thus far? Oh gosh 3 things (which I'm STILL learning): YOU MUST LEARN TO BE FLEXIBLE, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, and DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP ONCE IN AWHILE! No one is an expert at parenting the first time around but we all figure it out. We do things like get help, ask advice and don't plan things out too much. Kids have their own agenda and they will win most of the time. That's not to say be a pushover, rather, pick your battles!!
Leave me a comment saying that you want me to ask you 5 questions.
I will respond by asking you five personal questions.
You will update your LJ or Blogger, etc... with the answers to the questions, and include this explanation.
:D
Thank you Juju for these questions!
1. Where and how did you and your husband meet?
This is kind of a funny story. We met at a housewarming party and he was actually there on a date with another woman. Because I thought they were a serious couple, I didn't feel funny about talking to them or him for that matter. His date sort of ran off and hung out with her friend and left us to chatting. He managed to get my number from another one of my friends at the party and the rest is history. *note* it was only he and this girl's second date so I don't feel like I stole him :) Besides who takes a second date to a housewarming party in the middle of the day and then ditches him? Her loss, my gain.
2. What is your favorite memory with your daughter so far? I'd have to say me and her daddy helping her out of me at her birth and "meeting" her for the first time. It's magical, I tell you. Also breastfeeding is up there too. Nothing better.
3. What is it about Africa that interests you so much? I'd have to say first the people - they are passionate about life and music and dancing despite hardships. Second - the land and it's animals. I've got a thing for giraffes and would love to see them in the wild.
4. What are the reasons you chose your profession? I'm going to assume you mean when I was a research scientist and not my current stay-at-home mom position :) I love science. Big science, meaning not little microscopic stuff and bench work. I also loved having a job where I knew I was making a difference in people's lives directly. The type of research is rare and I felt lucky to be researching such a big epidemic in our society (alcoholism). I also LOVE the hospital environment (kinda weird I know).
5. What is the greatest parenting advice you have learned thus far? Oh gosh 3 things (which I'm STILL learning): YOU MUST LEARN TO BE FLEXIBLE, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, and DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP ONCE IN AWHILE! No one is an expert at parenting the first time around but we all figure it out. We do things like get help, ask advice and don't plan things out too much. Kids have their own agenda and they will win most of the time. That's not to say be a pushover, rather, pick your battles!!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Closet hippie
Husband a few years ago: "You are a closet hippie!"
Me: "No, I'm not not...eww."
Me (a few hours later): "Wait, I guess I sort of am."
I got to thinking about this the other day when I got really mad at my husband for doing his usual routine of turning on the shower then going into the bathroom (toilet is separate from the shower) for about 20 minutes. The really bugs the shit out of me. It wastes so much water. I also get after him for leaving the faucet on while brushing his teeth and grabbing a new water bottle and taking a few sips only to realize he already has one opened. Waste, waste, waste. He is trying to get better but old habits die hard, ya know?
Last year, I decided to go as "green" as I could. I now buy all biodegradable non-toxic household cleaners including laundry and dish detergent. I use reusable grocery bags at the store and unplug many of our appliances unless they are being used. I also use a dish towel to dry my hands instead of a paper towel. There is a TON more I could do, and I will eventually, but for now I feel good about what I am doing.
I wouldn't mind driving a hybrid car and it would be even better if my husband did since he has such a long commute. He tried it once (rented one) and thought the car didn't have much power and was uncomfortable. I hope they get better. It would save us SO much money.
I don't consider myself to be a hippie but to my husband, I'm the ultimate tree hugger. I laugh when I think how he would have handled Santa Cruz (where I went to college). Heheh.
Me: "No, I'm not not...eww."
Me (a few hours later): "Wait, I guess I sort of am."
I got to thinking about this the other day when I got really mad at my husband for doing his usual routine of turning on the shower then going into the bathroom (toilet is separate from the shower) for about 20 minutes. The really bugs the shit out of me. It wastes so much water. I also get after him for leaving the faucet on while brushing his teeth and grabbing a new water bottle and taking a few sips only to realize he already has one opened. Waste, waste, waste. He is trying to get better but old habits die hard, ya know?
Last year, I decided to go as "green" as I could. I now buy all biodegradable non-toxic household cleaners including laundry and dish detergent. I use reusable grocery bags at the store and unplug many of our appliances unless they are being used. I also use a dish towel to dry my hands instead of a paper towel. There is a TON more I could do, and I will eventually, but for now I feel good about what I am doing.
I wouldn't mind driving a hybrid car and it would be even better if my husband did since he has such a long commute. He tried it once (rented one) and thought the car didn't have much power and was uncomfortable. I hope they get better. It would save us SO much money.
I don't consider myself to be a hippie but to my husband, I'm the ultimate tree hugger. I laugh when I think how he would have handled Santa Cruz (where I went to college). Heheh.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Thoughts
Lately my mind has been racing.
I recently had an emergency visit to my eye doctor (the retina specialist) because I was seeing light flashes in my right eye - not a good thing when you have MMD. He determined everything was fine BUT added that if I do decide to have another child, I am at a high risk of developing another macular hemorrhage due to slight blood pressure changes that occur during pregnancy. While this would be no big deal in other women, it can cause a blind spot in my eye. Even without another pregnancy I am STILL at risk because high blood pressure runs my family. Yay for genetics. Even with my blood pressure as it is (normal) he says I have a 50/50 chance of having another hemorrhage. Then I add in genetics and it goes up. I'm not sure I want to raise my risk even higher by having another child.
I've told a few people about this and most are very supportive, offering opinions and great insight. There are a few people though, who say things like, "Oh you can't just have one!" or, "Maybe you are being selfish.". Does it somehow make me less of a woman or a mom if I only have one child? I certainly don't look down upon women who have no children OR women who have 10 children. It's such a personal choice. I think for me the toughest part is ME being okay with my decision and not feel as though I have to defend MY choice (whatever it turns out to be).
My husband really wants a second child too. What am I to do? I kind of feel like for me to be the best mom I can be, ONE child is enough. I've never been a baby or kid loving kind of person. I've always felt a bit guilty or embarrassed by that because I somehow feel like it portrays me as a cold person. But it is what it is, part of who I am. I am the mom at the park who gets anxiety when too many kids are there or when I think of my daughter having a bunch of kids over for a party. What the hell do I do with all of them????
I'm going to be 32 years old on Monday. My 30's have proven to be such an introspective, life changing time and I'm only 2 years in!
Oh sheesh. Decisions, decisions. I'm a good person, I swear.
I recently had an emergency visit to my eye doctor (the retina specialist) because I was seeing light flashes in my right eye - not a good thing when you have MMD. He determined everything was fine BUT added that if I do decide to have another child, I am at a high risk of developing another macular hemorrhage due to slight blood pressure changes that occur during pregnancy. While this would be no big deal in other women, it can cause a blind spot in my eye. Even without another pregnancy I am STILL at risk because high blood pressure runs my family. Yay for genetics. Even with my blood pressure as it is (normal) he says I have a 50/50 chance of having another hemorrhage. Then I add in genetics and it goes up. I'm not sure I want to raise my risk even higher by having another child.
I've told a few people about this and most are very supportive, offering opinions and great insight. There are a few people though, who say things like, "Oh you can't just have one!" or, "Maybe you are being selfish.". Does it somehow make me less of a woman or a mom if I only have one child? I certainly don't look down upon women who have no children OR women who have 10 children. It's such a personal choice. I think for me the toughest part is ME being okay with my decision and not feel as though I have to defend MY choice (whatever it turns out to be).
My husband really wants a second child too. What am I to do? I kind of feel like for me to be the best mom I can be, ONE child is enough. I've never been a baby or kid loving kind of person. I've always felt a bit guilty or embarrassed by that because I somehow feel like it portrays me as a cold person. But it is what it is, part of who I am. I am the mom at the park who gets anxiety when too many kids are there or when I think of my daughter having a bunch of kids over for a party. What the hell do I do with all of them????
I'm going to be 32 years old on Monday. My 30's have proven to be such an introspective, life changing time and I'm only 2 years in!
Oh sheesh. Decisions, decisions. I'm a good person, I swear.
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