Easter and Softball

Nico and I went down to Wakulla last night for a softball game.  It was the first time he had gotten to see his Shay and his softball girls in a while.  He was pretty precious.  In hindsight, I probably ought to be a little more aware of the situation... foul tip offs are not uncommon in softball... it would probably help if I were paying attention.  I wouldnt want either of us to get hit with a softball. 

A bunch of the soccer girls play softball... specifically, there are three of the senior girls on the softball team, along with a junior and a sophomore... coincidentally some of our best athletes are softball players.  It's strange- I never thought I would like watching softball... but it's actually a beautiful sport. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with Dave's boss about his little girl, who is brilliant... talkative, great vocabulary.  We were talking about the ways that you can help your child develop, where he recomended reading every day.  He suggested using the downtime for reading.  Really, we spend so much of our time waiting for stuff, it could be productive.  So I have started keeping a diaper bag stocked with books (and a couple of toys).  Since Nico wasn't being engaged just by watching the softball game, I whipped out a book.  He is starting to figure out the that books are good for more than just eating... they can be entertaining.  And he is even starting to figure out that you sit up and look at books, and you know... turn the pages. 

I like family tradition.  So I think our Easter Family Tradition will include a new book for Nico on Easter.  You can never have too many books, I think.  I would like to get him a copy of the Velveteen Rabit along with a rabbit stuffed animal- I think that would be a good Easter gift.  Isn't there a song about the rabbit, "Scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head?"  In any case, Dave thinks that Nico might be too young for it, but I think it would be fun to go to the Egg Hunt in Myers Park on Sunday.  Of course, Nico won't understand what is going on, but I'd at least like to go and see. 

So today marks my first school-parent thing.  I took in big plastic eggs for the babies in the baby room.  The teachers are going to put puffs in the big eggs and let babies play with the eggs... which is pretty cool.  They aren't exactly the most mobile group (barring one little boy who literally darted right by me out of the room last week.  I was sitting on the floor with Nico when this little boy sprint/crawled past me to get to his Dad.  It was pretty much amazing.)  I also made cupcakes last night and took them in for the teachers.  They weren't A' La Nicole Bain- but they were pretty. 

Tonight we are looking at a house.  As much as I love Indian Head/Myers Park, most of the houses that are for rent are small (1000 square feet).  The house we are looking at is on the other side of the Parkway, a little bit closer to downtown.  On the upside, it's walking distance to Millers and probably closer to my gym.  On the downside: its not in Indian Head/Myers Park.  On the upside:  it is a 4/2. With a hot tub (which is perfect if your 40 year old husband has the body of a 70 year old).  Milkawhat?!  On the downside:  It's not in Indian Head/Myers Park. So we will see.

DOH!

So tonight I figured out why blogger offers the option to download the current template you have on your blog.  That way, if you accidentally upload a crappy template, you dont have to live with it. 

Sorry people... that was me. Working on getting a better layout, but I can barely keep my eyes open. 

Stupid blogger.com.  

BRILLANT NICO!!

Wow.  We had a pretty brilliant weekend around here.  It started on Friday with two HUGE milestones for Nico.  One is that his first tooth has *FINALLY* come in.  He's been "teething" for three months, now finally this.  And its not where I thought it was going to be... I thought he had a tooth trying to poke through on his upper right side... the tooth that came in is on his lower left. (FAIL?)  He hasn't quite figured it out yet- to show anyone who wants to see (and it's not real big), so I don't have a picture of it yet. 

I do, however have video of him "crawling".   He has sort of been doing this a little around the house, but since I dont put him on the floor a lot (for fear that the dog hair bunnies will get him), he hasn't done it a whole LOT or for very sustained efforts to get something.  Friday he actually was trying to get a toy and crawled all the way across the bed to get it. 



Yeah.  Wow. I think he was cheered on by the Rocky Theme that Dave sang for him. 

Saturday we went to Springtime Tallahassee.  Its this big art/food/music thing downtown.  It's pretty fun.  I came across a booth for a company that is based in the Leo and Kate's cupcakery- that sells baby clothes.  Really cutely decorated onesies and burp cloths and whatnot.  Granted, I paid 15 bucks for a onesie that I know cost only about 4 bucks to make... but its pretty cute.  Dave got to have meat and I got a piece of chocolate cake from Andrew's (whoop!) Nico had a good time looking at all the people, the kids and babies and the dogs. 

Sunday I cut his hair.  GULP.  Here is the thing:  Nico never lost his hair.  A lot of people told me that he would lose all of his hair.  But he didn't... so the front and the sides and the top kept getting longer and longer while the hair on the back of his head got buzzed off (by laying on his back so much- it happens to all babies).  The result was that he had normal length hair in the back and these long wispy wisps on the sides and the top complete with a rat tail.   True story.  The only thing that would have completed the look is if he had the rat tail in a pony tail holder and was wearing cutoff jeans and a hulk hogan t-shirt and cowboy boots while running around a trailer park in Sun Coast (holla to all my peeps in the 239!)  The thing is, that he had these curls right below his ears that reminded me so much of me (from my baby pictures when I got to be about his age).  Little chubby cheeks and strawberry blond curls?  Looked just like Mama. 

So I cut them off... mostly just to sort of even up the length.  Mind you, I have never cut baby hair, so it was an adventure.  And guess who didnt want to keep his head still?  Yeah, Nico was definitely more into seeing what I was doing with the scissors than keeping his head still so I didnt cut off an ear.  So it wasn't a pretty job.  In any case, he doesn't look like such baby anymore. 

Finally, he pulled himself up in his crib.  TWICE.  Completely unassisted.  Which is really good.  Usually I help him a little, at least so he doesn't face plant into the side of the crib.  But, on Sunday, I was folding laundry in his room while he was hanging out in the crib and he did it!   So it was a HUGE weekend for Nico. 

He is a little snotty today.  I think he might be getting sick... or not.  Maybe he is just having a reaction to all the pollen that is out... real thick snot and congested, but no fever.  So who knows?  On a completely unrelated note, I think the cardinal family might be back.  A female cardinal came and ate some noms from the birdfeeder hanging outside Nico's window.  Then a male came by a few minutes later.  If you recall, we had a cardinal family living in the back yard last summer when I came back from Maryland.  They apparently were n00bs because they built their nest kind of low (I could see into it from the ground). They probably aren't the same cardinals, but I like to think they are...

Changed

I have changed.  I am completely irrational when it comes to people hurting kids.  Like as worked up as my dad gets about democrats and socialism?  I get that worked up when people hurt and abuse children.  So worked up that I sometimes forget that often these are cases where someone has been accused of child abuse, that it still needs to be proven in court (which are two very different things).  Maybe even worse, because I feel justified in this anger.  And, I will admit, it's worse because the addition of Nico to our family has changed my opinion about what I can do.

I have always thought I could do anything that I decided I wanted to do.  Go to college on a soccer scholarship, although I only started playing soccer in 10th grade?  Check. Play in the W-League 5 years after finishing my college career?  Check.  Pass comps?  Check.  Run a marathon? Check.  Be a good teacher?  Check.   Coach soccer?  Check.  Seriously, if I decide I want to do something, it's done.  It's the main reason why I have no questions or doubts about my ability to finish this degree and not spend the rest of my life ABD.  Yes, it might take me a little longer, but once I have decided I want it, it's done. End of story.

But with Nico in the mix now?  I REALLY feel like I can do anything.  It's funny, because I am more tired now than I have ever been in my life.  I am more worn out.  I can't manage to stay on top of the dishes or the laundry or making sure that he has clean cloth diapers (and thus forcing us to resort to using disposables... yes I am a bad hippie... don't judge me.  And don't tell The Original Hippie).  Hell, I will even admit to the fact that Nico has gone to bed in a tshirt and a diaper for the last two nights because he doesnt have any clean sleepers (he has probably 20 sleepers... meaning that he has 20 sleepers that need to be washed).  But that is neither here nor there, because I feel like if we were in an accident and the car was upside down, that I could rip his car seat out of the back seat.  I feel like if we went off a bridge or somehow ended up in a pond that there would be no question about us making it out alive... I feel like if  we were in some sort of catastrophe, that he would be just fine... that bullets would bounce off of me, that I would be flame retardant, you name it.  It's exhilirating and mindblowing and breathtaking and overwhelming all at the same time. 

I think it's natural that when you hear about shocking news stories to think about what would happen if it were you?  How would you react?  As parents, how would you reacto to THIS?  Or THIS?  Or THIS?  Or THIS? 

So I came across a video last night on the baby center website about a nanny cam.  It was a news story about a couple who installed a nanny cam.  It made me so upset that I can't even go onto the web to find the video... I am starting to tear up thinking about it.  The parents started watching the video one night shortly after installing the camera and found that the nanny wasn't actually as attentive as she seemed.  Rather than going outside and reading books and playing and whatnot, which is what she said she did, she basically sat the baby (11 month old) in front of the TV all day.  Which would be egregious enough, I think.  So they called her and fired her on the spot. 

Well, they kept watching and came across footage of this nanny that is horrible... at one point she snatches and grabs this baby from the corner and drags him by one arm across the floor and drops him on the carpet.  She slings him around by his arms into the pack and play.  She throws a bouncy ball at this baby's face and knocks him over (several times).  At one point, he is just sitting there with the ball in front of him, touching it, looking at it and she grabs it from him and throws it at him.  When she goes to put socks on him and he starts to wriggle, she hits him- 11 times. 

The baby survived.  He is okay.  He may not even remember the incident that was caught on tape.

To me, the sadder thing is that here this baby is trying to figure out the world around him and he's afraid of the person who spends most of his day with. 

I am not ashamed to admit that if it were me, this woman wouldn't have been fired.  She would have gotten the same treatment, only with a baseball bat.  Or a golf club.  And I would have gladly gone to jail for it.  I'd do that time standing on my head, with no regrets.  How is treating a baby like that ever excusable?

OMG!! THE CENSUS!!

The census is here!  The census is here!  Whoop!!

You know how I know I am a nerd?  Because I am really stoked about the census being here...  IN fact, I am way more stoked about the census being here than I was about voting.  Isn't that awesome!! I love me some census!

So for demographers, the census is where it is at.  Here is why:

1.  First, it is the statistical accounting for everyone in the country.  Until census figures come out, the best guess that anyone has, is just that, a best guess.  It is a huge undertaking.  In the past it included a lot of questions and assessments about socioeconomic status, relationships of family members, etc.  But most of that has been shifted to the American Community Survey (formerly the long form of the census, I believe).  Dont get me started on the sampling that goes on with THAT!! (see Ike, I actually did attend some of the Center's brown bag sessions!)

2.  Why it's important?  Because it plays a large role in political representation.  Knowing how many people live where is key for determining how districts get reps and the composition of those districts (and likely the reps that are elected in districts).

3.  Even cooler... since my mom and Dave have started doing the ancestry.com thing, its possible to see generations down the line.  It's not uncommon for my mom to tell me about so and so, who she found in a 1910 census.  That is pretty badass.  So 70 years from now, when Nico's kids start getting interested in their genealogy, they can look back to the 2010 census and see the form from when he was a baby, where I had to cross out Bishop- because I accidentally put it in the section for "First Name."  Doh.

4.  Even awesomer?  I am using census data for my dissertation... so this will kind of be like full-circle!!  Whoot!

Which is why I don't understand this nonsense:


Here is what is ironic:  if you look at only white female fertility in the US, one would see that it is below replacement level... for every one of my sister there is (with 2 kids), there are women like LR and ED who have decided not to have kids.  Or they wait too long to have kids. In looking at white fertility, the next generation will not be as large as this current generation.  Which is okay.

However, not everyone's fertility rates are so low.  Hispanic women and African American women have somewhat higher fertility rates.  If you put all of this into a lifetable and let it playout for a couple of generations, then you would see a reversal of "minority" in this country- even if you didnt account for immigration.  So if everyone isn't counted properly, then there could be a situation where the number of reps doesn't match well, and also that the districts are drawn in a way that doesn't acknowledge everyone in the district.   

So by encouraging other anti-government, anti-intellectual, misinformed conservatives not to complete the census, Michelle Bachmann is actually increasing the likelihood that her kind (mostly white anti-government, anti-intellectual conservatives) aren't counted.  Which is fine by me.

CANDY!! OMG!! EASTER!!!

I think I am going to dye some eggs for Easter with Nico. 

We didn't go completely buckwild craxy at Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day with Nico.  However, one of my favorite pictures from childhood is a picture that I borrowed stole borrowed from my mom of my dad, Nicole and me at Easter.  I must have been about 3, because Nicole is VERY little.  We were in the house that my mom and Dad were building.  The walls weren't finished yet, so it was perfect for hiding eggs.  The picture is of us hunting for Easter eggs.  I would like to dye some eggs with Nico and get him me him an Easter basket and some Easter Candies (for me him me).  Hey!  I can get on board with any holiday where I can get cadberry eggs.  MMMMMM.  Cadberry Eggs. 

Thinking about doing something different than standard dye... but dont know what. 

Easter hasn't been the same though, since they stopped making the marshmallow eggs.  Do you guys remember those?  They had kind of a thick candy shell- came in pastels and were individually wrapped?  Shaped like eggs (sort of)? 

Beach Bum

Not much new to report.  Life is pretty boring around here. We go to work, we come home.  Sometimes I do data and stuff, sometimes I make dinner, sometimes I do housework, sometimes I go to the gym. 

Tonight, Dave is going to Judo.  Nico and I are going to head to campus to talk with one of my grad student friends who is going Malawi this summer.  I really wish I could go... but having a baby along for field work doesn't seem like fun (one of the other grad students had 14 month old with her... it looked hard). 

Otherwise, I am feeling kind of antsy.  I dont know why.  I just feel like I need to get out of Tallahassee for a while- like a three day weekend.  This is the first spring in a while where I haven't traveled a lot for soccer... usually by now, I have gone to Savannah once and Kissimmee once, with the possibility of going to Charleston or Baton Rouge over the summer... In fact, this is the first summer in three years that I will actually be in Tallahassee. 

We wouldn't have to go far- just to a beach somewhere... somewhere pretty and laid back.  Its hard though, because of the session and then, as soon as the session is over, BBUSC starts.  So we'd be looking at Memorial Day (soonest) and who wants to travel on Memorial Day?  Someplace where I can just lay on the beach and enjoy the view... hangout with Nico and Dave, eat seafood and take naps. 

80th percentile for height? WOWZERS!!

So we went to the pediatrician yesterday. 

In the past, going has been pretty much a beat down.  So yesterday I was prepared.  I had a diaper bag loaded down with books and toys.  A bottle of water and a snack for me.  The Kindle for reading.  I had  a blanket to sit on on the floor... I left the car seat in the car because the waiting room is tiny and I hate trying to deal with it and the boy and the diaper bag.  I put the wrap on in case Nico wanted to just hang out. I was prepared.  So imagine my surprise and dismay when we got in there and I got down on the floor with Nico and five minutes later they called us.  Milka-what?  We saw the NP, got our shots, got weighed and measured and checked out and were back in the car in an hour.  WHA-WHAT?  What just happened here?

So that was good.  We got some shots yesterday... supposed to get 5 (I think) but we added regular flu and swine flu as well (I would like it to be noted that I would prefer to let him get Flu and let his system fight it out, which is how I tend to deal with my own illnesses. But apparently you don't do that with "babies" whose immune systems aren't "developed".  Whatev. 

Nico weighs 18 pounds and 10 ounces, which is in the 50th percentile.  His head is 42 cm I think, which puts him in the 95th percentile (and also makes me worried that he might have the Jessi Bishop/Elaine Benitz syndrome- what?  we have big heads).  His height?  27 3/4 inches, which is in the 80th percentile.  HOLY!!  What?  Granted, 27 3/4 inches was how tall Emme and Max were when they were born... but wow!  80th percentile.  That is awesome!  I guess stretching him a wrack really does work!!  Just jokes, DCF.  Just jokes, I wouldnt stretch my kid on a wrack.  Unless I thought it would up the odds that he could play in the Prem.  Oh wait... it could.  Doh!!  Still just jokes!

Of course, if Nico may already be showing signs of not wanting to play in the Prem.  He is getting to be quite a dancer:


So maybe it's Dancing with the Stars? 

He's not sleeping very well lately.  We've been transitioning him out of the carseat he has been sleeping in to the crib (like they are doing at daycare).  But he doesn't stay asleep for very long and is hard to get to sleep.  Of course, the baby lit says that he may be going through a growth spurt right now... added to getting shots yesterday, I guess I shouldnt be surprised.  I'm just a little worried.  I heard on that parenting show on NPR that sleep deprivation in the first year of life is associated with decreased higher-order thought function capabilities in older kids.... I hope this isn't going to mess him up for learning algebra and chemistry.  I would hate for that to keep him from being a doctor. Or from being a genius.  That would suck. 

Not much going on around here.  Our friend Flav is coming over to watch LOST tonight.  I made Chicken Pot Pie.  I think its going to be delicious.  The next step is to get some of those little small baking dishes, so that you can bake individual pies in their own baking dish. 

For those of you who are not friends with my sister on facebook, I am posting a picture of Emme in a tutu and converse all-stars- mostly for my friends Julia, Lauren, April and Kelly.  I think they would get a kick out of it.  The great thing about Emme in a tutu?  She looks like its completely natural- like Kelly and Julia in tutus.  Awesome. 

Isn't she just a whole bucket of cute?  Couldn't you just eat her up?  Of course, she isn't nearly as cute as Nico is today.  Granny You sent us a box this weekend, with several pairs of overalls in it (True Story: Granny You and Mama totally love babies in overalls. Babies in overalls= SUPER CUTE!)  Nico is wearing a pair of overalls and a little matching shirt.  If he had a pair of boots and a cowboy hat he would look like he is getting ready to go drive a tractor somewhere.  Will try to get a picture of him later. 

All for now.  Heart.

100th post... and it seems like just yesterday I was starting this thing...

100th post- yay!! 

Not much going on.  Today Nico is going for his 6 month appointment.  At 7.5 months.  Meh. 

His original appointment was scheduled for the day AFTER Royse's car died in Leesburg... which wouldn't have been a problem, except that Dave had two work things in the morning and I had a meeting so doing the whole switcharoo with the cars wasn't going to happen in time for me to take Nico to the doctor.  I knew full-well that meant that I would probably not be able to get him in for another 6 weeks (our pediatrician is pretty popular).  So here we are, six weeks later.  Speaking of which... what is the advantage to having a pediatrician care for your child rather than taking your child to your general practitioner?  Our ped is kind of a baller and has been in business a while.  His practice is usually humming along pretty good any time we go in.  While appointments usually go for 6 weeks or more out, they are pretty okay on the phone answering questions when I call.  However, they dont take our insurance- so we usually have to fork over at least  a couple of hundred bucks (to be reimbursed by the insurance, but still). And it's usually a beat down and a half when we go, which usually include 2 hour waits. 

If we took him to mine and Dave's doctor, we wouldn't have the waits, plus they bill our insurance so we would only have a copay.  Plus, he could get us in quicker.  Of course, he isn't exactly a rock star yet (he had just opened his practice 3 years ago when I started seeing him).  But how much does it matter?  To see a ped over a general practitioner?  I know intellectually, that it is the difference in residencies, I think.  A ped spends most of the meaningful part of med school working on kids, where as a general practioner spends a semester or a couple of weeks working on kids. 

So there is that today.  Which means, I am working a partial day today so I can then go and spend the rest of the afternoon at the doctor.  Which should be pretty fun.  I am prepared though... I have the Kindle, a snack, Nico's wrap and a diaper bag full of the goods plus a couple of books and toys.  So I should be good to go.  Any of my Tallahassee peeps want to bring me a Cranberry Crush smoothie from Tropical Smoothie?  Oh, no?  Okay.  Fine. 

Got some good data work done this weekend.  I don't want to breath mention of it, but I may be getting close on finalizing analyses for the poster.  Then its just slapping things into a poster so that it is somewhat coherrent.  We decided to change the plans for the conference and leave Nico and Dave at home.  I will fly in on Wednesday night and fly out on Friday evening.  It will be weird, I think not to have Nico with me- but I knew this day was coming. 

I have been thinking about doing something differnet with my hair.  I thought about going dark again.  Feel free to keep your snarky comments to yourself.  I think part of the problem I am never really happy with my hair when I dye it dark(er) is that it's not really dark dark... and usually ends up being a darkish kind of red.  Or maybe I will just cut it.  Don't judge me... but I really like Felicity Huffman's hair from Season 5 of DH (before she got cancer?  I dont know, I have never watched an episode of DH in my entire life... I am guessing at the results from my google image search):

I also like Christina Applegate's from "Samantha Who?"  but maybe its too curly?  I dont know... part of the problem is that I have really thick hair, so usually 1.5 days after I leave the hair place, I look like a Q-tip because my hair is buckwild. 
Meh. 

So Friday, while Nico and I were waiting for Dave to get home (so we could go to the Black Bean) I played ball with the boys.  We have one of those awesome tennis ball thrower things.  But Dave and I have thrown probably 30 balls over the fence, so we dont have any tennis balls.  But Gordon was fine playing with the soccer ball.  I was sitting in the chair holding Nico. I dont really kick like that... but I was trying to get it past Gordon.  Turns out he is a pretty good GK.  Hilarious!



Have a wonderful Monday!

Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold...

Busy and tiring week this week. 

Has anyone seen the Axis of Adorable website?  Click HERE.  Not sure how I feel about it.  I am not sure how this furthers our understanding of art, history or both.  But I also have plebian tastes when it comes to art. 

For those of you like Lauren Hite who dont have a facebook page (OH YES, I did just call her out... ) a video of Nico eating peas.  Not a fan.  His face has a funny expression. 



We tried bananas for the first time last night.  At first I didnt think he liked them... he was a lot more interested in everything else on the kitchen table.  But then Nico realized that they were sweet and was like nom nom nom nom.  Just like his mama.

Which brings us to Likes/Dislikes:
Likes:
pears
bananas
squash
tasting mom's food (green beans, salad and croissants)
sleeping on Mom
sleeping on Dad
petting Drake and Gordon
playing while Mom cooks
baths.

Dislikes:
sleeping by himself
sleeping in his crib
peas
being changed first thing in the morning
getting in pajamas at night
getting out of the tub

Hopefully going to get Dave's car on Saturday.  Dave is probably going to take Nico to the Jewish Festival on Sunday so I can get some dissertation stuff done.  In addition to not having to pay tuition anymore, I am looking forward to getting this damn thing done so that I can go do fun stuff.  Like go to festivals, and eat delicious noms (they went to Jim and Milt's last week, milka-what?).  Its like they wait until I have to work on my dissertation to do anything fun :(

All for now.  Have a great weekend.

So get out your annual legislative clerks manual.

Not much going on around here.  Things are starting to pick up at my work and Dave's is outta control.  This week has been hectic because of preparation for the Press Skits.  Its a somewhat annual thing where the Press Corps gets together to make fun of legislators and lobbyists.  Its pretty great.

Dave did the opening monologue- which is pretty much like at the beginning of SNL.  Last night he performed a song about the Legislators, sort of like Adam Sandler's Hannukah Song.  It was pretty fantastic. 


Nico was a peach.  I wore him in the wrap and he just hung out.  He watched a lot.  Then he went to sleep.  Overall, he was awesome.  Taking your baby everywhere:  FTW!!  (BTW, that is For The Win for my mom.  I used to think it meant F* The World, but I apparently am in the minority... so For The Win). 

We did get a picture with the Governor.  So that is pretty cool. 

 

All for now.

Brussel Sprouts.

We had a pretty good weekend.  We were really excited to get Dave's car back on Saturday when they called us to let us know that it was still making strange noises and that it wouldnt be done until today.  BOOOO!!

On an unrelated matter- until this weekend, I had never had brussell sprouts.  My maternal grandmother was, according to my mom, a terrible cook and had a tendency to overcook food.  One vegetable that is AWFUL if you over cook it is brussel sprouts.  According to Alton Brown, there are ways of cooking them where they won't be completely horrible.  And that the more water and the longer you cook them, the more likely they are to end up with that smell.  I dont know what smell this is... but maybe its like cooked cabbage? 

In any case, I have seen three food network shows featuring brussel sprouts: The  Barefoot Contessa, Alton Brown, and Triple D with Guy Fieri.  Now, the consensus seemed to be, that if bacon and or butter were added to brussel sprouts, that they can be tolerable.  So I gave it a whirl last night.  I got some pancetta and did them like they did in the episode of Triple D.  And the verdict: they were okay.  I dont think I cooked them long enough, because they were pretty hard still (not tender).  Obviously, the pancetta, lemon and butter went a long way to making them edible.  However, I think that whatever nutritional benefit there is to eating brussel sprouts were likely wiped out by the pancetta and butter.  Which leads me to a conclusion:  if butter, bacon, cheese, chocolate or mayo doesn't make a food edible, then you really don't need to be eating it.  Plain and simple.

So Dave and I have been talking about moving out of our Indian Head House.  Since we are in Tallahassee for the next two and half years, we would like to get a bigger place.  We really love Indian Head and Myers Park, but if we want a bigger place, we are likely looking at Myers Park, which tends to be a little more expensive.  I drove by a place yesterday that sounds like a dream... a 4/2.  Milka-what?  A 4/2?  I dont even know what to do with that.  Our room, Nico's room and TWO EXTRA ROOMS?  So technically, Dave and I could each have our own office/craft/trophy/sports room?  WHA-What?  Oh.  And it has a dishwasher! And is twice the size of our place!  There is a minor question about the dogs... so I am not getting my hopes up.  Plus its 1.5 times what we pay now.  So maybe I should go back and strike through all that, so I don't get my hopes up. 

In any case, hope all is well with you guys and that you have a wonderful Monday!!

Lady Killer

Isn't he handsome?

Tallahassee!

Friday- whoo- hoo!!

Did anyone catch The Office last night?  When did Kathy Bates start being on the show?  And she's from Tallahassee? Wha-What?  You know, it's kind of funny because I don't ever remember knowing anything about Tallahassee before I moved here.  It's such a unique name... not like Athens (Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin) or Rome (Georgia, New York, Kentucky, Ohio).  When I was in elementary school we had something called "The Tallahassee Run" which was maybe a mile?  So when my life went to hell in a handcart during the Summer of 2002, I ended up following my syster to Tallahassee.  It was in LOST several times (Sawyer speaks of it disparagingly, Kate buys a bus ticket to Tallahassee and Locke's Dad is "The Man from Tallahassee.")  Tallahassee on The Office.  Whoot!!

Not much going on around here today.  The weather is still crap. Yesterday when I had to walk from the back parking lot to my office and my feet got soaked, I found myself regretting being so anti (I typically tend to be anti trendy things, which have included gladiator sandals, maxi dresses, tights under regular clothes for non-ballerinas, the revisit of the cut-off sweatshirt from Flash Dance and cowboy boots with shorts).  And while I have been trying to be better about it- actually considering a trend before writing it off, I hadn't gotten around to changing my ideas about rainboots.  Consequently, around the third puddle I stepped into and splashed my pants with reminded me that rainboots would have been really handy yesterday. 

Aside from that, there isn't much else to say.  I think I am going to be able to get some dissertation time in this afternoon (whoot!). 

New trick

Nico seems to have discovered that he has control over his tongue.  When I got him out of the car yesterday he was sticking his tongue out and touching his upper lip with it. 

I wondered if I could get him to duplicate that, so when we got inside, he started doing the same thing.  Check him out!



A co-worker gave us the bouncer- holy what?  He loves it.  Its great for us, because it gives me a few extra minutes, when I can squeeze some dishes or some laundry in before its FULL ON MELTDOWN. 

Awesome!

I'm in ur gender patriarchy, messin' up your stereotypes!

Last night was ok.  Our friend Flav came over last night to watch LOST and to have dinner.  All plans of responsible eating went out the window... we had some steak that had been sitting in the freezer till this weekend (coincidentally, the steak was part of an almost 30 dollar purchase of two steaks in a heart shape that Dave bought on Valentine's Day.  Isn't he romantic?)  Flav brought Gratin Dauphinois which was delicious (Potatoes Augratin).  I burned the hell out of a Key Lime Pie- which in the ended ended up being edible... more like Cheesecake than Key Lime Pie.  Meh. 

The plan is for us to get Dave's car back on Saturday- which will require a trip to Leesburg.  Will be glad when we are a two car family again. 

Dave's Mom sent Nico a little outfit for Easter.  Isn't he the most precious thing ever?  Its one of those long sleeved-long pants jobs... but sometimes we have a hard time getting the bottom snapped.  At times, its a bit like trying to put pjs on a tarpon.  He's thrashing about, kicking.  He usually manages to kick the pack of wipes off the changing table.  In general, he tears the place up!!  So consequently, he ends up wearing a lot of the pjs with most of the bottom buttons undone, which make it look like he is wearing a dress. 


I know, intellectually as a sociologist that I should be actively putting him in dresses and doing what I can to bring down the gender patriarchy... you know, contribute to mucking up the masculine discourse and all that.  But, I am a crappy sociologist.  So it is what it is. 

Meatball

Look at our kid!  Isn't he the cutest little meatball ever? 

 There are times when I catch a glimpse of him and see myself.  His expression in this pic is so much like a picture of me that my mom has (I think I was maybe a little bit older than him and was wearing a blue shirt). 

 Not much to report today.  The FSU childcare center is closed this week for Spring Break so we have been taking Nico down to C-Ville (one of our former players' moms keeps kids in her house).  He did pretty well yesterday.  Its a very different set up (from FSU).  It's funny because at FSU he is in with babies... who are, let's be real here, kind of boring.  At Terry's place, there are several little kids running around.  I think Nico is probably entertained by watching all the commotion.  I know I would be.  

All for now- doing some actual werks today.  And yes, I did just spell that werks. 

Bobby Flay aint got nothin on me!

We had a pretty low key weekend around here.  Nico was still dealing with his stomach bug on Saturday morning, so we decided to stay put and not partake in the 4 hour drive to Orlando... how terrible would that be?  Ohai- I am not going to run in the race because I couldnt get the training in.... here is my baby, isnt he cute?  What?  Now you're sick too?  Awesome!!  It was kind of a bummer- but one of those things.  Now I am a parent now, its not just me.  Thanks, Nico!!!

Dave seems to be having a hard time getting completely over this thing.  He's still nauseated and feeling sick to his stomach.  That's not good!

Me- I seem to be okay.  Proving once again that I have an amazing immune system. Whoot!!

I got some good disertation work done this weekend.  My data is completely good to go- now its just a matter of sorting out the models.  I already got two big questions for the poster I am presenting in Dallas next month answered.  Its not exactly ahead of schedule, but I am chugging along.  I feel the need to get it poppin' though, because February went by in a blink and now I see that March appears to want to do the same. 

On a completely unrelated matter- I was thinking about it this morning- but Dave and I dont read to Nico every day.  Is that bad?  I know we should.  Its just that usually when I have gotten home, made dinner and gotten Nico to eat, he goes down hill pretty fast, where he is okay to being fussy to WTF?!!  We've tried reading before bed time (after the bath), but he's usually not into it.  Anybody have any suggestions?

On another completely unrelated matter- my new obsession:

I was watching one of the shows on the Food Network called The Best Thing I Ever Ate.  It was an episode about breakfasts.  One of the segments was about about this stuffed french toast that Bobby Flay loves.  Basically it entails peanut butter and banana.  I went to make it for dinner this weekend and realized that I didnt have any eggs, so rather than being french-toasty, I decided to make it a'la Jessi Bishop style and add a smidgeon of chocolate and marshmallow fluff.  It is absolutely delicious.  Mmmmmmm.  And I don't think its THAT bad- I only used one piece of bread, and only a smidge of fluff and peanut butter. 

Pukeville

So Dave caught whatever it was that Nico had with the stomach issues... its funny because I lay in bed this morning at about 6am- thinking about an article I read in a parenting magazine about getting your beast baby to sleep through the night in their own bed.  Nico was stirred several times this morning, waking me up to complain about being hungry, not being asleep, not having any covers, Dad and me taking up all the bed, etc.  I was thinking about how tired I was and that I felt like I was awake all night.  Dave stirred when his alarm went off and I asked how he felt (he felt pretty rotten when we went to bed last night). 

He said that he still felt terrible and that he had been up all night throwing up.  Wha-what?  How did I miss this?  If I really was awake all night as I claimed in my previous thought, then I should have heard him throwing up. 

So that sucks.  I took Nico to school today, only to take him home- because he already had 2 squishy diapers.  Half the teachers are out with this thing and all the babies have had it.  So it really sucks for Dave, because he has to be home with Nico today by himself.  So instead of lying on the couch drifting in and out of sleep while catching bits of 90210 Judge Judy Judge Brown SportsCenter, he has to take care of Nico... which isn't exactly a walk in the park. 

I have been looking forward to going to Orlando this weekend- but if Nico is still dealing with this stomach thing, I am wondering if it is a good idea. 

Mental Bandwidth 7

1.  I am finally starting to see why one of JD's favorite channels is the Food Network.  They have some awesome shows!!  My previous experience with the Food Network was at my sister's place in Dallas (she's a huge Sandra Lee fan) For some reason, I had a really hard time with the Barefoot Contessa... she just seemed really smug.  But she's grown on me.  I love Paula Deen (who looks eerily like one of our girls' moms), Tyler and the Neelys (BTW- why the hell have I never been to the Lady and Sons in Savannah?  What is wrong with me?  I have been to Savannah like 6 times in the last 5 years...WTF?).  I dont know where this obsession with food has come from lately- except that I have been cooking A.LOT and have realized that its hard to have variety when you're cooking.  Its very easy to fall into the same traps of 3-4 main dishes and 3-4 sides.  And when you're cooking for my husband (who likes his vegetables to be void of nutritional content- because they have been cooked to death), its even harder. When you're trying to eat healthy, its harder still.  Really, there are only so many times a week that I can eat a salad.  Real conversation yesterday as Dave was going to judo:

Jessi:  So I am thinking about a big chef salad for dinner tonight.
Dave: I am sad for me.
Jessi: Why- it will be good!
Dave: can you put some tuna or salmon or something on my salad?

On a somewhat related matter:  did you know that there are iphone apps for the Food Network and for Martha Stewart?  Milka-what?  I get a notification once a day with a suggestion from Martha for what to cook tonight.  Her suggestion for tonight: gemelli pasta with Sausage, Swiss chard and Pine nuts.  Which sounds very similar to one of my favorite dishes in the world (Mackin' Cheese from FGF). 

2.  Goin to the gym tonight!  Suckas!  The last time I went (Monday night) I made myself kind of sick.  Dont know if that is good or bad.

3.  Wondering why can't I be a millionaire socialite who does lots of charity.  Want to start making hats, blankets, etc. for newborns.  But then there is that pesky dissertation.  Boo!!

4. Am I the only one who is extremely excited about the new Karate Kid?  TRAILER. 
Yes, I am aware that this current iteration appears to not deviate AT ALL from the original.  But isn't that little Smith kid adorable?  From the nose-up, he looks JUST like his daddy. 

5. Nico seems to have some sort of tummy bug.  He ralphed all over himself twice yesterday on the way to school... and had 5 blowouts yesterday. Ralphed again twice today.  Called the pediatrician and they say not to worry yet.

6. Anyone see the new grilled cheese burger sandwich from Hardees?  I want to go to there.  This may require a drive down to Crawfordville Friday after I get Nico from school.  Mmmmmm. 

7. Looking forward to seeing my girls this weekend! 

All for now. 

 

Yoga Baby

Not much new to report.  LOST last night?  Wha-what?  The best part was the end where Kate's face is like, "WTF just happened?"

We did some "yoga" when we came home from work and school yesterday. Dave got me a mom-baby yoga dvd just before Nico was born. I thought it was going to be all lets just lay on the floor and look at each other.... turns out it was kind of hard. Like lots more movement than I was looking to expend. But I think Nico might grow to like it.

I earned the worst mom ever award last night.  For some reason, Nico was really pretty crank-tastic by dinner time.  He was off the rails pretty quickly- the only thing he was interested in was putting the lid of the container for baby food in his mouth.  So I fixed his wagon and put some carrots on it.  Which made a big mess, but I think he at least got some noms in him. 

I think we have also outgrown the bumpo seat for good now.  At least for dinner time.  Maybe time to finally get a high chair.  One thing that I saw a couple of weeks ago, which I absolutely love is a little chair thing that you can pull up to a counter or an island where the kid can stand (but still be protected with rails and stuff) so they can help you cook without you constantly having to worry about them falling down.  RJ and Bridget had one that was ingenius.  Of course, it doesn't make much sense to have one of those in our house just yet... not only do we not have an island, but the kitchen is too small for one person to be in it, let alone all that. 

I used a new kind of baby shampoo on Nico last night that isnt as "baby friendly" as the packaging would lead you to believe... filling the bathroom with shrieks of pain when I accidentally got some suds in Nico's eyes.  Man! He was pissed! Poor guy!

All for now. 

Screamy McScreamerson

What is the news around here? The beat-down that is the Legislative Session starts today.  Woo hoo.  Can you sense the excitement? Yeah, I am beside myself.  I am always said to see February go.  The highschool season usually starts with preseason in September, then goes through January.  Session usually goes March and April, then club soccer starts again in May through July.  August and February are the only months of the year where we dont have major time committments going on. 

The cold that I got last week has pretty much gone away, but has left behind a sinus infection.  So I got that going for me, which is nice.  I haven't had a sinus infection in YEARS.  So its nice to be back here.  I am a little bit annoyed with "social ettiquette" which discourages me hocking up all of this phlem in my nose and throat.  STUPID OFFICE JOB!!

I had a fantastic workout last night.  Last night kind of sucked for Dave because Nico cried pretty much all night.  You see, after work, I got some groceries and went home to make some dinner and do some dishes.  When Dave was done with work, I packed Nico in the car and we went to get him... which lately he has just had a huge problem with... I dont know if its because he was playing and now I am putting him in the car to go... or its because its dark. Or what.  So consequently, Dave had to deal with Nico last night while i was at the gym.  Which sucks.

You know, its amazing to me, how big this kid has gotten.  His face has changed so much.  It's really remarkable.  All for now. 

Hippie squared

So in my little circle of friends, we have someone who is known as The Hippie.  She married The Giant last year and had a kid who is about a month younger than Nico.  They are just starting out with the solids with their him, so we decided to do a little baby food exchange.  I know what you're thinking:  could this be any better?  The original Hippie and the wanna be Hippie (me)?  Teaming up?  Is there no end to the good that we could do? 

We decided that we would each make a big batch of baby food and split it, so that we would each have six food choices, but only have to cook three items.  I know.  Brilliant!!

So this weekend, Nico and I made peas, carrots and peaches.  Wooo hooo!!  Actually, I like the taste of my carrots better than the babyfood carrots.  They taste more like mashed up carrots- and less like carrot jelly, if that makes any sense.  Bonus:  all of the veggies were organic.  Very nice!!

Nico seems to like these carrots more than the store bought ones... which brings the score to:  Mama Made Food: 1 Store Bought Food: 3.  As you can see, Nico was quite the helper -->  I did learn a very important lesson though:  try to only use fruits and vegetables that are in season.  I convinced myself that we needed peaches and when New Leaf didnt have any fresh, I bought frozen.  Which is okay, as long as you're not paying 4.59 for 6 ounces of frozen peaches.  Frugality: FAIL!!                

Aside from that, not much exciting to report.  I spent most the weekend trying to kick whatever it is that has infested my head with its viral nastiness.  I did go to the doctor on Friday, but as I suspected, they couldn't do much for me, except tell me to get some sudafed and drink some warm liquids.  But I got lots of sleep Friday and Saturday nights, and a 2.5 hour nap at 6 pm on Sunday night, which left me wide awake for most of last night.  I feel a lot better.  Still have a sore throat and am pretty stuffy.  And apparently it was pretty bad, because I snored a lot last night, according to Dave (usually I am a drooler).  Awesome.  Happy Anniversary!

I did get a chance to work on some dissertation data last night.  I actually was quite productive.  Am thinking with some productive time this week in the evenings and Friday, that I might be ready to start talking about what it all means.  Milka-what?