So we got some *very* good news today. When I suspected that I might be pregnant, just about the first thing I did (aside from scheduling prenatal care), was go to the FSU Childcare center and enroll my fetus. Backstory: when I first moved to Tallahassee, I taught preschool at this place up on the north side of town. I had the privledge of working with two women who are amazing (JL and SC). JL taught the 4 year olds, I taught the 5s and SC taught everywhere. It was one of those amazingly fun jobs, where I would go to work at 7am, and it would be 3pm before I knew it... then it was time to go out and play, come in and clean up, and go home. It was awesome. I think that there was a gentle rivalry among us (and the other teachers) over who could have the cutest projects, the nicest rooms and the best art. The place was better for it. Our center had a reputation of sending kids to kindergarten ready to be successful (we fed into two "A" schools on the northside).
In any case, shortly after I quit to do grad school full time, JL and SC ended up at the FSU Childcare center. Its FSU's "research" based daycare/preschool. I always knew that if the time came for us to put our kid in a daycare/preschool setting and we were still in the 850- that taking them to JL and SC would be almost as good as me staying home with him. That is how amazing they are.
So, imagine my concern when I got the wait-list number of 157. Bummer... so I resigned myself to the fact that Nico might be 8 or 9 years old by the time it was time for him to go. I checked his status about a month ago and he was 85. Bummer still. Then today I got an email saying that they are ready to enroll him. Isn't that awesome?
We can start in the spring- and it probably wont be full-time full-time. I am going to try to arrange a schedule of tutoring that is more hours there, so I dont have to get a job-job. Which means that Nico will go there for a couple hours a day to start. Since soccer will still be going on, I will need to pick him and head down to practice, so he'll likely be gone by about 100. I think its pretty much the perfect situation. I know I will probably meltdown the first day I leave him there- but I think its for the better. He will get to be around other kids... so far his most consistent companion is that little dude that sits in the backseat with him when we drive down to Wakulla, who he can only see when he looks into the mirror :)
So that is definitely good news. Knowing that he is going to be in good hands there takes a load off my mind...I was definitely thinking that by the time I got a job-job in Tally-nasty that I would have to just stick him in whichever place will take him- envisioning the kinds of horror stories that only former preschool teachers can come up with.
Other good news is that Dave has tomorrow off. The girls and I decided to practice tomorrow- so he will get to go. When we get home, I have to do something with my office space. Its pretty much a disaster area. I also need to finish his nursery... we have pretty much everything set up in there- changing table, crib, book cases. I need to hang a shelf and maybe hang some picture frames. Its rapidly becoming my favorite room in the house- mostly because its so clean!
Project de-stuff the house is going full speed ahead. Looking to get rid of another 10 "larger" items this week... then Dave and I dont have to have a nomad cleaning strategy (moving stuff around the house).
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
All day long, just takin it easy...
Nothing new on the Nico front to report. He's getting big and is more fun every day. The whole "wearing" him during soccer games is working out pretty well. Its funny, though. Last night at Chiles one of the Chiles players asked Stevey as she was walking off the field, "Is that a baby on your coach?" Even funnier, is that in the second half, one of their players cleared a ball out of the back to the side line, kind of close to Nico and me... A collective gasp went up from our parents when I reached up and caught the ball over his head. Someone said something like, "Watch out for that baby!" to which I replied, "Its okay- I am a keeper"... and I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night!
He doesnt seem to be bothered by it much...except when we have to practice at Medart and he gets eaten up by the sand gnats... which is fair, because I hate practicing there (the sand gnats are awful). Of course it might help if I didnt always forget the bug spray. Its something I have been thinking about a lot lately...I have just kind of treated this little dude, like, "Alright little homey, we gotta do this, then this, then we gotta go to practice. And then..." Maybe I should be more like Betty Draper, and stay at home only doing domesticated stuff with him.
Speaking of Chiles. Wow. So back story: we lost to Chiles 7-0 our first year coaching. Last year we lost 6-0. We had sort of been resigned to the fact that anytime we play Chiles that its going to be a beating- they have too many elite club players, we have a lot of girls that only just recently got serious about playing soccer. But, it is what it is. We actually went into last night's game with a game plan- and executed it. It was pretty brilliant. Without getting into too many specifics- we needed to be patient and disciplined last night. Patient and disciplined. The plan worked pretty well and we lost 3-1. It would have been 2-1, but about half the team got willy-nilly when one of our girls straight jacked the ball from a Chiles player. One of our captains, Mandy had the goal, a really nice set piece half way between the side of the box and the sideline. And Shay. Wow. Shay. She was amazing. She didnt really have much to do through out the game, not like some games in the past where its like shooting practice. During most the game she made the saves she should have, and in the last five minutes, came up with two ridiculous, game winning saves. It was awesome!!
So today we've just been taking it easy. My girl Julia came to town this weekend and we went to get pedicures. Just in the nick of time really, because my feet were FUNKY. And not in a good way. Mostly doing cleaning and stuff around the house... listing stuff on Ebay (so I can get rid of it- man we collect some stuff.)
The picture below is from Friday morning... I had to meet with Ike in the morning and I got us up and going- but had to put him down to do some stuff (get the diaper bag ready, get dressed, etc). He eventually fell asleep in his crib... isnt he precious?
He doesnt seem to be bothered by it much...except when we have to practice at Medart and he gets eaten up by the sand gnats... which is fair, because I hate practicing there (the sand gnats are awful). Of course it might help if I didnt always forget the bug spray. Its something I have been thinking about a lot lately...I have just kind of treated this little dude, like, "Alright little homey, we gotta do this, then this, then we gotta go to practice. And then..." Maybe I should be more like Betty Draper, and stay at home only doing domesticated stuff with him.
Speaking of Chiles. Wow. So back story: we lost to Chiles 7-0 our first year coaching. Last year we lost 6-0. We had sort of been resigned to the fact that anytime we play Chiles that its going to be a beating- they have too many elite club players, we have a lot of girls that only just recently got serious about playing soccer. But, it is what it is. We actually went into last night's game with a game plan- and executed it. It was pretty brilliant. Without getting into too many specifics- we needed to be patient and disciplined last night. Patient and disciplined. The plan worked pretty well and we lost 3-1. It would have been 2-1, but about half the team got willy-nilly when one of our girls straight jacked the ball from a Chiles player. One of our captains, Mandy had the goal, a really nice set piece half way between the side of the box and the sideline. And Shay. Wow. Shay. She was amazing. She didnt really have much to do through out the game, not like some games in the past where its like shooting practice. During most the game she made the saves she should have, and in the last five minutes, came up with two ridiculous, game winning saves. It was awesome!!
So today we've just been taking it easy. My girl Julia came to town this weekend and we went to get pedicures. Just in the nick of time really, because my feet were FUNKY. And not in a good way. Mostly doing cleaning and stuff around the house... listing stuff on Ebay (so I can get rid of it- man we collect some stuff.)
The picture below is from Friday morning... I had to meet with Ike in the morning and I got us up and going- but had to put him down to do some stuff (get the diaper bag ready, get dressed, etc). He eventually fell asleep in his crib... isnt he precious?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Not too bad actually.
So Nico went to his first high school soccer game last night. We played at Maclay- which is a small private school up here. Most of the girls who play at Maclay play in the TUFC system, so we knew that they were going to be tough. When we played last year, we played mid-season and lost 3-0. 
We ended up losing 3-0 last night. We defended for 80 minutes- which is always tough. But not bad... considering that this is our first game, that we were trying to figure out how to replace our sweeper from last year and that we took one of our main attackers and stuck her in the back.... not bad at all. Even awesomer? Our GK had probably one of the best games I have ever seen her play. She probably had close to 20 shots taken on frame, and only gave up 3 goals, including one that was a rebound off a kick save.
Something that many of you probably dont know about me, is that watching good goalkeeping at any level gives me goose bumps. It does. I get goosebumps when Shay Given (formerly of the no-defense at all New Castle) comes all the way across the goal to pick a ball out of the upper 90. And I get goose bumps when a kid from a scrub highschool team makes a one on one save. I guess because I know how hard it is to be a good goalkeeper... and that for every night that you're on fire, you might have a night when you cant do anything right. In any case, she was awesome. She made it a fun game to watch.
Nico was pretty good for most of the game. He was a little bit fussy when we got to Maclay- but got to hang out with the girls a bit- which he seemed to like. When it was getting close to gametime, I tucked him into his little pouch and he went to sleep... and stayed that way until about 15 minutes left to go in the game... pretty good, I'd say. Of course, he's regressed sleeping-wise the last couple of days... seems really needy. We're on try #4 of getting him in the bassinet. :(
Funny story: so I am kind of hard core about being on time. So when a girl comes running up to practice late, it irks me a bit. My line for them is usually, "Lauren, what time is it on your planet? I got 304." So yesterday, its about 230 and I have figured that I need to start moving in the direction of getting our show on the road to go to Maclay for the game. I get some diapers out of the dryer. Look for warm clothes for me, for Nico. Get bottles ready. Get blankets in the car. Chase down extra pairs of white socks. I finally get us in the car and start heading towards Maclay and I see its 415. And I think, "Holy Crap! What just happened? How in the world did I manage to waste almost 2 hours of my life...and now I am late?" (The teams were to arrive by school bus at Maclay by about 330-345.) The stress level goes through the roof because I have half of the balls and the JV team needs them to warm up. SUCK!! So I manage to get out to Maclay by "435". The JV team hasnt even started warming up. WTF? Why aren't you warming up? What time did you get here? Why dont we have our act together? Where are my captains? Why cant they help the JV team get their act together? Did it really take two hours to get from WHS to Maclay? What the hell? Then my JV coach tells me that its not 435 (Neither Dave or me changed the clock in the 4Runner). Its 335. I felt like an idiot. She told my girls... who thought it was hilarious.
They wanted to know what time it was on my planet. Burn...
Daylight Savings Time: 1
Jessi: 0
We ended up losing 3-0 last night. We defended for 80 minutes- which is always tough. But not bad... considering that this is our first game, that we were trying to figure out how to replace our sweeper from last year and that we took one of our main attackers and stuck her in the back.... not bad at all. Even awesomer? Our GK had probably one of the best games I have ever seen her play. She probably had close to 20 shots taken on frame, and only gave up 3 goals, including one that was a rebound off a kick save.
Something that many of you probably dont know about me, is that watching good goalkeeping at any level gives me goose bumps. It does. I get goosebumps when Shay Given (formerly of the no-defense at all New Castle) comes all the way across the goal to pick a ball out of the upper 90. And I get goose bumps when a kid from a scrub highschool team makes a one on one save. I guess because I know how hard it is to be a good goalkeeper... and that for every night that you're on fire, you might have a night when you cant do anything right. In any case, she was awesome. She made it a fun game to watch.
Nico was pretty good for most of the game. He was a little bit fussy when we got to Maclay- but got to hang out with the girls a bit- which he seemed to like. When it was getting close to gametime, I tucked him into his little pouch and he went to sleep... and stayed that way until about 15 minutes left to go in the game... pretty good, I'd say. Of course, he's regressed sleeping-wise the last couple of days... seems really needy. We're on try #4 of getting him in the bassinet. :(
Funny story: so I am kind of hard core about being on time. So when a girl comes running up to practice late, it irks me a bit. My line for them is usually, "Lauren, what time is it on your planet? I got 304." So yesterday, its about 230 and I have figured that I need to start moving in the direction of getting our show on the road to go to Maclay for the game. I get some diapers out of the dryer. Look for warm clothes for me, for Nico. Get bottles ready. Get blankets in the car. Chase down extra pairs of white socks. I finally get us in the car and start heading towards Maclay and I see its 415. And I think, "Holy Crap! What just happened? How in the world did I manage to waste almost 2 hours of my life...and now I am late?" (The teams were to arrive by school bus at Maclay by about 330-345.) The stress level goes through the roof because I have half of the balls and the JV team needs them to warm up. SUCK!! So I manage to get out to Maclay by "435". The JV team hasnt even started warming up. WTF? Why aren't you warming up? What time did you get here? Why dont we have our act together? Where are my captains? Why cant they help the JV team get their act together? Did it really take two hours to get from WHS to Maclay? What the hell? Then my JV coach tells me that its not 435 (Neither Dave or me changed the clock in the 4Runner). Its 335. I felt like an idiot. She told my girls... who thought it was hilarious.
They wanted to know what time it was on my planet. Burn...
Daylight Savings Time: 1
Jessi: 0
Sunday, November 1, 2009
LAME
So we were pretty lame for Halloween this weekend. Originally, we were supposed to be spending most of our day on Saturday down in Wakulla for the Big Bend Preseason Classic- but there was some communication problems with some of the coaches that we usually do this thing with. So we could have had huge plans for Halloween. But then, Dave and I have been getting our butts kicked by life these days. Turns out Life+1 is pretty crazy. So much so, that I have come to realize that the greatest Saturdays aren't lounging on the couch watching soccer, napping, and eating donuts. Great Saturdays are when you can put the house together from the tornado that went through it during the week.
Its even worse these days because we are working on *(FINALLY)* setting up Nico's room. This is good for several reasons, but mostly because it might help us corral some of the accoutrement that is ALL OVER THE HOUSE. Unfortunately, it means that DR and I no longer have a place to corral all of OUR stuff... so I am trying to figure out what to do with it all. Hiking Backpact I bought for EuroTrip 2006? Seems kind of useless now... dont foresee backpacking anywhere with a kid in the near future. Fencing foil? Taking up precious space in closet. Taking down the bed in the guest room has meant that stuff that was under our bed in the Master bedroom was displaced. And this is how we spend our life: moving stuff from place to place around the house. My college roommate called this "nomad" behavior. Seriously, I wish it didnt take so much time and effort to list stuff on ebay, because I would get rid of half the stuff in this house- I am so OVER stuff!!
So Halloween was pretty low-key this year. We got some candy and stayed in: doing some work around the house. I worked on job market stuff and Dave did some whatnot. Nico did get to chill out on the porch and wait for trick or treaters:
Per usual, we only had a handful of trick or treaters. I don't know why this is the case, except that maybe most of the people that live in our neighborhood dont have children? We wanted to dress Nico up in his tiger suit, but "one one of us" seems to have lost the top that goes with it (by "one of us" I mean, not me :). Good thing Nico's parents are weird enough to dress him up in animal outfits year round. That purchase may have gone to waste if we weren't strange!
Soccer season starts tomorrow night (Monday) against Maclay. Should be a nice test to see where we are at. Am really looking forward to it. It is the team that Dave and I have been waiting to coach for 3 years. Everyone on the team has comparable levels of skill and they look good in practice (so far). So it should be fun. Should also be cold. Which lets be real here, is the way it should be for highschool soccer. I would so much rather deal with cold and trying to stay warm than "oh-my-God-why-is-it-so-sticky-outside?" I feel that I am adequately prepared for the game and being on the sideline: warm pink hunting socks (check), blue and red waffleknit footie sleeper for Nico (check), blankets for girls (check), blankets for Nico (check), thermos for hot chocolate (check), hat/gloves/scarf (check).
Its even worse these days because we are working on *(FINALLY)* setting up Nico's room. This is good for several reasons, but mostly because it might help us corral some of the accoutrement that is ALL OVER THE HOUSE. Unfortunately, it means that DR and I no longer have a place to corral all of OUR stuff... so I am trying to figure out what to do with it all. Hiking Backpact I bought for EuroTrip 2006? Seems kind of useless now... dont foresee backpacking anywhere with a kid in the near future. Fencing foil? Taking up precious space in closet. Taking down the bed in the guest room has meant that stuff that was under our bed in the Master bedroom was displaced. And this is how we spend our life: moving stuff from place to place around the house. My college roommate called this "nomad" behavior. Seriously, I wish it didnt take so much time and effort to list stuff on ebay, because I would get rid of half the stuff in this house- I am so OVER stuff!!
So Halloween was pretty low-key this year. We got some candy and stayed in: doing some work around the house. I worked on job market stuff and Dave did some whatnot. Nico did get to chill out on the porch and wait for trick or treaters:
Per usual, we only had a handful of trick or treaters. I don't know why this is the case, except that maybe most of the people that live in our neighborhood dont have children? We wanted to dress Nico up in his tiger suit, but "one one of us" seems to have lost the top that goes with it (by "one of us" I mean, not me :). Good thing Nico's parents are weird enough to dress him up in animal outfits year round. That purchase may have gone to waste if we weren't strange!
Soccer season starts tomorrow night (Monday) against Maclay. Should be a nice test to see where we are at. Am really looking forward to it. It is the team that Dave and I have been waiting to coach for 3 years. Everyone on the team has comparable levels of skill and they look good in practice (so far). So it should be fun. Should also be cold. Which lets be real here, is the way it should be for highschool soccer. I would so much rather deal with cold and trying to stay warm than "oh-my-God-why-is-it-so-sticky-outside?" I feel that I am adequately prepared for the game and being on the sideline: warm pink hunting socks (check), blue and red waffleknit footie sleeper for Nico (check), blankets for girls (check), blankets for Nico (check), thermos for hot chocolate (check), hat/gloves/scarf (check).
Monday, October 26, 2009
Snug as a bug...
So the conference weekend got better (sort of). I nailed my talk on Saturday morning. Its so strange- but I felt so chill about it. Which was a far cry from when I gave the talk three weeks ago (at the CDPH brownbag). Even crazier, is that the three guys who wrote a pretty important book on mortality ("Living and Dying in the USA") were all in the session (one is currently a professor at FSU (retired), one is at CU-Boulder and the other is at UT Austin, but got his PhD from FSU). So I feel like I should have been a lot more nervous than I was. But Ike told me I did well, and I felt pretty good about the talk.
We left Saturday afternoon after grabbing lunch from a place called "Gaidos", a really old restaurant across the street from the beach. Then we took the ferry (instead of going back up through Houston). Really glad we did, because we got to see dolphins swimming along side the ferry. We ended up staying the night in Lafayette, after having one of the best meals ever. We ventured away from the high way in search of Cajun food and food a place called, "Randols", which was complete with a dancefloor and a zydeco band. It was pretty great.
Sunday, things to a turn for the worse when we went to get going and the 4Runner wouldnt start. Long story short, turns out the battery was completely dead... so we got a late start out of Lafayette. I didnt make it back in time for tutoring :(
How was Nico's first road trip? It was good. He was awesome. He got a tad crantastic at the end (when we were about an hour away from Tallahassee), but other than that, it wasnt too bad. Exhausting dealing with all the logistics. And all the stuff...Its amazing how much crap it takes to keep this kid clothed and in clean diapers. Absolutely amazing.
So we are trying to get back into our old routine. Practice and job market and whatnot. Speaking of whatnot... check it out:
So I have been trying to figure out another possibility for hanging onto Nico while doing chores, being at practice, etc. I love the Baby Bjorn, but its hard to do chores around the house, because it doesnt stay close to my body... so when I am leaning over the kitchen sink doing dishes, Nico just sort of dangles there. Not very comfortable. Plus, its hard because I keep knocking his legs when I sweep the floor. One of the hippie blogs I read talks about "baby wearing"... and I was intrigued. Turns out you can take a 5-6 yard piece of knit fabric (20-30 inches wide) and wrap it around your body in a special way that makes the most comfy carrier/wrap thing. You slide the baby in the top, so you're tummy to tummy and pull this band up over him, and Voila!
I have gotten a lot of comments about it- mostly about how ingenius it is... but also about how comfy Nico looks. We went to the grocery today and a bunch of people thought it was cool that he was in there, snug as a bug.
It was pretty sweet.
We left Saturday afternoon after grabbing lunch from a place called "Gaidos", a really old restaurant across the street from the beach. Then we took the ferry (instead of going back up through Houston). Really glad we did, because we got to see dolphins swimming along side the ferry. We ended up staying the night in Lafayette, after having one of the best meals ever. We ventured away from the high way in search of Cajun food and food a place called, "Randols", which was complete with a dancefloor and a zydeco band. It was pretty great.
Sunday, things to a turn for the worse when we went to get going and the 4Runner wouldnt start. Long story short, turns out the battery was completely dead... so we got a late start out of Lafayette. I didnt make it back in time for tutoring :(
How was Nico's first road trip? It was good. He was awesome. He got a tad crantastic at the end (when we were about an hour away from Tallahassee), but other than that, it wasnt too bad. Exhausting dealing with all the logistics. And all the stuff...Its amazing how much crap it takes to keep this kid clothed and in clean diapers. Absolutely amazing.
So we are trying to get back into our old routine. Practice and job market and whatnot. Speaking of whatnot... check it out:
So I have been trying to figure out another possibility for hanging onto Nico while doing chores, being at practice, etc. I love the Baby Bjorn, but its hard to do chores around the house, because it doesnt stay close to my body... so when I am leaning over the kitchen sink doing dishes, Nico just sort of dangles there. Not very comfortable. Plus, its hard because I keep knocking his legs when I sweep the floor. One of the hippie blogs I read talks about "baby wearing"... and I was intrigued. Turns out you can take a 5-6 yard piece of knit fabric (20-30 inches wide) and wrap it around your body in a special way that makes the most comfy carrier/wrap thing. You slide the baby in the top, so you're tummy to tummy and pull this band up over him, and Voila! I have gotten a lot of comments about it- mostly about how ingenius it is... but also about how comfy Nico looks. We went to the grocery today and a bunch of people thought it was cool that he was in there, snug as a bug.
It was pretty sweet.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Seat of Power
We had a nice relaxing weekend, but hit it hard on the grindstone yesterday. Since Nico is getting to the point where he can hold up his own head a little, I thought it might be kind of fun for him to try out his little bumpo seat thing that his Grandma Royse got him. Its been a boon for us. I can actually set him in it and eat breakfast or do some laundry without him freaking out. I think its because he can see a little better sitting up in it... so he doesnt wig out that I've left. So that is good. A video of Dave playing the harmonica for him. And yes, that is a halloween hat. That mysteriously appeared in the house after one of Dave's recent trips to Target.
Tryouts started yesterday and we ended up with about 10-12 more girls than we expected, tiny little freshmen and sophomores that came out of nowhere. Good for the team, bad for organizing. Nico was a peach coming back from Wakulla yesterday. Trying to figureout how to duplicate THAT.
All for now...
Tryouts started yesterday and we ended up with about 10-12 more girls than we expected, tiny little freshmen and sophomores that came out of nowhere. Good for the team, bad for organizing. Nico was a peach coming back from Wakulla yesterday. Trying to figureout how to duplicate THAT.
All for now...
Thursday, October 8, 2009
I can haz a read?
So I finished reading "How to Teach Your Baby to Read" and MAN! It blew my mind! Defintely going to try to teach little homey to read using the method described in the book- which coincidentally, is not like learning ABCs and then small words and then reading... it starts by having kids memorize words that they know and use... like "Mommy", "Daddy", "nose", "toes", etc. Which makes sense, because those are things that babies are interested in... and its kind of difficult to explain what a "C" is.
Doman, the guy that wrote the book called it "The Gentle Revolution", which is to say that we can teach our kids to be excited and in love with learning, if we make it fun and exciting for them early on. And that you really can't start too early with trying to teach children. The majority of brain development takes place before the age of 8... so now is the time for him to learn. Even more amazing, is that the book talks about kids learning language and how easy it is for them to pick it up, just by hearing it. Makes me wish that we didnt live here. If we lived in India or Mexico or China and had an Nanny- Nico would grow up speaking Hindi, Spanish or Chinese. Since Dave's only second language that he is conversational in is French, I guess that means I need to learn French so that we can be conversational in the house... either that or Dave needs to learn Chinese with me (What? Dude- one in five people on this planet speaks Chinese, and that is not going to change in HIS life time. It really is the language of the future. My mother calling me a commie socialist pinko in 3....2....1....)
Got the chance to go to the gym last night. Managed to run about .75 miles and walk 1.25 miles, did some time on the ellipitcal and did some weights. Consequently, I am hobbling around like an old lady today. But it was nice- I'd almost forgotten how much I love the gym. Of course, I get home to find out that Nico had been screaming for the last four hours, non-stop. Which brings me to Nico's first ever Likes/Dislikes list:
Likes:
The Jimmy Buffett/Eagles/Van Morrison Genre
Sleeping on Mom
Showers
The Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
Windows down
My beanbag stuffed dog.jpg)
Dislikes:
Mom tutoring
Mom eating spicy foods, foods containing lots of garlic, or Mom drinking Milk.
Big dumb trucks honking while he is sleeping.
Riding back from Wakulla
Being in his carseat.
Doman, the guy that wrote the book called it "The Gentle Revolution", which is to say that we can teach our kids to be excited and in love with learning, if we make it fun and exciting for them early on. And that you really can't start too early with trying to teach children. The majority of brain development takes place before the age of 8... so now is the time for him to learn. Even more amazing, is that the book talks about kids learning language and how easy it is for them to pick it up, just by hearing it. Makes me wish that we didnt live here. If we lived in India or Mexico or China and had an Nanny- Nico would grow up speaking Hindi, Spanish or Chinese. Since Dave's only second language that he is conversational in is French, I guess that means I need to learn French so that we can be conversational in the house... either that or Dave needs to learn Chinese with me (What? Dude- one in five people on this planet speaks Chinese, and that is not going to change in HIS life time. It really is the language of the future. My mother calling me a commie socialist pinko in 3....2....1....)
Got the chance to go to the gym last night. Managed to run about .75 miles and walk 1.25 miles, did some time on the ellipitcal and did some weights. Consequently, I am hobbling around like an old lady today. But it was nice- I'd almost forgotten how much I love the gym. Of course, I get home to find out that Nico had been screaming for the last four hours, non-stop. Which brings me to Nico's first ever Likes/Dislikes list:
Likes:
The Jimmy Buffett/Eagles/Van Morrison Genre
Sleeping on Mom
Showers
The Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
Windows down
My beanbag stuffed dog
.jpg)
Dislikes:
Mom tutoring
Mom eating spicy foods, foods containing lots of garlic, or Mom drinking Milk.
Big dumb trucks honking while he is sleeping.
Riding back from Wakulla
Being in his carseat.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
music
So Pandora rules! Its an internet radio station that started as the music genome project. Long story short, some nerds put together the project with the aims of being able to recomend music based on certain types of likes... so you put in that you want to start a Bruce Springsteen station. And it plays a song- now Bruce covers a lot of different genres- so it will play one song, perhaps "Born to Run", which is kind of distinctive. Its pretty much fast-tempoed rock, with a strong male lead, hard drum beats, etc. So the next song Pandora plays will be another song that is somewhat similar- perhaps "Sweet Child of Mine" by GNR or "You shook me all night long" by ACDC. And you say if you like the song or not, and keeps doing it. So you end up with a Bruce Station that also plays other songs that sound like the Bruce songs you like. Its genius.
In any case, Dave and I have been perfecting our Pandora stations. We have stations for Jimmy Buffett, Counting Crows, Van Morrison, Horns, Gregorian Chant, and obviously Bruce Springsteen. I think Nico is going to have our taste in music- because he can be fussy and I will sit down at my computer, turn Pandora on, a little bit of rocking and homeboy is asleep. As I type this, we're listening to the Jimmy Buffett station- which is playing a Kenny Chesney song right now. OUT. LIKE. A. LIGHT. Its pretty fantastic.
Speaking of fantastic- here is a video I took on my computer with the webcam of Nico... holding up his own head. Its pretty awesome... this kid is growing up!!
In any case, Dave and I have been perfecting our Pandora stations. We have stations for Jimmy Buffett, Counting Crows, Van Morrison, Horns, Gregorian Chant, and obviously Bruce Springsteen. I think Nico is going to have our taste in music- because he can be fussy and I will sit down at my computer, turn Pandora on, a little bit of rocking and homeboy is asleep. As I type this, we're listening to the Jimmy Buffett station- which is playing a Kenny Chesney song right now. OUT. LIKE. A. LIGHT. Its pretty fantastic.
Speaking of fantastic- here is a video I took on my computer with the webcam of Nico... holding up his own head. Its pretty awesome... this kid is growing up!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Boring...
So I spent the weekend teaching Nico how to read.
Okay, not really. But that would have been awesome! Instead, we had our last preseason workout on Saturday. Our friends Flav and Austin came, so we went to The Riverside Cafe afterward. Overall, he's been pretty good at practice. Saturday was no exception. He slept most of the morning and afternoon away. We are at the point now, where I generally dont wake him up to eat... he's routinely going 5-7 hours at night sleeping (woo hoo!). So I didnt wake him up to eat on Saturday. The result was that by the time 7 or 8 pm rolled around, he had only eaten four times since he woke up. And MAN was he pissed! But when I tried to feed him- even more pissed. He eventually stopped crying and went to sleep- but I have no idea why he was so mad... am wistfully hoping that we have one of those babies that likes to go to sleep early and is severely pissed off when you keep trying to feed him when he wants to sleep.
Aside from that- not much new to report. Have been looking at the job market and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Still have no idea. Its getting to the point where I am entertaining the idea of just putting a bunch of options on pieces of paper and drawing one out of a hat- and going with that. Seems like a reasonable way to make career choices, no?
Nico and I had a good day today. We watched the Villa and City game on tv today. BTW- I am loving the hell out of this not working thing+the premier league playing games on Monday. It makes me feel less bad about not having a job when I can lay on the couch and watch Soccer on tv. Suckas!!
We also went for a walk around the neighborhood. Today was the first day that Nico sat in the Baby Bjorn face out. And he loved it. Am thinking about heading up to campus tomorrow, but taking the bus- which is a lot less of a pain in the ass than driving and parking at the stadium and having to walk with Nico to Bellamy. Of course, I may just decide to stay home. Who knows?
Okay, not really. But that would have been awesome! Instead, we had our last preseason workout on Saturday. Our friends Flav and Austin came, so we went to The Riverside Cafe afterward. Overall, he's been pretty good at practice. Saturday was no exception. He slept most of the morning and afternoon away. We are at the point now, where I generally dont wake him up to eat... he's routinely going 5-7 hours at night sleeping (woo hoo!). So I didnt wake him up to eat on Saturday. The result was that by the time 7 or 8 pm rolled around, he had only eaten four times since he woke up. And MAN was he pissed! But when I tried to feed him- even more pissed. He eventually stopped crying and went to sleep- but I have no idea why he was so mad... am wistfully hoping that we have one of those babies that likes to go to sleep early and is severely pissed off when you keep trying to feed him when he wants to sleep.
Aside from that- not much new to report. Have been looking at the job market and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Still have no idea. Its getting to the point where I am entertaining the idea of just putting a bunch of options on pieces of paper and drawing one out of a hat- and going with that. Seems like a reasonable way to make career choices, no?
Nico and I had a good day today. We watched the Villa and City game on tv today. BTW- I am loving the hell out of this not working thing+the premier league playing games on Monday. It makes me feel less bad about not having a job when I can lay on the couch and watch Soccer on tv. Suckas!!
We also went for a walk around the neighborhood. Today was the first day that Nico sat in the Baby Bjorn face out. And he loved it. Am thinking about heading up to campus tomorrow, but taking the bus- which is a lot less of a pain in the ass than driving and parking at the stadium and having to walk with Nico to Bellamy. Of course, I may just decide to stay home. Who knows?
Friday, October 2, 2009
A big week...
So Nico had kind of a big week, which culminated with a trip to campus today for a center brownbag presentation. He hung out with Kim down on the fifth floor while I gave my talk, which didn't go as well as my proposal defense last week. Part of the problem is that the presentation was one I gave back in April at PAA- and in the time leading up to the presentation back then, I lived, breathed and ate my talk. I was so deeply wrapped up in it, that I didn't realize how bad it was... I went to give the talk today and turns out the two tables I included could have been labeled better than I had them, which led to confusion. I didnt realize it, because I was focused more on the script than the presentation- since the talking part is always a weakness of mine. But, I got some terrific feedback- some ideas that will strengthen the paper when I get it back from PR squared- and also when I give the talk at the end of the month.
Its funny- I don't feel like I am "there" yet, wherever "there" is. Largely, its due to confidence, I think. When someone asks me a question about my research, I freak out a little inside, assuming that they know more than I do and that they are actually just testing me, to see if I know my stuff. I think I will be "there" when I can talk much more comfortably about my research, in more general terms. I also have a hard time judging how much my audience knows about my topic. So today, I jumped right into the data and the methods without really setting up the project... because I assumed they all knew what I knew. I guess its a learning process. How I get there, I don't know. But I guess that is part of the process.
In other news, Ike gave me his blessing to go on the job market... traditionally, you go on the job market once you've defended your proposal, the idea being that you get your materials together and your applications out, work on your dissertation, go on job talks and interviews in the spring, get offered, accept, finish dissertation, defend in the summer and start your fabulous new job in the fall. Theoretically.
Ike suggested that I cast my net far and wide- dont apply anywhere that I would turn down due to location. So I have been compiling a list of job posts that I am interested in. So far, I have four or five, specifically I am interested in... generally there are about a dozen state and federal jobs I am intrigued with. I am not sure this bodes well for getting hired this year- but you miss 100% of the shots you don't make, right? Its funny, there are some jobs I see and think, "Holy shit- I could so totally do this job. Right now. And do it really well!" And there are some jobs that I am grossly underqualified for. Like an assistant professor position at Harvard. The whole, "missing 100% of the shots" mantra goes out the window when I think of applying at Harvard. Like, really Jessi? Really? Harvard? Did the job post ask for academically schizophrenic stressed out new moms? NO? Don't you think that might be a waste of time to apply? Exactly!
So back to Nico's big week. We went to the "First Friday" thing in Railroad Square... for non Tallahasseers, First Friday is when all the galleries and shops open up at night down at Railroad Square. There are street noms, beer and wine, music, and art. Its pretty cool. Nico slept the whole time, which was pretty cool. Man! That kid can not resist the power of the baby Bjorn. You put him in it the count down goes sometime like: 10...9....8... ASLEEP. Its pretty sweet.
We went to the Leon County Public Library yesterday. We got two books, one on baby games and one called "How to teach your baby to read". I first became intrigued with this during a late-night feeding, cruising through the 800 channels we have when I found a paid advertisement for "Your baby can read". I think it was based on the work by Glen Doman. Check it out:
Obviously my plans for Nico to rule the world with his superior intellect (and his bow hunting skillz), could be dramatically improved if he could start reading at an early age. So I got this book, "Teach your baby to read" from the library. Its an easy read- filled with lots of anecdotes on how "tiny children" want to read and have the capabilities to do it, so long as you accomodate them on some issues... like their eyesight. Because the eyes aren't fully developed, the author says that you start with BIG letters.
This is actually pretty cool, because when Dave's mom was up here after Nico was born, she told me that when Dave was born, she decorated his nursery with large cutout letters (the size of construction paper sheets). Result: Dave Royse actively reading the newspaper on his own, by first grade. Operation Nico Reads: Launch!!!
Its funny- I don't feel like I am "there" yet, wherever "there" is. Largely, its due to confidence, I think. When someone asks me a question about my research, I freak out a little inside, assuming that they know more than I do and that they are actually just testing me, to see if I know my stuff. I think I will be "there" when I can talk much more comfortably about my research, in more general terms. I also have a hard time judging how much my audience knows about my topic. So today, I jumped right into the data and the methods without really setting up the project... because I assumed they all knew what I knew. I guess its a learning process. How I get there, I don't know. But I guess that is part of the process.
In other news, Ike gave me his blessing to go on the job market... traditionally, you go on the job market once you've defended your proposal, the idea being that you get your materials together and your applications out, work on your dissertation, go on job talks and interviews in the spring, get offered, accept, finish dissertation, defend in the summer and start your fabulous new job in the fall. Theoretically.
Ike suggested that I cast my net far and wide- dont apply anywhere that I would turn down due to location. So I have been compiling a list of job posts that I am interested in. So far, I have four or five, specifically I am interested in... generally there are about a dozen state and federal jobs I am intrigued with. I am not sure this bodes well for getting hired this year- but you miss 100% of the shots you don't make, right? Its funny, there are some jobs I see and think, "Holy shit- I could so totally do this job. Right now. And do it really well!" And there are some jobs that I am grossly underqualified for. Like an assistant professor position at Harvard. The whole, "missing 100% of the shots" mantra goes out the window when I think of applying at Harvard. Like, really Jessi? Really? Harvard? Did the job post ask for academically schizophrenic stressed out new moms? NO? Don't you think that might be a waste of time to apply? Exactly!
So back to Nico's big week. We went to the "First Friday" thing in Railroad Square... for non Tallahasseers, First Friday is when all the galleries and shops open up at night down at Railroad Square. There are street noms, beer and wine, music, and art. Its pretty cool. Nico slept the whole time, which was pretty cool. Man! That kid can not resist the power of the baby Bjorn. You put him in it the count down goes sometime like: 10...9....8... ASLEEP. Its pretty sweet.
We went to the Leon County Public Library yesterday. We got two books, one on baby games and one called "How to teach your baby to read". I first became intrigued with this during a late-night feeding, cruising through the 800 channels we have when I found a paid advertisement for "Your baby can read". I think it was based on the work by Glen Doman. Check it out:
Obviously my plans for Nico to rule the world with his superior intellect (and his bow hunting skillz), could be dramatically improved if he could start reading at an early age. So I got this book, "Teach your baby to read" from the library. Its an easy read- filled with lots of anecdotes on how "tiny children" want to read and have the capabilities to do it, so long as you accomodate them on some issues... like their eyesight. Because the eyes aren't fully developed, the author says that you start with BIG letters.
This is actually pretty cool, because when Dave's mom was up here after Nico was born, she told me that when Dave was born, she decorated his nursery with large cutout letters (the size of construction paper sheets). Result: Dave Royse actively reading the newspaper on his own, by first grade. Operation Nico Reads: Launch!!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
He wants to drive the car!
So, we are getting on with it.
Last night coming back from practice was pretty bad- Nico cried pretty much all the way home. I stopped twice- once on HWY 98 and once in Woodville to get him out of the carseat, check his diaper, feed him some. And each time he was okay for a few minutes then started crying once the car got moving. On the upside, he went to bed at midnight last night and slept till 6:30 this morning- so maybe the crying wore him out.
Speaking of riding in the car- is this not the greatest invention ever?
Its a mirror that sits on the back seat facing Nico... and so what I can do is look in the rear view mirror to see what his malfunction is. It doesnt really work at night (too dark). But isn't that cool? Adding to possible careers that I should have explored before investing so heavily into becoming a PhD is "Inventor of Baby Stuff".
Nico and I did some errands on Monday, which included a trip to Target, which never fails to make me lose my damn mind and buy a whole ton of baby stuff. I saw another really awesome piece of baby stuff: a plastic bag dispenser that hooks onto a diaper bag strap. Isnt that amazing? For those of you who haven't had to change a baby on the floor of a resturant bathroom (twice) for want of changing table- there is a lot of stuff to handle. I have a wet bag in which to keep dirty diapers as well as a bag with clean diapers and clothes, wipes, etc. If we were using disposable diapers, this little bag dispenser thing would be awesomeness.
So Nico was a jem when we did our errands, which included, in addition to Target, Office Depot and the Post Office. I thought that he was going to have the melt down at the Post Office. Of course, this is a fair reaction- we had to wait in line for 20 minutes. In all honesty, I was about to have a melt down too. Seriously? Its lunch hour and there are only two windows open? I hate the Postal Service. Makes me feel better about sending emails to my friends instead of cards. Insert snarky comment from my dad about health care run by the government in 3....2.....1.....
But he was awesome.
Here is a little video of him swinging yesterday. Okay, so he's really sleeping... but he's swinging too...
Last night coming back from practice was pretty bad- Nico cried pretty much all the way home. I stopped twice- once on HWY 98 and once in Woodville to get him out of the carseat, check his diaper, feed him some. And each time he was okay for a few minutes then started crying once the car got moving. On the upside, he went to bed at midnight last night and slept till 6:30 this morning- so maybe the crying wore him out.
Speaking of riding in the car- is this not the greatest invention ever?
Its a mirror that sits on the back seat facing Nico... and so what I can do is look in the rear view mirror to see what his malfunction is. It doesnt really work at night (too dark). But isn't that cool? Adding to possible careers that I should have explored before investing so heavily into becoming a PhD is "Inventor of Baby Stuff". Nico and I did some errands on Monday, which included a trip to Target, which never fails to make me lose my damn mind and buy a whole ton of baby stuff. I saw another really awesome piece of baby stuff: a plastic bag dispenser that hooks onto a diaper bag strap. Isnt that amazing? For those of you who haven't had to change a baby on the floor of a resturant bathroom (twice) for want of changing table- there is a lot of stuff to handle. I have a wet bag in which to keep dirty diapers as well as a bag with clean diapers and clothes, wipes, etc. If we were using disposable diapers, this little bag dispenser thing would be awesomeness.
So Nico was a jem when we did our errands, which included, in addition to Target, Office Depot and the Post Office. I thought that he was going to have the melt down at the Post Office. Of course, this is a fair reaction- we had to wait in line for 20 minutes. In all honesty, I was about to have a melt down too. Seriously? Its lunch hour and there are only two windows open? I hate the Postal Service. Makes me feel better about sending emails to my friends instead of cards. Insert snarky comment from my dad about health care run by the government in 3....2.....1.....
But he was awesome.
Here is a little video of him swinging yesterday. Okay, so he's really sleeping... but he's swinging too...
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Proposal
Sorry its been so long dudes!!
My dissertation proposal defense was scheduled for Friday- and since Ike does check Nico's blog every now and then, I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to post neurotic ramblings about how I haven't done anything on the presentation and how they are going to kick me out of the program and yada yada yada. And lets, be real you can only deal with so many of those kind of posts before getting really annoyed with me :)
In any case, the defense went REALLY well. This was in large part due to the fact that Ike wanted me to lay it ALL out in the actual paper- where I went into a LOT of detail. The result was, that most of the discussion at the defense was about the intellectual aspect of it- the possibility of including this or that, this interesting idea, etc. Which, I think is way better than a defense where your committee members are asking questions about your basic concepts or terms... so I passed- straight up, no conditions or anything. Now I just need to, write the damn thing.
The best part was where the committee unanimously agreed that the proposal as it is now is A LOT. They thought that I could basically just look at 2 of the 4 outcomes I proposed and call that a dissertation. Which blows my mind, because it means that I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. So now when my mom asks how long until I can make Dave call me Doctor, I can give a definitive answer and not just shrug.
Nico is doing well. He went on a lunch date with Lauren, April and Kelly on Friday after my defense... of course, I was chaperoning, making sure that they didnt try to get him any beer or anything (just jokes, they wouldnt try that- he's only a baby). I think he was a little miffed with me, because I wouldn't let him have any tacos (we were at Cabos). But I think he will get over it :)
In this picture, Nico is smirking, because he saw that Chelsea lost to Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Ha! Suckas!!
Dave and I were talking about it this week, and we have agreed that every day is more fun than the day before, with this guy. He gets more and more personality each day. He's growing- FAST. Since I dont like overly tight clothes, I have, since he was born, not put him in those newborn onesies, because him being a little bit of a chunk made them pretty tight. Now, he can't even wear the 40 some odd 0-3 month onesies that we got from Target. Seriously, I cant get them over his head easily and I can't get them buttoned up.
He's looking around a lot more these days. I may be making this up, but he seems transfixed by the television... Dave moved the rocking chair from the bedroom out to the living room and I noticed last night when I was watching the Matrix that Nico was watching it too... which makes me weary. Since Dave and I dont want a Zombie Nico, I guess this means more reading books while I am nursing him and less watching tv... (boooooo!). This is kind of a bummer, because I was hoping we might get to 4 or 5 months before we really had to start being careful with the TV... Of course, its possible that I made this up...
My dissertation proposal defense was scheduled for Friday- and since Ike does check Nico's blog every now and then, I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to post neurotic ramblings about how I haven't done anything on the presentation and how they are going to kick me out of the program and yada yada yada. And lets, be real you can only deal with so many of those kind of posts before getting really annoyed with me :)
In any case, the defense went REALLY well. This was in large part due to the fact that Ike wanted me to lay it ALL out in the actual paper- where I went into a LOT of detail. The result was, that most of the discussion at the defense was about the intellectual aspect of it- the possibility of including this or that, this interesting idea, etc. Which, I think is way better than a defense where your committee members are asking questions about your basic concepts or terms... so I passed- straight up, no conditions or anything. Now I just need to, write the damn thing.
The best part was where the committee unanimously agreed that the proposal as it is now is A LOT. They thought that I could basically just look at 2 of the 4 outcomes I proposed and call that a dissertation. Which blows my mind, because it means that I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. So now when my mom asks how long until I can make Dave call me Doctor, I can give a definitive answer and not just shrug.
Nico is doing well. He went on a lunch date with Lauren, April and Kelly on Friday after my defense... of course, I was chaperoning, making sure that they didnt try to get him any beer or anything (just jokes, they wouldnt try that- he's only a baby). I think he was a little miffed with me, because I wouldn't let him have any tacos (we were at Cabos). But I think he will get over it :)
In this picture, Nico is smirking, because he saw that Chelsea lost to Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Ha! Suckas!!Dave and I were talking about it this week, and we have agreed that every day is more fun than the day before, with this guy. He gets more and more personality each day. He's growing- FAST. Since I dont like overly tight clothes, I have, since he was born, not put him in those newborn onesies, because him being a little bit of a chunk made them pretty tight. Now, he can't even wear the 40 some odd 0-3 month onesies that we got from Target. Seriously, I cant get them over his head easily and I can't get them buttoned up.
He's looking around a lot more these days. I may be making this up, but he seems transfixed by the television... Dave moved the rocking chair from the bedroom out to the living room and I noticed last night when I was watching the Matrix that Nico was watching it too... which makes me weary. Since Dave and I dont want a Zombie Nico, I guess this means more reading books while I am nursing him and less watching tv... (boooooo!). This is kind of a bummer, because I was hoping we might get to 4 or 5 months before we really had to start being careful with the TV... Of course, its possible that I made this up...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Practice and whatnot...
So we had our first drama driving to practice this week. This has always been one of the things I have feared about the whole baby-practice in Wakulla thing: that I would, at some point, end up driving 45 minutes to soccer practice with Nico screaming the entire way. It wasn't exactly that bad- mostly because I left the house at 430 for a practice that starts at 600. I fed him at 300... got us bundled into the car with all the stuff and Nico commenced crying just north of Woodville... and proceeded to cry all the way through Woodville. I had to keep going, because I was looking for the ice place (where I needed to stop and get ice). I dont know how many of you have ever had to drive with a crying baby in the car- but damn its stressful.
In any case, when we got to the ice place, I took Nico out of his car seat and sat him on my lap as we continued driving down to the high school. Turns out, he was mad because he wanted to drive. Just kidding! I changed his diaper and took off his clothes. After a few minutes of Mama cuddling time, we got on the road again, this time with the windows down. Seemed to do the trick. Turns out all he really wanted was to feel the breeze on his skin... the only thing he was missing was some sunglasses. Is he my kid or what?
The last couple of nights have been a little bit better as far as sleeping goes. I think that he really does like me better than Dave... seems to be fussy a lot more for Dave than for me. This makes me kind of sad, then I remember that Dave is the good cop. So in 16 years when he hates me because he wants to stay out and I wont let him, and I even over rule Dave on the matter, I can look back to a time when he didn't always hate me the most...
The improving sleeping situation is quite fortuitous, actually. My dissertation proposal defense is scheduled for Friday... this is basically where I have to stand up in front of my committee and justify my proposed dissertation research. If I pass, they will let me write a dissertation. Woo hoo!!
His sleeping better has been good for me, because it means that I am not so absolutely exhausted in the mornings that I can actually get out of bed at a decent hour, instead of lounging half the day away. Of course, now that I have breathed mention of it, he has probably just decided that he is not going to sleep one more minute. EVER.
Preseason has been going good. I am kind of annoyed about the team though... I dont know why. I can't quite figure it out... its something. Maybe some of them dont quite understand what I am about.... I know. THE JESSI BISHOP... you can't believe it. We have a bunch of new girls who havent quite figured it out yet... which is understandable, they did just show up five minutes ago... they will come along. But then there are a bunch of girls who were in the program last year, who dont seem to get that I am the one who (largely) decides who plays JV and who plays Varsity. Its shocking how many of them think its perfectly acceptable to carry on a conversation while coaches are talking. Seriously-dude.... you're trying to win a spot on Varsity, why are you talking when I am talking? Maybe its just immaturity. Or maybe its a generational thing... seriously. It was kind of funny when I was ten years older than the oldest girls... but now I am twice the age of some of these kids. But seriously, is it EVER okay to conduct your own conversation when the Coach is announcing stuff to the team? I foresee a "come to Jesus" meeting in the near future...
I am a little nervous about the season... with the flu coming up... plus the thing in Kentucky (where a football coach was put on trial for a kid dying at his practice). Our football team had to cancel a game with NFC last week because 55% of the team was out with the flu. I think our program is vulnerable to flu... we have two sets of sisters (twins). Plus we have several sets of friends who are so close they are practically related (share lots of time together- and thus lots of germs). I preach to them about the virtues of vitamin C and not sharing germs... but lets be real here... missing a game because she is sick never kept a teenage girl from making out with her boyfriend.
Still cant believe that the season is about to start... still cant believe its my fourth. Seems like just yesterday when all my seniors were skinny little freshmen- fresh out of middle school. Now they are all driving and having jobs and whatnot. How time flies!!
In any case, when we got to the ice place, I took Nico out of his car seat and sat him on my lap as we continued driving down to the high school. Turns out, he was mad because he wanted to drive. Just kidding! I changed his diaper and took off his clothes. After a few minutes of Mama cuddling time, we got on the road again, this time with the windows down. Seemed to do the trick. Turns out all he really wanted was to feel the breeze on his skin... the only thing he was missing was some sunglasses. Is he my kid or what?
The last couple of nights have been a little bit better as far as sleeping goes. I think that he really does like me better than Dave... seems to be fussy a lot more for Dave than for me. This makes me kind of sad, then I remember that Dave is the good cop. So in 16 years when he hates me because he wants to stay out and I wont let him, and I even over rule Dave on the matter, I can look back to a time when he didn't always hate me the most...
The improving sleeping situation is quite fortuitous, actually. My dissertation proposal defense is scheduled for Friday... this is basically where I have to stand up in front of my committee and justify my proposed dissertation research. If I pass, they will let me write a dissertation. Woo hoo!!
His sleeping better has been good for me, because it means that I am not so absolutely exhausted in the mornings that I can actually get out of bed at a decent hour, instead of lounging half the day away. Of course, now that I have breathed mention of it, he has probably just decided that he is not going to sleep one more minute. EVER.
Preseason has been going good. I am kind of annoyed about the team though... I dont know why. I can't quite figure it out... its something. Maybe some of them dont quite understand what I am about.... I know. THE JESSI BISHOP... you can't believe it. We have a bunch of new girls who havent quite figured it out yet... which is understandable, they did just show up five minutes ago... they will come along. But then there are a bunch of girls who were in the program last year, who dont seem to get that I am the one who (largely) decides who plays JV and who plays Varsity. Its shocking how many of them think its perfectly acceptable to carry on a conversation while coaches are talking. Seriously-dude.... you're trying to win a spot on Varsity, why are you talking when I am talking? Maybe its just immaturity. Or maybe its a generational thing... seriously. It was kind of funny when I was ten years older than the oldest girls... but now I am twice the age of some of these kids. But seriously, is it EVER okay to conduct your own conversation when the Coach is announcing stuff to the team? I foresee a "come to Jesus" meeting in the near future...
I am a little nervous about the season... with the flu coming up... plus the thing in Kentucky (where a football coach was put on trial for a kid dying at his practice). Our football team had to cancel a game with NFC last week because 55% of the team was out with the flu. I think our program is vulnerable to flu... we have two sets of sisters (twins). Plus we have several sets of friends who are so close they are practically related (share lots of time together- and thus lots of germs). I preach to them about the virtues of vitamin C and not sharing germs... but lets be real here... missing a game because she is sick never kept a teenage girl from making out with her boyfriend.
Still cant believe that the season is about to start... still cant believe its my fourth. Seems like just yesterday when all my seniors were skinny little freshmen- fresh out of middle school. Now they are all driving and having jobs and whatnot. How time flies!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Practice
We had a pretty good weekend around here.
This week, we started preseason. Our first day was Tuesday night, during which Nico hung out with Rochelle and Rick (parents of one of the girls) for most of the practice, a prelude for the season coming up... where I foresee Nico spending a lot of the cold night games in the safe warmth of the concession stand.
Saturday was the first Saturday practice... a big test for all of us, but namely Nico. Since there are rules governing who can practice when with who, we get around the rules by Dave practicing with the girls, on the field with soccer balls (I can do conditioning with them, but cant have "practice" yet). It was HOT and gross. There is hardly any shade at the highschool practice fields. But I found a sliver of shade constructed by the football shed.
Overall, Nico was pretty good. I worry about making my kid dehydrated. So I did a little research, and when they are this young, you dont really do anything special, except nurse them to combat the lost fluids (when they get older you give them bottles of water). So I walk Nico over to the 4-Runner, thinking I would just tuck us into the backseat, do our business and then voila, magically appear back at practice (even though they are all girls, I can totally see there being some sort of controversy about Coach Bishop whipping out her ta-tas at practice). The thing is, that having a baby along for the ride increases the accoutrement that we have to tote around in the car... on top of the ton of crap that we usually carry, ball bags, cones, med kit, etc. So I am trying to manuever in the backseat of the car, with the car seat and the diaper bag, etc. And I go to lift Nico up to get him situated on my lap and whack his head against the handle just inside the door (up by the ceiling). Felt absolutely AWFUL.
You know, there is a huge difference in the way he cries when he is pissed because he is hungry and his n00b parents cant get it together fast enough... to when he wants to be held... to when he is hurt. Man- it was horrible. A good lesson though. Look up when you are lifting a baby in close quarters.
He was pretty good. I am not even going to qualify that statement. Straightup... he was good. Might just make this work afterall...
In any case, I took this video yesterday of Nico smiling. Enjoy!!
This week, we started preseason. Our first day was Tuesday night, during which Nico hung out with Rochelle and Rick (parents of one of the girls) for most of the practice, a prelude for the season coming up... where I foresee Nico spending a lot of the cold night games in the safe warmth of the concession stand.
Saturday was the first Saturday practice... a big test for all of us, but namely Nico. Since there are rules governing who can practice when with who, we get around the rules by Dave practicing with the girls, on the field with soccer balls (I can do conditioning with them, but cant have "practice" yet). It was HOT and gross. There is hardly any shade at the highschool practice fields. But I found a sliver of shade constructed by the football shed.
Overall, Nico was pretty good. I worry about making my kid dehydrated. So I did a little research, and when they are this young, you dont really do anything special, except nurse them to combat the lost fluids (when they get older you give them bottles of water). So I walk Nico over to the 4-Runner, thinking I would just tuck us into the backseat, do our business and then voila, magically appear back at practice (even though they are all girls, I can totally see there being some sort of controversy about Coach Bishop whipping out her ta-tas at practice). The thing is, that having a baby along for the ride increases the accoutrement that we have to tote around in the car... on top of the ton of crap that we usually carry, ball bags, cones, med kit, etc. So I am trying to manuever in the backseat of the car, with the car seat and the diaper bag, etc. And I go to lift Nico up to get him situated on my lap and whack his head against the handle just inside the door (up by the ceiling). Felt absolutely AWFUL.
You know, there is a huge difference in the way he cries when he is pissed because he is hungry and his n00b parents cant get it together fast enough... to when he wants to be held... to when he is hurt. Man- it was horrible. A good lesson though. Look up when you are lifting a baby in close quarters.
He was pretty good. I am not even going to qualify that statement. Straightup... he was good. Might just make this work afterall...
In any case, I took this video yesterday of Nico smiling. Enjoy!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
good weekend
Had a good weekend this weekend. Granny You (my mom) came up and we hung out. She got to meet little Nico. It was a pretty great weekend, lounging about and watching TV... he wore the Manchester City onesie that my mother made him, during the game... while City did win 4-2 over Arsenal, Adebayor stomped on Van Persie's face, so that is bad... I'd hope that Nico doesnt learn such behaviors... but as long as he spends Saturdays sleeping through Prem games, I guess I dont have to worry much about that...
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Nico had his one month appointment on Friday. His weight: 12 pounds, 2 ounces, confirming my suspicion that he has his Mama's metabolism. Seriously, all I have to do is *think* about a cupcake and all of a sudden, I feel my jeans fitting tighter. So he's got that going for him? Our pediatrician (who we love) is less convinced that the Battle of The Gassy Beast was caused by eliminating formula from his diet.
He also has my number because he mentioned that one of the main benefits of exclusive breastfeeding is that babies who are exclusively breastfed are several IQ points higher on average than babies who are formula fed and who are fed with supplementation. I say he has my number, because that is all I need to hear: empirical evidence using methodologies I value to tell me something which will prompt a response from me...
I know, you're shocked... the hippie mom who has dreams of making her baby the smartest, funniest, best athlete takes heed when she hears that development and intelligence based outcomes are associated with breastfeeding. I bet you're getting tired of this story.
Of course, its difficult to say whether its breastmilk or breastfeeding... I think most of the research didnt distinguish between the two...although I could see justifications for either. Maybe women who breast feed are more likely to engage in other behaviors that effect outcomes, but that weren't controlled for. Perhaps women who take the time to pump breast milk are systematically different than those who feed their babies formula alone.
So I have tried another approach with the whole breastmilk thing: eliminating some of the foods that might cause gas, starting with caffeine products (at JSD's suggestion). Much to my chagrin, caffeine seems to be associated with Nico being overly "fussy"... which means that I get to start the soccer season this week driving to and fro without the added benefit of my second favorite stimulant (behind adderall). And yes, I have tried the caffeine free diet sodas, which are actually kind of nasty. So much so, that Jessi Bishop-Royse, self-proclaimed sugar fiend, concurs that they are kind of a waste of time. FAIL!
He is also 22 inches long, which means that he grew 1.5 inches in a month. Isnt that amazing? No wonder he sleeps a lot, its hard work growing that much that fast!!
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Nico had his one month appointment on Friday. His weight: 12 pounds, 2 ounces, confirming my suspicion that he has his Mama's metabolism. Seriously, all I have to do is *think* about a cupcake and all of a sudden, I feel my jeans fitting tighter. So he's got that going for him? Our pediatrician (who we love) is less convinced that the Battle of The Gassy Beast was caused by eliminating formula from his diet.
He also has my number because he mentioned that one of the main benefits of exclusive breastfeeding is that babies who are exclusively breastfed are several IQ points higher on average than babies who are formula fed and who are fed with supplementation. I say he has my number, because that is all I need to hear: empirical evidence using methodologies I value to tell me something which will prompt a response from me...
I know, you're shocked... the hippie mom who has dreams of making her baby the smartest, funniest, best athlete takes heed when she hears that development and intelligence based outcomes are associated with breastfeeding. I bet you're getting tired of this story.
Of course, its difficult to say whether its breastmilk or breastfeeding... I think most of the research didnt distinguish between the two...although I could see justifications for either. Maybe women who breast feed are more likely to engage in other behaviors that effect outcomes, but that weren't controlled for. Perhaps women who take the time to pump breast milk are systematically different than those who feed their babies formula alone.
So I have tried another approach with the whole breastmilk thing: eliminating some of the foods that might cause gas, starting with caffeine products (at JSD's suggestion). Much to my chagrin, caffeine seems to be associated with Nico being overly "fussy"... which means that I get to start the soccer season this week driving to and fro without the added benefit of my second favorite stimulant (behind adderall). And yes, I have tried the caffeine free diet sodas, which are actually kind of nasty. So much so, that Jessi Bishop-Royse, self-proclaimed sugar fiend, concurs that they are kind of a waste of time. FAIL!
He is also 22 inches long, which means that he grew 1.5 inches in a month. Isnt that amazing? No wonder he sleeps a lot, its hard work growing that much that fast!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Gastastic
The last couple of days have been pretty rough at night.
A caveat: this is about to be an explanation of how I am my own worst enemy. This will likely sound a bit neurotic and even a bit whiny. This post also contains information on breastfeeding and nursing as well as pumping... so if you are completely uninterested in the finer details of how I am manufacturing nutrition for Nico, I advise you check back tomorrow or the day after for an update. You've been warned.
So my MO to this point has been characterized by a (perhaps irrational) fear of being in a situation where Nico is screaming his face off because he is hungry, but I cant kill his hunger (via nursing). That is just some stressful nonsense... and usually ends with me crying too- I cant help it. Its a chain reaction. Also, I can't lie, sometimes nursing him hurts...sometimes it doesnt. But the times where it hurts make me want to quit nursing and put that kid on Similac 24-7. In any case, I have attempted to create a stockpile of bottles in the fridge that are ready to go. I have done this by pumping and supplementing with formula (the good stuff mind you- that is fortified with DHA, which I think is good since my diet isn't always what you would call "balanced" or "nutritious"- funny, cupcakes aren't loaded with DHA, but I digress). Yes, I feel the tiniest twinge of guilt for supplementing, but not really. I feel like he is getting the antibodies and immunition qualities, from the breast milk, but also good brain development with the DHA, but whatev. While this has partially been driven by my own issues with this whole breastfeeding odyssey, it was in large part due to the fact that I wanted to make sure that he was getting enough to eat every day (which is easy to do with a bottle).
So I went to the breastfeeding support group again on Tuesday, where I weighed Nico before feeding him and after breastfeeding and determined that he took in about 4 ounces, which is perfect for a kid his size. My conclusion is that my mile supply is established, he gets enough to eat each time he nurses, that I dont need to pump anymore and that sometime someone is going to award me with Mom of the Year, Thank you very much!!
I dont know what I do this, but it seems like every time I go to that damn group, I start questioning what I am doing... I think its partially a fear over how much weight Nico has gained... he was 12 pounds on Tuesday, suggesting that he had put on 3.4 pounds in about 3 and half weeks. The breastfeeding lady told me that its really easy to overfeed a baby with a bottle, but that it is not possible if you are breastfeeding.
For Tuesday I experimented with the non-stockpiling of the bottles... and it began what I like to think of as the two day long Battle of the Beast. On Tuesday, Nico got about 1 ounce of formula and about 30 something ounces of breastmilk (which is largely different than what he had been getting, which is about 22 ounces of breastmilk and 9-10 ounces of formula). And he was cranktastic Tuesday night and much of Wednesday. Gas-a-rific! Oh, and not sleeping. EVER.
So let me pause this story to make this claim: I didnt believe in colic. Yeah... I just said that. I know... I sound like the president of South Africa, not believing in AIDS... its just that even doctors dont know what causes "colic" (acute abdominal pain)... to me colic is what happens to a horse when they ingest too much sand (from eating hay, food and grass off the ground). It causes horrible stomach pain, and can kill a horse. Since this clearly wasnt this case with Nico, I just figured that he had gas, end of story.
However... it is possible for a mother to exacerbate a gassy baby situation with her diet, especially if it is high in dairy products, which lets be real here, describes me to a tee... love skim milk and yogurt... and will fight with Dave over ice cream. So, to the best of my knowledge, on Tuesday and Wednesday, I replaced a good proportion of Nico's diet with gassy milk and eliminated the nongassy milk. So no wonder he was so cranktastic!! Seriously, it was bad... awake for hours at a time grunting like he was trying to pass gas, and when he wasnt doing that, he was crying... for what seemed like no reason.
Now, I am not sure I would start calling me Dr. Spock, because I want to wait till tonight to see if he really is "cured" or just so tired that he slept like a rock this morning. In any case, Nico is going on hour #2 of solid deep sleep, which is more than he's had in the last couple of days put together. The lesson I learned: don't second guess myself. I am not such a rook...
A caveat: this is about to be an explanation of how I am my own worst enemy. This will likely sound a bit neurotic and even a bit whiny. This post also contains information on breastfeeding and nursing as well as pumping... so if you are completely uninterested in the finer details of how I am manufacturing nutrition for Nico, I advise you check back tomorrow or the day after for an update. You've been warned.
So my MO to this point has been characterized by a (perhaps irrational) fear of being in a situation where Nico is screaming his face off because he is hungry, but I cant kill his hunger (via nursing). That is just some stressful nonsense... and usually ends with me crying too- I cant help it. Its a chain reaction. Also, I can't lie, sometimes nursing him hurts...sometimes it doesnt. But the times where it hurts make me want to quit nursing and put that kid on Similac 24-7. In any case, I have attempted to create a stockpile of bottles in the fridge that are ready to go. I have done this by pumping and supplementing with formula (the good stuff mind you- that is fortified with DHA, which I think is good since my diet isn't always what you would call "balanced" or "nutritious"- funny, cupcakes aren't loaded with DHA, but I digress). Yes, I feel the tiniest twinge of guilt for supplementing, but not really. I feel like he is getting the antibodies and immunition qualities, from the breast milk, but also good brain development with the DHA, but whatev. While this has partially been driven by my own issues with this whole breastfeeding odyssey, it was in large part due to the fact that I wanted to make sure that he was getting enough to eat every day (which is easy to do with a bottle).
So I went to the breastfeeding support group again on Tuesday, where I weighed Nico before feeding him and after breastfeeding and determined that he took in about 4 ounces, which is perfect for a kid his size. My conclusion is that my mile supply is established, he gets enough to eat each time he nurses, that I dont need to pump anymore and that sometime someone is going to award me with Mom of the Year, Thank you very much!!
I dont know what I do this, but it seems like every time I go to that damn group, I start questioning what I am doing... I think its partially a fear over how much weight Nico has gained... he was 12 pounds on Tuesday, suggesting that he had put on 3.4 pounds in about 3 and half weeks. The breastfeeding lady told me that its really easy to overfeed a baby with a bottle, but that it is not possible if you are breastfeeding.
For Tuesday I experimented with the non-stockpiling of the bottles... and it began what I like to think of as the two day long Battle of the Beast. On Tuesday, Nico got about 1 ounce of formula and about 30 something ounces of breastmilk (which is largely different than what he had been getting, which is about 22 ounces of breastmilk and 9-10 ounces of formula). And he was cranktastic Tuesday night and much of Wednesday. Gas-a-rific! Oh, and not sleeping. EVER.
So let me pause this story to make this claim: I didnt believe in colic. Yeah... I just said that. I know... I sound like the president of South Africa, not believing in AIDS... its just that even doctors dont know what causes "colic" (acute abdominal pain)... to me colic is what happens to a horse when they ingest too much sand (from eating hay, food and grass off the ground). It causes horrible stomach pain, and can kill a horse. Since this clearly wasnt this case with Nico, I just figured that he had gas, end of story.
However... it is possible for a mother to exacerbate a gassy baby situation with her diet, especially if it is high in dairy products, which lets be real here, describes me to a tee... love skim milk and yogurt... and will fight with Dave over ice cream. So, to the best of my knowledge, on Tuesday and Wednesday, I replaced a good proportion of Nico's diet with gassy milk and eliminated the nongassy milk. So no wonder he was so cranktastic!! Seriously, it was bad... awake for hours at a time grunting like he was trying to pass gas, and when he wasnt doing that, he was crying... for what seemed like no reason.
Now, I am not sure I would start calling me Dr. Spock, because I want to wait till tonight to see if he really is "cured" or just so tired that he slept like a rock this morning. In any case, Nico is going on hour #2 of solid deep sleep, which is more than he's had in the last couple of days put together. The lesson I learned: don't second guess myself. I am not such a rook...
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Holy Tangent, Batman!!
So, not much new to report. You're probably going to stop checking this blog soon, aren't you? I keep telling you there is nothing new to report... then I proceed to tell you about my days- which are quite boring. This is the part where I throw Nico under the bus and claim that if he werent such a baby, I'd have a lot more exciting news to report about his little baby life. But alas...
This weekend was pretty low key. Caught England's friendly with Slovenia on Saturday. It was a tune up for today's qualifier match against Croatia. They are showing the qualifier on pay per view. 2 months ago, I would have taken my happy self to Finnegans to watch the game, but I havent quite decided if taking my baby to a bar makes me a bad mom... so I will just have to chill out about that. Aside from watching LOTS of TV, I didnt do much... this can pretty much sum up what I did this weekend:
So I think the mentality about raising kids has changed probably since the sixties and seventies, where it was commonly thought you could spoil a child by holding him/her too much. Every parenting book I have read since we started this odyssey says that is not possible in the first three months. The thing is, that he looks really adorable when he sleeps.
Nicole and Cody had their baby this morning- Emmerson Rose on 09-09-09... which is two years, two months and two days from the last time they had a baby (Maddox) on 07-07-07. What is surprising to me is that she was able to to it this time without me fighting with her during her labor :)
Can anyone explain to me why she looks so pretty? The first post labor pictures of me, you can tell it was hard for my to smile since my face was so swollen full of liquid... here my sister looks like she should be on the cover of Awesome Mom magazine. Suck!!
So I was thinking about how awesome it is that Emerson and Nico are literally one month apart. Isn't that cool? I think it will be fun when they get to be older. Nicole and I have often talked about the cousins spending lots of time together during the summer. I have no doubt that Emerson is going to be the ring leader. No doubt. Sorry Nicole- but I have never known a younger sister of an older brother who didnt end up bossy (look at Mom- oh snap!! I went there!) Nico will probably end up being the follower, going along with whatever Max and Emme want to do... I think it spells trouble!
In any case, I started walking last week... I put Nico in the Baby Bjorn and we walked around the neighborhood. Its amazing how out of shape I am- Holy Good Lord. Of course, it is a bit of a workout to tote around a beast... One very important point that was driven home to me this week was how dramatically pregnancy changes your body. Seriously. I wish that someone had told me that. I dont know what I would have done about it. I have lost all but about 10 pounds of the of baby weight I gained- which I would like to be impressed with- but realize that its mostly a function of the the fact that Nico was almost 10 pounds and I seemed to be carrying about 700 pounds of fluid in my hands, feet and face (and not that I worked really hard in the gym or anything). Going back to how much more thankful we should be to mothers... :)
In any case, its shocking how out of shape I am. Now, granted, I am moving at a brisk pace, but holy crap, my 2.5 mile walk last night just about took it out of me. Looks like I got a long road to being able to run in Disney's Pretty Princess Half Marathon in March...
Mom and Dad (maybe) are coming up this weekend. I think Mom is looking forward to meeting Nico. I know I am looking forward to waiting on her. She promised me a shiny new quarter if I rubbed her bunions (props to anyone who gets THAT movie reference). You know, its funny with Mom- its not like we're gonna go craxy shopping or engage int Monster Craft Weekend... its likely that we are just gonna sit around and gab and watch TV... but it will be fun.
This weekend was pretty low key. Caught England's friendly with Slovenia on Saturday. It was a tune up for today's qualifier match against Croatia. They are showing the qualifier on pay per view. 2 months ago, I would have taken my happy self to Finnegans to watch the game, but I havent quite decided if taking my baby to a bar makes me a bad mom... so I will just have to chill out about that. Aside from watching LOTS of TV, I didnt do much... this can pretty much sum up what I did this weekend:
So I think the mentality about raising kids has changed probably since the sixties and seventies, where it was commonly thought you could spoil a child by holding him/her too much. Every parenting book I have read since we started this odyssey says that is not possible in the first three months. The thing is, that he looks really adorable when he sleeps.Nicole and Cody had their baby this morning- Emmerson Rose on 09-09-09... which is two years, two months and two days from the last time they had a baby (Maddox) on 07-07-07. What is surprising to me is that she was able to to it this time without me fighting with her during her labor :)
Can anyone explain to me why she looks so pretty? The first post labor pictures of me, you can tell it was hard for my to smile since my face was so swollen full of liquid... here my sister looks like she should be on the cover of Awesome Mom magazine. Suck!!
So I was thinking about how awesome it is that Emerson and Nico are literally one month apart. Isn't that cool? I think it will be fun when they get to be older. Nicole and I have often talked about the cousins spending lots of time together during the summer. I have no doubt that Emerson is going to be the ring leader. No doubt. Sorry Nicole- but I have never known a younger sister of an older brother who didnt end up bossy (look at Mom- oh snap!! I went there!) Nico will probably end up being the follower, going along with whatever Max and Emme want to do... I think it spells trouble!
In any case, I started walking last week... I put Nico in the Baby Bjorn and we walked around the neighborhood. Its amazing how out of shape I am- Holy Good Lord. Of course, it is a bit of a workout to tote around a beast... One very important point that was driven home to me this week was how dramatically pregnancy changes your body. Seriously. I wish that someone had told me that. I dont know what I would have done about it. I have lost all but about 10 pounds of the of baby weight I gained- which I would like to be impressed with- but realize that its mostly a function of the the fact that Nico was almost 10 pounds and I seemed to be carrying about 700 pounds of fluid in my hands, feet and face (and not that I worked really hard in the gym or anything). Going back to how much more thankful we should be to mothers... :)
In any case, its shocking how out of shape I am. Now, granted, I am moving at a brisk pace, but holy crap, my 2.5 mile walk last night just about took it out of me. Looks like I got a long road to being able to run in Disney's Pretty Princess Half Marathon in March...
Mom and Dad (maybe) are coming up this weekend. I think Mom is looking forward to meeting Nico. I know I am looking forward to waiting on her. She promised me a shiny new quarter if I rubbed her bunions (props to anyone who gets THAT movie reference). You know, its funny with Mom- its not like we're gonna go craxy shopping or engage int Monster Craft Weekend... its likely that we are just gonna sit around and gab and watch TV... but it will be fun.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Nico Smile and Noms
Caught Nico smiling the other day. Isnt he adorable? This picture is a double win, because he also has eyes open.
Dont have much planned for the weekend... except maybe catching up on some sleep. FSU is playing Miami here in town on Monday, so whatever the weekend holds for us, it will likely mean staying away from campus and downtown on Monday.
The Prem is on an international break- meaning that there are no games because many players are with their national teams for World Cup qualifiers. Am hoping to catch some of those games, but are planning on taking Nico to the downtown Marketplace on Saturday (the hippie market thing downtown). Am hoping that this trip will involve some street noms... becuase that really is the best kind of food.
Speaking of street food... so there is Guy Fieri on the Food Network that hosts a show where he goes to Diners, Drive-ins and Dives... seeking out the best food in the country in places that you might not expect. Makes me re-think my current career trajectory. But then there is Anthony Bourdain who has a show called "No Reservations" where he basically travels the world sampling the best cuisines that various cultures have to offer- Phillipines, China, etc. And yes, he actually did a special show on street food... man!! Remind me again why I am going into academia? Career: FAIL!!
One food network show I would not want to host is "Man versus Food", basically where this guy travels around the country partaking in food challenges... like there is this icecream store in San Fran that has a challenge, if you can eat this monstrous Sundae in under an hour, you win free ice cream for a year.
That is over two gallons of icecream... yeah. I love me some icecream, but I am not sure I could best that challenge!!Sorry for the tangent! Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Logistics
So not much new to report. Nico and I dont have the most exciting days...
The trip down to Wakulla went well. The girls all gooed and gaaaed over him and his cuteness. A couple got to hold him- while he was being his most precious. I felt compelled to tell them, "Graduate from College First!" Overall, he was pretty "good"- he slept in the Baby Bjorn for most of the meeting. There were a few dicey minutes in the beginning when it sounded like he might want to have a meltdown. But Dave ran most of the meeting and I could deal with him.
He was a gem in the car-which lets be real here, its hard not to be... Mama had music on, it was a little bit rainy and the traffic moves pretty well when you get past Capital Circle... if we are really honest about it, its hard for Mama to stay awake if you put her in a car for more than about 10 minutes. Am thinking that driving down to Wakulla five or six days a week during the season might not be so bad.
Speaking of traveling with a baby- there are a lot of logistics that go into traveling with a baby- and I am not even talking about big time air travel with the little beast . There is a ton of stuff to carry with you: like diapers and a diaper bag and what not. Extra clothes for the baby in case he has a technical problem with his bodily fluids and his wardrobe. I know I should have an extra change of tops for me in the diaper bag, but personal hygiene is one of those things that got displaced by Nico... so I have no qualms about showing up places with baby spew on my shirt. Isnt that awful? I just dont care...
And the car seat, which weighs a ton disincentives one to carry it around, so I usually take the Baby Bjorn if we are going to be someplace for long... then there is getting the kid ready. You gotta make sure you feed him just before he goes into the car seat... otherwise during the strap in process that looks a lot like the kid is going on the Apollo 11 mission is just gonna piss him off and you have a situation like I had yesterday where Nico is screaming his face off and I am crying too, because well, its a natural reflex, for me...
In sum, it is a total production to go anywhere...
Speaking of crying babies, anybody hear about this story:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090903__If_you_don_t_shut_that_baby_up_____.html
Some guy slapped a 2 year old girl in the face because she was crying in a walmart. All I can say is this: it is purely a cosmic stroke of luck that this happened up in Atlanta and I was not involved. Let me tell you if a this guy had slapped Nico, the story would have been about me being arrested for assault and battery and how this guy had to spend a week in the hospital because I went ballistic!
The trip down to Wakulla went well. The girls all gooed and gaaaed over him and his cuteness. A couple got to hold him- while he was being his most precious. I felt compelled to tell them, "Graduate from College First!" Overall, he was pretty "good"- he slept in the Baby Bjorn for most of the meeting. There were a few dicey minutes in the beginning when it sounded like he might want to have a meltdown. But Dave ran most of the meeting and I could deal with him.
He was a gem in the car-which lets be real here, its hard not to be... Mama had music on, it was a little bit rainy and the traffic moves pretty well when you get past Capital Circle... if we are really honest about it, its hard for Mama to stay awake if you put her in a car for more than about 10 minutes. Am thinking that driving down to Wakulla five or six days a week during the season might not be so bad.
Speaking of traveling with a baby- there are a lot of logistics that go into traveling with a baby- and I am not even talking about big time air travel with the little beast . There is a ton of stuff to carry with you: like diapers and a diaper bag and what not. Extra clothes for the baby in case he has a technical problem with his bodily fluids and his wardrobe. I know I should have an extra change of tops for me in the diaper bag, but personal hygiene is one of those things that got displaced by Nico... so I have no qualms about showing up places with baby spew on my shirt. Isnt that awful? I just dont care...
And the car seat, which weighs a ton disincentives one to carry it around, so I usually take the Baby Bjorn if we are going to be someplace for long... then there is getting the kid ready. You gotta make sure you feed him just before he goes into the car seat... otherwise during the strap in process that looks a lot like the kid is going on the Apollo 11 mission is just gonna piss him off and you have a situation like I had yesterday where Nico is screaming his face off and I am crying too, because well, its a natural reflex, for me...
In sum, it is a total production to go anywhere...
Speaking of crying babies, anybody hear about this story:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090903__If_you_don_t_shut_that_baby_up_____.html
Some guy slapped a 2 year old girl in the face because she was crying in a walmart. All I can say is this: it is purely a cosmic stroke of luck that this happened up in Atlanta and I was not involved. Let me tell you if a this guy had slapped Nico, the story would have been about me being arrested for assault and battery and how this guy had to spend a week in the hospital because I went ballistic!
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