Death Defying Dog

This past weekend Tai and Buttons and I had a lovely walk around the lake at MHC. Tai, riding on my back in the ergo, enjoyed frequently pointing out the water and occasionally suggesting that Buttons should "pee-pee." Buttons enjoyed trotting around off-leash, sniffing the smells left behind by other dogs, and taking a drink from the lake. We even ran into a long-lost doggie friend and walked with her and her parents for a while.

Since we were having such a lovely time, I decided we should take a little side-trip up the path that leads to the MHC stables, where all the Alexises keep their horses. We've done this a few times before and Tai always enjoys it.

So we said good morning to all the horses who were hanging out in their fenced-in pens. Each horse had its own space, separated from the others by a fence made of three horizontal planks, the bottom one being about 18 inches off the ground. We took about 10 minutes to walk all around and visit each horse. Several of them came right over to the fence as we approached hoping I had bought them their breakfast. Tai was having a blast and Buttons was being so good. She stayed near me, though occasionally ventured right up to the fence for a sniff and then returned to the middle of the path, with me.

And then it happened.

Apparently, the allure of tasty horse shit just on the other side of the fence was too much for Buttons. So she ducked under the bottom rail, into a pen that contained a horse. She immediately regretted her decision. The horse whose pen she had infiltrated was not pleased. Each time I replay the scene in my head it gets worse, so by now I can conjure up an image of the horse with fire in his eyes and smoke billowing out his nostrils as he reared up in the air directly above my dog.

It wasn't actually quite that bad. But the horse was clearly agitated and did start trotting back and forth a bit, and then started moving closer to Buttons. (Who was right up against the fence, frantically running back and forth, trying to figure out how to get back on the other side, and looking at me for help.) I, of course, was yelling for her to come to me.

After what was probably only 60 seconds, but felt like much longer, she remembered how to duck back under the fence. Of course, she ducked right into the next horse's pen and got that one fired up before taking a hard left and ducking out into safety.

After we hastily descended the hill back down the path around the lake, Buttons immediately ran into the water and took a quick swim. Then she got out, shook the water off herself, and looked me straight in the eye, and I'm sure she was thinking, "did you see what just happened? holy shit!"

Luckily, she was not hurt and I did not have to get yelled at by some stable boy about how I shouldn't have had my dog up there in the first place. I guess we got off easy and learned our lesson.

Maine: The 3rd and Final Installation

So yes, the trip got better after that first night.

Saturday morning we set out with two immediate tasks on the agenda: (1) buy Tai some shoes and (2) get some yummy breakfast. Luckily, the all-night Wal-Mart that sells cold beer also sells cheap imitation crocs that sort of fit Tai. Good enough for a few days, anyway. And despite being led astray by the Days Inn desk clerk, we did eventually find ourselves a place to eat breakfast.

Luckily, we checked out of the Days Inn on Sunday morning and moved to a charming little B&B right on the edge of Bowdoin's campus -- walking distance from the center of this cute little college town. The B&B was very nice, but I think we appreciated it even more because of our Days Inn experience. (Again, no need to discuss who wanted to stay at the B&B all four nights and who decided to cheap out and go for the Days Inn.)

Tai was instantly thrilled with our new room. As soon as Minh opened the door Tai squealed with delight "feeeeeeen!" And there was, indeed, a ceiling fan right in the middle of our new *huge* and very clean room. He spent the next 2 days periodically requesting that we turn the fan on. And then immediately off. He was always kinda miffed that after we turned it off it took 5 whole minutes to actually stop spinning. He'd give me a mistrustful look as if to say, "Did you really hit the switch? It's still going..."

I can't stress how wonderful these new accommodations were. There were two full-sized beds, a desk and chair, and two wicker lounging chairs, and STILL plenty of open floor space to walk around and play. The bathroom was bigger than my kitchen and there must have been about 7 clean fluffy-white towels in there waiting for us. And they brought us *fresh* ones the next day! Imagine that!

We had a lovely time exploring Mid-Coast Maine as a family of three. We took Tai to see the water and lots of boats. We attended a peace fair that included live children's music and we did some shopping in Freeport. Whenever in doubt of what to do next, we let him play in a toy store and then paid the "admission" for the 30 minutes of fun by purchasing him a toy.

Although I hate to make sweeping generalizations, I am certain there is absolutely no foam soap in the state of Maine. I think it's a state law or something. I was continually (and unpleasantly) surprised each time I pressed a soap dispenser in a public bathroom and the palm of my hand was dosed with thick, goopy liquid soap.

We came to rate restaurants based on their ability to meet our needs as people dining with a 19-month old. A restaurant that served luke-warm, mediocre food, but with very fast service and lots of free oyster crackers topped the list. This, we've decided, is preferable to excellent food and slow service. Don't even get me started on the place with incredibly slow service and mediocre food.

By the end of the trip, Tai and I even had a "usual" lunch spot. It was --get this -- inside a store. And not like how Wal-Mart has a McDonalds or how Costco has a food court. This was a real restaurant, with waitresses and daily specials, inside a "variety" store that sold, as best I could tell, fabric by the yard, nursing scrubs, shoes, and dried spices. The service was lightning fast, the waitresses (and patrons) fawned over Tai, and the BLTs and grilled cheese were delicious. Just to further set the scene...Tai and I lunched there two days in a row and both times we were the only patrons under 70 years old. As we walked out, slowly passing each table of senior citizens enjoying American chop suey and cups of decaf, I felt like we were doing a public service. Every face he smiled at lit up with delight. It was like taking a dog to a nursing home.

Despite my tendency to highlight the "quirky" parts of the weekend, it really was a fun trip and I'd visit Brunswick again without hesitation. But it is good to be back in Massachusetts, the Land of Foam Soap.

Maine: Part 2

What "Vacation" Means to Tai:

(1) Spending lots of time in the car.

(2) Co-sleeping with mamma and daddy. Every night and for every nap. Waking at 6am and having two parents right there to talk to, immediately.

(3) Pooping outside the LL Bean Outlet in Freeport--there's nothing like and al fresco poop.

(4) Playing in several toy stores and leaving each one with a new trinket.

(5) Visiting the "ahh-muls" at the Topsham Fair. Baahing at the sheep and offering "tissue?" when a large cow sneezed in our direction.

(6) Sampling the grilled cheese and french fries off the kid's menu at several restaurants.

(7) Playing in the "dirt" at the beach.

Maine: Part 1

Kathy's brilliant idea: we'll feed and bathe Tai, put him in his PJs, and hit the road at bedtime. That way, he'll sleep all the way to Maine. Upon our arrival, one of us will pop into the hotel, set up the Pack N Play, and then smoothly transition Sleeping Beauty into the crib.

That didn't work.

We left at 7:15. Tai fell asleep around 9:30pm. OK, not a huge problem. He'll just be a tiny bit short on sleep for the night. We can still move forth with Operation Smooth Transition once we get to the hotel and get the crib set up.

Then we got to Brunswick. And got lost. No need to mention who's fault that was.

In an attempt to find the hotel, we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts to ask directions. Not only did the woman behind the counter have no idea where the Days Inn was (that turned out to be a mere 2.5 miles down the road) but my exiting the car woke Tai up.

When we finally found the seedy-looking Days Inn, Tai was wide awake and "all done car." So much for my Master Plan. Rather than wait for Minh to check in and set up the crib, I decided we might as well all go in. Just had to put some shoes on my boy. Shoes? Who wears shoes with pajamas? No one. That's why I didn't think to put any shoes on him when we left the house. Oy.

I'm not a germaphobe by any stretch of the imagination and I'm a liberal user of the 5, 10, even 15 second rule. But I didn't want Tai walking around the lobby of this place shoeless. That should give you some idea of the cleanliness of this place. So up on my hip he went. And there he stayed for the 15 minutes we had to wait to check in while two elderly women from Florida flirted with the 30-something desk clerk and asked him if the all-night Wal-Mart around the corner sold cold beer. (It does, by the way).

After dragging our suitcases and other gear through the smoking section *cough* and up the stairs (no elevator) we set up the Pack N Play in which Tai refused to sleep. The entire trip. It was too late spend time unwinding and a shower was out of the question because there were no towels in the room. (Kinda makes you wonder whether they bothered to change the sheets on the bed before we arrived....eew.)

No need to mention who selected this hotel.

So we all climbed into bed and, after much flopping around, Tai eventually (12:30am?) Tai fell asleep with his head on my pillow and his feet in Minh's ribs.

And that was how our vacation started. Don't worry, the trip got better after this.......

Cute AND Tasty

Before I inundate you with stories of our recent trip to Maine, I have to back up and mention that when I picked Tai up at daycare on Friday there was a formal "accident report" waiting for me to sign.

Apparently, Tai was playing with one of his little buddies and she suddenly decided that his left arm looked like a tasty treat. So she leaned over and helped herself to a bite. Ouch!

Luckily, she did not break the skin. Just left a big read mark which is now fading into a bruise. And my boy does not hold a grudge. This morning as soon as we pulled into the parking lot he started asking for her, as he always does. I'm glad to know that he's not upset with her. Or maybe he was just looking forward to his chance to bite her back :)

Headed North

Opportunists that we are, we're turning Minh's required meeting at Bowdoin College this coming Monday and Tuesday into a mini-vacation for the whole family.

We'll head north tonight at bedtime--Tai will be instructed to sleep the whole way there. And when he wakes up tomorrow morning, we'll head out and start exploring scenic Brunswick, Maine. I have visions of hiking, shopping, eating, and relaxing in mind. Monday, while Minh's stuck in a meeting, Tai and I plan to hit the beach!

Buttons and the kitties are being cared for by neighbors. And Buttons also has a paid dog-walker coming once a day to get her more exercise in the next 4 days than she's had in the past month! I fully expect to return to fatter cats, a spoiled dog, and tufts of fur all over the house (they always wrestle when we're away).

We'll be back Tuesday evening. With stories and photos to share.

There's Nothing a Chainsaw and a Few Volunteers Can't Do

Last Saturday we spent hours tearing down two play structures at Tai's school. And by "we" I mean Minh, my dad, and about 10 other volunteers. This is part of the new movement to stop young children from running, jumping, climbing, or generally having fun.

Actually, it was to make way for *newer* play structures that are bigger, better, and have more things upon which to run, jump, and climb. Although we send Tai to a ridiculously expensive facility on the campus of a wealthy liberal arts college, we can't seem to escape the "we-desperately-need-volunteers" and "let's-hold-a-bake-sale" mentality that I thought only persisted at rinky-dink operations.

Anyway, last week panic struck The Center when they found out that the new structures were coming soon and they had "no money" to pay anyone to take down the old ones. Naturally, they turned to Minh. Naturally, Minh called my dad.

Long story short(ish), the new director of The Center managed to coerce several teachers and parents into helping out, so that it was not just up to Minh and my dad to disassemble these large structures on their own. My mom played with Tai inside the school and I played Gopher -- running to the hardware store and to Atkins for lunch. I left the real work to the others, including the very pregnant woman who was actually due yesterday.

In the end, the structures came down. No one lost any limbs. No one went into labor. And Tai had a fantastic time. It was almost fun. And when we return from Maine next week, there should be two new climbing structures in place.

Now if only we could get a tuition break for all that hard work...

You Should See The Other Guy...

Shakespeare in the Park, with cows...and C-5As

Last week Minh and I did something we've never done before. We attended a local performance of As You Like It, starring two of our good friends. Having never attended anything like this, we were not entirely sure what to expect. But a friend who's hubby was in the play gave us some pointers. Accordingly, we arrived armed with bug spray and sweatshirts.

The performance was held outdoors and spanned the lovely (if buggy) time of day from pre-sunset to just-after-dark. At intermission they sold brownie sundaes and soft drinks. This was also a good time to visit the "bug spray bar" they had set up with about 6 different kinds of insect repellent.

Throughout the performance, we could hear the cows in the nearby field mooing their hearts out. Minh thought that it was quite possible that there were cows mooing nearby The Globe Theater so we felt that this lent an authenticity to the performance. The two C-5As that flew overhead, however, detracted from the Old World Shakespearean feel of the evening.

After an initial 3 or 4 minutes of having no idea what anyone was saying and fearing I'd be lost the entire time, I managed to catch on to the Shakespeare Speak and was soon immersed in the storyline. I'm pretty sure this was entirely due to the actors timing, tone, and facial expressions and not at all a result of my high school English classes.

On the way home, Minh and I had an animated discussion about the play and the actors and which character I'd play*. Not that I'm an aspiring actor, that's just something I do. When I see a play, I decide which role I'd choose for myself. Doesn't everyone do that? During this discussion I commented that this outing was the most fun I've had in a long time. To which Minh replied, "That's pretty sad."






*For the record, I'd be Phebe.

The Influence of TV

I watched a lot of TV as a child, and I think I turned out just fine. It even comes in handy sometimes, like when watching the World Series of Pop Culture on VH1. And it's a fun party trick to be able to conjure up the theme song for almost any show that aired from about 1980 to 1995.

But it has its downsides too. Recently, my mother presented me with a typed, bound copy of the lyrics to a song I really liked as a child. But she provided no sheet music (not that I could have read it if she had) and my memory of the tune was fuzzy at best. But Tai was intrigued by the red folder holding the pages of lyrics, so I sat down and sang it to him.

Without realizing it, I sang it to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies. And it totally works! But it causes me to break out in a twangy banjo solo at the end (which Tai whole-heartedly enjoys). And I think it drives Minh nuts.* So he went online and found a little audio clip of the way it should be sung. I guess I should sit down and learn it. But at this point I'm not sure there's any going back. Tai follows me around the house with this red folder and asks me to "read" him the book. Having not had the time to learn the real tune, I fall back on The Clampetts for help.

What have I done to my son? Surely one day he'll be sitting in a kindergarten classroom and the teacher will start singing this song the right way. My poor child will probably try to correct her and add in the verse about Swimming Pools and Movie Stars...

*Not to mention the fact that whenever Tai sees a cardboard tube, he holds it up to his mouth and does the theme to The Odd Couple ("dah do dah do dah doooooooooo")

Our New Toy

A mere hours after sending me a link and saying, "Hey, isn't this cool?" Minh ordered one of these. And then a mere 24 more hours after that it was on our doorstep.

And it is, indeed, very cool. We can now record videos of Tai doing anything anywhere, at a moment's notice (as long as we remember to bring the damn thing with us). And now you, dear blog-readers, may delight in the simple joys of childhood, such as eating sugar snap peas right off the vine at the farm:




The funniest part is that this new toy came with software that allows you to fancy-up your movies with music and graphics. Just one click of the mouse and the software automatically condenses a boring 4 minute video of Tai playing in the driveway into and Old Tyme Moving Picture*:




"Oh no," you might be thinking, "Now the blog will surely consist of nothing but videos of Tai picking his nose or splashing in the tub." But never fear, faithful reader. I can still recall the days when seeing endless pictures and videos of someone else's kid would bore the crap out of me. (To tell you the truth, even after you become a parent, it still gets a bit old when it's not your kid). And I remain committed to not boring the pants of my readers, so we'll be emailing videos galore to grandparents and anyone else especially fond of nose-picking videos (contact me to get on the mailing list). The rest of you can breathe a sigh of relief. Only the most spectacular videos will, occasionally, make their way onto the blog.



*Best enjoyed with the volume on. Minh would like to point out the coincidental synchronization of the trombone and Tai feeling up his own belly 16 seconds into the movie. Enjoy!

Registry Wars

When Minh and I were about to be married, we registered for a number of household items at Crate & Barrel. Although Minh balked at the idea of actually registering, he found immense pleasure spending the months leading up to the wedding constantly checking the registry online to see which items had been purchased.

In one of his many registry checks he found a new item added to our list. An espresso maker. Neither of us had added that to the registry, so we were perplexed. Even more confusing was the fact that it had been purchased. The quantity listed in the "wants" column was 0 and the quantity in the "has" column was 1. That just about summed it up--we didn't want it, but we had it.

It arrived soon thereafter and we discovered who the culprits were. Apparently, they went to Crate & Barrel with intentions of buying us something off our registry, but then decided they did not like any of the items we had selected, so they picked out the espresso maker instead.

We seriously did not want this thing. So, after the wedding we hauled this rather large and heavy appliance back to Crate & Barrel and exchanged it for items remaining on our registry. What pain in the ass, honestly. Luckily, we know the folks who did this to us well enough to not only admit that we returned the item, but to give them a hard time about putting us through that. And now they are about to be married.

Game on.

Minh happened to be at a meeting last month right near a Crate & Barrel, where these lovely friends are now registered. So he popped over to get them their gift. What did he buy them? An espresso maker? Nah, they might actually want one of those. Minh searched that store for the largest, most useless appliance he could find, and then made sure they had not registered for it. He even specifically asked the salesperson to make sure this item was added to their online registry so that the happy couple could log on and see this....

Oh, yes. They are now the proud owners of a counter-top pizza oven. At least, that is, until they haul it back to the store and exchange it for something they actually want.

Celebrity Spotting

Last night Kristen and I had the pleasure of attending a pre-reading reception with Augusten Burroughs (thanks to my neighbor who pulled strings to get us in!) It was a strange little event with Augusten standing in the middle of the room while small groups of people took turns accosting him. At one point, 15 people actually lined up to have books signed. Other folks made him pose for pictures. I felt bad for him.

Although Kristen practically makes Augusten Stalking into a part-time job, she was nervous being in the room with him and made it clear to me that she was content not to approach him at all. But I knew that if we did that I'd regret passing up the opportunity. So we went over and made some lame comments about liking his work, and his shoes.

Augusten, however, was not the only celebrity in the room. The other one was....me. At one point, a woman I don't know walked right up to me and said, "You're on the cover of Business to Business." Taken aback, I simply said, "No." And she looked perplexed. "Well," she said, "She looks just like you."

I, of course, went home and Googled Business to Business so I could see myself. And I don't think it looks anything like me. Minh said maybe a little, around the eyes. What do you all think?

Slurp Slurp

That was the sound Tai made drinking up his Cream of Everything Soup, with a straw. He loved it. That kid just consumed more vegetables in a single meal than he has in the last month (but don't tell him that!)

Despite being a slightly off-putting shade of taupe, the soup was really very tasty. I am looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow....

Several Interesting Tid-Bits...

...None of Which Warrant Their Own Post:


1. Saturday morning we took Tai to the JC Penney Portrait Studio for his first-ever professional photo shoot. Now I know why people do this when their kids are 3 months old -- they can't run away. Tai was not scared or freaked out at all, but wholly uninterested in sitting still on this little red dot in the middle of the backdrop, where the lighting was best. Five minutes into the session, the photographer actually called out to her colleague in a somewhat exasperated voice, "we've got a runner!" which made me (a) think of the "we've got a bleeder" line from There's Something About Mary and (b) wonder why she seemed at all surprised. Are there 17-month-olds out there who sit in one spot for more than 5 seconds?

2. When Minh requests coffee and donuts for Father's Day breakfast everyone wins. Tai and I especially like the chocolate frosted donuts.

3. After consuming his Father's Day breakfast of caffeine and sugar, Minh took quite a while to contemplate whether he'd rather spend the morning shopping at Costco or doing yard work. He really knows how to live it up. In the end he chose yard work and specifically requested that I help him with a labor-intensive task during Tai's nap. In this case, not everyone wins.

4. Later that afternoon we attended a 40th birthday party for a friend, held atop a hill in a beautiful grassy conservation area. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, there were balls to kick around and other kids to play with....and Tai could only focus on touching all the food that was laid out for the guests and picking up the giant knife that was set out with the dessert.

5. At that same party, Tai somehow lost his balance and ended up falling onto his butt --directly on another child's slice of rhubarb pie. (This is why we always have a change of clothes with us!)

6. In other news, the farm share is going pretty well. We've had two pickups so far and last week I picked strawberries for the first time in my life. The fruit and veggies are tasty and we've been forced to cook alot more than we had been. Our bodies are a tad freaked out about all the veggies though. The farm keep sending us emails with recipes for the veggies, but no information for how to deal with Kohlrabi gas.

7. On a related note, simmering in my crock pot right now are the following: chicken stock, garlic, onions, celery, broccoli, turnips, spinach, shredded carrots, and 3 very small beets. It started out as Cream of Broccoli soup and turned into Cream of Everything in the Fridge. I'm scared. Minh will get home before me today and he has been instructed to (a) add the milk (hence the "cream of") (b) taste it, and (c) call and let me know if I need to bring home a pizza. I'll report back on how it turns out, if I live to tell the tale.

Greens, Anyone?

We are officially hippy-dippy.

We just picked up our very first share of farm veggies. I parked my Subaru among the other Subarus and the Priuses adorned with rainbow bumper stickers and walked my Dansko-clog-wearing self right on in. Now all I need is a baby in a sling and a kayak on my roof and I'll be completely incognito.

Since it was the first day, we went as a family of three so that we could all get the lay of the land. And it was a good thing too--I'm not sure how just one of us could watch Tai and gather veggies at the same time. It was very crowded and Tai was toddling all over the place, inside and out, visiting the chickens and pausing only to ask for more free samples of hummus.

The eventual plan was to be that I pick Tai up from daycare on Wednesdays and then he and I go to the farm together. Now I'm not so sure that will work, but I'm willing to try. There's always the ergo.

As for the veggies themselves, we came away with lettuce, baby salad greens, braising greens, bok choy, radishes, and turnips. I sure hope Tai learns to like salad!

Extreme Home Makeover: Toddler Edition

We recently inherited a third-hand molded plastic playhouse. You know, the kind that blend into the beauty of the natural landscape so well? Oh wait, I mean the kind that stick out like a sore thumb and proclaim "a child lives here!" to all passersby.

Yeah, one of those. We have one now.

It's actually pretty cool. Once Minh graciously agreed to allow it in his beautifully maintained garden, I allowed myself to get excited about it. And Tai loved it from the moment he laid eyes on it (before it was even assembled).

But, being third-hand, it came to us "well-loved" and sun-bleached. We probably would not have been concerned about this at all, if our neighbor hadn't suggested a fresh coat of paint might do it some good. Suddenly I was scheming another complicated painting project (what is it with me and paint?) I had grand ideas of bright primary colors, while Minh wanted to paint it like you would a real house -- beige with muted accents of green and blue, or maybe maroon.

First Minh blasted the entire house with sudsy water from the pressure washer. Then he painted the door dark red. And then we realized how much (a) time, (b) effort, and (c) paint it would take to do the whole house (he used two cans of spray paint on the door alone!) So we opted to just do the door and shutters--a slightly less "extreme" makeover than we first envisioned, but enough to breathe new life into an old playhouse.

Finally, we cleared out a spot in the back woods and laid a bed of woodchips over some weed-blocking cloth. And Tai really does enjoy it. He has even learned to say "house" when he sees it.

BEFORE

AFTER ----->

Two Words

Last night I discovered the key to getting Tai to let me cut his hair.
Two words: Ice Cream.

Fourth Annual Chipping Day

Despite a rocky start that included a chipper that wouldn't chip, and extra trip to Home Depot, and 2 hours of a babysitter gone to waste, the Fourth Annual Pheasant Lane Chipping day was indeed a success.

For those who don't know, each year we all "chip" in with our neighbors and rent a wood chipper that will chew through a branch up to 6" in diameter. Since we live in a woodsy area, everyone tends to have fallen branches and annoying saplings to get rid of each spring. Everyone works hard all day long, chipping up everyone's stuff, and then we have a big BBQ at the end of the day to celebrate a job well done.

Tai's still to little to pull his weight on Chipping Day (maybe next year?) but he did get to inspect the chipper the next morning, before we returned it.

They Really Do Say The Darndest Things...

Yesterday at a Mother's Day cookout, a bunch of us were talking about the fact that our friend once made a rather inappropriate joke one morning at day care drop-off. Several times folks mentioned "the joke" and then I witnessed this exchange between a woman and her 3 yr old daughter:

daughter to mom: "Can you tell me the joke?"
mom: "No, honey, it's just for grown-ups."
daughter: "Why?"
mom: "It's about adult humor and you wouldn't understand it anyway."

[about 2 minutes pass...someone tells a kid-friendly joke to make the girl feel included]

daughter: "I know a joke!"
mom: "Can you tell it to us?"
daughter: "No, it's just for kids."

White People Don't Order Squid

On Monday night, Minh and I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with the traditional Chinese Take-Out. I gave him carte blanche to order whatever he wanted and told him that if he put it under my name I'd pick it up on my way home.

Apparently, he was halfway through giving them his order (which included duck and squid) when the guy from the restaurant asked, "Hey, are you Chinese?" Once Minh 'fessed up to being Asian, the guy became very friendly and even discouraged Minh from ordering the baby bok choy because it was not as fresh as the Chinese broccoli. (You know that they gladly sell the wilty bok choy to the white folks!)

Not knowing any of this transpired, I was impressed at how very friendly they were at this restaurant (to which I had never been before). My order was not quite ready when I arrived, so they gave me a seat at the bar and offered me some tea. And the guy who sold me the food small-talked with me about the fact that my husband called in the order and then commented on my lovely jade bracelet (which, in case you don't know, functions like a membership card at most Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants).

The lesson? Even if you don't want to eat it, ordering squid over the phone can have hidden benefits. Go on, try it!

Open for Business

It is officially spring because the South Hadley Gray Tree Frog Spa and Resort is now open. This morning Tai ate his breakfast while watching this little guy hop around inside a Tupperware container.

Minh has just about perfected his catch-and-release system, which includes a Free Souvenir Photo for each satisfied customer (see below).

Oriental Iris

So...here's the new-and-improved master bathroom. Let me walk you through the highlights:

(1) The fan in the ceiling light can no longer be heard three towns away.

(2) The medicine cabinet doors can now be opened without moving items off the vanity.

(3) The walls are a happy shade of purple.

I am pleased.*

*Though I hope to never paint another bathroom as long as I live.

A-Minus

Tai has not nursed in over three weeks. I think it is safe to say that he is officially weaned.

Even if he were to try to nurse, at this point there's nothing there (as evidenced by the fact that my A-cup bras are a tad too big these days.) Seriously? A-cups are too big? Seriously. It must be time to get pregnant again -- to get my figure back :)


PS - More evidence that we live in The Happy Valley .... Tai, at 15 months, is the first kid in his class at "school" to kick the booby habit. I am such a mean mom.

Fixing a Hole

More like Painting a Hole, actually. Yes, despite my previous resolutions, I find myself starting another painting project. But it's not my fault. Honest. Some minor home improvements have left holes in our walls and Minh has just finished patching said holes. So now my bedroom and bathroom have a distinct absence of paint in a couple areas.

The bedroom is one of the rooms I ambitiously glazed with a "faux finish" a-la Home Depot Commercials when we moved in. So re-doing that will be a little bit of work (but I've already had to fix the bedroom walls TWICE since I first painted, so I am a pro at it by now). And it's a very small area to paint, so it should be easy-peasy.

The bathroom is turning into a slightly larger project (don't they all?) The re-located medicine cabinet has left a relatively small area of wall without paint, BUT:

(1) We have no more of the original paint color, and
(2) I never liked that color anyway.

So....it's time to re-paint the entire master bathroom. I can't believe it myself. But yes, rather than purchase a quart of the old color that I never really liked and touch up the walls in about 10 minutes, I've decided to go with an entirely different color. Not red this time. I learned that lesson already.

This time, I'll paint the master bathroom the same color as our bedroom, minus the glaze. So, while the bedroom is a hazy-swirly-glazy lavender, the bathroom will be a slightly darker version of the same thing. Make sense? In theory it sounds great. But I may change my tune when I'm up to my elbows in Oriental Iris.

Brunch/Lunch

Sunday we went to some friends' house for brunch and they really went all out. We were impressed with everything from the juice served in wine glasses to the vast array of wholesome foods for us and our son. They went to great lengths to make sure everything they served would be tasty and healthy for Tai. And Tai did enjoy it all -- organic eggs, pancakes, fresh tropical fruit, etc. We ate and played and had a lovely visit.

On the way home, we stopped in at Costco to pick up a few things. By this time, Tai was just about due for lunch. I have two words for you:

Free Samples.

Tai tasted every single thing they were handing out at Costco, starting with the coconut cream pie (what balanced meal doesn't START with dessert?) After that wholesome organic breakfast, Tai's lunch consisted of:

coconut cream pie
Mediterranean pasta salad
kielbasa on a a toothpick
potato salad
organic raisin bran
chicken taquito with guacamole
dehydrated Fuji apples
and raspberry sorbet (to cleanse the pallet, of course).

Suddenly, I'm a little less worried that we're turning into Happy Valley Hippies.

Mexico, Our Yard is Not

Last week we heard of a family who hired a college student to come along on their vacation to Mexico to help take care of the kids. Imagine that? Being able to afford a trip to Mexico and bring along a third-parent-for-hire....must be nice.

But we're heading down that road too, in our own special way. Last weekend we hired a babysitter to watch Tai for 3 hours so we would do yard work. But really, I would have preferred to pay someone $30 to trim the damn hedges!

Dexter

When you have a young kid, renting TV series on DVD instead of movies makes a lot of sense. It's much easier to squeeze in an episode or two here and there than set aside time for a full length movie. Of course, this whole rationale is completely blown when you watch four 45-minute episodes of a show all in one day.

But we just couldn't help ourselves. Dexter is fantastic. Originally a Showtime series, it's about a vigilante serial killer who only targets people who have committed heinous crimes themselves. it doesn't sound that great when I try to explain it, but it's incredibly well written and the actor playing Dexter is just perfect. I highly recommend it.

I anxiously await Disc 2...

Will Walk For Cheese

Tai has 5 months to practice walking in a straight line, holding a small pillow. That's right, in early September Tai will play the role of ring bearer in a wedding. We're confident that if I "release" him at one end of the aisle, and Minh stands at the other end (perhaps with some delicious cheese in his hand) we can get Tai to transport the rings down the aisle.

He's already a fantastic walker, as long as he can wander around in the direction of his choosing. The other day we "took a walk" down to the end of our street (about 200 feet) and it only took 15 minutes.

But by September he'll be nearly two (!), so it'll be a whole different ballgame....

The New Gig

I've been working at my new job for a few weeks now, so I figured I owe everyone an update on how it's going. The only tricky part is that my boss has been known to read this blog (before she was my boss!) So I'll start with the great things about my new job:


(1) My amazingly wonderful boss.
(2) Foam soap in the bathrooms.
(3) The view out my window.
(4) The fastest microwave ever. I swear, what would take 2 minutes to heat up in a normal microwave only takes 45 seconds in this one. I've been very productive with all that extra time on my hands.
(5) A wider selection of Post-It Notes.



But no job is perfect, and there are some drawbacks to this one:

(1) The long walk from the parking garage to my office. It takes 4 whole minutes! I could microwave a Thanksgiving turkey in that amount of time.
(2) No longer having lunch with Minh four days a week.
(3) No longer being able to pop into Target or Trader Joe's on my way home.
(4) Data files with 500+ variables (I don't want that much data on anyone!)

I'm certain I'll continue to discover more pros and cons to this new gig during the coming months (and years!). I'll be sure to keep everyone posted....

Let The Weaning Begin!

Tonight I officially began weaning Tai off the boobies. Yes, after almost 15 months, I am ready to be done nursing. [If you are someone I gave funny looks to when you nursed your baby for more than 8 or 9 months, insert smug comment here. I deserve it.]

After plotting and planning for a couple weeks, wondering how best to approach it, I found some useful advice in a book a friend gave me. Mind you, this was a La Leche League book, so the vast majority of the text is dedicated to why you should not "force" your baby to wean, but let it happen naturally, usually between the ages of 2 and 4. (Hey, extended nursing works for some folks, but I think I'm just about at my limit.) Finally, about 100 pages into the book, they give up on convincing you not to wean and give some pretty reasonable advice about how to approach weaning (if you must).

The book offers a couple different tactics and I've selected one called "don't ask, don't tell". Oh, wait. That's an entirely different issue. What I meant to say is "don't offer, don't refuse." The theory is that if Tai asks to nurse, I let him. But I don't offer unless he asks. He's been nursing just twice a day for a couple months now and it occurred to me that each night at bedtime I just automatically whip out the boob as part of our routine. So tonight I waited for him to ask for it.

And he didn't.

I rocked him and sang to him and he sucked on his pacifier, and he fell asleep on my arms. Now we'll see if he wakes up in a couple hours asking for milk. If he does, I'll oblige. And we'll go from there....

The Slippery Slope

We took Tai to Friendly's for the first time last night. And it was awesome. I hadn't been inside a Friendly's in more than 10 years, and it's a whole new place when you have a kid.

Tai was thrilled to visit all the other people eating, sit in the high chair and eat greasy food, indulge in some ice cream, and even be given his very first balloon! We all had a wonderful time and dinner plus dessert for the three of us was only about $25. Amazing!

After dinner we went food shopping and Tai burned off his ice cream high by toddling around the store, with his balloon tied to his overalls. At one point, he was standing by the entrance, waving his balloon at everyone who came in. Maybe he is destined for a career as a Wal-Mart greeter?

The fear now is that we have begun the steady descent down the slippery slope toward all-too-frequent Friendly's dinners. It's easy, fun, and cheap, but our bodies can only take so many bacon cheeseburgers....

Sleepy Lunch

The meal must be pretty lame if he can actually fall asleep while eating....

Dinner for Two (Just Two)

Yes, my husband sometimes requests Filet-o-Fish sandwiches for lunch, but he enjoys fine dining as well. Saturday night Minh surprised me with a babysitter and dinner reservations at a grown-up restaurant.

Amazingly, he actually kept the secret all week and pulled off the surprise. He only "blew it" about 90 minutes before the babysitter was due to arrive and I was thankful for the notice so I could vacuum the house and change out of my sweatpants.

Having only done this a few times before, we barraged the babysitter with way too much information about the house, the pets, the baby, etc., and contingency plans for at least 6 possible scenarios. I like to think our over-explanations are endearing. But she probably thought we were neurotic.

After convincing the sitter that we are certifiably nuts, we headed out and only briefly broke out singing a catchy children's song in the car before we caught ourselves. Dinner was amazingly delicious, the pace was leisurely, and the conversation was "grown-up". The real mark of a big night out? I had two glasses of wine with dinner. Livin' it up, baby. Livin' it up.

Love Nuggets

It's Valentine's Day. And that means McNuggets.

Minh and don't really celebrate Valentine's Day, but we have been going out to lunch on Thursdays. And this week he requested that we go to McDonalds so he can take advantage of their during-lent-sale on Filet-O-Fish Sandwiches (2 for $3).

I, myself, do not enjoy the Filet-O-Fish, but am loking forward to a feast of McNuggets. Can you smell the romance in the air? Or is that just the french fries?

How Hillary Won Massachusetts

Minh and I did not vote in Super Tuesday's primary. A serires of unfortunate events precluded us from getting to the polls and casting our votes for Barack Obama. It's all Tai's fault.

After standing idly by as Tai got more and more sick all weekend, we finally took him to the doctor on Monday morning. We went to their "walk-in hours" and the sign on the door indicated that those hours are only for "acutely ill" patients. As we walked in I thought, "well, I don't know if he's acutely ill." Forty-five minutes later, we were escorted out those same doors and into an ambulance by paramedics.

OK, I guess he was acutely ill.

Tai has RSV, which caused bronchiolitis. The big rush to get to the hospital was because he was having trouble breathing and very dehydrated. After 3 treatments with a nebulizer, 6 hours in the ER, one overnight in the hospital, and an IV full of lots of good stuff, we were discharged. This got us home around 6pm Tuesday night. (OK, the polls don't technically close until 8pm, but come on!)

Minh has speculated that Tai was not actually as sick as they led us to believe, but that the doctors were all Hillary fans and they pegged us as Obama supporters when we walked in. So they "needed" to keep Tai overnight "for observation" just to ensure that Obama did not win Massachusetts. The worst part is, Obama only lost Massachusetts by 2 votes! (OK, not really but it was a close race.)

I myself have a couple alternative theories as to why all this happened (apart from the obvious one that Tai picked up the virus at daycare and his overly-laid-back parents did not get him to the doctor soon enough.)

(1) It was all just a ploy on Tai's part to be allowed to suck on his pacifier all day long and watch unlimited cartoons. If it was all an act, he had everyone fooled. And he did indeed get to "nuk" and watch TV to his little heart's content.

(2) Minh somehow caused the whole ruckus in order to replenish his stash of stolen medical supplies. We now have a decade's worth of medical tape in the house. (Side note: remember all those prenatal visits he went to, playing the role of supportive husband?...He really only came along to steal latex gloves. When that supply runs out, I'll know it's time to get pregnant again.)

Whatever the reason, we did indeed have a crazy week and Obama never got our two votes. But Tai is nearly back to his old self, as evidenced by his re-discovered love of chasing the cats around the house. Here's hoping for a relaxing weekend....

I Have Sexy Underwear

Last night Minh went and played poker with Tai's friend's dad and a bunch of his friends (see if you can follow that!) Anyway, while he sitting in an unheated basement losing $40, Tai was asleep and I had the place to myself.

Naturally, I spent my time cleaning out my sock and underwear drawers.

What? Yeah, I don't know what came over me. It's not a task I particularly enjoy, nor one that I had on my mental "to do" list. I'm not even sure how it happened. Suddenly, there I was sorting through mountains of underwear, all of which is BT and some of which is from the previous millenium. Not kidding.

But, shoved behind the pile of "everyday wear" and underneath a jumble of maternity underwear, I actually found some nice stuff. You know, the kind of stuff you wear before you get pregnant.

So now the maternity underwear and nursing bras are all safely tucked away for "next time." And my underwear drawer now resembles the drawer of a younger, sexier, me. Now I just need to find occasion to wear some of it. :)

It Must be the New Shoes...

Look at him go!

A Net Gain of 6 Words

Everyone knows that your salary is proportional to the number of words in your job title, right? That's why I've decided to trade in the pithy title of "Research Manager" for my new and improved identity of "Assistant Director of Institutional Research and Educational Assessment".

Yeah, that's right, eight words. Count 'em.

Unfortunately, my husband (who, by the way, thinks I have an unnatural propensity for abbreviating things) has taken to condensing my new title into the acronym ADIREA, which sounds kinda like "a diarrhea" when pronounced. Lovely.

So yes, in case you have not heard, I'm starting a new job in March. If my "here's my new email address" message somehow did not get to you, drop me a line and I'll let you know how to get in touch with me from now on.

The Nudist

Most of you know that our cat Nibbles is transgendered (post-op). But what you may not know...what we ourselves did not know until recently... is that Smudge identifies as a nudist.

We woke up one morning and he was naked. OK, that happens. Probably a by-product of some energetic wrestling with Nibbles overnight. So we put his collar back on and went about our business. Mere hours later he was naked again. "Hmmmph," I thought, as I examined the collar. "Is it broken? Is it bothering him -- too tight? too lose?" We put it back on him again. He took it off again.

This little dance continued for 2 or 3 days until we gave up. I think it's been about a week now that he's been prancing around the house absolutely naked. And I swear I detect a little more of a spring in his step.

I haven't completely given up yet though. I intend to buy him a shiny NEW collar and see if that does the trick. I wonder if he might just be sick of yellow (it's so last season) and craving a new look for himself. But if that doesn't work we may have to give in and accept his new lifestyle.

The Power Mullet is Gone

Tai had his first haricut this past Saturday. The power mullet is no more (except for the lock we have stashed in his baby book).



He did really well sitting still for the haircut and, for the most part, it looks pretty good. The only thing we really take issue with is the lack of sideburns. The overzealous hairdresser buzzed them clean off with her clippers and now Minh says that Tai looks a bit like Billy Bob Thornton in Slingblade (see pictures below). Maybe we can enter him in a Look Alike contest and make some cash off of this situation?

Goodbye, Hogwarts

After about seven months of re-reading the entire Harry Potter series, I have finally finished the seventh and final book. I've been immersed in that little world for so long now that I'm a bit sad to have finished--especially knowing there are no future installments to look forward to. But there are still two more movies to anxiously await.

Impressively, I managed to survive all these months without hearing any spoilers, unless you count the graffiti on the Mount Holyoke sidewalks that said, "Voldemort Lives" and "Harry Dies". But I didn't put too much stock in the Sidewalk Literary Critic, as I've seen cartoon penises drawn on these same sidewalks.

I won't spoil the ending here, in case there could possibly be anyone out there further behind the rest of the world than me. I will say that I am proud to have correctly predicted two major pieces of the story and pleasantly surprised that JK Rowling had a couple tricks up her sleeve that I never would have seen coming.

The very end was a bit disappointing, but that's to be expected. It must have been very difficult to wrap up a seven book series, and I think she did pretty well.

I'm Getting Too Much Work Done

Tai is starting to wean. For right now, that means he's nursing in the morning and at bedtime, but not throughout the day. So I no longer have to tote my pump to work and sit in a back room three times a day to get him milk to bring to daycare. And I no longer get to sit in a back room three times a day and read magazines for 15 minutes at a stretch.

I miss those little breaks.

Without those 15-minute interruptions I'm getting far too much work done this week. Maybe I should pretend I still need to pump and just go take a little cat nap back there once in a while. Or maybe I should take up smoking so I can take cigarette breaks. Actually, since it's about 5 degrees out today, outdoor breaks have little appeal.

So, here I sit. No pending home-purchase to fret over. No wedding to plan. No baby on the way. And no pumping breaks. What am I supposed to do? Work all day? Maybe Minh is right -- it's time to renovate the house.

Happy Birthday, Tai

12-27-06: 5 lbs 10 oz
12-27-07: 20-something lbs


12-27-06: "waaaaaaahhhhh"
12-27-07: "mama," "dada," "uh-oh"


12-27-06: sleep, sleep, sleep
12-27-07: sleep, eat, walk, play, sign, talk

Jingle Hell

Dashing down the Pike,
Headed to the 'rents.
Kathy said, "oh crap!"
We forgot all the presents!

So around we turned
And headed back home, west.
Snatched up all the gifts
Our moods were not the best!

Oh! Tai woke up! Tai woke up!
He fussed all the way east.
He was hungry and grumpy,
Not to say the least!

Oh! Tai woke up! Tai woke up!
Nothing calmed him down.
Then of course, he dozed off,
Just as we rolled into town.

Tai's Weekend

As the calendar year comes to an end, so does the first year of Tai's life. We spent the weekend with friends and Tai managed to squeeze in several new "firsts" before turning one.

First eggplant pizza
First real trip into Boston (Logan doesn't count)
First Celtics game
***First time sitting in the LAST row, right under the luxury boxes
***First (and last?) time nursing near loud, drunk sports fans
***First time staying up WAY past bedtime
First blueberry blintzes
First time falling so hard he bit his tongue and bled
First time seeing, and being amazed by, a lit Christmas tree

Merry Christmas!

Bad Mom Story

Yesterday I desperately needed change for a $20 so that Tai and I could run a devious Christmas Errand on our way home from work/daycare. When no co-worker could change a $20 for me (doesn't anyone carry cash anymore?) someone suggested I pop by a local cafe and get myself a hot steamy treat, and the necessary change. I thought that sounded like an excellent plan.

After picking Tai up at "school" we headed straight to the cafe. Tai has been there a couple times for mommy-and-baby lunches (ah, maternity leave...the good old days) so he's familiar with the scene. With Tai on my hip I ordered my latte to go. As we waited by the counter for my coffee, Tai looked around the room at all the people enjoying lunch and made the sign for "eat. "

I pretended I did not see it.

Coming straight from work, I did not have the diaper bag with me, so I had no snacks for him. Not a single raisin or Cheerio. Nothing. And I was not about to buy him an $8 sandwich and make a big production out of sitting down and eating. (In my defense, he'd already had lunch at daycare). So I pretended not to notice that he was signing "eat" and staring hungrily at other people's plates.

When my latte was ready, I grabbed it and we headed out the door toward the car. Boy, did that piss him off! He doesn't speak English yet, so his protests were all in "baby" but I'm pretty sure they would have translated to something along the lines of, "What the hell? I thought you were taking me out to lunch?!"

Once we got back in the car, he settled down, but I think held a grudge for an hour or so.

I've Been Blocked

I just tried to email an elementary school, as part of my job, and their spam filter blocked my email and sent it back to me. The spam filter was, however, nice enough to tell me why I was being blocked. It was because my email contained the word "Cialis." In case you don't know, Cialis is a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. If you don't know what erectile dysfunction is I'm not going to explain it here.


Yes, my email to an elementary school did indeed contain the string "cialis". Because the email started with "Dear Principals and Reading Specialists". Wow, that's a hard-core spam filter. They put me in my place.

Benefits of Motherhood

There are so many wonderful things about being a mother I could not possibly list them all here. They include the indescribable feeling you get when your baby looks at you and smiles and the warm fuzziness generated by watching your baby sleep peacefully. Not to mention the fact that you get to play with toys as an adult and not be seen as a freak.

But perhaps best of all is that I now have a ready-made legitimate excuse that gets me out of any social obligation. Specifically, I am unable to attend this year's Office Holiday Party because it's on a Friday afternoon and I'm home with the baby on Friday afternoons. Family members are not invited to the festivities, so I can't even bring him along. Aw, shucks. I'll miss out on eating lasagna off a paper plate while standing around a crowded living room as well as the never-ending 40 person Yankee Swap. There goes my chance to walk away with a wonderful gift valued at $7.50.

Luckily, they usually make an effort to set aside Holiday Bonuses for those who cannot attend the party, so I should still get mine. I wonder what it will be this year? It's always some item with the company's name on it. Sometimes a t-shirt, or a pad of post-its. Last year it was a rape-whistle/flashlight/keychain combo. Very useful.

Job Interview Tips

If I could give folks out there just ONE piece of advice when going for a job interview it would be this: show up.

This past Saturday we were supposed to be interviewing a potential new dog walker (ours will be doing a semester in India starting later this month). Anyway, we set the interview for 10am Saturday morning and she never showed. And I have not received a call or an email from her with an overly detailed excuse either. Nothing.

Needless to say, she did not get the job. If I'm trusting you with my dog's bladder, not to mention a key to my house, you need to be able to be somewhere when you say you will. Is that too much to ask?

My Denim Identity

The only pair of jeans that fit my current body have recently sprung a giant hole in one knee. And since it is no longer 1992, I can't quite pull off that look. (At least, not without my plaid flannel shirts and Chuck Taylor high tops.)

So last night I ventured out to Old Navy in search of replacement jeans. It was not an easy task. These days, in addition to finding the right size, you also have to figure out what "jean type" you are. Determining your Denim Identity at Old Navy is a lot like figuring out your Starbucks order (are you a grande non-fat half-caf mocha? or a tall half-fat all-caf latte?)

Where Old Navy jeans are concerned, you first have to determine whether you are a Sweetheart, a Flirt, or a Diva. Apparently, Sweethearts like their jeans to sit just below the belly button, Diva's like them so low that their ass crack shows, and Flirts are somewhere in between. Once you have chosen the appropriate sluttiness factor, you have to choose your:

Length--short, regular, or long
Leg style -- boot cut, skinny leg, wide leg, straight leg, or flare
Wash -- light or dark

It was an evening of self-discovery. After two trips to the dressing room and 10 pairs of jeans pulled on and off my body, I now know that I am a Sweetheart, regular, boot-leg, dark wash, thank you very much.

Vacation: Part IV

It's Tough to be Three

Our vacation concluded with a four-day visit at the home of Minh's sister, brother-in-law, and three year old niece, Scuppy. During our stay there, Tai got lots of good quality time with his aunt and uncle as well as his grandparents and he got to meet his great-grandmother for the first time.

Apparently Scuppy and her mom had spent the previous week getting ready for our visit -- baby proofing the house, setting up the pack-n-play, and locating and washing all of Scuppy's old baby toys. She was very excited about the prospect of her baby cousin coming to live at her house for a few days.

Until we got there.

The first 90 minutes or so were great. Scuppy was so excited to see us and she and Tai were fascinated with each other. And then Tai had the nerve to start touching her stuff. Scuppy became very possessive of her things and frustrated at Tai's inability to understand essential English phrases such as: "Stop touching me," "You can't play with that," and the ever-popular "Don't crawl there."

The poor thing. She's three and (thus far) an only child. I understand that it's hard to have your world disrupted by a little crawly-grabby-drooly guy. All the adults in the house expended much effort talking to Scuppy about Tai and babies and about sharing. We'd never let Scuppy know, but Minh and I found it pretty funny the way she scowled at him. To the left is a picture of her patented Furrowed Brow that she employed whenever Tai got too close.

It was really too bad she had such a hard time, because all Tai wanted to do was be near her. Credit goes to Scuppy, though, for owning her issues and admitting them publicly. Tai was playing in the yard with some plastic cups and then Scuppy decided she wanted to play with them. Instead of battling her, we let her have the cups and moved Tai over to a very low swing that he could hold on to and swing back and forth. Suddenly, Scuppy announced that she wanted to use that swing. I asked her if she really wanted to use it, or only because Tai was using it and she proudly stated, "Only because Tai is using it."

I should say that it was not all bad. They did indeed have some stretches of quality time together (see picture, right). This was excellent practice for Scuppy, though, because in March 2008 she will be getting a baby brother. Luckily, he won't be born crawling and grabbing at her things, so she'll have several months to warm up to him.

Vacation: Part III

Ten Things I learned while in California:

1. Californians do not wear pantyhose to weddings. Not even the women.

2. Everyone in California owns a dog. I think it's a state law or something.

3. California is not the best place to order a Philly cheese steak. (Not sure why I didn't just know that one intuitively. )

4. A little hair gel goes a long way.

5. Enormous plates of cheese during the cocktail hour of a wedding are incredibly baby-friendly.

6. I can, in fact, take part in a wedding ceremony without swearing on the altar. I didn't even mess up the reading.

7. Pandas really are that cute in person and hippos and polar bears are surprisingly graceful swimmers.

8. The plain old ducks and pigeons that live at the zoo are more interesting to Tai than the peacocks and flamingos.

9. The "Brockton Villa" in La Jolla is really nothing like Brockton, Massachusetts at all. It's MUCH nicer.

10. Never mind the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and other attractions....all Tai really needs to be happy is a patch of grass to crawl on and some seagulls to watch.

Vacation: Part II

Everybody Loves Milk.


The night before we headed to the San Diego Zoo, we used our dying laptop and the shaky internet connection in our villa to check out the live panda cam. What did we see? A mommy panda nursing her cub. Then the two of them fell asleep all snuggled up together. It was ridiculously adorable and got me even more excited for our trip to the zoo.


The next day, while touring the zoo, we happened upon a family of Red River Hogs having lunch. Well, the babies were having lunch--they were nursing. You can see in the picture below the underside of the mom's chin is on the right. She's laying on her side nursing the three babies.



About an hour later, while we were visiting the African elephants, we saw this:





It might be hard to see, but that momma elephant has a baby standing just behind her front left leg, nursing.














At the end of the day, as he headed out to the parking lot, Minh spied another exotic creature feeding its young.

This little guy must have gotten hungry watching all those other animals drink their milk. And none of those mothers even had the decency to cover up!


















Just after Minh snapped it's photo, the baby wild animal popped up with a very satiated, "milk-drunk" look on it's face.

Vacation: Part I

Travelling across the country with an infant is every bit as fun as it looks.


We are now "those people." You know, the ones you see in the airport and think "why don't they just stay home?" The ones you HATE to be stuck behind in line. We descended upon Logan Airport with 4 suitcases, a car seat wrapped in a black trash bag, two carry-ons, and a stroller. Oh, and a baby who did not want to be in the stroller. With the help of my parents, we navigated the hour-long line to check bags and get boarding passes. (Jet Blue's computers were all down, so there was no self-check-in and they were giving out hand-written boarding passes.)

Once that hurtle was conquered, we glided through security relatively unencumbered. With the stroller folded up on the x-ray belt, I carried Tai through the metal detector, after passing up two opportunities to make breast milk jokes to the TSA folks. I can't tell you how hard it was to restrain myself when they said, "If you have any liquids for the baby you need to take them out."

This was our first time flying Jet Blue. We mostly chose them because of the insanely cheap direct flight from Boston to San Diego. But the fact that there is a mini-TV in front of each person didn't hurt either. They even have a Google Maps channel that shows you your current air speed, elevation, and location on a map of the US, so that every now and then you can flip to that station and think, "Oh god, we've only come as far as Indiana?"

We figured the TV might help keep Tai calm and quite during the flight. But he was actually not all that interested in it. He was much happier peeking between the seats at the people behind us and giggling at them. Once he fell asleep, though, I found the mini-TV very useful. Or, at least, I thought it would be useful. There I was, 37,000 feet in the air, belted into my seat with Tai sleeping deeply on my full bladder, at 9pm EST on a Thursday. Time for Grey's Anatomy. But wait, Jet Blue offers 37 channels of digital cable and not a single ABC affiliate! It was like some little-known level of hell, sitting there having to pee and knowing that Grey's was on and I was unable to tune in.

Tai was a trooper. He slept for about 1/3 of the flight and only really got stir-crazy for the last 20 minutes or so. And even though we landed in San Diego at 9pm (midnight, EST) and then had to get our bags, shuttle to the car rental place, and wait for our car for about 45 minutes, he held it together.

With the exception of potato chips on the flight, Minh and I had not eaten since about 1pm EST. originally, I thought we'd stop and get something to eat on the way to the condo, but by the time we got our rental car it was so late and Tai was so tired, that we just went straight there and went to bed. Of course, Tai woke us up at 4am the next day, ready to go. We fed him some baby food and played with him, and the proceeded to wait a very long time for restaurants to open. There was no food in the condo and the tap water tasted like dirt. It was a painful 4 hours--I almost broke down and ate a jar of baby food. Needless to say, we were waiting outside the door of a local greasy spoon when they opened at 8am.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Purple Nurples

I have thrush. For those of you who don't know, thrush is a yeast infection of the booby. It's awesomely painful when Tai nurses.

In addition to a 10-day course of Diflucan, everyone who knows anything about thrush recommends gentian violet as a topical treatment. So, that's what I wanted to get. I called a local CVS and was thrilled to find they had one bottle left (apparently the stuff is kind of hard to come by, even in the hippy-dippy valley). Later that afternoon I was amazed at how....well, violet...the gentian violet is. Tai's been going to school each morning looking like a goth high schooler wearing deep purple lipstick. All he needs to complete the look is a black onesie and a book of poetry under his arm.

I am also stained deep purple...though not on my lips :)

Update

Well, the San Diego fire is even worse than I realized when I first posted. I talked to Charlie (the San Diego groom-to-be) yesterday and he described all the smoke and ash in the air and how it feels very Katrina-esque there. And he's not even IN San Diego yet.

The bride's family, as well as Minh's California family, are all safe and sound, though some have been relocated from their homes.

Charlie assured me that the fires are not in downtown San Diego, where the wedding will take place on Nov 3rd. He's confident the wedding is still on, but is waiting a bit before making any final decisions. So, we're sitting tight hoping that mother nature sends some rain their way...

San Diego's on Fire!

We're flying to San Diego a week from Thursday and, unfortunately, SD county is currently ablaze. People are being evacuated and losing their homes. And my friends must be terribly worried that this will ruin their wedding plans (and to think, I was all stressed out over a little rain on my wedding day).

Even worse, the Wild Animal Park is closed. And this is after we purchased three-park-passes from Costco to get us into the Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, and Sea World. Perhaps I am destined to never get my day at the Zoo? At least Sea World should still be open despite the fires, since it's underwater.

You Know You Live in The Valley When....

...you accidentally step into someone else's black Dansko clogs and wear them home without noticing.

You see, in order to go into Tai's "classroom" at "school" you have to take off your shoes. They like to keep the floor very clean, what with all the babies crawling around. So last Friday I apparently slipped out of my brown clogs and went in to pick up my boy. After chatting with his teachers and another mother for about 15 minutes, I left the room and stepped into the other mother's black clogs and went on my way.

I didn't realize what I had done until Sunday morning when I noticed that our shoe shelf at home contained two pairs of black clogs.....and no brown ones. I instantly knew what I had done. Luckily, the other mother was good natured about it (and willing to wear my brown clogs home Friday afternoon). She emailed me yesterday wondering if perhaps I knew where her shoes were spending the weekend.

Apparently, I need some more distinctive shoes....

New Life in the Neighborhood

Two of our neighbors have just adopted new pets. One one side of us is Jerry, the 8 week old grey tiger kitten. And across the street is Miles, the 8 week old German Short-haired Pointer. They are both adorable and we are taking full advantage of every opportunity to play with them both. Buttons has met Miles and it seems like they will be good friends. Miles enjoys chew toys and rough-housing. I think he'll be interested in chasing Buttons around before too long, which will just delight her to no end. Tai has met both Jerry and Miles, and is particularly taken with Jerry. Jerry enjoys chasing after kitty toys and coming to a halt so quickly that his whole body flips over. He's also into snuggling on his mom's lap.


This is all happening just a few days after I stepped outside to visit with some neighbors and realized that we have three little boys in the neighborhood, each only six months apart. Tai is the youngest and the oldest will turn 2 at the end of next month. And the two young couples who have adopted the pets are each at different stages in the popular cat-then-dog-then-baby plan. So it looks like we'll have even more babies around before too long. Pheasant Lane is just bursting with new life! I love it!

Life's Little Pleasures

The other night I dreamed that Minh and I won a year's supply of chocolate milk and Chicken McNuggets. It was the best dream I've had in a long time.

The Shit Hit the Fan...

...of course, by"the fan" I really mean my feet.


The other night Minh was out returning a piece of rented equipment to Home Depot (yes, we rented more heavy machinery...more on that in a future post, if you're good) and I was bathing and putting Tai to bed by myself. No big deal--I often handle bath and bedtime by myself. Usually the only tricky part is wrestling a squirming Tai into his PJs without (1) letting him climb down off the changing table, (2) zipping his wriggly skin into his PJs, or (3) cursing at him. I can usually manage to avoid pitfall numbers 1 and 2. Let's leave it at that.


So, fully aware of the green beans and baby carrots boiling on the stove, I plopped Tai down in the bathtub and we proceeded to have a delightful time splashing, playing, and washing. This is always the best part of the day for both of us. But just as the fun was ending and the last drops of water drained from the tub, Tai pooped. Excellent. He's pooped in the tub before, but I always had backup. This time I was on my own. But really, since the tub was already empty this was pretty easily fixed. I plucked him from the wreckage and left the poop there to be dealt with later. Mentally reminding myself to check on the beans and carrots as soon as Tai was in his crib, I carried a dripping wet, and rather poopy baby to the changing table. Once his ass was wiped and diapered I dried him off and forced him into his pajamas.


OK, now I just had to nurse him, put him to bed, and go check on those beans and carrots. Oh, and THEN go clean the poop out of the tub. I had everything under control.


But actually, Tai was the one in control. He has instituted a new regime of Refusing to Go to Bed. Despite the smell of poop saturating his room, I nursed him to sleep. But as I lowered him into the crib he snapped awake and started screaming his head off. We returned to the glider and nursed and rocked some more, still marveling that the poop could smell so strongly that the odor was wafting across the hall, under his closed door, and into his room. A few minutes later, when I walked near the crib with him in my arms, he started screaming again. OK, back to the glider for more rocking with a pacifier and Emmit, Tai's favorite stuffed animal. We rocked and rocked and rocked. He was not falling asleep.


Suddenly I smelled another odor, layered over the smell of poop. It was the smell of...well, of burning. "Oh shit," I thought, all the water must have evaporated from that pot and I was about to burn the house down. Like it or not, I put Tai in his crib and ran to the stove to find that the beans and carrots were now black and becoming one with the bottom of the pot.


Just as I was heroically saving us from a house fire (that would have been my fault) Minh arrived home tired, sore, sweaty, and dirty after a long day of manual labor. He came in to find the house smelled like fire, the baby was SCREAMING in his crib and his wife's feet were smeared with baby poop. Apparently, some poop fell out from between my son's ass cheeks and landed on the top of my foot and then I crossed my feet at the ankles while nursing Tai and rubbed it all over both my feet (no wonder it smelled so bad in his room!)


Good husband that he is, Minh cleaned up the poop in the bathtub while I washed my feet and then went back in to nurse Tai some more (when in doubt, give 'em milk, right?) Tai finally went to bed, the house is still standing, and poop washes off. So, in the end, all was well. Whew!

No Turning Back

Once you've put three coats of dark red paint on your bathroom walls, there really is no changing your mind, even if you are not in love with it. So, here it is. Despite my concerns that it would look too patriotic, we did end up using "magic spell" blue to soften the transition between the red walls and the white ceiling. Minh painted some crown moulding and put that up. It looks a little patriotic. But like I said, no turning back now.

So, it's a conversation piece. Some folks will love it, some will hate it. Minh and Tai and I will live with it. It's actually pretty cute and fun, which works well since it's "Tai's bathroom". But the next time I start talking about painting something, someone needs to (gently) remind me of the following:

* I get really excited about painting projects

* I have little patience for all the prep and clean-up associated with painting

* I'm not a very neat and careful painter (this is especially noticeable when painting a very dark color, as I now know)

* I don't actually like executing my grand painting schemes (can't I just be the idea person?)

Somehow, in between painting projects, I always forget all the miserable parts and only remember the fun of coming up with the idea and the satisfaction of the end product. I block out all the miserable in-between stuff. Maybe it's like childbirth. They say that if women actually remembered all the pain (and not just the happy end-result) no one would have more than one kid. I guess I should keep that in mind for the future too :)

Number 1 and Number 2

Our cats have two litter boxes for some strange reason that I cannot remember. What fascinates me is that they seem to have both agreed on a system of exclusively peeing in the box on the right and pooping in the box on the left. Who says animals don't communicate with each other?

The Perfect Storm

This weekend Tai was suffering from all of the following, simultaneously:

an ear infection
a high fever
a runny nose
constipation
oh, and he's cutting his top teeth as well.

But we had plans for the weekend. So we packed up our sick kid, the Tylenol, the teething tablets, and the Amoxicillin and headed east to visit some friends. Tai actually did quite well. He had a great time visiting his buddy Aaron and playing with all of Aaron's toys.

The high fever actually did not show up until we we already at Aaron's house. (I'd just like to point out that there are actually some cases in which I would have cancelled my plans and kept Tai home. He did not have a fever when we headed east). But that night, at 3am, he woke up on fire. His temp was over 102 and we were in an unfamiliar house, far from home. Poor thing. Minh and I dosed Tai with the Tylenol and then I put Tai in the wrap and paced the house until he fell back asleep around 4:30am.

The next morning he was feeling better so we decided to take him out for his very first Dim Sum -- Tai enjoyed some shrimp and pork along with his baby cereal puffs. Then we said goodbye to Aaron and brought Tai to a high end mall where we can barely afford to window shop. The only reason we set foot in that place was to visit a friend who works in a pricey baby boutique. He was feeling feverish again and getting grumpy, so naturally we decided to torture and humiliate him by making him try on a Halloween costume. I knew he'd only stand for trying on ONE costume, so we had to choose wisely.

This Halloween, Tai will greet the trick-or-treaters who ring our doorbell dressed as a Kangaroo.