Tai's Third Camping Trip

We're just back from our third camping trip as parents. Each year we manage to get to the DAR at least once and each year it presents new joys and unique challenges.

2007: Tai wanted nothing more than to roll around on the ground and practice trying to crawl. This proves difficult on a rocky campsite. He had to settle for sitting in camp chairs.

2008: Being 18 months old and walking, Tai had a much better time camping. He also got to bring a friend. This year's activities consisted of hikes in the ergo, collecting acorns, and throwing sand into the lake.

2009: Tai was once again accompanied by his good friend Natasha, but this time also by his 11-week-old sister, Quynh. Tai and Natasha hiked on their own feet, rode in a canoe, splashed in the lake, and imagined up all sorts of games around the campsite. Quynh happily sat in a lap, rode in the ergo, or relaxed in what is now her camp chair.

Ahhh....Toddlerhood

I am truly the mom of a potty-training toddler. I have picked poop off the floor and out of Finding Nemo underwear. We're getting there. Slowly.

A couple priceless examples of Tai's take on this process:

Last week when we arrived at school I asked Tai to tell his teacher about what he did on the potty that morning. He immediately rattled off, "I went pee on the potty and I tried to go poop, but I didn't. But mama did." Thanks for sharing, Tai.

This morning, Tai was watching a show buck naked on our new and very expensive couch. I noticed he was holding his penis so I asked, "Do you have to go potty?" and he said "No." So I asked, "Then why are you holding your penis?" and he said "I'm afraid to get pee pee on the couch." Smart kid. He knows fine furniture when he sees it.

Adventures in Potty Training

In our house, anyone who puts pee or poop in the potty gets to ring a bell. It's very exciting. And loud, so it let's the whole household know what's going on.

Yesterday morning before school, Tai peed in the potty, rang the bell, and then put on underwear. A mere 10 minutes later he peed while standing by the couch in the playroom. We rushed to the potty to see if he could finish there, but he told me that "I peed it all out in my underwear." We put on dry underwear and moved on. I tossed a hand towel down on the wet spot, stepped on it a couple times, and tossed the towel in the washer. A little toddler pee is no big deal, I figured.

That evening, we were all down in the playroom and Minh asked why the floor by the couch was wet. I recounted the story and explained that I must not have cleaned up very well after the accident. Minh grabbed a fresh towel, threw it down and stepped on it. And when that was soaked through he grabbed another towel and did the same. And then another. After he had soaked 4 or 5 towels we decided we either had a kid with the world's largest bladder or there was some secondary source of dampness.

Minh did the Sniff Test and determined that the cats had not taken it upon themselves to mark the spot where Tai had peed (whew!)

Then he went in the utility room (to get another towel) and found water all over the basement floor. Rain was literally streaming in by the bulkhead door. So....after living here for 6 years with a bone dry unfinished basement, we now have a sopping wet finished basement. Awesome.

Minh stayed up till 3am last night using the shop vac to suck up as much as he could, while the rain continued. Due to those efforts, we seem to have contained the wetness to one corner of the playroom. Luckily, the company that did the work "guarantees" it and will come out soon to assess the situation and make a plan to resolve problem. But, somehow, even after living without a playroom for so many years, the thought of living without one for (days? weeks? a month?) is horrifying.

The good news is, Tai kept his underwear dry all morning at school. And the Potty Bell was rung last night before bed and again this morning. We're getting there.....

Places I've Recently Found Baby Poo

on the back of my hand,
on Quynh's foot,
on the sleeve of my sweatshirt,
on the sheets of my bed,
and (occasionally) inside a diaper.

Quynh's Birth Story

I've had two children and two unmedicated births. But I can only take "credit" for the first one. Quynh's birth was so fast that they wouldn't have given me an epidural even if I had bribed the anesthesiologist. Still, her story will be told.

On May 27th, I tucked Tai into bed and said, "stay in your room until your night light turns off" instead of "come find me when your night light turns off" because I had a feeling I might not be home at 6:30 the next morning.

8pm: Minh and I sat down to watch a movie. I was having some short, mild contractions. Not unlike what I had off and on for the previous months. Still, I wondered if I might be going into labor, as I watched a woman die during childbirth in the opening scene of Benjamin Buttons. (Not the best movie choice for the occasion, in retrospect).

11pm: We finished the movie, which ends with a baby dying (again, not the best film choice that night). At this point I was pretty sure I was in labor, though Minh was still not convinced. We discussed possibly needing to call someone to come stay with Tai, but Minh figured we wouldn't need to leave for the hospital until after breakfast the next morning. I disagreed and, in preparation for a long night, I ate a giant bowl of Cheerios and went to lay down and rest.

11:30pm: I got back up, certain I was in labor. Spent a few minutes convincing my husband of this fact. Next I called the doula to warn her that she too was in for a long, sleepless night. Then I got down to serious business -- washing dishes, changing the sheets on our bed, packing Tai's lunch for the next day, and ordering Minh around. Minh, finally convinced this was the real deal, ate a bowl of instant noodles and then opened up the Bradley Natural Childbirth book and began cramming for the final exam.

12:00am: Minh arranged for our friend Scott to come stay in our bed and take care of Tai in the morning. Then he called the doctor and described the nature and frequency of my contractions. They suggested I stay home a bit longer. Minh dutifully relayed this information to me and then promptly called the doctor back and told them that his wife said we are going to the hospital NOW.

12:45am: Scott arrived and greeted me with a big smile and a "hey, how ya doin'?" (Seriously? Men, I swear.) Minh gave Scott all the necessary instructions and we pulled out of the driveway around 1am. I rode the whole way to the hospital with my eyes closed (partially because I was trying to relax, but mostly because I was scared to see how fast Minh was driving.)

1:20am: We arrived at the hospital (in record time) and Minh endured 4 contractions on the way from the car to the childbirth center. Yes, Minh endured them. For him, this meant letting me throw all my body weight on him and moan and groan, in public, while he was holding two duffel bags, two pillows, and trying to act casual. The folks smoking their cigarettes in the parking lot outside the ER gave us funny looks, I think. But seriously, Minh was a rock star of a hubby during all this, making sure I had whatever I needed. He didn't even piss me off by cracking a stupid joke (this time).

1:40 am: I received the most wonderful news--that I was 9.5 cm along and could pretty much push right away.

1:45am - 2:55am: Lots of messy details no one needs. A grouchy OB, a wonderful husband, a helpful doula, and I somehow managed to get Quynh born. There was yelling and swearing as I attempted to educate the OB on my pioneer valley hippy-dippy views about unmedicated birth while giving birth. And then we forgot to ask for the placenta until after they had cleaned up the room and our doula went running out into the hallway to track it down. The folks at that hospital undoubtedly think we are truly weird.

7:30am: I talked to Scott and learned that, upon waking and finding him in our bed, Tai burst out with laughter. We had been worried that it would be traumatic for him to see someone else in our place, but apparently not. Minh then began to wonder if perhaps that was not the first time Tai has seen Scott in our bed. But Quynh looks decidedly Vietnamese, so no paternity tests have been ordered.

Friday May 30th: As we headed home as a family of four, we stopped at the nurses' station to say goodbye. They said, "come see us again sometime" and Minh promptly replied "hell no!" We are done. This will be the last birth story I write.

All About Tai

Yes, Quynh is a major topic of conversation these days, but I cannot neglect to share all the wonderful Tai stories of the moment. First, to answer everyone's most pressing question these days, Tai is a fantastic big brother and is very sweet with Quynh. He's less sweet with me and Minh--frequently testing limits and throwing tantrums. But he's wonderful with his sister. Some of his favorite activities these days are:

(1) picking out an outfit for Quynh to wear
(2) petting Quynh on the head and holding her hand
(3) winding up her mobile and turning on her swing

The other day on the way home with both kids in the car, Quynh started crying pretty hard. Tai immediately started saying, "It's OK Quynh. We're almost home. Getting closer and closer." it was so sweet I almost melted.

Tai was fascinated with breastfeeding.....until he saw me pump. Now that is his current obsession. I often find my pump bag open with various parts strewn on the floor -- evidence that Tai was "pumping" without me. Last night at dinner he actually got in trouble for playing with his food -- he was pumping by shoving a hamburger roll up under his shirt. And here's a typical Saturday morning conversation:

T: Mama, can we pump now?
K: Yes
T: I'll set up the pumper!!!

But Tai's whole life does not revolve around his sister. He's still going to school 4 days a week and comes home with lots of stories about climbing, swimming, and playing with the other toddlers and even the pre-schoolers. He does appear to be 2 going on 14, however. His new favorite answer to most questions is "nothing" (pronounced "nuffin"). What did you do at school today? nuffin. What did you eat for lunch? nuffin. Who should walk Buttons this afternoon? nuffin.

Puzzles are his new favorite toy. And not those really easy baby puzzles, either. Real jigsaw puzzles. He has one of a farm that he does at least 3 times a day. Faster and faster each time. And when you sit down to do it with him he usually reminds you, "you have to start with the edges."

Finally, the fascination with trucks, construction equipment, and power tools continues, but is now matched by a concurrent obsession with dresses and tights. He's asked for tights a few times now and when we tell him we don't have any he asks us to buy him some. We may just have to. For dresses, size 4T t-shirts have sufficed this far. He likes to twirl around in them. But we are headed to a wedding in September and Tai has already requested that "mama wear a long dress and Tai can wear a long dress and we can dance!" So, for those of you who will be at that wedding, be prepared to see Tai in a dress and tights....with a HUGE smile on his face.

The First Month

Now that we have finished watching all five seasons of The Wire, I'll have my evenings free to do other things, like (a) housework, (b) sleep, or (c) blog. Try to control your excitement.

Quynh is already a month old, which means my leave is 1/3 over already. Time flies when you are parenting TWO kids. During the past month, I've learned alot about who Quynh is as a baby and how I've changed as a mother since Tai was born. Because everyone loves a numbered list.....

#1 Quynh is most happy sleeping on her tummy or her side (shhhhhh...don't tell! Minh even suggested we shave the hair off the back of her head so that the doctor thinks we always make her sleep on her back.)

#2 Quynh loves her daddy. Although I was predisposed to think any "smiles" at this point were still the result of gas, it does appear that she smiles in direct response to her daddy rubbing her head and playing silly games with her.

#3 I am sooooo laid back this time around (see item #1 above). I didn't even realize how laid back I am (or how uptight I was the first time) until I went to the hospital's New Parent Group and heard them all freaking out about how many hours to wait to nurse after having a cup of coffee (um, 5 minutes?) or what to do when the swaddle blanket gets dangerously close to the baby's nose and threatens to suffocate them (umm......nothing). It's adorable, really. They all seem so nervous to me. But last time around I fit right in, so I must have been that nervous too. This time I just lack the time or energy to worry that much.

#4 In some ways, we're more exhausted this time around. Taking care of Tai and household chores on top of infant care and (in Minh's case) work is pretty nuts. But in other ways we're not. I mean, Tai's been waking me up at 6am for as long as I can remember anyway. So it's not like we were snoozing till 10am on weekends before Quynh came along.

Overall, we're getting along just fine. Though it would be very handy if the second kid came with a third adult. Sometimes we just need an extra pair of hands.

Number Two

Quynh Mai was born on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 2:55am. She weighed-in at 7lbs 4oz.

No, you are not seeing double and I did not have twins. I just thought this was a good spot to showcase Tai and Quynh's "home from the hospital" pictures side by side. Quynh is on the left and Tai is on the right.

LEFT-overs

A couple months ago, we ordered Tai a table and four chairs for his new playroom.  Once the room was all done, Tai and Minh set to work assembling the furniture.  Adorably, they sat together on the living room floor and put together the table and three chairs, but the fourth chair could not be fully assembled, because it came with two front left legs (and no right right leg).  Luckily, Tai accepted the explanation that we needed to get a different part before we could use the blue chair.  Being just one kid, he was happy to have just the three chairs for a while.

I went online to the company's handy-dandy replacement part ordering website and ordered up a front-right-blue chair leg.  I triple checked the part number and hit submit.  Within a week, a package arrived.  It was another left leg.

So this time I called and spoke to a real person and explained which part we needed and gave her the part number.  Despite my being certain what is left and what is right, she suggested that I was mixing up parts 11 and 12 and decided to go ahead and send me both, just in case.  Within a week, another package arrived--this time containing both a left and a right leg.  So we now have one complete blue chair and two extra left legs.       

Then, a couple weeks ago, we made our first pilgrimage to the Promised Land of Inexpensive Furniture (IKEA) and bought, among other things, this for the playroom.  Finally, we thought, the playroom will be complete.  Not so.  The very first box Minh opened up, containing the centerpiece of the vast "storage system," included -- are you ready for it? -- two left walls.  No joke.  

After talking with the national IKEA customer service center, and the local store, Minh got them to agree to send us the missing part (originally they wanted us to drive our butts 1.5 hours to New Haven to pick it up).  Within a week, a package arrived.  Do I have to tell you what was in it?  Of course, it was another left-hand wall.  So, Minh called them back and explained the (still comical at this point) problem and they apologized and rush-ordered us another delivery.  This time, the package arrived in just 3 days.  Another left-hand wall.  

Seriously.  I could not make this up if I tried.

We have a call in to IKEA and are waiting to hear back.  We can only hope that they'll get it right this time.  And quickly.  If you know how Minh nests before babies arrive, you know it's killing him that we cannot finish organizing the playroom because of this one missing piece.   

Our house is now littered with extraneous left-hand parts.  If this keeps up much longer, we'll be ready to open our own children's furniture store.

Toddler Crack

I'm not sure what that put in the food at McDonald's, but it sure makes Tai happy and pleasant to be around.

This past weekend, after a trip to Home Depot to return the heavy machinery that Minh could not resist renting, we stopped at McDonald's for an afternoon snack.  Although he initially requested mac-n-cheese, Tai was really very pleased with his Happy Meal of McNuggets, apple slices, and chocolate milk.   He also scammed a few fries off our tray, of course.  What's not to like about a meal that involves three (!) dipping sauces (ketchup for the fries, sweet-n-sour for the nuggets, and caramel for the apples)?

Now, we've been to this particular McDonald's once before and learned (the hard way) that Tai cannot focus on his food if we sit in the room with the indoor play structure.  Thinking we were being slick, Minh went and grabbed a high chair out of that "kids room" and brought it into the main part of the restaurant.  While eating, Tai was very pleasant and happy to sit in his high chair at the table, periodically offering to share his apples with us and asking very politely for "more fries, please."  He did steal a few glances through the giant glass wall at the kids playing in the other room.  But he said nothing and continued eating.

When the meal was about to come to an end.  Tai announced, "I want ice cream."  When we said that were not having ice cream, he pointed to the older man sitting in the next booth, enjoying a sundae, and said (loudly) "That man have ice cream!" as if to make sure we were aware that McDonald's does indeed sell ice cream.

"Yes, he does," we explained,  "but we're not having ice cream."  Surprisingly, Tai readily accepted this fact.  Then he pointed through the glass wall to the play area and said "I want to climb on that big climber now."  (And I think I heard him whisper under his breath, "Did you think I couldn't see it?  Idiots.")

But the Toddler Crack was already coursing through his veins and he happily accepted our answer of "No, we have to go home now."  Honestly, he was grumpy and whiny for much of the weekend, but the time we spent in McDonald's was peaceful and pleasant.  I know they are evil and the food is not good for you, but we can still eat there, right?

The Final Descent

As we enter the home stretch of Pregnancy #2, Minh and I each have our own way of preparing.  Some examples:

Minh recently stayed up until 2am assembling IKEA bookshelves for the new office.  (Because, obviously, if the baby arrives and the books are not organized, she's going to be *pissed*).

Even though I plan to nurse for the first few weeks before pumping any milk, I am freaked out that I cannot locate my pump *right now* and even called Minh at work the other day in a slight panic to ask him if he knew its whereabouts.

Minh ordered 10 yards of mulch and is renting some heavy machinery this weekend (anyone shocked?) in order to get it all spread in one day, and before what's-her-name arrives.  Honestly, a smarter man would wait until after the baby arrived and then use this as an excuse to get out of the house.

I attended a Savory Suppers session and assembled 6 meals.  Between those and our usual supply of "quick dinners," the freezer is now stocked and ready.

I'm hoping to stay pregnant long enough to have tea out with my friend next week before life is turned upside-down. I think Minh is hoping he gets to finish watching the NBA finals.

We are both, however, looking forward to the arrival of our daughter.  I can't wait for heartburn relief, backache relief, and the occasional glass of wine.  Minh can't wait to have his non-pregnant wife back so we can move five tons of wood pellets into the basement. 

I am currently 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant.  I went into labor with Tai at 36 weeks and 5 days.  Surely, this means that this little girl will be 2 weeks overdue and we still have a long way to go......(and plenty of time to locate that pump!)

The Continuing Big Boy Bed Chronicles

After a few rough nights of Tai waking in the wee hours and insisting on climbing into bed with us, we decided something needed to change.  So we plugged a night light into a timer (like you'd use for Christmas lights) and placed it on his dresser.  We explained that whenever the night-light was on, it was time to be in the bed -- i.e., no getting out of bed in the morning until it has turned off (6:15am).

And he bought it.

Now, each night at bedtime, he gets excited to see that the light is on, and explains to us that this means it's bedtime. And when I kiss him goodnight and leave the room, I remind him to stay in the bed all night and then come get me when the light turns off.  And he does.  For Tai, this system works like a charm.

These days, I am often woken by the sound of his bedroom door opening.  Some mornings he walks right into my room and announces, "mama, my night light turned off!  it's morning time! want to see?"  Other days I hear his door open and then.....nothing.  These are the days he has knowingly broken a rule by exiting the bed with the nuk still in his mouth and Emmit still clutched in his fist. On those mornings, I find him sitting in the hallway between our rooms, staring off into space, caught somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

Either way, he's staying in his bed all night, consistently.  Let's hope this keeps up when Baby Sister gets here and he discovers that she gets to sleep in our bed.......    

Parent Teacher Conference

This morning we had our spring semester parent-teacher conference at Tai's "school".  The spring conferences are optional, but what parent wouldn't sign up to sit and hear someone tell them how wonderful their child is for 30 minutes?  It was all about seeing lots of pictures of Tai having fun at school and hearing what a great kid he is and how he fits into the group dynamic.  What we heard is this:

• He fits into the group very well.  She could not find any pictures of Tai playing by himself.  This comes as no surprise, as at home we constantly hear, "mama (or daddy), can you play with me?"  The only things he manages to do solo are sleep and watch TV.

• He throws (and attends) numerous tea parties each week.  (He's really into the finer things in life).

• He is the "class clown" and attempts to dominate all mealtime conversations.  (Shocking, I know).

• He has no interest in dressing or undressing himself, but is happy to let a "staff" of other children do it for him.  (Those were, perhaps, the best photos.)

• He has excellent rhythm and likes to play the drums.  (Obviously, he gets that from me).

• He's not the most agile kid in the class (unless tripping over your own feet is a special form of agility.)

FINAL Renovation Haiku

The house is all done.

The dumpster is gone.  Next task:

Trip to IKEA.

The Statute of Limitations has Passed...

....and it is now all right to joke about the fact that I "let" Tai fall down the stairs yesterday.   He appears to be fine and it has been nearly 24 hours, so joke away.

Interestingly enough, *every* time I am pregnant, Tai falls down the basement stairs.  Last time, it was our old, un-carpeted stairs with a cement floor at the bottom.  Luckily, he was protected by the fact that he was still in-utero.  This time, I could not protect him, but at least everything was carpeted.  

I guess maybe I should stop getting pregnant.

The Big Boy Bed Chronicles

April 14th (night #1): Tai happily climbed into bed and slept soundly all night.  He was discovered at 7am the next morning, sitting up in bed, chatting away to himself.

April 15th (night#2): An exhausted Tai skipped bath time and went right to bed after dinner.  He was next heard from at 6:30am, sitting on the top step of the stool at the foot of his bed.

April 16th (night #3): Iwas suddenly woken at 4am by the sound of my bedroom door latching shut.  While my half-asleep brain was trying to figure out how a cat (or dog) could possibly manage that feat, Tai toddled over to my bedside.  Nuk in mouth and sippy cup in hand, he calmly announced something like, "I got out of my big boy bed."  When I offered to help him get settled back in, he became upset and insisted on sleeping with us.  After 10 minutes of trying to coax him back into his bed, I gave up and snuggled him in between me and Minh.  He fell right back asleep while I lay there worrying that I'd just set a very bad precedent.

My keen powers of observation tell me that he seems to be waking earlier and moving farther from the bed each night.  Surely tonight we will find him watching TV in the living room at 2am. 

Scene from Arizona Pizza Company

Tonight the three of us met up for dinner at the Hampshire Mall and this is the conversation that occurred at the table:

Tai: I want dessert.
Kathy: Well, let's eat dinner first, OK?
Tai: Daddy, you want dessert?
Minh: Maybe. But I want to eat some pizza first. Let's look at the menu, OK?
Tai (desperately trying to gain an ally): Mama, you want dessert?
Kathy: Not right now, I want my dinner first.

Waitress: Hello, how are you all tonight?
Tai (directly to waitress): Can we have ice cream?
Kathy: Let's have pizza first and then we'll see.
Tai (ignoring Kathy and speaking only to waitress): I want dessert.

In the end, after everyone had eaten some pizza, we did order one dessert to split three ways. The newest addition to Tai's ever-expanding vocabulary? "cheesecake."

Mini-Vacation Mini-Post

Here's a bullet-list recap of our weekend get-away.....

• Talking about work over dinner is better than talking about the kid, right?

• Mass MoCA is worth the drive.

• I was asked "when are you due?" and "is this your first?" about 14 times. And all 14 times I resisted the urge to say "I'm not pregnant" just to see their faces turn red.

• When I answered "June 1st" to the due-date question I shocked one woman because of how "tiny" I am and I shocked a man the next day who said "woah, don't you think you might go earlier than that?"

• I only almost made us jump in the car and drive back to (sick) Tai once.

• No matter how tasty the food, it's hard to make up for a one hour wait for a table and grouchy service.

• When cooked with enough butter, salt, and cheese, grits are actually really yummy.

• When in doubt of what to do next, buy stuff for your kid(s). (Carter's Outlet, oh yeah!)

• The smell of freshly finished wood floors lingers for a *very* long time.

Renovation Haiku #3

Painting is finished.

Carpeting in on Monday.

Bathroom done today.

Big Time Nesting

Lately, nesting = shopping.  

This past weekend we ordered Tai's Big Boy Bed (and dresser) and it should be arriving sometime in mid-April.  The best part about this new furniture is that it's called the "Morgan Captain's Bed".   How could we resist buying our son a bed that's practically named after a rum? Tai knows we've ordered it and is excited about the idea.  He also knows this means he's moving into the study, which is now called "Tai's New Room", or sometimes "Tai's Big Boy Room".

 

And, since our renovation to make our living room larger accidentally included making our existing couches no longer fit, we've also been shopping for a new living room set.  Oh, fun.  Minh stumbled upon this unusual piece online.  

My initial reaction was pure horror.  

He then spent a few weeks trying to win folks over to his side by showing them the picture online, but to little avail.  Some of them were polite in their criticisms of it.  Others told him it was plain old Fugly.  But I agreed to go see it in person and give it a chance.

And maybe it's better once you meet it?  Or maybe I'm just ready to be done looking and buy something?  Not sure, but we're very close to purchasing this "2 piece sectional" as well as this ottoman that actually slides in to make this couch even more like a giant bed.  They fit together like Pangea.  It's either really tacky or really cool.  

Then, since the occasional guest needs someplace to sit that will allow them to actually keep their feet planted on the floor, we figured we've sit two of these in front of the bay window.  They swivel, which will undoubtedly delight Tai to no end.

Finally, we'd like to get this for in between the swivel chairs.  As Tai pointed out this morning you can put toys inside it and you can put your snacks on it.

 

R&F's sales tactics being what they are (aggressive) this entire order is already entered into their computers.  All we have to do is call them up and say "go" and arrange a delivery date.  So yesterday Minh made life-size paper cut-outs of all this stuff and laid it out on our living room floor.  Now all we need to do it stare at it for a few days and decide what to do....      

(Next phase of nesting = clearing out the study.)

Mom of The Year Award

Yesterday I was trying to rush Tai out of the house for a dog walk, while he was interviewing the flooring guy about each tool in our living room. Finally, I had everything ready: the dog, the leash, the stroller, jackets, clogs, hats and mittens. I asked Minh to take Tai out to the stroller while I dealt with the dog. As they reached the bottom of the steps into the garage I heard Tai calmly announce, "I walking in my socks."

Yes, I had neglected to put shoes on his feet.

Renovation Haiku #2

Bulkhead tomorrow.

Sheetrock makes rooms feel smaller.

Painting starts next week.

Weekend Quotations

Some notable quotes uttered during our weekend of taking care of Tai and his good buddy, Natasha:

T: "My penis huuuuuuurts!!"

N: "I hurt my tushy."

N (on phone to her parents): "I hit Tai. I had time-out."

K, to N: "Say, 'sorry, Tai' "

T: "Sorry"

K or M: "Who wants to...."

T & N: "Me!" "No, Me!" "No, Meee!" "No, MEEEEEE!"

T to N, or N to T: "I still using that!" (often in reference to a toy that was lying 15 feet away on the floor)

T: "Waaaaaaaaahhhh!"

N: "What's wrong, Tai?"

T: "Tasha, you have pink medicine on your bib."

K & M (nearly constantly): "Who wants to go potty?" "Who's turn is it to go pee?" "It's time to use the potty." "Who wants to try to poop?" "Do you want to use the red potty or the ducky potty?"

Stranger in restaurant: "Are they twins?"

K (out loud and smiling): "No, no. He's ours, but we're just babysitting her."

K (internally and horrified): "Oh my god, no! I can't imagine how anyone survives with twins!"

M: "I'm ready."

K: "For what?"

M: "A vasectomy."

He's Officially Too Smart for Me.

This morning, while getting dressed for school, Tai asked to watch some specific TV shows that are not on until about 10:30am.  I told him no and explained that:

(1) It was time to go to school,

(2) Those shows were not on at the moment anyway, and 

(3) We only watch those shows when we stay home sick from school.

After only the briefest moment of consideration, Tai announced, "I not feeling well.  I sick".

Get-away Booked

Thanks to everyone who offered advice on this topic.  We are indeed taking our friends up on their offer to watch Tai for an entire weekend (I hope they know what they signed up for!) and have a grown-up weekend to ourselves.  It's a hectic time at home right now and maybe not the best time to take off, but I figured we'd better do it before spring because who's ever gonna volunteer to watch two kids all weekend?

We're headed to Lenox, MA for two nights at a B&B in early April.  Hopefully this will help me get over my reluctance to stay in B&Bs (I've always been a large-anonymous-corporate-hotel kind of gal).  I loathe the idea of having to sit at a large table and eat breakfast with people I don't know and, possibly, even have to make small talk.  Ugh.

But I am whole-heartedly looking forward to this trip -- especially since the B&B has already sent us an extensive list of places to eat and things to do.  Is it April yet?

Renovation Update (and my kid is soooo cute!)

The fireplace is long gone, the playroom is all framed, and the plumbing is roughed in.  Before long, we should have a very large hole in our kitchen floor as well.

Buttons has been temporarily shipped off to Hadley, MA to sleep on exotic dog beds, harass different kitties, and take walks with her buddy Arrow.  Poor Smudgie cowers under the futon all day long.  He actually took off mid-breakfast this morning when the contractors arrived, not to emerge from the study until they leave.  Nibbles sleeps on the futon all day and doesn't give a shit about any of it.   

Each morning Tai looks out the front window in anticipation of the arrival of two pickup trucks.  And when the contractors enter the house he greets them with an enthusiastic "Hi Don! Hi Kenny!"  and, occasionally, an "I'm Tai!" (as if they don't know by now).  He then tries to pepper them with questions about what they are doing and the tools they are carrying, but they are too fast for him.  By the time he gets out, "Don, why you have..." Don is already halfway down the basement stairs.

Each afternoon we inspect the progress that has been made.  Tai is beside himself with this new development of Being Allowed in The Basement.  He's either going to be a contractor or a gymnast, for sure -- he's very much into examining the tools and walking along piles of 2x4s.  If he tries to stick the landing, we'll know which path he's chosen.  And yesterday afternoon he decided that his orange plastic slinky is actually a measuring tape.  He repeatedly held it up to the plywood wall where the fireplace used to be and announced, "I measuring playroom!!"  The game of "measuring" every inch of the house then lasted a good 30 minutes.

Practically our own Branch of the Public Library

As part of our preparation for construction, Tai and I organized the books and toys in his room this past weekend--and promptly realized that his bookshelf is full beyond capacity.  The books pictured below are just the ones in his room.  He has others scattered around the house and some of the very babyish ones are already set aside for his sister. 

Looks like we're gonna need a bigger shelf soon.  Since many of these were gifts and hand-me-downs, let me make a public plea.  Please, no more books for Tai.  At least not until we get some nice big shelves set up in the playroom.  I smell a trip to IKEA.....

Renovation Haiku

contractor chosen.

the big day is next thursday.

basement purging time.

Bravery Bribery

Saturday I took Tai to a local Butterfly Conservatory.  That morning I told him where we were going and he was so excited.  Five minutes into the 35 minute car ride he stated that we were "almost there" (which is clearly the first step toward the dreaded "are we there yet?" phase of life).

Walking into the place, he stopped to show me each and every picture of a butterfly.  On the sign out front, hanging in the cafe, on the coffee mugs in the gift shop, etc.  After happily looking at the frogs and birds and lizards in tanks that they (inexplicably) display just before you enter the butterfly room, we entered the main conservatory.  Instantly, thousands of angry butterflies attacked us with their razor sharp teeth.  Wait, actually I think 2 fluttered over and landed on my sleeve.  

Tai flipped out.

I've seen an adverse reaction to the butterfly room once before (you know who you are, Lee) but this was much worse.  "Up! up! uppy up!" he demanded the safety of my arms.  But even that wasn't enough to calm him down.  "I don't want it! I don't want it!" he exclaimed and his cheeks turned pink and the tears welled up in his eyes.

So we retreated to the safety of the room with the frogs, birds, and lizards contained behind glass.  We spent the next 30 minutes viewing those creatures, having a snack, and talking about how gentle the butterflies were and how he needed to be brave and go see for himself (I had paid $10 admission and was going to see some butterflies, dammit!)  He was not really buying it--each time I went near the door to the conservatory he bucked in my arms.

Finally, I decided to try good old fashioned bribery and asked him if he wanted some "Butterfly Bravery Beads" (they sell cheap Mardi Gras beads in the gift shop for $1).  A long time fan of sparkle, he, of course, wanted some beads.  So I managed to convince him that all we needed to do was go in and briefly say goodbye to the butterflies and then we could get some beads.  He totally bought it.  Sucker.

Once I got him in there, I kept moving constantly so no butterflies would land on us.  In the end, we were able to spend a good 20 minutes in there and he almost enjoyed himself, though he would not leave the safety of my very sore arms and he did flinch anytime a butterfly got too close.

He happily wore his beads all the way home. 

Let There be Food

I can't really cook, even on a good day. And I'm fine with that because Minh can (and usually does). Lately, I can barely even throw four things in a lunchbag for Tai. Let's blame the pregnancy? Or the recent illnesses being passed around the household? Whatever the reason, I can't really think more than about 20 minutes ahead of the present moment.

So when 5pm rolled around today and we suddenly realized we had no plans for dinner, I suggested making "breakfast" but Minh was not feeling it. So we decided that I'd heat up some something frozen from Trader Joe's while Minh and Tai read books. (Gone are the days of me doing anything in the kitchen without Tai pawing at my thighs asking to be picked up to "see stove" or "see something in sink"). So, knowing I only had 10-15 minutes before Tai grew tired of reading with Daddy, I grabbed an assortment of items from the freezer and started warming them all up.

Without really thinking.

So tonight we dined on Mushroom Risotto, Creamed Spinach, and Mini Tacos. Blech. Each one was pretty good, but the combination of the three is just bizarre enough to turn your stomach. Right now our insides are wholeheartedly asking, "WTF?"

So after Tai went to bed Minh got into one of his cleaning/nesting zones. On top of throwing out a bunch of clutter and re-organizing a closet he took an inventory of the fridge and freezer, looked up recipes online, made a shopping list, and headed out to Big Y. He has "real" meals planned for us for the next FOUR days. Four days? Will we even be living here in four days? What will the world be like in four days? I just can't picture anything so distant in the future.

But, apparently, there will be food.

Pick a Theme, Will Ya?

The other day Tai must have been going a little stir-crazy from being cooped up in the house because he decided to (concurrently):

(a) wear his baby doll on his back "in the ergo"
(b) wear his cowboy hat (who says cowboys don't tote their babies on their backs?)
(c) play his little Asian drum (a-la Karate Kid Part II)
(d) fix all manner of things around the house with his toy hammer

This kid does it all, man. He does it all.

Bits & Pieces

We had the Big Exciting Ultrasound yesterday and learned that this baby has all the right parts in all the right places, including a vagina that looks (to me) like a foot. But I guess that is normal.

So, yeah, it's a girl.

First (and Last?) Getaway

Even though in my pre-motherhood days I scoffed at couples who waited until their child was over a year old before getting away for a night or two alone, here I sit with a two-year old son, having never left him with anyone overnight. Well, I've left him with Minh and Minh has left him with me, but we've never gone away together and left him with a third party.

So it's about damn time. We figure we need to hurry up and do this before the second one comes and we end up waiting two more years!

And we happen to have these wonderful friends (who happen to read this blog) who have offered to let Tai stay with them for a night or two while we escape. Their daughter is Tai's age and they go to "school" together, which means that (a) Tai will have a great time and (b) Tai will actually serve as entertainment for their daughter. I'm confident that the adults will be able to just sit back and relax while the kids play. They also have similar a parenting philosophy to us, and perhaps can even whip Tai's attitude into shape while we're gone.

So the plan is this: we dump our kid on them for a weekend and go away somewhere to relax. Then, a bit down the road, the dump their kid on us and do the same. A pretty sweet deal, really. Now we just need to iron out the details.

First and foremost, Minh and I need a place to go. I don't really want to drive more than an hour or two and we don't need all that much in the way of entertainment. A couple of nice restaurants, a comfy hotel bed (and no one to wake us up at 6am), maybe a movie theater or museum or some nice places to shop? Normally we are the outdoorsy type, but I'm guessing this trip will be sometime between now and April. And we're not skiers. Suggestions?.....Leave me a comment.

It Must Be Instinct...

How do kids know what to do with meat on a stick?  It must be some primal code written into our DNA.  We're born seeking out warmth, and milk, and meat on a stick.

The other night I set down a chicken satay skewer in front of Tai and prepared to explain to him that it is chicken that can be eaten right off the skewer.  I thought I might even have to demonstrate so he'd know it was food and not a toy.  But before I could even open my mouth he picked it up and started gnawing on it.  In fact, the boy who is not a huge fan of chicken these days ate THREE chicken skewers, presumably because it is so fun to bite meat off of a stick.  

What's Been Going On

Life's been busy and it's hard to find time to sit down and put any of our adventures/mishaps into writing.  (Though if you received Minh's holiday letter you got a whole year's worth at once.)  Anyway, here's a quick update on life-n-stuff:

• Tai just celebrated his second Christmas and birthday in the span of one present-filled week.  He's now a professional at tearing open gifts and officially has way too many toy vehicles.  You cannot walk through our living room without tripping over a backhoe, dump truck, or fire engine.

• Minh and I discovered Scramble (a word game on Facebook) and have spent a few recent evenings playing against each other.  It's a great way to spend time together, but not actually have to talk or even be in the same room.

• Baby Number Two now makes his/her presence know by doing back flips across my uterus several times a day.  We should be finding out the sex in mid-January (stay tuned...)

• Buttons has been without her dog-walker for over a week now, which has the effect of either (a) making me get my butt out and walk her or (b) making me not walk her and then feel very guilty about it, depending on the day.  Luckily, the young energetic dog-walker is due back next week.

• Minh and I have found the very best way to keep a house clean and tidy -- continually invite contractors and (even better) Realtors over to your place.  We did this weekly for about a month and the place looked fantastic.  After de-cluttering the place and talking with the Realtor about all the wonderful selling points of our house, I no longer want to move.

• Yes, we considered moving.  But the house we wanted is too pricey for our budget.  And yes, we considered massive renovations, but budget and time constraints have put that on the back burner as well.  It's looking like minor renovations will begin shortly.  Stay tuned for updates as we expand our living room and finish part of our basement.

OK, that's all I can think of for now.  I'll try to come up with some amusing tales of Life in South Hadley before too much longer...

Falling Behind

I'm keeping up at work, but falling desperately behind in my leisure activities.  I have a brand new book waiting to be read, a half-finished Netflix movie, and last week's episode of Grey's all waiting for me at home.  It's stressing me out.  

And here I am wasting valuable time at work.

Tonight I have to decide which leisure activity to "tackle" and get over with--taking into consideration the fact that I can only keep my eyes open for about 1 hour after Tai goes to bed. This is why it recently took me three sittings to get through WALL-E.  (Which is very good, by the way.  Please don't take my inability to stay awake during it as a poor reflection on the film.)

It's No Wonder We Love Our Neighborhood

We love our neighbors. They are friendly, helpful, and just downright pleasant. In the past we've relied on various neighbors for cat sitting, dog walking, pellet furnace filling, borrowed lawn equipment, and baby hand-me downs. And we like to think we return the favors whenever possible (at the very least we give them an annual event at which they can risk life and limb to de-clutter their woodsy yards).

Recently, we spent 48 hours in the Boston area for Thanksgiving and troubled one of our neighbors to feed not only our cats, but also the two cats next door, for whom we were responsible that week. He agreed without hesitation.

We returned on Saturday to find all four cats well fed, but also this on our front lawn:

If you can't tell, it's a four-foot-tall-light-up-mechanical-drumming-holiday-bear. It so tacky, right? Not the kind of thing we would ever put on our lawn. But there it was, all set up and waiting for us. Buttons barked at it and Tai fell in love with it right away ("bear! drum-drum-drum!"). So, of course, it stays. Apparently, our neighbor knew better than we did that we needed this thing. Our lives are now richer and more full of the holiday spirit. And I'm sure it will decorate our lawn each December for many, many, many years. Does this mean I have to apologize to my sister for making fun of her mechanical reindeer?

Increased Productivity

Well, since I promised, here is the review of the newest thing in hair care.  

I think it's working.  Minh is less distracted by my frizzies during staff meetings, which means he's more focused on his work, which means he's more productive, which means he'll most certainly be receiving a huge raise any minute how (just checking to see if Cate still reads this thing).

The thing that takes some getting used to with this new "system" is that there is no actual shampoo.  No, no, "shampoo" is now a dirty word (much like in Minh's first Christmas letter).  Instead I use the "cleansing conditioner" that does not strip my hair of its natural oils.  Bottom line?  My hair feels a little greasier than I'm used to.  But I guess the grease is what keeps the frizzies away, right?

My hair is indeed less frizzy, though I can't attribute it to any one part of the "system."   It could be the cleansing conditioner, or the leave-in conditioner, or the styling creme.  But it's certainly not the intensive hair repair mask or the texture balm because I have yet to use either one of those.  Yes, this "system" is really a bit much to handle.  Especially for someone who used a 2-in-1 shampoo for years.

I have since cancelled my membership in the system because I have more than enough styling creme and can buy the cleansing conditioner on amazon.com.  And I have never been comfortable with signing up for any "club" that will automatically bill me for my monthly supply of whatever.  I never even joined Columbia House to get my 10 CDs for a penny.

Would I recommend it?  Sure, if your frizzies are negatively impacting your life or the life of a loved one, go ahead and try it out.  But I think you can probably get away with just the basic bottle of stuff from amazon.

Beware the Brownies

Last weekend we took Tai to a local children's museum for the first time.  Since it was a cold Saturday morning, the place was pretty packed.  And Tai was most certainly on the far end of the age spectrum--I think he was actually the youngest kid there that wasn't sleeping in a sling.  But he had a rockin' good time anyway.  He "drove" the forklift, crawled through a tunnel, and climbed around on a very large structure covered in the most slippery carpeting ever.  

Unfortunately, Minh and I had to spend most of our time making sure Tai did not get run over by all the big kids.  When we weren't picking him up and shuttling him to safety, we were standing in front of him, directing older kids to go around him.  And I spent a fair amount of time just flashing them dirty looks (to no avail).

And you know who behaved the worst?  The ones who showed depraved indifference?  The hyperactive boys, right?  Nope.  It was the Brownie Troop.  Dressed in their little brown skirts and vests, and present in such large numbers, they took over the place like a little biker gang.  They were everywhere at once -- running, jumping, falling, and pushing Tai out of the way to get where they were going.  Two of the future Hell’s Angels even tried to shut a mailbox door on Tai's head.  Apparently, with all the knot-tying and flag folding, there is no time to earn a Regard for Human Life badge.   

The museum has several different play areas you can visit, and Minh and I became focused on making sure we stayed one step ahead of the Brownies.  When they showed up at the ambulance Tai was driving, we moved on to the post office.  When they caught up with us there and nearly decapitated Tai, we moved on to the bodega, etc, etc.   The Girl Scout promise must also include something about waging turf wars because these chicks were ruthless.  They would arrive at, say, the bubble blowing station, and express their annoyance that Tai was using it with audible sighs.  And once Tai gave up some ground by taking a step back, they would hit him in the stomach with a tire iron, take his lunch money, and ride off on their tricked-out Hannah Montana Huffy bikes*.   

The whole time, Tai appeared blissfully unaware of his several brushes with death at the hands of The Brownies.  But maybe he was not as oblivious as we thought?  Later that day I asked him if he had fun at the museum and what he had done there and he said, "kids!  kids jumpin'! watch out kids!"

 

*This part may be embellished 

The Next Blues Traveler...

My dad is really great at selecting gifts for Tai. Seriously.  He has a real knack for picking out the kind of thing that Tai will love and that will drive me and Minh crazy (I know, I know, that's exactly what grandparents are supposed to do.)

At the age of, oh about 8 months or so, Tai received his first musical instrument from my father-- a wooden recorder.  At the time, he was (thankfully) too young to know what to do with it.  But now he's figured it out and (when we agree to let him play with it) makes ear-splitting music all over the house with it.  I think this is just my dad's way of paying me back for all the time I spent trying to play Mary Had a Little Lamb on the flute-a-phone that our public school system handed out to every third grader in town.  (Who's idea what that?)

Anyway, the newest gift from "Grampy" is a harmonica.  When he first received it, Tai turned it over and over looking for the on switch and, upon finding none, declared "it broke."  But after a few demonstrations of how it worked, he started to get the idea.  Just barely.  In the days that followed Tai would periodically go find his harmonica and wave it around declaring "harmonica!" and "Grampy!"  And sometimes he'd try to blow air into it, being marginally successfully.  And it was terribly cute.  

And then one morning it happened.  Out of nowhere, he just picked it up and started playing it.  Really playing it.  And it was terribly cute.....for a while.  And now we get treated to concerts, regularly:        

So if anyone is a big Blues Traveler fan and wants to come over for some mean harmonica playing, just stop on by.  Minh and I will hand Tai the harmonica and sneak out the back door.  Just know that each time he stops and stares at you, he's looking for applause. 

I Missed You Too

I was away for three nights and four days.  And Tai hardly noticed.

I know, I know, he's not even two yet and I can't expect too much.  But still.  Apparently, a couple times while I was away he said to Minh, "Mama gone."  But that was about the extent of his concern.  We did talk on the phone a bit (usually while he was eating breakfast) and I got lots of "Hi Mama!"  and a few stories about his Adventures With Daddy.  But when I got back he couldn't even be bothered to stop what he was doing to say hello to me.  

After not having seen him since Saturday morning, I excitedly arrived at day care pick-up on Tuesday afternoon to find him playing outside in the sand with, what else, a toy backhoe.  He was walking across the yard toward the backhoe when he spotted me....and kept walking.  He settled in and started playing with the backhoe.   

OK, no huge smile and no running over to hug and kiss me. But what can I expect?  So I went over to him and squatted down in the sand where he was playing.  He looked up and, without even a glimmer of realization that I'd been gone and was now back he said.  "It's broke.  I need help."  (The backhoe at the ridiculously expensive child care facility was indeed broken.)

Our afternoon and evening was pleasant, but ordinary.  It was like I'd always been there.  This morning, however, as he was eating breakfast, he may have noticed that we were not talking on the phone and that I was actually there because half-way through the meal he looked right at me and exclaimed "Hi Mama!"

I'll take what I can get :)    

The Results Are In...

Tai was the most adorable kangaroo anyone has ever seen. Although he practiced saying "trick or treat" all evening, including saying it about 30 times while heading down our driveway toward our neighbors' house, he would not say it at ANY of the 5 doorsteps we visited. He did, however, demonstrate that a kangaroo goes "boing! boing!" for each and every household.

He very much enjoyed carrying his pumpkin-shaped bag around the neighborhood and delighted in selecting a piece of candy and depositing it in his bag, exclaiming each time, "I got one!" But he had no idea the candy was edible--and we'll keep it that way for as long as we can :)

For Tai, I think it was all about the novelty dressing up and going to "play" outside after dinner in the dark. And all his neighborhood friends were outside too! Next year, I fear, it will be all about the candy. (And we'll see if that lion costume still fits next year.)

Your Opinion Matters*

Tai's kangaroo costume from last year still fits, sort of. Sure, the sleeves ride up his arms and the elastic wristbands leave red marks on his forearms. But it still mostly fits. And it's damn cute.

But we were also just given a hand-me-down lion costume which fits better (and will quite possibly still fit next year). Our problem is trying to decide which he should wear this Friday to go trick-or-treating. I've posted photos (my apologies for the quality -- he doesn't exactly stand still, ever) for your viewing enjoyment and also so that you may answer the question below.

Kangaroo

Lion

Please indicate which of the answer choices below best describes your preference:






*Actually, we are not obligated to follow through on the results of this poll, We'll probably do whatever the hell we want. But this was a fun way to post pictures of Tai in two cute costumes.

Brunching All Over The Valley

When a member of your family wakes at 6am (even on weekends) and naps right after lunch, weekend brunches are clearly the best way to get together with friends. Case in point, this weekend we are heading to two such brunches. And looking forward to both, very much.

In both cases, Tai should be in a very good mood because (1) it's his favorite time of day (2) there will be food and (3) there will be other kids to play with. In both cases, Minh and I will be happy because of the Tai's good mood, the yummy food (that we don't have to cook!) and good company.

We missed the whole damn thing.

Friday afternoon we left work early to head to a 5pm wedding in Boylston, MA (which, according to Google Maps is 1 hour and 15 minutes from our house). We left at 3:30pm. Maybe cutting it a tad close. But Google Maps always calculates things as if you were driving the speed limit, so I figured we'd be fine. But instead of zipping down the pike at 75 mph, or even 65 mph, we inched across the state at an infuriating 12 mph, for many many many miles.

At 4:40 our friends, who had already arrived in Boylston, called and asked "Where are you guys?" "Stuck on the pike, of course, " was my reply.

At 4:50 I realized we were going to miss the beginning of the ceremony. "Oh, how embarrassing," I thought, "What if the bride sees us come in half-way through?"

At 5:05, a good 10 miles from the exit and still barely moving, I realized we were going to miss the whole thing.

When we arrived (at very nearly 6pm) they were packing up the folding chairs, the bride and groom were taking photos, and the guest were already enjoying cocktail hour. We snuck in and tried to play it off, but everyone knew we'd just arrived.

Sorry Kristen.

Not Exactly the Same...

Well, I missed Mel. Entirely. He has come and gone and I didn't get "discovered" and cast in his movie, nor did I glimpse him filming in downtown Noho from afar. No, I was home those two days taking care of a sick toddler and napping while he napped. Woe is me.

But today I did see a celebrity of a different sort. As I sat and stared at the numbers on my computer screen with glazy eyes, John Kerry was directly underneath me, on the second floor of my building. I glimpsed the back of his head as he was leaving, just as I headed downstairs to use the bathroom.

Just think, if I had decided to go pee a mere 30 seconds sooner, I could have bumped right into him in the hallway. That would have been something.

Mel's in town.

It's Friday, I didn't feel like packing lunch this morning, and I have been craving a burrito for a solid 24 hours. So Minh and I decided* to walk into downtown Northampton for lunch at my favorite burrito spot.

Coincidentally, Mel Gibson is in the area this week, filming Edge of Darkness. (They actually had an open casting call for extras in August, but since they were not seeking adorable half-Asian toddlers, we didn't attend.)

Say what you will about Mel and his movies, but I think it's pretty cool to have him filming right near home. The movie crew has set up camp at Atkins in Amherst (with lots of trailers inside of which I assume are real, live actors) and will also be filming next week in good old Sunderland, home of Frontier Pizza. And next Tuesday they are shutting down part of Main Street in Noho to film Mel exiting the courthouse and driving down the street. I may just have to get accidentally stuck in the craziness on my way to work that day, and need to pull over and watch the filming for a while.

And on the way to lunch today we saw a very fancy, dark-windowed bus drive by that most certainly contained Mel himself. Then we walked by a stalky man, lingering on a street corner, clad in all black with loads of camera equipment on his person and at his feet. Minh assured me that this man was paparazzi. There were also six more of these camera-clad folks ordering themselves burritos for lunch.

In addition, today must have been some sort of school holiday or half-day because the burrito place was overrun with middle-schoolers. They were everywhere--in line, at the counter, seated in booths. Some of them were pooling their money with friends to be able to split a burrito and a side of chips.

So what this all means is that, in a crowded downtown restaurant, Minh and I were the only ones over the age of 11 who didn't have cameras slung around our necks.







*Actually, I talked him into it. he's not a big fan of burritos. But he's a big fan of me, so he agreed.

Rough Morning

Tai has traces of both urine and yogurt in his hair.
There's oatmeal on the bathroom floor.
There are peanuts in the high chair
and snots everywhere.

Apparently shoes are now the enemy (yesterday it was pants).
And being left at school by your daddy is just heartbreaking.

How was your morning?

I just saved $13.50

It's going to rain tomorrow. And at Tai's daycare they go outside everyday, rain or shine. So the boy needed some rain boots, and fast. My new favorite website has free overnight shipping, but even that wouldn't get the boots here in time for school tomorrow morning. Plus, the boots cost $20-$30 and I have a hard time paying that much for something he might only wear 3 or 4 times before he outgrows them.

So I called a local kids consignment shop and learned that they had gender-appropriate rain boots in Tai's size for a mere $6.50. Even if I bought the cheapest boots online, that's a savings of $13.50.* So I practically ran out the door, in the middle of the work day, to get those boots.

Now my boy has boots to wear tomorrow. And he really likes them. He was wearing them around the house this evening and was very excited to show them off to Minh when he arrived home from work.

Oddly enough, somewhere along the way, I must have developed a thing for green shoes. Without realizing what I was doing, I've purchased Tai three pairs of green shoes in the past several months (see photo). Someday I'm sure he'll tell his therapist all about it--how all the other kids had lots of different-colored shoes and he only had green.

*And for those of you who haven't studied Minh-conomics, that means I actually made $13.50 today and I rellay need to treat it like found money and go splurge on something.

"Don't take this the wrong way..."

That's how Minh started his proposal that he buy me the newest thing in hair-care because the Frizzies are just out of control.  Apparently, my hair is looking so tormented these days, it was actually distracting him during a recent staff meeting.  (So perhaps work should pay for this new endeavor, as my dry frazzled hair might actually be negatively impacting my co-workers' concentration and productivity?)

What remains a mystery to me, at this point, is:

(1) How Minh even knows about this new "hair phenomenon," especially since he doesn't have any hair of his own.

(2) Whether this really is the miracle product it claims to be.

(3) Which "flavor" he's buying me.

At some point in the near-ish future, I'll be sure to post a review. I know you'll all be waiting with bated breath. 

What did he just say?

Herpan-Coxsa-What?

Tai was a member of The Toddler Room for all of 3 days before catching his first disease. Last Thursday he was diagnosed with herpangina, (which sounds too much like Herpes). It's caused by coxsackie (which sounds dirty) and is similar to hand-foot-and-mouth disease (which sounds very much like a livestock issue to me.)

On Thursday our pediatrician (whom we love) warned us, "this is not a fun one." To which Minh quickly replied, "yeah, and RSV was a blast." And on Friday Minh was wondering what the big deal was--Tai already seemed much better. But later that night we figured out what the doctor was talking about. He was right, it's not a fun one (are there actually fun diseases?)

Long story short, Tai was pretty miserable for a couple days, not inclined to eat much, and (worst of all) too uncomfortable to sleep at night. But he's all better now and our only remaining problems is breaking his new habit of sleeping in our bed.

Dinner at the Farm

Last week we were enticed by an email invitation to come have dinner at our CSA. Since Tai absolutely LOVES going to the farm, we figured it would be a good time. And it was.

But after spending $12 on two very small sandwiches and $25 on a HUGE box of organic Maine blueberries, we still left hungry. Minh and I ended up eating frozen pizza that night after Tai went to bed.

The good news is we have enough blueberries in our freezer to last many months.

Leaving My Baby

Tonight I'm headed to Cambridge for a work thing on Thurs-Fri. Which means I'll be spending my first night (two nights, actually) away from Tai. Ever.

I used to make fun of parents who had 1 year-olds and had never slept away from them. Well, Tai is almost 20 months old and he and I have slept in the same building every night since he was born. Accordingly, this will be the first time Minh has done a solo overnight with Tai.

I'm looking forward to Hotel Sleep, all by myself. But I'm sure I'll miss Tai terribly. Yes, I am now the clingy mother that I used laugh at. At least I can admit it.

Happy Camper

Our trip went better than expected, which means I don't have any particularly interesting stories to tell. Tai slept really well, ate really well, and had lots of fun hiking, swimming, and playing with his friend Natahsa.

Best of all, we discovered two new people who like to play Maui. Unfortunately, one of them took to it so well that he kicked our butts several times.

It's Like We're Camping Already

If you live in South Hadley, don't drink the water. There's poop in the water.

Apparently E. coli was detected in our water and now we have to boil all our cooking and washing water and drink bottled water. What a pain in the ass it was to wash dishes after dinner last night. (We are soooo getting take-out tonight.)

Luckily, tomorrow we're headed here for our Second Annual Camping With-Child Adventure. It has to go better than last year's trip. It just HAS to.

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.