Friday, March 30, 2007
-
No New Screen Name
With the arrival of Zoe, it is time to change my xanga screen name. Alas, the programmers at Xanga.com are not permitting such a change. I would have to start a whole new blog- and isn't the point of a blog to have continuation? For now, we will remain aidansmom until these programmers get their acts together. Hopefully, soon, before Zoe can read. -
She is HERE!
The last few days have been quite the whirlwind. Where do I even start? Let's back track to when I delivered Aidan.
When I gave birth to Aidan, I started having contractions around midnight, waited on my own until the contractions were five minutes apart. At 4:00 am, I woke Hubby up, he showered and we got to the hospital at 4:30. The IV got started, the epidural block went in, and Pitocin augmentation was needed. We sat around, Hubby ate a Philly cheese steak sandwich, I vomited up a banana I ate while waiting for the contractions to become regular. I started pushing at 2 pm, and Aidan arrived, all 8 pounds 15.8 ounces, at 3:15 pm.
With Zoe Grace, we had made plans to ripen my cervix to be sure she won't be overdue and humongous, since Aidan was SO large. Anyway, I went in for the gel on March 27 at 10. I went to Sizzler for the salad bar lunch (yummy!) afterwards, then went to Bloomingdales. While I was shopping and hoarding, the contractions started, somewhat irregularly. Actually, I wouldn't have known they were regular, since I didn't have a watch... Anyway, finished shopping, drove home, and picked Aidan up from school. We went to Home Depot to trim the roller shades. While we were at Home Depot, the contractions DEFINITELY became regular and about five minutes apart. Hmm. As much as I wanted to get home, I also really wanted to get these roller shades done, given how long a saga it had been already. Alas, the clerk broke the machine AND the shades... I ended up returning it all and made plans to go to Lowe's. As Aidan and I were driving home, I was paying attention to these contractions. And yup, it was time. We got home, I made dinner, called Myra to come over, and sat with Aidan briefly to get him settled. He did NOT like the idea of us going to the hospital and he made sure I knew it! It was very sad. I definitely felt the bittersweetness of a second-time mom.
We checked into the hospital at 7:30, and I was 3 cm dilated. I figured it would be a long night, and so I waited patiently for the IV to be placed, for the CBC to be drawn...blah, blah, blah. By 9 pm, I was 5 cm dilated. Hubby and I thought, "no hurry, we will be here." Hmm. By 9:30, I was burrowing my head into Hubby's shoulder as the contractions came more frequently together. He went to find the nurse to tell them that I REALLY WANTED the epidural. When they came back, HA! I was 10 cm dilated and nearly hysterical. In between gnashing my teeth, I was telling my midwife, "I AM NOT READY TO DO THIS! HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THE EPIDURAL!" I was thinking, "$%@*#@$*#$*@! I didn't even read about natural childbirth, no class, nothing! Am I suppose to take deep long slow breaths, or short, quick breaths, do I push while holding my breath, or do I exhale? @#$&$&@#!" The clinicians were telling me, "Open up your body!" I was thinking, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I AM NOT READY FOR THIS CRAP!" Alas, Zoe was born at 10:02. She was 8 pounds 0.8 ounces and 19.75 inches long.
She is beautiful, of course. A very different newborn than Aidan. Let the party begin!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Happy Anniversary to US!
Today is our 7th anniversary.
We cannot believe it has been seven years... It feels like yesterday that we were engaged. But alas, much has happened in between. We have lived in 3 different addresses, gotten two graduate degrees, finished training, gotten ourselves into the biggest debt ever (mortgage), and of course, AIDAN! We also now know better about the upcoming baby- and what it means to our relationship. Last night, we decided to exchange our gifts: I got a Dyson vacuum cleaner- I know, a strange gift. However, given that my allergies are so awful, and Aidan is also showing symptoms of seasonal allergies, I really wanted one. Hubby got a pair of sunglasses so that when he goes for bike rides, his eyes won't end up all red and wind-blown. We then sat on the couch and talked about giving up our quiet evening time when the new baby comes... We had gotten quite used to our own time together after Aidan's bedtime. Alas, our time will come again.
This morning, Hubby insisted on riding his bike to work, even though the sky looks like it might fall- who knows, it might be the last time he gets to on a bike ride for a LONG time...
I don't think this baby will be born on our anniversary, although the day is still young...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Excuse me?
I had to make a trip to Home Depot: the machine to trim roller shades was supposedly fixed...(well, it was NOT fixed, someone gave me BAD information...) Anyway, while I was at the return counter, the cashier helping and I had this conversation.
Cashier: "You are getting $10.81 on your credit card. Are you having twins?"
Me: "No. Why?"
Cashier: Silent for a second... "Well, you're huge!"
Me: "Is that so?"
Cashier: "Or are you due soon?"
Me: "My due date is in 8 days."
Me thinking: LEAVE ME ALONE... If you don't have anything really nice to say, silence is a good thing!
Cashier: "You are getting $10.81 on your credit card. Are you having twins?"
Me: "No. Why?"
Cashier: Silent for a second... "Well, you're huge!"
Me: "Is that so?"
Cashier: "Or are you due soon?"
Me: "My due date is in 8 days."
Me thinking: LEAVE ME ALONE... If you don't have anything really nice to say, silence is a good thing!
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Waiting Game
Still no baby. Oh well. I still have plenty to accomplish.
Every Sunday evening for the last month, I have been sitting down and writing out the errands for the week. For some reason, I keep writing down the same destinations: Costco, Target, BB&B...etc. I also have been trying to do the same tasks: cooking, cleaning, laundering (not money...). This week, I am getting new glasses- it is about time, after three years. I also schedule a dental appointment for Hubby. Unfortunately, some tasks are just not meant to be, like getting roller shades cut to size: the cutting apparatus at the two Home Depots close to us are both out of commission. I wonder: how do people get all this done when they work full time? How did I get all this stuff done last time- since I worked through the end of my 39th week? It feels quite extravagant to be taking this much time off (I am on week #3), yet I can't imagine not having this time.
I am quite proud of the four stews currently cooking on my stove top. I have a beef curry, a beef in beer with tomatoes, a 'red-cooked' pork, and a steamed pork. It is all going in the freezer!
Every Sunday evening for the last month, I have been sitting down and writing out the errands for the week. For some reason, I keep writing down the same destinations: Costco, Target, BB&B...etc. I also have been trying to do the same tasks: cooking, cleaning, laundering (not money...). This week, I am getting new glasses- it is about time, after three years. I also schedule a dental appointment for Hubby. Unfortunately, some tasks are just not meant to be, like getting roller shades cut to size: the cutting apparatus at the two Home Depots close to us are both out of commission. I wonder: how do people get all this done when they work full time? How did I get all this stuff done last time- since I worked through the end of my 39th week? It feels quite extravagant to be taking this much time off (I am on week #3), yet I can't imagine not having this time.
I am quite proud of the four stews currently cooking on my stove top. I have a beef curry, a beef in beer with tomatoes, a 'red-cooked' pork, and a steamed pork. It is all going in the freezer!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Why?
We went out with Grandpa and other dear family members for Aidan's birthday last night. It was really fun. We did leave though, with a few questions.
At the end of a lavish dinner, enough to feed thousands, in my opinion, the waiter came by with a pack of M&M's with peanuts for Aidan. I politely told him that due to our toddler's allergy, no thank you. A few minutes later, the waitress came by with regular M&M's, I again tried my best to be polite, no thank you. For two reasons, one, all M&M's could kill my child (okay, not really, he would just break out in really awful eczema and develop swollen lips.) Secondly, my child really did not need chocolate/candy/juice. Really. She proceeded to say, "Oh, we have Skittles too!" Then, she brought those over. Aidan had this quizzical look: I know I am not supposed to have candy, but WHY? And why are these people endless with their discussion of candy? Finally, we told her that we don't do candy. She then said the most bizarre thing: "Yeah, I don't think children should have candy either, it is really bad for their teeth. When my girls were little, they didn't have candy either." My obvious question: "THEN WHY ARE YOU PUSHING THESE CANDIES?!" Sure, I realized that a little candy here and there will not kill Aidan. But really, why start him on something that had no nutritional value, and can give him dental caries, that will just cost me more $?
A similar thing goes for juice. Fortunately, most people we see regularly hold the same beliefs as us: children don't need juice- EAT A PIECE OF FRUIT! However, there must be something really special about juice that could make even the most reasonable people we know offer it to Aidan endlessly. Aidan's access to juice had been limited to airplanes. To my knowledge, he had not ever had a juice box...but who really knows. For a child whose caloric intake added up to about 1000 daily, a carton of juice would be more than a tenth of his calories, with really nothing else in there. Proportionally, it made no sense to give him juice. We will see how long this restrictions will last.
Another issue that can really divide parents everywhere: TV watching. We had been not exposing Aidan to TV, partly because, well, we had not wanted to make Comcast rich and had been refusing to pay for cable: there would be nothing to watch on our TV. Aidan could say that he wants to watch Baby Einstein, which he occasionally will tell me. But the way he 'watches' TV had been rather strange. He would patiently wait for an image he enjoys, a fire truck, a train...etc, and then, he would make me pause it. In a way, he really didn't want to 'watch' TV, he wanted to 'view' a picture. Quite funny, actually. I will make a confession, there had been times that I really need a nap, and I would pop in a DVD, and fall asleep while Aidan watched TV- but usually I found him looking at me when I popped open one eye to check up on him.
All this discussion of candy, juice, and TV, can be really controversial: so please remember, this is just my opinion, nothing right or wrong about it, just what we are using at home.
Interestingly, I found that a lot of this is related to how I grew up. In Taiwan, LONG time ago, there really was no TV. We had 3 stations, and they only broadcasted between noon and 1 pm, then 6-10 pm. Definitely no cartoons for me. My parents didn't want us watching TV either: bad for the eye sight (which isn't proven), and in their opinion, a waste of time (probably). So I watched TV when they were out. But with homework and all that, and the fact that the programming often left something to be desired, there really wasn't that much TV to watch. As for candy: I remembered my grandparents gave me A LOT OF CANDY. I also had a lot of cavities. Go figure. It sure was a quick way to make me quiet. Finally, juice. We had no easy access to orange/apple juice: those fruits weren't native to Taiwan and therefore, quite $. However, I had access to chrysanthemum tea drink boxes, star fruit juice boxes, passion fruit juice boxes...etc. We were given free reign to the pantry after school- I also ate a huge amount of Chinese crackers/cookies/junk as a kid. Soda however, was limited to guests visiting us and when we ate at restaurants, which were special occasions. We did have 2-liter bottles around the house. Sometimes, my brother and I would sneak a sip, then fill it back up with water... Obviously, parents could only do so much... AND, there was, still is, definitely a difference between an obedient heart versus appearances...
Aidan turns THREE!
We are celebrating Aidan's birthday a little bit earlier this year. Who knows when his sibling is coming? He had a party at school on Friday. I brought ice-cream sundaes to serve all his classmates. He thoroughly enjoyed it, the whole 9 minutes of it. These little people have very short attention spans!
Then, we had a park outing and dinner with some of his favorite toddlers. The servers at Red Robin sang to him, and he thought that was the BEST! But then, when we got home, he didn't want to go to bed or put his toys away, or simply, listen. Poor child got timed out...
Grandpa is taking us out to dinner next week, and that should be fun for him too.
It is hard to not give him so much- whereas when I was a child, my birthdays consisted of a cake, although I got to pick out the cake from the booklet and they delivered it to us. Although, because my birthday falls on Father's Day in Taiwan, my cake always came late as the delivery service was always overwhelmed. I think my favorite back then were lemon meringue pie and this taro cake. Alas I digress. It is hard for me to hold back and not give Aidan lots of little parties... He is only this age once.
At the end of a lavish dinner, enough to feed thousands, in my opinion, the waiter came by with a pack of M&M's with peanuts for Aidan. I politely told him that due to our toddler's allergy, no thank you. A few minutes later, the waitress came by with regular M&M's, I again tried my best to be polite, no thank you. For two reasons, one, all M&M's could kill my child (okay, not really, he would just break out in really awful eczema and develop swollen lips.) Secondly, my child really did not need chocolate/candy/juice. Really. She proceeded to say, "Oh, we have Skittles too!" Then, she brought those over. Aidan had this quizzical look: I know I am not supposed to have candy, but WHY? And why are these people endless with their discussion of candy? Finally, we told her that we don't do candy. She then said the most bizarre thing: "Yeah, I don't think children should have candy either, it is really bad for their teeth. When my girls were little, they didn't have candy either." My obvious question: "THEN WHY ARE YOU PUSHING THESE CANDIES?!" Sure, I realized that a little candy here and there will not kill Aidan. But really, why start him on something that had no nutritional value, and can give him dental caries, that will just cost me more $?
A similar thing goes for juice. Fortunately, most people we see regularly hold the same beliefs as us: children don't need juice- EAT A PIECE OF FRUIT! However, there must be something really special about juice that could make even the most reasonable people we know offer it to Aidan endlessly. Aidan's access to juice had been limited to airplanes. To my knowledge, he had not ever had a juice box...but who really knows. For a child whose caloric intake added up to about 1000 daily, a carton of juice would be more than a tenth of his calories, with really nothing else in there. Proportionally, it made no sense to give him juice. We will see how long this restrictions will last.
Another issue that can really divide parents everywhere: TV watching. We had been not exposing Aidan to TV, partly because, well, we had not wanted to make Comcast rich and had been refusing to pay for cable: there would be nothing to watch on our TV. Aidan could say that he wants to watch Baby Einstein, which he occasionally will tell me. But the way he 'watches' TV had been rather strange. He would patiently wait for an image he enjoys, a fire truck, a train...etc, and then, he would make me pause it. In a way, he really didn't want to 'watch' TV, he wanted to 'view' a picture. Quite funny, actually. I will make a confession, there had been times that I really need a nap, and I would pop in a DVD, and fall asleep while Aidan watched TV- but usually I found him looking at me when I popped open one eye to check up on him.
All this discussion of candy, juice, and TV, can be really controversial: so please remember, this is just my opinion, nothing right or wrong about it, just what we are using at home.
Interestingly, I found that a lot of this is related to how I grew up. In Taiwan, LONG time ago, there really was no TV. We had 3 stations, and they only broadcasted between noon and 1 pm, then 6-10 pm. Definitely no cartoons for me. My parents didn't want us watching TV either: bad for the eye sight (which isn't proven), and in their opinion, a waste of time (probably). So I watched TV when they were out. But with homework and all that, and the fact that the programming often left something to be desired, there really wasn't that much TV to watch. As for candy: I remembered my grandparents gave me A LOT OF CANDY. I also had a lot of cavities. Go figure. It sure was a quick way to make me quiet. Finally, juice. We had no easy access to orange/apple juice: those fruits weren't native to Taiwan and therefore, quite $. However, I had access to chrysanthemum tea drink boxes, star fruit juice boxes, passion fruit juice boxes...etc. We were given free reign to the pantry after school- I also ate a huge amount of Chinese crackers/cookies/junk as a kid. Soda however, was limited to guests visiting us and when we ate at restaurants, which were special occasions. We did have 2-liter bottles around the house. Sometimes, my brother and I would sneak a sip, then fill it back up with water... Obviously, parents could only do so much... AND, there was, still is, definitely a difference between an obedient heart versus appearances...
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Oops
I thought I would get a head start and register for my board exam. I contacted my training director and got info about how to register. I checked the abnp.com website, and OOPS! I already missed the deadline for this year's exam. The exam will be given in November, and the 'deadline' was Feb 1st, with a 'late deadline' of March 1st. Well, I totally missed the boat. Oops. I guess 2008 will have to do. Ah, just as well, what am I? Delusional? To think that I can study for this exam with a newborn and a toddler. Better to think that I can study for it with TWO toddlers. This is definitely something I only want to do once, being $4000 and all... I rather spend $4000 going on a cruise... Or, even, $4000 can buy me 40 hours of massages at Watercourse Way. Or, diamonds... Or...the possibilities are endless!Sunday, March 11, 2007
The Countdown
Hubby likes to take pictures of me being VERY pregnant. It is also fun to compare the two pregnancies- I definitely retained more water last time. Aidan turns THREE!
We are celebrating Aidan's birthday a little bit earlier this year. Who knows when his sibling is coming? He had a party at school on Friday. I brought ice-cream sundaes to serve all his classmates. He thoroughly enjoyed it, the whole 9 minutes of it. These little people have very short attention spans!
Then, we had a park outing and dinner with some of his favorite toddlers. The servers at Red Robin sang to him, and he thought that was the BEST! But then, when we got home, he didn't want to go to bed or put his toys away, or simply, listen. Poor child got timed out...
Grandpa is taking us out to dinner next week, and that should be fun for him too.
It is hard to not give him so much- whereas when I was a child, my birthdays consisted of a cake, although I got to pick out the cake from the booklet and they delivered it to us. Although, because my birthday falls on Father's Day in Taiwan, my cake always came late as the delivery service was always overwhelmed. I think my favorite back then were lemon meringue pie and this taro cake. Alas I digress. It is hard for me to hold back and not give Aidan lots of little parties... He is only this age once.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Random Thoughts
Aidan has been saying things like, "I worry...you choke/I choke/I spill/I fall..." And then there is the new fear of darkness, so he is now the proud owner of two night lights. There is also a fear of monsters/masters. I think he is confused about the song from Les Mis, "Master of the House." To him, it sounds like "Monster of the House." Sometimes, I want to tell him, "you have nothing to worry about until I give you something to worry about!" But alas, in my attempts to be an affirming/supportive parent, I find myself saying, "Monster in the house? Oh Aidan, it is Master of the House, and there are THREE Masters in this House, you, me, and Daddy. Besides, we eat monsters in this house." So far, that seems to work.
In this new stage of fears and nightmares, which according to experts, can last THREE years (yikes?!), I find his Sunday School curriculum and actually, most of the Bible, to be difficult to explain to him. His lesson from last week was Jesus raising the widow's son. Sometime this past weekend, I find Aidan studying the take home sheet intently- it shows a picture of a mother weeping over a 'sleeping' boy, and the next pictures shows the mom smiling the boy jumping up. I wonder if he thinks that I am sad when he is asleep... And also, I don't know how to explain death to him, in light that we will be leaving him for a few days to go to the hospital. Today's lesson is about Jesus calming the wind and storm- fortunately for us, out here in California, we don't get stormy weather too often and there is hardly ever any lightening. (As a child, I was deathly afraid of lightening. And in Taiwan, lightening is nearly a daily occurence.) I begin to think, what stories in the Bible isn't scary?! I suppose there is Jesus feeding the 5000. And that is pretty much it. With Easter coming up, I also find it is hard to describe resurrection in a way that is comprehensible to a 3 year old. Any suggestions?
In this new stage of fears and nightmares, which according to experts, can last THREE years (yikes?!), I find his Sunday School curriculum and actually, most of the Bible, to be difficult to explain to him. His lesson from last week was Jesus raising the widow's son. Sometime this past weekend, I find Aidan studying the take home sheet intently- it shows a picture of a mother weeping over a 'sleeping' boy, and the next pictures shows the mom smiling the boy jumping up. I wonder if he thinks that I am sad when he is asleep... And also, I don't know how to explain death to him, in light that we will be leaving him for a few days to go to the hospital. Today's lesson is about Jesus calming the wind and storm- fortunately for us, out here in California, we don't get stormy weather too often and there is hardly ever any lightening. (As a child, I was deathly afraid of lightening. And in Taiwan, lightening is nearly a daily occurence.) I begin to think, what stories in the Bible isn't scary?! I suppose there is Jesus feeding the 5000. And that is pretty much it. With Easter coming up, I also find it is hard to describe resurrection in a way that is comprehensible to a 3 year old. Any suggestions?
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Random Predictions
As my due date is approaching, people have some pretty random predictions about the gender and the due date. It is quite funny, actually. More people are saying it is a girl, and we're approaching 50/50 in that department. As for the due date, Hubby is predicting that the baby will arrive the week of 3/19. I personally like the date of 3/24: 24 is such a divisible, even number. Perhaps all you folks can put down your predictions, just for fun.Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Another Funny- from a kindergarten teacher
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright,
very outgoing child, takes her turn and waddles up to
the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her
sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This
is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you
about his birthday. First, Mom and Dad made him as a
symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my
Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine
months through an umbrella cord." She's standing there
with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to
laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The
children are watching her in amazement. "Then, about
two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going,
"Oh, oh,oh!'" Erica puts a hand behind her back and
groans. "She walked around the house for, like an
hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" Now the child is doing this
hysterical duck walk; holding her back and groaning.
"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies,
but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the
Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like
this." Erica lies down with her back against the wall.
"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept
in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up
and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" This
child is sitting on the floor with her little hands
miming water flowing away. "Then the middle wife
starts saying 'push, push, and breathe, breathe." They
started counting, but never even got past ten." "Then,
all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered
in yucky stuff. They said it was from Mom's
play-center, so there must be a lot of stuff inside
there for him to do "
A note from baby:
OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great—I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or
night. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but
it is only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months.
Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep--they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle. It goes like this: Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good. Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed. Night
3—every hour. Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights.
Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it. Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT!
I cried for any reason I could come up with:
My sleep sack tickled my foot.
I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
I burped, and it tasted like pears. I hadn't eaten
pears since lunch, what's up with that?
The cat said "meow". I should know. My Mommy reminds
me of this about 20 times a day.
Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when
it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
Too hot, too cold, just right--doesn't matter!
Keep crying!! It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.
P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out.
Trust me.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Buying Stuff
Is it nesting? Or is it just buying stuff because we know that this new baby is going to be expensive, and so we might as well buy lots of stuff for ourselves before the baby gets here?
Hubby and I have spent this evening buying stuff. Do we really need all this stuff? Let's see, what have we bought. Software, printer, curtain clips and books from Amazon. I have spent a good chuck of my day buying more stuff at Target and the mall. Seriously. Hubby jokingly said, that he needs Jesus, me, and STUFF! And since he already has Jesus and me, he might as well buy more stuff!
While we don't know the gender of our bambino, I keep thinking that it would be more fiscally responsible to have another boy. We have all this perfectly nice boy clothing, boy toys (really, no fooling ourselves that even in toddlerhood, boy toys are different than girl toys, there are few gender-neutral toys,) and I would be so tempted to buy all sorts of matching outfits if we have a little girl. I mean, Aidan really just have two pairs of shoes at any given season, and we can't get away with that if we have a girl! She needs to MATCH! AND, we always let Aidan leave the house with his hair doing whatever it pleases, and we can't do that with a little girl. Sure, maybe someday, I will have a girl to go to the spa with, but then again, that would require spending more $. Then there is the eventual wedding. Whereas, I imagine, with Aidan, I just let him loose in a park and he can run around until he is exhausted, for free. However, is it really 'cheaper' to raise a boy? I have no idea. (Aidan is expensive when it comes to food: the child LOVES sushi... and I suppose teenage boys will eat more.) Although, I ate plenty growing up. The joke at home, is that I ate all my sister's food, and that is why I am taller than her, and that my father knew that if he saw something he would eventually want to eat, he should just eat it right then and there, because all that food will evaporate, in a house of three kids. Alas, I digress. Either way, we know we will love this new baby, and s/he will be exactly what we need. Then, the womb is going to be closed, for permanent renovation.
So far, there are 4 people who think we are having a girl: Hubby, my father-in-law, my collogue, Jeanine, and friend, Gilda. The rest of the world think I am having a boy. We will see.
Hubby and I have spent this evening buying stuff. Do we really need all this stuff? Let's see, what have we bought. Software, printer, curtain clips and books from Amazon. I have spent a good chuck of my day buying more stuff at Target and the mall. Seriously. Hubby jokingly said, that he needs Jesus, me, and STUFF! And since he already has Jesus and me, he might as well buy more stuff!
While we don't know the gender of our bambino, I keep thinking that it would be more fiscally responsible to have another boy. We have all this perfectly nice boy clothing, boy toys (really, no fooling ourselves that even in toddlerhood, boy toys are different than girl toys, there are few gender-neutral toys,) and I would be so tempted to buy all sorts of matching outfits if we have a little girl. I mean, Aidan really just have two pairs of shoes at any given season, and we can't get away with that if we have a girl! She needs to MATCH! AND, we always let Aidan leave the house with his hair doing whatever it pleases, and we can't do that with a little girl. Sure, maybe someday, I will have a girl to go to the spa with, but then again, that would require spending more $. Then there is the eventual wedding. Whereas, I imagine, with Aidan, I just let him loose in a park and he can run around until he is exhausted, for free. However, is it really 'cheaper' to raise a boy? I have no idea. (Aidan is expensive when it comes to food: the child LOVES sushi... and I suppose teenage boys will eat more.) Although, I ate plenty growing up. The joke at home, is that I ate all my sister's food, and that is why I am taller than her, and that my father knew that if he saw something he would eventually want to eat, he should just eat it right then and there, because all that food will evaporate, in a house of three kids. Alas, I digress. Either way, we know we will love this new baby, and s/he will be exactly what we need. Then, the womb is going to be closed, for permanent renovation.
So far, there are 4 people who think we are having a girl: Hubby, my father-in-law, my collogue, Jeanine, and friend, Gilda. The rest of the world think I am having a boy. We will see.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
More Pain, More Joy
Aidan LOVES Legos, most of the time. The other times, he DESPISES them. I don't blame him. I don't like them so much myself. Lucky for Aidan, Daddy is a very capable Legos builder. Between the two of them, they have built numerous fire trucks , ladder trucks, pumper trucks, car transporter, ambulance, police car, helicopter, train, caboose, trolley train, cable car, and the list goes on and on and on. Unfortunately for Aidan, the ladder of his ladder truck really isn't so cooperative and often times, falls off. Even more unfortunately for Aidan, his mother isn't not spatially oriented, and most often than not, breaks the truck into even more pieces. At that point, Aidan loses all his ego strength and whines. I cannot stand whining AND Legos, at the same time. Then the threat ensues, "if you continue to whine, Mommy will put these Legos away. Ask in your sweet voice, please." I have had to put it all away once. When Daddy comes back, he usually hears an earful from me, "I HATE LEGOS!" Yet I can't help myself when given the opportunity to buy him more Legos. Part of the problem, is that Aidan really doesn't want to play with his age-appropriate Duplos. He wants the REAL thing, and the REAL thing, is really meant for 5 year olds. His little fingers just can't quite maneuver all the pieces yet, although he is getting better at it. I suppose just like life, more pain, more joy, and SOMEBODY has to pay...
Today marks the beginning of my maternity leave. My last weekend on call was horrifically busy. I didn't get called at night, thankfully. But there were lots of admissions. Alas, I leave that life behind for now, and on to nightly call. I also can't stop myself from buying household supplies: we now have garbage bags for the next 4 months, detergent until Christmas, and dishwasher tabs until what may possibly be the end of time. The freezer is FULL: including the jam packed doors. As much as I want this child to get here soon, I am relishing the last bit of freedom as I know it!
I have a long list of things I want to get done. However, work has been very hectic, and I am on-call this weekend, and as much as I want to go do errands, I know that I should nap and not wear myself out. This afternoon, I resisted the urge to go to Target. Instead, I napped on the couch...until my phone rang, and rang, and rang. Argh. To be on call...blah!
I have decided to throw ourselves a big Easter Party: to commence whenever we get home from the hospital. I am buying presents for all of us, and hopefully, have time to wrap them too. We will get balloons, cake, and the works. Might as well dilute the misery of a screaming newborn with fun, right?
After talking the matter over with some of my colleagues, the benefit/woe of being a psychiatrist, I have changed my mind. That perhaps option B is more psychologically sound. We are not looking for 'fun', but for 'stability.' Moreover, to have just one plan to work out seems more manageable too. We will see. For all I know, I will wake up with a WHOLE new plan.
The good thing is, the freezer is stocked. I am now onto gathering take-out menus...
Today marks the beginning of my maternity leave. My last weekend on call was horrifically busy. I didn't get called at night, thankfully. But there were lots of admissions. Alas, I leave that life behind for now, and on to nightly call. I also can't stop myself from buying household supplies: we now have garbage bags for the next 4 months, detergent until Christmas, and dishwasher tabs until what may possibly be the end of time. The freezer is FULL: including the jam packed doors. As much as I want this child to get here soon, I am relishing the last bit of freedom as I know it!
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Preparing for The Second Coming
In a strange way, preparing for our second baby's arrival is sort of like preparing for The Second Coming: There is always more to do to get ready, and yet you can never do enough to get ready. And you're as ready as you can be, thanks to the grace of God. The first time around, I was in denial: it can't be that bad. Heck, med school wasn't that bad. This time, I KNOW, it is going to be bad. Motherhood is harder than med school/residency/anything else. But I also know, this badness will end. All children eventually grow out of eating every 2 hours, and no child goes to college asking Mommy to rock him/her to sleep.I have a long list of things I want to get done. However, work has been very hectic, and I am on-call this weekend, and as much as I want to go do errands, I know that I should nap and not wear myself out. This afternoon, I resisted the urge to go to Target. Instead, I napped on the couch...until my phone rang, and rang, and rang. Argh. To be on call...blah!
I have decided to throw ourselves a big Easter Party: to commence whenever we get home from the hospital. I am buying presents for all of us, and hopefully, have time to wrap them too. We will get balloons, cake, and the works. Might as well dilute the misery of a screaming newborn with fun, right?
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Perseverating...
Since my last posting, I have had many hours to perseverate over the options I have previously considered to be 'the best' option. At 3 am, when I am awake in bed, wondering, what this will mean to the psyche of my toddler, does it really matter? I don't really need 'the best option', but I do need a 'good enough option.' And what would that be?After talking the matter over with some of my colleagues, the benefit/woe of being a psychiatrist, I have changed my mind. That perhaps option B is more psychologically sound. We are not looking for 'fun', but for 'stability.' Moreover, to have just one plan to work out seems more manageable too. We will see. For all I know, I will wake up with a WHOLE new plan.
The good thing is, the freezer is stocked. I am now onto gathering take-out menus...
Monday, February 26, 2007
Preparations
Delivery day is coming, sometime, I don't know when, or how, but I know it is coming, and we feel quite unprepared. There are simply TOO many factors; what day this baby comes, what time of day, how quickly I will progress, and the list goes on. Somehow, it seems so simple when Aidan arrived.
We have several plans.
Plan A: Aidan will go for an extended sleep over at a friend's house. He actually is quite looking forward to this arrangement. However, this family is going on vacation for ten days, when I will be in my 38th-39th week of gestation. So, on one hand, I pray that the baby will come early, since this is the most suitable arrangement for Aidan, on the other hand, this means the baby will be here in just 2-3 weeks... Moreover, this family lives about 25 miles away from us. Will we have enough time to load everything in the car, drive down, say bye, and drive back up to the hospital? And if this happens at night, what will it be like for a 3 year-old to be waken up to be dropped off at someone else's house, in the dark? I have decided though, that if it means giving up my epidural (because I would have missed the 'window') for this option to work, fine by me.
Plan B: While our trusted friends are away, one of Aidan's teachers from school offered to help. She is willing to come to our house, day or night, and keep Aidan company. I feel good about this option, since Myra knows Aidan very well. However, I think Aidan would have more fun with option A. And, doesn't it seem sad to be at home when Mommy and Daddy are gone?
Plan C: If there is just no time, to get to plan A or plan B, Aidan can always observe the birth. Hubby thinks he might go insane trying to offer me support and to entertain Aidan at the same time... But insane is better than dead.
It has become clear, that our bags need to be packed and stowed in the car. We need to pack my bag, Hubby's bag, Aidan's bag, Aidan's bed, the camera needs to be charged, the laptop needs to be charged, and the car needs to have gas.
Meanwhile, I am packing up our freezer like a mad woman. I have made 12 quarts of chicken broth, with plans for more freezable/thawable meals. So much so, that I am looking to get a new freezer, just to stash food. I am also purging an incredible amount of stuff from our house. I have made weekly runs to Goodwill...with more stuff in my car for tomorrow's run. Hubby, on the other hand, is trying to organize his life as if the world is ending. He is labeling all 15,000 digital photos we have, so that if I am ever in the mood to search for, say, a photo of me, in NY, with snow, it would be possible. (Meanwhile, this project means that I have no access to the latest photo of Aidan for posting...) Funny how we all have our coping mechanisms. Aidan has become very concerned about not 'missing' anything. I think he is worried about missing the arrival of the baby.
We have several plans.
Plan A: Aidan will go for an extended sleep over at a friend's house. He actually is quite looking forward to this arrangement. However, this family is going on vacation for ten days, when I will be in my 38th-39th week of gestation. So, on one hand, I pray that the baby will come early, since this is the most suitable arrangement for Aidan, on the other hand, this means the baby will be here in just 2-3 weeks... Moreover, this family lives about 25 miles away from us. Will we have enough time to load everything in the car, drive down, say bye, and drive back up to the hospital? And if this happens at night, what will it be like for a 3 year-old to be waken up to be dropped off at someone else's house, in the dark? I have decided though, that if it means giving up my epidural (because I would have missed the 'window') for this option to work, fine by me.
Plan B: While our trusted friends are away, one of Aidan's teachers from school offered to help. She is willing to come to our house, day or night, and keep Aidan company. I feel good about this option, since Myra knows Aidan very well. However, I think Aidan would have more fun with option A. And, doesn't it seem sad to be at home when Mommy and Daddy are gone?
Plan C: If there is just no time, to get to plan A or plan B, Aidan can always observe the birth. Hubby thinks he might go insane trying to offer me support and to entertain Aidan at the same time... But insane is better than dead.
It has become clear, that our bags need to be packed and stowed in the car. We need to pack my bag, Hubby's bag, Aidan's bag, Aidan's bed, the camera needs to be charged, the laptop needs to be charged, and the car needs to have gas.
Meanwhile, I am packing up our freezer like a mad woman. I have made 12 quarts of chicken broth, with plans for more freezable/thawable meals. So much so, that I am looking to get a new freezer, just to stash food. I am also purging an incredible amount of stuff from our house. I have made weekly runs to Goodwill...with more stuff in my car for tomorrow's run. Hubby, on the other hand, is trying to organize his life as if the world is ending. He is labeling all 15,000 digital photos we have, so that if I am ever in the mood to search for, say, a photo of me, in NY, with snow, it would be possible. (Meanwhile, this project means that I have no access to the latest photo of Aidan for posting...) Funny how we all have our coping mechanisms. Aidan has become very concerned about not 'missing' anything. I think he is worried about missing the arrival of the baby.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Just Like the First Time
Today is a special day. Hubby offers to pick Aidan up from school after work, and the boys make plans to go see the train, particularly, a baby bullet Caltrain. To Aidan, I think this is the most exciting trip, ever.
That frees me up. I have the WHOLE afternoon free. I go grocery shopping and stock up the fridge. Yum! Then, I sit on the couch, pop in a Friends DVD, and let the afternoon go by. I do take breaks to eat. Hmm, fried chicken, goldfish crackers, and a Chinese cupcake. Yum. I fall asleep, and wake up just in time to make dinner. The house is eeriely quiet...
This leisurely afternoon is just like many afternoons I had while Aidan was in my belly. No wonder I gained SO much weight with him. All that free time to eat and nap...
That frees me up. I have the WHOLE afternoon free. I go grocery shopping and stock up the fridge. Yum! Then, I sit on the couch, pop in a Friends DVD, and let the afternoon go by. I do take breaks to eat. Hmm, fried chicken, goldfish crackers, and a Chinese cupcake. Yum. I fall asleep, and wake up just in time to make dinner. The house is eeriely quiet...
This leisurely afternoon is just like many afternoons I had while Aidan was in my belly. No wonder I gained SO much weight with him. All that free time to eat and nap...
Sunday, February 11, 2007
What We Did on My Off Day
This is a report of what we ended up doing. Somehow, with my due date 7 weeks away, I feel this sense of urgency- TO HAVE FUN! EAT OUT! DO STUFF!!!I wake up at 7:30 in the morning to Hubby creeping out of bed, and he says, "Keep sleeping, I will get Aidan when he is up." Ahh, music to my ears. I fall back to sleep, wake up at 8:30, from an awful dream. The dream is about how Hubby and Aidan go to some sort of garage sale and pick up ALL sorts of junk, then they come home, spread it all around the house, and they say, "Look! We found cool stuff. Stuff so cool that other people don't want them anymore..." These days, as I am nesting, I am not really about acquiring new stuff, I am about purging old stuff and organizing our stuff. I have been pawning off some of our stuff on craigslist, with mixed success. Do you need stuff? Let me know.
Anyway, we are all up by nine. We eat breakfast, we get ready, and we finally get out of the house by 10:15. Oh, and I am the happy receiver of my Valentine's gifts today.
I am now the proud owner of an ipod- the idea is that while the new bambino is screaming, I can just crank up my ipod and hopefully neutralize that dreadful newborn/banshee shrieking. We make it to Costco, where we pick up some fruit. Aidan eats some raspberries from the loot on our way to the San Mateo Library for story time. This child isn't really interested in story time- fine by me, story time is INSANE there... He rather finds books about trains/planes/fire trucks... This library is very new, and it comes with this check out system where you don't need to scan each book, that at the check out station, the system 'senses' the books. Brilliant idea, but so dumb in reality! Apparently, the system can only sense 6 books at a time, and you have to confirm the selections, that you do indeed what to borrow them. I do not think it saves time...
We have lunch. Aidan naps. I nap. We all get up, and make a trip to the cemetery, to remember Hubby's Mom's birthday and decease day- both in February. Kind of a hard concept to explain to a toddler. Hmm. "You know how you see Mommy's Daddy and Mommy's Mommy? But you only see Daddy's Daddy and there is no Daddy's Mommy? Well, Daddy's Mommy lives with Jesus now so we can't see her. But we go to this place, and we bring her flowers to show our respect and to remember her. Even though we remember her everyday..." Aidan says, "Why?" I say, "It is just the way it is."
We get dinner at Roti in Burlingame after hearing excellent reviews from friends. Hubby and I enjoy our meal- but Aidan, well, I suppose Indian food is nothing like he has ever seen/tasted, and perhaps he is still full from his huge lunch/smoothie/huge glass of whole milk (in anticipation of spicy Indian food...) the child consumes a piece of naan the size of my thumb. We say, "well, Aidan, this is dinner. There is no more food until tomorrow, when the sun is up. Your choice."
On our way home, Hubby and I are talking, about the sad state of the 'big three' American auto makers, and Aidan is whining endlessly in the back. We ignore him. Then he gets louder, "Daddy, DAddy, DADdy, DADDy, DADDY!!!" Hubby pulls over, Aidan says, "What happened?!" And I am in my seat, thinking, boy, I would be afraid, very afraid... Hubby says, firmly, "Mommy and I are talking, you can listen, and when we are done, you can tell a story, or you can comment on our story, but you need to stop whining." Silence, the rest of the way home. Ahh. Why is it that parents always want their babies to talk, and then when they are toddlers, they wish for moments of mutism?
Aidan takes a 'shower' when we get home. I am not completely sure he is clean, but I suppose, clean enough. My day is done too.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Best Phone Call During Dinner, EVER
I just received the best phone call during our meal time, ever. You know how telemarketers know to call during dinner, so I usually sigh and get the phone reluctantly. However, this phone call is the BEST!
We were sitting down to some beef fried rice for dinner, my cell phone rang, and I thought- the hospital? Telemarketers? Annoying people I needed to get rid off. As it turned out, it was my boss. He called to say that I do not need to go to the hospital tomorrow!!! The census on the ward had been so low, that he thought there would no need for me to go in. WHAT A LOVELY PHONE CALL!! I have the BEST job, ever.
Now, what to do on a free day...
We were sitting down to some beef fried rice for dinner, my cell phone rang, and I thought- the hospital? Telemarketers? Annoying people I needed to get rid off. As it turned out, it was my boss. He called to say that I do not need to go to the hospital tomorrow!!! The census on the ward had been so low, that he thought there would no need for me to go in. WHAT A LOVELY PHONE CALL!! I have the BEST job, ever.
Now, what to do on a free day...
Saturday, February 03, 2007
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ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS
I was browsing the blog of a friend, which led me to the blog of another person, and then to this. Absolutely hilarious.
Date to Save -
The Four Food Groups
There are four food groups here in our household: Feast, Famine, Freaky, and Foul.
Feast: When I have the time/energy/creativity, I cook up a storm and we feast. Among our favorites, apple sauce pork chops, various pastas, soups from scratch.
Famine: When I am tired/unmotivated/lazy, there is just nothing to eat.
Freaky: When I am trying to clear out the freezer, freaky combos appear on our dinning table: last Sunday, after church, we had potstickers in clam chowder, with spinach.
Foul: This past Wednesday, Hubby comes home from work with a stomach ache. He tells me that the chicken in his lunch was suspecious. I say, what chicken? It was pork in your lunch. We have this long discussion about chicken versus pork. Anyway, the end conclusion is that his lunch was no longer edible, and he should not have eaten it. Something went foul... Well, on Friday evening, he empties out his lunch container to put in the dishwasher, there is still a bit of the 'foul lunch' in there, I look in, OH MY GOODNESS! I don't even remember packing this meal, it is from a LONG time ago. And somehow, in the cavernous fridge at work, Hubby manages to find this really old lunch!
We need more feasts than the other three groups. Anyone with recipes that freeze well, please share them!
Friday, January 26, 2007
Updates on Potty Training
A few months ago, I wrote about how poop ended up all over my washer/dryer.
Well, here is an update. In case you're eating, you may want to stop reading.
We have been slowly brain washing Aidan with the idea that he doesn't really need diapers anymore, and that we're going to have a send-off party for the diapers. Last Tuesday, he woke up in the morning and told me that he didn't want to wear diapers anymore that day, and that he wanted to get into his Elmo underwear. Was I going to argue with a toddler who wanted to progress onto the next phase?! Nope. We went to school and I packed 3 extra pairs of pants, 3 extra pairs of socks, and 3 extra undies, and an extra pair of shoes. I presented the goods to his teacher, and sheepishly informed her that...hmm...Aidan was wearing real underwear. She was great about this development and graciously took the supplies and said that she will work on it. By the time I went to pick Aidan up from school, he had a big bag of urine soaked clothes waiting for me. No biggie, urine soaked was better than...brown. We went home, and I couldn't take my eyes of Aidan- and tried very hard to keep him off all the absorbent surfaces. Since that fateful day, I had been running the washer A LOT. And there had been brown stuff...
Now, I wonder, every household with children must has had to wash all that brown stuff, because urinary control and bowel control are two separate issues- where do most people do this? Presumably, you scrape as much as you could (the teachers do this for me...) and then do people use their kitchen sink? Bathroom sink? Or what?! Now, for those of you reading, you may never want to eat in my house again... But, I have elected to do this dirty deed in my kitchen sink, while I am gloved, using the hottest water from the faucet, with a pot of water boiling on the stove. When I finish washing, I throw a lemon in the garbage disposal, turn on the disposal, and chase it with a pot of boiling water. Perhaps I should be microwaving my entire sink/kitchen/house...
Of course, there has to be an incentive to potty train. For the urine portion of the program, he has been receiving stickers and he doesn't even care for them much now. For the bowel part, well, we have a 'surprise jar.' It is filled with jelly bellies, chocolate, bubble bath, real money... And the jar has been amazing. He talks about it all day long. Then, for someone who is not suppose to have bowel control, he manages to produce a very small nugget and the demands a surprise. He manipulates this reward system! (Thrice yesterday!) Finally, we have a talk with him about the difference between a naturally occurring bowel movement versus a forced bowel movement and how the latter results in "bunch of grapes" (aka hemorrhoids...) and then making a visual aid of "normal-size-for-his-age-poop" versus small poop using our playdoh.
The good news is that a week later, Aidan is running to the bathroom on his own, yelling, "I need to pee!" as he runs. He has also mastered urinating standing up and sitting down. The bad news is that sometime brown appears while he is peeing standing up. This has yet to happen at home... But I brace myself for the inevitable.
As a person, I cannot escape talking about poop. At work, patients talk about poop ALL THE TIME, seriously. People talk about poop like money... And at home, well, I live for poop, or rather, containing this poop...
Well, here is an update. In case you're eating, you may want to stop reading.
We have been slowly brain washing Aidan with the idea that he doesn't really need diapers anymore, and that we're going to have a send-off party for the diapers. Last Tuesday, he woke up in the morning and told me that he didn't want to wear diapers anymore that day, and that he wanted to get into his Elmo underwear. Was I going to argue with a toddler who wanted to progress onto the next phase?! Nope. We went to school and I packed 3 extra pairs of pants, 3 extra pairs of socks, and 3 extra undies, and an extra pair of shoes. I presented the goods to his teacher, and sheepishly informed her that...hmm...Aidan was wearing real underwear. She was great about this development and graciously took the supplies and said that she will work on it. By the time I went to pick Aidan up from school, he had a big bag of urine soaked clothes waiting for me. No biggie, urine soaked was better than...brown. We went home, and I couldn't take my eyes of Aidan- and tried very hard to keep him off all the absorbent surfaces. Since that fateful day, I had been running the washer A LOT. And there had been brown stuff...
Now, I wonder, every household with children must has had to wash all that brown stuff, because urinary control and bowel control are two separate issues- where do most people do this? Presumably, you scrape as much as you could (the teachers do this for me...) and then do people use their kitchen sink? Bathroom sink? Or what?! Now, for those of you reading, you may never want to eat in my house again... But, I have elected to do this dirty deed in my kitchen sink, while I am gloved, using the hottest water from the faucet, with a pot of water boiling on the stove. When I finish washing, I throw a lemon in the garbage disposal, turn on the disposal, and chase it with a pot of boiling water. Perhaps I should be microwaving my entire sink/kitchen/house...
Of course, there has to be an incentive to potty train. For the urine portion of the program, he has been receiving stickers and he doesn't even care for them much now. For the bowel part, well, we have a 'surprise jar.' It is filled with jelly bellies, chocolate, bubble bath, real money... And the jar has been amazing. He talks about it all day long. Then, for someone who is not suppose to have bowel control, he manages to produce a very small nugget and the demands a surprise. He manipulates this reward system! (Thrice yesterday!) Finally, we have a talk with him about the difference between a naturally occurring bowel movement versus a forced bowel movement and how the latter results in "bunch of grapes" (aka hemorrhoids...) and then making a visual aid of "normal-size-for-his-age-poop" versus small poop using our playdoh.
The good news is that a week later, Aidan is running to the bathroom on his own, yelling, "I need to pee!" as he runs. He has also mastered urinating standing up and sitting down. The bad news is that sometime brown appears while he is peeing standing up. This has yet to happen at home... But I brace myself for the inevitable.
As a person, I cannot escape talking about poop. At work, patients talk about poop ALL THE TIME, seriously. People talk about poop like money... And at home, well, I live for poop, or rather, containing this poop...
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Choice of Music
Aidan is still in love with the sound track from "Les Miserables." We have moved on from "Do you hear the people sing?" While it is a perennial favorite, we're always trying to expand his horizons. He has taken a liking to "Look down" and "Follow me!" Really fun songs, I think. I doubt he knows what they are really singing about- what 3 year old would need to understand the idea of a revolution? And frankly, he doesn't need to know that he could revolt against authorities! For the last two days, he has been asking to listen to "Lovely ladies." Hmm. The song starts with words of, "I smell ladies..." (The song is really about prostitution...yikes.) For some reason, this child LOVES it, and that is all I have been listening to while we're in the car. Even now, I can still hear the echoes... Hopefully, he will grow out of this, before I really have to explain to a 3 year old what the song is REALLY about.
Hubby and I decide a few weeks to spend a long weekend in San Francisco- Aidan gets to ride all sorts of public transit, we get to shop and eat. How fun would that be?
We stay at Marriott's Stanford Court on Nob Hill. A fantastic hotel since it meets our major needs:
1. A large bathroom, since Aidan sleeps on his Thomas bed in the bathroom when we travel- it is dark, quiet, and we can control the humidity, (since hotels are often so dry...) what else can a toddler want?
2. They deliver complimentary hot tea/coffee/chocolate to your room in the morning.
3. Cable cars are just around the corner.
We check in and Aidan is thrilled with this hotel room- it comes with a TV that has all sorts of different channels! We have dinner at Fairmont's Tonga Room. The wait staff seems condescending: "don't let him fall in the water, it is real water." Hmm. Then our request for no peanuts starts another round of this, "what? All Chinese food is cooked in peanut oil." We say, "can you cook it in vegetable oil?" For the $ of our meal, surely you can be more accommodating! The best part of our meal though, is dessert, rich, chocolate ganache, yum.
on Saturday, we buy an all-day pass for SF Railway System. We end up riding the public transit system 8 times... Aidan loves the trolley train and can't get enough of the "F" line. We, however, have had quite enough. I don't know why, the view from a trolley train is just SO much cooler than the view from our Volvo. Alas, the wonders of a toddler. We shop, we eat, and we ride the trolley bus. Then, that evening, after we put Aidan to bed, in the bathroom, I roam the halls to find the housekeeping staff, for my nighttime goodies: chocolate and bottled water. When I return to our room, there is a little robin's blue bag on my pillow! The BEST kind of turndown service! Hubby, the ever-so-sneaky one, manages to pick up my 'baby gift.' When Aidan was born, I got a ring, for my right hand. Foolish me, at the time, I had thought that a piece of jewelry would be a lovely remainder of having a child. Hmm. In reality, that child is the reminder, AROUND the clock. No jewelry to remind me of that! This time around, I know the truth: NO AMOUNT OF JEWELRY WILL PAY FOR THE PAIN, not just labor pain, but the teething pain, the potty training pain, the adolescent pain... Only this, MORE PAIN, MORE JOY. Nonetheless, I am thrilled with Hubby's fine choice. When you see me, check out my ears.
On Sunday, we head over to the Metreon area, after swinging by Chinatown for some snacks. One can always count on Chinatown to be open bright and early! At the Yerba Buena play area, Aidan discovers these amazing slides- quite steep, and FAST. Fun! It is interesting to observe parents at playgrounds. Personally, I get rather annoyed with parents who don't supervise their kids- not really for the safety of those kids- although, as Aidan flies down the slide one time, and a toddler climbs up on the bottom of the slides and I am the only adult around. I pick up that child and avert a huge disaster of head-on collision. No, what bothers me is that children are innately aggressive, and they must be supervised and tamed! How can a parent physically intervene if one is holding onto a steaming cup of Starbucks?!
Seriously. Anyway, Aidan gets knocked down by a much bigger and faster child, and as I run up the stairs with my big belly, I wonder, where is your parent? Shouldn't you get a lesson about not pushing little children? Perhaps my tune will change when we have two- but really, at least yell something to your child! Well, later, I hear Aidan tell this particular boy, "DON'T." And the boy responds, "Okay, okay, okay." Then I hear Aidan tell Daddy, "I don't like him." These little people hold nothing back... And perhaps it is time to leave the playground and go do something else. There is also a wonderful carousel there. Super fun all around!
We head home for a lunch of goodies from Chinatown. Yum. And then nap time, Aidan naps for three hours...
On Monday, Aidan goes to school, and Daddy and I have a date.
We have been talking about going to Santa Ramen since we have lived here, and today is the day! We get there at 11:15, after hearing about how popular this place is, in anticipation of its opening at 11:30. But, THERE ARE ALREADY 35 PEOPLE IN LINE! Yikes. Their capacity is 29 people, so we are left out in the cold, literally. We are not allowed to wait inside. After reading the paper, being sarcastic about the wait, we see a new sign, "ALL OUT OF STEWED PORK." What? How can you run out of stuff within an hour of opening? However, we don't complain, since another sign, "We reserve the right to refuse service to ANYONE" sends a rather threatening message. We finally get to order and sit down at 12:20. I choose pork flavored kimchee ramen and Hubby gets soy bean flavored roasted pork ramen. YUM! The wait is kind of worth it, I think. It is fun though, to talk with Hubby about how they can improve their operation to increase productivity and decrease the wait time. I think they should start by making more stewed pork, but that is just my opinion.
We take a long walk through downtown, and buy shoes for both of us. Then, we head over to Dessert Republic. More yummies. Part of me feels really guilty- Aidan is at school, and we are out drinking mango juice! Probably two of his favorite things... Alas, to have happy parents is good for the toddler. We do pick up some sheet music of his favorite song, "Do you hear the people sing?" so he should have fun with that tonight.
The remaining fun things to do before the next baby comes:
1. Another prenatal massage.
2. Manicure/pedicure.
3. Afternoon tea.
4. Nap time, everyday, if I can help it.
I remember when I was a kid, I read about how in the near future, I would be working less because computers would be doing things for me. Yeah right. Computers are sucking up my precious time! Sure, I can't imagine living without my dishwasher and various appliances, and yes, they have little computers inside them to adjust the temperature, the timing...etc, and that is all great. However, the actual PC/Mac/Internet is sending me to my grave earlier.
Since Christmas, Hubby has been doing hand to hand combat with our very elderly PC. We have been storing backup data of pictures, videos...etc on it. With all the footages of Aidan, another hard drive becomes necessary to store all that treasured information. Somehow, and this is beyond me, the operating system will not recognize the three hard drives and it is driving my Hubby bananas.
Then, tonight, I try to pay our bills using Citibank's on-line banking system. Apparently, since AT&T merged with Cingular, our account number has been changed. Cingular has called us to change our on-line banking account number- so I figure, there is no escaping this. After logging in, I am not allowed to change the information for a payee- I need to get an authorization code from them, to Hubby's e mail address, and I am not allowed to put in a new e mail address. BLAH! After 10 minutes of this, I finally manage to hack into Hubby's e mail (actually, Hubby ends up logging on for me, and I WRITE the authorization code on a post-it!) Then, the website will not let me change the PO box info and it insists that the account number is 10 digit long. MY STATEMENT TELLS ME MY ACCOUNT NUMBER IS just NINE digits LONG!!!! What to do?! It is driving me bananas.
Let's not even get started about our latest woe with Amazon- we want to use the Amazon credit card to buy something at Amazon, but the credit alert people keep locking us out. Hubby ends up spending at least 10 e mails going back and forth, and calling them 5 times, and seriously, THIS DOES NOT SAVE US TIME!
What does save me time? My billing service. They are the best. They respond to my questions within 24 hours. They send me confirmation about receiving my paperwork, they send deposits to my bank automatically, and they are just so nice on the phone. Notice this, THEY ARE NOT AN ON-LINE OPERATION!
Aidan is also not an on-line operation, and he is the sweetest.
Monday, January 15, 2007
The Last Hurrah
So I am 11 weeks from my due date- I have no clue what I have been doing for the last 29 weeks of this gestation, but we are determined to make the most of this precious time, aka one-child family.Hubby and I decide a few weeks to spend a long weekend in San Francisco- Aidan gets to ride all sorts of public transit, we get to shop and eat. How fun would that be?
We stay at Marriott's Stanford Court on Nob Hill. A fantastic hotel since it meets our major needs:
1. A large bathroom, since Aidan sleeps on his Thomas bed in the bathroom when we travel- it is dark, quiet, and we can control the humidity, (since hotels are often so dry...) what else can a toddler want?
2. They deliver complimentary hot tea/coffee/chocolate to your room in the morning.
3. Cable cars are just around the corner.
We check in and Aidan is thrilled with this hotel room- it comes with a TV that has all sorts of different channels! We have dinner at Fairmont's Tonga Room. The wait staff seems condescending: "don't let him fall in the water, it is real water." Hmm. Then our request for no peanuts starts another round of this, "what? All Chinese food is cooked in peanut oil." We say, "can you cook it in vegetable oil?" For the $ of our meal, surely you can be more accommodating! The best part of our meal though, is dessert, rich, chocolate ganache, yum.
on Saturday, we buy an all-day pass for SF Railway System. We end up riding the public transit system 8 times... Aidan loves the trolley train and can't get enough of the "F" line. We, however, have had quite enough. I don't know why, the view from a trolley train is just SO much cooler than the view from our Volvo. Alas, the wonders of a toddler. We shop, we eat, and we ride the trolley bus. Then, that evening, after we put Aidan to bed, in the bathroom, I roam the halls to find the housekeeping staff, for my nighttime goodies: chocolate and bottled water. When I return to our room, there is a little robin's blue bag on my pillow! The BEST kind of turndown service! Hubby, the ever-so-sneaky one, manages to pick up my 'baby gift.' When Aidan was born, I got a ring, for my right hand. Foolish me, at the time, I had thought that a piece of jewelry would be a lovely remainder of having a child. Hmm. In reality, that child is the reminder, AROUND the clock. No jewelry to remind me of that! This time around, I know the truth: NO AMOUNT OF JEWELRY WILL PAY FOR THE PAIN, not just labor pain, but the teething pain, the potty training pain, the adolescent pain... Only this, MORE PAIN, MORE JOY. Nonetheless, I am thrilled with Hubby's fine choice. When you see me, check out my ears.
On Sunday, we head over to the Metreon area, after swinging by Chinatown for some snacks. One can always count on Chinatown to be open bright and early! At the Yerba Buena play area, Aidan discovers these amazing slides- quite steep, and FAST. Fun! It is interesting to observe parents at playgrounds. Personally, I get rather annoyed with parents who don't supervise their kids- not really for the safety of those kids- although, as Aidan flies down the slide one time, and a toddler climbs up on the bottom of the slides and I am the only adult around. I pick up that child and avert a huge disaster of head-on collision. No, what bothers me is that children are innately aggressive, and they must be supervised and tamed! How can a parent physically intervene if one is holding onto a steaming cup of Starbucks?!
Seriously. Anyway, Aidan gets knocked down by a much bigger and faster child, and as I run up the stairs with my big belly, I wonder, where is your parent? Shouldn't you get a lesson about not pushing little children? Perhaps my tune will change when we have two- but really, at least yell something to your child! Well, later, I hear Aidan tell this particular boy, "DON'T." And the boy responds, "Okay, okay, okay." Then I hear Aidan tell Daddy, "I don't like him." These little people hold nothing back... And perhaps it is time to leave the playground and go do something else. There is also a wonderful carousel there. Super fun all around!We head home for a lunch of goodies from Chinatown. Yum. And then nap time, Aidan naps for three hours...
On Monday, Aidan goes to school, and Daddy and I have a date.
We have been talking about going to Santa Ramen since we have lived here, and today is the day! We get there at 11:15, after hearing about how popular this place is, in anticipation of its opening at 11:30. But, THERE ARE ALREADY 35 PEOPLE IN LINE! Yikes. Their capacity is 29 people, so we are left out in the cold, literally. We are not allowed to wait inside. After reading the paper, being sarcastic about the wait, we see a new sign, "ALL OUT OF STEWED PORK." What? How can you run out of stuff within an hour of opening? However, we don't complain, since another sign, "We reserve the right to refuse service to ANYONE" sends a rather threatening message. We finally get to order and sit down at 12:20. I choose pork flavored kimchee ramen and Hubby gets soy bean flavored roasted pork ramen. YUM! The wait is kind of worth it, I think. It is fun though, to talk with Hubby about how they can improve their operation to increase productivity and decrease the wait time. I think they should start by making more stewed pork, but that is just my opinion. We take a long walk through downtown, and buy shoes for both of us. Then, we head over to Dessert Republic. More yummies. Part of me feels really guilty- Aidan is at school, and we are out drinking mango juice! Probably two of his favorite things... Alas, to have happy parents is good for the toddler. We do pick up some sheet music of his favorite song, "Do you hear the people sing?" so he should have fun with that tonight.
The remaining fun things to do before the next baby comes:
1. Another prenatal massage.
2. Manicure/pedicure.
3. Afternoon tea.
4. Nap time, everyday, if I can help it.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Computers are NOT making our lives easier!
Today's complaint- computers are not making our lives easier.I remember when I was a kid, I read about how in the near future, I would be working less because computers would be doing things for me. Yeah right. Computers are sucking up my precious time! Sure, I can't imagine living without my dishwasher and various appliances, and yes, they have little computers inside them to adjust the temperature, the timing...etc, and that is all great. However, the actual PC/Mac/Internet is sending me to my grave earlier.
Since Christmas, Hubby has been doing hand to hand combat with our very elderly PC. We have been storing backup data of pictures, videos...etc on it. With all the footages of Aidan, another hard drive becomes necessary to store all that treasured information. Somehow, and this is beyond me, the operating system will not recognize the three hard drives and it is driving my Hubby bananas.
Then, tonight, I try to pay our bills using Citibank's on-line banking system. Apparently, since AT&T merged with Cingular, our account number has been changed. Cingular has called us to change our on-line banking account number- so I figure, there is no escaping this. After logging in, I am not allowed to change the information for a payee- I need to get an authorization code from them, to Hubby's e mail address, and I am not allowed to put in a new e mail address. BLAH! After 10 minutes of this, I finally manage to hack into Hubby's e mail (actually, Hubby ends up logging on for me, and I WRITE the authorization code on a post-it!) Then, the website will not let me change the PO box info and it insists that the account number is 10 digit long. MY STATEMENT TELLS ME MY ACCOUNT NUMBER IS just NINE digits LONG!!!! What to do?! It is driving me bananas.
Let's not even get started about our latest woe with Amazon- we want to use the Amazon credit card to buy something at Amazon, but the credit alert people keep locking us out. Hubby ends up spending at least 10 e mails going back and forth, and calling them 5 times, and seriously, THIS DOES NOT SAVE US TIME!
What does save me time? My billing service. They are the best. They respond to my questions within 24 hours. They send me confirmation about receiving my paperwork, they send deposits to my bank automatically, and they are just so nice on the phone. Notice this, THEY ARE NOT AN ON-LINE OPERATION!
Aidan is also not an on-line operation, and he is the sweetest.
In 2003, we were in St. Petersburg, Russia, the week before Christmas. We were freezing our bottoms off by the Peter and Paul Fortress. The river froze. This was taken at 3 pm, but obviously, quite dark already. I was 6 months pregnant with Aidan. 
In 2004, he was crawling and loved the wrapping paper that year. We didn't get a tree. Who needed a tree to tempt a baby?
In 2005, he said cheese on command for the first time. He also left the tree alone. 
This is our penguin, waddling. How cute can he be? Here he is, just waving. We love this expression- just so sweet. He has taken on a liking to taking care of babies. He loads up any container he can find with lots of stuffed animals, and blankets, and trains, and pillows, and then he whispers, 'baby sleeping.' 
We do some shopping, and then, Hubby gets lured away by the idea of taking some more photos of the Duomo. We decide to meet up at the market by Piazza San Lorenzo. But then, my sister and I, with Aidan falling asleep in the stroller, GET LOST! It is impossible to navigate while becoming hysterical with the idea of missing the train, then the cruise ship, and never seeing one's husband ever again... I run over quite a few people with the stroller, and my sister is calmly trying to tell me that Hubby will meet us at the train station. We finally get to the train station and voila, there is Hubby, with newly purchased water, waiting for us. I yell and gesture like a true Italian about him leaving us... Aidan sleeps through all of this, thankfully. I can't imagine doing this with a screaming toddler in tow. 
We proceed to see the Sistine Chapel. We stand in line, we pay our admission- the Catholic church is getting rich! And we are hurded through the Vatican Museum like cattle, or perhaps, it is like shopping at IKEA: it is an one way trip. I keep thinking that the chapel is coming up soon, it has to come soon, but no, room after room after room, no chapel. Aidan tells me he is hungry. My stomach tells me I am hungry. I want to mow down all those tourists and get out! By the time we are in the chapel, I am thinking, "this is great stuff, whatever, are we done yet?!" We finally make our way out, after a 2 hour expedition, and we find the most tasty pasta lunch ever. Yum. After lunch, we try to go see the Basilica, but thanks to the Pope, the line to see it wraps around the entire square. We give up. Get some gelato and make our way back to the train station.
Here is the whole traveling troop. 
Here are the counsins goofing off. 
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