Mama is...
missing lots of things and people, but the one thing I am truly missing is my memory. I forget to pay the day care teacher. I forget to create a course syllabus for my new students and for my "sort of new" job (transferring to a new school is a "sort of new" job for me). I forget to brush my teeth and wash my hair. Must I continue?
craving all sorts of foods. Every time someone mentions something I've eaten before, like Five Guys or Taco Bell, I can suddenly taste it and smell it and it's like I MUST EAT THAT NOW or I'm going to starve to death.
anticipating a crazy start to a new school year, but I'm trying to think happy positive thoughts and stay inspired by Soul Singing Liv, who doesn't let even the most scary and life changing of events bring her or her family down. I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to be blogging and have electronically connected through words with positive people like her.
thinking about how I really want to have a normal pregnancy and how I really want to show off my belly to anyone and everyone until it's time for me to push this baby out.
singing "Just Like a Rock Star" about 50 times a day now. You'd think I'd remember all of the lyrics by now, but see above and you'll understand why all I can remember is this beautifully worded line: "Shout it out, Just like a rock star!"
I will refrain from boring you with an entire "Cole currently is an ice pop post"and instead try to think outside of the box (even though these prompts are begging Cole to just talk about ice pops).
Cole is...
missing Juni, Allison and Shawn. We went camping with them last weekend (the long awaited beach camping trip will be a post soon, I promise) and he has been talking about them regularly ever since.
craving everything in frozen form. Okay I have to mention the ice pops here. It would be sacrilegious not to. He finished his last homemade ice pop yesterday morning. Since then, he has gone from begging "Pyease can I have an ice pop, Mama, pyease?" to desperation "Can I just have a small ice pop, Mama? I just want a small ice pop, Mama." When the ice pops are in stock the small ones are usually not good enough, although he will settle if I say, "Either the small ice pop or no ice pop at all." By yesterday afternoon he was in full meltdown mode. I offered him everything in the freezer that wasn't a homemade ice pop. But he wanted none of it. Finally, out of nowhere he came to me and told me he wanted the frozen banana I had offered him an hour prior to that, which is what makes me think the root of his ice pop cravings is the craving for something frozen.
anticipating the next time he can read Where the Wild Things Are. He really loves this book. He has taken to saying "I'll eat you up!" and can describe what the wild things are doing in the few pages where there are no words. It's fun to read with him, except when he tries to eat me up (i.e. bite my knee). That's just not funny anymore.
thinking about Fresh Beat songs. The album we got for him when we purchased the tickets to see them (next Monday) has been the soundtrack of our summer, literally. He demands them every single time we step into the car, and since we've gone on five camping trips, we've happily obliged so we can have a content passenger in the back.
singing Fresh Beat songs. He and Keith looked up some lyrics last night while I was folding laundry (and skipping my yoga class) and both of them could be heard in my room singing. Ten minutes later and Cole was rocking his DJ Lance hat and belting out his absolute favorite song on the face of this earth "Just Like a Rock Star."
P.S. Before you leave the blog don't forget to read my Friday's Letter post. I've written to my uterus because something tells me that she ain't happy.
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Friday, August 24, 2012
Dear Uterus - Friday's Letter
Dear Uterus,
I love you like my babies. You are after all, the key to helping grow my babies. But when I was pregnant with Cole, you and I weren't on the best of terms for a while there. I'm not going to blame you per se, but the doctors did say that it was your constant contractions that put me on strict bed rest for three months. This second time around though? I want us to be on the same team. The team that doesn't put my daughter at risk of being born too early. The team that lets me have a NORMAL pregnancy, one where I can continue working until at least the end of December. A normal pregnancy where I can show off my belly to every admiring passer by and actually wear all of the maternity clothes that have been handed down to me from my generous friends.
Please, do me this one solid and don't get all irritable on me until January, okay? Honestly, I feel little twinges here and there, and I'm not really sure if it's you getting on my case about one thing or another, or if it's just really bad gas. You don't have to answer that though because I don't really want to know. You can still change gears and settle down. I do seem to suffer from really bad gas lately, mostly because I eat anything and everything I can get my hands on. That includes foods I really shouldn't eat, so it's probably gas.
Here's the thing - I know with my crazy schedule that starts in September that things may be a little hairy at first - what with me pushing a cart full of textbooks around and stuff. And I might get stuck with lunch duty and teaching for five periods in a row. I know that's 3.5 hours of potential for standing the entire time. But listen to me when I tell you, I will not kill myself. I've already stuck up for you with regards to the lunch duty. And I will happily provide the powers that be with a doctor's note if need be, even if it pisses off all of my new co-workers. Yes, I am willing to do that for you.
I also promise to not run around my 3 classrooms like a madwoman, and take it easy while teaching. Maybe I'll even move the desk to the center of each room just to freak the kids out and keep them on their toes. On second thought, maybe I'll give a student extra credit to do that for me. Whatever happens though, September will settle down into October, and I will get the hang of it and treat you well. I know you've heard this before, but I will try meditating. If it means keeping you calm, then I'll do whatever it takes. I just don't want to do bed rest - and that means NO form of it whatsoever. So, please, hear me when I plead specifically to not go all crazy and regularly contract on me until January.
Don't forget - I got your back in 2010 - when I used your power to push Cole out. That natural birth saved you from being numbed up or cut up. That's okay - you can thank me in January when I do the same thing again. All it takes is your cooperation. That alone will keep me strong and relaxed.
Yours Truly,
The Mama
I love you like my babies. You are after all, the key to helping grow my babies. But when I was pregnant with Cole, you and I weren't on the best of terms for a while there. I'm not going to blame you per se, but the doctors did say that it was your constant contractions that put me on strict bed rest for three months. This second time around though? I want us to be on the same team. The team that doesn't put my daughter at risk of being born too early. The team that lets me have a NORMAL pregnancy, one where I can continue working until at least the end of December. A normal pregnancy where I can show off my belly to every admiring passer by and actually wear all of the maternity clothes that have been handed down to me from my generous friends.
Please, do me this one solid and don't get all irritable on me until January, okay? Honestly, I feel little twinges here and there, and I'm not really sure if it's you getting on my case about one thing or another, or if it's just really bad gas. You don't have to answer that though because I don't really want to know. You can still change gears and settle down. I do seem to suffer from really bad gas lately, mostly because I eat anything and everything I can get my hands on. That includes foods I really shouldn't eat, so it's probably gas.
Here's the thing - I know with my crazy schedule that starts in September that things may be a little hairy at first - what with me pushing a cart full of textbooks around and stuff. And I might get stuck with lunch duty and teaching for five periods in a row. I know that's 3.5 hours of potential for standing the entire time. But listen to me when I tell you, I will not kill myself. I've already stuck up for you with regards to the lunch duty. And I will happily provide the powers that be with a doctor's note if need be, even if it pisses off all of my new co-workers. Yes, I am willing to do that for you.
I also promise to not run around my 3 classrooms like a madwoman, and take it easy while teaching. Maybe I'll even move the desk to the center of each room just to freak the kids out and keep them on their toes. On second thought, maybe I'll give a student extra credit to do that for me. Whatever happens though, September will settle down into October, and I will get the hang of it and treat you well. I know you've heard this before, but I will try meditating. If it means keeping you calm, then I'll do whatever it takes. I just don't want to do bed rest - and that means NO form of it whatsoever. So, please, hear me when I plead specifically to not go all crazy and regularly contract on me until January.
Don't forget - I got your back in 2010 - when I used your power to push Cole out. That natural birth saved you from being numbed up or cut up. That's okay - you can thank me in January when I do the same thing again. All it takes is your cooperation. That alone will keep me strong and relaxed.
Yours Truly,
The Mama
Age Two - The Best and (sometimes) the Worst Year
Most of the time Age 2 is an amazingly fun time. Cole laughs and plays, talks and runs, explores and inspects. We can have conversations with him in which we understand each other. He may not want to hear or listen and he may ask "why not?" or "why?" or just the same question over and over again, but the repetition is helping his language skills and helping him understand motivation and cause and effect. He also can focus for longer periods of time and play pretend with more imagination. He also may go from one thing to the next very quickly (i.e. lose focus easily), but from our experience ease of distraction is sometimes key in keeping him out of trouble.
But some of the time? Age 2 is damn near impossible to comprehend or penetrate. Seriously. There are some days (and these ARE few and far between) when nothing I do can help Cole get into a good mood. Those days he needs non-stop structured activities so he doesn't have a meltdown. These types of days also occur in more compact forms, like an evening or one to several hours. On those days, he will somehow snap out of whatever funk he has fallen into or I will just put him to bed a tad early.
Here are some snapshots of the life of a two-year-old - good times and not so good.
But some of the time? Age 2 is damn near impossible to comprehend or penetrate. Seriously. There are some days (and these ARE few and far between) when nothing I do can help Cole get into a good mood. Those days he needs non-stop structured activities so he doesn't have a meltdown. These types of days also occur in more compact forms, like an evening or one to several hours. On those days, he will somehow snap out of whatever funk he has fallen into or I will just put him to bed a tad early.
Here are some snapshots of the life of a two-year-old - good times and not so good.
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| "I'm sliding!" |
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| Refusing to sit for a meal. Nothing new. |
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| "I want an ice pop!!" |
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| Having fun with the train table at Barnes and Noble. |
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| "Mama, paint!" |
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| He peels the entire banana every time and then cries when the banana breaks every time. |
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| Focusing on an activity. |
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| Sleeping in after a long night of thrashing and kicking. |
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| People watching. |
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| The rocket ship finally moved outside. Painting the rocket ship is the next phase in its journey to the garbage can (can we even recycle it?). |
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| "Everything is wet, Mama." Really? I wonder why... |
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| "I don' like my sandwich!" |
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| Cheesy paint face. |
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Me, Myself and the Rest of Them
I've joined this linky again mainly because the questions are kind of fun. And I need fun.
I included Dada in this post because he was in it last time, but there is a lot left to be desired in his responses. I guess I'm just lucky he participated.
1) What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
Mama: Write a book
Dada: Fly
Cole: Stay awake forever
2) If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?
Mama: Travel the country in our pop-up trailer.
Dada: Live it up.
Cole: Nothing different, since I'm a kid and I do everything I want to do all of the time - with the exception of eating ice pops. Maybe I'd eat ice pops for breakfast lunch and dinner. That sounds good.
3) If a front page news article was written on you, what would the headline be?
Mama: Working Mom Spends Summer Off Doing NO WORK
Dada: Probably not good.
Cole: Toddler Turns Into an Ice Pop
4) What is your biggest pet peeve?
Mama: Drivers who cut me off and then drive slowly; drivers who cut me off at the last minute before an exit or bridge ramp) so that they don't have to sit behind me in traffic; pedestrians who give me (the driver) dirty looks for no reason I can think of; kids who run into the street or ride their bikes into the street without looking; cats who lick me incessantly when I finally have a minute to myself.
Dada: People who are full of shit, oh, and amateur photographers who call themselves professionals.
Cole: Diaper changes in which I have to lay down.
5) What is your favorite chick flick movie?
Mama: Sweet Home Alabama. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Josh Lucas stars in it. Nothing.
Dada: eh
Cole: What's a chick flick movie? I like Dora and Ni-Hao Kai Lan. They are chicks and they star in their own movies.
I included Dada in this post because he was in it last time, but there is a lot left to be desired in his responses. I guess I'm just lucky he participated.
1) What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
Mama: Write a book
Dada: Fly
Cole: Stay awake forever
2) If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?
Mama: Travel the country in our pop-up trailer.
Dada: Live it up.
Cole: Nothing different, since I'm a kid and I do everything I want to do all of the time - with the exception of eating ice pops. Maybe I'd eat ice pops for breakfast lunch and dinner. That sounds good.
3) If a front page news article was written on you, what would the headline be?
Mama: Working Mom Spends Summer Off Doing NO WORK
Dada: Probably not good.
Cole: Toddler Turns Into an Ice Pop
4) What is your biggest pet peeve?
Mama: Drivers who cut me off and then drive slowly; drivers who cut me off at the last minute before an exit or bridge ramp) so that they don't have to sit behind me in traffic; pedestrians who give me (the driver) dirty looks for no reason I can think of; kids who run into the street or ride their bikes into the street without looking; cats who lick me incessantly when I finally have a minute to myself.
Dada: People who are full of shit, oh, and amateur photographers who call themselves professionals.
Cole: Diaper changes in which I have to lay down.
5) What is your favorite chick flick movie?
Mama: Sweet Home Alabama. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Josh Lucas stars in it. Nothing.
Dada: eh
Cole: What's a chick flick movie? I like Dora and Ni-Hao Kai Lan. They are chicks and they star in their own movies.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Currently link up
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| Mama and her little nail biter |
Happy about the fact that we finally know the gender of the baby. We weren't supposed to find out until Aug. 29, but my second round of bloodwork for genetic testing came back abnormal, meaning there is a greater chance that my child could be born with Down Syndrome. So they told me if I wanted more information to come in for an ultrasound to look for "markers" that would help them in their detection. We went yesterday, and while we were there, the awesome ultrasound tech ( who did all of my ultrasounds when Cole was in utero) told us what I had already suspected - there's a baby girl growing inside of me! The ultrasound helped the doctor determine that the risk is a lot lower than the bloodwork indicated. He told me flat out that he was not concerned. However, I am neurotic about this and just feel like I have to know definitively. So I took a new high tech blood test called Maternity 21 and will know the results in about two weeks. This test can actually read the DNA of the baby through my blood (don't ask me how) and it's almost as accurate as an amniocentesis, but obviously not invasive.
Searching for the eulogy I read at my grandmother's burial, which I think I threw away without realizing it. I went through my kitchen garbage pail twice looking for it. I really wanted to write a post in which I included it, and now since I lost this one piece of paper, I feel completely lost and don't know where to begin. Less importantly, I am searching for my Calvin Klein strapless bra that would go perfectly with a strapless dress I want to wear this weekend, another Anne Taylor LOFT dress I brought to my father's house but never wore, and my sanity because I keep losing things that are important to me. I feel so disorganized and overwhelmed by everything that has happened in the past week that it brings me to tears that I can't find these things. I know it's silly that I should be upset about "things" but I wonder at my absentmindedness that I would just let these things disappear without even realizing it until days or weeks later.
Making a ton of food ahead of time for our Cape Cod camping trip. I made a macaroni salad with a recipe I've used and loved. I made a quinoa salad without a recipe and strictly from memory. It is based on a delicious quinoa salad I once bought from the co-op. I made it last year for our camping trip with Allishawn and they loved it, so I thought it would be nice to have it again. I also hardboiled some eggs for breakfast for Cole (and as a snack for me) since that seems to be the only thing he will eat in the morning besides an ice pop.
Feeling many things at the moment. I go from sad that my grandmother is gone from this earth to excited that this new life growing inside of me is a girl. I'm going to have a daughter, people! After raising a boy for two years, this idea seems almost surreal to me.
Going to the beach finally! I love the ocean and although I've enjoyed our camping trips this summer in the woods, I have longed for the beach for about a month now. Hoping for some sunshine and dry days.
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| Cole riding his strider at the local BMX track |
Cole is...
Happy about the ice pops I recently bought for him. I finally broke down and bought a set of Tovolo ice pops and made the long awaited kale and assorted fruit recipe borrowed from a friend. I gave one to him this morning after he ate some breakfast and managed to give Kiwi a treat without scaring her away. He followed my directions and walked over to her slowly and quietly, an amazing feat for him.
Searching for anything I'm looking for. If I mention I lose something, he's on the case, walking around the house repeating least a dozen times: "We have to find ______" or "Where is _______?"
Making strides in the Montessori activities I engage him in. We do pouring and transferring using beans or lentils. And I borrowed an activity from Randalin and bought some sand and a funnel for Cole. He has gone to town a bunch of times and had a ton of fun with the sand pouring and transferring activity. The only problem I come across is when he eats the dried beans or lentils. How can I explain to him that it's not food, when it really is? In truth, I have explained that it's not cooked so it's not edible but he doesn't care and eats it anyway. That's usually when I have to end the activity or we end up with explosive poops within hours.
Feeling excited to spend the weekend with Juni. We've been talking to him about this trip since the beginning of the summer and he is so happy right now that he requested we leave immediately.
Going to the BMX track to ride his Strider balance bike. We discovered through a friend that they have a toddler hour there on Tuesday nights specifically for toddlers to ride their striders. We went last Tuesday (totally forgot this Tuesday), and Cole and his friend Ellie had a blast. They rode, they fell, they walked the track. It was a blast.
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| Transferring sand |
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| Toddlers on balance bikes. Who knew they could have their very own track? |
Go check out the lovely hosts of this awesome link up...
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Currently link up
This has been a tough night. So, for the first time, I'm going to forego doing a "currently" on Cole and just focus on me.
If I'm feeling up to it tomorrow, I'll add to this post and tell you what Cole is currently up to. But I doubt you'll return after reading my woefully pathetic post.
Wow. You're still here?
Thanks for sticking around.
This is what is currently running through my mind...
Wishing that my aunt and my grandfather are waiting for my grandmother on the other side when she passes.
Missing my grandmother. She's in a hospital two hours from here, and I last visited her two weeks ago.
Reading reviews on the best ice pop molds out there. When I am sad, I go to shopping. And right now, all my kid wants in life is an ice pop. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. The two sets of ice pop molds I have are so/so. I'm trying to find him the perfect set of ice molds. Criteria - must be a set of 6, BPA free, and must be larger than the two sets I have now. It makes me feel better to shop for him. So while I'm online? I figure he could also really use a good exercise mat to do tumblesaults on. That got me to thinking I should take him shopping tomorrow, maybe even make a trip to Barnes and Noble, my favorite store. Not that I'm going to buy books or anything. My grandmother always loved a good shopping trip when she was depressed.
Anticipating nothing. Anticipating denotes something positive is going to happen (at least that's how I see it). Lewis Black said in a live performance in Albany once that anticipation is always better than the reality. I love Lewis Black. But he was right about his performance. I had listened to him so much before seeing him and was so excited for it that his show was kind of a letdown. It was everything I had already heard but with a few details changed here and there, which made me wonder - did he make that stuff up? But he was right, the anticipation was in his case much more exciting (hence, better) than the reality of his performance. Currently, though, I feel like I'm waiting. And that is not better than the reality, which will be death. Then again, is death better than what leads up to it? Is the afterlife the good part about death? I guess I'll never truly know until it's my time to go.
So now that I have sufficiently depressed you all, feel free to head to your nearest store and find me the best damn set of ice pop molds out there. Oh, you can't find any? That's because it's August and ice pop molds are out of season, according to Walmart, Target and Rite Aid. Yeah. Because that makes a whole lot of sense.
If you happen to hit the jackpot though, here's my mailing address:
Mama and Cole
12 I-NEEEEEED-an-Ice-Pop Lane
Can I have an Ice Pop City, New Ice Pop, 12345
I will pay you in my best ice pop recipes. You'll probably think they're gross, but your kid will love them.
And come back to visit. I swear I'm not always this sad.
If I'm feeling up to it tomorrow, I'll add to this post and tell you what Cole is currently up to. But I doubt you'll return after reading my woefully pathetic post.
Wow. You're still here?
Thanks for sticking around.
This is what is currently running through my mind...
Wishing that my aunt and my grandfather are waiting for my grandmother on the other side when she passes.
Missing my grandmother. She's in a hospital two hours from here, and I last visited her two weeks ago.
Reading reviews on the best ice pop molds out there. When I am sad, I go to shopping. And right now, all my kid wants in life is an ice pop. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. The two sets of ice pop molds I have are so/so. I'm trying to find him the perfect set of ice molds. Criteria - must be a set of 6, BPA free, and must be larger than the two sets I have now. It makes me feel better to shop for him. So while I'm online? I figure he could also really use a good exercise mat to do tumblesaults on. That got me to thinking I should take him shopping tomorrow, maybe even make a trip to Barnes and Noble, my favorite store. Not that I'm going to buy books or anything. My grandmother always loved a good shopping trip when she was depressed.
Anticipating nothing. Anticipating denotes something positive is going to happen (at least that's how I see it). Lewis Black said in a live performance in Albany once that anticipation is always better than the reality. I love Lewis Black. But he was right about his performance. I had listened to him so much before seeing him and was so excited for it that his show was kind of a letdown. It was everything I had already heard but with a few details changed here and there, which made me wonder - did he make that stuff up? But he was right, the anticipation was in his case much more exciting (hence, better) than the reality of his performance. Currently, though, I feel like I'm waiting. And that is not better than the reality, which will be death. Then again, is death better than what leads up to it? Is the afterlife the good part about death? I guess I'll never truly know until it's my time to go.
So now that I have sufficiently depressed you all, feel free to head to your nearest store and find me the best damn set of ice pop molds out there. Oh, you can't find any? That's because it's August and ice pop molds are out of season, according to Walmart, Target and Rite Aid. Yeah. Because that makes a whole lot of sense.
If you happen to hit the jackpot though, here's my mailing address:
Mama and Cole
12 I-NEEEEEED-an-Ice-Pop Lane
Can I have an Ice Pop City, New Ice Pop, 12345
I will pay you in my best ice pop recipes. You'll probably think they're gross, but your kid will love them.
And come back to visit. I swear I'm not always this sad.
Toddler Rules for Eating and Sleeping
Eating
#1) Ask for an ice pop from the minute you wake up until the minute you head to the bath at night. Guaranteed you will get at least one.
#2) Empty your breakfast plate in an out of the way place and tell your mama you finished all of your eggs. Ask for ice pop.
#3) Insist you will not eat your dinner so that they are forced to try bribery. Easily accept their bribe.
#4) Did you get snacks your first time grocery shopping? Demand it every.single.time thereafter. This is called shush-snack. Don't accept any less.
Sleeping
#1) Vehemently insist you don't want to take a nap. Sweetly ask, "I don't have to take a nap?" Cry incessantly when it appears you do. Do not give into the lure of warm milk. It's over if you do.
#2) At nighttime, insist that the light not be turned off. If it seems as if the light might be turned off, pop out of your Mama's lap, walk over to the bookshelf and proudly announce you'd like her to read THIS book! If you tell her the title of the book that will impress her more and possibly convince her to read this "one last book." Make sure it's a long one.
#3) When the light gets turned off (boo), you (shockingly) decide that you want Dada to put you to sleep. Cry for Dada. He may not come in, but Mama may call him. Do not reuse this strategy more than a few times or else Mama will see through it for what it really is - a stalling tactic.
#1) Ask for an ice pop from the minute you wake up until the minute you head to the bath at night. Guaranteed you will get at least one.
#2) Empty your breakfast plate in an out of the way place and tell your mama you finished all of your eggs. Ask for ice pop.
#3) Insist you will not eat your dinner so that they are forced to try bribery. Easily accept their bribe.
#4) Did you get snacks your first time grocery shopping? Demand it every.single.time thereafter. This is called shush-snack. Don't accept any less.
Sleeping
#1) Vehemently insist you don't want to take a nap. Sweetly ask, "I don't have to take a nap?" Cry incessantly when it appears you do. Do not give into the lure of warm milk. It's over if you do.
#2) At nighttime, insist that the light not be turned off. If it seems as if the light might be turned off, pop out of your Mama's lap, walk over to the bookshelf and proudly announce you'd like her to read THIS book! If you tell her the title of the book that will impress her more and possibly convince her to read this "one last book." Make sure it's a long one.
#3) When the light gets turned off (boo), you (shockingly) decide that you want Dada to put you to sleep. Cry for Dada. He may not come in, but Mama may call him. Do not reuse this strategy more than a few times or else Mama will see through it for what it really is - a stalling tactic.
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| Even if this ends up happening, insist that you still do not need a nap. |
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| This hysterical combination of bridge + I-want-an-ice-pop pose does not = ice pop, unfortunately. |
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
My pregnant meal plan
My metabolism is quite high. It's taken being pregnant to realize this fact.
Here's my average daily meal plan:
Wake up, drink some tea and eat some cereal. If I have some patience, try to fend off Cole's demands for an ice pop or if I have next to none- give him an ice pop (which are homemade by the way).
Then make breakfast for reals: either a big bowl of oatmeal or bacon, eggs, and toast. Watch Cole eat one spoonful of the oatmeal and then run off. Or watch him only eat the bacon and drop the eggs all over the floor.
Get hungry again and snack (maybe a muffin or a bagel) about an hour later. Cole insists he must have said snack, but when I offer it to him, he says he doesn't like it, throws it on the floor and demands more. WHAT? I try to give him fruit or cereal at this point, anything that will actually make it down his throat. He demands an ice pop but settles for the cereal.
Eat lunch around 11:30 or 12 because by then, I'm starving again, and Cole is ready to have a meltdown because he's refused to eat any of my snacks or most of the snacks I've offered him. Apparently, he's under the impression he can live solely on ice pops.
Then make breakfast for reals: either a big bowl of oatmeal or bacon, eggs, and toast. Watch Cole eat one spoonful of the oatmeal and then run off. Or watch him only eat the bacon and drop the eggs all over the floor.
Get hungry again and snack (maybe a muffin or a bagel) about an hour later. Cole insists he must have said snack, but when I offer it to him, he says he doesn't like it, throws it on the floor and demands more. WHAT? I try to give him fruit or cereal at this point, anything that will actually make it down his throat. He demands an ice pop but settles for the cereal.
Eat lunch around 11:30 or 12 because by then, I'm starving again, and Cole is ready to have a meltdown because he's refused to eat any of my snacks or most of the snacks I've offered him. Apparently, he's under the impression he can live solely on ice pops.
About my lunch...I love cold cuts and I absolutely hated the fact that I had to stop eating them when I got pregnant. This screwed me up royally the last 1.5 months of school because what did I eat every.single.day for lunch? I made a turkey, hummus, and goat cheese sandwich with either lettuce, cucumber or spinach. But because of the potential for eating cold cuts laden with bacteria that could cause a miscarriage, I stopped eating cold cuts cold turkey (no pun intended!).
Now that I'm in my second trimester, I'm a little less worried about it. So recently, I bought some packaged cold cuts, with the idea that they probably came from a clean deli slicer. We've been eating those sandwiches this week. Sometimes though, I'll eat hot dogs, or a hummus, goat cheese, and cucumber sandwich. Or whatever is in the pantry and fills me up.
Surprise, surprise, by 2 p.m. I'm hungry again. Snack time. Maybe some pretzels or pretzel rolls, or crackers and hummus. This is also when I have a little bit more caffeine to get me through the rest of the afternoon. Cole is also eating a snack about this time if he's not napping (which he usually isn't) and he's mostly agreeable to what I'm eating, especially if it involves crackers and hummus.
But snack time is not over. I get hungry again just a few hours later. So I'll have another snack around 4 p.m. This might involve some fruit.
Then we'll eat dinner between 5 and 6:30. Dinner almost always involves meat or poultry, a veggie, and a starch. We've gone the vegan and vegetarian route (sans the tofu, since I'm allergic), but honestly, we're almost always raiding the cabinets an hour later. We look at each other, and I say, "We should have made chicken."
Then after I put Cole to sleep I get hungry again, so I have another snack before bed, hoping that will tide me over until the morning.
No such luck.
Because here's the problem folks - I keep waking up in the middle of the night famished. It's as if I didn't eat three meals and snack all freaking day! Anywhere from 12 to 4 a.m. I wake up because I have to pee, I'm hot, the cats have jumped on me or they are smothering my body by both sleeping against me at the same time. I try to go back to sleep after I've peed or made some adjustments, but invariably, my stomach speaks to me and tells me she's too empty to rest. I must eat something or else she will keep me awake forever.
Surprise, surprise, by 2 p.m. I'm hungry again. Snack time. Maybe some pretzels or pretzel rolls, or crackers and hummus. This is also when I have a little bit more caffeine to get me through the rest of the afternoon. Cole is also eating a snack about this time if he's not napping (which he usually isn't) and he's mostly agreeable to what I'm eating, especially if it involves crackers and hummus.
But snack time is not over. I get hungry again just a few hours later. So I'll have another snack around 4 p.m. This might involve some fruit.
Then we'll eat dinner between 5 and 6:30. Dinner almost always involves meat or poultry, a veggie, and a starch. We've gone the vegan and vegetarian route (sans the tofu, since I'm allergic), but honestly, we're almost always raiding the cabinets an hour later. We look at each other, and I say, "We should have made chicken."
Then after I put Cole to sleep I get hungry again, so I have another snack before bed, hoping that will tide me over until the morning.
No such luck.
Because here's the problem folks - I keep waking up in the middle of the night famished. It's as if I didn't eat three meals and snack all freaking day! Anywhere from 12 to 4 a.m. I wake up because I have to pee, I'm hot, the cats have jumped on me or they are smothering my body by both sleeping against me at the same time. I try to go back to sleep after I've peed or made some adjustments, but invariably, my stomach speaks to me and tells me she's too empty to rest. I must eat something or else she will keep me awake forever.
Honestly? I think this is going to be a big baby. I don't think I ate this much when I was pregnant with Cole.
And my other worry? How am I going to snack like this when I return to work? The only solution is that I'm going to have to pack well my elaborate meal plan for the 10 hours I am away from home each work day. There will be no room for last minute preparations in the morning. Because my dear reader, I am one cranky woman when I've skipped any part of my meal plan.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Warning: Lounging can be Hazardous to your Health
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| This would be considered suicidal nowadays. |
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| If she only knew how good she had it. |
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| One of my companions. Please excuse my tired face and the blurry picture. |
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| Uninvited guests post early morning shower. |
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| Trying to gain an understanding of the thing that stands tall in the living room. |
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| A very daring Clem moment (out and about while Cole was still awake somewhere in the house). She MUST have been hungry. |
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| Kiwi playing with the rocketship door. Late at night, I'll hear strange noises coming from the living room. It's usually one of them inside this thing. It's become their biggest scratching post and biggest toy. |
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| You'd run for the hills if you saw this thing toddling along toward you too, right? |
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Currently
Currently
Mama is...
Listening to the crickets tonight during my outdoor yoga class. It was the perfect summer night for mountain yoga. Tonight was very unlike last week's class, which was held despite a tornado warning and an ominous thunderstorm. Don't worry, I didn't attend that class, which was described to me as "wild."
Daydreaming about traveling to the west coast and other exotic locales. One of my friends from work is in Oregon right now. The pictures she's posting right now are just making me seriously itch to go there. It's so gorgeous. I will get to the west coast again someday, I am promising myself. Realistically, I can see it happening three to five years from now.
Wanting to be an inspiring teacher. Last night I found this video montage on you tube (through Facebook). It's a montage of an English teacher (and friend of Keith's) who seemed to touch so many lives and reach so many students before his untimely death in March. The narration is by the teacher himself, who had made a CD for his students to help them pass their Social Studies final. Watching this video, listening to his great sense of humor, and reading the comments on his obituary page make me realize just how much you can impact your students if you connect with them.
Looking forward to finding out the gender of this baby. I have no preference whatsoever. I would love a boy or a girl. But my bets are on a girl. This pregnancy is vastly different than my first, so that makes me think - different pregnancy, different gender. Also, during our 13 week ultrasound the baby did not move around nearly as much as Cole did. I've heard that boys move around in the womb more than girls, but that can be totally bogus, so who really knows? Only this baby.
Writing comments on other people's blogs. During the school year this is a rarity. I still try to catch up on my blog reading during the 20 minutes I take to eat my lunch during the workday, but because everything is read on my iPhone (we have to sign in to read any kind of blog), it's difficult and time consuming to post comments. Imagine my surprise when Olivia from Soul Singing Liv, was so inspired by something I said in a comment that one of her blog posts revolved around it! My heart fluttered when I read it, and I was so happy to have affected someone I've never met (but feel like I have simply by reading her blog).
Cole is...
Listening to me only when I say the words, "If you want an ice pop, then..." It's like this lightbulb turns on, he's living in the moment and does exactly what I him want to do, but only for the next minute and a half. Then he's on the floor hysterical if he's not getting the result he thought he'd get in the timely manner he thought he should get it in. So I guess Kale is not the only one NOT listening.
Daydreaming about being a singer and a dancer. He's so cute when he sings Fresh Beat songs and does the dance. This happens multiple times throughout the day when we've got no music or television on. He just breaks out in song and busts a few moves that they do with that song. It's so freaking cute.
Wanting Mama every.single.morning. Anytime Keith tries to go in there to greet him good morning, Cole throws a fit. "I WANT MAMA!!!" So now, before Keith can even go in there, we hear this over the monitor in a matter of fact voice, "I want Mama, not Dada."
Looking for the cats the moment one of them disappears underneath the bed. "Where'd Clem go?" "Where'd Kiwi go?" He always seems sincerely surprised when one of them takes off running as soon as they see him approach. They don't even give him a chance anymore.
Not writing, but learning that he can draw using more than one crayon at a time. He also paint me rainbows and rocketships. "Mama," he says, "I paint a rainbow for you." His paintings are getting so much more colorful lately. I love that it's become a part of our daily routine.
Mama is...
 |
| terrible at taking iPhone pictures of herself. This is a pic from early July. I found this awesome dress to go to this awesome wedding. I had to share it. |
Listening to the crickets tonight during my outdoor yoga class. It was the perfect summer night for mountain yoga. Tonight was very unlike last week's class, which was held despite a tornado warning and an ominous thunderstorm. Don't worry, I didn't attend that class, which was described to me as "wild."
Daydreaming about traveling to the west coast and other exotic locales. One of my friends from work is in Oregon right now. The pictures she's posting right now are just making me seriously itch to go there. It's so gorgeous. I will get to the west coast again someday, I am promising myself. Realistically, I can see it happening three to five years from now.
Wanting to be an inspiring teacher. Last night I found this video montage on you tube (through Facebook). It's a montage of an English teacher (and friend of Keith's) who seemed to touch so many lives and reach so many students before his untimely death in March. The narration is by the teacher himself, who had made a CD for his students to help them pass their Social Studies final. Watching this video, listening to his great sense of humor, and reading the comments on his obituary page make me realize just how much you can impact your students if you connect with them.
Looking forward to finding out the gender of this baby. I have no preference whatsoever. I would love a boy or a girl. But my bets are on a girl. This pregnancy is vastly different than my first, so that makes me think - different pregnancy, different gender. Also, during our 13 week ultrasound the baby did not move around nearly as much as Cole did. I've heard that boys move around in the womb more than girls, but that can be totally bogus, so who really knows? Only this baby.
Writing comments on other people's blogs. During the school year this is a rarity. I still try to catch up on my blog reading during the 20 minutes I take to eat my lunch during the workday, but because everything is read on my iPhone (we have to sign in to read any kind of blog), it's difficult and time consuming to post comments. Imagine my surprise when Olivia from Soul Singing Liv, was so inspired by something I said in a comment that one of her blog posts revolved around it! My heart fluttered when I read it, and I was so happy to have affected someone I've never met (but feel like I have simply by reading her blog).
Cole is...
 |
| loving any chance he gets to eat soft serve ice cream. |
Listening to me only when I say the words, "If you want an ice pop, then..." It's like this lightbulb turns on, he's living in the moment and does exactly what I him want to do, but only for the next minute and a half. Then he's on the floor hysterical if he's not getting the result he thought he'd get in the timely manner he thought he should get it in. So I guess Kale is not the only one NOT listening.
Daydreaming about being a singer and a dancer. He's so cute when he sings Fresh Beat songs and does the dance. This happens multiple times throughout the day when we've got no music or television on. He just breaks out in song and busts a few moves that they do with that song. It's so freaking cute.
Wanting Mama every.single.morning. Anytime Keith tries to go in there to greet him good morning, Cole throws a fit. "I WANT MAMA!!!" So now, before Keith can even go in there, we hear this over the monitor in a matter of fact voice, "I want Mama, not Dada."
Looking for the cats the moment one of them disappears underneath the bed. "Where'd Clem go?" "Where'd Kiwi go?" He always seems sincerely surprised when one of them takes off running as soon as they see him approach. They don't even give him a chance anymore.
Not writing, but learning that he can draw using more than one crayon at a time. He also paint me rainbows and rocketships. "Mama," he says, "I paint a rainbow for you." His paintings are getting so much more colorful lately. I love that it's become a part of our daily routine.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
How to Quit Caffeine and get Addicted All Over Again
Step #1: Get pregnant.
Step #2: Feel nauseous while drinking your favorite tea that no longer tastes like your favorite tea, but now tastes like you are drinking water filled with cigarette ash.
Step #3: Drink a flavored caffeinated tea. Blech. Still gross and still nauseous.
Step #4: Try everything else with caffeine because you are desperate to stay awake while grading the most boring essays known to man. Tough shit. Get nauseous while drinking anything else you tried that has caffeine.
Step #5: Follow Steps 2-4 for about 2 weeks until it finally hits you that caffeine is making you sick and you need to stop.
Slump over and cry to the only co-worker who knows your secret. Cry to your other co-workers just because you've always been a whiner, and they're used to it. Watch Grey's Anatomy on your Kindle. Then, whine some more that you've gotten nothing done in the final weeks of school because you feel sick to your stomach and you can't stayawake focused past 1 p.m.
Wait. Did you, my dear reader, miss something?
As in Step 1?
OH MY GOD!
Is Mama really ---- ???
Yes.
Up first....
The rest of the steps.
Step #6: Enter the tail end of your first trimester and realize that decaf coffee doesn't seem to bother you. Start making one cup of decaf every morning.
Step #7: Because you still have IBS, you can only drink half a cup of that decaf, which doesn't do jack to help you get focused past 11 a.m. Having a toddler to play with, this is unacceptable. Regular coffee is out of the question, unless you want a hole burned into your stomach.
Step #8: Realize weeks later that (DUH!) you should try to drink tea again. If other caffeine is fine (like the Boylan Cane Cola you've recently become addicted to), tea should be too!
Step #9: Drink your favorite cup of tea - Tazo Awake tea. Relish in the reawakening of your addiction.
Step #10: Email Boylan to find out just how much caffeine is in that one bottle of soda. Because, damn, you're still awake and it's past your bedtime!
_________________________________________________________________________________
Coming Soon: Baby Ferris #2
15 weeks.
Due date is January 23.
First trimester screening looks good.
Doctor says that because I went to term and beyond with Cole that the chances of me having pre-term contractions a second time are unlikely. (PLEASE keep your fingers crossed that he's right! It goes without saying that I don't want to be on bed rest again.)
Cole has known since I was about 8 weeks, and has grown more of an understanding every day about what it means. I might do a future post about this.
Feeling good now, and thanking my lucky stars that mymorning all-day sickness didn't last past 10 weeks. I'm still exhausted most of the time, but thanks to caffeine, I can manage playtime with Cole and still have fun! I forgot how tiring being pregnant can be, plus I've got a toddler, so it's much more trying on my 35-year-old body.
Dada and I are super excited. We are still in the midst of trying to figure out if we should change around the house to fit the new baby, or if we should just squeeze the new baby into our room for six months until next summer rolls around when we can make the changes.
We find out the gender of the baby August 29.
Step #2: Feel nauseous while drinking your favorite tea that no longer tastes like your favorite tea, but now tastes like you are drinking water filled with cigarette ash.
Step #3: Drink a flavored caffeinated tea. Blech. Still gross and still nauseous.
Step #4: Try everything else with caffeine because you are desperate to stay awake while grading the most boring essays known to man. Tough shit. Get nauseous while drinking anything else you tried that has caffeine.
Step #5: Follow Steps 2-4 for about 2 weeks until it finally hits you that caffeine is making you sick and you need to stop.
Slump over and cry to the only co-worker who knows your secret. Cry to your other co-workers just because you've always been a whiner, and they're used to it. Watch Grey's Anatomy on your Kindle. Then, whine some more that you've gotten nothing done in the final weeks of school because you feel sick to your stomach and you can't stay
Wait. Did you, my dear reader, miss something?
As in Step 1?
OH MY GOD!
Is Mama really ---- ???
Yes.
 |
| "Mama, there's a baby in your belly!" |
(More on that below.)
The rest of the steps.
Step #6: Enter the tail end of your first trimester and realize that decaf coffee doesn't seem to bother you. Start making one cup of decaf every morning.
Step #7: Because you still have IBS, you can only drink half a cup of that decaf, which doesn't do jack to help you get focused past 11 a.m. Having a toddler to play with, this is unacceptable. Regular coffee is out of the question, unless you want a hole burned into your stomach.
Step #8: Realize weeks later that (DUH!) you should try to drink tea again. If other caffeine is fine (like the Boylan Cane Cola you've recently become addicted to), tea should be too!
Step #9: Drink your favorite cup of tea - Tazo Awake tea. Relish in the reawakening of your addiction.
Step #10: Email Boylan to find out just how much caffeine is in that one bottle of soda. Because, damn, you're still awake and it's past your bedtime!
_________________________________________________________________________________
Coming Soon: Baby Ferris #2
15 weeks.
Due date is January 23.
First trimester screening looks good.
Doctor says that because I went to term and beyond with Cole that the chances of me having pre-term contractions a second time are unlikely. (PLEASE keep your fingers crossed that he's right! It goes without saying that I don't want to be on bed rest again.)
Cole has known since I was about 8 weeks, and has grown more of an understanding every day about what it means. I might do a future post about this.
Feeling good now, and thanking my lucky stars that my
Dada and I are super excited. We are still in the midst of trying to figure out if we should change around the house to fit the new baby, or if we should just squeeze the new baby into our room for six months until next summer rolls around when we can make the changes.
We find out the gender of the baby August 29.
 |
| Baby Ferris #2: 13 weeks |
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