In more interesting news about his visit, he's still just shy of the 30 lb mark, weighing in at 29 lbs, 14 oz--almost too big for the scale! I'm sure next visit he will be.
He's also about 34 inches tall, and still barely on the charts, stat wise. 96/97+/96 were his stats (weight/head/length) I guess Dr. Atiyeh feels he's growing just fine, so he's having us switch him to 2% milk. And, "he can eat the same things we eat, but still avoid nuts (ooops), and shellfish, like shrimp (ooops) and lobster..." Well, I'm sorry, but peanut butter and honey sandwiches are his favorite (on whole grain bread, no less...) And while he doesn't have it often, I have given him small pieces of shrimp without any kind of reaction (he's had worse reactions to apple cinnamon oatmeal...) so I think he's alright.
His favorite things to eat are cheese (any kind, really, though he's never had American, as far as I know... maybe at a restaurant, but we don't buy it. We prefer cheddar or muenster, both of which he loves,) veggie cream cheese on toast, turkey, freeze dried fruits (I think he prefers them to the real thing, at least in the case of bananas...) peanut butter, any kind of fresh citrus (he makes Daddy share his grapefruit with him, every time...) oatmeal, miso soup, scrambled eggs and milk, of course.
There're lots of things he likes to eat, but he's more picky about when he'll eat them, like corn, tomatoes, cheese quesadillas, chicken, ground beef, hotdogs, rice, cooked red peppers, umm... that's about it for now. He's really become a "picky" eater, compared to what he used to be (used to eat anything! Not so much anymore.) Makes getting a balanced diet in a little tough, but he's growing just fine, so I guess he'll make up for it more later. Maybe it's time to break out Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, and start hiding veggies in foods (though the veggies that you hide in the foods he would eat, like squash in mac n cheese, he'll eat on their own, so it's not necessary to 'sneak' them in.) I think I'll start making my own veggie cream cheese--at least I know there'll be plenty of real veggies in it, then. Might get freeze dried veggies, too, since he likes the fruits so much. Looks like we need a trip to Whole Foods!
The doc kinda freaked us out a bit, when he asked us how many words Jeremiah was saying. "Usually around this age, they can say 10-15 words." Ten to fifteen?! Jeremy: "Uh, yeah, he can say about 10 words." Oh really? Hmm... I only count 4 or 5... Mama/Nonny (for Mommy), Dada, "o'er dere" (over there or outside... usually he's point to the outside when he says it,) "o dat" (what's that? or can I have that?) and that's about it. He did say "duckie" once, as I mentioned in a previous post, but that's all... So yeah, I was wondering where "10" came from. :) Dr. Atiyeh: "Wow, if he can say 10, that's really good." Jeremy: "Well, actually, I guess it's only 5." lol
And that's about all. I need to go sort stuff I'm going to sell at the sale this weekend, and run a few errands before the "6 days of rain" shows up (opening this weekend! YAY! <~ Sarcasm...)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Aww... My poor little baby...
Jeremiah had his 15 month appointment today... It didn't go very well... He screamed when the nurse measured his head and checked his height... He screamed as soon as Dr Atiyeh started touching him to use the stethoscope, and didn't stop until Mommy was holding him again. And, of course, he cried when he got his shots. Now, 20 min later he's conked out in the van while Daddy runs into Chipotle to get Mommy some food. My poor baby!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
"The Middle Wife"
One of the gals on a message board I frequent posted this story. It was really cute, so I thought I'd share. :)
The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher
I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years
back.
When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that.
And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, a very bright, very outgoing kid, 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 kids are watching her in amazement.
'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, 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 this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk 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.' Then 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 kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was to much!'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 that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside
there.'Then she stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.
Friday, April 25, 2008
LOST Epi. 9 - "The Shape of Things to Come"
Well, we got what we were promised--a whole lot for a whole little. Seriously, was it just me, or were there more commercials than show??? It's supposed to be 41/19, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was more like 33/27... They're milking it for all it's worth.
That being said, great episode! Lots of action, lots of different sides of Ben, lots of questions answered/created... My absolute favorite part was definitely when Smokey showed up (seriously, who didn't love that...) I mean, you knew Ben had "a see-cwet weap-en!" when he told Keamy, "How 'bout you turn around, go back to your helicopter and never come back here again." I don't think he had actually planned on using it until "........he changed the rules..." But man... that was awesome. I'm gonna have to watch that again a few times. :) You don't mess with Ben.
I was a bit disappointed with that whole encounter with Alex, though... We weren't sure if he really cared for Alex as much as we now know he did until this episode. Who knew that he really did love her so much... more than anyone was willing to give him credit for. That's why I was so disappointed with the whole encounter. I expected them to bring her out and for him to say, calmly, "That's not my daughter." But his emotions got the better of him, and by the time he actually started trying to play that card, it was too late, Keamy saw right through it. Did Ben really think he would care that she wasn't actually his birth daughter? The whole point of having a hostage is to play on the emotions of the person you're trying to manipulate. Oh well. Ben's human, we have proof now.
Another "bumming" fact is that we'll never find out (or least, it's unlikely) about the $3.2 million that Miles wanted. Gee, ya think they know he's alive now?? We wanted to know WHY it was $3.2 vs. $3 or $3.5 or $4 million... Kinda a cheap way of getting out of that one, writers.
Now we know why Sayid is working WITH Ben, vs. for him... He practically begged Ben to let him kill a few more for him. And I'm glad to see that Ben has some cred outside of the Island. It would have been kinda dumb for him to be this big baddy on the island, and just some schmuck off. "I'm pretty good with a bo staff" is what I was thinkin' when he was taking those guys down in the desert. Awesome. Ya have to wonder, though... Ben didn't think twice about using that thing (whatever it's called... collapsible club or something? Whatever.) Yet he likes to keep referring to himself as "one of the good guys". So either Widmore is, like, the Lex Luthor of the LOST world, or they're BOTH Lex Luthor's and it's a race to the kryptonite (the Island) FTW! I'm very curious as to why he can't 'kill' Widmore... What are these unspoken rules that they have... And who set them?? Jacob?? I bet Richard Alpert knows!
And finally, can I just say, dang, Baby Aaron, you sure do cry a lot! Seems like that kid is never happy... You'd think he'd be used to all the chaos as someone who "was born on this island." And I'm sorry, Clair should be dead. I mean, her house was shot with a rocket launcher, and she's just "a bit wobbly"??? I guess Jacob/The Island really likes her and doesn't want Mama to kick the bucket yet. (Was kinda funny that the stupid 'red shirts' kept coming out of the house, and getting shot... That had to have been frustrating for Sawyer to watch.)
That is all. Time to read what the 'pros' have to say. :)
Oh no, wait! I forgot. My subconscious decided to continue the episode in my dreams with what it thinks would happen next after Ben, Locke & Hurley go looking for Jacob. Ahem: So they're walking in the woods, and they come upon this control panel of sorts. It has all these different hieroglyphics on each button and of course, they light up... Ben pushes one, and a bright light emerges from the ground, revealing a platform that rises up. On it are two women who look... well... dead... Actually, they kinda look like they belong in "Little Monsters". Have you ever seen that movie?? I have, unfortunately. Anyways, they're pretty messed up looking, kinda like the corpse bride (Tim Burton's, not that I've ever seen that one...) Apparently, one of them was Ben's wife, and the other one? I dunno, her sister, maybe? Yeah, I guess Ben "imprisoned" them because they have greater control over the island. But, they don't appear to know that he was responsible for that, since they're so happy to see him.
And that's all I remember for now. Ben's got an undead wife who lives underground... Yeah, I don't know where these things come from... :)
That being said, great episode! Lots of action, lots of different sides of Ben, lots of questions answered/created... My absolute favorite part was definitely when Smokey showed up (seriously, who didn't love that...) I mean, you knew Ben had "a see-cwet weap-en!" when he told Keamy, "How 'bout you turn around, go back to your helicopter and never come back here again." I don't think he had actually planned on using it until "........he changed the rules..." But man... that was awesome. I'm gonna have to watch that again a few times. :) You don't mess with Ben.
I was a bit disappointed with that whole encounter with Alex, though... We weren't sure if he really cared for Alex as much as we now know he did until this episode. Who knew that he really did love her so much... more than anyone was willing to give him credit for. That's why I was so disappointed with the whole encounter. I expected them to bring her out and for him to say, calmly, "That's not my daughter." But his emotions got the better of him, and by the time he actually started trying to play that card, it was too late, Keamy saw right through it. Did Ben really think he would care that she wasn't actually his birth daughter? The whole point of having a hostage is to play on the emotions of the person you're trying to manipulate. Oh well. Ben's human, we have proof now.
Another "bumming" fact is that we'll never find out (or least, it's unlikely) about the $3.2 million that Miles wanted. Gee, ya think they know he's alive now?? We wanted to know WHY it was $3.2 vs. $3 or $3.5 or $4 million... Kinda a cheap way of getting out of that one, writers.
Now we know why Sayid is working WITH Ben, vs. for him... He practically begged Ben to let him kill a few more for him. And I'm glad to see that Ben has some cred outside of the Island. It would have been kinda dumb for him to be this big baddy on the island, and just some schmuck off. "I'm pretty good with a bo staff" is what I was thinkin' when he was taking those guys down in the desert. Awesome. Ya have to wonder, though... Ben didn't think twice about using that thing (whatever it's called... collapsible club or something? Whatever.) Yet he likes to keep referring to himself as "one of the good guys". So either Widmore is, like, the Lex Luthor of the LOST world, or they're BOTH Lex Luthor's and it's a race to the kryptonite (the Island) FTW! I'm very curious as to why he can't 'kill' Widmore... What are these unspoken rules that they have... And who set them?? Jacob?? I bet Richard Alpert knows!
And finally, can I just say, dang, Baby Aaron, you sure do cry a lot! Seems like that kid is never happy... You'd think he'd be used to all the chaos as someone who "was born on this island." And I'm sorry, Clair should be dead. I mean, her house was shot with a rocket launcher, and she's just "a bit wobbly"??? I guess Jacob/The Island really likes her and doesn't want Mama to kick the bucket yet. (Was kinda funny that the stupid 'red shirts' kept coming out of the house, and getting shot... That had to have been frustrating for Sawyer to watch.)
That is all. Time to read what the 'pros' have to say. :)
Oh no, wait! I forgot. My subconscious decided to continue the episode in my dreams with what it thinks would happen next after Ben, Locke & Hurley go looking for Jacob. Ahem: So they're walking in the woods, and they come upon this control panel of sorts. It has all these different hieroglyphics on each button and of course, they light up... Ben pushes one, and a bright light emerges from the ground, revealing a platform that rises up. On it are two women who look... well... dead... Actually, they kinda look like they belong in "Little Monsters". Have you ever seen that movie?? I have, unfortunately. Anyways, they're pretty messed up looking, kinda like the corpse bride (Tim Burton's, not that I've ever seen that one...) Apparently, one of them was Ben's wife, and the other one? I dunno, her sister, maybe? Yeah, I guess Ben "imprisoned" them because they have greater control over the island. But, they don't appear to know that he was responsible for that, since they're so happy to see him.
And that's all I remember for now. Ben's got an undead wife who lives underground... Yeah, I don't know where these things come from... :)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Yay!
LOST is back! WOO HOO! And at its new time, 10 p.m. Booo... Oh well. I'll take it, since The Office is on at 9. Speaking of, I need to make sure the DVR is programmed... We just lost power for a couple of seconds, so it's resetting itself right now... Hopefully it'll be done before I need to make dinner.
In baby news, baby's been moving around a lot lately! It took a little longer than with Jeremiah, but that's okay! Better late than never. It sure is fun to feel her moving around, though not so much when she decides to kick my bladder... That's NEVER fun (though Jeremy thinks it's funny...)
Next week is a HUGE consignment sale down the street. Like, 100,000's of items... Crazy. I tried volunteering, but the spots I wanted filled up... I was just going to buck up and pay the $5 to shop that weekend, but after talking with my neighbor, I think I may consign a few things. She does it every year and you only need 10 items to consign. They deduct $5 from your total (and keep 50%) but you get to shop a day earlier. I plan on selling all my old maternity clothes that don't fit anymore. They're still in good shape, and I've got a bunch that I'll probably never get to wear again. It's just taking up space in my parents' and my basements, so might as well get rid of it. If I make some money, that's a plus! :) So we'll see how well that works out.
Okay, time to cook.
In baby news, baby's been moving around a lot lately! It took a little longer than with Jeremiah, but that's okay! Better late than never. It sure is fun to feel her moving around, though not so much when she decides to kick my bladder... That's NEVER fun (though Jeremy thinks it's funny...)
Next week is a HUGE consignment sale down the street. Like, 100,000's of items... Crazy. I tried volunteering, but the spots I wanted filled up... I was just going to buck up and pay the $5 to shop that weekend, but after talking with my neighbor, I think I may consign a few things. She does it every year and you only need 10 items to consign. They deduct $5 from your total (and keep 50%) but you get to shop a day earlier. I plan on selling all my old maternity clothes that don't fit anymore. They're still in good shape, and I've got a bunch that I'll probably never get to wear again. It's just taking up space in my parents' and my basements, so might as well get rid of it. If I make some money, that's a plus! :) So we'll see how well that works out.
Okay, time to cook.
@ the farm...
Took Jeremiah to Frying Pan Park this morning, before naptime. It's so nice out, but all the kids around us are in school or daycare, so we headed across the street to look at the animals instead. He had a great time! We've taken him before, but this was the first time he seemed genuinely interested in the animals we were seeing. He found the turkeys funny, wanted to play with the goats (he probably thought they were dogs...) and was especially interested in the "duckies" (one of the few words he can say now! Though it kinda comes out like "dook--eees")
I think he was a bit confused at first, since the duckies he's used to seeing are all yellow, and these were black, brown and gray, but he warmed up to them, and kept trying to stick his fingers in the cage.
After a quick stop at the country store, we headed back home. He was pretty relaxed, and I thought he had fallen asleep. Nope! He's asleep now, though, and will probably take a nice long nap (hopefully!) After naptime--Walmart!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
New Holiday!
Man, I wish we had one of these around here...
Stir Crazy, a 'crazy' asian restaurant, is hosting the very first "Expectant Mother's Day" on Sunday, May 4th. All expectant Moms get a free entree that day!
Unfortunately, we'd have to drive to Ohio or NY to take advantage of it... I just don't think a $13 meal is worth the drive to either state (though I'd love to go to NYC!)
Ah well. Guess I'll wait for Mother's Day a week after.
Ouch!
That was THE most painful American Idol moment I've ever had to witness...
Brooke White sang "You Must Love Me" from the movie version of Evita. She started singing it, got through the first line, started on the second, and totally lost her place! So what does she do--"I'm sorry... can we start that again?" And she did.
Had she been on Broadway, she would have never been able to get away with that! I mean, c'mon, can you picture the Phantom beginning "The Music of the Night" and two lines in, "Oops, can we start that over?" Totally kills the mood!
Anyways, I'm sure it'll be up on Youtube soon... I'll put it up here if I can find it. :)
Oh, and David Archuleta---"Think of Me" is NOT a POP song... As a die hard Phantom Phan, I couldn't bear to listen to it. Of course he gets props for making it modern, but he killed it for me... Don't mess with my Phantom!
And to be fair, Jason Castro, leave "Memory" to elderly 'primadonna pussycats'. Not a strong performance from America's favorite stoner.
Thumbs up to Syesha, David Cook, and Carly (even though I can't stand her.) I thought they did really well with all their songs.
Bottom three prediction: Definitely Brooke (who will probably go home, though she may have the sympathy vote this week,) Jason, and... I don't know. Probably Syesha, just because she doesn't have the fan base that everyone else does. Guess we'll see...
Found it!
Brooke White sang "You Must Love Me" from the movie version of Evita. She started singing it, got through the first line, started on the second, and totally lost her place! So what does she do--"I'm sorry... can we start that again?" And she did.
Had she been on Broadway, she would have never been able to get away with that! I mean, c'mon, can you picture the Phantom beginning "The Music of the Night" and two lines in, "Oops, can we start that over?" Totally kills the mood!
Anyways, I'm sure it'll be up on Youtube soon... I'll put it up here if I can find it. :)
Oh, and David Archuleta---"Think of Me" is NOT a POP song... As a die hard Phantom Phan, I couldn't bear to listen to it. Of course he gets props for making it modern, but he killed it for me... Don't mess with my Phantom!
And to be fair, Jason Castro, leave "Memory" to elderly 'primadonna pussycats'. Not a strong performance from America's favorite stoner.
Thumbs up to Syesha, David Cook, and Carly (even though I can't stand her.) I thought they did really well with all their songs.
Bottom three prediction: Definitely Brooke (who will probably go home, though she may have the sympathy vote this week,) Jason, and... I don't know. Probably Syesha, just because she doesn't have the fan base that everyone else does. Guess we'll see...
Found it!
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Dramatic.... groundhog?
We've had a visitor overstay his/her welcome recently... It started as a brief encounter, one of those, "Hey, how's it going, good to see you! Sure, make yourself at home! We'd love to have you!" And now... well, it looks like he's moved in and made himself quite a home... forever...
Or, we could just be a pit stop that appears to last longer than it does... Only time, and my flowers, will tell...
Or, we could just be a pit stop that appears to last longer than it does... Only time, and my flowers, will tell...
"Jess & Jeremiah Go To Krispy Kreme"
Sounds like a great movie...
And yes, we really did go to Krispy Kreme today. It wasn't planned, it just kinda.... happened.
Okay, well, here's what happened.
So I've been trying to get Jeremy to go to Buy Buy Baby with me so we can pick out a crib for #2. I've got their "Golden Ticket" (a.k.a. the elusive and rare 20% off coupon) that expires on May 12, so of course, I think we're running out of time! The rain made going out yesterday kind of a blah idea, so I was informed that I should "go while I'm at work tomorrow."
So I did.
This morning, Jeremiah woke up around 6! I know why, though... he's a light sleeper, and Jeremy had to get up early. All his rustling around ultimately woke Jeremiah from his gentle slumber, and he played in his crib for an hour or so before falling back asleep. I was also awoken, as Jeremy doesn't like to set his alarm for the time he needs to get up, but has it start going off at least 30 minutes prior. Ergo, every few minutes his alarm would go off, and wouldn't get turned off until I had punched him in the arm enough to wake him (at which point he would jump up in a frenzy thinking he had overslept... and then hit the snooze button for another 5 minutes...) Needless to say, by the time he was actually out of bed getting ready, I was wide awake and having a tough time returning to my previously blissful state.
Eventually, I did fall back asleep, and we (Jeremiah and myself) got up around 9. After a quick bite to eat (yeah right...) we were on our way to Buy Buy Baby! There was almost no one on the road, and with the rain falling, it was a very relaxing trip. Apparently, too relaxing for Jeremiah. By the time we were on the highway, he was fast asleep, even though nap time wasn't for almost two hours! So the decision to be made is do I wake him up once we get there, or try to extend our driving time to give him a longer nap? Well, I chose option 2, and decided that we need to keep moving, since any chance of a formal nap at that point is zilch. So where to go in Rockville? Krispy Kreme!
Well, it worked. Jeremiah and I got got there about 15-20 minutes later (Google was giving me a hard time with directions... said it couldn't understand my "start location" or something...) and as if on cue, he woke up as we pulled in. :) Got a few doughnuts, and headed on back to Buy Buy Baby. And that's house we ended up at Krispy Kreme.
Can't say it was worth it, though. Maybe it's because they went trans free or something else, I don't know, but what I do know is that I remember KK doughnuts being much better. Or maybe it's that I'm used to Shopper's doughnuts now (they're the best!) To me, KK just tasted 'overkooked', and kinda blah... AND the glaze fell off! As soon as ya took a bite, there goes all the glaze.
Yeah...
So I'm sticking with Shoppers for my 'donut kravings'. It's not worth driving 20 miles to KK to get overcooked and overpriced doughnuts. MAYBE if their "HOT" sign is on, but otherwise, I'll stick with my twice the size/twice as good/half the price Shoppers doughnuts.
Oh, and I didn't find a crib. Grr... I did finally get to see the crib I had planned on getting for Jeremiah, but after seeing it in person, I'm not sure if I like it anymore... It just seemed kinda cheaply made. So now I'm looking at a very simple modern looking crib, but it's not very tall, so unlike a normal convertible crib, I'd probably have to put something on the wall above it to fill the space (like her name or something, I guess...) I'm a little wary of that, even though I've put stuff above our bed (and our heads...) It's different when it's your baby... So we'll see. Jeremy promised he'd come with me to look at 'em, so I'm going to hold him to that! Otherwise, i'll just end up coming home with a Oeuf crib they had there... it's only $890 normally. Hey, 20% off, not so bad... ;-)
And yes, we really did go to Krispy Kreme today. It wasn't planned, it just kinda.... happened.
Okay, well, here's what happened.
So I've been trying to get Jeremy to go to Buy Buy Baby with me so we can pick out a crib for #2. I've got their "Golden Ticket" (a.k.a. the elusive and rare 20% off coupon) that expires on May 12, so of course, I think we're running out of time! The rain made going out yesterday kind of a blah idea, so I was informed that I should "go while I'm at work tomorrow."
So I did.
This morning, Jeremiah woke up around 6! I know why, though... he's a light sleeper, and Jeremy had to get up early. All his rustling around ultimately woke Jeremiah from his gentle slumber, and he played in his crib for an hour or so before falling back asleep. I was also awoken, as Jeremy doesn't like to set his alarm for the time he needs to get up, but has it start going off at least 30 minutes prior. Ergo, every few minutes his alarm would go off, and wouldn't get turned off until I had punched him in the arm enough to wake him (at which point he would jump up in a frenzy thinking he had overslept... and then hit the snooze button for another 5 minutes...) Needless to say, by the time he was actually out of bed getting ready, I was wide awake and having a tough time returning to my previously blissful state.
Eventually, I did fall back asleep, and we (Jeremiah and myself) got up around 9. After a quick bite to eat (yeah right...) we were on our way to Buy Buy Baby! There was almost no one on the road, and with the rain falling, it was a very relaxing trip. Apparently, too relaxing for Jeremiah. By the time we were on the highway, he was fast asleep, even though nap time wasn't for almost two hours! So the decision to be made is do I wake him up once we get there, or try to extend our driving time to give him a longer nap? Well, I chose option 2, and decided that we need to keep moving, since any chance of a formal nap at that point is zilch. So where to go in Rockville? Krispy Kreme!
Well, it worked. Jeremiah and I got got there about 15-20 minutes later (Google was giving me a hard time with directions... said it couldn't understand my "start location" or something...) and as if on cue, he woke up as we pulled in. :) Got a few doughnuts, and headed on back to Buy Buy Baby. And that's house we ended up at Krispy Kreme.
Can't say it was worth it, though. Maybe it's because they went trans free or something else, I don't know, but what I do know is that I remember KK doughnuts being much better. Or maybe it's that I'm used to Shopper's doughnuts now (they're the best!) To me, KK just tasted 'overkooked', and kinda blah... AND the glaze fell off! As soon as ya took a bite, there goes all the glaze.
Yeah...
So I'm sticking with Shoppers for my 'donut kravings'. It's not worth driving 20 miles to KK to get overcooked and overpriced doughnuts. MAYBE if their "HOT" sign is on, but otherwise, I'll stick with my twice the size/twice as good/half the price Shoppers doughnuts.
Oh, and I didn't find a crib. Grr... I did finally get to see the crib I had planned on getting for Jeremiah, but after seeing it in person, I'm not sure if I like it anymore... It just seemed kinda cheaply made. So now I'm looking at a very simple modern looking crib, but it's not very tall, so unlike a normal convertible crib, I'd probably have to put something on the wall above it to fill the space (like her name or something, I guess...) I'm a little wary of that, even though I've put stuff above our bed (and our heads...) It's different when it's your baby... So we'll see. Jeremy promised he'd come with me to look at 'em, so I'm going to hold him to that! Otherwise, i'll just end up coming home with a Oeuf crib they had there... it's only $890 normally. Hey, 20% off, not so bad... ;-)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
And there it is...
Canada takes lead in declaring BPA "toxic"
While Jeremiah's almost out of the "danger zone" (the small risk that there is...) we'll still be replacing our bottles and sippy cups with BPA-free versions in time for Jess Jr. Our Breastflow bottles definitely have to go--the risk is highest when the bottles are sterilzed in boiling water (which we did with those) and even higher levels are released when the plastic becomes scratched and cloudy (such as when using a brillo pad to wash them, as the kind maids in Mexico did while we were there.)
Since we never heat his bottles anymore (and haven't in a long time!) the risk for his Avent bottles is probably very small. But we will transistion out of those, as well as his sippy cups, over time. The only annoying thing about having to do so is that no one else makes 11 oz bottles... There are a couple of 10 oz bottles out there, but Jeremiah can polish off 11 oz and still ask for more, no problem (though he is starting to grow out of the 'bottle stage', so it may not be as big of a problem as we think.) Hopefully Avent gets with the program and makes a BPA-free version of their bottles soon, so we won't have to worry about it with Jess Jr.
While Jeremiah's almost out of the "danger zone" (the small risk that there is...) we'll still be replacing our bottles and sippy cups with BPA-free versions in time for Jess Jr. Our Breastflow bottles definitely have to go--the risk is highest when the bottles are sterilzed in boiling water (which we did with those) and even higher levels are released when the plastic becomes scratched and cloudy (such as when using a brillo pad to wash them, as the kind maids in Mexico did while we were there.)
Since we never heat his bottles anymore (and haven't in a long time!) the risk for his Avent bottles is probably very small. But we will transistion out of those, as well as his sippy cups, over time. The only annoying thing about having to do so is that no one else makes 11 oz bottles... There are a couple of 10 oz bottles out there, but Jeremiah can polish off 11 oz and still ask for more, no problem (though he is starting to grow out of the 'bottle stage', so it may not be as big of a problem as we think.) Hopefully Avent gets with the program and makes a BPA-free version of their bottles soon, so we won't have to worry about it with Jess Jr.
Friday, April 18, 2008
There's a first (and probably last) time for everything!
Last night, Jeremy came home and mowed the lawn FOR THE FIRST TIME! When we bought the house, it was the end of August, and the summer heat had pretty much killed the grass. Well, not killed it, but there wasn't a lot of rain, so little growing occured. Needless to say, it did not require pruning last year.This year, however, mother nature has been heaping helping after helping of rain on our lawn, and guess what??? It's grown out of control! Our neighbor's lawn care service were unwilling to negotiate a better rate for having three lawns to do all right in a row, so Jeremy decided he would try cutting it himself to see how bad it is. So we borrowed our neighbor's mower, and he got to work!
Well, he got the front done. :) It didn't take too long, maybe an hour or so, but that was mostly because he had to keep stopping to dump the trimmings. As you can see from the pic, there's quite a bit of grass there... If we stay on it, my guess is we won't be emptying the bag every five minutes or so.
I'm hoping he sticks with it. I wouldn't blame him, though, if he wanted to hire someone else to do it when it's 100 degrees out this summer. For now, it's a good workout for him (and saves us $30/week.)
Only problem is that Jeremiah seems to be quite afraid of the mower... Everytime Jeremy would start it up, Jeremiah would start crying, and wanting his Daddy. Nope, not even Mommy would do, he wanted his Daddy. He seemed very concerned... like he thought the mower was hurting his Daddy or something. I dunno. I hope he gets over that! Today, I turned on the handvac to clean out the groves on his highchair, and he started crying with that, too! He's very sensitive... :)
Of course, he has to pose for the camera, despite his tears...
Woot!
It's going to be in the 80's today and tomorrow! Sweet... Looks like next week will be slightly more normal, with highs in the high 60's, low 70's, but I'll take it all! In another month or so, it'll be in the 80's and 90's with high humidity, so we'll enjoy this while we can.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
What's a Mom to do???
As a parent, our number one concern is the well-being of our child(ren). Especially as Moms, we're wired to protect our child at all costs. In this day and age of product advancements, recalls, and safety concerns, it's becoming increasingly difficult to know what's best for your baby. Well, things are about to get even more confusing.
Before I became a Mom, I'd never heard of "BPA", or bisphenol A. This chemical is used the production of many MANY different baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, and even line formula containers. The FDA declared it safe, but new reports are showing that they may be wrong:
So far, the FDA hasn't budged, but an announcement from our neighbors to the north may begin to change that.
Other companies have known from the beginning that BPA-Free was the way to go, such as Born Free, Adiri (they make the breast shaped bottles,) Medela, etc. These companies offer safe plastic alternatives, for those parents who don't want to switch to glass (yeah, I'm one of them... those things are tough, but I'm sure Jeremiah would find a way to break one...)
So what's a Mom to do??? I've got, probably, 2 dozen plastic battles that could be unsafe, at least 4 or 5 sippy cups, let alone the plastic plates and cups I've purchased to stave off the constant replacing of broken glasses and plates. I dunno... If Canada does make that announcement, it's gonna be tough to stick with what we've got...
In the mean time, I'm switching all of our registry items that could be "unsafe" to BPA free. Might as well start off right the 2nd time. Obviously, there is some concern there about the safety of these products, and even if problems are a rarity, why take that chance? Jeremy's not going to be happy if we have to replace everything (that'll be at least $100... better swing by Babies R Us and pick up more coupon books...) But, I think this is getting to big to ignore...
What's safe, what's not?
Plastic bottles may be harmful
BPA Free Portal
On a slightly related note, I recently learned that hot tap water isn't the safest thing to drink--lead from the pipes leaches into the water when it's hot. The concentration is not as high in cold water. Short lesson learned: don't use hot water for drinking or preparing food. Even in newer pipes that claim to be "lead free" can cause water to have higher lead levels than safety standards recommend. So for washing dishes, fine. For boiling pasta or having a cup of tea, start it cold.
What's next??
Before I became a Mom, I'd never heard of "BPA", or bisphenol A. This chemical is used the production of many MANY different baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, and even line formula containers. The FDA declared it safe, but new reports are showing that they may be wrong:
The National Toxicology Program went further than previous U.S. government statements on possible health risks from BPA.
It said: "There is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures." The findings expressed concern about exposure in these populations, "based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females."
The National Toxicology Program expressed "negligible concern" that exposure of pregnant women to BPA causes fetal or neonatal death, birth defects or reduced birth weight and growth in babies. It also had "negligible concern" that exposure causes reproductive problems in adults.
So far, the FDA hasn't budged, but an announcement from our neighbors to the north may begin to change that.
In Canada, the Globe and Mail newspaper said the Canadian health ministry was ready to declare BPA a dangerous substance, making it the first regulatory body in the world to reach such a determination. The newspaper said the ministry could announce the decision as soon as Wednesday.Now, just because Canada says it's dangerous doesn't mean it is... but! They're not the only ones expressing concern. Other industrialized nations have also said that BPA could be harmful, and many companies have already decided to make the switch on their own (after they finish selling out of their current non-BPA Free stock.... like Nuby... we love their sippy cups, but they aren't switching to BPA free until later this year after they've sold through their current supply...)
Other companies have known from the beginning that BPA-Free was the way to go, such as Born Free, Adiri (they make the breast shaped bottles,) Medela, etc. These companies offer safe plastic alternatives, for those parents who don't want to switch to glass (yeah, I'm one of them... those things are tough, but I'm sure Jeremiah would find a way to break one...)
So what's a Mom to do??? I've got, probably, 2 dozen plastic battles that could be unsafe, at least 4 or 5 sippy cups, let alone the plastic plates and cups I've purchased to stave off the constant replacing of broken glasses and plates. I dunno... If Canada does make that announcement, it's gonna be tough to stick with what we've got...
In the mean time, I'm switching all of our registry items that could be "unsafe" to BPA free. Might as well start off right the 2nd time. Obviously, there is some concern there about the safety of these products, and even if problems are a rarity, why take that chance? Jeremy's not going to be happy if we have to replace everything (that'll be at least $100... better swing by Babies R Us and pick up more coupon books...) But, I think this is getting to big to ignore...
What's safe, what's not?
Plastic bottles may be harmful
BPA Free Portal
On a slightly related note, I recently learned that hot tap water isn't the safest thing to drink--lead from the pipes leaches into the water when it's hot. The concentration is not as high in cold water. Short lesson learned: don't use hot water for drinking or preparing food. Even in newer pipes that claim to be "lead free" can cause water to have higher lead levels than safety standards recommend. So for washing dishes, fine. For boiling pasta or having a cup of tea, start it cold.
What's next??
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Oh yeah...
We've recently discovered that Jeremiah has several new teeth coming in! I counted 6 that have already broken through, with another one or two on their way. This probably explains why he's been waking up a lot at night, crying, for no good reason (usually falls back asleep on his own, but sometimes we'll pick him up to reassure him before putting him down on his "blankee".) My baby's growing up! :)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Halfway mark!
Well, today, we've reached the midpoint of our pregnancy with #2. And thus begins "the hump". See, first trimester, you don't even know you're pregnant for about 4 weeks, don't see your physician for another 4 weeks or so, then you get to hear the heartbeat at appointment #2, and bam! First trimester is over. Then you start the 2nd trimester, looking forward to "the big ultrasound" and then bam! Nothing. Nope, all ya have to look forward to once you hit 20 weeks is the GD test (gestational diabetes.) Yay... soooo exciting. At least around that time, you enter the third trimester, and it's all downhill from there!
BUT! For the next 8 weeks... nothing exciting going on, pregnancy wise. SO! We need to make our own excitment! This month is pretty quiet, though we had a nice weekend. Sunday we visited with Jeremy's old boss, Kevin, and got to meet their new baby (they live pretty close, which made it easier to get together.) That was nice. Except for when Jeremiah started screaming because their older daughter tripped going down the steps and hit her head on the trim.... Yeah, he's a sympathy crier. But he was fine after that---until he saw their "rocking horse". I don't know why, but ever since he saw the one at my cousins' house, he hasn't been the same... Yeah, so he started screaming then, too... And there was no way we could get him to NOT look at it. We tried hiding him next to Daddy, but nope, he kept pushing himself up so he could see it was still there... Sigh... Needless to say, we moved to a different room, and then he was fine.
We finally purchased our plane tickets for our trip next month. In case ya don't know, we're dropping Jeremiah off at Grandpa's (specifically "Grandpa's" because he's the one taking time off from work to hang out with his "favorite grandson,") and heading to Toronto for a wedding before flying to Vegas for a week of fun! Well, Jeremy's working part of that week, but we'll still have a good time! The pools will be open (at the lovely Pallazo hotel, part of The Venetian... very nice...) so that's probably where I'll spend my days before checking out a few shows at night. Planning on seeing Blue Man Group (for a second time), The Phantom Experience (they built the theater specifically for it!), and some Cirque de Soleil show (haven't decided which yet...) Jeremy wants to see Penn & Teller (not high on my list, but sounds like fun,) maybe Spamalot... We'll see (thank you US Government for that tax rebate!) Heck, it's fun just walking the strip, so I'm really looking forward to it--truly is an "adult Disneyworld".
June holds some good stuff, too. Jeremy's "best man" and former roommate are heading to the beach with his family, and will be stopping by here on their way. Of course, later in the month is my birthday, though we probably won't do anything major for it... It's just something to look forward to.
July will be spent at the pool, in some way, shape, or form. I'll probably head to my parents' house a few times a week, since it'd be private. I may try a public pool if necessary, but I'd rather not. I suppose we'll see!
And that's all the fun we've got planned for now. I'm hoping we can take a family trip sometime either in late June or July, and head to the beach or something, for a few days. I don't want to go anywhere far (and definitely don't want to fly with Jeremiah while 8 months pregnant...) so it'll probably be VA beach area, or somewhere in Maryland, perhaps... I dunno, just someplace where Jeremiah can play in the sand and splash in the water! I think he'd really like it (vs. last time when we stuck his feet in the Pacific and he started crying... of course, that was much colder water... hopefully this time, he'll be a bit more brave. :)
Yup, so 20 weeks down, 20 to go! Hope it goes by quickly! And bring on the nice weather again! We had two 80+ days late last week, and those days should be back again by the end of the week! WOO HOO! Life is good.
BUT! For the next 8 weeks... nothing exciting going on, pregnancy wise. SO! We need to make our own excitment! This month is pretty quiet, though we had a nice weekend. Sunday we visited with Jeremy's old boss, Kevin, and got to meet their new baby (they live pretty close, which made it easier to get together.) That was nice. Except for when Jeremiah started screaming because their older daughter tripped going down the steps and hit her head on the trim.... Yeah, he's a sympathy crier. But he was fine after that---until he saw their "rocking horse". I don't know why, but ever since he saw the one at my cousins' house, he hasn't been the same... Yeah, so he started screaming then, too... And there was no way we could get him to NOT look at it. We tried hiding him next to Daddy, but nope, he kept pushing himself up so he could see it was still there... Sigh... Needless to say, we moved to a different room, and then he was fine.
We finally purchased our plane tickets for our trip next month. In case ya don't know, we're dropping Jeremiah off at Grandpa's (specifically "Grandpa's" because he's the one taking time off from work to hang out with his "favorite grandson,") and heading to Toronto for a wedding before flying to Vegas for a week of fun! Well, Jeremy's working part of that week, but we'll still have a good time! The pools will be open (at the lovely Pallazo hotel, part of The Venetian... very nice...) so that's probably where I'll spend my days before checking out a few shows at night. Planning on seeing Blue Man Group (for a second time), The Phantom Experience (they built the theater specifically for it!), and some Cirque de Soleil show (haven't decided which yet...) Jeremy wants to see Penn & Teller (not high on my list, but sounds like fun,) maybe Spamalot... We'll see (thank you US Government for that tax rebate!) Heck, it's fun just walking the strip, so I'm really looking forward to it--truly is an "adult Disneyworld".
June holds some good stuff, too. Jeremy's "best man" and former roommate are heading to the beach with his family, and will be stopping by here on their way. Of course, later in the month is my birthday, though we probably won't do anything major for it... It's just something to look forward to.
July will be spent at the pool, in some way, shape, or form. I'll probably head to my parents' house a few times a week, since it'd be private. I may try a public pool if necessary, but I'd rather not. I suppose we'll see!
And that's all the fun we've got planned for now. I'm hoping we can take a family trip sometime either in late June or July, and head to the beach or something, for a few days. I don't want to go anywhere far (and definitely don't want to fly with Jeremiah while 8 months pregnant...) so it'll probably be VA beach area, or somewhere in Maryland, perhaps... I dunno, just someplace where Jeremiah can play in the sand and splash in the water! I think he'd really like it (vs. last time when we stuck his feet in the Pacific and he started crying... of course, that was much colder water... hopefully this time, he'll be a bit more brave. :)
Yup, so 20 weeks down, 20 to go! Hope it goes by quickly! And bring on the nice weather again! We had two 80+ days late last week, and those days should be back again by the end of the week! WOO HOO! Life is good.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Modern "Manly" Man
He's not afraid to wear pink. :)
(Yeah, his hair is sticking up in the front there... keeps wiping his nose with his fist, and then rubbing it into his hair... But look how sweet he looks!)
(Heading to church.)Aww... What a cute pair, huh?? (I love this one!)
Booo...
Well, that stinks.
So, Saturday has unofficially become, "TV Day", since Daddy's home, and likes to watch his Fox News and CNN in the mornings. Then he'll take off somewhere, and I'll put it on Sprout! for Jeremiah (the toddler channel). Usually, Jeremiah will watch for a minute or two and then ignore it.
Today, though, was a bit different. Today, around 11:15, he decided he wanted to climb up onto the love seat with Mommy and watch it. So I got him all set up in the corner of the couch, and I sat in front of him with my laptop. He was surprisingly still.
I kept looking over at him, and sure enough, he was still watching the show. The third time I glanced his way, however, I got an unexpected surprise--he was asleep. This is the kid that NEVER falls asleep anywhere but his crib (and usually after several minutes of babbling to himself.) And here he was, fast asleep, on the couch (before nap time, too!)
Of course, I had to go get Jeremy--this is not something we'll probably ever see again! It was SO CUTE! Jeremy thought he'd fool around and put the remote in his hand. Makes the pics I snapped with my phone that much cuter.
And therein lies the "booo...." Unlike our regular camera, my phone doesn't auto-save. I'm 99.9% sure that I did push "SAVE", but when I looked in the folder, the pics were gone. BOOOOOO!! So unfortunately, we don't have proof that such an occasion occurred. You'll just have to take our word for it. :)
He must have been really tired... he didn't wake up when we picked him up, changed him, and then put him in his crib. He's NEVER EVER done that. NEVER! No matter how tired he is, he always wakes up when we move him, especially if we're changing his diaper. Guess those few sips of Jeremy's Americano (4 shots of espresso over ice) backfired and he crashed hard (not that I would have said he ever got all riled up. Just his normal self.)
Weird.
So, Saturday has unofficially become, "TV Day", since Daddy's home, and likes to watch his Fox News and CNN in the mornings. Then he'll take off somewhere, and I'll put it on Sprout! for Jeremiah (the toddler channel). Usually, Jeremiah will watch for a minute or two and then ignore it.
Today, though, was a bit different. Today, around 11:15, he decided he wanted to climb up onto the love seat with Mommy and watch it. So I got him all set up in the corner of the couch, and I sat in front of him with my laptop. He was surprisingly still.
I kept looking over at him, and sure enough, he was still watching the show. The third time I glanced his way, however, I got an unexpected surprise--he was asleep. This is the kid that NEVER falls asleep anywhere but his crib (and usually after several minutes of babbling to himself.) And here he was, fast asleep, on the couch (before nap time, too!)
Of course, I had to go get Jeremy--this is not something we'll probably ever see again! It was SO CUTE! Jeremy thought he'd fool around and put the remote in his hand. Makes the pics I snapped with my phone that much cuter.
And therein lies the "booo...." Unlike our regular camera, my phone doesn't auto-save. I'm 99.9% sure that I did push "SAVE", but when I looked in the folder, the pics were gone. BOOOOOO!! So unfortunately, we don't have proof that such an occasion occurred. You'll just have to take our word for it. :)
He must have been really tired... he didn't wake up when we picked him up, changed him, and then put him in his crib. He's NEVER EVER done that. NEVER! No matter how tired he is, he always wakes up when we move him, especially if we're changing his diaper. Guess those few sips of Jeremy's Americano (4 shots of espresso over ice) backfired and he crashed hard (not that I would have said he ever got all riled up. Just his normal self.)
Weird.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Okay fine...
I've decided that I'll share the news with ya'z after all. But if you haven't guessed in the baby poll yet, please take a moment to do so! I know, it's silly, but it makes me happy to see people guess!
And now.....
We're having a girl! Yay! Needless to say, we're super excited! I 'bout cried when she started typing it on the screen (though I had already guessed it as soon as she started trying to find 'it'. We saw LINES! :)
So yeah, there ya go, now ya know. But if you were guessing "boy" before I said anything, you should still enter that as your guess (if you haven't guessed yet!) Not that these things usually come down to a 40 point difference (that's what the gender is worth.)
Time to buy some dresses!!!
So there ya have it! You're now in the "know". Don't ya feel special??? :)
And now.....
We're having a girl! Yay! Needless to say, we're super excited! I 'bout cried when she started typing it on the screen (though I had already guessed it as soon as she started trying to find 'it'. We saw LINES! :)
So yeah, there ya go, now ya know. But if you were guessing "boy" before I said anything, you should still enter that as your guess (if you haven't guessed yet!) Not that these things usually come down to a 40 point difference (that's what the gender is worth.)
Time to buy some dresses!!!
So there ya have it! You're now in the "know". Don't ya feel special??? :)
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