30 Days Has September

And never ever EVER again will I make a commitment to blog everyday for a month.  I'm pretty much ready to give up blogging entirely after this past month.  So if you don't hear from me for a while, worry not.  I'll just be decompressing.

And now, related to nothing other than the fact it makes me laugh when I look at it, here is Husband experiencing the roller slide at the park for the first time.  Awesome.

Letters to Bella: 16 Months

Hi Chicky-Doo,

You are now 16 months old.

We are having so much fun together these days.  You're full of spunk and humor and playfulness and just pure awesomeness.

You had your 15-month check up on Monday (only a month late.  whoopsie.) and you are the 90th percentile for height (up from 75th) and 75th percentile for weight (down from 88th-ish).  I was pretty surprised that you have gone down in percentile for weight because you EAT EAT EAT.  You can now tell us when you are hungry, "Eat! Food! Hungry!" (or really, it's more like "Eee! Foo!  Hawn!") and you usually throw in some sign language for eat just in case we aren't getting the message.  Right now your favorite food is tomatoes from the Farmer's Market.  You. are. obsessed.  You started crying yesterday when I was feeding you because I wouldn't give you more tomatoes than the ones you already had.  I had to turn your high chair in the other direction so you couldn't see the tomatoes.  That's weird, kid.  But awesome.

Your big new physical trick this month is climbing.  Climbing onto chairs, couches, boxes, tables, beds...or cat towers.

 

Your vocabulary has continued to expand and you can now say between 175-200 words. I would declare myself a liar-pants for writing that if I hadn't sat down one day in the middle of a drawing session to start writing down all your words.

You have finally begun to experience separation anxiety and now I know that you love me! You really love me!  (OK, I knew before, but now I really know.) I'm not going to lie...I do kind of like it. Of course, it can get exhausting when you cling to me like a monkey baby when I'm trying to make dinner or when I'm the only one that can carry you on a walk.  But mostly?  It's sweet. 

I wanted to share some of the funny & fabulous thins you've been doing lately.

• After hearing me say "Let's go to Spa Mama" so many times after your bath, you now call lotion "Mamama."  Right after your bath you say, "Mamama" and then ask for me to put some in your tiny hands.  You rub them together, then say "Cheeks!" and carefully smooth lotion on my cheeks with your soft chubby hands.  It's magical.
• You have so much that you want to say all the time.  One of the funniest times you like to do this is during nursing sessions.  You will stop and look up at me and say things like "Dada, Bye-bye" in a very serious voice, referring to the fact that your daddy just kissed you goodnight and left the room.  Other times you stop nursing in order to point and name my eyes, ears, nose, cheek, chin, neck, mouth, tongue, and teeth.  You are always very careful to point out BOTH ears, eyes, and cheeks. 
• You say "yeah yeah" in place of "yes."  The yeah thing is my fault - I say that waaaaaay more often then yes.  But the double "yeah yeah" was your own touch.  And it makes sense!  We say "no-no" to danger things, so why wouldn't it be "yeah yeah"?  
• The other day you were very quietly listening to your toddler muzak in the car and when the song ended you burst into applause and yelled "YAY!  YAY!"
• You randomly started singing in a weird Chinese opera voice this weekend.  We caught it on Daddy's iPhone.  Why did you do it?  So weird and fabulous!
  
  • 

Anyway, baby girl, it's been another stellar month with you.  Love you to the moon and back.

Love,
Mama

Stinky Momma & The In-Laws Update

From K, who sought out our help last week. 

Dear Mothership,

I would like to thank you and your blognation for helping me out.  I think just getting confirmation that I wasn't crazy and that other peeps out there would feel the same as me helped me put on my big girl pants and "woman up," so to say. So, thank you.

So...what did I do? I let them come over.  We found out after just my FIL came over that MIL has a back injury and is out of commission for awhile. (Karma?) The kids and I went to the park and to a garage sale across the street. True Story: my neighbor having the garage sale (who is a dental receptionist in her real life) told me that she refuses to make a dental appointment for my husband unless I tell her to do so. Ummm, what? Turns out my MIL has been trying to get my neighbor to make an appointment for my husband, since he refuses to do so on his own, and just have her walk the appointment card over to our house some evening. MMMHMMM. This was the perfect opportunity to fill her in on my stinky house situation and she got super dramatic and was all "OH.MY.GAWD." and that, too, made me feel heaps better.

And, no, I haven't really had any major in-law drama before.  The MIL drives me batty on occasion and I hate the Christmas/holiday nonsensical rules that she always generates, but typically, we get along just fine.  And, I think she thinks we get a long just fine too, because FIL informed me that MIL is busy making jewelry and she's planning on having me over to be her first customer!! (cough cough)

Thank you Mothership, this group session really helped.

:)

Recipe Round-Up

How did I get so wildly behind on my Recipe Round-Up posts?  No idear.  For those who are new, I keep a food blog with both my original recipes and recipes I get from other sources. Every once in a while I do a recipe round-up post on my regular blog so you know whassup over there.

Ready? Set? And GO for being super hungry.

Chicken Tikka Masala 

(a.k.a my favorite recipe ever)

 Cucumber Tomato Salad

 Broccoli Cheddar Nuggets (Kid Food)

Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches

Taco Seasoning Mix

Lemon Penne with Grilled Chicken

Indian Dal

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Tofu Pad Thai

White Chicken Chili

Herbed Goat Cheese &Vegetable Omelet

Sausage & Peppers Over Basmati Rice

Butternut Squash Soup

Peanut Butter Cookies

 Two Potato Curry

Bean, White Lentil & Cheese Burritos

OK, So Maybe the Consolation Prizes Help a Little

I met my friend Audrey for a classic lady-date last night: dinner and a movie.  We went to Obento-ya, a Japanese restaurant just north of Dinkytown by the U (University of Minnesota to you non-locals).

We were being old and got there at 5:30 while happy hour was going on so we tried two appetizers...

Shrimp & Pork Dumplings

Vegetable Katsu...AKA Fried Veggie Popsicles

And let's not forget this lovely happy hour delight.  Hellooooo, wine. Might I say you are looking extra delicious this evening?

 

And then we got the good stuff, possibly the best non-pregnant consolation prize EVAH!

I am not lying when I say that this I probably could have eaten this WHOLE THING.

We gave Obento-ya two thumbs up and will probably go again someday.  After dinner we headed to a slightly weird movie theater in the burbs for Eat, Pray, Love.  We had some time to spare before the movie started so we went into the arcade, which is obviously a totally normal choice for two 30-year-old women.

Sadly, I was not able to put my ATV-skillz (which are exactly none) to the test because we only had one lone quarter between the two of us.  It's probably for the best.  I have a history of embarrassing myself on these types of games. And I have a history of dragging Audrey into these embarrassing situations, too.

Pony Racing in an airport arcade in Spain...circa 20001

I would say that the best part of the night was when we were in the theater waiting for the movie to start.  Random commercials were on the screen and when one came on for Glee, I asked Audrey in a half-shout if she watches that show (speakers were loud, yo!).  She said she didn't.  I then said in my half-shout, "I kinda wanna hump Mr. Shuester" because that's how I talk to Audrey.

Anyway, just as I was saying that, the commercial ended and it was one of those moments were everything and everyone is completely silent except you.  So I basically shouted into a small crowd:

I KINDA WANNA HUMP MR. SCHUESTER.

And that, my friends, is why I'm not really fit for public places.

The End.

This Time I Cried

A little disclaimer on this post.  In talking about trying to conceive and my frustrations with it, I am well aware that four months is nothing compared to what some couples go through. I hesitate to write about our struggle (can I even call it that yet?), for fear of offending anyone.  But, at the same time, I have a drive to write about what I'm going through and my experience is still authentic, even if I am barely scratching the surface of having a hard time getting pregnant.  I guess I just want you to know that I'm trying to maintain perspective on our situation, but sometimes you just have to let it out, even if it's not completely rational.

I stayed true to being "hella goal oriented" this past month.  (I like when I look back at what I wrote and am all, "Wha? Since when do you say things like hella?"  K, whatevs, weirdo.)   I've stepped up the exercise and do six days of running or the Shred in addition to my usual random walking with B (thank you to Katie for our daily emails for accountability!).  I have done a ton of crafty things and made strides in the Week in the Life Project.  I cooked most days (not all of it's up on the food blog yet and/or I was making recipes I've already posted).  I've blogged a bunch, although not the meaningful posts I meant to write (those feel like homework, hence procrastination).  So all that was good and helped take my mind of The Great Baby Quest of 2010.

But then during this past two week wait, I could feel my hopes getting up there once again.  Were my boobs unusually sore?  Hmmm...I've been peeing way too much, right?  Was that a cramp?  I think...I wish...I hope...

I'm not.

And this time, unlike the previous months, I was disappointed enough to cry.  Not a big old cry or anything, but I gave in to a couple minutes of hot tears streaming down my face before putting on my running shoes and knocking out 3 miles on the treadmill while Bella took her nap.  A controlled amount of self-wallowing and pity following by a "Buck up, soldier!" run.  Which was all very good and healthy of me, but I DON'T WANT TO BE GOOD AND HEALTHY.  I want to be pregnant.  Like now. Like yesterday. Like four months ago.

My consolation prizes of sushi, wine and all the dolphin-swimming-a-girl-could-want aren't helping this month.   I'm starting to feel a teensy bit jealous when I see or hear about people being pregnant with their second kid, which is just dumb.  I think back to all those status updates I posted about being pregnant on Facebook the last time around and I am completely ashamed of myself and lack of sensitivity.  I no longer find taking pregnancy tests to be a fun lab experiment and the urge to buy pregnancy tests at Target is gone; internet cheapies will suffice.  A little voice is whispering, "Secondary infertility?" in the back of my head, which I shush.  Now I know that, for me, it takes four months for this process to go from fun to frustrating.  I feel really frustrated.  And disappointed.  And inpatient.  And, just, GAH!  Why do I have to deal with the emotional disappointment of not being pregnant at THE EXACT SAME TIME as being all hormonal from my period?  [Shoving a cookie into my mouth.]

One good thing that is coming from the passage of time is that both Husband and I feel that much more ready to add a second baby to our family.  Back in June there was still quite a bit of fear in both of us about what a second baby would mean to the family and how it might disrupt our lives and leave us completely spent and exhausted.  Now, though, I feel much more confident about my ability to manage two babies and can picture it in a happy way, as opposed to not being able to picture it at all because how could that possibly work?? Husband has recently made a couple comments about being ready for our next baby, which is a change from early in the summer.  We are ready.  More than ready. 

There is a "Womb Available" sign clearly lit up in my uterus. My nutrition status is great as my folate stores are excellent and I'm chock-full of omega-3.  I am fit and exercise very regularly.  I have the brilliant plan of how I'm going to tell Husband when I do get pregnant.  I have a cute t-shirt in size 2T that says "I'm the Big Sister!" for Bella to wear when we tell the grandparents. Our ducks are all in a row.

And so we keep trying.  Hoping this time, this month, it will finally work.

Deep Thoughts By the Mothership

Sometimes I wonder if Mother Nature is actually just a 14-year-old boy that thinks penises are funny.

Dear Mothership: Stinky Momma & the In-Laws

First, I need to tell you that our oh-so-mysterious reason for not house hunting now is not due to pregnancy (booooo!).  It has more to do with Husband and it's not that he's pregnant either.  I promise I'll tell you as soon as Husband gives me the go ahead.  Now onto the point of this post.  My friend K asked to hijack my blog to get some advice on how to handle a real stinker of a situation with her in-laws.  In-law problems!  Always a fun read, no? I'm going to leave my advice in the comments suggestion and I know K will appreciate it if you do the same.

Dear Mothership,

 
I am writing to you and your readers for help. I am having an in-law issue and since I have shared my blog link with them on numerous occasions to help keep them abreast (eewww!! Yucky word) of their grandchildren’s activities, I cannot solicit the help of my readers. (sigh). 

 
Background:  My husband and I have been married for 7 years. We have 2 kids (4 yo and 1 yo). We have lived in our house for 1.5 years. This is our first house and we are not “do-it-yourself-ers.” We are generally clueless about many things related to home-fixes.

 
Situation: Two weeks ago, Fargo had some pretty heavy rain.  As a result, our basement bedroom was the victim of some rain seepage.  We realized the seepage issue several days after it had occurred as that door is always kept shut and we use the room currently for toy storage. We pulled back the carpet and the pad, and then began the fan and dehumidifier combo.  The alarming part of this was the “WHY did this happen??”  We called the in-laws over for help in diagnosing.

 
I led father-in-law (“FIL”) to the basement bedroom.  He looked at the pulled-back carpet for five seconds and declared, “Your house has always had a smell to it and you can smell it as soon as you hit the fourth step coming downstairs.” I was shocked at this statement as I FELT that this was the opportunity he was waiting for to tell me that our house was stanky. He continued on that we might have black mold in the walls, the kids could get sick, we might have foundational issues, and we might have to tear down the entire basement and redo it. Um, thanks. I was quite offended by the “smell” comment, but I let it go. I told myself that I am easily offended and to buck-up.

 
(Fast forward several days.) I had a contractor come over and he examined EVERYTHING and determined the issue was the egress window.  The previous owners did not install a vertical drain tile in the well, nor did the house have proper grading outside to help deflect the water from the house.  He said that this would be an easy fix and “not too expensive.”  (He was right, he later quoted me $180.) I emailed the in-laws to let them know the good news. Here is the response I got from “MIL”:

“Boy, that sounds great, did they say what was causing the smell in the house? Did they test all the walls in the basement too? Since the smell is pretty bad by the front door and the window well is right there there must be something that is causing the odor? Just curious.”

I furiously emailed my husband and told him basically, “WTF” and explained that nobody felt that our house had an unusual odor. (I had invited a stream of people over after the first comment was made that averred they would tell me of any odor issues.) He replied to his mother with this:

“Don’t think they said.   Guessing the carpet is what is causing the smell in the basement and in the closet.”

MIL promptly replied with:

“Glad to hear about the mold, hopefully they checked all the walls. As far as the smell, it seems to be in the house all over so I would maybe suggest removing all the carpet in the basement and put in new. I smell the smell in the kids clothes when we baby sat and when we come over so it is pretty pungent. Well we have all winter to fix this stuff...”

I started to perform deep breathing exercises at this point (much like I was in labor). I was shocked, outraged, confused, etc at this comment and could not FATHOM why she is now suggesting we replace ALL the carpet… and then I moved on to the word “PUNGENT” and I started to shake. Another furious email was sent to my husband to tell him to deal with this because if I did, it was not going to be pretty.
 
He replied to the effect of “We’re not replacing the carpet, if we stink then don’t come over anymore.” MIL replied stating she didn’t mean it “that way” and that we don’t stink “all the time” and that we should still continue to host their family for events at our house.  There were a few miscellaneous emails after that, none sent by me because I was so upset.  This happened on a Friday, it is now Wednesday.  I have just been informed that the in-laws want to come over on Saturday to play with the kids and help my husband install a garage door opener.

I emphatically told my husband that I am not ready to see them because I am still extremely hurt by their aggressive, over-the-top comments.  I feel that I now know what they were thinking every single time I had them over for a meal, playdate, a birthday party, a holiday gathering, etc  -- they were thinking “This house smells.”  I now feel that I will know exactly what they are thinking every time they come over from now on. “This house still smells.”  Possibly dramatic, yes.  The comments hit me to my core, though – Do they think I’m a bad mother because my house has this smell that I cannot detect? The smell that will never go away because they are the only ones that can smell it?  My husband wants me to put my big girl pants on and let this blow over… but I can’t. I really cannot, not yet.  I told him that if they come over on Saturday, the kids and I will not be there.  I understand that this is terrible of me.
 
I apologize for the long-windedness of this, Mothership, but I need your help. I really, really do. If I am overreacting, please tell me. I will listen to you.
 
Yours Truly,
Stinky Momma

Ode To My Hood: Part 1

We have delayed house hunting until November for reasons that I must stay oh-so-mysterious about (for now).  And November is the earliest...our move might not happen until later in 2011.  I was pretty bummed when we made that decision, but I'm (mostly) OK with it now.  I will write more posts about house hunting and all that goes with it when we actually start looking, but for now the wind has flown out of my sails when it comes to writing about it. (Good gravy, it's like I can't help myself with the nautical references after becoming the MotherSHIP.)

So I won't write about our future home right now, but I can write more about our current home, or more specifically, our neighborhood.  When I wrote the two posts that gave you a tour of my place, it felt sort of lacking to me.  The reason for that is that the true gem about where we live is the location.  Our neighborhood is truly fantastic.   I'm going to do a short series of posts that take you to various places within walking distance of our neighborhood.  I've shown pictures of my regular 3.5 mile neighborhood walk before, but this will be more in depth. I'm also learning to use the manual settings on my camera so you get to see all manner of over-and-under-exposed pictures.  Lucky you!  But practice, practice, right?

The first neighborhood gem I want to take you to is Nicollet Island.

I adore Nicollet Island and I'm bummed I didn't take advantage of it's loveliness sooner.  I only really "discovered" it when I was in the super pregnant stage of having zero lung capacity and needed to shorten my walks dramatically.  Anyway, glad it's now one of my regular spots.  There is a more public part of Nicollet Island that you can access just off Main Street and that is where the Nicollet Island Inn and the Nicollet Island Pavillion are located.  I prefer the residential part of Nicollet Island that consists of a whopping 22 houses and a few multi-family residences.  That is what I'm going to show you today.

You can access the Island from a few places, but my favorite is through Boom Island Park.  You can pretend you aren't really in the city, but are actually taking a hike through the woods.

Once you cross the woodsy path, you get to the railroad tracks and the high school that is located on the island.  This picture lets you see the proximity to downtown.

The football stadium was built a couple years ago and caused all sorts of drama as the residents of the island were opposed to having it built.  I don't know, though, I kind of like it.  It's fun to walk by and see the high schoolers outside for gym class or see soccer or football games going on in the evenings.   We can even hear the cheering from our place if we leave our windows open in the fall and spring.  There just something so homey about that.

If you turn the other direction, away from the football field, you see this quiet little scene.  The left is a foot path and the street will take you to some of the houses.

Bella and I like the foot path.

This next one is a terrible photo, but her little face is so cute in it.  And, um, yes, she is indeed wearing a pajama shirt.  I thought it was cold out and the lack-of-changing-from-pjs would be hidden by a sweater.  And if this was smell-o-net you would be able to smell the tea tree oil she spilled on both of us.  Regular hippies smell like patchouli and yuppie hippies smell like tea tree oil. It's a working theory, anyway.

I really love the Victorian houses on the island.  I didn't want to freak anyone out by obviously taking pictures of their house, but this picture will give you an idea about how cute they are.

A lot of them are so intricate and detailed.

Pretty sure Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives here.

 

There are lots of white picket fences.

 

There's also an artsy feel to the island, like this funky piece of sidewalk in front of a house.  I think Bella could happily devote an hour to poking at all those treasures in the concrete. 

I think one of the reasons I'm so in love with Nicollet Island right now is because it gives me a place where I can feel comfortable letting Bella walk around on the sidewalk.  On the regular city streets we have to be ready to pick her up at any given second due to the traffic and bikers and motorcycles and trucks and all of that.  On the Island it's quiet and quaint and just feels so safe.

 

Anyone else out there love Nicollet Island, too?