We have two friends who are siblings named Luke and Keziah.
Luke is also Saben's middle name and I tend to use it when I am being stern or he is doing something naughty.
So this morning I go "Saben Luke.....!"
and he looks at me and goes "Mommy Keziah!"
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
cupcakes
1. Cherry Chip cupcakes are just as wonderful as they were 20+ years ago when I requested them for every birthday.
2. When the box says to fill 24 cupcakes 2/3 full, this isn't just a suggestion by someone who likes lots of small cupcakes. Going for 16 cupcakes filled fully full is folly.
2. When the box says to fill 24 cupcakes 2/3 full, this isn't just a suggestion by someone who likes lots of small cupcakes. Going for 16 cupcakes filled fully full is folly.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Seasonal Mood Disorder
I think that's what its called, you know, where you get depressed in the winter because of a lack of sunlight and supposedly most of Seattle has it? (and the NW)
Back in the days when I was a student or worked in an office building downtown, I would pat myself on the back for being a NW native and not suffering from SMD. All my whiny california transplant friends would moan and groan about the lack of sun and how awful it was. Thank goodness I was used to it and it didn't bother me, in fact I barely noticed the rain. Quite a trooper eh?
I think the reason I was previously immune is because I was always stuck at work or studying or scurrying around and was not COOPED UP IN THE HOUSE WITH A BORED TWO YEAR OLD.
Oh, how things change when you are a stay at home mom. Rain is no longer a minor inconvenience. It still has its charms, don't get me wrong, but the minuses increase substantially. All my coats are filthy from picking saben up when he has muddy feet. Extra clothes to change, more time standing in the rain trying to get a squirming kid into a car seat, set up strollers, etc. Not to mention the lack of indoor "Rock in Water!" opportunities. (Saben's favorite thing in the world is throwing rocks into water, especially on the beach)
All this to say, it was gorgeous today and my mood was fabulous. I got a ton done. Yesterday it rained ALL DAY, I was in a crummy crummy mood and was unmotivated to anything but sit on the couch. This has become a common pattern despite my Native NW ancestory.
So be careful when you think you love the rain & don't mind our weather. Try being at home with kids in it for a few years first. At the very least it will temper your judgement upon us whiny folks who long for the sunshine.
Here's to lovin the sun!
Back in the days when I was a student or worked in an office building downtown, I would pat myself on the back for being a NW native and not suffering from SMD. All my whiny california transplant friends would moan and groan about the lack of sun and how awful it was. Thank goodness I was used to it and it didn't bother me, in fact I barely noticed the rain. Quite a trooper eh?
I think the reason I was previously immune is because I was always stuck at work or studying or scurrying around and was not COOPED UP IN THE HOUSE WITH A BORED TWO YEAR OLD.
Oh, how things change when you are a stay at home mom. Rain is no longer a minor inconvenience. It still has its charms, don't get me wrong, but the minuses increase substantially. All my coats are filthy from picking saben up when he has muddy feet. Extra clothes to change, more time standing in the rain trying to get a squirming kid into a car seat, set up strollers, etc. Not to mention the lack of indoor "Rock in Water!" opportunities. (Saben's favorite thing in the world is throwing rocks into water, especially on the beach)
All this to say, it was gorgeous today and my mood was fabulous. I got a ton done. Yesterday it rained ALL DAY, I was in a crummy crummy mood and was unmotivated to anything but sit on the couch. This has become a common pattern despite my Native NW ancestory.
So be careful when you think you love the rain & don't mind our weather. Try being at home with kids in it for a few years first. At the very least it will temper your judgement upon us whiny folks who long for the sunshine.
Here's to lovin the sun!
Today's News in Review
I decided I'm going to start posting a little news reviews so you can come to my blog each day to find out what is going on in the world. Here's the summary from Komo News for today:
- Local: Lots of people died in awful ways that will all flash through your mind everytime you contemplate letting your child do anything besides sit in a chair. (maybe the floor would be safer. In a locked safe. Why can't we deposit our children at the bank? What a great idea...!)
- Sports: Seattle sports teams aren't doing very well
- Weather: Its raining and stormy with some sunbreaks (actually that was probably the top news story)
- Nation: Everyone's mad at politicians
Who am I kidding, just read this every day for your news fix, I'm not posting it again.
Birthday Madness
March 12 (me), March 26 (Saben), & April 3rd (Kyle). For 4 weeks, it is birthday bonanza around here...thank goodness our next one is in July.
Last week some sweet sweet friends threw me a suprise party. It was three days after my actual birthday and on a Thursday evening so I didn't expect a thing. Until Kyle told me maybe I should change my ratty shirt before we went to dinner at a friend's house. But even then I brushed the thought aside and had completely forgotten about it by the time we reached our destination.
It was such a treat to be surrounded with so many friends, both old & new and wonderful to see everyone for a few hours. Thanks to Andi for cramming everyone into her house, to Vale for organizing everything and for everyone else who showed up to help us celebrate. And to my husband who somehow thinks he gets LOTS of credit when all he did was invite people. (ok, fine he does get some credit because he did a great job & so many wonderful people were there)
Saben's party is on Saturday and I love having it that day since he was born on Sunday just after midnight. It seems so strange to celebrate his birth on a Monday when all my memories are of going to the hospital on a Friday & laboring on a Saturday. So tons to do to get ready and lots of relatives in town this weekend. My grandmother from Texas is even flying in for a visit, so we'll be pretty busy making sure everyone gets their Saben time.
At some point though, I hope to write a little Saben List so I can remember what he was like at 2 years old.
Last week some sweet sweet friends threw me a suprise party. It was three days after my actual birthday and on a Thursday evening so I didn't expect a thing. Until Kyle told me maybe I should change my ratty shirt before we went to dinner at a friend's house. But even then I brushed the thought aside and had completely forgotten about it by the time we reached our destination.
It was such a treat to be surrounded with so many friends, both old & new and wonderful to see everyone for a few hours. Thanks to Andi for cramming everyone into her house, to Vale for organizing everything and for everyone else who showed up to help us celebrate. And to my husband who somehow thinks he gets LOTS of credit when all he did was invite people. (ok, fine he does get some credit because he did a great job & so many wonderful people were there)
Saben's party is on Saturday and I love having it that day since he was born on Sunday just after midnight. It seems so strange to celebrate his birth on a Monday when all my memories are of going to the hospital on a Friday & laboring on a Saturday. So tons to do to get ready and lots of relatives in town this weekend. My grandmother from Texas is even flying in for a visit, so we'll be pretty busy making sure everyone gets their Saben time.
At some point though, I hope to write a little Saben List so I can remember what he was like at 2 years old.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
San Francisco
Thursday: Travel day
After a rough morning of packing (me) and whining (saben) and an equally rough car ride with more whining from you know who, we finally arrived at our destination - the "TRAIN IN TUNNEL". Also known as the airport which just happens to have an underground subway thingy that is heaven for everyone under the age of 5. (or 12?)
After 3 loops around the train in tunnel, we boarded our plane. Unprepared parents that we are, I waited until Saben actually started screaming to start trying to get him to eat/suck/swallow. Whoops. After 20 minutes of crying, a stinky poop filled diaper and finally a grand finale vomit in his seat, we swore to never fly with our son again. Luckily entertaining his parents with these antics wore saben out so he slept on landing. Phew.
Connor (who is 9 months older than saben) had been talking about Saben coming to visit all day long and meticulously listing off every item he planned to share with his new friend to his parents, caregivers & anyone who would listen. After the most delicious carne asada tacos & fresh mango drink EVER, we went home and stuck the boys in the bath together to help get them acquainted. After the new buddies were in bed, we had a blast getting caught up with Andy & Julie (he's a childhood friend of Kyles, both lived in Seattle when we were there) and then stole their bed - they slept on a futon in Connor's room.
Friday:
The day was cloudy-ish, but at 65 degrees, who can complain? We all drove over to Marin park, oogled the golden gate bridge & smelled the green things growing. A little farther on we hiked/slid down a trail to our own secluded rocky beach where all four boys played "Rocks in Water" while mommies basked on the sunny rocks.
After a rough morning of packing (me) and whining (saben) and an equally rough car ride with more whining from you know who, we finally arrived at our destination - the "TRAIN IN TUNNEL". Also known as the airport which just happens to have an underground subway thingy that is heaven for everyone under the age of 5. (or 12?)
After 3 loops around the train in tunnel, we boarded our plane. Unprepared parents that we are, I waited until Saben actually started screaming to start trying to get him to eat/suck/swallow. Whoops. After 20 minutes of crying, a stinky poop filled diaper and finally a grand finale vomit in his seat, we swore to never fly with our son again. Luckily entertaining his parents with these antics wore saben out so he slept on landing. Phew.
Connor (who is 9 months older than saben) had been talking about Saben coming to visit all day long and meticulously listing off every item he planned to share with his new friend to his parents, caregivers & anyone who would listen. After the most delicious carne asada tacos & fresh mango drink EVER, we went home and stuck the boys in the bath together to help get them acquainted. After the new buddies were in bed, we had a blast getting caught up with Andy & Julie (he's a childhood friend of Kyles, both lived in Seattle when we were there) and then stole their bed - they slept on a futon in Connor's room.
Friday:
The day was cloudy-ish, but at 65 degrees, who can complain? We all drove over to Marin park, oogled the golden gate bridge & smelled the green things growing. A little farther on we hiked/slid down a trail to our own secluded rocky beach where all four boys played "Rocks in Water" while mommies basked on the sunny rocks.
After lunch in cute cute Sausalito, the guys towed the grumpy tired boys home for a nap while Julie & I went shopping in a fun, but expensive little district. On the way home we stopped by the hispanic markets & got 8 limes for a buck, huge avocados, warm corn tortillas and some recommended "quesadilla" cheese for an evening snack.
In the evening, the guys went out for drinks with some friends they both knew from high school, while the rest of us stayed home & watched "Potty Elmo". After watching grown men singing in falsetto about pooping and peeing and hearing one full hour of poop and pee talk Saben decided he wanted to sit on Connor's potty chair and Mommy decided she was never ever watching another Elmo video. Saben didn't actually go potty, but he kept peeking down to see if anything was happening as he sat there. It was adorable and Julie caught most of it on video so you can watch it next time you come over!
Saturday:
We headed down to the most fabulous farmers market I have ever seen and had breakfast in the sun on a dock. (scrambled eggs with arugula & herbs and roasted potatoes with onions) We gathered food for a picnic & couldn't resist getting some fresh greens, asparagus, pea shoots & green garlic for dinner as well.
We arrived at the zoo by 11am and spent a couple hours wandering around. Saben's favorite part was throwing food at the ducks (too bad we could have done this for free at a lake) and Connors favorite was feeding the goats (which Saben finally nervously tried).
We put the boys down for naps back at home, napped a bit ourselves & then started working on dinner. The fresh ravioli/Italian import store that I was excited to visit closed early because they had "sold everything" so we headed to Costco instead.
That night we dined with the friends Kyle & Andy had met up with the night before & they all reminisced about life at Liberty high school in Issaquah. Our little dinner party consisted of: a fertility doctor, a lawyer, a genetic counselor/scientist specializing in childhood abnormalities, a quantum physicist, a bike company owner and a stay at home mom. (those last two were us in case you couldn't tell). It was a pretty interesting evening.
Sunday: 75 degrees & Sunny
We slept in a bit and then headed out to the ocean to play on the beach. It was insanely gorgeous.
The boys played in the sand & flew a kite while Julie & I layed in the sun & watched the surfers. Then we walked down to the water & disaster struck!
A wave came in and instead of enjoying the cold water swirling around their feet, both boys panicked. Saben ran crying while Connor... well I think you can see for yourself, he's the one with the 14 on his shirt. Luckily I got this picture, which had me in hysterics the first 10 times I looked at it.
In the afternoon Kyle & I went down to Fishermans wharf while the boys napped and had a great time just wandering by ourselves. We shared a whole crab for lunch/snack and even got to hold hands which were miraculously empty of sippy cups & children. We met back up at a park & enjoyed swings & the sunset over the city.
Andy & Julie were such awesome hosts, it was awesome to see them again and we had SO MUCH FUN hanging out with them all weekend. It was so cute to watch Saben and Connor play together & interact, they only had 2 or 3 little fights the entire time and both of them woke up each morning asking to go play with the other one.
Monday:
My 30th birthday began with Saben waking up midnight as we went to bed and then spending the next four hours in and out of sleep, standing in his crib and asking to get out and play with Connor. (He was sleeping in our room and it is extremely unusual for him to have trouble sleeping) He finally zonked out at 4am and at 6:30 am we got up to go to the airport.
8:30 am at the airport, we gave him some Benadryl to help him on the plane ride. 8:45 we found out our flight was cancelled due to engine trouble. We somehow got the ticketing agent to get us one of the last few seats on a noon flight out of San Jose after he initially told us we wouldn't be able to fly till 3pm. When he said 3pm I was nearly in tears, exhausted and ready to spend most of my birthday waiting in airports with a cranky 2 yr old. Plus that would have gotten us to Seattle just in time for rush hour traffic.
Luckily we did get on the noon flight and things turned to the better as Saben slept on the shuttle to San Jose (after drunkenly staggering around under the influence of the Benadryl), he was perfect on the flight to Seattle despite being awake the whole time and we just barely slipped north before the worst of the rush hour traffic began.
Friends watched Saben that night and we got to enjoy a romantic dinner at Flats Tapas bar before coming home and passing out early into bed.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
And the winner is...
It's a GIRL!!!!
We had our ultrasound this morning and the doctor got a good look. I was so relieved because it has felt like a girl and been a girl in my mind this entire time. It would have been so exciting to give Saben a brother too - just more shocking for me. I think I would have been blissfully happy and a tiny bit regretful either way. Kyle is estatic because now he thinks he wins the argument about 2 kids or 3. We'll just wait and see about that I guess. (I am not committed to 3, but I don't want to decide right now)
Hooray for dresses and tights!
We had our ultrasound this morning and the doctor got a good look. I was so relieved because it has felt like a girl and been a girl in my mind this entire time. It would have been so exciting to give Saben a brother too - just more shocking for me. I think I would have been blissfully happy and a tiny bit regretful either way. Kyle is estatic because now he thinks he wins the argument about 2 kids or 3. We'll just wait and see about that I guess. (I am not committed to 3, but I don't want to decide right now)
Hooray for dresses and tights!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Ultrasound
Well its probably way too late now, but if you manage to see this before we announce our ultrasound results tomorrow, let me know whether you think its a girl or a boy. Maybe I'll even do a drawing if enough people answer.
Hurray!
Hurray!
Pregnancy update - 20 wks
I just felt like making note of how the pregnancy is going and particularly all the details I can't seem to remember from being pregnant with saben. Here goes.
I started feeling "baby" kick right at 17 weeks and its slowly been getting stronger. I felt it before that actually, but I wasn't positive it wasn't gas until 17 weeks. I can sometimes feel the bumps with my hand, but I think Saben was a lot more active. I remember thinking that it was really early for people to feel him and even maybe being able to see him move during my ultrasound. But I'm not positive... Now I am thinking my parents didn't feel him till thanksgiving which would have been about 22 weeks. Beats me.
About 2 weeks ago, I started noticing a change in my circulation (more tingling) and slight swelling in my ankles. Ugh! That started me worrying about pre-eclampsia (aka Toxemia, hypertension) since I had a bad case of it with Saben. I've started doing a prenatal yoga video which seems to help the circulation issue a lot. I hope the exercise will help prevent preeclampsia as well, but no one really seems to know how to prevent it, except for the guy who swears by eating 12 eggs in 12 hours. GROSS.
That's about it. I crave different things all the time, but salt is a big one. I had sushi, edamame and miso tonite and feel so great. For some reason gorging on sushi always feels wonderful afterwards. Like I'm full, but not sick & I'm full of energy. Maybe it was the oolong tea actually. I'm in love with the oolong kyle brought back from taiwan. mmmm....
Oh, and citrus - I've been making fresh lemonade & limeade constantly. Its good though, I'd rather have a glass of lemonade (lots of lemon, lots of sugar) than a bowl of ice cream....
I started feeling "baby" kick right at 17 weeks and its slowly been getting stronger. I felt it before that actually, but I wasn't positive it wasn't gas until 17 weeks. I can sometimes feel the bumps with my hand, but I think Saben was a lot more active. I remember thinking that it was really early for people to feel him and even maybe being able to see him move during my ultrasound. But I'm not positive... Now I am thinking my parents didn't feel him till thanksgiving which would have been about 22 weeks. Beats me.
About 2 weeks ago, I started noticing a change in my circulation (more tingling) and slight swelling in my ankles. Ugh! That started me worrying about pre-eclampsia (aka Toxemia, hypertension) since I had a bad case of it with Saben. I've started doing a prenatal yoga video which seems to help the circulation issue a lot. I hope the exercise will help prevent preeclampsia as well, but no one really seems to know how to prevent it, except for the guy who swears by eating 12 eggs in 12 hours. GROSS.
That's about it. I crave different things all the time, but salt is a big one. I had sushi, edamame and miso tonite and feel so great. For some reason gorging on sushi always feels wonderful afterwards. Like I'm full, but not sick & I'm full of energy. Maybe it was the oolong tea actually. I'm in love with the oolong kyle brought back from taiwan. mmmm....
Oh, and citrus - I've been making fresh lemonade & limeade constantly. Its good though, I'd rather have a glass of lemonade (lots of lemon, lots of sugar) than a bowl of ice cream....
crazy
Wow, what a crazy couple of weeks. First of all, if anyone had told me last night I'd be wearing a tanktop and applying sunscreen today, I would have told them to shut their trap. But what a wonderful morning (the sun left around 1pm) and it is still 60 outside! It is actually warmer here than it is in San Francisco which is where we're heading in a couple days to visit some friends.
Last week we had house guests for five days - our friend Nancy & her two kids. For some reason I was filled with a ton of energy for the first few days and flew around making dinners, muffins, cheesecake.... I really don't know what got into me. But Thursday rolled around and both her kids got sick & were just miserable/crying for much of the day. I felt worst for her having to handle it all, but it definitely drained me too. (what is it about crying kids that just sucks the energy right out of you?) By Friday Saben was getting clingy too and when we all climbed into the car to ride to the airport the silence was such a relief. But overall we really had fun spending the last few days with them before their move to Arizona and Saben loved having kids around to play with all the time. Every morning he is still asking "Abbey and Ethan upstairs?" Poor guy. Oh, and don't worry Andi, I bawled my head off once we pulled away from the airport.
Saturday we attended the lovely wedding of our friends Jeff & Jenny after spending the night with Kyle's parents and attending his cousins bridal shower. The wedding & reception were so beautiful and it was so wonderful to see all our "old" friends again. Unfortunately I felt like a complete potato, I was so tired and drained from non-stop people time that I could barely carry on a conversation. Kyle more than made up for me though, what a chatterbox. : )
Sunday my family came to visit to celebrate Kyle & my birthdays just a bit early (I'm 30 on Monday!!) and we had a nice lunch & got an awsome gas patio heater to keep our BBQs and late night partying toasty this summer. Saben loved seeing Todd & Betsy again and first thing the next morning he says "Bye bye Todd and Betsy".
Tomorrow is our ultrasound and then we leave for a short vacation to San Francisco. Phew!!!
After all the excitement, I'm going to be bored out of my gourd when we get back. Except then there's Saben's bday to plan. Save the date.... party time 10am, March 24th!
Last week we had house guests for five days - our friend Nancy & her two kids. For some reason I was filled with a ton of energy for the first few days and flew around making dinners, muffins, cheesecake.... I really don't know what got into me. But Thursday rolled around and both her kids got sick & were just miserable/crying for much of the day. I felt worst for her having to handle it all, but it definitely drained me too. (what is it about crying kids that just sucks the energy right out of you?) By Friday Saben was getting clingy too and when we all climbed into the car to ride to the airport the silence was such a relief. But overall we really had fun spending the last few days with them before their move to Arizona and Saben loved having kids around to play with all the time. Every morning he is still asking "Abbey and Ethan upstairs?" Poor guy. Oh, and don't worry Andi, I bawled my head off once we pulled away from the airport.
Saturday we attended the lovely wedding of our friends Jeff & Jenny after spending the night with Kyle's parents and attending his cousins bridal shower. The wedding & reception were so beautiful and it was so wonderful to see all our "old" friends again. Unfortunately I felt like a complete potato, I was so tired and drained from non-stop people time that I could barely carry on a conversation. Kyle more than made up for me though, what a chatterbox. : )
Sunday my family came to visit to celebrate Kyle & my birthdays just a bit early (I'm 30 on Monday!!) and we had a nice lunch & got an awsome gas patio heater to keep our BBQs and late night partying toasty this summer. Saben loved seeing Todd & Betsy again and first thing the next morning he says "Bye bye Todd and Betsy".
Tomorrow is our ultrasound and then we leave for a short vacation to San Francisco. Phew!!!
After all the excitement, I'm going to be bored out of my gourd when we get back. Except then there's Saben's bday to plan. Save the date.... party time 10am, March 24th!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)