Date: 2009-11-11 18:54 Subject: Garlic baby Security: Public

In an attempt to make Jack's broccoli and cauliflower puree more palatable, I put the teensiest shake of garlic powder in it. The mom's group moderator had suggested that babies love garlic. I'm not sure what Jack thought, since he ate most of it but clearly didn't like it toward the end, but that may have been just the fact that it was broccoli and cauliflower.

But the result is that Jack has POWERFUL GARLIC BREATH. Even after a bath he smells like a kielbasa sausage. I think from now on, Jack gets garlic only when we eat garlic.

In other news, I had noticed that our car windows suddenly had developed this strange foggy checkerboard pattern. I had never seen it before, and it didn't wipe off. It seemed strange to me that this happened all at once, and so I asked Michael if he had noticed that before. He had not. Then when we were in the car, the pattern on the rear window was particularly noticeable, and so I pointed it out to Michael, but he couldn't see it. We were both getting a little frustrated with each other, because I could see it so clearly and how could he not notice? He thought I was crazy.

Then suddenly I remembered that I had just purchased a pair of polarized sunglasses.

We came up on an SUV with a particularly striking example of the phenomenon in the rear window, and I gave my glasses to Michael to see. It's pretty neat. Also, the shimmer that reflects off of reflective stuff in the pavement looks really weird.

Anyway, the reason I bought the polarized sunglasses is because the optometrist always nags me about that when I go in, and I was in Target and had just lost a couple of pairs of sunglasses in the last few weeks. I was annoyed that all the men's but almost none of the women's styles were polarized. Here's a trick when looking for polarized lenses: Find one pair that says polarized on the tag, and then hold them sideways and look at the other glasses. The ones that look like they have jet black lenses are also polarized. No need to search through each tag.

Date: 2009-11-09 19:54 Subject: Chop wood, carry water Security: Public

I am a bit tired of dealing with Craigslist flakes, and our backyard is still full of large pieces of pine tree. So we bought a "splitting maul" (big heavy axe) and after some internet research, Michael gave it a shot. He was able to split one log and dent up another one. At this rate we will have firewood in about twenty years. Let us hope that practice is all that is needed. Michael has suggested that wood chopping is not something one should do when home alone, which means I can't really give it a go during the day either.

Jack was uber-cute in his Halloween costume. He was a barnstormer pilot. (Pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jendaviswilson/sets/72157622722030118/ ) I had originally intended to make his stroller into an airplane, and then wrestled with some cardboard a bit and gave up. Then I intended to make a plane costume for me to wear with him in the front carrier, and even bought a battery fan to use as a propeller and a bunch of fabric, but that didn't happen either.

More ( Jack updates and other things... )

Date: 2009-10-24 18:33 Subject: Very Hairy Yaks Security: Public

Today was supposed to be a productive day.

Michael is home, so we could split babycare. Our plan was something like: Michael goes to Costco and gets some TP and other necessities while I'm home with Jack. Maybe I'd get some housecleaning done. Then Michael would watch Jack while I sewed some costumes. Later I'd watch Jack while Michael did some work.

But no, we both went to Costco with Jack (in the carrier, which is very Jack-cuddly but tiring on my back), and bought half the store. Then when we came home I wanted to do one small, quick taks bfore we started on the plan for the day. You see, our shower handles have started dripping fiercely and really need their washers replaced. I happen to have all the tools necessary as well as a pack of assorted o-rings and washers, so I thought this would be a ( 5-minute job. )

Date: 2009-10-19 15:41 Subject: Things I do not love about Jack Security: Public

The opera singing practice at 5am.

The super-grip pinching you do that Michael calls the "Swarm of Binder Clips Attack". While nursing at 5:30 am.

Poop.

Date: 2009-10-18 14:19 Subject: Things I love about Jack Security: Public

I love the opera singing practice Jack did when he woke up from his nap today.
I love the way Jack is so ecstatic to see his dad.
I love how a sleepy Jack just melts heavily into my arms.
I love how Jack seems to treat his exersaucer like a Very Serious Job. Don't bother him, he is too busy. That fish won't chew itself, you know.
I love how Jack laughs when he sees Finn.
I love how Jack stuffs his hands into his mouth and looks up when delighted.
I love to rub his fuzzy head.
I love how he likes kisses so much.

Date: 2009-10-14 08:52 Subject: Finn! And trees. Security: Public

Finn is such a good dog. It took three good fur-pulls for him to understand the idea that Jack hands = ouch, stay away. And during the fur pulls he didn't growl, merely got a pitiful distressed look on his face and maybe whimpered a tiny bit until I was able to disentangle. Now he either stays away on his own accord or moves out of Jack reach when I say "Watch out!"

Jack thinks Finn is really funny. Finn will come into Jack's line of sight and Jack will laugh. The more movement Finn makes, the better. Tricks are especially hilarious. When Finn and Eowyn were wrestling in the sunroom, I thought Jack would bust a gut.

So yesterday I had some slightly moldy cheese pieces that I'd cut off a bigger hunk to give Finn, so we practiced "Where's Jack?" In this game, Finn noses Jack in exchange for some cheese. Jack thought this was the best game ever, shrieking with delight when he got a Finn nose in the face. I hope to get Finn really good at this for when Jack is more mobile.

Now that Jack sleeps pretty much exclusively in his crib, Finn is slowly taking back his rightful place on the bed, although he still seems to prefer his crate most of the time, since it doesn't ever accidentally kick him. He is also getting increasingly more petting-needy. I don't know if that is Jack-related or not, since ever since we moved he has seemed to be growing more fond of human contact. The night before yesterday's storm he jumped into the bed after Jack's 4am feeding for some cuddles, which I appreciated since he's warm and furry. Always when I get up in the middle of the night to take care of Jack, he shows up at some point to make sure of where I've gone. Occasionally this is Not Helpful, as then he will shake and jingle and disturb a sleepy Jack.

And the Comfortis pill seems to have done its job. After months of a persistent flea infestation that Frontline didn't make a dent in, suddenly he is 100% flea-free. Thank God. One can only vacuum so much.

---
Trees!
The six dying pines in our back yard are on their way out. The tree guys were supposed to work Mon-Wed, but the storm on Tuesday was not real conducive to tall tree climbing. Monday they managed to get three trees stripped, and I had a really good view from the sunroom. The process seems to be one guy climbs up the tree (surprisingly fast), ropes a sling around himself and the trunk and proceeds to chainsaw off branches from the bottom up. The trees in the middle are in a big clear space, so they took almost no time to strip. The larger branches were tied to ropes and pulley equipment so they could be lowered in a controlled way. They got to the top of the middle tree and then sawed off the bushy top and just let it fall, which they all seemed to get a kick out of.

The third tree was over our workshop, so although the first trees were naked within a couple of hours, that one took the rest of the day. Every branch had to be tied and lowered using ropes connected to the first two so that the branches didn't land on the shop. It was quite an operation. I watched them take the top down, which looked like it needed quite a bit of planning and discussion ahead of time. The guy on top finally made a bunch of shaped cuts with his chainsaw (to guide the falling direction), and then sawed it off and it toppled over but was still attached to one of the naked trunks, causing everything to sway alarmingly. Then it took three guys on the ground hauling the rope sideways as hard as they could to keep it off the shop.

After they left I went out to investigate. It smelled amazing. Pine fresh everywhere! Because it is a few hundred dollars cheaper to not have them haul all the wood and chips to the dump, they are leaving it all here. I have a huge pile of chips (and twice as much still to come) in front of the hedge that will need to be hauled to the backyard eventually by wheelbarrow, which I am not looking forward to, and a few piles of fireplace-sized wood which we will probably put under clear tarps to kill any remaining beetle larvae and then give away as firewood. So right now there are three big tree spikes. I guess the next step is to cut down the trunks a section at a time. But they didn't work yesterday, and although today isn't windy, it is still a bit wet and they aren't here, so I suppose they either aren't coming or are waiting for it to dry up a bit more.

Date: 2009-10-13 10:28 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

Jack is sleeping so well. He took an hour long nap yesterday, and it might have been longer if I hadn't gotten worried and went in to peek at him. He seems much happier, more verbal, and his attention span is a lot longer. The main problem is that I don't have it in my head yet that he needs to eat after his nap, and I've forgotten a couple of times until he was strangely fussy.

He is a much better nurser now, except for the fact that he's 6 months old and extremely interested in the world and therefore easily distractable. He will not eat if Michael is in the room, because he wants to look at him. Today it's raining which is quite noisy in the sunroom. We had to go into the nursery.

He has a new habit, which is that he will roll onto his stomach in his crib after he wakes up. He has not rolled back on his own for a long time, so maybe I need to coach him how because he gets so frustrated. It clearly strikes deep at his sense of injustice that he cannot crawl yet. He tries to reach toys out of reach by sheer force of will and straightening his body at much as possible. Obviously this does not work.

In other news, I have an amusing Mac story:

A&A were packing up to leave our house Sunday, and so I was holding Robbie. Mac comes up and (instead of informing me that "Robbie is my baby brother, like Jack but Jack is your baby" like he normally does), he pointed out, "Robbie has a king poo!" I was momentarily alarmed and about to turn Robbie around to investigate, but Mac clarified, "He has king poo on his shirt! And a castle!" I checked, and indeed Robbie had a yellow bear with a crown on his outfit, who looked a lot like Winnie the Pooh. King Pooh. Whew.

Date: 2009-10-12 08:52 Subject: Battening down the hatches Security: Public

Yesterday Jack went down for all three of his naps very nicely. He slept from 3:00 to somewhere around 3:45, woke up and rolled over and cried. I went in and flipped him back over and turned his music on and left, since he's not allowed out of there until 4. Sometime later I realized he had gotten all quiet. Disbelieving, I went back in. He had FALLEN ASLEEP AGAIN. He slept until 4:30.

I did a happy nap dance.

Today Jack is very talkative. I wonder if the extra rest has something to do with it, as he hasn't been a hugely verbal baby up to now, preferring to talk very quietly only when he is all relaxed.\. "Ba ba ba ba. Wa ba ba. Baaaavvv ba ba."

Tonight there is supposed to be a big storm in the area, a remnant of a typhoon that started in Japan. Gusts up to 60mph, 2-4 inches of rain.

And of course this is the week that I had scheduled to have the trees removed. Yesterday Anise and I were watching a pair of squirrels spiralling up and down one of the trunks in play, and I had a bit of sadness thinking they will have to find another place to play from now on. Not that there is a shortage, but still.

The tree guys are already a few stories up in the first tree, rapidly removing branches. They are going to try to get whatever they can done before the storm. I have a good view from the sunroom.

Date: 2009-10-11 10:09 Subject: Naps FTW! Security: Public

I had been spending all day putting Jack to bed. He was taking 4 naps of 30 mins each, and the process of getting him to sleep took from 10 minutes to an hour. And he was still tired and cranky. The 4pm nap was horrible for both of us. Obviously we needed a new solution.

So I combed the internet and found all suggestions I could (beyond waiting for him to grow out of it) and implemented the Grand Nap Plan.

Elements of this plan include:

- No nursing to sleep. Nurse after naps.
- Buy a music/lights crib toy (found one at Goodwill for $2.50, not bad for a $45 toy)
- Give Jack a lovey (enlisted his stripey dog toy)
- Ferber-ish method of cry it out for 5 mins, then 10 mins, then 15 mins.
- Set a new schedule with 3 naps at 9, 12, and 3. Plan for two naps once he starts longer sleeps.
- Go to bed earlier myself so we can meet his schedule better
- After he goes to sleep, he stays in his crib until at least 1 hour has passed
- New nap routine including putting him in his sleep sack, diaper change, story and song.

We are now in the middle of day 2 of this plan. I had expected misery and suffering from the cry-it-out part of the plan, but you know what? Jack can fall asleep just fine on his own. He didn't need to nurse to sleep. In fact, now he nurses quite calmly instead of thrashing around. I had no idea. I think nursing before sleep was actually making it harder for him to sleep. Now I put him down and he fusses quietly for less than 10 minutes. Sometimes I go in and re-insert the binky and turn the music back on (it shuts off after 10 minutes), but he has never gotten too upset. My previous attempts at cry-it-out failed because I had put him down after he was already upset.

The crib toy was also a fantastic idea. It gives him something to look at while falling asleep and the music is nice and repetitive but not in an annoying way. The lovey is more of a long-term strategy (so he can fall asleep in other places than his crib) but it also has the added benefit of giving something for his hands to do other than rub his eyes and pull his pacifier out.

So far his naps aren't a whole lot longer actual sleep time, but when he wakes up I can hear him playing with the spinning thing on the crib toy and talking instead of fussing and grumping. As he gets used to the fact that I'm not coming in before an hour is up maybe he'll go back to sleep. We will see.

I also installed a program that logs my computer off at 10pm. This is an important part of the strategy, as internet after 10 is not good for me.

Date: 2009-10-06 17:48 Subject: Novelty Security: Public

New things in ( Jack land )

Finn went to a new vet this week, too. Our old vet was in Menlo Park and hadn't really impressed me, so we got a new one off Yelp. Finn got his new vaccines and checked out ok. Also, the vet said that it seems that they are finding out that Frontline Plus is not the best medication for flea control. Duh, I could tell you that after Finn having fleas all damn summer. She said it is good for ticks, but not fleas. Instead we got a new chewable flea tablet Comfortis. I can't give it to him until next month, but I really really hope it works.

Date: 2009-10-01 22:12 Subject: Babyproofing Security: Public

I am brilliant!!

So I've been babyproofing. All the cabinet doors now have locks, I've covered all the outlets, working on securing tippy furnitures to the wall and such. But there had been a problem I didn't know how to handle: the furnaces.

We have one floor furnace in the living room that basically acts like a foot BBQ. It's kind of in the way of walking from the living room to the bedroom hallway, but all of us (Finn included) have learned to walk over or around it. But I have been freaking out thinking about little feet and fingers on that waffle iron grate. We also have a wall furnace in the hall that is nicely placed to warm and dry you when you get out of the shower, but it also gets finger-blisteringly hot.

I thought of getting some of those baby jail playpen things to use as a barrier, but then thought, hm, plastic next to super-duper hot thing? Probably not a good idea. I started thinking of what I could get at Home Depot to make my own barrier. I thought about those metal shelves they sell, maybe I could get some and wire them together...

Then I realized I had just the thing for free. Two metal folding dog crates that Finn doesn't use anymore. Remove the plastic bottoms and voila! Freestanding fireproof barriers.

One is the perfect size to cover the floor grate.

The other is half-folded into a V and standing on its side in front of the wall furnace.

I only wish it were colder right now so I could turn the heaters on and see how hot the crates get next to the heaters. I'm pretty sure they will get warm but not as insta-sizzly as the furnaces themselves. Babyproofed for free!

Date: 2009-09-30 00:33 Subject: Autumn arrives Security: Public

Today was truly autumnal. It was a bit chilly (that is, under 70 degrees), and quite blustery today. Pine needles fell like rain. The sky is taking on that super-blue hue that makes me think of October. One of our neighbors put a pumpkin on her fencepost.

I checked on my jack'o'lantern vine, which is practically dead now from the powdery mildew. But the four pumpkins that grew before the damage got too bad seem to be doing fine now. One was fully orange, so I cut it off the dried up vine and put it by the front door. It is a tall pumpkin, kind of Bert-shaped. The other three (two Ernies, one Bert-ish) still have some greenish tinge and the vines attached to them aren't as bad, so I left them alone.

Finn insisted that we take a walk, so we bundled up and went out. Jack rode in his regular stroller sans carseat for the first time, wearing the froggy hat that my mom made for him. With matching froggy-feet booties. The hat is so painfully cute I think he needs to wear it every day as much as possible. I think he liked the view of the world from the stroller better.

I had promised to bring a dessert item to the mom's group potluck lunch tomorrow, so I was looking for figs (local figs are in season now) to make a tart with. The grocery store's figs were not only the green kind instead of the purple, they were in bad shape. There were only about 8 containers and most of them had moldy figs. So what to do? Being in the produce section, I figured, hey, PIE! Peach pie! (Peaches are still very cheap.) But I've never made a peach pie. So I had better make an apple pie too as a backup. But then I bought 8 granny smiths only to find out when I got home that the recipe I was going to use calls for half grannys and half mcintoshes. So I went back and got 8 macintoshes, meaning I now had to make two apple pies to use them all up, one of which could go in the freezer.

Which means I had somehow gone from a quick fig tart to committing to make three double-crust pies. For want of a fig...

So that is why I am typing at 12:45am. Making 3 pies after putting Jack to bed is time-consuming. I made the crusts, only to be reminded yet again that homemade pie crust is probably not worth the time. The refrigerated stuff in the grocery store tastes just as good, is more reliable, and doesn't require dirtying up a bunch of utensils and is already rolled out to an even thickness. Sadly, even storebought crust wouldn't solve the problem that I never seem to be able to make a properly fluted edge. I have some sort of mental block about it, and it never turns out the way I think it should. One pie had to get fork-crimped after a particularly bad fluting job.

But the peach pie looks fantastic with its lattice crust, and the apple pie is smelling good in the oven, and Finn got to eat a lot of dropped pie dough scraps.

And pie feels like autumn.

Date: 2009-09-23 22:26 Subject: Kissy baby Security: Public

Is it weird that Jack really, really likes his face touched?

He will sit absolutely still with his mouth wide open in a wondrous grin and his eyes looking up while I give him little kisses all over his face. While holding his hands of course, since I like my hair attached to my head. I know the mouth open is partially the whole rooting reflex/oral phase thing, but he clearly is blissed out by the kissing. Bopping him on the face with a stuffed toy is apparently a fantastic sensation and will make him smile and giggle. I'm afraid I've taught him that "pajamas" means the sensation of being tickled as fabric is brushed across his face, because that's what I do when I get his pajamas out because he likes it so much.

Are all babies like that?

Date: 2009-09-22 10:07 Subject: Time is passing...five month thoughts Security: Public

I just got a notice that I'm one payment away from completing my student loans. Which means I've been out of school a loooong time. Really? That long?

And Jack will be 5 months old this week.

Jack and I had been doing just fine with his 4 30-minute naps per day, but then the stupid sleep book and the Mom's group moderator (who is fantastic otherwise, by the way) both claimed that 30 minutes isn't really enough for a good nap. So I set about trying to "fix" the "problem". I couldn't seem to get Jack to sleep longer in the crib no matter what I tried, so I then would soothe him and let him sleep on my chest. Which he would happily do, and had a few naps from 1 to 2 hours at a time. I read a lot of books.

Which then ruined his napping entirely. He stopped sleeping for more than 15 minutes in his crib. He's also been recently really going crazy when he gets drowsy, with wiggles, kicks, and long drawn out repeated "eeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" when nursing. I don't know if he's just going through a nap strike thing or something, but obviously I wasn't helping.

So yesterday he got two 10-15 min naps in the crib, and two 20-30 min naps while being held. He was pretty cranky all day. To top it off, I gave him a bath and first made the water too hot and then got soap in his eye. He then fell asleep immediately, poor exhausted guy.

But he slept all night until 4:30, fed, slept, and woke up at 6:30. At least his night sleeps are long. He has been getting 12 to 13 hours of night sleep, so why was I worried about naps? And this morning he took a good 30 min nap, which might have been longer if it weren't for the UPS man at our neighbor's house which of course set Finn off. But I heard him wake up on the monitor, and then he spent another half hour cooing to himself and apparently minutely examining his pacifier. Eventually I went in to see why he wasn't crying yet, and he was all like, "Oh, hey. 'Sup? Check out my pacifier." What happened to the kid that couldn't let me out of his sight for more than 2 minutes? I'm really hoping he's back on the normal nap schedule now.

In the past couple of weeks, he has gotten really into objects. He will grab a toy, and hold it directly in front of his face with both hands, arms straight. With a very serious and intense expression, he will study it for a while. Then maybe some banging and waving it around. Then more studying. And suddenly he stuffs it as hard as he can into his mouth. Changing his diaper has become more difficult as he tries to steal and eat my watch.

His newest skill is back-to-tummy rolling. He is very good at it. He learned belly-to-back first, but seems to have forgotten how since he always gets his arm stuck, and it keeps him from rolling back. So he rolls on his tummy, "swims", which sweeps all his toys out of his reach, and then wails because he is stuck with no toys. If I give in and roll him back over, he immediately flips back onto his belly and repeat. He is really pissed that he can't crawl yet. He will reeeeaaach for toys and be oh so sad that he can't get there, and he wiggles and squirms and digs in his toes and raises his butt, but he just can't make it. It's hard out there for a baby.

Nonetheless, I've started to babyproof.

I just resuced him from his belly prison, and now he is laying on my lap practicing his b's and hiccupping. "A-booovff. Bvvvf. Hic. A-booooovf. Hic. Bvf. EeeeeeEEEEEEEe!"


Finally, we've started him on solid food. I have been eating like a pig, not really exercising, and still losing weight. I've overshot my pre-pregnancy weight by a few pounds already, and my old jeans now require constant hitching-up. Which suggests that Jack's caloric intake has gotten pretty high. He probably weighs 17 or 18 lbs by now, and is really active during the day. So he got his first rice cereal three days ago. Since he is only 5 months, I had been led to expect it would take him a few days to figure it out. Nope. The first spoonful caught him off-guard, then he was all "FOOD! Nom nom nom." He has now had three mini-meals of rice cereal and enthusiastically bangs his hands on the tray and opens wide for the spoon.

He is a lot of fun now, rather than just being a cute lump. And it's amazing how fast he changes. Last night Anise was here with Robbie, who is only 2 months younger but still in the cute lump stage.

Ok, time to go work on his Halloween costume.

Date: 2009-09-11 11:39 Subject: Sick but relaxing Security: Public

I must have caught a nasty cold bug from one of the hordes of people here last week. And since I'm breastfeeding, I can only take nasal spray and Tylenol. The nasal spray is no match for this cold. And yesterday my back hurt so much from I guess having a fever overnight that it spasmed sometimes and I had trouble picking Jack up, even with the Tylenol. Today is much better, although I'm still going through the Kleenex. I just hope Jack is getting enough antibodies from me that he doesn't get sick. He hasn't been sick yet all his little life (knock on wood).

(Finn is in the backyard barking at the fence, as there is some sort of loud noisy machinery beyond it crunching something. If he only knew how funny he looks when alarm-barking. All poofy and stiff. With his big feather-duster tail all twitchy in the air.)

So anyway, the night after the Day of Five Naps, Jack decided he would wake up every two hours at night. Of course this was when my cold was at its peak. He wasn't all that demanding, he just wanted his binky re-inserted and then he went back to sleep. But still, getting out of bed every two hours was not what I needed. I considered letting him cry it out, but I know that I am as of yet unwilling to stick to my guns on that and the night where I really need sleep is not the night to let him cry for hours, keeping us both up. So the next day I tried to get Jack to nap with me, mostly to no avail. He refused to lengthen his usual 30 min naps. Luckily, the power went off at Michael's work, so he came home and I was able to sleep for an hour and a half or so.

And then last night, Jack was fantastic. He only woke at 4am (which is usual), but took the binky and went right back to sleep (which is unusual). Then he woke again at 5 and I decided to feed him rather than get up every half hour until morning. He slept until 7:45! I vastly prefer this to the constant morning feedings from 5:30 on which is usual. I think keeping him in his crib the whole night now and not bringing him to our bed to feed is a good thing.

Date: 2009-09-11 11:37 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

(Seems this didn't get posted the first time. Thanks, crappy Google wireless.)

Wow, that was a big week(end). A weekend that went from Wednesday until Tuesday. Large numbers of gamers descended for Orichalcon, hosted at our place. The weather cooperated fantastically, and was in the 70's. There was gaming and eating and friends and babies and dogs and food and food and food. And hot tub and champagne and ice cream. And there was also enough small group hangout time that I feel it wasn't all 30-odd people chaos.

And then, they were all gone. Suddenly it was just Jack and me. It's nice to have my house back, but it was a little lonely after having so much company. We played a little and napped a lot today. Jack was super tired, and insisted on taking each of his naps early and got an extra one in. I guess it was a pretty crazy time for him too--he is extremely interested in conversations and faces, and so although he seemed to have taken enough naps during the con, his little brain was probably working overtime and now he needs to catch up. He also seems to be delighted to once again have my undivided attention. He is very giggly and cuddly.

He has also learned a new tummytime skill. He can raise his butt off the ground using either his toes or his knees. This makes him scoot backward. It is also fascinating to watch him in the exersaucer. The first time I put him in it, he grabbed two of the toys and hung on for dear life. Now he is clearly interacting, grabbing and letting go, looking intently and reaching. He also now obviously understands at least two words--"milk" (with hand sign), and "tickle". He reacts to the former by going "eh eh eh eh" or turning to nurse even when my shirt is on. He responds to "tickle" with a smile and giggle, when he's in the mood for it.

I am so annoyed I didn't break out the camera while everyone was here. It was pretty busy and chaotic so it's understandable, but still. D'oh.

The house now looks about right again, but there is still some cleanup to do. I could have done it all today, but I felt that Jack cuddling had higher priority. Every towel and almost every set of sheets got used, so I did start on the Mega Laundry Project. But now I don't have a big deadline, so I'm going to take it easy.

Date: 2009-08-28 23:42 Subject: 4 dogs and a baby Security: Public

So I'm dogsitting again, so I have 4 dogs around. I don't understand how my sister Amy does it (she actually has five! and two cats!!), especially with a baby around. Much to the dogs' disappointment, I shut them outside fairly often so that I can put Jack somewhere that might be within doggy reach. Not that I think any of them would intentionally harm him, but they can get rowdy with each other or jump on things or lick baby toes too much.

Last night I got very little sleep, but even though it seemed that the dog chaos was the issue, in truth it was mainly Finn. He found something to bark at on the other side of our neighbor's fence at 3am, and repeated a few times making me call him back in. Then he would get the others excited. I finally shut the outside door and the hallway so that the he couldn't get outside to bark and were less likely to hear things. I suspect it was cats walking on the fences, but I'm not sure.

Skipper just assumed that her place was on the bed, and she is small and curls up even smaller, so no problem. Brigid, who is vastly larger, seems to think that her place *should* be on the bed, but she seems to know that humans might think otherwise so she's sneaky about it. If you get up to go to the bathroom (or to yell at your other dog, or to take care of a Jack), you will come back to find a ball of limp and unmovable golden retriever in your spot. The first time she did it to Michael, and I thought it was very funny. He tried shoving a bit, telling her "off", but she employed perfect passive resistance while I cracked up. When she did it to me, not as funny. I just started to pick her up and she got the message. However, in the morning she was laying at my feet with my leg across her neck, according to Michael. I had thought she was just a wad of blanket.

Eowyn and Brigid are pretty similar. They are the ones that need to be always in the same room. Skipper will go find a comfy spot, and Finn does his thing (usually policing the property by sticking his nose under the gate), but the goldens are always nearby, ready to for action at any moment OMG YOU JUST STOOD UP DO YOU HAVE A BALL I LOOOOVE YOU.

Today I took Jack to IKEA. I had a few incidentals to get for Orichalcon (being hosted at our house), including two armchairs for our largely empty front living room. So, with Jack strapped to my front in the baby carrier, I go to the self-serve area, find the enormous boxes, load them up on the cart so that I can't actually see in front of me, check out, go to the car and unhook Jack from the carrier and get him strapped in his carseat, load up all the smaller items and boxes, then start to unpack one chair to see if it fits in the front seat.

I open the box, and it was black. Crap. I thought "EKTORP TULLSTA" chairs only came in white. I hadn't checked the boxes I picked up. I looked at the other box. Turns out I'd bought a black one and a white leather one instead of two plain white ones. So I unstrap Jack, put him back in the carrier, put the chair boxes back on the cart, and go wait in the returns area, just to repeat it all again with the correct chairs. Doh. And yes, I carried home two armchairs in a Civic. One of them fit, sorta, in the front passenger seat once I figured out how to do it and not block the shift, and the other got strapped to the trunk. I wouldn't want to drive like that all the time, but for a couple of miles we survived.

I don't think there is enough time for the upholstery swatches to arrive, for me to pick one and order, get the fabric and sew covers for them all by next weekend. So they will just be plain white I guess. I'm still trying to finish the sofa cover in time, since that is not usable without one, unlike the Tullsta chairs.

Oh dear, Jack is waking up although it is way too early for that. Must go insert binky before he figures out he's awake.

Date: 2009-08-17 23:16 Subject: Vacation, baby, and dogs Security: Public

Jack is a very good traveler. He was pretty good on the long car rides to and from Chico. We were afraid that there would be a repeat performance of the "it's bedtime but I can't sleeeeep" wailing from the last time we attempted to drive for an hour around his bedtime. Michael and I had to drive separately back from T and Danielle's due to some logistical details, but even though he was awake when he went into his carseat around 7, he made not a peep on the rest of the way home.

Actually, the first night we spent up there was his best sleeping ever. I think he didn't get good rest in the car ride up, so he slept until 4:30 and then didn't wake up again until 7:30, ate briefly and then went right back to sleep. I had to wake him up at 9 am because I was ready to get out of bed. Unheard of.

Jack was also remarkably easy to take care of during the day. He had a lot of new sounds and faces and sensations to take in, so he wasn't very "talkative" (meaning he didn't get bored) and went down for naps really well.

There were no major disasters on this trip, so I think we've exorcised the demons. The only happenings were that Finn got a notch in his ear from an accidentally too-vigorous play bite, but other than roundly telling the other dog off when it happened, it seemed not to bug him. We cleaned up the blood and put Neosporin on it, but I don't think any other medical attention is necessary. The scar will give him street cred. Also, there was a car accident sort of caused by the group of us coming back from the first tubing run--we were stopped on a highway to turn left, and the driver a couple of cars back didn't notice people stopping until too late and rammed the truck behind us. But it wasn't our problem, and we did nothing wrong, so there you go.

This morning I had quite a few sore muscles, and I pieced together what must have caused them. Hamstrings--caused by repeatedly bending to scoop up rocks to throw in the water for Hula. Back--caused by carrying Jack around in the carrier while playing with the dogs on the riverbank. (He objected to the rock-hunting by wiggling forcefully when I bent over. I also think he didn't appreciate the cold spray.) My arm was sore from throwing balls for all the dogs to chase. I've had worse workouts. :)

The dogs also seemed to have had some soreness, as Finn and Eowyn laid around today in a complete stupor. Normally they get in some wrestling every few hours, but not today. Eowyn had fetched this weekend until I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Finn did quite a bit of river-romping (even swimming just for fun!), and really, all of the dogs are used to sleeping most of the day and they just didn't get the opportunity with all the people and food and other dogs around. Finn made a new friend in the chihuahua Grizzly (funny name when he was a wee pup, but he's kind of grown into it). They tried to figure out how to play with the size difference, and sometimes succeeded but usually it just devolved into Grizzly humping Finn's front legs and face.

One thing about home ownership--you realize that it is within the realm of possibility to own a vacation property. I totally want to do that sometime while Jack is still a kid. But, as Michael pointed out, that is on the same list of to-dos as the unicorn stable in the backyard.
Also, going to someone else's place is fun and relaxing, because you don't see all the little things that need doing. Will try to remember this.

Today I went back to the volleyball open gym at the Y. Better play than last week, and no facial injuries this time (I'm pretty sure I cracked my nose bone since it still hurts from last week). But it makes me feel old. The players are a lot of summer employees of college or high school age and their friends. I may have been the oldest player on the court. Sigh.

Date: 2009-08-12 22:33 Subject: Software and Office admin jobs at IDEO spinoff startup company Security: Public

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Date: 2009-08-11 14:53 Subject: Working it out Security: Public

American maternity leave is really nuts. Most people have three months if they're lucky, and it seems that's the point where you just are starting to get things all figured out. Thank goodness I have 8 months.

So now I've figured out Jack's naps more or less, and he is usually good for the first two. The afternoon naps are less easy. And now Jack sleeps from 7 or 8 until 3 or 4 reliably. Then another waking at 5:30 or 6. I can live with this schedule, even though I really need to go to bed earlier myself. And to never, ever skip the 10pm pumping.

I joined a mom's group after meeting some of the members in the YMCA stroller aerobics class. It's nice to see other babies the same age. Jack is somewhat longer than the other babies, but his head is clearly enormous. He also seems to either have better neck strength, or more likely, I'm just less careful with him than the other moms.

I noticed that the Y had volleyball open gym on Mondays, so last night I went. Much, much different than the Redwood City YMCA I used to go to back in the day. Most of the other players seemed to be Y employees and thus very, very young. The games were pretty lame though. I think most of the players had some amount of skill, but we were playing pretty loose with the rules and eventually it sort of descended into "picnic ball". However, they said that was not normally the case and usually it was better, so I'll try again next week and see how it goes. Also, I got smacked in the face pretty hard with a rebound off a kicked ball (legal play, if often not that useful), and that put a damper on things as I was all freaked about whether my eye was ok (it is, had an eye appointment today anyway).

I'm starting up some new craft projects. I needed some small things that can be done in little time chunks, so I'm making Jack a collection of felt play food. I bought a ridiculous amount of felt at the craft store. I may branch out into other toys too, but for now I already have made four pieces of "bread" and a bunch of sandwich components, since I figure it's best to start simple. I also have to make upholstery for the living room sofa since I ruined it in the wash. I just got my swatches today, and I need to decide whether I'm brave enough to sew upholstery vinyl.

The tomatoes are starting to ripen. I have learned my lesson about indeterminate tomato plants. They laugh at my piddly tomato cages. One of them is using the rosebush as a trellis. I don't know how I'm going to pick the tomatoes in the back, as they have made a very dense jungle. I put out some big steel stakes to help contain the crazy, but it's too little too late I think. The greenbeans have stopped going crazy, but appear to be brewing up another harvest soon. I think they slowed down because I let some beans get too big on the bush. The cucumbers are still going strong, and I made a bunch into "cucumber smoothie", which is pretty good with gin and mint.