I bid you adieu. For a week at least. We leave tomorrow for a week’s vacation on the sunny isle of Ocean City, NJ. There will be sand. There will be surf. There will be pizza, custard, French fries and fudge. Noah will conquer the ocean or it will conquer him. We’ll return with photos and stories aplenty.
A week without email access is nearly unthinkable for me. Worse than a week without a phone. And I’m certain a week without blogging will be weird too – I’ll constantly be composing blog entries in my head, all of which I’ll promptly forget. I might have to *gasp* write things down with a PEN. But even weirder than not writing my own blog will be not reading the blogs of all the people I now hold near and dear. All week I’ll be wondering: How is Becca making Utah the coolest state in the union? How is Anna’s little lentil? Has Katy heard from Handome Rob? Is Mandy meeting other moms? Is Katie eating enough PB&J for little Ellis? How are Mary’s wedding plans going? What are Lonna, Ethan and Dermot eating? Are the park visitors treating Kodi right?
I’ll miss you gals and I promise to work hard to catch up next week. Have a good one.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Most Important Day
In the Spring of 1996 my friend John was looking to replace the crazy-assed bass player that quit his band. Though the original members of the band had met as detainees of the Quakertown school district, John decided to place an ad for a new bass player in the Philadelphia City Paper. Mark answered that ad. John called me to tell me he was going to be in Philly meeting with the new guy and asked if I wanted to come and give him my opinion. I met them at the bar at Upstairs at Nicks. It didn’t take long to gather that Mark was smart, handsome and TALL. I liked him immediately. Soon I was spending a lot more time with the band as they planned to get serious, work on an album and “make it.” I jumped at the chance to drop the last dregs of my college career, get away from my insane roommate and move to the DC area with the band in the hopes of starting an independent record label. Crazy pipe dreams it seems, but it was nice to be dreamers for awhile. I figured if it didn’t work out at least I would be able to say I lived with a rock band. And obviously it was going to be amazingly fun living with a band – I pictured hot rock guys constantly coming and going from the house, an endless string of shows and parties. Wrong. I had moved in with possibly the most anti-social rock band ever. John and Jay spent most of the time locked in their respective bedrooms moping and feeling sorry for themselves. As a result Mark and I became fast friends – we were both new to the group and new to the area so we had only each other for companionship. We went to dinner, to movies, to rock shows and spent long hours chatting. I developed a hard core crush pretty quickly. How could I not? Mark is just so funny, so smart, so thoughtful and handsome. He had become my best friend in a heartbeat and the person with whom I enjoyed spending all my time. I won’t get into the shady year that it took to completely transition our friendship to a full-on romance (far different story) but I will say that I pursued him because I thought we had the potential for something real, something lasting. I knew shortly after meeting Mark that he was the guy for me. I could tell he was going to be a wonderful boyfriend, husband, father. That I didn’t want to be without his dry wit, shy smile, and unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Choosing Mark is the smartest thing I ever did and a decision that pays off every day. And now Noah is a living, breathing, smiling embodiment of all my love for him.
I love you Mark. Happy Birthday.
I love you Mark. Happy Birthday.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Nothing like a book to make you smile
So I've been meaning to blog about teeth, books and books on teeth for quite some time now. As you may recall when Noah is sleepy he likes to pull on my lips and shove his hands in my mouth. It’s as darling as it is uncomfortable. Crazily enough his mouth fixation doesn’t stop there. He often busts into hysterics if you open your mouth REAL wide. Mark is particularly good at this. For a while we thought Noah was amused by the sounds Mark was making but soon realized it wasn’t the noise but Mark’s gaping maw that had Noah in hysterics. Noah is also delighted by the sight and sounds of someone brushing their teeth. He beams and giggles when I brush every morning and when I'm done I rinse my brush out and then brush at his two little teeth a few times. One day this week I finished brushing my teeth and put him down on the floor and he started crying – he hadn’t gotten his teeth brushed and he was horribly overwrought about it. My favorite example of his fixation is his love of teeth related literature. My mom gave Noah a lift flap book called “Toes, Ears and Nose.” It goes “Inside my mittens I’ve got (lift the mitten shaped flap) fingers. Inside my boots I’ve got (boot flap) toes. Under my hat are two (ear flaps) ears. And beneath my scarf is a (scarf flap) nose.” You get the idea. Anyway Noah loves this book and I’ve read it a million times in a squeaky voice while grabbing Noah’s ears, nose, etc. with Noah lifting the flaps. Mark was the first to notice that when the book was sitting around on the floor and Noah would pick it up to look at it himself he would invariably flip right to the “Inside my mouth I’ve got (flap) teeth” page and pull the little girls hands away from her mouth. He does this over and over and over again. So much so that the poor little girl is missing several fingers and has damn near had her whole hands pulled off. It is priceless. I hope Noah is destined to be a dentist rather than on his way to developing some sort of weird fetish.
And since I’m already discussing books I have to tell you what a HUGE fan I am of children’s literature. I adore children’s picture books in particular. So much so that my 9 month old already owns over 50 books – approximately half of which I have purchased from the Children’s Book of the Month Club in the last couple of months. At this point most of these books are technically too old for Master Noah but I enjoy reading them all the same. If I start to read “Where the Wild Things Are” and Noah loses interest halfway through and wanders off I finish it out loud just for me. And often he comes back. He seems to have already developed a real interest in books and I hope that it sticks with him.
Here are a few of my favorites - they aren't in any particular order. I won’t list the old classics like Sendak and Silverstein because everyone knows those.
1. “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” by Mo Willems, creator of Cartoon Network’s "Sheep in the Big City." Also like “Knuffle Bunny,” “Time to Say Please.”
2. “How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?” by Yolen & Teague. I love the behavior modeling, rhyming and illustrations of dinosaurs in child-like poses. We have four from this series.
3. “Olivia” by Ian Falconer. Really more of a girls book but I owned the first one before Noah was born and have bought the second in the series. Arty pig with attitude.
4. “Dinosailors” by Lund & Fine. Super rhyming and fun. Includes dinosaurs vomiting which is always cool.
5. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” by Barrett. The year I taught first grade my kids made me read this book aloud repeatedly. They loved the idea of food falling out of the sky.
6. “How I Became a Pirate” by Long & Shannon. Who doesn’t love gnarly pirates?
7. “David Gets In Trouble” by David Shannon. Rough scribble-like drawings look very cool and the small amount of text make them ideal for younger readers.
8. “On the Day You Were Born” by Frasier. Kind of hippie crunchy, but very touching and the appendix makes for great reading later when kids want to understand the scientific principles behind weather and gravity.
9. “Tails” by Van Fleet. The textures and movement in this book make it excellent to read to kids as young as Noah’s age. My friend Dina gave it to us as a baby shower gift and it was one of my favorites.
10. “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” by Numeroff & Bond. Kids love the over the top silliness of these books and the circular path of the story.
Hope someone gets something out of that - other than me of course.
And since I’m already discussing books I have to tell you what a HUGE fan I am of children’s literature. I adore children’s picture books in particular. So much so that my 9 month old already owns over 50 books – approximately half of which I have purchased from the Children’s Book of the Month Club in the last couple of months. At this point most of these books are technically too old for Master Noah but I enjoy reading them all the same. If I start to read “Where the Wild Things Are” and Noah loses interest halfway through and wanders off I finish it out loud just for me. And often he comes back. He seems to have already developed a real interest in books and I hope that it sticks with him.
Here are a few of my favorites - they aren't in any particular order. I won’t list the old classics like Sendak and Silverstein because everyone knows those.
1. “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” by Mo Willems, creator of Cartoon Network’s "Sheep in the Big City." Also like “Knuffle Bunny,” “Time to Say Please.”
2. “How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?” by Yolen & Teague. I love the behavior modeling, rhyming and illustrations of dinosaurs in child-like poses. We have four from this series.
3. “Olivia” by Ian Falconer. Really more of a girls book but I owned the first one before Noah was born and have bought the second in the series. Arty pig with attitude.
4. “Dinosailors” by Lund & Fine. Super rhyming and fun. Includes dinosaurs vomiting which is always cool.
5. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” by Barrett. The year I taught first grade my kids made me read this book aloud repeatedly. They loved the idea of food falling out of the sky.
6. “How I Became a Pirate” by Long & Shannon. Who doesn’t love gnarly pirates?
7. “David Gets In Trouble” by David Shannon. Rough scribble-like drawings look very cool and the small amount of text make them ideal for younger readers.
8. “On the Day You Were Born” by Frasier. Kind of hippie crunchy, but very touching and the appendix makes for great reading later when kids want to understand the scientific principles behind weather and gravity.
9. “Tails” by Van Fleet. The textures and movement in this book make it excellent to read to kids as young as Noah’s age. My friend Dina gave it to us as a baby shower gift and it was one of my favorites.
10. “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” by Numeroff & Bond. Kids love the over the top silliness of these books and the circular path of the story.
Hope someone gets something out of that - other than me of course.
Move over Shakespeare
I didn’t blog yesterday, not because I was too busy but because I couldn’t think of anything to write about. So that shows you where my head is. We leave on Saturday for vacation and it couldn’t be one minute sooner for me. It’s been a long hot summer trapped in the air conditioned house.
That 7 tag list got me thinking a lot about what I can do. Truth is that part was hard for me because there are very few things I think I can do. At least unique interesting things that I can do well enough to brag about. In fact I don’t think anything falls into that category. Don’t get me wrong – I can do many things passably, but I’m not really exemplary at much. It’s kind of a depressing thought. Very depressing in fact. On and off during my life I have thought of myself as a writer – typically when I’m not doing any writing. I think half the population falls under this delusion. When I actually have to write something I feel like a phoney, like I’ve been fooling myself because I’m a mediocre writer at best. And at those times I think “Gotta stop thinking about pursuing this writing business.” It’s not that I’m bad – what I mean is that if you pick a group of people off the street I could probably write better than the rest of the group, however in a group of people who write for a living I’d perform at the bottom of the barrel.
I’m home with Noah now, and I’m very happy about it. But someday in the not too distant future I’m going to have to decide what I want to do - in addition to being a mom. And for as long as I can remember I have hated hearing the question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most of all when I’m the one asking.
Please note: I am not fishing for compliments. I don’t want to receive comments like “I think you’re an excellent drinker” or “I always thought you were a grade A smoker. Why did you give it up?” I’m merely sharing my feelings here. Maybe you’ll get a more refreshed and fulfilling post later. I didn’t get a lot of sleep again last night.
That 7 tag list got me thinking a lot about what I can do. Truth is that part was hard for me because there are very few things I think I can do. At least unique interesting things that I can do well enough to brag about. In fact I don’t think anything falls into that category. Don’t get me wrong – I can do many things passably, but I’m not really exemplary at much. It’s kind of a depressing thought. Very depressing in fact. On and off during my life I have thought of myself as a writer – typically when I’m not doing any writing. I think half the population falls under this delusion. When I actually have to write something I feel like a phoney, like I’ve been fooling myself because I’m a mediocre writer at best. And at those times I think “Gotta stop thinking about pursuing this writing business.” It’s not that I’m bad – what I mean is that if you pick a group of people off the street I could probably write better than the rest of the group, however in a group of people who write for a living I’d perform at the bottom of the barrel.
I’m home with Noah now, and I’m very happy about it. But someday in the not too distant future I’m going to have to decide what I want to do - in addition to being a mom. And for as long as I can remember I have hated hearing the question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most of all when I’m the one asking.
Please note: I am not fishing for compliments. I don’t want to receive comments like “I think you’re an excellent drinker” or “I always thought you were a grade A smoker. Why did you give it up?” I’m merely sharing my feelings here. Maybe you’ll get a more refreshed and fulfilling post later. I didn’t get a lot of sleep again last night.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Cuz Heather asked for it
And I'm game.
7 things I plan to do before I die
1. Play with my grandchildren
2. Celebrate my fiftieth wedding anniversary
3. Travel the world with Mark and my children
4. Learn another language
5. Return to school – for something, maybe just to learn another language
6. Become a better cook
7. Own a beach house
7 things I can do
1. Love
2. Mother – just about anyone
3. Worry
4. Tell you what I think
5. Write – reasonably well
6. Enjoy myself
7. Talk
7 things I cannot do
1. Shut up
2. Not worry
3. Not share my joy about being a mom
4. Chew chicken off the bone
5. Run
6. Line dance
7. Play an instrument
7 things that attract me to the opposite sex
1. Fathering my child
2. Sense of humor
3. Intelligence
4. Eyes
5. Rock n’ Roll
6. Shoes
7. Accent
7 things that I say most often
1. “I love you.”
2. “Literally”
3. “Like”
4. “Monkey.”
5. “Baby, can you do me a favor?”
6. “We need to straighten up.”
7. “I am so tired.”
7 celebrity crushes
1. Ewan McGregor
2. Jude Law
3. Johnny Depp
4. Cary Grant
5. Hugh Grant
6. Jon Stewart (Grant?)
7. Gael Garcia Bernal
7 people I want to do this
1. The new Pope
2. President Bush
3. Marilyn Manson
4. Pat Robertson
5. Eddie Izzard
6. Michael Moore
7. Michael Jackson
OR:
1. Patrice
2. Missuz J
3. Jen O
4. Shrimpie Mama
5. Beth
6. Mary
7. Katy
But only if you want to.
7 things I plan to do before I die
1. Play with my grandchildren
2. Celebrate my fiftieth wedding anniversary
3. Travel the world with Mark and my children
4. Learn another language
5. Return to school – for something, maybe just to learn another language
6. Become a better cook
7. Own a beach house
7 things I can do
1. Love
2. Mother – just about anyone
3. Worry
4. Tell you what I think
5. Write – reasonably well
6. Enjoy myself
7. Talk
7 things I cannot do
1. Shut up
2. Not worry
3. Not share my joy about being a mom
4. Chew chicken off the bone
5. Run
6. Line dance
7. Play an instrument
7 things that attract me to the opposite sex
1. Fathering my child
2. Sense of humor
3. Intelligence
4. Eyes
5. Rock n’ Roll
6. Shoes
7. Accent
7 things that I say most often
1. “I love you.”
2. “Literally”
3. “Like”
4. “Monkey.”
5. “Baby, can you do me a favor?”
6. “We need to straighten up.”
7. “I am so tired.”
7 celebrity crushes
1. Ewan McGregor
2. Jude Law
3. Johnny Depp
4. Cary Grant
5. Hugh Grant
6. Jon Stewart (Grant?)
7. Gael Garcia Bernal
7 people I want to do this
1. The new Pope
2. President Bush
3. Marilyn Manson
4. Pat Robertson
5. Eddie Izzard
6. Michael Moore
7. Michael Jackson
OR:
1. Patrice
2. Missuz J
3. Jen O
4. Shrimpie Mama
5. Beth
6. Mary
7. Katy
But only if you want to.
Followup
So the more I thought about the christening, and with the help of your comments, I have decided that while I wouldn’t mind if they wanted to have some sort of blessing done for Noah at their church, that I don’t really want him christened into any one faith because I don’t intend to raise him any one faith. So that is that. Unless of course Mark has strongly different feelings – cause I guess he has a say too. And now Noah’s sitting on the floor playing with a copy of “Awake” just delivered by some Jehovah’s Witnesses. I wish I would have photographed them – they looked like they arrived in a time machine. They were two elderly black men wearing straw hats, plaid pants, suspenders and bow ties. It was like they were going to an Orville Redenbacher convention. I have to admit that if I’m going to be evangelized by strangers I definitely prefer them to be nattily dressed.
Susan and Francesca are coming for lunch today so time is short. I was tagged on SHTEZQ and will succumb to her will later this afternoon. Beware.
Susan and Francesca are coming for lunch today so time is short. I was tagged on SHTEZQ and will succumb to her will later this afternoon. Beware.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Get Behind Me Satan
First I must thank my wonderful husband. On Saturday he installed a permanent baby gate in our upper hallway by Noah’s room. Though Mark is considerably handier with the pen than the drill – it seems to me that it wasn’t his fault that he had to install the gate three times. In fact I’m sure it was the fault of the directions to that cheap ass gate. I mean doesn’t it make more sense to install the brackets on one side of the hallway and put the gate up before installing the second set so that you can make sure they connect? The directions are banking on our walls being exactly 90 degrees to the floor and completely straight – which is like assuming that Noah knows how to wipe his own butt. I just have to commend Mark for being patient and getting the job done with very little fuss. I think I probably would have thrown said baby gate out the window had it been me.
Yesterday we trekked to Mark’s Dad’s place for an early celebration of Mark’s 34th birthday – which is this Friday. Mark’s Dad Martin and his wife Sylvia hosted Mark’s grandmother Laima and my Mom and Stepfather in addition to Mark, Noah and I. I don’t know about you but when we get our respective families together it drives me a little nuts. They are just SO different and everyone seems just a little uncomfortable – and for some odd reason I get VERY tense. I listen to everything every person says and wonder what everyone else is thinking about it. Keep in mind that I suggested this gathering because though these things make my hair stand on end I know they need to happen for our families to gel more over time. And I NEED to have less separate family functions to attend and more “bring everyone” get –togethers. It’s a little easier now that we all have Noah as a distraction. When he wandered into another room and I followed I was relieved to not have to continue listening and examining. Of course everyone was fine and it was a lovely evening.
The only big scandal maker was God – it seems Sylvia and Laima were asking my Mom when we were going to get Noah christened. My family is decidedly unreligious – and though I have my own system of spiritual beliefs I don’t really believe in the standard Christian almighty God who one prays to so that you can avoid death or win the Super Bowl. I could go ON and ON about what I think – but that is besides the point. When I was pregnant I told Mark that though I didn’t feel the need to have Noah christened that I understood it would be important to his Grandmother, so if she asked we would do it. The way I figured it certainly wouldn’t do any harm – and it would make a 95 year old woman happy. But she never asked so I assumed it wasn’t a big deal and was happy to have avoided having to cope with the mess of figuring out who would christen our baby since we don’t practice any organized religion. Guess it’s still a big deal – though why no one ever asked me or Mark about it I certainly don’t understand. And in my opinion the window of opportunity closed. Think I’m wrong?
Yesterday we trekked to Mark’s Dad’s place for an early celebration of Mark’s 34th birthday – which is this Friday. Mark’s Dad Martin and his wife Sylvia hosted Mark’s grandmother Laima and my Mom and Stepfather in addition to Mark, Noah and I. I don’t know about you but when we get our respective families together it drives me a little nuts. They are just SO different and everyone seems just a little uncomfortable – and for some odd reason I get VERY tense. I listen to everything every person says and wonder what everyone else is thinking about it. Keep in mind that I suggested this gathering because though these things make my hair stand on end I know they need to happen for our families to gel more over time. And I NEED to have less separate family functions to attend and more “bring everyone” get –togethers. It’s a little easier now that we all have Noah as a distraction. When he wandered into another room and I followed I was relieved to not have to continue listening and examining. Of course everyone was fine and it was a lovely evening.
The only big scandal maker was God – it seems Sylvia and Laima were asking my Mom when we were going to get Noah christened. My family is decidedly unreligious – and though I have my own system of spiritual beliefs I don’t really believe in the standard Christian almighty God who one prays to so that you can avoid death or win the Super Bowl. I could go ON and ON about what I think – but that is besides the point. When I was pregnant I told Mark that though I didn’t feel the need to have Noah christened that I understood it would be important to his Grandmother, so if she asked we would do it. The way I figured it certainly wouldn’t do any harm – and it would make a 95 year old woman happy. But she never asked so I assumed it wasn’t a big deal and was happy to have avoided having to cope with the mess of figuring out who would christen our baby since we don’t practice any organized religion. Guess it’s still a big deal – though why no one ever asked me or Mark about it I certainly don’t understand. And in my opinion the window of opportunity closed. Think I’m wrong?
Friday, August 19, 2005
King of the road
What do they say about the best laid plans? You best lay them bester? Well, as you can imagine my whole agenda for getting Noah to go down for his afternoon nap before I went to the airport was unsuccessful. Though he normally goes down for a nap promptly at 2 pm – he was too excited by all the unfamiliar sights and sounds to go to sleep. So I left him napless with Dad and Oma while I went to the airport to pick up Cathy. And I felt horrible. I was convinced he was going to be so over-tired, so riddled with separation anxiety that he’d be a horror while I was gone. But if I’ve learned nothing by now I should have learned that Noah is a good baby and he’s pretty damn resilient. Dad said he cried for five minutes after I left but then played happily for the two hours I was gone. In fact Dad and Oma seemed to have a good time with him. I got reports of dancing, peek-a-boo and tissue eating.
And why was I gone for two hours when the airport is a half hour away you say? Because I got lost. With the simplest directions in the world. My directions said take 309 N to 378 to 22W. Problem was I glanced at them and said “Oh – I have to take 309 to 22” but by the time I got on 22W from 309 I got on past the airport. It took me awhile to realize that I overshot the Allentown area and that I had to turn around. Realizing you have been driving in the wrong direction sucks – realizing it and then being forced to crawl along in traffic the wrong way to get to turn around sucks worse. So poor Cathy and baby Madeline had to wait for my stupid ass to make it to the airport, but they seemed none worse for wear. It was really nice to see them. Cathy is one of the twin daughters of my Dad’s second wife Mary and though they got divorced eons ago the girls are still a part of our large and convoluted family. Madeline is the third and youngest of Cathy’s kids at 8 months old and she has a super sweet laidback disposition. Cathy says it’s because she has to deal with her sisters – 6 year old Emily and 3 year old Mary Katherine, and she advises against having three children so close in age. She says her brain is mush.
After we got back to the house we walked to Applebees for dinner. Both babies were incredibly well behaved (even without a nap!) and voracious eaters. Noah ate two containers of baby food and then proceeded to whine for table scraps during the entire meal. He had pieces of cheese, chicken, broccoli and zucchini. We couldn’t figure out where he was putting it all. I’m near certain that boy has worms.
All that running around early in the morning to juggle Noah’s nap was not all for naught because we had a nice morning anyway. Noah and I shopped at Kohl’s (best shopping carts ever) for about an hour before meeting Jean Dinan at the Quakertown park while she was on her lunch hour from the bank. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and it was nice spending time with Jean who was my next door neighbor growing up and often like a second mom. And I have to mention that the Quakertown park playground equipment is insane – it’s this large wooden castle complex that has to be seen to be believed (which is why I took a photo).
It was a very lovely but very busy day yesterday and today I’m happy to be home with little else to do besides occupy Noah, straighten up the house a little and work a bit on my PR project.
And why was I gone for two hours when the airport is a half hour away you say? Because I got lost. With the simplest directions in the world. My directions said take 309 N to 378 to 22W. Problem was I glanced at them and said “Oh – I have to take 309 to 22” but by the time I got on 22W from 309 I got on past the airport. It took me awhile to realize that I overshot the Allentown area and that I had to turn around. Realizing you have been driving in the wrong direction sucks – realizing it and then being forced to crawl along in traffic the wrong way to get to turn around sucks worse. So poor Cathy and baby Madeline had to wait for my stupid ass to make it to the airport, but they seemed none worse for wear. It was really nice to see them. Cathy is one of the twin daughters of my Dad’s second wife Mary and though they got divorced eons ago the girls are still a part of our large and convoluted family. Madeline is the third and youngest of Cathy’s kids at 8 months old and she has a super sweet laidback disposition. Cathy says it’s because she has to deal with her sisters – 6 year old Emily and 3 year old Mary Katherine, and she advises against having three children so close in age. She says her brain is mush.
After we got back to the house we walked to Applebees for dinner. Both babies were incredibly well behaved (even without a nap!) and voracious eaters. Noah ate two containers of baby food and then proceeded to whine for table scraps during the entire meal. He had pieces of cheese, chicken, broccoli and zucchini. We couldn’t figure out where he was putting it all. I’m near certain that boy has worms.
All that running around early in the morning to juggle Noah’s nap was not all for naught because we had a nice morning anyway. Noah and I shopped at Kohl’s (best shopping carts ever) for about an hour before meeting Jean Dinan at the Quakertown park while she was on her lunch hour from the bank. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and it was nice spending time with Jean who was my next door neighbor growing up and often like a second mom. And I have to mention that the Quakertown park playground equipment is insane – it’s this large wooden castle complex that has to be seen to be believed (which is why I took a photo).
It was a very lovely but very busy day yesterday and today I’m happy to be home with little else to do besides occupy Noah, straighten up the house a little and work a bit on my PR project.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Balls in the air
And we’re off again. Even though I don’t have to pick up my ex-stepsister Cathy at the Lehigh Valley airport (formerly ABE) until 3:30 pm, I have to leave my house at 10 am. And no, it doesn’t take that long to get there from here. Here’s the deal. I have to leave Noah with my Dad and Oma in Quakertown while I pick up Cathy and her baby Madeline because two car seats, two adults and luggage will not fit comfortably in my small Saturn wagon. And I can’t just drive to Dad’s place right before I have to go to the airport because then Noah will have napped in the car ride and not nap while I go to the airport. And I really want him to go down for a nap right before I go to the airport so Dad and Oma won’t have to deal with any possible separation anxiety. So that means I have to drive out there during his first nap and kill time until I have to go to the airport at 3pm. I think we’ll do a bit of store browsing in Quakertown before we meet my old neighbor Jean in the park during her lunch hour. And then at about 1:30 pm we’ll head to Dad & Oma’s place to hang out for a bit before the child gets tired. So much juggling.
I just caught Noah gleefully rifling through the office garbage can. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew he was up to something bad. It was a combination of excitement and foreboding. And he barely whimpered when I snatched a tissue and an old battery out of his hand. Oh the joys of childhood.
Noah has become quite the little musical man as of late. In the morning we’ll often play a kids CD in our CD alarm clock while Mark gets ready for work. Partly because Noah enjoys it and partly so Mark has “Do you know the muffin man?” stuck in head all day long. (Insert evil laugh here.) Noah loves the music – he claps and flaps, often stopping whatever activity he’s doing to mosey over to the CD player and tap on the speaker. The last couple of mornings he’s gone to the CD player and tapped on the speaker to command me to put on his jams. It’s so cute I can barely hold it together. It won’t be long until I’m telling him “Turn that stereo DOWN. You’re bothering the neighbors.”
I just caught Noah gleefully rifling through the office garbage can. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew he was up to something bad. It was a combination of excitement and foreboding. And he barely whimpered when I snatched a tissue and an old battery out of his hand. Oh the joys of childhood.
Noah has become quite the little musical man as of late. In the morning we’ll often play a kids CD in our CD alarm clock while Mark gets ready for work. Partly because Noah enjoys it and partly so Mark has “Do you know the muffin man?” stuck in head all day long. (Insert evil laugh here.) Noah loves the music – he claps and flaps, often stopping whatever activity he’s doing to mosey over to the CD player and tap on the speaker. The last couple of mornings he’s gone to the CD player and tapped on the speaker to command me to put on his jams. It’s so cute I can barely hold it together. It won’t be long until I’m telling him “Turn that stereo DOWN. You’re bothering the neighbors.”
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Days of our lives
God. I am beat. I feel like I need to sleep for 24 hours straight and then I might feel well rested.
So my lunch on Monday went fairly well. Unfortunately I couldn’t tell too much about Susan from her house because her and her husband live in her MIL’s house. But I could tell that her MIL was totally eccentric, opinionated, free-spirited and fun. She gave an artist friend free reign to paint her place and the result is a ceiling of white puffy clouds and crayola colored walls covered in vivid wall art and paraphernalia including a large scary plaster sculpture of a clown. It was a very cool home, though not an indication of Susan’ s personality. Susan is smart, sweet and relaxed but if we were on a first date I might conclude that she was a really nice person but we didn’t have any chemistry. However since I’m merely looking for mommy company and a playmate for Noah she’ll do fine. She’s coming to our place for lunch next week. And hopefully we’ll find one or two other moms to join us at some point.
And the in-law visit worked out well too. When my cousin came to visit on Saturday she brought us a basket of tomatoes and a jar of marinade to soak them in – so I put them out for the in-laws. Now I have to say that I am not a raw tomato person – I like salsa but never get raw tomatoes put on anything and often pick them out. But this marinade made them heavenly. In fact I just chopped some cucumbers up and chucked them in with the leftover marinade in the fridge. I’m sure it would taste good with a variety of veggies and thought you might enjoy it. So I looked up the recipe and here you are:
Marinated Tomatoes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 to 3 green onions, chopped
4 to 6 large tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
Soak tomatoes and onions in marinade for at least two hours in refrigerator before serving.
Yesterday Noah and I spent the day with my mom. It was a nice afternoon just playing with the boy – which is my typical day, but I got to share it with someone else who truly enjoyed it. Among other assorted amusements we came home with the car/walker that Noah is enjoying in the photo below. It won't be long before Noah gets his first speeding ticket.
And today? Did I mentioned that I’m tired?
So my lunch on Monday went fairly well. Unfortunately I couldn’t tell too much about Susan from her house because her and her husband live in her MIL’s house. But I could tell that her MIL was totally eccentric, opinionated, free-spirited and fun. She gave an artist friend free reign to paint her place and the result is a ceiling of white puffy clouds and crayola colored walls covered in vivid wall art and paraphernalia including a large scary plaster sculpture of a clown. It was a very cool home, though not an indication of Susan’ s personality. Susan is smart, sweet and relaxed but if we were on a first date I might conclude that she was a really nice person but we didn’t have any chemistry. However since I’m merely looking for mommy company and a playmate for Noah she’ll do fine. She’s coming to our place for lunch next week. And hopefully we’ll find one or two other moms to join us at some point.
And the in-law visit worked out well too. When my cousin came to visit on Saturday she brought us a basket of tomatoes and a jar of marinade to soak them in – so I put them out for the in-laws. Now I have to say that I am not a raw tomato person – I like salsa but never get raw tomatoes put on anything and often pick them out. But this marinade made them heavenly. In fact I just chopped some cucumbers up and chucked them in with the leftover marinade in the fridge. I’m sure it would taste good with a variety of veggies and thought you might enjoy it. So I looked up the recipe and here you are:
Marinated Tomatoes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 to 3 green onions, chopped
4 to 6 large tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
Soak tomatoes and onions in marinade for at least two hours in refrigerator before serving.
Yesterday Noah and I spent the day with my mom. It was a nice afternoon just playing with the boy – which is my typical day, but I got to share it with someone else who truly enjoyed it. Among other assorted amusements we came home with the car/walker that Noah is enjoying in the photo below. It won't be long before Noah gets his first speeding ticket.
And today? Did I mentioned that I’m tired?
Monday, August 15, 2005
Another weekend bites the dust.
I’m happy to say that as far as I know no one was poisoned as a result of my cooking on Saturday night. My cousin, her husband and their two kids came to visit, I fed them and we all appeared to have survived. I made sautéed chicken cutlets with a lime sauce, curried braised cauliflower with tomatoes and a spiced rice pilaf. Oh and a mixed green salad with pears, cranberries, blue cheese and candied sesame encrusted walnuts with a strawberry balsamic and walnut oil vinaigrette. And to save me some peace of mind I made the side dishes before they arrived and reheated them – and had all my fixin’s for the chicken prepped, measured and ready to go in glass ramekins so that I could cook quickly but not erratically (as per my usual). And despite being impressive cooks in their own right, they seemed to enjoy the meal. When paired with the lovely wine they brought and the company of the kids, we had a nice evening.
Yesterday afternoon I had a business meeting. And not the dirty diaper, need a cuddle, peek-a-boo kind of business. An acquaintance of mine is opening her own service business and has contracted me to do some public relations and advertising work for her. I’ll be working on content for the production and distribution of media kits for the next month and a half – with the expert assistance of Mr. Mark of course. Especially since I am so addle brained of late that I can’t open the refrigerator without staring into it and blankly thinking “Now what in hell was it that I needed in here?” before realizing that I wanted to take something out of the oven. Anyway, I am both excited and worried about the task at hand. Excited to be using my brain and my education and to be earning some money, but worried about the client’s expectations, my lack of practice and the difficulties of managing the workload while caring for Noah. I’m sure you’ll get more details as the project develops – so don’t hold your breath.
Ms. Tracey came to visit Noah last night, and oh yeah- she saw us too. After Noah nestled into bed, Tracey left and we sunk down into the couch and breathed HBO for two hours. Oh, 6FU – how unfair of you to get so good right before you leave me! Also this weekend we Netflixed the documentary “Born Into Brothels” – about a woman teaching photography to the children of sex workers in Calcutta. It was beautiful, sweet, touching and sad and I totally recommend it. (UPDATE: I just found out it's premiering on HBO tomorrow - Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 at 7 p.m. Watch it if you can.)
A busy week lies ahead. Today Noah and I have lunch with Susan and her daughter Francesca. She’s that neighborhood mom with whom I’m trying to forge a friendship and this is our first invite to her home. I’m excited to see the house because I feel like you can tell so much about a person by seeing their home and I feel like I still know this woman so very little that I’m still feeling a bit awkward. I believe another woman and her son will be attending too. I hope we have a good time because I really would like to have other mothers and children to spend time with during the weekdays. Later this afternoon Mark’s Dad and his wife are coming to visit and tomorrow we head out to Qtown to spend the day with my mom. Wednesday we’ll go to the pool and I’ll need to get some work (!!!) done. And then on Thursday we head back out on the QTown express to see my Dad and Oma and to pick up my visiting ex-stepsister Cathy and her daughter Madeline from the ABE airport. Have I mentioned that I really would like to master the process of beaming from place to place? Even though I’m looking forward to spending time with my parents the idea of driving back and forth and back and forth this week has me a bit edgy. Plus the unforgiving heat and price of gas are good enough reasons not to go out. Maybe I can learn that “Bewitched” nose twitch.
Yesterday afternoon I had a business meeting. And not the dirty diaper, need a cuddle, peek-a-boo kind of business. An acquaintance of mine is opening her own service business and has contracted me to do some public relations and advertising work for her. I’ll be working on content for the production and distribution of media kits for the next month and a half – with the expert assistance of Mr. Mark of course. Especially since I am so addle brained of late that I can’t open the refrigerator without staring into it and blankly thinking “Now what in hell was it that I needed in here?” before realizing that I wanted to take something out of the oven. Anyway, I am both excited and worried about the task at hand. Excited to be using my brain and my education and to be earning some money, but worried about the client’s expectations, my lack of practice and the difficulties of managing the workload while caring for Noah. I’m sure you’ll get more details as the project develops – so don’t hold your breath.
Ms. Tracey came to visit Noah last night, and oh yeah- she saw us too. After Noah nestled into bed, Tracey left and we sunk down into the couch and breathed HBO for two hours. Oh, 6FU – how unfair of you to get so good right before you leave me! Also this weekend we Netflixed the documentary “Born Into Brothels” – about a woman teaching photography to the children of sex workers in Calcutta. It was beautiful, sweet, touching and sad and I totally recommend it. (UPDATE: I just found out it's premiering on HBO tomorrow - Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 at 7 p.m. Watch it if you can.)
A busy week lies ahead. Today Noah and I have lunch with Susan and her daughter Francesca. She’s that neighborhood mom with whom I’m trying to forge a friendship and this is our first invite to her home. I’m excited to see the house because I feel like you can tell so much about a person by seeing their home and I feel like I still know this woman so very little that I’m still feeling a bit awkward. I believe another woman and her son will be attending too. I hope we have a good time because I really would like to have other mothers and children to spend time with during the weekdays. Later this afternoon Mark’s Dad and his wife are coming to visit and tomorrow we head out to Qtown to spend the day with my mom. Wednesday we’ll go to the pool and I’ll need to get some work (!!!) done. And then on Thursday we head back out on the QTown express to see my Dad and Oma and to pick up my visiting ex-stepsister Cathy and her daughter Madeline from the ABE airport. Have I mentioned that I really would like to master the process of beaming from place to place? Even though I’m looking forward to spending time with my parents the idea of driving back and forth and back and forth this week has me a bit edgy. Plus the unforgiving heat and price of gas are good enough reasons not to go out. Maybe I can learn that “Bewitched” nose twitch.
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