On the hunt for stuff to get into, October 2011Today, I am sorry to admit, my baby ate his own poop.Need I say more?He has become a total squirmy monkey during diaper changes, and this morning, he almost managed to kick the dirty diaper off the edge of the changing table. I caught it, but a tiny bit of poop must have fallen onto the floor, because after I had cleaned him up and re-diapered him and set him down and washed my hands, I turned back to see him putting a little light-brown, squishy thing into his mouth. "What is that? Is that POOP?" I screamed.This reminded me of a movie clip I saw once that often runs through my mind in these kinds of insane parenting moments, where the Experienced Mom analyzes the brown substance on her toddler's face. "Poop, or chocolate?" she asks, grabbing her child's dirty face while her childless sister looks on, horrified. "Poop, or chocolate? Poop, or chocolate?" She swipes a finger through the mystery substance and into her mouth. "Chocolate!" she proclaims. This was like that, except ... more
Comfort food in progress, October 20111. When all else fails, cook a brisket. With lots of roasted carrots and potatoes to soak in the briskety juices. Do not expect your 4-going-on-5-year-old, the source of The Trouble, to touch it, but the baby, who still has no teeth yet loves chicken sausage and pesto pasta, might gobble it up.2. Do not allow your husband, plumbing novice, to try to replace the garbage disposal, even though you asked him to do it just last night. Understand ... more
So often, motherhood is about looking bad in public.It's about kneeling in the rough playground sand, the kind that leaves an imprint on your knees in twenty seconds flat, to play tic tac toe, because your kiddo is having a tough afternoon after Day 1 of his new preschool class.It's about getting down on your haunches to try to hold him, even though you're wearing a skirt and you know you're probably showing your polka-dot underwear to the other parents in the park.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47587511@N03/6218896048/" ... more
Ocean and sunlight, San Diego, July 2011*A friend who had been on dialysis got a new kidney from a living donor, a woman who is a friend of a friend but not someone she had ever met before the transplant process began. Recipient and donor, both young women, are doing well post-surgery. I am blown away by the generosity.*Emry can crawl.*Elan can read.*Both my children slept until 6 a.m. this morning, drank some milk, and went back to sleep until after 7:30.*I went to ... more
My guys, from left: little one, big one, medium oneSemiahmoo, Washington, September 2011I jetted down to southern California for a friend's wedding BY MYSELF. I can hardly remember the last time I spent flights reading a book and working on a photo album on my computer rather than juggling a grabby baby on my lap and a preschooler who invariably needs to poop just as the baby falls asleep nursing. I alternated between reveling in the luxury and sending slightly longing glances at other ... more
Drayton Harbor, Washington, visiting my in-laws, August 2011I've been writing a lot of blog posts in my head in the middle of the night.That's because I haven't been doing a lot of sleeping in the middle of the night.Back when Emry was still a work-in-progress, the thing I was most nervous about when it came to expanding the family was sleep. Elan has always been a bad sleeper, mediocre in his best stretches, and so I was justifiably nervous that I would end up ... more
Emry & Elan, February 2011This is one of my favorite pictures of my boys, taken back in February when Emry was 4 months old. It perfectly sums up that moment in time - Emry stationary and wide-eyed while Elan goes crazy all around him. It's a dynamic that still exists, though is changing as Emry, at 10 months now, becomes more of a force in his own right - more mobile, more interactive and aware, more opinionated and wanting things, but still ... more
Mama, I don't know WHAT you're talking about... Emry eating yogurt, July 2011
The children have been mean at night lately. One night, Emry's up every hour and a half. The next night, Elan's up several times. Last night, Mikhail was away for Night 3 of his business trip, and they split the night: Elan took the first half (1 a.m., 3 a.m.) and Emry took the second half (4 a.m., 5:30 a.m.). See, it works better that way. Neither of them get too tired ... more
Grasses in shadow, San Diego, July 2011
Why is it, on some days, I feel like I can tackle anything? Bring it on is my mantra for the day. I can dash from one task to another, checking things off my list, even managing dashes of creativity in the midst of busyness.
And then other days, I feel like I am slogging through life, like just finding the energy to put the socks away is difficult. I look around the chaos of my house and ... more
Emry, July
I have so many thoughts of things to post running through my head, and so many photos that I want to share with y'all. But darn it all if I am not pretty wiped out these days and finding most of my computer time is being used up by working and keeping up with email (preschool teacher appreciations and end-of-the-year potlucks, oh my!).
And the chores! All this going away and coming back stuff is very entertaining, but the amount of laundry generated ... more