Auld Lang Syne

We're going away for the weekend.

So....
HAPPY NEW YEAR!


or do you like this version better?

Bah Humbug

Every year I say I'm not going to wait till the last minute to buy Holiday gifts.
Well, here I am again, a couple days before Christmas and I still have to get some gifts.

UGH! I'm heading into Manhattan with a big ass stroller and I'm prepared to push frazzled shoppers aside and shove tourists outta my way.

I hope I find what I'm looking for. Otherwise people will have Present Face.

On The Waterfront

I'm going through photos of Critter and selecting some for a calendar for Mom. Shhhhhh. Don't tell her she's getting a calendar of Critter photos for Xmas.

I just saw photos of Critter's favorite thing to do in Brooklyn.

After having brunch at his favorite restaurant (with the fish tank), he likes to go to the waterfront in Dumbo.

He sits and gazes at the river and the expansive city beyond.

Then he plays with the rocks. Picking them up, inspecting and tossing them toward the water.
Every time we've been there (which is often), there's been an Asian couple taking wedding photos. See upper right hand corner.

We move to another part of the waterfront and he plops down and more rocks go flying.

He'll move rocks from one area to another.

We'll then ride the famous Jane's Carousal.

Then he'll play with the grass and dirt

Then he'll try to climb on anything within range.

And look up at me indicating I better not stop him.

There's also a playground we visit. Have juice and snacks. Play with his ball.
By the end of the afternoon, Hubby and I are more exhausted then Critter.

Shitty Shitty Bang Bang

NO! The title doesn't mean this post is going to be about my sex life with Hubby!

I know kids like to watch the same thing over and over, but this is getting ridiculous.

Critter likes, or I should say loves, music. I constantly sing to him a variety of kid songs. I'll sing while we're in a car, walking and he's in the stroller, just sitting around. If I stop he'll say "more, more".

About a month ago, we watched our Chitty Chitty Bang Bang DVD (so he can listen to the music) and he hasn't stopped watching it! Every day, he'll pick up the remote, point it at the TV and say "Ka"

He's only interested in the scenes with the KA (car). We start the DVD at the scene where the car comes out of the garage all spruced up, and they drive off for a picnic, picking up Truly along the way.......AND that F*CKING SONG starts!



Hubby's favorite line in the movie is when Dick runs Truly off the road into the lake and he says " You'll find a slight squeeze on the hooter an excellent safety precaution" (3:25 in the linked video).....and she still goes on the picnic with them. Maybe she's hoping Dick will show her how a hooter is squeezed.

Critter likes when I sing Do Re Mi but I don't dare put in the Sound of Music DVD. There would be only so much of Maria I can take.

Critter's In Love

We went to a wedding Friday night. An update about my hair troubles at some other time. The more important issue is, Critter is in Love! She came out and he was in awe. Couldn't take her eyes off her. I'm not sure if it was her outfit, what she was doing, her hair, her Ta-tas or her gyrating hips, but Critter was (along with every other person) gaga. I had to roll his tongue back into his mouth.

He literally just stood at the edge of the dance floor and was watching her from afar.....mesmerized.

At one point, while she was dancing, Critter went out to the lobby and practiced his dance moves, probably thinking he can impress her.

This post is dedicated to a friend. He was supposed to go to the wedding, but at the last minute decided he wasn't up to it. If he knew Critter's Love was going to be there, I'm sure he would have been up....to it....and came.

Pink Panther

Well, There You Go, I gone and really done it now!
I can't really get into details now, cause I got to run out to remedy this.

My hair has been doing a funky thing, very dry, falling out. I'll follow up with more details, later.I color my hair every three weeks. Hey, I ain't a young girl, I've got grey!
I decided to try a natural hair dye, thinking that the one I was using was possibly causing the dryness and breakage.

Stupid Girl, I colored my hair yesterday with a new product I had never used before.

Weeeell, I wish I can say it came out Fuckin' Perfect, but.....why are my roots PINK???????? That's right pink. You read that right. Do I need to spell it out? P-I-N-K!

The color was supposed to be Light Mahagony Chestnut.....Looks pretty on the box, right?

But Who Knew?! My hair would turn out really dark brown (nothing like the box) with PINK roots. All the white hair (roots) turned PINK! Arrrrrgggggghhhhhh!

My husband said I look like Rania.

I wish I was that pretty. But yeah, that's the color of my roots BUT with dark rest of head.
SIGH!
I wouldn't care, but we're going to a wedding tonight. Hubby said not to worry about it, "So What, noone is gonna be looking at you". But, but, it looks awful, like someone threw PINK Glitter in the Air and it stuck to my roots. When we ttake our Family Portrait tonight, I wanted to look pretty.

Now I have to run out, find another color for my roots only, wait till Critter naps and Get the (color) Party Started.

Dinner Theater

We often frequent a Yemeni restaurant, Yemen Cafe, in Brooklyn owned by a friend. We go there for Brunch  about twice a month. Yep, can you believe it, a middle eastern place for Brunch. We usually order eggs, which are kick ass, deliciously cooked with onions, peppers, tomatoes. We also order Critter's favorite; Hummus with Curried Chicken on top. He devours it with pita bread.

Critter has been a life long patron. He was made honorary chef early on (Jan. 13, 2011).

Last Sunday, after Critter finished his meal and got restless sitting in the high chair, he walked over to the Fish tank. The owner told Hubby to bring over the high chair. I thought he was going to put it AT the table in front of the fish tank and sit Critter in it, while Hubby and I finished eating.

Boy, did I underestimate the ingenuity of some people.

Critter was happy and quiet while Hubby and I finished eating.

You're The One That I Want

Am I the only one that has the Grease CD and listens to it?
Must be the Brooklyn in me.
FYI - Some of the scenes in the movie were filmed in our nabe, Bay Ridge Brooklyn.

UPDATE:
LOL! After I hit publish, I realized that I was thinking of Saturday Night Fever that was partially filmed in Bay Ridge.
A big fat DOH!
I can edit the original post but am leaving it up there to show my flighty air headedness (is this even a word?)

Walk This Way

The average child starts walking between 12 and 15 months (I like to say 1 year 3 months).

Before we left on our month long trip, Critter took a few steps. While we were away, he was either strapped to a stroller or in a car seat and couldn't "practice" his steps. And when we did take him out, he was still crawling.....all over Europe.

When we got back and he was free to roam, he'd take a few steps, realize he can get there quicker by crawling and would plop down and off he'd go on all fours.

Well, it finally happened. On Oct. 16th, we went to a friend's wedding and I guess Critter saw how much fun everyone was having on the dance floor and after the wedding, back at the hotel room, Critter was walking all over the bed and floor....and he hasn't stopped since.

This video was taken on Oct. 18th. 

When he was first walking holding our hands, he looked like he was leading with his right foot, dragging his left. He wouldn't bend his knees.

I love his clumsy walk. I love how his legs are so far apart. I love his arms in the air for balance......whoa, steady.

Happy Halloween

Getting the 1% to stand/sit still for a photo is impossible. The 99% is tired of working for a shot.

Home....at Last

After a month in Europe; visiting 4 countries and too many cities to count, getting into 2 car accidents, 2 sick children, an emergency room visit, 2 sick adults, so many Roman ruins, consuming pounds of Pasta, inhaling freshly made Pizza, scarfing down buckets of delizioso gelato, soaking in the Mediterranean, getting cultured, viewing art, art and more art, taking 6,714 photos, we're ba-aaaack.

........and we need a vacation. I'm tired!

Munich - I forgot the name of the building.

I'm scratching my head as to why we came back. We had a nice time. I really want to move to Europe. We're doing it all wrong here in America. Europeans have joie de vivre (oh, wait, we didn't go to France).

Now what do I do with 6,714 photos? How do I share them with Family and Friends? Facebook can't handle that. Flickr? hmmmmmmm.

Bon Voyage

Tomorrow, we're supposed to be on a plane heading to Italy for a month long trip. Drama today in the marriage, details not to be discussed, may require one of us to stay home. Why am I sugar coating this? Basically, I've had it!! I'm frustrated, aggravated, annoyed, upset and don't think I can deal with this (hubby's) bullshit anymore.

Sooo, if I post again in the next few days, I stayed home, or we cancelled the trip.
If I don't post for a month, we all went to Europe (Italy, Austria, Germany).

What a way to start a vacation....on a negative.
SIGH!!!!!!!

Eid

Yesterday on Eid.

He was so fascinated with his Alladin-like outfit, especially his shoes. He kept playing with them.

These are pics with our new camera, which after looking at the ones from yesterday, I HATE (the camera)!

Shake That Thing

I was laying down feeding Critter, was half asleep myself when I felt the earth move under my feet. The entire building shock. I heard and saw the mirror in the hallway banging against the wall. I thought they were doing plumbing work in the apartment upstairs. I checked the bathroom and kitchen to make sure the ceilings didn't fall because of the incompetent workers and was going to call the management company to complain about the workers upstairs.

Well, lucky for the non-existent workers upstairs, I turned on the radio to listen to music and heard that NYC felt the effects of an earthquake in Virginia. That is wild.

Bel Bambino

Guess who's going to Italia and taking his parents?

Photo Take Jan. 11, 2011 - Critter was 6-1/2 Months Old (The Italia Shirt Fit Him Then)

We're going for a month in September. I'm so excited. We've been planning this trip for several months now, and it's 3 weeks away! We have friends in Naples, and we'll be traveling with them (they have an almost 2 year old son) throughout Italy, and also going to Vienna and Munich.
Road Trip!!

I have lists of things I need to do, buy, pack. I need a pair of great walking shoes!

Traveling with a baby for a month is going to be interesting....but I think it'll be lots of fun.

La Dolce Vita!

Tinea VersiWHAT?

About three months after Critter arrived, I noticed small discolorations on my stomach and lower back. I assumed it's due to hormonal changes and really didn't think about it, assuming it'll go away in a few months. Weeeeeell, it got worse. The small dime sized discolorations grew into reddish patches all over my back. Some were3" by 3". As the months flew by, I started to get concerned. It wasn't going away. Surely, the hormonal changes of having a baby don't last a year? Do they?

Google became my friend....and my enemy. I tried to google the symptoms, which for me was just the patches of redness. I didn't feel itching, burning, nothing. In my endless pounding of the keyboard, typing key words, hitting search, I didn't come up with anything. Well, I came up with lots of things. But, hey, it's the internet and everything I read seemed like what I had. The skin "C" word kept coming up in my searches. OMG! What if I have Cancer? I just had a baby, I can't die....not yet. I want to see my child grow up. I got pissed, I got angry, I got scared. I cried. And finally, I stopped looking for an answer on the internet and made an appointment with my doctor.

One look at my back and stomach and he said it's Tinea Versicolor. Huh? What? Tinea What? Tinea Versicolor (Read here about it). It's a fungal infection of the skin. To be certain, he recommended I see a dermatologist. In the meantime, he suggested I rub Selsun Blue (Yep, dandruff shampoo!) on the infected area, leave it on over night.I didn't do it, cause I wanted to be sure.

I went home, relived. I'll live to see Critter grow through the terrible twos, defy me as a teenager and hopefully marry a woman as great as his mom. But I couldn't help going to google (my friend turned enemy) and typing in Tinea Versicolor. That's IT! I read and read and read.

I went to the dermatologist and she confirmed it, Tiena Versicolor! I guess that's why they have the medical degrees hanging on their walls and all I have is an internet connection. She gave me a prescription for Ketoconazole (oral) and sent me on my merry way. I filled the prescription and was happily going to pop the pills BUT decided I should read the "prescription information". It specifically states in bold "This medicine is excreted in breast milk. Do not breast feed while taking this medicine."

HUH?!?!?!?! I told dermatologist I was nursing (Yep, still shoving the boob in Critter's face). She looked it up, on her iphone. She said it was safe and approved for lactating women. But, but, but....the prescription information sheet states otherwise.

It was too late to call the Doctor.
Come to mama, google.
Yep, I went back on the "Information Superhighway".
The manufacturer doesn't recommend using it if  breastfeeding.
The cream is safer and may be used.
Stupid doctor! Did she look up the cream instead of the oral (what she prescribed).
After playing phone tag for a few days with the doctor and getting more and more irritated by her grave oversight, I finally spoke to her. Boy, did I want to chew her up! I wanted to tell her that she's a stupid idiot, blah, blah, blah.
I questioned her as to why she prescribed that knowing I'm nursing and why would the prescription information state NOT to breastfeed, but she had no answer. UGH!! She insisted that she looked it up and it stated it's safe for lactating women. She didn't believe me. Double UGH! It's right there in black and white, b*tch. I read it! I feel like sending her the prescription information I got with the medication.

After going back and forth for a bit with her and she gave me other medication options, I decided that I'm not going to take anything and I'll live with the patches on my back until I'm done breastfeeding. My kid's health is more important than my vanity.

In my endless googling for info about Tinea Versicolor, I did find a couple of great sites:
www.kellymom.com - Here's the page about AAP approved medications while breastfeeding.
www.mothering.com - Here's a forum post from a woman with Tinea Versi, asking  for advice.Check out some of the home remedies.
Apple Cider Vinegar! That's right, rubbing it on my back, going to bed smelling like a tossed salad, washing it off in the morning shower and the patches are getting smaller and disappearing.

Thank you modern science for nothing, good ole home remedy is working!

After reading all this, you need a cheesy music video.

Get Up, Stand Up

Stand up for your rights.

"He's not walking yet?" They asked. Well, not really asked, it was more a statement.
"No, not yet." I replied and then felt like I had to justify Critter's  development by throwing in "Well, the average child starts walking between 12 and 15 months. So, he's right on schedule".

I don't know why it irked me when they (not mentioning whether it was a he or a she) said that. Maybe, because they then said, "Well, (their child's name) started walking at 10 months old." Oh, NO! They didn't go there! Bragging! Comparing?! I really wanted to punch the daylights out of them but all I can say is "That's early." But I really wanted to say "Do you think your kid is special? etc. etc. etc."Oh, how I wanted to let them have it. I really hate when parents gloat about their kids. I can understand sharing stories and telling antidotes about their children, but what I hate is bragging. Oh, look at my kid, they can do this and say that and.........it's almost as if they're saying, "I bet your kid can't do that."

I have a friend whose child started walking at 9 months, didn't even crawl , I know a mother who's son just started walking alone at 17 months. It has NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING to do with intelligence but is a motor skill.

Here's what Dr. Sears has to say about it.

After I read this, I wanted to call 'bragging parent of early walker' and tell them their kid is impulsive and buy stock in band-aids.

It's interesting what he says about babies with easier temperament.

"Babies with easier temperaments often approach major developmental milestones more cautiously. Since crawling is speedier than walking anyway, confirmed crawlers are content to zip around on the floor like miniature racecars and show no interest in joining the tall and busy world."

"Late walkers are more likely to be content to entertain themselves with seeing and fingering fun than with motor accomplishments. A late walker goes through the crawl-cruise-stand-walk sequence slowly and cautiously, calculating each step and progressing at his own comfortable rate. When he does finally walk, he walks well."

Critter definitely has an easy going temperament. And I've noticed with everything he does (the first time) he's very cautious but when he does it and realizes the outcome is positive, he plows full speed and repeats the actions.

Walking will happen and come naturally, I'm not going to rush him. When he's ready, he'll do it. Baby Steps.
On Saturday evening, for the very first time, he did what will eventually lead to walking. He was on the futon "reading" when he decided to push himself up and viola, he was standing for a few seconds. He plopped on his bum, giggled and repeated his actions.

Pure joy to watch. I'll admit, after he amused himself with his vertical uprisings, I grabbed him, hugged him so tight and cried. He's growing up soooooo fast.

Let's Talk About Six, Baby

Let's talk about you and me. Okay, just me. Let's talk about ME.

"Your ass looks small." Hubby said.
"You're still the same size." I retorted.
He was looking at my tush when he said that, but I can't help getting in a jab whenever I can (at the Ass not in).



Can it be? That my rear caboose is smaller?
Yep. I'm working on shrinking my rump (roast) and belly (flop).
I've used the excuse I just had a baby for my flabbiness. After a year and a month, I can't use that excuse anymore.
A few weeks ago, I stopped consuming sugar laced products on a daily basis to soothe my soul. I've lessened my intake of starches (not the ironing kind). I was always a walker and I'm continuing to walk at least 2 miles every day. I started doing yoga again. Photos of my legs around my neck and/or doing pigeon pose will be posted shortly; that is, after my body is limber enough to first touch my toes. AND, I've started dancing with Critter. Every day, we put on the radio, he plays on the floor while his mother is Gettin Jiggy Wit It until she breaks out into a sweat and is panting from exhaustion.



Have I lost any weight? I don't know. I don't own a scale. I'm gauging it with clothes. Before, I got Preggo, I was wearing a size 2 (don't hate me cause I was skinny). After baby, I was wearing a size (I'm not telling). Now, I'm wearing a size (I'm still not telling and it isn't a size (2, 4 and 6) I have in my closet.

When I get dressed in the morning, I only need to open the sliding closet door 3" and reach in and grab one of 4 pants that fit me. The other day, I flung the door all the way and from the depths of my closet, I pulled out a size 6 cargo pants. I shimmed my way into them. They fit around the legs. I pulled them over my keister, zipped and buttoned them. THEY FIT!!!!! Okay, they were a little snug around the waste but I figured as the day wore on, they'd loosen up.

Critter and I went out for most of the day, I wish I can report that the size 6 pants stretched a little, but the truth is, they got tighter and tighter with every ticking hour. By days end I felt like an over stuffed sausage ready to burst from it's skin. Every time I took a step, I felt like another seam was going to pop. I didn't bend down for anything. If I dropped something, oh well, it was gone forever. When I walked, I barely lifted my legs in fear of hearing riiiiip. I shuffled home and as soon as I unbuttoned them my stomached sighed in relief. I peeled them off and discovered the button made in imprint on my belly (no photos available for your amusement). Maybe, those kids are onto something with sagging. I'm going to start wearing my pants under my badunkadunk and on the ground.

Age Old Question

"How old is he?" She asked after waving and cooing at Critter.
"He's a year old." I replied. "Actually, he's thirteen months old." I corrected myself and then cringed after hearing myself say that.

I get the question a lot. Ever since he was born, whoever took an interest in Critter asked. Everybody, strangers, that coo and caw at babies want to know how old they are. Maybe people are in awe of their tininess and want to know what age this little size is.

With infants, age is defined in months. "He's two months old." "She's 5 months old." Etc., Etc. After the kid turns the magical ONE year old, people still say the age of the kid in months. They do it up to two years old. Pre-motherhood, I didn't understand why after a year, the age is still in months. AND after becoming a mother, I still don't understand why we're saying a child's age in months.

I also ask mothers that I come across, the age of their children. It drives me nuts when they respond in months. "She's 19 months." It takes me a while to figure out the age. I have to stop. Think. And count on my fingers (without them seeing) 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. Oh, the kid is a year and 7 months! Why didn't they just say so? It's easier for me to hear a child's age as one year and X months than just months.  I understand it better. Am I the only one that gets confused when they hear a child's age in months? It's like military time. People use it in the real world (outside the military) when they really don't need to. When I hear military time, the abacus comes out and I have to subtract 12 just to figure out the time and then wonder why the idiots used milatary time.

I'm not doing that again. When questioned, I'm not going to say Critter's age in months. I refuse to. I'm  going to respond One Year One month.

On Sunday, Critter was 13 months old. Slept at the park to celebrate.

In this photo, he's awake and  One year One month old.

Music to My Ears

 Mamma Mia, I've been heartbroken.

Critter's first words were.....
....nope, not Mama BUT Dada. Since he started jabbering away, that's all I heard aaaaaaall freakin' day.
Dada, dada, dada, dada, dada, dada, dada, dada, dada, dada.

I would sit him down.
"English Lesson #1. Mama. Say it. Mama. Look at my lips." He'd try to squirm away and I'd sit him down again."Pay attention. Mama. Your lips need to come together and then separate. Ma Ma." He'd say, "Dada"

I gave up.
He did finally come around to saying Mama but not as often as Dada and only when he needed food. SIGH! I'm just a tool for that kid.

This morning, I was in the kitchen making breakfast and I heard Critter wake and say "Mama"!
That was the first word out of his mouth! I ran into the bedroom, Hubby was laying in bed with Critter. "He woke up and that's the first thing he said!" I shrieked excitedly.
It melted my heart.

Mama and her Critter

I'm Mama!

Mommy Scorsese

Remember when you'd have to sit for days/weeks and have a portrait done. You'd get the children all dressed up in their best outfit, commission an artist and after the oil paint dried, you'd have a keepsake to hang on the wall.

This is NOT Critter.

Of course you don't remember. We weren't alive when the only way to capture moments was to sit for Rembrandt or Manet.

We can take pictures till our hearts content. We don't like them, we delete. We want to alter them, hello Photoshop. I probably have thousands of pictures of Critter. The kid is only a year old and he's well photographed. Sure there are lots of pics that are blurry, but hey, I can't bring myself to delete them.

It's not that obvious here, but this photo is very blurry. But he's still sooooo cute.

Not only do I have lots of pics of Critter, but I'm obviously shooting an epic movie. I have hours and hours and hours of Critter footage. Every trick Critter does, I try to pull out the video camera and capture. Sometimes, I'm not quick enough and I try to get him to do a retake. He's not an accommodating actor because most times he's moved on and doesn't want to do a re-shoot. He must be in SAG. Damn, union.

So much happens during the day that I want to tape. It's just me and Critter most times, so there's no one else to hold the camera and press record.  I have a tiny little tripod (from my pre-critter stage career). I set it up, hit record, and viola, we can both be in the home movie. We're like the Barrymores, it's all in the family.

Lights, Camera, Action.
The first video I recorded using the tripod, was with Critter (6 months old) laying on our bed and me running up to tickle him. Two minutes of me running back and forth, tickling, and Critter laughing.

WEEEELL, I'm not Martin Scorsese! I completely messed up the frame (that's movie lingo). I cut off Critter's head!! It's two minutes my pudgy legs running to a headless giggling baby.

I'm not posting the video, It's really creepy. But here's a still from it. There wasn't a "Take 2"

A Year of Love

It's been a while since I've posted here
Here I am and Critter is One Year Old!!

About a month ago Hubby asked, nudging toward Critter "You're not enjoying this, are you?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" I replied.
"I read something on your Mommy Diariest. It seems that you don't like being a mother."
"Huh? What was it? What did I say?" I asked.
"I don't remember exactly, but it seemed like......"

REALLY?!?!?!? Have I written something on here to that effect? Have I been so negative that it seems I hate being a Mommy? Sure, Hubby and I  had our issues and I've stated that here BUT it has nothing to do with how I feel about Critter.

It's the complete opposite. I am GAGA about Critter. I adore and love him beyond anything describable. Since the day he was born, I have been in awe of my child. I can't stop kissing, cuddling him. I love everything he does and cherish every moment. Every day, I say to or about him that he is something else. He is special. I am truly enamored with my child. Everyday I give him hundreds of kisses, hold him so close to me. I don't want to stop kissing him. I don't want to put him down. And at the end of the day, before he falls asleep, I hold him so close to me, whispering to him how much I love him, I can't belief the day is over. It wasn't enough time with him.

I can't believe how fast the past year went by. It was the best year of my life! Sure there were times with Hubby that were tense but every moment with my child was a joy. And as I look back on the past year I really can say that. There were a few times when Critter was cranky and sick but I can honestly now say that I didn't mind them. I cherished every moment because I knew I wouldn't get them back.  I watched my child in amazement as he developed from a newborn to a one year old with his own personality. I love everything Critter did/does. Every little gesture, facial expression, movement, every advancement he made I am enchanted with. I want to relive the past year. I want it all to happen again so I can experience the wonderful moments once more.

A year before Critter was born, Hubby and I had a difficult time in our marriage. My child came into my life at the perfect time. I now know what unconditional love is.

Everyday since he was born, I sing this little tune to him that I made up:
"You are Mommy's angel
You are Mommy's Love
You bring me happiness
You make my sun shine."

I truly believe that I need my child more than he needs me.

Happy Birthday, Critter. 
You are the love of my life.

June 24, 2010

 

 

 

June 24, 2011

Heat Wave

It's HOT! 95 degrees in NYC. Thank you mother nature.
I'm not a big fan or air conditioning and I'm puzzled when people turn it on when it's only 80 degrees. Open a damn window! But on a day like today, even I'm running to the AC.
Weeeeeel, after turning the AC in the living area, I realized it's not cooling the space. You have to stand in front of it to get a whiff of coolness. SIGH!

Flavor Flav

 When we started feeding Critter (6 months old) "solids", he took to it quickly and devoured anything we gave him. Sure, in baby world, early on, "solids" are  foods pureed to an almost liquidy consistency. I made everything with the occasional baby jarred food for variety cause a lot of fruit wasn't in season.

Critter liked everything Mommy and Daddy gave him. His favorites were bananas and sweet potatoes. Over time, and as his teeth came in and grew, we started giving him whatever we were eating in combination with pureed mush.

Around the 9th month, Critter revolted against pureed mush (even though I was making it chunkier and adding two ingredients).

It turned into a battle of getting him to eat chunky baby food. I couldn't figure out what was the issue. Was it the spoon? Was it the consistency?And then I realized he likes FLAVOR! He no longer wanted straight up bland veggies. Can I blame him? But if it has a little spice in it, he'll eat it. He decided that he likes regular food better and that's what he'll have and there's no getting him to eat babyish food. He'd sit in his high chair, take the first bite and when he realized it was bland he wouldn't open his mouth for the next bite. He'd sit there with his mouth pursed, just glaring at me. He's Fighting the Power.



Well, I don't always cook food that can easily be mushed enough for him. Like salad.
So, I started tricking him. I have the baby mush in a bowl and then something tasty in another. With one hand I raise the tasty food to his mouth, as soon as he opens his mouth, my other hand shoves the babyish food in. Heee heee heeee, it works! Okay, Most of the time it works. Sometimes he catches on and stares at my hands to see what they're doing. And as soon as he sees the tasty food hand coming toward his face, he'll open his mouth and lunge toward it, almost taking my fingers off.

I also discovered that he needs to be occupied with a toy or book while I'm feeding him. He needs to have something in his hands and he'll eat a good amount.

Foods that I "trick" him with are: dates, bananas, anything with flavor - they're good to mix with veggies.

He LOOOOOVES hummus (hey, he's an arab kid) and biryani (and he's a Pakistani kid). He also loves asian food. He's just like me. He loves food with flavor.

My Flavor Flav

I'll Tumble For You

Under the window in our living room, we have a futon (from my single days) with bookcases on each side. Two shelves in the right bookcase have Critter's books. Hopefully, his collection of board books will one day go in the Presidential Library. Hey! A mother can dream. He often crawls to the bookcase, takes his books off the shelves one by one, throwing them on the floor, sits on the floor surrounded by his books and looks through them. Pointing at the pictures, blabbing as if he's reading.

On Monday after he ate breakfast, I put Critter on the floor to explore and play while I went to the kitchen to get my breakfast. I'm in the kitchen for 2 minutes and I heard a very loud THUD. I ran out and he was face down on the floor, feet up in the air by the futon surrounded by his books. His face was pressed against A Snowy Day.

I picked him up, held him close, comforted and kissed him. At first it was that scary cry where their mouth is wide open, face very red, but no sound comes out. I blew on his face to get him to make a sound and boy did he sound out........he wouldn't stop crying.....and I started to cry. The two minutes I turn my back and he gets hurt. How could I let that happen? I felt like a terrible mother. Why was I so careless? Why didn't I take him into the kitchen with me? I figured, I was only going to be out of the room for two minutes.

I guess he crawled to the bookcase, took out some books, climbed on the futon, wanted to read, reached over to get his books and WHAM! he hit the floor head first, or I should say nose first cause he got a black and blue on the bridge of his nose. I guess the snow didn't break his fall.

Since then, he's made a beeline for the futon many times, gotten on it and sat down with a good book. But I'm watching him.

Growing Up Is Hard to Do

Last night after nursing Critter and him falling asleep, I laid with him and held him for a few. Since it was still early (9:30pm), I got up, went into the Nurserice (Critter hasn't slept in it yet) where Hubby was on the computer.

"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Trying to find a chocolate chip cookie recipe." He replied looking up at me. "Were you crying? What's the matter?" He asked.

"Nothing's the matter." I replied, my lips quivering. My mouth turned down into a pout and eyes welled up with tears and the flood gates opened. "I don't want him to grow up." I said sniffling up my words. "I want him to stay this age longer. Why does it have to go so fast? Why can't he be a baby for a bit longer." And on and on I said, tears streaming down my cheeks.

Hubby, got up, held me, trying to comfort me with words.

I seriously had a melt down.

When I was laying and holding Critter, I couldn't help but think about how fast time has gone by and how big he got and all the advancements he's made. I was holding him and crying because I don't want this stage to end. This infant stage. I seriously don't want him to grow up. Call me greedy and selfish, I don't care. I want to enjoy these precious baby moments for a longer time. The simplest things he does give me such great joy. The way he crawls. When he points at things. The babbling. His big goofy smile. His giggles. His ticklish spots, the way he chews, how he cries when we take him out of a playground swing, etc. etc. etc.

I really want the past 11 months to happen all over again. Not because I want to change things (okay, maybe a few things, only things with Hubby, not Critter) but I want to relive all the wonderful moments with my child. I want to experience them all again.

At the end of every day, laying in bed before I fall asleep, I reflect on the day, think about Critter and I can't believe the day is over. It wasn't enough time with him.
Why can't they stay this age for a few more years?


Remember when I held you tight
And I kissed you all through the night
Think of all that we've been through
Growing Up Is Hard To Do

Cry Baby

Wha, wha, wha, wha, wha...and so on and so on and so on.
Hearing a baby's piercing cry has to be the most unsettling sound.

Critter isn't a wailer. Never was.
Don't get me wrong. He cries when he's hungry and lately because he's teething....and rarely. He just doesn't ball his eyes out.....UNTIL early this morning.

1:59am Critter was contently sleeping, 2:00am, he started to cry. I gave him the boob. He sucked a little, then opened his mouth and deafening cries came out.
I picked him up and sitting in bed, rocked him. Nope, he didn't calm down.
I tried to give him the boob again. Nope, didn't want it.
Okay. Probably his teeth. Put gel on his gums. Nope, still wailing.
For one hour and a half, he was inconsolable.
I went out to the living room, put him in his stroller and started to walk around the room. He'd dose, but as soon as I stopped 'strolling' he'd open his eyes and with this forlorn look up at me, as if asking, "why'd you stop?"
After 'strolling' the living room, we laid back down and he finally fell asleep.....UNTIL 5:00am, when the wailing started again.
I gave him the boob. Rejected it! Huh! What male rejects boobs flung in his face?
I tried to give him a bottle. Nope!
I changed his diaper. Nope, didn't appease him.
I took off his PJs and inspected him. Maybe he physically got hurt. Nope, no signs of pain.
We went out to the living room, gave him some water. He looked around and started to point at things. He was calming down. We sat in the rocking chair swaying back and forth. It worked. He started to dose and we went back to bed.

Hubby and I were baffled, he's never ever cried like this. Sure, we've had nights when he was cranky cause the burp wouldn't come out. But that was when he was just a baby.And we weren't up past 1:00am.
Critter's never gotten up in the middle of the night crying hysterically. This was unprecedented.

Did he have a bad dream? Of a baby bully snatching a toy from him?

He awoke this morning at 9:30am (2 hours later than normal), with a great big smile on his face. Had breakfast and happily played, pushing a toy car across the wood floor, as if nothing happened early this morning.

Um, Critter, let's not have a repeat tonight, Momma needs her beauty sleep.

*Cough* *Cough*

On Sunday, we spent the day sightseeing with a friend and her daughter.  Our friend is a pediatrician. She's very knowledgeable and passionate about children and health care.She's not Critter's Baby Doctor. I wish she was, but she lives in another state.

Whenever, we see her, I want to ask her so many questions about baby related stuff. But I feel it's not appropriate; she's not on duty, she probably doesn't want to be bombarded with questions while hanging out with friends. After all, Critter does have a pediatrician that I should brooch concerns/questions to. But yet, I can't help but want to hear our friend's opinion about certain issues. I always want to ask her for advice.

I always wonder, when she's holding Critter, if she's 'examining' him. Does she check him out to make sure he's Okay? Is she looking at him and wondering certain things? Does she want to say something to Hubby and me about Critter's health?

Every time we see her, after Critter was born; before meeting her, I have a talk with Critter. I tell  him to be on his best behavior and not to sneeze, cough, or display any signs of sickness. I always feel like if she sees him and he's sick, she'll think I don't know what I'm doing as a mother and wonder how could I allow my child to get sick.

While we were with her on Sunday, Critter coughed twice. I cringed. She didn't say anything.


Is there anything more annoying than the Chipmunks?!?!? Sorry, but I couldn't find another version of this song.

Time Flies

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.



What's a dull day? I hate saying I'm a stay at home Mom. Does it have a negative connotation? Do people think I sit around all day, watch TV, change the occasional diaper, shove food in my kid's mouth and spend oodles of hours just lounging on the sofa? Sure, Critter and I rarely do anything exciting. We're not trapezing around the city looking for action. But gosh darn it, our day is full and NEVER dull! We do normal things; we wake up, eat breakfast, run errands, do chores, go to the library, take walks, go shopping, eat lunch, play with toys, read books, cook dinner, etc, etc. and in between all that, I breastfeed, change diapers and kiss, kiss, kiss him, and time goes by so quickly. Before you know it Hubby is walking through the door for the evening.

Time has come today.



It’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time again 

Going Away

Critter LOVES to go out. He loves being around people.

We'll be away for the rest of the week. We aren't flying or shipping ourselves.

Going to visit Hubby's sister in VA. She has 6 kids and that giant calculator. Critter loves having  kids around him and he often tries to be part of the action. Whatever they're doing, he wants in. Now that he's crawling around, it should be interesting and I think I'll be busy getting him out of trouble.

See you next week!

Tax Man

"When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more than the unjust less on the same amount of income."
- Plato

"Tax the Rich, Feed the Poor"
- I'd Love to Change the World, Ten Years Later

That time of year again. When the the human spirit is melancholy. Creativity flourishes with every receipt found. Accountants are in more demand than hookers. Confusion lurks even in great minds. The government wants its money....and wants it by today.


For 2010 we have a child we can  deduct. A whopping $1,000. Is the gov't for realz?!?!? $1,000?! Hey Uncle Sam, I'm raising a child in the good ole US of A. Hopefully he'll grow up and get a job and guess what? He'll dump more money into the gov't by paying his fare share of taxes. So how about cutting me some slack and giving me a bigger deduction for breeding someone that will in the future put $ into the system.

Critter and Calculator both actual size. (photo taken 02.26.11)

Shopaholic

I have two pants and a few tops that fit me. I keep alternating them. I'm bored with them. Hubby wants me to dress a little nicer. I guess he's tired of the butch look. I need new clothes while I try to melt this blub away. Only problem is, I HATE TO SHOP!

I know, I know. I'm a woman and should be genetically programmed to shop but truly, I abhor it. There's nothing worse than going into a store and seeing all that stuff. I get so turned off. The thought of looking at clothes and trying them on makes me anxious.

I want someone to give me a pile of clothes and say "Here, these will look great on you and make you appear to be wearing a size 2". Life would be grand.

I'm Down

The Slump-O-Meter is high today!
Aaaarrrggghhhh
How do you get out of a funk?

Sleepless in Brooklyn

Critter gets up in the middle of the night to nurse. He usually gets up at 5am, chows on me and then goes back to sleep. Sometimes, he'll awake at 3am for the boob.

Regardless of what time he wakes up at night, I can't go back to sleep! It's been happening for about a month now. I can't fall back asleep. I stay awake for 2 hours, I go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, crawl back into bed, stare at the ceiling, look at the shadows in the room, think about life, family, friends, sometimes I cry; Okay, a lot of times I cry, I go the the bathroom again, drink more water, crawl back into bed and finally about 2, 2-1/2 hours later, I fall back asleep. Yep, just to wake up in about an hour, groggy and tired.

I don't take sleeping pills and don't want to. I don't know what to do. How do I cure my sleepless nights?

I want to sleep dammit, and have pleasant dreams.

A Top.....of the World

Some mornings when getting dressed I ransack Hubby's drawers (get your mind outa the gutter) for something to wear. If you haven't heard (or read), I'm heavier than my normal. Thank you pregnancy! Well, it's really me stuffing my face with chocolate.

I only borrow tops from Hubby. I haven't yet been desperate to borrow pants. Okay, I am. But I still won't do it.

This morning, from his drawers, I pulled out a.......(get your mind outta the gutter).....black cotton long sleeve top with a half zipper in front. It's not a hoody or a sweetshirt. But anyway, it fits me, a little on the big side. But if anyone comments about it being loose on me. I'll just say I lost weight :-) I put on a t-shirt (mine - yes, it's a bit tight) and left his top on the bed to wear right before I go out.

I'm running around getting Critter and his bag ready when Hubby comes out of the bedroom dressed to go to work.

"HEY!!!! I took that out so I CAN wear it." I said looking at Hubby wearing my (okay his - but mine for the day) top. Did Hubby think I pulled it out for him to wear? I've NEVER laid out Hubby's clothes nor do I ever want or intend to.
"You can wear it. I'll find something else." I told him as if I was giving him permission to wear his own clothes.

He went back into the bedroom changed into another top, which actually would have looked better on me.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

...and Hair Again.

While pregnant, women have a higher level of estrogen therefore less normal hair shedding occurs and hair appears to be thicker. Read more here.

During my pregnancy I noticed my hair grew faster and was thick and curly.
I had: a head with hair, long beautiful hair. Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen. Give me down to there hair. Shoulder lenght or longer. Here baby, there momma, everywhere daddy, daddy.
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair.

I really loved my hair.

My luxurious hair pre shedding (August 2010)

I had read and heard that after you have the baby hair starts falling out. Well, critter arrived and I still had a nice full head of hair.......UNTIL he was 3 months old, and then BAM! Clumps of my curls were coming off my head. I hated showering cause I'd get a handfuls of hair that I tearfully watched disappear down the drain.
I lost so much hair I looked like I had a receding hairline at my temples. I'm really not a vain person but WTF!

Well, it does grow back but it takes its sweet time. The hair at my temples is about an inch long now. When my hair is down, it's not noticeable and I can blend it in, but when my hair is up WHOA! No amount of gel is helping my new look. I have devil horns!

Let's Make a Deal

Hubby has a beard. I HATE IT! He's had it for years. I've HATED it for years! It's not very flattering on him. I don't think a beard is flattering on anyone (especially women). I don't mind a little stubble; a five o'clock shadow. But Hubby's beard is more like a stable with hay that needs to get raked. He'll let is grow and it becomes this wild looking frizzy, I don't even know what to call it. If I turned Hubby upside down, his beard would look like Don King's hair; minus all the white (hair that is, not skin tone).

A couple times a week I ask Hubby when he's gonna shave it. I really HATE it.
When Critter was younger he'd stick his hand in Hubby's beard as if it was a pocket. Who knows, maybe for warmth. Now Critter hangs on it and pulls himself up.

I have some fat. I'm sure Hubby HATES IT! I've had it for 9 months. I HATE IT! It's not very flattering on me. etc. etc.

A week ago, I mentioned to Hubby that I need to lose this extra weight so I can fit into my closet* full of clothes.
"If you do that" He said. "I'll shave my beard."

My closet has clothes in various sizes. 0 (yes, at one point I was that tiny), 2 (the size I was wearing before I got preggo), 4, and size 6 (the heaviest I ever was before this heaviness).
And so we struck a deal. When I fit into my size 4 clothes, the beard comes off.
There's a condition tho. I can't fit into size 4 pants with a muffin top. Well, that's no fun! I thought as long as you can zip and button the pants, what's a little flab hanging over the top. Sure it ain't pretty, but the clothes fit...sorta.

FYI - that's NOT me in the pic....AND camouflage can't hide a muffin top!

* I can fit into my closet = I think wearing the closet might be easier than losing weight.

 OY! I have 20 pounds to lose.
Help me! I'm craving chocolate.

On the Radio

Obviously Critter is listening to NYC electromagnetic waves (the Radio) and his palette for hot music is diverse.. Last Friday, he had a fever, 102.7 (WWFS Fresh 102.7).  I took him to the doctor. Well, I guess Today's Music wasn't Fresh enough for him.The nurse took his temperature and it was a shocking 105.1 (WWPR Power 105.1). Hip Hop ruled the Doctor's office. They gave him a dose of Moltrin and told me to immediately take him to the hospital to have blood and urine taken and tested. A fever in babies is an indication of infection (Read about it here). At the hospital his temperature was 101.1 (WCBS). Critter wasn't singing a happy tune when they took urine (ouch! catheter) or blood (hello! needle). I couldn't look. They asked me to help hold his legs down and with my eyes closed I was holding and singing/talking to try calming him down.

At midnight (at home) his temperature rose to 103.5 (WKTU). He wanted to have a dance party. Heck, it WAS Saturday night. Acetaminophen helped keep it (the fever and dancing) under control for the rest of the night.

On Saturday morning Critter is off his radio station schedule, he woke up with a temperature of 102.5 (there's no station in NYC).

Sunday morning, he turned the dial back to 102.7 (Fresh). In the evening we got a call from the hospital. The blood culture is showing a bacteria.  It could either be, Critter does have a bacteria or the blood got contaminated from the hospital. We went back to the hospital so they can take more blood and be certain. He must like Oldies cause at the hospital is temperature was again 101.1.

Monday morning, Critter brought the dial back to the 80's, 90's and today's R&B, his temperature was 98.7 (WRKS - KISS FM). And has been fever free since.


We're going to the doctor on Wednesday to get results of second blood test.
Tune in then.

Joke

I used to write/perform comedy. Lots of it. The writing just came naturally to me. Sometimes, I'd re-word the bits to see what worked better. What had more impact. What got a bigger laugh.
I hate storytelling comedy. Too long, too boring.
I'm the one-two liner kinda gal. Set up, punch line. 

Sadly, I haven't written anything in a while. Maybe it's I'm consumed with Babyhood. Maybe, it's the fact for a while I haven't had anything to laugh about.

But this morning, this just came to me. Here is the first bit (joke) I'm writing in months.

Joke:

Marriage is hard work. I want to outsource my job.

We Can Work It Out

....or can we?
Sometimes I wonder if a marriage is worth being in if the two people have ceased to communicate or work together.
I'm tired of talking till we can't go on.
I'm tired of fussing and fighting.


I see it often. I know so many people that are unhappy in their marriage (I'm there now). How does it happen? Do people stop caring? Stop talking?

I know what our issues are. Do I want to address and resolve them? I really don't know at this point.
I don't want to think about this anymore. So Sad.

Chick Magnet

Critter REALLY is a Chick Magnet!

When we're out some stranger will always comment how cute he is. And it's usually women. They wave and smile at him; make cute faces to get him to react. And Critter is such a ham, he laps it up. He loves the attention.

Yesterday, we were at The High Line. We're sitting on a bench, my back to the pedestrian walkway and I was taking pictures of Hubby and Critter when from behind me I hear.

"Oooooh, so cute. He's a boy? He's very cute."
I turn around and thank them. It was three young Asians (mid 20's), two female, one male.
Then they ask "Can we take picture?"
Hubby stood up holding Critter and said sure. I got up so I'm not in their photo of Critter. One of the women stands next to Critter, posing, and the man starts taking pictures of them.

HUH? I thought they wanted to take photos of Critter. BUT they wanted to take photos of themselves WITH Critter!
I found it charming and amusing. I wanted to take a photo of this woman posing with Critter but thought it'd be tacky.

BUT when the other woman did the same; standing next to Critter striking a pose; she even posed holding Critter's hand, gazing deep into his eyes; and her male friend was snapping away, I couldn't help myself, I had to take pictures of this love struck woman.

Well, hello there!

Critter is Speechless after the Display of Affection

Hubby and I were scratching our heads after. Like WTF, why would anyone want to take pictures of themselves with some stranger's child? But Okay. Maybe, these two women will start the Asian Division of Critter's Fan Club.

Daddy's Day

Happy Birthday to Critter's Daddy (Hubby)!!

I feel horrible. No, I'm not sick. What I mean is, Today is Hubby's b'day and I didn't and am not making a big fanfare over it. And I feel horrible about that. I was initially going to throw him a surprise party at a restaurant, but that got to be too pricey. Then, I wanted to do something special, just the three of us. I wanted to go away for the weekend (4 days). After the whole car fiasco and then we did our taxes (F*CK YOU, IRS!!!), I nixed the idea. The money we would have spend on a weekend getaway is now going toward getting another jalopy.

Then, I thought we can do a day trip. Renting a car and off we'd go. $70 to rent a car in NYC?!?!?!?!? Are they out of their minds?!?!? They can take their economy car and shove it!

Okay, let's just enjoy the day in NYC. We'll take Hubby out for a day on the town. What to do? hhhhmmmm....There are lots of great things to do in NYC. BUT we've practically done and seen EVERYTHING. And I mean it. No, really. Hubby and I aren't idle people. We never sit at home. We love to walk. Enjoy history and architecture. So yeah, we've seen and done most things  in NYC.  I googled and googled. My search for something to do turned up nil. I got so frustrated BUT I became obsessed and determined to find something....anything that we haven't done and would be interested in.

Hubby initially took today off to spend the day together doing the nothing I found. But the weather is so crappy today (rain and cold) that he went into the office and will take Friday off.

I have one more day to find something to do.Maybe, I'll surprise him and buy him a new car. HA! He can only wish.

We will have dinner tonight at our favorite Sushi place.

Scooter

I always wanted a scooter. A few years ago, we actually thought about getting a Vespa. But for a two wheeled machine, they ain't cheap.

 

Well, we got a scooter! It happened a couple of weeks ago. Critter is now on his stomach, lifting his upper body, raising his arms over his head, plops them in front of him and drags the rest of his body. He's on the go! and boy is he going. There isn't a place he hasn't tried to drag him self to....under the sofa, close to the edge of the bed, under chairs, etc.

So, my video making skills aren't the best. And, yes, when he reaches the car I'm pulling it car further away.....hee hee heeeeeeee.