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!