I have no idea what the name of this band is, but have you ever heard the song that says, "Milk and cereal, milk and cereal, cereal and milk! Cereal and milk!" I love cereal. My favorite cereals when I was a child were, indeed, the Christmas cereals, and by these I particularly mean Christmas Pebbles and Cap'n Crunch Christmas. I still have the Christmas Pebbles commercial memorized because I loved it so much and watched it every time I saw it on the television during the Christmas season throughout my childhood. I can picture it now:
Fred Flintstone is singing about his fruity pebbles, and Santa joins in the chorus: Yabba-dabba fruit, delicious too!
Barney (dressed up as Santa): Ho, ho, ho, I'm hu-hu-hungry! Santa, my pebbles!
and so the wonderful commercial goes on. In its beautiful entirety, it can be seen here.
So, I implore you, why are there no more Christmas cereals? Christmas Pebbles eventually morphed into Winter Pebbles, and now even those no longer exist (at least, I can never seem to find them). Yes, I understand the reasoning of being friendly to all cultures and holiday-celebraters, but come on! I want my Christmas cereals, and I'm going to keep throwing tantrums until I get them! If any of you out there come across the Christmas cereals that I so miss, please tell me where I can find them. In the meantime, I'll keep eating my plain old cereal made by the Ebenezer Scrooges of the world, who think that cereal-eating during the Christmas season should be like any other cereal-eating time of the year. Grr.
On a more serious note, this is the second of two entries that I have written today. The first can be found immediately below this one and is quite personal in nature. I have not advertised it on facebook because it is about breastfeeding, which is a topic that I'm sure many do not want to read about. If you are interested, however, read on about my experience...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Pump It
I have debated long and hard before deciding to write this entry, simply because it's quite personal and I'm not confident about how it will be received. So, for those of you who are squeamish, here is a spoiler: this entry topic is about breastfeeding and pumping. Now, the last thing that I really want to do is gross anyone out, so here is your opportunity to click away. However, if you are a mother, plan to be a mother, or plan to be a father even, you might as well get used to the idea of talking about breasts, baby-feedings, formula, and pumping.
My motivation for writing this entry is that I have had an experience that apparently is somewhat unique, so I thought I might share this experience in order to encourage any other women who may possibly go through a similar experience. Basically, I had decided in the beginning of the pregnancy to not breastfeed Silas, but changed my mind after a friend who is a lactation consultant provided me with a lot of helpful information. I knew that BJ was in support of breastfeeding, and eventually I came to believe that this was something that I wanted to do. I was lucky to have the help (albeit long-distance help) of my LC friend, plus the infinite support of BJ, as well as my mother-in-law, who was able to draw from some of her own experiences and encourage me along the way. This part of the story is not unique, however. The unique part came about two months after Silas was born, when I decided that it was far preferable to stop breastfeeding Silas and use my breast pump exclusively. In this way, I was able to draw my own milk for the nutritional benefits for Silas, but he was bottle-fed all of this milk rather than drinking it from me. The reasons that I decided to do this were several fold, and briefly they are as follows: 1. I was uncomfortable with breast-feeding in public. 2. Silas seemed to be becoming increasingly unhappy while feeding at the breast, and would withdraw numerous times during a feeding and then re-latch. 3. When we were with other people whom I was not comfortable baring in front of, we required a cover, and Silas got over-heated underneath it (it was the middle of summer after all). 4. I wanted others to be able to feed Silas. 5. I was a major milk producer and I wanted as much excess supply as possible, so that we could freeze milk for later usage, and this could only be accomplished through a breast-pump. 6. The ease of bottle-feeding Silas was too great. and finally 7. Silas and I didn't seem to have that 'magical' connection during breastfeeding that most mothers say they experience. This was really the biggie for me that most mothers could not seem to swallow when I told them; the truth was, I felt a stronger connection with Silas when I was bottle-feeding him because I could get closer to him and look into his eyes. So, for all of these reasons, going the way of the pump only seemed like the best thing to do for US. Unfortunately, though, I seemed to run across no other mother like me, who actually preferred the mechanical pump to her own child at the breast, and thus I felt isolated and wrong. This was a slightly painful time for me as I recall how odd other mothers seemed to think that I was. I eagerly read books, such as The Milk Memos: How Real Moms Learned to Mix Business with Babies-and How You Can, Too
and The Breastfeeding Cafe: Mothers Share the Joys, Challenges, and Secrets of Nursing
, thinking that, in all of these women's stories, surely SOMEONE has my experience as well. However, reading these books only made me feel like more of an oddball, as the vast majority of these mothers extolled the wonders of this magical breastfeeding connection that I never actually felt.
For those who guessed that it could not be done, I continued to pump exclusively, from the beginning of July until just two weeks ago. Silas never tasted formula until two weeks ago. My milk supply only ran out as I spaced out feedings and intended it to run dry, and Silas is now on a half-breastmilk, half-formula diet as we try to extend our supply for as long as possible. After all is said and done, I think his supply will last between six weeks and two months via this method. Heck yeah!
As I said earlier, this entry is very personal, but I wanted to share it in case you are, or will someday be, a mother like I was, who wants to breastfeed but doesn't find it fulfilling, and thus chooses the route that I did for other reasons. You are not alone.
My motivation for writing this entry is that I have had an experience that apparently is somewhat unique, so I thought I might share this experience in order to encourage any other women who may possibly go through a similar experience. Basically, I had decided in the beginning of the pregnancy to not breastfeed Silas, but changed my mind after a friend who is a lactation consultant provided me with a lot of helpful information. I knew that BJ was in support of breastfeeding, and eventually I came to believe that this was something that I wanted to do. I was lucky to have the help (albeit long-distance help) of my LC friend, plus the infinite support of BJ, as well as my mother-in-law, who was able to draw from some of her own experiences and encourage me along the way. This part of the story is not unique, however. The unique part came about two months after Silas was born, when I decided that it was far preferable to stop breastfeeding Silas and use my breast pump exclusively. In this way, I was able to draw my own milk for the nutritional benefits for Silas, but he was bottle-fed all of this milk rather than drinking it from me. The reasons that I decided to do this were several fold, and briefly they are as follows: 1. I was uncomfortable with breast-feeding in public. 2. Silas seemed to be becoming increasingly unhappy while feeding at the breast, and would withdraw numerous times during a feeding and then re-latch. 3. When we were with other people whom I was not comfortable baring in front of, we required a cover, and Silas got over-heated underneath it (it was the middle of summer after all). 4. I wanted others to be able to feed Silas. 5. I was a major milk producer and I wanted as much excess supply as possible, so that we could freeze milk for later usage, and this could only be accomplished through a breast-pump. 6. The ease of bottle-feeding Silas was too great. and finally 7. Silas and I didn't seem to have that 'magical' connection during breastfeeding that most mothers say they experience. This was really the biggie for me that most mothers could not seem to swallow when I told them; the truth was, I felt a stronger connection with Silas when I was bottle-feeding him because I could get closer to him and look into his eyes. So, for all of these reasons, going the way of the pump only seemed like the best thing to do for US. Unfortunately, though, I seemed to run across no other mother like me, who actually preferred the mechanical pump to her own child at the breast, and thus I felt isolated and wrong. This was a slightly painful time for me as I recall how odd other mothers seemed to think that I was. I eagerly read books, such as The Milk Memos: How Real Moms Learned to Mix Business with Babies-and How You Can, Too
and The Breastfeeding Cafe: Mothers Share the Joys, Challenges, and Secrets of Nursing, thinking that, in all of these women's stories, surely SOMEONE has my experience as well. However, reading these books only made me feel like more of an oddball, as the vast majority of these mothers extolled the wonders of this magical breastfeeding connection that I never actually felt.For those who guessed that it could not be done, I continued to pump exclusively, from the beginning of July until just two weeks ago. Silas never tasted formula until two weeks ago. My milk supply only ran out as I spaced out feedings and intended it to run dry, and Silas is now on a half-breastmilk, half-formula diet as we try to extend our supply for as long as possible. After all is said and done, I think his supply will last between six weeks and two months via this method. Heck yeah!
As I said earlier, this entry is very personal, but I wanted to share it in case you are, or will someday be, a mother like I was, who wants to breastfeed but doesn't find it fulfilling, and thus chooses the route that I did for other reasons. You are not alone.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
"Oh what a beautiful mornin', oh what a beautiful day! I've got a beautiful feeling, everything's goin' my way." Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends! I wish you all wonderful days spent with family, friends, and good food.
Last night a cold front swept through Oklahoma, making for a (literally) freezing day with a biting north wind. Beautiful weather for running, I say. Above you will find an extremely photogenic image of me crossing the finish line of the Edmond Turkey Trot 5K run, my long-awaited goal! My official time was 41 minutes, but that was never important to me in the first place. I told BJ, "I'm dedicating this race to my children, but the whole 'not-stopping' thing is for me." I was hell-bent on never walking in this race, and it actually seemed easy not to. I think I had so much adrenaline pumping! I knew before I ever even hit the halfway mark that I was going to be absolutely fine in accomplishing this goal. In the beginning of the race it was funny because hundreds of people were rushing past me. I refused to let myself feel demoralized by this, however, because I had expected it, and I told myself I wasn't running for time. After the initial wave of people had finished passing me, I turned to the other turtle runners around me and said, "Good! Now all the fast people are out of the way!" and got a good laugh. I think they helped block the wind for me. In the end though, it was me passing others, people who likely originally passed me and then were not able to maintain the pace and eventually had to resort to walking. In all humility, however, I will certainly note that the finisher that crossed just in front of me appeared to be about four years old (I'm hopeful for my own reputation that this little boy did not actually run the entire race, but perhaps he did). =)
BJ finished the race in 32 minutes, then ran to the car to get the camera so that he could capture my finishing moment. Thank you to BJ. You're the best. Also, I'm sorry that I yelled at you this morning, although the yelling was mutual... it all began when we got to the race and I realized that I forgot to bring our race numbers with us, and then like most couples on the Amazing Race, we simply fell apart and began pointing fingers instead of uniting as a team. In the end, all was fine and the Turkey Trot people didn't give a flying flip that we didn't bring our numbers.
After the race I cried. It's true. I am so emotional. It's just so appropriate that this race was on Thanksgiving Day. I am so thankful for Silas, for BJ, for our families, and for our health. Thank you, thank you, thank you. =)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
BJ finished the race in 32 minutes, then ran to the car to get the camera so that he could capture my finishing moment. Thank you to BJ. You're the best. Also, I'm sorry that I yelled at you this morning, although the yelling was mutual... it all began when we got to the race and I realized that I forgot to bring our race numbers with us, and then like most couples on the Amazing Race, we simply fell apart and began pointing fingers instead of uniting as a team. In the end, all was fine and the Turkey Trot people didn't give a flying flip that we didn't bring our numbers.
After the race I cried. It's true. I am so emotional. It's just so appropriate that this race was on Thanksgiving Day. I am so thankful for Silas, for BJ, for our families, and for our health. Thank you, thank you, thank you. =)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Loving Life
Last night was a great night. First, it signaled the start of a long weekend, so who doesn't feel good driving home from work after that? Then, I got to see my two boys, who were up to mischief at home all day together since Silas has a cold. Later, I set off on a jog, pushed myself beyond what I thought I could do, and subsequently went 42 minutes without stopping. Sigh of relief. Finally, we headed to the Barons hockey game, where I got to see my entire immediate family and some terrific friends who I haven't seen in a while. It was truly a spectacular evening.
At this point today, Silas and I have already been to Target for our Thanksgiving shopping trip, and he is now conked out in his crib. Time to begin the kitchen works. My contributions for this year's Thanksgiving meal include a homemade cheddar cheese ball, cranberries (the same recipe I made earlier this fall, which is fab), mashed potatoes, and blackberry bliss cookies, which surprisingly have various other delicious goods in them such as chocolate chips, Heath toffee bits, coconut, and oats. I'm winging the Thanksgiving cookie this year since I didn't like the one that I made last week very much, so I hope this turns out good. The mashed potatoes I will make tomorrow, but everything else I'm going to try to tackle today.
Happy early Thanksgiving to you all. I mostly have no idea who reads this blog, but I bet you're wonderful and I wish you an excellent start to this year's holiday season! Will keep you updated on the race tomorrow!
At this point today, Silas and I have already been to Target for our Thanksgiving shopping trip, and he is now conked out in his crib. Time to begin the kitchen works. My contributions for this year's Thanksgiving meal include a homemade cheddar cheese ball, cranberries (the same recipe I made earlier this fall, which is fab), mashed potatoes, and blackberry bliss cookies, which surprisingly have various other delicious goods in them such as chocolate chips, Heath toffee bits, coconut, and oats. I'm winging the Thanksgiving cookie this year since I didn't like the one that I made last week very much, so I hope this turns out good. The mashed potatoes I will make tomorrow, but everything else I'm going to try to tackle today.
Happy early Thanksgiving to you all. I mostly have no idea who reads this blog, but I bet you're wonderful and I wish you an excellent start to this year's holiday season! Will keep you updated on the race tomorrow!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Goals
Things are getting better in our household. Thank goodness. We had a relatively healthy day today, minus Silas having a cold. BJ and I even ate regular food tonight for dinner (shepherd's pie, in case you're interested)! A sure sign that things are on the mend. Tonight I decided to test the waters and go for a jog, and I set no expectations for myself so that I would not be disappointed. No need for such pessimism though, as I ran for half an hour and felt absolutely great! I only ended up stopping because I had made it to the house decked out with Christmas lights, and Tex and I decided to check it out without hurrying by. I feel so encouraged by this (the run I meant, not the Christmas lights....well I guess a little by the Christmas lights too). My plan is to run my last pre-Turkey Trot jog tomorrow and I'm going to give it my all, no holding back. I want to see how much I'm going to have to rely on race-day adrenaline alone, and the only way is to see how far I can push myself tomorrow.
One factor that I have recently become aware of is the coming change in weather. Colder temperatures are coming in on Wednesday, and by Thanksgiving morning the temperature is optimistically supposed to be in the high 20's. Now, please don't laugh, my dear Minnesota (and Maine and Massachusetts) friends! I know this is something to be scoffed at! However, please take into account that today's high was 77, and these warm temperatures have been with us for at least a week I think. I don't know, I've been holed up, but it's been a while. Regardless, it hasn't been in the 20's here yet this year. So we're going to have chilly buns the morning of the race! Now, I have some experience with this, thanks once again to my years in Minnesota. In 2006 my friend Lisa and I ran the Reindeer Run 5K in Minneapolis (well, more like Lisa ran it and dragged me along). The temperature on that December morning was a crisp 5 degrees, too cold even to snow, as the precipitation didn't start until BJ and I were walking back to the car after the race was over. Please note that during the last 2.5 miles of this race, I could not feel my legs beneath me. I expect a similar fate on Thursday morning.
Let me blab just a little more about another topic related to my jog tonight. The park that I jog in next to our home is a park dedicated to United States veterans, and there are monuments dedicated throughout to soldiers, including a recently-placed monument to a local soldier killed not long ago in this war. I ran in the dark tonight, and only a handful of people were there in the park with me, so you kind of notice them when you pass them. There was one fellow who I am guessing is perhaps training for the military. He looked to be in his late teens, by my estimation, and he was carrying a backpack that I was guessing had a weight in it by the way it was handling (I know it wasn't a camelbak). This guy began his workout by kneeling in silence at the monument dedicated to the fallen soldier, and then he proceeded to alternate sprints with crunches and push-ups. We see-sawed each other a few times since I was jogging constantly and he was sprinting and stopping, and I paid notice to what he was doing as I was winding my way around the trail. As I was running I was thinking that everyone training at this park tonight is doing it with something in mind, training for some goal. Our goals may all be different, but we're not there for nothing. I was humbly reminded tonight, though, as I'm gearing up for my fun race, that some people's goals are more noble than others. And to these people, I give my salute.
One factor that I have recently become aware of is the coming change in weather. Colder temperatures are coming in on Wednesday, and by Thanksgiving morning the temperature is optimistically supposed to be in the high 20's. Now, please don't laugh, my dear Minnesota (and Maine and Massachusetts) friends! I know this is something to be scoffed at! However, please take into account that today's high was 77, and these warm temperatures have been with us for at least a week I think. I don't know, I've been holed up, but it's been a while. Regardless, it hasn't been in the 20's here yet this year. So we're going to have chilly buns the morning of the race! Now, I have some experience with this, thanks once again to my years in Minnesota. In 2006 my friend Lisa and I ran the Reindeer Run 5K in Minneapolis (well, more like Lisa ran it and dragged me along). The temperature on that December morning was a crisp 5 degrees, too cold even to snow, as the precipitation didn't start until BJ and I were walking back to the car after the race was over. Please note that during the last 2.5 miles of this race, I could not feel my legs beneath me. I expect a similar fate on Thursday morning.
Let me blab just a little more about another topic related to my jog tonight. The park that I jog in next to our home is a park dedicated to United States veterans, and there are monuments dedicated throughout to soldiers, including a recently-placed monument to a local soldier killed not long ago in this war. I ran in the dark tonight, and only a handful of people were there in the park with me, so you kind of notice them when you pass them. There was one fellow who I am guessing is perhaps training for the military. He looked to be in his late teens, by my estimation, and he was carrying a backpack that I was guessing had a weight in it by the way it was handling (I know it wasn't a camelbak). This guy began his workout by kneeling in silence at the monument dedicated to the fallen soldier, and then he proceeded to alternate sprints with crunches and push-ups. We see-sawed each other a few times since I was jogging constantly and he was sprinting and stopping, and I paid notice to what he was doing as I was winding my way around the trail. As I was running I was thinking that everyone training at this park tonight is doing it with something in mind, training for some goal. Our goals may all be different, but we're not there for nothing. I was humbly reminded tonight, though, as I'm gearing up for my fun race, that some people's goals are more noble than others. And to these people, I give my salute.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
We HATE you, germs!
First off, a shout out to Erik for completing the marathon in Tulsa this morning! We knew you could do it, man! Congrats!
AND....that's about the only good news of the day. The GI bug that dominated me has, since my last entry yesterday morning, dominated BJ as well. He was so sick yesterday, and he kept sweetly saying to me, "I feel like I'm dying. I'm sorry that you felt this way." Thinking of me and my past misery during his own agony....aww. But it gets worse. BJ's mom came down with it this morning, and my dad also came down with it this afternoon. I have been bracing myself for poor Silas to get it, and lo and behold, we think he has. Poor guy has a pretty upset stomach, although he's not acting like he is completing miserable (yet). We're just hopeful that everyone gets this out of their systems before the holiday on Thursday.
As far as the Turkey Trot, this has been more in the back of my mind than in the fore these past few days. I do feel nearly 100% today, so I plan to jog tomorrow and Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, and then just give it my best on Thursday morning (that is, if Silas is better by then). BJ isn't sure what his plan is yet, but he is behind me in recovery and is not looking ahead to such things yet.
Although it's a little late to worry about infecting each other, I'm worried now about RE-infection in our family. Thus, this morning Silas and I went to Walmart and bought a cart-full of what was obviously goods for a sicky house: chicken noodle soup, Powerade, Jello, Pedialyte, bananas, applesauce, toothbrushes, Lysol spray, a double box of Clorox wipes, and a squirt bottle of hand sanitizer. When I was shopping I was thinking, "I'll be damned if I get it again," but of course I failed to recognize that if Silas gets it, I will still be loving on him, which is probably the best means of germ transport.
Germs, germs, go away.
AND....that's about the only good news of the day. The GI bug that dominated me has, since my last entry yesterday morning, dominated BJ as well. He was so sick yesterday, and he kept sweetly saying to me, "I feel like I'm dying. I'm sorry that you felt this way." Thinking of me and my past misery during his own agony....aww. But it gets worse. BJ's mom came down with it this morning, and my dad also came down with it this afternoon. I have been bracing myself for poor Silas to get it, and lo and behold, we think he has. Poor guy has a pretty upset stomach, although he's not acting like he is completing miserable (yet). We're just hopeful that everyone gets this out of their systems before the holiday on Thursday.
As far as the Turkey Trot, this has been more in the back of my mind than in the fore these past few days. I do feel nearly 100% today, so I plan to jog tomorrow and Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, and then just give it my best on Thursday morning (that is, if Silas is better by then). BJ isn't sure what his plan is yet, but he is behind me in recovery and is not looking ahead to such things yet.
Although it's a little late to worry about infecting each other, I'm worried now about RE-infection in our family. Thus, this morning Silas and I went to Walmart and bought a cart-full of what was obviously goods for a sicky house: chicken noodle soup, Powerade, Jello, Pedialyte, bananas, applesauce, toothbrushes, Lysol spray, a double box of Clorox wipes, and a squirt bottle of hand sanitizer. When I was shopping I was thinking, "I'll be damned if I get it again," but of course I failed to recognize that if Silas gets it, I will still be loving on him, which is probably the best means of germ transport.
Germs, germs, go away.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Bit By the Bug
Illness has descended upon the Potter household, particularly on me (and thankfully not on my boys). I've neglected my blog because since Wednesday night I've barely been able to see straight from the nausea! A nasty GI bug got the best of me and I've been out of commission. I am now seven pounds lighter and feeling like a featherweight in terms of endurance too. I'm pretty thrilled that this bug chose to come this Thursday rather than next Thursday, as that would have made for the poorest Thanksgiving I've ever had. Plus it would have meant that the Turkey Trot was a no-go. As it is now though, I'm wondering how the Turkey Trot will pan out. I really feel too exhausted to even take a walk today, which had been the goal I had set for myself. I really think even a walk around the park is asking too much of myself today. How sad is that? Will I really be able to gut out 3.1 miles in five days? Only time will tell, I suppose, but I'm no longer thinking "yes."
Let me end this blog entry on a great note, however. I'm watching the Oklahoma State football game on TV and just heard a great line from the announcer... "That's what it's going to take to beat Oklahoma State this year: 12 men on the field." What what.
Let me end this blog entry on a great note, however. I'm watching the Oklahoma State football game on TV and just heard a great line from the announcer... "That's what it's going to take to beat Oklahoma State this year: 12 men on the field." What what.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Gearing Up
I love, love, love the holidays! Fall is simply the best season, and once Halloween turns into Thanksgiving, there is just no better time in my opinion. I'm pretty excited about next week for so many reasons, and this year Thanksgiving means even more to me because of the Turkey Trot. I've worked hard toward this goal, and I think it's appropriate that my challenge is on the morning of a holiday in which we are given the opportunity to be thankful. I'm running this 5K because I had baby fat to lose, and what a good reason to put on weight! I'm jogging this race for Silas and myself, as well as the hopeful future children that BJ and I will have. I want to be able to run throughout my next pregnancy, so I'm running for my children and me. What a blessing! Meanwhile, I totally need to step it up. My longest distance run so far without stopping is 2.5 miles. Now don't get me wrong: this is great, especially for me. My goal is the entire distance on Thanksgiving morning, though, and I don't want to stop short. I'll only adopt the "everyone is a winner" mentality if desperate times call for desperate measures during the actual race. (What I mean by this is certainly not any kind of hope that I will win this race! It's more like "Don't be a loser by not running the whole thing.")
In the spirit of gearing up for next week food-wise, I'm also running a pre-holiday batch of the cookies that I was considering making for Thankgiving. Each year for the past three years I have worked hard on baking an extra-tasty cookie, with each year being a different cookie. This year I thought I might try chocolate-peppermint sandwiches. I can't just make a mediocre cookie though, so we're doing a trial run now. Those are in the oven and Silas is sleeping away after an eventful day thus far. He had his six-month appointment this morning, complete with six shots (boo!). After his morning nap he played hard for an hour and a half with his friend DJ, so he's pretty much pooped again. I am washing up some of his laundry as part of my afternoon as well. When we were at Target yesterday I bought him a navy blue hoodie that was on sale for $3.50. At the store I thought it was fleece, but as I pulled it out of the sack today it seemed oddly velvety. Hmm. The tag says 100% polyester, but I'm pretty sure this is velvet, people. Now if I dress my son in this, he will be just like George Costanza, all draped in velvet. Perish the thought! Every mother's nightmare, a George Costanza son! If this doesn't feel significantly less velvety post-wash, it may go straight to the "too small to wear" pile.... For those of you interested in such things, Silas is still in the 90-percentiles for length. The doctor said that if he is still this high when he is 18 months old, we can expect at least a 6 foot man out of him!
In the spirit of gearing up for next week food-wise, I'm also running a pre-holiday batch of the cookies that I was considering making for Thankgiving. Each year for the past three years I have worked hard on baking an extra-tasty cookie, with each year being a different cookie. This year I thought I might try chocolate-peppermint sandwiches. I can't just make a mediocre cookie though, so we're doing a trial run now. Those are in the oven and Silas is sleeping away after an eventful day thus far. He had his six-month appointment this morning, complete with six shots (boo!). After his morning nap he played hard for an hour and a half with his friend DJ, so he's pretty much pooped again. I am washing up some of his laundry as part of my afternoon as well. When we were at Target yesterday I bought him a navy blue hoodie that was on sale for $3.50. At the store I thought it was fleece, but as I pulled it out of the sack today it seemed oddly velvety. Hmm. The tag says 100% polyester, but I'm pretty sure this is velvet, people. Now if I dress my son in this, he will be just like George Costanza, all draped in velvet. Perish the thought! Every mother's nightmare, a George Costanza son! If this doesn't feel significantly less velvety post-wash, it may go straight to the "too small to wear" pile.... For those of you interested in such things, Silas is still in the 90-percentiles for length. The doctor said that if he is still this high when he is 18 months old, we can expect at least a 6 foot man out of him!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The Implications of Growing
We have reached a new realm in Silas' development, one which seemed so excellent in the beginning but has apparently come with some tiring implications. The best news is that Silas is healthy and is growing like crazy! He's crawling all over the place in a commando-style belly scoot, and typically it's across the room, AWAY from his toys to various excitements such as electrical outlets, computer cords, or a forgotten cell phone. I hear it gets even crazier when they start walking. Even for now, gone are the days when I laid him in one place and he was still there when I returned ten minutes later.
Along with his ability to crawl has come his ability to push himself into a sitting position. I have waited for this ability for months, hoping each morning for the day that I would go in to get him and actually find him sitting in his crib playing with a stuffed animal. Well, he does this marvelously now, numerous times each day...and night. What I never considered with this feat, however, is the necessary ability to get himself FROM the sitting position BACK down to his tummy or side, a move that he has not yet mastered. What this means is that several times in the middle of the night he cries out because he has gotten himself to sitting and is not able to get himself back to lying down so that he can sleep. It's the very antithesis of "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" Each night at 2:30, 3:00, 3:45, 5:30, 6:15, and 7:00 Silas cries, and if you listen close enough, what you can hear is "Help! I've gotten up and I can't get back down!" We used to enjoy most nights of the week as he slept through the night without so much as a peep, and now one of us is trudging from our bedroom to the nursery to lay him back down and pull his blanket over him, so that he can immediately fall back to sleep (which he does).
Man, oh man, what a stinker. =)
Along with his ability to crawl has come his ability to push himself into a sitting position. I have waited for this ability for months, hoping each morning for the day that I would go in to get him and actually find him sitting in his crib playing with a stuffed animal. Well, he does this marvelously now, numerous times each day...and night. What I never considered with this feat, however, is the necessary ability to get himself FROM the sitting position BACK down to his tummy or side, a move that he has not yet mastered. What this means is that several times in the middle of the night he cries out because he has gotten himself to sitting and is not able to get himself back to lying down so that he can sleep. It's the very antithesis of "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" Each night at 2:30, 3:00, 3:45, 5:30, 6:15, and 7:00 Silas cries, and if you listen close enough, what you can hear is "Help! I've gotten up and I can't get back down!" We used to enjoy most nights of the week as he slept through the night without so much as a peep, and now one of us is trudging from our bedroom to the nursery to lay him back down and pull his blanket over him, so that he can immediately fall back to sleep (which he does).
Man, oh man, what a stinker. =)
Friday, November 12, 2010
A Grand RDO
Today was a great RDO. What RDO means technically, I have no idea, but what it means to me is every other Friday, the Friday that BJ has off work. The FAA has termed that day "RDO." We are just about the luckiest people in the world, as I'm off work every Friday and BJ has his RDO every other week. Those days are hard to beat. Today was chilly and rainy all day, but the boys and I got out and about on the town and made a great day of it. After Silas' morning nap, we started with a delicious lunch at Cocina Guatelinda. This place is a wonderful little Guatemalan restaurant right in the 'hood, and they were serving up some mighty fine dishes today, including my favorite queso pupusas and a delicious appetizer that we like to get made of mashed plantains, chocolate, and black beans. Hell to the yes, people. We ran several errands after this and had a cheery Silas with us all the way, which only serves to make the day even more grand.
Upon arriving at home, I thought, 'Gee, what could make this cozy day even better?' Knowing my propensity toward delicious food, as I know you all do, it seemed high time to me to work on a batch of chocolate chip cookies, the kind that are so big the recipe actually calls for them to be scooped with a 1/4 cup disher. Thirty minutes later, it smells like heavenly chocolate chip cookies in this house. The recipe made 17 cookies this time, as I refrained from eating too much of the batter, so our neighbors got a few in an attempt to save my waistline, and simultaneously keep them sweet on us since we have a 120-pound dog (albeit a friendly dog) and no fence. So here's to a night at home... and hoping that everyone else had a good day too!
Upon arriving at home, I thought, 'Gee, what could make this cozy day even better?' Knowing my propensity toward delicious food, as I know you all do, it seemed high time to me to work on a batch of chocolate chip cookies, the kind that are so big the recipe actually calls for them to be scooped with a 1/4 cup disher. Thirty minutes later, it smells like heavenly chocolate chip cookies in this house. The recipe made 17 cookies this time, as I refrained from eating too much of the batter, so our neighbors got a few in an attempt to save my waistline, and simultaneously keep them sweet on us since we have a 120-pound dog (albeit a friendly dog) and no fence. So here's to a night at home... and hoping that everyone else had a good day too!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
A Kick-Ass Jog
Okay, I'll admit it. Much to my displeasure, I went an entire week without jogging. At times I can honestly say that I chose to watch a football game or spend time with family instead of putting on those running shoes and hitting the pavement. However, there were 3 days last week when I planned to and even wanted to jog, and there was no time at all to do it. On those days, I got home just in time to complete tasks like feeding Silas, realizing I need to grocery shop, you know how it goes, until it was too late to actually go running at the end of the day. And speaking of the end of the day, whose big idea is this anyway to turn the clocks back? Now I'm guaranteed to be running in the pitch-black every time I go. Grr.
So, needless to say, my expectations of my jog yesterday were incredibly low, as I had not run in a solid week. I thought it would be a great mental battle, which it often is, and I told myself to start small and be pleased with myself if I could accomplish five minutes (okay, so I was REALLY going small). Well, the first time I looked at my watch, 6:15 had passed and I still felt marvelous, so I set my next goal to be running around the park one time, which would put me at one mile. Well, I made it around the park and had really hit my second wind at that point, so on I kept. At about a mile and a half, BJ started getting snarky with me about my pace (boo, BJ!) so I barked at him to run ahead of me and leave me alone, as obviously I could use encouragement rather than criticism. So on he went, and Tex and I proceeded to complete our run at 2.5 miles, which took me 31 minutes. Yes, I'm a slow runner, I know this. But may I also please add that one minute of this time was spent jogging in place as Tex pooped, peed, and sniffed about on multiple occasions. I am way ahead of training on the Couch to 5K plan, which only expects you to be able to run for 30 minutes the day before the race. However, clearly my pace is not on target, so I am figuring that I will really need to run about 40 minutes to accomplish the 3.1 miles of the Turkey Trot. BJ mentioned last night that apparently he doesn't like the way that I set goals for myself WHILE running, rather than saying before I begin jogging, "Well, I expect to run precisely 2.55 miles this eve." Instead, as I mentioned above, my goals for last night's jog started at 5 minutes, then went to once around the park, then went to 20 minutes, then 26 minutes, and finally I just went into what I will call "Penny Mode," where I "run until I get hungry, and then I eat a bearclaw," only there was a Dove chocolate at my house rather than a bearclaw. I ended the jog with the additional benefit of feeling tired but good, and certainly not at death's door. Will keep you posted on my progress! And, although this was a month ago, congratulations again to Claire's Crew for your excellent job done at the Minneapolis 10K. Someday I may be able to run that far too!
So, needless to say, my expectations of my jog yesterday were incredibly low, as I had not run in a solid week. I thought it would be a great mental battle, which it often is, and I told myself to start small and be pleased with myself if I could accomplish five minutes (okay, so I was REALLY going small). Well, the first time I looked at my watch, 6:15 had passed and I still felt marvelous, so I set my next goal to be running around the park one time, which would put me at one mile. Well, I made it around the park and had really hit my second wind at that point, so on I kept. At about a mile and a half, BJ started getting snarky with me about my pace (boo, BJ!) so I barked at him to run ahead of me and leave me alone, as obviously I could use encouragement rather than criticism. So on he went, and Tex and I proceeded to complete our run at 2.5 miles, which took me 31 minutes. Yes, I'm a slow runner, I know this. But may I also please add that one minute of this time was spent jogging in place as Tex pooped, peed, and sniffed about on multiple occasions. I am way ahead of training on the Couch to 5K plan, which only expects you to be able to run for 30 minutes the day before the race. However, clearly my pace is not on target, so I am figuring that I will really need to run about 40 minutes to accomplish the 3.1 miles of the Turkey Trot. BJ mentioned last night that apparently he doesn't like the way that I set goals for myself WHILE running, rather than saying before I begin jogging, "Well, I expect to run precisely 2.55 miles this eve." Instead, as I mentioned above, my goals for last night's jog started at 5 minutes, then went to once around the park, then went to 20 minutes, then 26 minutes, and finally I just went into what I will call "Penny Mode," where I "run until I get hungry, and then I eat a bearclaw," only there was a Dove chocolate at my house rather than a bearclaw. I ended the jog with the additional benefit of feeling tired but good, and certainly not at death's door. Will keep you posted on my progress! And, although this was a month ago, congratulations again to Claire's Crew for your excellent job done at the Minneapolis 10K. Someday I may be able to run that far too!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
8-1....and Worried
Well, some sports analysts predicted Oklahoma State's football team to finish dead last in the Big 12 South this year. One look at the standings, however, and you'll realize that those people were fools. After losing Dez Bryant and Zac Robinson to the NFL, as well as large amounts of our defense and O-line, OSU is leading the Big 12 South and is poised to control its own destiny. So why am I shakin' in my shorts? Because next week, folks, we play Texas. Dum-da-dum-dum.
I hate playing Texas. In the spirit of good ole Pedro Martinez, who once tipped his hat and called the Yankees his "daddy," I can readily admit that Texas has been OSU's daddy for the past many years. OSU has a harder time with Texas in recent history than they do even with OU, as recent history will show that OSU has beaten OU twice in the past nine years, including a win at Owen Field, which is one of Stoops' two home field losses since taking over the Sooners. I dread the game with Texas each year because they always find a way to win. About five years ago we had a 35-7 lead on them at half, and guess who won the game. Texas, that's who. And a couple of years after that we were leading with three minutes left before the showers, and guess who won that game. Texas, that's who. And two years ago we were ready to win in Austin, but Kendall Hunter fumbled the ball as he was running into the endzone and it was recovered by Texas for a 14-point turnaround, and guess who won that game. Texas, that's who, and by less than a touchdown. I'm sick to death of it.
This has got to be the year though, even though we play in Austin. Part of me feels nauseated watching Texas this year, as they have stumbled and lost badly to the likes of UCLA, OU, Kansas State, Baylor, and Iowa State. Holy heck, people, Iowa State! And yet, here we are, and I KNOW that we will lose in Austin...because we always lose to Texas.
May something turn around for us this year, please! A new uniform, a new something, please! All I know is this: If OSU plays in Austin the way they played at home yesterday, they will beat Texas this year. So which OSU team will show up in Austin next Saturday? Let's hope it's the OSU team that's ready to open up a can... a serious can of whoop-ass.
I hate playing Texas. In the spirit of good ole Pedro Martinez, who once tipped his hat and called the Yankees his "daddy," I can readily admit that Texas has been OSU's daddy for the past many years. OSU has a harder time with Texas in recent history than they do even with OU, as recent history will show that OSU has beaten OU twice in the past nine years, including a win at Owen Field, which is one of Stoops' two home field losses since taking over the Sooners. I dread the game with Texas each year because they always find a way to win. About five years ago we had a 35-7 lead on them at half, and guess who won the game. Texas, that's who. And a couple of years after that we were leading with three minutes left before the showers, and guess who won that game. Texas, that's who. And two years ago we were ready to win in Austin, but Kendall Hunter fumbled the ball as he was running into the endzone and it was recovered by Texas for a 14-point turnaround, and guess who won that game. Texas, that's who, and by less than a touchdown. I'm sick to death of it.
This has got to be the year though, even though we play in Austin. Part of me feels nauseated watching Texas this year, as they have stumbled and lost badly to the likes of UCLA, OU, Kansas State, Baylor, and Iowa State. Holy heck, people, Iowa State! And yet, here we are, and I KNOW that we will lose in Austin...because we always lose to Texas.
May something turn around for us this year, please! A new uniform, a new something, please! All I know is this: If OSU plays in Austin the way they played at home yesterday, they will beat Texas this year. So which OSU team will show up in Austin next Saturday? Let's hope it's the OSU team that's ready to open up a can... a serious can of whoop-ass.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Say Cheese!
Today we were up early because it was picture day for our little family of three. We came in contact with a photographer named Katie Christy, who does mini-sessions for a reasonable price. The mini-session lasts for 15 minutes or less and is at a specified outdoor location that she dresses up with cute furniture, etc., while getting in a nice outdoorsy background. Apparently it's enough to get some good shots, and she gives you a CD of the edited photos. Our appointment was at 8:15 this morning in Yukon, and boy was it chilly (for us in Oklahoma anyway)! Silas was a super trooper though, and he hammed it up pretty good for the entire 15-minute session. So, yeah, poor BJ was up at 5:30 and I was up at 6:00 as usual. Hopefully the pics turn out great... I'll be sure to let you know!
Tonight is fall-back, so don't forget to set your clocks back! For me, this will probably mean that I'm up not at 6:45, but rather 5:45, with a baby who is done sleeping but too adorable to get rid of. Just kidding. Honestly, I have never, and I mean NEVER, been a morning person before. In fact, my nickname in the family has been Jenny Bear ever since I was a toddler, and I was named this after my grandma (whose name was also Jenny) and who always woke up in a grumpy mood. She and I were two peas in a pod, apparently. However, 29 years into my life, Silas pulled the unthinkable and made a morning person out of me. There is no time that I love better now than the early mornings, especially the weekend mornings, up with the baby and BJ bright and early (or sometimes dark and early), fixing coffee and muffins, with College Gameday on in the background. So tomorrow if my prediction is correct and Silas and I are up at an ungodly time, I won't be too upset. In fact, I might be secretly happy about it.
Tonight is fall-back, so don't forget to set your clocks back! For me, this will probably mean that I'm up not at 6:45, but rather 5:45, with a baby who is done sleeping but too adorable to get rid of. Just kidding. Honestly, I have never, and I mean NEVER, been a morning person before. In fact, my nickname in the family has been Jenny Bear ever since I was a toddler, and I was named this after my grandma (whose name was also Jenny) and who always woke up in a grumpy mood. She and I were two peas in a pod, apparently. However, 29 years into my life, Silas pulled the unthinkable and made a morning person out of me. There is no time that I love better now than the early mornings, especially the weekend mornings, up with the baby and BJ bright and early (or sometimes dark and early), fixing coffee and muffins, with College Gameday on in the background. So tomorrow if my prediction is correct and Silas and I are up at an ungodly time, I won't be too upset. In fact, I might be secretly happy about it.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
A Yawn and a Prayer
Well, I don't know if it's teething or what, but Silas has not been sleeping well. And you know how the saying goes... 'When Silas ain't sleepin, ain't nobody sleepin'.' I feel as though I've been a bit of a zombie the past couple of days. Typically I would shake it off, as I did a whole lot of during maternity leave. Unfortunately, I am no longer on maternity leave, and when Silas is awake for hours in the middle of the night, it simply means I go to work tired (or just don't go to work, as was the case on Wednesday). Thank goodness my weekend is here!
Tonight I am sitting here, zombie-like on the couch while BJ watches the Thunder game on TV, and I'm thinking of others who are hurting. Friends in California with bad news, friends in Oklahoma just returning from a difficult trip, and friends who have lost loved ones. Even as I sit here trying to think of words to type, my heart just hurts and my word-bank is empty. I lift a general prayer for all of this hurt, and friends may know that somewhere in Oklahoma a tired girl is sitting on a gray couch in a quiet living room thinking of you and praying.
Tomorrow's entry is guaranteed to be happier.
Tonight I am sitting here, zombie-like on the couch while BJ watches the Thunder game on TV, and I'm thinking of others who are hurting. Friends in California with bad news, friends in Oklahoma just returning from a difficult trip, and friends who have lost loved ones. Even as I sit here trying to think of words to type, my heart just hurts and my word-bank is empty. I lift a general prayer for all of this hurt, and friends may know that somewhere in Oklahoma a tired girl is sitting on a gray couch in a quiet living room thinking of you and praying.
Tomorrow's entry is guaranteed to be happier.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Election Day
Well, tomorrow is election day. Or is it Election Day? I don't know. I do know that I will be going to vote, and I know that it will be happening late in the day. Two years ago I stood in line for an hour and a half to vote for the Presidential election and was subsequently late to work. Imagine my surprise when I drove past the same polling place about ten hours later that day, 6:30PM or so, and there were exactly two cars in the parking lot (both of which probably belonged to lonely and bored poll attendants). So, yes, I shall not make that mistake again. I will be an evening voter from now on. Silas will accompany me to voting, just like he accompanies me into the liquor store, although he is obviously under-age. And to the few fools who have ever commented to me about the age of my son in such locations, I simply ask, "Would you prefer that I illegally leave him in the car?" I didn't think so, so now shut your traps.
Well, there are many things about Oklahoma of which a citizen should not be proud, but tomorrow is not one of them. No siree, and why? Because no matter what happens by the end of the day tomorrow, Oklahomans will have voted in their first female governor in history. While I certainly have a preference between Democrat Jari Askins and Republican Mary Fallin, I will be happy regardless of which one is chosen for the simple fact that we are now progressing onward to a more equivalent society.
On other notes, happy six-month birthday to Silas tomorrow. Sometimes I think that six months has flown by, and other times I think, yes, it has indeed been six long but good months. Also, I have run twice since my last entry, once to the tune of 2.3 miles, and once to some major suckage of only one mile. To this day when I totally sucked (I believe it was Saturday), I kept telling myself afterward the great Vince Lombardi quote, "Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit." I did not quit today and ran on, my friends. And on and on.
Well, there are many things about Oklahoma of which a citizen should not be proud, but tomorrow is not one of them. No siree, and why? Because no matter what happens by the end of the day tomorrow, Oklahomans will have voted in their first female governor in history. While I certainly have a preference between Democrat Jari Askins and Republican Mary Fallin, I will be happy regardless of which one is chosen for the simple fact that we are now progressing onward to a more equivalent society.
On other notes, happy six-month birthday to Silas tomorrow. Sometimes I think that six months has flown by, and other times I think, yes, it has indeed been six long but good months. Also, I have run twice since my last entry, once to the tune of 2.3 miles, and once to some major suckage of only one mile. To this day when I totally sucked (I believe it was Saturday), I kept telling myself afterward the great Vince Lombardi quote, "Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit." I did not quit today and ran on, my friends. And on and on.
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