It's Girl Scout cookie season!! Can you tell which ones are my husband's favorite?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Cure for the wiggles
For the longest time, Haley was like a turtle when she was on her back. She could do nothing but kick her legs and flail around until someone came along and rolled her over. Try as we may, she could not get down the skill of rolling from her back to her stomach no matter how much we worked with her.
A few weeks ago, she finally got it down. While I'm really glad she mastered the roll over, I now have a bigger problem. Before she could roll from her back to her front, I had no problem changing her diaper. She had no choice but to lay there until I was finished since she knew couldn't go anywhere. Now that she knows she has options, she won't stand to be on her back. The minute I put this kid down on her changing table, she immediately begins to struggle and try to twist herself onto her stomach again. If you were thinking, "she's just a baby, it can't be that hard to hold her down and change her, I challenge you to come to my house and give it a try.
Just the other night, she had a particularly vile diaper that needed changing. So I scooped her up and laid her on the changing table. As soon as I took the tabs off of her diaper and began to wipe, Haley realized what was up. She immediately began to squirm and then realized that she could grab the railing on her changing table to help her get to her stomach. Now, this would have probably been a heck of a lot easier to handle if it had only been a wet diaper, but we're dealing with poop here. I don't care what others may say, poop doesn't get any easier to change. I still fold the wipes over several times in order to avoid contact with the poo. It's gross. Enough said.
No matter how much I tried to hold her legs down (while trying my best not to touch the poop of course), Haley somehow twisted herself around so that her face was flat on the changing pad and I was holding her feet in the air as she continued to struggle. It was quite a sight, and could only be compared to a naked wheelbarrow - you know, the exercise where someone holds your legs as you try to walk forward on your hands? This is where I frantically yelled for my husband, who promptly came to my rescue.
After that little move, I needed some kind of solution for the wiggling child. Haley loves books, so today I grabbed one of the board books out of her bookcase and gave it to her as I laid her down on the changing table and braced myself for another one of her little squirm-a-thons. But then, nothing happened.
She lay on her changing table the entire time without a single escape attempt. That book captivated her for the length of the diaper change AND a clothing change. Thank you, Dr. Seuss, for one less day of being covered in bodily fluids. Now that's the gift that keeps on giving.
A few weeks ago, she finally got it down. While I'm really glad she mastered the roll over, I now have a bigger problem. Before she could roll from her back to her front, I had no problem changing her diaper. She had no choice but to lay there until I was finished since she knew couldn't go anywhere. Now that she knows she has options, she won't stand to be on her back. The minute I put this kid down on her changing table, she immediately begins to struggle and try to twist herself onto her stomach again. If you were thinking, "she's just a baby, it can't be that hard to hold her down and change her, I challenge you to come to my house and give it a try.
Just the other night, she had a particularly vile diaper that needed changing. So I scooped her up and laid her on the changing table. As soon as I took the tabs off of her diaper and began to wipe, Haley realized what was up. She immediately began to squirm and then realized that she could grab the railing on her changing table to help her get to her stomach. Now, this would have probably been a heck of a lot easier to handle if it had only been a wet diaper, but we're dealing with poop here. I don't care what others may say, poop doesn't get any easier to change. I still fold the wipes over several times in order to avoid contact with the poo. It's gross. Enough said.
No matter how much I tried to hold her legs down (while trying my best not to touch the poop of course), Haley somehow twisted herself around so that her face was flat on the changing pad and I was holding her feet in the air as she continued to struggle. It was quite a sight, and could only be compared to a naked wheelbarrow - you know, the exercise where someone holds your legs as you try to walk forward on your hands? This is where I frantically yelled for my husband, who promptly came to my rescue.
After that little move, I needed some kind of solution for the wiggling child. Haley loves books, so today I grabbed one of the board books out of her bookcase and gave it to her as I laid her down on the changing table and braced myself for another one of her little squirm-a-thons. But then, nothing happened. She lay on her changing table the entire time without a single escape attempt. That book captivated her for the length of the diaper change AND a clothing change. Thank you, Dr. Seuss, for one less day of being covered in bodily fluids. Now that's the gift that keeps on giving.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Ring around
I bought a book of sewing projects for babies called Sweet Booties! before Haley was born. Aside from the questionable name, it has a lot of really cute projects in it. After looking through them and deciding which one I was least likely to royally screw up on, I decided to try making cloth stackable rings. The project required assorted fabrics, ribbons, and materials to make the wooden post that the rings are stacked on.
I managed to make all of the rings before Haley was born, and they ended up looking pretty good. The wooden post was another matter though. It didn't take much - a wooden dowel, wooden ball for the top, and a wooden base that have to be attached with dowel screws and then painted - but I haven't worked with wood since middle school when I had a woodworking elective. Looking back on it, woodworking is kind of a weird elective for middle school. Did anyone else have woodworking in middle school?? Anyway, fast forward 11 months and I finally finished it!
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Haley loves to chew on the rings and play with the ribbons. She hasn't gotten the whole "stacking" thing down yet, but she'll get there soon.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Birthday take 2!
Ok, so I think we finally got it right this time!
If you remember the recent cupcake disaster of 2010, then you'll know that things could only get better from there. I knew that a mediocre cupcake wouldn't do. This is a first birthday people, the official anniversary of her escape from the womb! I had one goal: to make the perfect giant birthday cupcake. And I didn't care how many boxes of cake mix had to die before I got it right.
Since the first cupcake was a disaster, I had to change my game plan. And that meant changing the cake mix. If I were feeling more adventurous, I would try to make the actual cake batter myself. But, it being Haley's 1st birthday and all, I would rather the pressure of making the cupcake taste perfect fall into the hands of the Pillsbury Doughboy rather than on me. After all, the guy has been making cake way longer than I have.
For the trial run, I tried Duncan Hines yellow cake mix. The cake came out pretty mediocre. The texture was crumbly and the flavor wasn't anything special. After surveying my baked good options, I decided to give Betty Crocker a try to see if that one turned out any better. I also made a different icing since the first one, which was a homemade cream cheese frosting, had an overpowering powdered sugar flavor. This time around, I went for a homemade buttercream which I had tried once before with success.
If you remember the recent cupcake disaster of 2010, then you'll know that things could only get better from there. I knew that a mediocre cupcake wouldn't do. This is a first birthday people, the official anniversary of her escape from the womb! I had one goal: to make the perfect giant birthday cupcake. And I didn't care how many boxes of cake mix had to die before I got it right.
Since the first cupcake was a disaster, I had to change my game plan. And that meant changing the cake mix. If I were feeling more adventurous, I would try to make the actual cake batter myself. But, it being Haley's 1st birthday and all, I would rather the pressure of making the cupcake taste perfect fall into the hands of the Pillsbury Doughboy rather than on me. After all, the guy has been making cake way longer than I have.
For the trial run, I tried Duncan Hines yellow cake mix. The cake came out pretty mediocre. The texture was crumbly and the flavor wasn't anything special. After surveying my baked good options, I decided to give Betty Crocker a try to see if that one turned out any better. I also made a different icing since the first one, which was a homemade cream cheese frosting, had an overpowering powdered sugar flavor. This time around, I went for a homemade buttercream which I had tried once before with success.
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I think I'm ready to do this first birthday thing! Well, in a manner of speaking. I'm ready to make the cupcake, I'm still not ready for my little Haley bug to grow up :(
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A lesson learned
As a parent, there are moments in your child's life that you will never forget. First, there are the milestones: your child's first tooth, their first time crawling, first steps, their first word. Then there are the kind of moments that stick in your memory simply because they're so absolutely gross you'll never forget them, like the numerous times I've been projectile vomited on, the time Haley spit up in my mouth while I was flying her over my head, or the time I was cooking dinner while Haley was playing in her jumper and I turned around to find her bouncing in a pile of her own poo. Take a guess at which kind of moment this post is about.
Yeah that's right, it's not the first kind.
The day started out innocently enough. It was Saturday evening, and my husband and I had just sat down to a dinner of pancakes and sausage. Let me pause and tell you how much I love breakfast for dinner, or "brinner" to be exact. There's nothing like a hot plate of syrupy, buttery pancakes and sausage. I could eat breakfast all day. Anyway, back to the story at hand, my daughter is quite the little beggar at dinner time...er, brinner time. Even though Patrick and I feed her before we eat, she somehow always has room to eat our food too. I think she may be under the impression that her food is an appetizer and our food is the main course.
Although she's not walking yet, she's mastered the art of pulling herself up and cruising to get to countless things she shouldn't, like the tissue box, the DVD player, and the occasional piece of mail that was left on the coffee table supposedly out of her reach. This particular night, she had just finished her appetizer and bellied up to the coffee table to beg for my pancakes. I should probably stop giving her my food, but she gives me this little Puss in Boots stare that I can't resist. And yes, I'm sure she will continue to use this against me for as long as she can. I gave in to her cute little pleas, but I couldn't manage to stab a piece of pancake small enough for her to eat. Using my fingers, I pinched off a piece of pancake with syrup and put it into Haley's mouth, which left my fingers a little sticky.
Now, what I've neglected to tell you is that I forgot to get myself a napkin, which isn't such a big deal until you take into account the other thing that I had forgotten.
What I had also forgotten, was that my daughter had had a cold for the past 2 weeks, which left her with a runny nose. Since I was napkinless, I decided to just lick what I thought was syrup off of my fingers and continue on my merry, pancake-eating way. And then it happened.
I put my daughter's boogers in my mouth.
What I thought was syrup wasn't syrup at all. when I put my fingers to her mouth to give her some of the pancake, I hadn't noticed that some snot from her runny nose got on my fingers, making me think I had syrup on them. I immediately freaked out as my daughter looked on, innocently chewing on her pancake and getting ready for the next bite. Of course, my husband laughed hysterically when I told him what happened and then found me a tissue to spit in. No matter what I did, I could not get that (shudder) flavor out of my mouth.
So what have we learned in today's lesson kids? When you're a parent, you'll have lots of experiences that stick with you forever, both the good and the bad.
That, and always, ALWAYS carry a napkin.
Yeah that's right, it's not the first kind.
The day started out innocently enough. It was Saturday evening, and my husband and I had just sat down to a dinner of pancakes and sausage. Let me pause and tell you how much I love breakfast for dinner, or "brinner" to be exact. There's nothing like a hot plate of syrupy, buttery pancakes and sausage. I could eat breakfast all day. Anyway, back to the story at hand, my daughter is quite the little beggar at dinner time...er, brinner time. Even though Patrick and I feed her before we eat, she somehow always has room to eat our food too. I think she may be under the impression that her food is an appetizer and our food is the main course.
Although she's not walking yet, she's mastered the art of pulling herself up and cruising to get to countless things she shouldn't, like the tissue box, the DVD player, and the occasional piece of mail that was left on the coffee table supposedly out of her reach. This particular night, she had just finished her appetizer and bellied up to the coffee table to beg for my pancakes. I should probably stop giving her my food, but she gives me this little Puss in Boots stare that I can't resist. And yes, I'm sure she will continue to use this against me for as long as she can. I gave in to her cute little pleas, but I couldn't manage to stab a piece of pancake small enough for her to eat. Using my fingers, I pinched off a piece of pancake with syrup and put it into Haley's mouth, which left my fingers a little sticky.
Now, what I've neglected to tell you is that I forgot to get myself a napkin, which isn't such a big deal until you take into account the other thing that I had forgotten.
What I had also forgotten, was that my daughter had had a cold for the past 2 weeks, which left her with a runny nose. Since I was napkinless, I decided to just lick what I thought was syrup off of my fingers and continue on my merry, pancake-eating way. And then it happened.
What I thought was syrup wasn't syrup at all. when I put my fingers to her mouth to give her some of the pancake, I hadn't noticed that some snot from her runny nose got on my fingers, making me think I had syrup on them. I immediately freaked out as my daughter looked on, innocently chewing on her pancake and getting ready for the next bite. Of course, my husband laughed hysterically when I told him what happened and then found me a tissue to spit in. No matter what I did, I could not get that (shudder) flavor out of my mouth.
So what have we learned in today's lesson kids? When you're a parent, you'll have lots of experiences that stick with you forever, both the good and the bad.
That, and always, ALWAYS carry a napkin.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Valentine's Day
I know I'm a few days behind on this post, but I wanted to talk a little about how I spent my Valentine's Day.
Patrick and I have been together almost 3 years (and married for almost 2,) and during that time, we've had the privilege of spending 3 Valentine's Days together. For the first Valentine's Day, I honestly cannot tell you what we did but if Patrick asks you, It was extremely magical and romantic. for the second Valentine's Day, I can't remember exactly what we did, but I know it involved a bed. Now now, don't go jumping into the gutters people. I was on bed rest last year while I was pregnant with Haley, so most of my life revolved around a bed at that time. All I was allowed to do was get up to take a shower and make myself a sandwich, so I'm sure that Valentine's day consisted mostly of TV watching and eating chocolate because, really, what's Valentine's Day without chocolate?
This year, Patrick and I were looking forward to spending a special Valentine's Day together since this would be our first "official" (aka not on bed rest) Valentine's Day as a married couple. Since we have the most perfect, wonderful baby in the world (I'm a little biased, but it's still true) we were lucky that one of the girls who does daycare at work volunteered to watch Haley for us so we could go out. What to do? We decided to have a nice dinner at J. Alexander's and then see a movie afterward. I even convinced Patrick to dress up some - he wore a collared shirt - it's the small victories. Being V-Day and all, we decided to go to dinner at 4PM so that we had enough time to catch our 7:30 movie. For those of you who are math illiterate like me, that means we have 3 1/2 hours between dinner and a movie. Plenty of time, or so we thought.
We get to J. Alexander's and like a good husband, Patrick lets me out at the curb so that I can avoid the rain and put our name on the waiting list while he stalked the nice couple who just came out of the restaurant for their parking spot. As I went inside, I could not find the line to stand in for reservations. I'm not joking, there were people stacked like sardines in the lobby. After doing a little more searching, I saw a tightly-packed group of people who looked like they would punch the next person who tried to elbow themselves in front of them. Realizing this was the waiting line, I took my spot at the end and waited my turn. As the line inched forward, I finally made my way to the front where a frazzled young hostess looked like she wanted to tell me and everyone else in the lobby to walk into traffic.
"How long is the wait?" I asked, giving my best "you can bump us to the top of the line if you want to" smile.
"2 1/2 hours" she said, staring back lifelessly.
And that is how Patrick and I came to eat at Texas Road House for Valentine's Day. Instead of having our steak with a side of orzo and wild mushrooms, we had them with baked potatoes and rolls with cinnamon butter. Instead of nicely-dressed waiters and a wine list, we had waiters in t-shirts who did a line dance to "Sweet Home Alabama" and offered us house margaritas. But hey, I'm not complaining at all. The food was good and the company was even better AND I wasn't confined to a bed - who could ask for more?
As we were waiting in the (much shorter) line to be seated, I had to laugh a little to myself though. With all the peanut shells on the ground, our nice clothes and dress shoes did look a little out of place. Oh well, so much for dressing up.
Patrick and I have been together almost 3 years (and married for almost 2,) and during that time, we've had the privilege of spending 3 Valentine's Days together. For the first Valentine's Day, I honestly cannot tell you what we did but if Patrick asks you, It was extremely magical and romantic. for the second Valentine's Day, I can't remember exactly what we did, but I know it involved a bed. Now now, don't go jumping into the gutters people. I was on bed rest last year while I was pregnant with Haley, so most of my life revolved around a bed at that time. All I was allowed to do was get up to take a shower and make myself a sandwich, so I'm sure that Valentine's day consisted mostly of TV watching and eating chocolate because, really, what's Valentine's Day without chocolate?
This year, Patrick and I were looking forward to spending a special Valentine's Day together since this would be our first "official" (aka not on bed rest) Valentine's Day as a married couple. Since we have the most perfect, wonderful baby in the world (I'm a little biased, but it's still true) we were lucky that one of the girls who does daycare at work volunteered to watch Haley for us so we could go out. What to do? We decided to have a nice dinner at J. Alexander's and then see a movie afterward. I even convinced Patrick to dress up some - he wore a collared shirt - it's the small victories. Being V-Day and all, we decided to go to dinner at 4PM so that we had enough time to catch our 7:30 movie. For those of you who are math illiterate like me, that means we have 3 1/2 hours between dinner and a movie. Plenty of time, or so we thought.
We get to J. Alexander's and like a good husband, Patrick lets me out at the curb so that I can avoid the rain and put our name on the waiting list while he stalked the nice couple who just came out of the restaurant for their parking spot. As I went inside, I could not find the line to stand in for reservations. I'm not joking, there were people stacked like sardines in the lobby. After doing a little more searching, I saw a tightly-packed group of people who looked like they would punch the next person who tried to elbow themselves in front of them. Realizing this was the waiting line, I took my spot at the end and waited my turn. As the line inched forward, I finally made my way to the front where a frazzled young hostess looked like she wanted to tell me and everyone else in the lobby to walk into traffic.
"How long is the wait?" I asked, giving my best "you can bump us to the top of the line if you want to" smile.
"2 1/2 hours" she said, staring back lifelessly.
And that is how Patrick and I came to eat at Texas Road House for Valentine's Day. Instead of having our steak with a side of orzo and wild mushrooms, we had them with baked potatoes and rolls with cinnamon butter. Instead of nicely-dressed waiters and a wine list, we had waiters in t-shirts who did a line dance to "Sweet Home Alabama" and offered us house margaritas. But hey, I'm not complaining at all. The food was good and the company was even better AND I wasn't confined to a bed - who could ask for more?
As we were waiting in the (much shorter) line to be seated, I had to laugh a little to myself though. With all the peanut shells on the ground, our nice clothes and dress shoes did look a little out of place. Oh well, so much for dressing up.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Welcome to Haley's house!
I love surprises, but not when I'm the one trying to keep the surprise a secret.Haley's 1st birthday is coming up on March 3rd, so Pat and I went to Toys R Us yesterday to pick something out for her. We knew we wanted to get her something that would grow with her, so we decided to get her a playset. I have lots of great memories about the little plastic kitchens and play food that I played with growing up, but Haley's a little too young for that just yet.
We found this really cute little house playset that has everything a 1-year old could want. It has a ball drop, light switch they can turn on or off, interactive clock and radio, mailbox that opens with little plastic postcards inside, I mean this thing is AWESOME. I know, most of you are probably thinking, "wow, Jen needs to get out more, she's completely forgotten what things qualify as 'cool'" but seriously, Patrick, Haley and I spent last night and most of this morning playing with that little house and having the best time.
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Since we moved in, we have been planning to make Haley a playroom, and since our buddy who was living with us recently moved out, we moved the guest room upstairs and made the old guest room into her own little space. Even though her birthday is 17 days away, I just couldn't wait to give it to her and see how much she loved it. Now, Haley has her own space to do whatever she wants without Patrick or I telling her no every 2 minutes. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
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