The (non ice) Storm

On Thursday night we experienced big winds. Like, no exaggeration, 90-mph winds. Anyone who has ever slept at our house knows we are at a particularly windy spot. So, add ridiculous winds to that, and I was concerned. To top it all off, this is the one night in the past two months my husband actually remembers to take out the trash and recycling for pick up. I was out at 12:30 am running through the fields, knee-deep in water finding all of our recycling. Nice.
Of course, the power goes out at 1 am, but the generator turns on. Good news! After the ice storm of last year, when we were out of power for a week and I was newly pregnant, unable to tell anyone, cranky and sick - we decided we needed a generator. We saw how quickly our power company responds to our small town, and didn't like it, and knew that a generator would be a good investment. We were right. This time we were the ones with our outside lights on while passers by cursed us! Though, this was much quicker than the past ice storm, as we only lost power for three days.
It is a war zone out there. Trees down everywhere! They closed roads, brought down tons of power lines and caused chaos. Besides the wind, there was record rain fall and I should mention the tremendous flooding. We were also smart to invest in a basement system - and had only a few drops. Our neighbors, not so lucky - we saw the mold specialists outside their home this morning. Other neighbors, missing shingles, another one - lost many trees. We, however were very lucky, sat pretty, did laundry, and had 8 (+ 3 kiddos) for brunch this morning. Very lucky indeed.
We had power this weekend, the only thing we missed was cable and internet but (gasp!) even that I did without fine. I remember back to the ice storm week, and it is ridiculous. A few days without power, and it does something to you. You can't go home, you worry about pipes freezing. You don't understand why you live in the US and because of a couple of trees that fell you can't use your water, one week later! Seriously, it is 2010 and we can't find some other way to get power to our homes, we have to string it up on lines against the roads? I was so angry last year a police officer actually hung up the phone on me. I was going to revolt. I was going to take on the power company myself.
Eh, those worries are a mere memory! This time it was like a vacation. It was all about fun time with friends Brit and Declan today!

Photo Catch-up

This weekend we lost power due to the ice storm, so I would like to catch up with some fun photos:



He is showing off his support of Colby!

A Day in the Life of a SAHM

SAHM (sam) - for those of you who do not know (I had to be told as well) is the acronym for Stay At Home Mom. I am one of those. While working, I was blissfully unaware of what taking care of a child would be like, so I decided that if I were to leave my job I was going to make a list of fun things to do - and be certain that I got all of these fun things done in J's first year of life. Visit museums, check. Keep a blog, check. Make his food, check. Cook every night for dinner, well, uh, sometimes, check. Get back into craft projects such as knitting, sewing and the like, no checks there. Read, definitely no check.
So, what do I do with my time? Well, as you can read below I have been going to Museums with the little guy which is great, but I hear this will not longer be a possibility once he is mobile. Thank the man in the sky that his mobileness will be coming with the summer.

For prosperity (and for me who will one day say, what did I do all day with the kiddo when he was young?) I decided to chronicle today, a day where the two of us were at home. No pool class, no gymboree, no "play date." What did we do?
We woke up, he had a bottle, we made daddy's lunch, he ate breakfast, dogs ate and walked, we watched the Today Show (someone has got to stop Ann Curry). Mom made homemade pears and bananas while he played in his "job" (aka exersaucer) for a while, a little whining, then we danced with Ellen (J's favorite part of the day), and then nap. During nap, Mommy should have exercised but instead emailed and ate breakfast. He woke up 45 minutes later on the dot and then it was Mommy shower time. We play on the bed for a bit, today Mommy purposely brought everything that feels different onto the bed at once and he touched, tasted and enjoyed. He is fascinated by this now. Then it is little boy get dressed time, then it is another bottle, jumper time, in the car seat, we are out. This entire process, which is basically us getting ready for the day, takes 4 HOURS! I HAVE NO IDEA how Moms who work get themselves and their kiddos out the door in the mornings!

Then it was errands, PO, hardware store, Lowes, Kohls, all in rain. Back home for lunch. Letter writing and photo printing for Aunt Pat. Kiddo playing by himself on the carpet. Back in the car, bookstore. Then Dr's - booster flu shots. His male nurse, by the way, is awesome. Back in the car, VERY TIRED BOY. Home, he napped for 2 hours! Meanwhile, Mom did laundry, volunteer work for the Conservation Commission and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, emailed more, cleaned up the fish tank (sadly, we lost Fernando, one of the fish we gave out at my Baby Shower today), started dinner. Practically woke the kiddo up, play on the carpet and then decide it is puff time. High chair, puff eating, Angus' favorite part of the day. Then, Daddy home! Dinner cooking, daddy time with kiddo. Angus peed all over the kitchen. Clean up pee, clean up dinner, family time on carpet. Kiddo ready for bed, read book (he loves the touch and feel books now and goes right for the fuzzy areas), tucked in. Now, glass of wine and blogging.

If you read that, kudos to you - it is boring. But, exhausting. It does not sound like much, but it takes up the whole day. It is amazing really how fast time flies. I wish I spent more time with him on the carpet or hanging out. But, he did enjoy errands. And, by the way, Kohl's has the best bathrooms! They even have mini-toilets. I might be bringing J there to learn how to go potty!

Currier Museum of Art

Today we went to the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH with our friends Max and Ava. We are all quite cultured. Joel asked me this morning what our big adventure of the day was, and when I said another art museum, he looked at J and said: "Wow, dude, wish I were you today..." in the most sarcastic tone imaginable.
But the dude, and his friends, continue to like art museums. Colors, shapes and fun. J took one look at his buddy Max and it was as if they recognized each other. Very fun!
The Currier is a great museum to visit. Having just completed a massive renovation, it is clean and new! Parking can be interesting, though generally not a problem. There is a lot, but it is small, so you may need to go to street parking. They have a GREAT cafe. Though, it is questionable why there are only two high chairs in the entire place. We did go on the first day of NH school vacation, so the cafeteria was packed - but only 2 chairs, really? Only other big complaint, is the doors to all of the galleries were IMPOSSIBLE to open, and have a stroller at the same time. Good news is the staff were very friendly, and seemed to expect large crowds of kids, someone was always there to assist us.
This is a photo of the little guy, passed out on his way home. He was a chatter box with all of his friends during the visit, he tuckered himself out big time. We can't wait to plan another day with the group. J is enjoying interacting with other kiddos his age and seemed very intrigued to watch Max crawl all over, and pull himself up. Two more playdates and I may have a mobile man.

Fun with Food Part II

My little munchkin is 7 months old. Below I list my meal plan based on books, friends and Dr advice. Of course, a lot of the books, friends and Dr. advice has been contradictory. So, this is what I could piece together based on all of the recommendations (weighing heavily on the Dr's of course), and also based on J's interest and needs. But, I open the floor - did you introduce anything sooner? What was your 7 month old doing?
0-4 months:

Straight Boobie juice

4 months:

Introduction of formula*, cereals.

5 months:

Introduction of fruits and veggies. (apples, pears, squashes and sweet potato)

6 months:

"Breakfast" and "Dinner" implemented. Introduction of puffs and teething biscuits. Further exploration in fruits and veggies, including peaches, bananas, blueberries, mangoes, cauliflower, peas, green beans, turnips, carrots. And, raw bananas in a mesh bag. (quotation marks around breakfast and dinner indicate that by no means is the amount of food I am giving him at these times enough for him, all meals are still supplemented with a bottle).

7 months:

Begin to mix food offerings, and add olive oil and spices (ex. sweet potato, banana and roasted turnip with olive oil, I want some!). Increase food at "Breakfast" and "Dinner" to a few more ounces. Formula started scaling back to 20 ounces a day. Introduction of "Lunch."

8 months:

Keep mixing food offerings. Introduce mushed chicken, turkey and then maybe lamb and beef. Continue to play with gentle spices and start to make textures less mushy.

9-12 months:

Introduce yogurt, and finger foods. Start having meals (no quotation marks). Drop all bottles by 12 months. How many meals a day do they get? 3 square or a few smaller? When is it right to start finger foods?

* Would have continued with boobie juice, but couldn't.

The Three Best Friends

That anyone ever saw... best photo ever!

Gymboree and Nana

Today we enjoyed a visit with Nana and went to Gymboree. J has really enjoyed the whole Gymboree experience. I must preface it with we could sit there and stare at the room and he would still enjoy it. I am likening the experience more and more to expensive (or actually, less-expensive...) and concentrated day care that requires adult supervision. Since he does not have very much interaction with other children, this is it. At home he has his few toys, here he has the whole room to explore. Not to mention the nice lady with the fun voice he likes to stare at (his teacher). He enjoys "Not Mommy" for a while! He is also a social butterfly chatting it up with the other kiddies, whether they want to chat or not.
Both he and Nana had a ton of fun playing on all areas of the "gym." His favorite is when the teacher breaks out the parachute, as pictured below. He squeals in delight when the parachute goes up and down. Mommy must admit, this was her favorite in school too.
Many of our friends who have their kids in day care, around J's age, have noticed an increase in milestones. Many are crawling, rolling all the way over. I wonder if because he has just me all day, he is a little slower to get to the crawling stage. I tend to sit him in the crib to get stuff done, then the car seat for errands, then the jumper while I cook, then the excersaucer while I catch my breath. Our time on the floor playing is really limited when you think about it... I should work hard on changing that...

He is getting very good at entertaining himself, but I feel guilty, should he have more? He is still only 7 months, and perhaps these other kids are just total geniuses, but I think my kid is a genius too! Joel (Big) claims it is because I cater to J's every whim and if he does not want to be on his stomach I move him in an instant. He says I need to practice some tough love.
For now we will enjoy our Gymboree and pool classes, but I do think he would benefit from some more interaction. We have to make some more dates to go out and hang out with other children. I have to say though, that when his 7-1/2 month old friend Max excitedly crawled to him last week I immediately covered J's eyes and instinctively said: "Do not learn how to do that." As I know, once the crawling sets in, fun is all over for Mommy!
He had a great time with Nana and is certainly tuckered out from it!

Sunday River

My two other children, Angus and Otter, are pictured above sharing a cuddle at Sunday River. This weekend we went up to the ski condo with my parents, Grammy and Grumpy. It was Grammy's first visit to Sunday River. Grammy and Grumpy picked a bad time to start a diet, as they did not realize all of the fun, eating and drinking that happens at a ski condo.
They had a great time watching the little guy as Joel and I hit the slopes. Uncle Mike and Aunt Martha made it up for a morning of skiing as well. The wind shut the mountain down by 11, but no worries, as we have vouchers to continue the fun another time.
I still have not figured out the sleeping arrangements here. J and I sleep in one room, and Joel and the dogs sleep in the living room. The baby continuously wakes up, and his mornings tend to start up to an hour earlier here. Next weekend we are going to try to put him in his own room to see if that helps, but I wanted him to get used to sharing a room with me in anticipation of our travels ahead. Any thoughts?

Poopers in the Pool Part II

Today we tried Poopers in the Pool for the third time, and I think it was a charm. He only cried once, and the remainder of the time he seemed to be having fun. He has really got this kicking thing down. I throw the duckie in the water and he excitedly kicks after it.
He also loves to splash, but really hates it when he gets water in his eyes. Grammie and Grumpy (my parents) are here visiting so, of course, Grumpy took about 100 photos of the outing. I edited it to include only the ones where I do not look like a total orca.
He is getting more and more used to the water, and maybe soon we can start learning about putting his head under. But for now we will enjoy the kicking and the splashing. It is a shame it is not more constructive, but hey we will take what we can get on the NH seacoast.
Now, off to Sunday River with Grammie and Grumpy. Swimming in the morning, skiing in the afternoon? He has the life!

New Girlfriend

J has a new girlfriend. The slightly smaller blonde pictured above! Today we had a play date with Brit, Pat and Keri's little angel, and boy is she cute!
He looks like a monster compared to her! I can hardly remember when my little one was that tiny. It is so weird how fast time flies, and how quickly the things you may forget. We certainly look forward to many fun days with Brit in the future!

Social Butterfly

J (or so we are trying to nickname him) has been a social butterfly lately. This weekend alone we hung out with his friend Max Friday night, then Saturday we went off to see Doug and Cristel (and ate the most excellent dinner ever, J even got some of the homemade applesauce!). On the way home we picked up Mike and Martha, and then Sunday before Mike and Martha departed Dan and Sarah stopped by. Whoa! Pictured above, Mike playing drums with the little guy. As you can see, he loves Uncle Mike.
In other news time is flying by! I really do remember it going very slowly in the beginning, but now I can't believe he is coming up on 7 months old! Is this too old for him to still be using his swing? I hope not, because he loves it... It was already floor picture time, and look, he is sitting up. In fact, Angus was the difficult one to get to sit still in all of these shots.
Just a sidebar complaint, I cannot loose weight. I went to the Dr., I exercise all the time, I stopped eating, I only ate healthy, I ate normally. I find the healthier I am the more weight I GAIN! Anyone else with these problems? When is it going to go away?

Aquarium!

Today we went to the New England Aquarium. It was a really good time except for the fact that we had a massive meltdown upon arriving home. While there he was unlike himself and a little cranky too. I think the teething is finally settling in and wearing him down. He slept like a log the whole ride home, and I thought he would be good when he got inside the house, but major meltdown occurred. I gave him some tylenol, and now he is falling asleep in his swing. Sad face!
But, he did have some happy moments. He again loved taking everything in, looking at the penguins, the fish, and seeing his friends. We went with Maddy and Kyle. Maddy and Kyle are both older, and were walking around a bit. I know that my little man will not be far behind.
The Aquarium is a wonderful place to take the kiddos, in theory. Penguins so close, all of the fish, a touch tank for the somewhat older guys, cafeteria and lots of restrooms. But, boy is it a bit of an excursion. It really made me appreciate the MFA more. The MFA's cafeteria had good looking food (as opposed to the Aquarium which offered fried food, or fried food), the changing tables at the MFA were new (as opposed to a changing table I was probably changed on, well not really since I didn't go to the Aquarium when I was younger). It also is very crowded and can get overrun with school groups. Kim was quick to point out that it was empty compared to a day she went last June - I can't imagine what the weekends are like!
We did have fun though, it was mostly stroller accessible, except we had to miss the top of the tank (understandable) and the Jellyfish exhibit (not understandable). The penguins are clearly the best part. We joined the Aquarium because if I go more than once, we win back the membership fee. Ticket prices are that expensive (over $20 per person). Combine that with parking, ($25 with validation, yikes!) and I am not sure how families can go for a day.

So, of course we will be back. But, I send this question out - why is our Aquarium so stinky? (Literally and figuratively). Why couldn't New England have a world-class place like Chicago?
He still had a good time, which is all that counts!

Fun with Food

Now that he is 6 months old, we are having some fun with food. We are about done with his frozen supply of straight up fruits (apples, pears, peaches). I thought today I would make the next 4 weeks worth of fruits and have fun. So, we have been making every permutation that can happen from mangos, apples, bananas, pears and peaches. Now that he is older, and we know that he has no problems with these fruits - lets go for it. Tonight, Mango-Peach-Apple it is!
I enjoy making my own food but needed to be reigned in. I have to go to the supermarket and see what they offer for stage 2 in order to get my ideas. I was running a little ahead of the pace and making anything organic I could get my hands on. Come to find out, cauliflower should not be given to a 6 month old. Eh, he loved it! www.wholesomebabyfoods.com is also helping.
We tried the food bags today. What a hit! The banana was a huge hit in the bag, which was odd because he is not a fan of straight up mushed banana in a bowl. He has also been into the sippy cup. He knows what he is supposed to do, but can't hold it up long enough to get a sip. He seems to like water though.
The poor little booger is just that recently. We put him to bed at 7 :30 last night, no problem. Happy baby. At 9:00pm, screaming, he is a snotty mess. Looks like he finally caught Mom's cold (either that or the tooth that is just peaking out is making his mucus work overtime). But the guy toughed it out. He is much tougher than his mommy.