Renege

That's such an ugly word, isn't it? I'm always a little nervous to say it. And yes, that is how it's spelled.

Anyway. I'm gonna. On the every day blogging this month (pauses for your sobbing to subside).

Not because I'm too evolved to spend that much time blogging. Not because I have a better, more fulfilled life than you, but as it turns out, I just don't wanna.

So I'm not gonna. It seemed like a good idea at one point, but not anymore.

And for those of you who care (and have asked, and loaned us things, and helped in various ways) our guests arrived safely this morning, just about the time our other guests arrived--a pair of nasty viral colds for Mike and me. So that sucks. But yea for friends!

And we've survived our first day! Tomorrow, we've got to get out of here. This poor 3-year-old is climbing the walls...

See you soon, but probably not tomorrow,
turleybenson

Because I think we're funny, and you should too

Received in my inbox yesterday:

Dear M,
Currently I do not have swine flu, or anything contagious or scary or potentially threatening to parents and children. Given that rarity for the season, I would like to request the company of you and baby J, somewhere, sometime, before one of us gets our way and actually moves out of this crap-hole of a city. Given that I am not your usual sort of company, on this occasion I promise to talk to you like an adult about adult things, but also talk to you about baby things - of which I grow more curious each day. I also promise to make funny faces at J and think it is adorable if he throws a fit or poops or does anything else that childless friends often roll there eyes at. I promise to maintain the balance of helping you chase after your little whale-baby, while still carrying on a conversation that makes it seem like there is no whale-baby running amok around us. Also, I will tell you that you're pretty. :)

If you feel this is something you'd like to partake in, please respond with your thoughts. If not, feel free to simply send a filthy diaper in the mail... like the mommy equivalent of a dead fish wrapped in newspaper.

Love always,
X-work best friend

(And my response:)

Dear C,
You've given me a lot to think about. I appreciate your well thought out proposal, and upon careful consideration, I've decided to accept. The funny faces proved an especially compelling argument. I would like to discuss your growing curiosity of all things baby at length and in detail. Will you be sure to put that on the agenda? Also, I am interested to know how the dog parenting is going for you and yours.

I would like to counter propose a possible meeting at my place of residence, as this is the most baby-friendly and simultaneous conversation-friendly location I can think of. Though I'm willing to concede that I'm not that imaginative. I must warn you that my November is quite full, however I seem to have an opening during the morning/afternoon on Saturday the 21st. Do you too have an opening on that day?

I look forward to your swift response.

Anxiously,
Best baby-momma friend

Baby food, and the making thereof

Today I held a baby food making class at my house for a few women who have babies from 4-6 months old. It was a success, I think, though I didn't have them fill out evaluation forms.

Next time, maybe.

Anyway, I don't claim to be an expert or anything, but some of you (including Flurg's babysitter) may remember that making purees for m'baby became something of an obsession for me at one point. I loved making baby food. No. Seriously. I loved it. I found it incredibly gratifying.

Interested? I hope so, because I don't think I should be expected to think about more than one major topic per day. Here are some tips I went over today:

Once you've introduced several foods to your baby, you can puree several different ingredients together. Here were some examples of purees I would make:

Frozen papaya (steamed)
White potatoes
Nutmeg
Olive oil

Frozen Mango
Pear
Fresh or frozen berries

Carrots
Peas
Garlic
Olive Oil

Yep. You can add spices and garlic and olive oil to their food at a pretty early age. It helps them develop a palate for a variety of things.

These were some early proteins I gave him:

Hummus (which you can make with garbanzo beans, olive oil, garlic, tahini if you have it)
Mashed black or kidney beans
Peanut or other nut butters (assuming there is no known allergy)
Egg yolks (more likely to have allergic reactions to the whites)

Other things:

• I steamed all his foods in our rice cookers, but you can do it with a saucepan and a colander easy shmeasy.
• Freezing didn't work great for all foods (sometimes they would thaw all gross & separated), so I generally made a batch of purees twice a week, and just stored in the fridge. Once you get the hang of it, it's totally quick & doable--just set food in the steamer, do some chores, throw it in the blender, voila.
• Oh, and don't worry about having a special baby food processor. Blenders work just fine.
  
• Be sure to add enough water. Straight veggies or fruits at 6 months is too much.
  
• Remember the "10 times" rule. Try giving a food to your baby 10 times before deciding s/he doesn't like it.
• Some people say not to feed your baby "root" vegetables until a bit later. My doc didn't think anything of it, but that's something to look into.
• Don't think that because it's something you wouldn't eat, your baby wouldn't eat it. They've been known to eat banana/avocado mixes and LOVE THEM.
• Speaking of which , avocado is a good first food.
• Once your baby starts on dairy, make sure it is always FULL FAT dairy. Which means a special baby yogurt, since NO ONE sells fat yogurt anymore. It's a little ridiculous.
  

And there you go. Some simple baby food making guidelines.

Disclaimers: I am not a doctor. Also, I'm very tired.

No way no how

Interesting fact.
In case I WAS considering "trying" this month, and in case we WERE "successful," guess what my due date would be?

August 26th, 2010.

That's Baby J's birthday.
Which is two days after my birthday.
And four days before our anniversary.


And that's why this month, the issue is off the table.

To be more precise:

off the table,

out the door,

down the street,

IN ANOTHER ZIP CODE.

This factoid brought to you courtesy of the obsession.

Agreed

Mike quote of the day:

There's a "Very Best of Rod Stewart" album?

Is it an album of Rod Stewart choking on an olive?

'Cause that would be the very best.

Ch-ch-changes

I've got some friends
who are on the verge of exciting changes
in various forms

an unexpected baby
an upcoming marriage
a pending breakup
a possible move
inevitable career changes
taking it to the next level

In every case, I'm excited for them.
There is something so thrilling about change

isn't there?


So to all my friends:
Good luck. I'm smiling inside for you,
I'm cheering you on.
Great things are around the corner.

I just
know it
(!!)

A bad smell-mory

Yeah, I just coined that. Say it, use it, tell all your friends.

The Situation
I recently bought a handsoap that has been bothering me, and I couldn't figure out why. FIRST of all, we prefer to use the foaming hand soap, and have those special foaming hand soap dispensers at every sink. So we just buy one big jug o' refill every so often. The problem is, when you've made such a commitment to foaming hand soap, your options are very limited.

In the past, I've been able to procure a green-tinted foaming soap that had a nice, neutral smell and worked well for everyone.

Sometimes my only option is the vanilla-smelling clear kind. It's not my favorite. So on this last trip to the store, there was the vanilla name-brand option, and an orange-tinted, generic option. I did not smell it at the store. That was my mistake.

The Backstory
2 1/2 years ago, just after my former company had been taken over by a larger, more heinous company, I was required to go on a week-long business trip, accompanied by new bosses and coworkers, and some previous coworkers.

I was also 6 weeks pregnant.

Just days before the journey, the horror of morning-sickness-all-day struck me like a 2x4. So I gathered all my reserve and positive energy, and dramamine, and seasickness wristbands, and saltines, and ginger tea, and I got on that plane.

It was fairly miserable flight. I got to the hotel, and skipped out on the "welcome team" dinner because I was quite sure I would literally die if I had to go. The rest of the week was packed with back-to-back meetings with new colleagues I was expected to impress. New boss. And HIS boss, who was kind of big deal, and had just "laid off" my former boss and my fellow team members.

So after about the 3rd day of ducking out of at least half of these meetings to go writhe in agony on my bed, I made a decision. Despite the fact that I had NO intention of telling ANY of those people I was pregnant, and the fact that I didn't really know most of them, or even LIKE them...I had to come clean.

Or risk losing my job.

It was a terrible pickle to be in. I hated that I had to do it, but I really felt I had no choice. I picked up the phone, dialed my boss, and spilled the beans. He said he suspected as much, and congratulations, and kindly let me off the hook.

The he told his boss. Then my coworkers found out. Then it seemed as though an entire section of the company knew.

Then? I had a miscarriage. So I was in the awesome position of having to TELL all these people that, you know that whole pregnancy thing? Yeah, that's not happening anymore. So I'll be out for a few days, and since I have no idea who you've told, would you mind spreading the news around? Thanks.

Luckily, many of the people who knew did not work in my office, but several did. It sucked, people.

The Realization
All the products I brought home from that hotel room? The lotion, the shampoo, the body wash? Smelled EXACTLY like this orange-tinted foaming hand soap.

The Conclusion
I'm putting my usual frugality aside and pouring that half gallon of orange soap (and the $3.49 I spent on it) down the drain.

Looks like it's another vanilla scented month for us.