Last NaBloPoMo Post

I thought it might be harder to do that it was, but I did actually manage to post once a day, every day for the whole month of November. Considering my previous blogging track record, that's a pretty big feat. But, I've always been the type that if I decide to do something and really commit to it, I do it. The trick is to get myself to really decide to do whatever that something is. Sometimes it's just that I don't really believe it's that important, and sometimes it just takes an external commitment (like signing up for NaBloPoMo) so that I have some tangible way to tell if I'm succeeding or failing. Anyhow, it will be a little while until I post next since we will be visiting relatives for a while.

Getting ready to travel

Today and tomorrow I am trying to get ourselves ready for some across-the-country travel but haven't made all that much headway today. We did get the luggage we ordered in today, and that's a really good thing since our old luggage is basically dead. We decided on Heys luggage but didn't actually get to touch the pieces we ordered until they arrived at our door. I'm pleased, though, and really excited about how well they roll - they have the inline-skate-type wheels. The biggest piece is 30" tall (and at the limit of size allowed by the airline), so we will be able to fit the cosleeper in there - a tight fit, but it does work. (I decided I wanted to take it so that Gavin doesn't get too used to sleeping in a bed with us again and so that there's somewhere clean and not-cold for him to sleep both at night and for naps).

Gavin, #6 for November

Today's post

Cloth diapering

We've been mostly using cloth diapers on Gavin since he was born. I say mostly because sometimes I forget to do the laundry before I'm totally out of diapers, or sometimes Gavin manages to soil all the covers in one day, and I prefer to use disposable when I don't know that I'll have a reasonably easy and clean place to change Gavin's diaper (it's hard to keep the cloth clean in a nasty store bathroom). Oh, and I'll definitely be using disposable while we travel across the country. We've tried several different cover and inner diaper combos. I tried an all-in-one and an insert-style, too, but couldn't really bring myself to spend so much money on them (the cost savings is one reason we do cloth). The only one I really considered seriously was the BumGenius 2.0 one-size, but it didn't seem to fit Gavin all that well, and I thought getting the insert in was much more annoying than folding a prefold or putting a contour diaper into a cover.

My favorite covers, so far, are the Nikkys. We use the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, but they are not stretchy and tend to get dirty quickly around the edges (from poop). The Nikkys have a tighter fit, are thinner and are actually more waterproof. Not surprisingly, they're also 50% more expensive. But, it means we don't need quite as many.

For the inner diaper, I think I've decided I like the prefolds best. We have both Indian and Chinese, and I don't really have a preference between those. The Indian shrank a little less (so they're about 3/4" longer), so that's nice now that Gavin is getting bigger but wasn't as nice when he was smaller and we needed to fold the tops down. I got a dozen Kissaluvs contour diapers at some point because I like that they aren't as bulky, but Gavin is getting a little too big for them, and he's not anywhere near the 20-pound upper limit that's advertised. They also get saturated really fast and seem to ride down in the front easily (inside the cover). They're also three times more expensive than the prefolds.

One great thing about Portland is that cloth diapering isn't totally unheard of, and we have several great cloth diapering stores. My favorite so far is Babyworks - they have good prices, and it's only about a 10-minute drive from my house. They mainly do mail order, but they're also open three days a week with limited hours. And, they know lots and lots about their products (which is how I found out about the Nikkys).

Yes, teething

I'm almost certain Gavin is teething, based on everyone's response to this post. So, what am I supposed to do to help him (and me) out? I can't give him Baby Orajel yet because he's not 4 months old. We've given him Tylenol a few times, but I don't want to give it to him multiple times a day, every day. We tried Humphrey's Teething Pellets but they don't seem to work for him and might be upsetting his stomach. The chilled teething ring doesn't seem to help a lot, either. It's been a week so far of lots of fussiness and not sleeping well, but at least Chad was home most of the time. Chad will be at work for the rest of this week, and then we'll be flying to the East Coast for a week and a half, so I really need to figure something out soon.

Gavin with photos

Today's post

Family

This Thanksgiving was a relatively small gathering for us - there were the 12 of us who belong to Chad's immediate family (in the photo above, Chad's two parents on either side, their six children, and two daughter-in-laws, who are holding their two grandchildren) and 3 of Chad's aunt's family (aunt, uncle and cousin). I think it's funny that it felt a small and intimate Thanksgiving get-together, since 15 people is most likely more than any Thanksgiving gathering my side of the family has ever had. I like big families, or, at least, the big family I married into. I guess a big family would be a drag if you didn't like your relatives, but it's great when you like all them a lot.

Gavin, #4 for November

Today's post

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have many, many things to be thankful for, especially as I look back on this past year and consider the wonderful things God has blessed me with. Here are a few of them.

• The enveloping and far-reaching Love and Grace of God. I have experienced more freedom and joy resting (a little more) in the truth of His unconditional Love this year.
• My husband. How can a person get through life without someone who knows the inner workings of your soul and loves you anyway? For me, this is Chad. And it is so fun to watch him being a dad.
  
• My son. It was a year ago today that I found out I was pregnant (last year, the day before Thanksgiving). I remember the excitement and wonder I experienced that day knowing that a new person was growing inside me. I am so thankful that I have the privilege of being his mama and experiencing the joy of loving him and raising him.
• My extended family. I am so thankful that I have good friendships with my mom, my dad and my sister, even though they live far away. (In that vein, I am also thankful for cellular phones, the internet, web cameras and flickr.) These people have known me my whole life (or, in my sister's case, her whole life) and love me.
• My in-laws. The more I know them, the more I love them. I am so grateful that we live near them and that they like to hang out with Gavin us. There are a lot of them (Chad's two parents, five siblings, one sister-in-law and one niece), and each one of them brings something uniquely special to the family.

There are many other things in my life that I am thankful for. But now I need to get ready to go be with family and eat tasty turkey and other goodies, more things for which I am thankful and which I am looking forward to enjoying.

RIP, Indian Meal Moths of the Y Household (we hope)

I finally got all (or at least 95% of) my pantry food into air-tight plastic containers. It took 4 box sets of Snapware (14 containers each) from Costco, but it's done. There were a few stragglers I had to put into the heavy-duty freezer ziploc bags because they didn't fit in the plastic bins (like Udon noodles and rice cakes).

However, I just came back from the pantry (since I started this post) and found (and killed) one moth. Arg, these things are hard to totally get rid of. Chad said a few days ago he found where they had made cocoons in the peg holes in other cupboards, too, like where we store our glasses and dishes. But since there's no more food available for them to eat, they should be gone soon. Or at least, one can hope. I do still have my cereal in a different part of the kitchen. I bet I should box that up, too. In fact, I'm going to go do that right now before those little varmints have the chance to find it....

Teething???

Gavin has been fussy for the last few days and wants to chew (not suck) on everything. He's got extra drool, and his eating and sleeping cycles are off. About a week ago he also had a day or two where he was extra drool-y and wanted to chew. I don't see or feel any signs of teeth in his mouth and it's way early compared to "average," but what else could be going on? Do babies' teeth sometimes move around and irritate them significantly before they actually cut through? Does this irritability usually keep up until teeth do finally come through?

Caramel Popcorn with Almonds

Since I recommended caramel popcorn with almonds to E for a tasty, classy and cheap Christmas gift for co-workers, I decided maybe I should post the recipe for everyone. Again, it's from my MIL's family (like just about every tasty recipe I have).


Caramel Popcorn with Almonds

1 c butter
2 c brown sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
10-12 c popped white popcorn
almonds (not sure how much - maybe 1 c?)

Melt margarine or butter. Stir in sugar, syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. Pour over popcorn and stir very well. Bake for 30 minutes at 250, stirring every 10 minutes. Spread over wax paper to cool.

Almost forgot!

I almost forgot to post today. Actually, I did forget to post, but Chad reminded me just now. One of the great things about having a spouse is the whole remembering thing. It works for getting the trash on the curb, the mortgage paid, the birthday present bought, etc. etc. etc. Of course, sometimes it doesn't, but at least you've got twice the chance with two. So, thanks Chad, for keeping me from failing at NaBloPoMo!

Lazy Saturday

This afternoon/evening we had pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner with a fun group of friends. I think it's the first time I vegetated for longer than an hour or so since some time before Gavin was born. It was so nice to be with friends and just "hang out," no expectations or socially-required small talk. One family who was there has two children, a three-year-old and a one-year-old. The mom and I have been trying to get together for several weeks now, so it was nice to see her. We sat and half-watched a home remodeling show, half-socialized (and watched our children) while everyone else played some football at a nearby park.

I also discovered that turkey can be injected with a flavor solution that contains butter and other milk-based products (but thankfully the hostess had noticed and told me about it so I didn't eat any). Argh. I thought meat would generally be safe, but not so. But I had a nice, large piece of very tasty pecan pie (that's the pie Chad was making last night). Yum. I'm so glad that there are at least a few things I really enjoy during the Thanksgiving-Christmas season that I can still eat. :)

Food accomplishments!

I feel accomplished today. I got out of bed at 10am, so I got plenty of sleep last night (hooray!). I successfully finished making two pie crusts (and one pie is currently in the oven, but Chad just put together the innards of that one, so I can't take the credit). I also made stuffed bread dough (see below for description and recipe) and an Italian salad to take to some friends who had a baby almost two weeks ago. In the midst of all the cooking, I also took Gavin to a chiropractor appointment. All of that, and I got out the door by 5:10 to pick Chad up at work and go on to our friends' house to deliver the dinner. Gavin happily played under his baby gym on the kitchen floor for at least half an hour while I put the stuffed bread dough together. Amazing.

Stuffed bread dough is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - something stuffed inside of a slightly sweet roll-like bread. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law, who is the source of many, many tasty things. My favorite stuffing is probably browned ground beef with onions, celery and cheddar cheese, but you can put in whatever you might like. I made some today with little smokeys (aka cocktail sausages), and I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. I've also heard of pizza-like stuffing, such as pepperoni and mozzarella. Anyhow, here's the recipe:

Stuffed Bread Dough

Bread:
2 c warm water
2 packages yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c oil
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp salt
5-6 c flour

Filling ideas:
a) 1 pound ground beef, browned and seasoned with salt and pepper, mixed with sauteed onion and celery
shredded or sliced cheddar cheese
b) 1 pound cocktail sausages
c) pepperoni
shredded mozzarella cheese
sliced black olives

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in water. In a large, bowl, mix yeast solution with all other ingredients except for flour. Stir in flour gradually until dough is slightly stiff. Knead 8-10 times on floured surface. Let rise about 1 hour.

Punch down dough in center. Pull off a fist-sized clump and flatten in palm of hand. For option (a), place cheese on dough first and put ground beef, onion and celery mixture on top. For filling (b), use 3-5 sausages (whole). For (c), place mozzarella first, then olives, then pepperoni. Pull dough up and around on all sides and pinch shut on top, sealing the filling inside. Place on greased cookie sheet seam-side down. (Repeat process until all dough is used.) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Makes 10 to 14.

Luggage and travel essentials for a baby

We are going to visit my parents (in Georgia) during December. It will be our first flight(s - there are 4 total) traveling with Gavin and our first long car ride (about 4.5 hours). I realized about a month ago that both of our large suitcases have finally given up the ghost (thanks to airline rough-housing) and we need some new ones. Does anyone have suggestions of brand or a particular bag or set? We need them to have wheels and to be tough enough for airline travel once or twice a year. We need at least one that is large (like 29" or 30" tall). Also, any suggestions for things I'll likely not think about to take with us for traveling with Gavin? Or, advice on how to keep him happy (or at least not constantly crying) and somewhat occupied for a full day of traveling (two 3-hour flights followed by the 4.5-hour car ride)?

Tired

For some reason, Gavin has been getting up three times during the night to eat for the last two nights instead of the previously-normal one (or maybe two on rare occasion). I'm tired. And I can't really think of anything to post about, probably partially due to brain tiredness. Hopefully I'll have more tomorrow....

Food sensitivities update

After having spaghetti with marinara sauce and some pine-orange-banana juice, I think it's safe to say that Gavin is not sensitive to my eating acidic foods. Whew. That adds a few possibilities to my lunches and dinners. On the other hand, all the food that was previously in our pantry (and not obviously infested with nasty bugs) has been put in the deep freezer for the week in an attempt to kill any eggs or random larvae that happen to be in the packaging (except for cans and other things that can't go in the freezer). So, I still have eating dilemmas this week.

Pantry Pests

Our pantry is infested with Indian meal moths. Yuck. I think we've thrown out at least $50 worth of food so far. Last weekend we took everything out of the pantry and cleaned it thoroughly, only to discover that these pesky creatures like to spin their cocoons in tight places - like the peg-holes for the shelves in the pantry, or in the inside corner of unopened cardboard containers of food. And, they can bore through plastic. So, we are currently freezing everything that was in our pantry that can be frozen and doesn't obviously have little nasty larvae in it (thankfully, we have Chad's parents giant chest freezer in our garage), and we're cleaning out every little peg-hole in the pantry (probably at least 150). I have so many other things I'd rather be doing with my time.... Hey, at least it doesn't look like they made it to any of the other cabinets we have with food in them.

Visiting our niece

Today we are going to visit our niece and spend the day with her and her parents. It will be the first time Gavin has actually spent a considerable amount of time around another baby (she is three weeks younger than him). More later (with pictures, I'm sure!).

Post-natal and Parental Amnesia

It's funny how quickly I forget what happened only a few weeks ago. Most of the time, it's easy to remember unpleasant times or emotions in my life, but there seems to be something special about parenthood that does the flashy-light-thing to the hard and/or painful parts of the past having to do with my child. For instance, I barely even recall that I was pretty nauseous until sometime well into the fourth month of pregnancy, that I was incredibly swollen the last couple months of pregnancy, that labor, birth and recovery were quite painful at times and very uncomfortable pretty much the whole time, that learning to breastfeed (for both Gavin and me) was a very difficult and emotionally draining thing, that Gavin was very fussy and cried a lot until I figured out that he's very sensitive to cow's milk protein and stopped eating all milk products (at about 6 or 8 weeks). Somehow it seems my brain isn't interested in keeping the memories of all the hard things. If something reminds me of them, I find myself saying "oh yeah, I had forgotten about that." But I am thankful for it. If I could remember all those things better I might have a harder time deciding to have more children.

Gavin, #3 for November

Again, a Gavin-post for today.

My husband is a nerd

Okay, so I suppose Chad doesn't have a patent on nerdiness (and isn't the only nerd in our family), but he certainly displays and revels in it often. Here's a link to his blog post today. And, for the record, I thought the comics were hilarious. And I like my husband a lot, maybe especially because of the nerdiness. Hopefully someone can save our son from being 100% nerd... (good luck to whomever that happens to be!).

Writer's block

It's only day 7 of the month of blogging and I think I've run out of things to say. Or, at least, run out of quick-but-can-still-fill-up-a-whole-post things to say. So, here are some very random thoughts that are very quick.

• I made a list of tasks I need to accomplish in the near future (by the end of the year, mostly) and it filled almost an entire sheet of notebook paper. But at least now all those things aren't swirling around in my head making themselves feel like a whole notebook's worth.
  
• I've been trying to help Gavin get on more of a routine but am finding it very difficult to wake up (and wake him up) at the same time every morning because, if he's still sleeping, I want to sleep, too.
• I did six loads of laundry (and folded and put them away) in the last two days (Chad helped a little, so it wasn't only me) and will need to do a load of diapers tomorrow, probably.
• I am really thankful for my (well, Chad's really) family, who live close. My MIL came over this afternoon and made what could have been a pretty mundane, somewhat difficult day into a nice one.

Gavin, yet again

Another Gavin post.

What to eat??

My diet has been pretty restricted (at least in my opinion, when compared to what it had been previously) since about a month and a half after Gavin was born. I figured out by trial and error that any dairy product or any food with even a tiny amount of dairy in it (including any amount of whey) makes Gavin's stomach very gassy. I'm pretty sure chocolate (even in fairly small quantities) and cabbage do the same thing. Other foods I've quit eating but am not completely sure yet if they actually cause him to have an upset stomach are peanuts, broccoli, cauliflower and very acidic foods, like tomato sauce and citrus fruits. In addition, I have been trying to avoid large quantities of soy for my own benefit. In my opinion, that constitutes a significantly restricted diet, especially because I used to eat milk, yogurt and often some type of cheese every day. But the most annoying part, I think, is that I have to read every ingredient on every label to make sure there's no non-fat milk powder, whey protein, butter, etc. , and you'd be surprised at how many things that eliminates, especially the easy ones that are low-fat and have protein! My Trader Joe's chewable vitamins, for instance, have non-fat milk powder in them. Wisecrackers are made with buttermilk. Most margarine contains whey (and I think margarine is nasty anyway). It's really hard to make a quick quesadilla without cheese. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are out. I can't grab a yogurt for a quick snack. Nix on almost all baked goods other than plain bread (and sometimes not even that). Can't do pasta with tomato sauce or cream-based sauce. I also have a preference for low-fat items that are minimally processed but don't take a lot of preparation time, and I need to be eating more protein. So, any suggestions??

Gavin, again

Today's post is, again, about Gavin, so it's on Gavin's blog.

Autumn

Today was a beautiful, clear, sunny autumn day. We've had maybe a week of them all put together, which is pretty atypical for Portland, as far as I can tell. The weather forecast is showing a few more of these beauties before the overcast skies and drizzle set in for the next 6 months or so. Unfortunately, I only spent about an hour of today outside enjoying it. Chad spent most of the day chopping lots of plants in our back yard (which hasn't been touched since summer of 2006), and I helped for about an hour while Gavin was sleeping. I ended up feeling dizzy because of allergies (my nose never runs but my ears get all stopped up - thus, the dizziness), so I decided the back yard wasn't the place for me. Unfortunately, we don't actually have any place where we can sit down outside in front of the house (our whole lot is only about 3,800 square feet), and I haven't quite figured out how to bundle Gavin up well so that he doesn't get too cold but still be able to carry him in the Moby wrap. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to take a walk and get some photos before the weather turns gray.

Post on Gavin's Blog

Today's post is about Gavin, so I figured it should go on his blog.

Post-pregnancy

In all the books about pregnancy, there's lots of talk about the million little things that happen to a woman's body during pregnancy. When I was pregnant, everyone was asking about my cravings, the oiliness of my hair, my bellybutton, etc. etc. etc. It was all quite fascinating. I think there's a misconception, though, in the general public (minus anyone who's had a baby before) that once that baby is out, a woman's body is acting normal again, minus some sleep of course. The pregnancy books say a little about it, but not a ton. Maybe it's because there's so much attention focused on the new baby that no one pays much attention to what mom's body is doing any more, and maybe it's a good thing, since most of the aftermath isn't terribly pretty (or socially acceptable to ask about if you're just an acquaintance). There are some people who understand that it takes a while to get back to pre-pregnancy weight and shape (but I did have a female friend look at me with wide eyes and dropped jaw - all she could say was "wow" - when I told her that I was still wearing my maternity pants at about 1.5 months!). I happen to be pretty lucky - I was back to pre-pregnancy weight at about 2 months, and I have actually lost another 2 pounds in the last month. My pants still don't fit normally, though - I'm pretty sure my hips are wider, and that might be permanent. I still have very obvious stretch marks, and my hormones are still pretty wacky sometimes. There are a few other things that I won't mention here that are permanent modifications to my body, too. I actually think it's fascinating and quite amazing that I can go from this (actually, this is at 37 weeks pregnant) to this in less than two months. Yes, there's not a 7-pound 5-ounce child or a placenta inside me anymore, but I think it's amazing.