Breakfast one: 2 bowls of cheerios
Breakfast two: Bagel with cream cheese, hot chocolate with whipped cream
Lunch: Huge deli turkey sandwich, bag of potato chips, large cookie
Snack: Several chocolate chip cookies, cantaloupe slice, brie and cracker, one more cookie for the road
Dinner: Homemade taco salad: lettuce, carrots, cheese, organic beef, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa etc. A pear.
Dessert: Four servings of premium ice cream (have to get in that calcium!)
Snack: Banana and almond butter, slice of honey dew, large glass of milk
Need I mention that I am still a bit hungry?
Monday, June 11, 2007
Finished!
I think we mentioned awhile back that we were redoing part of Mateo's room. His carpet was unbelievably disgusting and it had to go. We went to an environmental building store and picked out some wool carpet tiles. We love the idea of carpet tiles because we'll be able to rearrange them whenever we want!
We brought them home, halfway finished laying them out, and then promptly got sucked back into babyland again. This weekend, we finally conquered our inertia and Mateo has a brand new carpet! Here are some before and after photos. In honor of finally finishing his room, only seven and a half months after his birth, we hope tonight will be the first night in which he actually sleeps in it.
Before (under the nasty carpet and carpet pad were not one but two layers of smelly old 1950s linoleum, which we also ripped up):
After:
We brought them home, halfway finished laying them out, and then promptly got sucked back into babyland again. This weekend, we finally conquered our inertia and Mateo has a brand new carpet! Here are some before and after photos. In honor of finally finishing his room, only seven and a half months after his birth, we hope tonight will be the first night in which he actually sleeps in it.
Before (under the nasty carpet and carpet pad were not one but two layers of smelly old 1950s linoleum, which we also ripped up):
After:
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Five more days
I only have five more days of school left. First of all, who knew that I would manage to get through teaching kindergarten? This last week, when I had my entire class sitting on the ground and in chairs, knee to knee, elbow to elbow reading books, I thought, "wow, I've come a long way." Here was a group of 5 and 6 year olds who were all reading! When I started students I was shown their test scores for the number of sounds (not words) they could read in a minute. The scores were mostly 0, 0, 5, 7, 0, etc. Now, 90% of the students are at benchmark, and the scores range from 25 to 119!
More than the numbers, it was amazing to see the kids all sitting and reading on their own.
I think about the fact that I had been offered (and turned down) three kindergarten jobs before this one. I was right about the fact that teaching kindergarten is no walk in the park, but I think I'll actually miss some of my students next year.
Finally, after a few months on a steep learning curve, I feel like I have the hang of teaching kindergarten. I've learned that five and six year olds crave routines. They do best when every day is set up with the same set of activities. I've also learned so much more about teaching expectations and routines.
What I've noticed most, though, is that I am really happy teaching. Once I get to school, the day just flies by. Suddenly it is the end of the day. I don't spend time thinking about if I'm making enough of a difference, or feeling bored. Sure, I have tough days, but overall I am really happy when I'm working with the students. That said, I'm still looking forward to summertime!
More than the numbers, it was amazing to see the kids all sitting and reading on their own.
I think about the fact that I had been offered (and turned down) three kindergarten jobs before this one. I was right about the fact that teaching kindergarten is no walk in the park, but I think I'll actually miss some of my students next year.
Finally, after a few months on a steep learning curve, I feel like I have the hang of teaching kindergarten. I've learned that five and six year olds crave routines. They do best when every day is set up with the same set of activities. I've also learned so much more about teaching expectations and routines.
What I've noticed most, though, is that I am really happy teaching. Once I get to school, the day just flies by. Suddenly it is the end of the day. I don't spend time thinking about if I'm making enough of a difference, or feeling bored. Sure, I have tough days, but overall I am really happy when I'm working with the students. That said, I'm still looking forward to summertime!
Random: OMSI, too much bath water, and PLOP
We went to see the Body World exhibit at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) today and it was way cool. Not gross. A little overwhelming by the end, but we were really glad we got tickets and got ourselves there. In addition to having seen lots of preserved cadavers in all sorts of artistic poses and learning about all the body's different systems, we got to see a preserved and dissected camel. Which we all admired while sitting in the corner while Mateo nursed. Really, how many babies can say that they breastfed in front of a dead but reanimated camel? It's unique. We'll have to remember to mention that to him when he's old enough to remember. Perhaps when we meet his first date?
Also, we noticed that the overwhelming majority of bodies on display were men, all with their genitals prominently displayed. There were only a few women's bodies and they were posed in such a way as to mostly obscure the nether regions. We thought that was a bit strange and confusing.
In other news, we've been discovering the extent to which babies really do need constant supervision. I mean, we do supervise him constantly, but one recent episode reinforced why it's necessary. A few days ago, little M took a sudden and unexpected nosedive into the water while taking a bath. I was sitting right next to him with my hand on his back but wasn't expecting him to lunge forward like that! He was only in the water for a second before I grabbed him, but managed to inhale a little water anyway. He wasn't really choking, so I didn't panic and actually remembered what to do from our infant CPR/first aid class. I turned him face down and whacked him on the back and pretty soon he coughed it out. Whew! He cried for a few seconds but then started reaching for his bath toys again, so I put him back in and he started babbling happily. So, it turned out fine, but was definitely scary at the time. Kids really do keep you on your toes!
Today we went to our monthly PLOP meeting and had a good time. The group meets infrequently enough that different families seem to come every time and we often feel pretty shy when we get there...but we usually end up having fun and today was no exception. Mateo charmed everyone in sight, as usual, and had a wildly good time on the swings at the end.
Also, we noticed that the overwhelming majority of bodies on display were men, all with their genitals prominently displayed. There were only a few women's bodies and they were posed in such a way as to mostly obscure the nether regions. We thought that was a bit strange and confusing.
In other news, we've been discovering the extent to which babies really do need constant supervision. I mean, we do supervise him constantly, but one recent episode reinforced why it's necessary. A few days ago, little M took a sudden and unexpected nosedive into the water while taking a bath. I was sitting right next to him with my hand on his back but wasn't expecting him to lunge forward like that! He was only in the water for a second before I grabbed him, but managed to inhale a little water anyway. He wasn't really choking, so I didn't panic and actually remembered what to do from our infant CPR/first aid class. I turned him face down and whacked him on the back and pretty soon he coughed it out. Whew! He cried for a few seconds but then started reaching for his bath toys again, so I put him back in and he started babbling happily. So, it turned out fine, but was definitely scary at the time. Kids really do keep you on your toes!
Today we went to our monthly PLOP meeting and had a good time. The group meets infrequently enough that different families seem to come every time and we often feel pretty shy when we get there...but we usually end up having fun and today was no exception. Mateo charmed everyone in sight, as usual, and had a wildly good time on the swings at the end.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
6-6-06
A year ago today was the day we found out that little M was going to be a boy. Sacha had a premonition right before our appointment that we would be having a boy and she was right. My mom heard a story on NPR that day about how many labor and delivery units were deserted because no one wanted their kid born on 6-6-06. I can understand that for induced deliveries, but what about those who went into labor naturally? Were they just hiding at home in denial?
Either way, it was a great day for us. Compared to just about everyone we know, who got a dating ultrasound at the very beginning - we didn't need one of those, obviously - it was our very first look at our little guy. It was just so amazing and cool. The ultrasound tech repeatedly referred to him as "he" before bothering to find out if we wanted to know his sex...but that was okay with us. I remember lying on the table and thinking maybe she just said "he" for all babies, like they do in newspaper articles and such to supposedly to refer to both men and women.
Here he is in all his 20-week glory. I think it's so cool that he still has the same little nose. I mean, obviously he does, but I love that we got to see that little bit of him halfway through his gestation. I think it made it more real for us and helped us feel more connected to the kicking lump in my tummy.
Thanks to Kraig for helping us convert our .tif file to a .jpg!
Either way, it was a great day for us. Compared to just about everyone we know, who got a dating ultrasound at the very beginning - we didn't need one of those, obviously - it was our very first look at our little guy. It was just so amazing and cool. The ultrasound tech repeatedly referred to him as "he" before bothering to find out if we wanted to know his sex...but that was okay with us. I remember lying on the table and thinking maybe she just said "he" for all babies, like they do in newspaper articles and such to supposedly to refer to both men and women.
Here he is in all his 20-week glory. I think it's so cool that he still has the same little nose. I mean, obviously he does, but I love that we got to see that little bit of him halfway through his gestation. I think it made it more real for us and helped us feel more connected to the kicking lump in my tummy.
Thanks to Kraig for helping us convert our .tif file to a .jpg!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Back!
Mateo and I took our first solo trip this weekend, to visit friends out of state. He did such a good job. I am so proud of him. He did all sorts of new things, went new places, slept in a strange place, and he just rolled with all of it. Ever since we figured out the sleep thing, he has turned into a mellow and easy-going little guy.
Today on the plane coming home, we had one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants parenting moments. We were waiting on the tarmac while they tried to finish getting the plane ready while the air conditioning was broken, so we were cooking inside the plane...and suddenly I heard the familiar sound of a gigantic poop taking up residence in Mateo's diaper. Since he started on solids, his number twos have become stinky and much grosser than ever before. I was sitting next to this nice older man and couldn't see just changing M right there, so I flagged down a stew- oops, flight attendant - and asked if we had time to go to the bathroom before we took off. She said yes.
So, we got into the even hotter and massively pee-smelling airplane lavatory. It was disgusting and there was nowhere to put the baby down. The last one I was in had a changing table thing, but not this one. I finally took out the pad from our diaper bag and balanced it and the baby precariously on the toilet lid. He was inches from all the crud around the toilet seat, but there was really nowhere else to put him. I opened the diaper to one of the biggest and grossest blowouts he's ever had. Which he immediately stuck his little hand right into. We eventually got him all cleaned up and the diaper disposed of and he didn't fall off of anything. I was kind of proud of myself. I think it's experiences like these that will eventually make me feel like the type of confident parent that can handle anything :)
**************************
This weekend, I was talking to a friend who mentioned that she had told many friends about how we came to have a child. This was not the first time this has happened. In fact, it's happened frequently that friends (straight, mostly) have found our process of baby-making fascinating and have told us about how they have shared our story with lots of people and what their reactions were. I'm not sure how I feel about it. In some ways, I'm glad that our experience is helping normalize LGBT families to people who haven't heard much about them. And I'm happy to have our experiences shared in a way that might be helpful. In other ways, I wish it didn't have to be such a novelty. I guess it makes me feel vulnerable in a way that talking or writing about our lives myself doesn't.
This is about as close as I'm going to get to a contribution to Blogging for LGBT Families Day. I had lots of other thoughts to put into a post for it...so actually, maybe I won't give up on it quite yet. I'll post something in the next couple of days!
Today on the plane coming home, we had one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants parenting moments. We were waiting on the tarmac while they tried to finish getting the plane ready while the air conditioning was broken, so we were cooking inside the plane...and suddenly I heard the familiar sound of a gigantic poop taking up residence in Mateo's diaper. Since he started on solids, his number twos have become stinky and much grosser than ever before. I was sitting next to this nice older man and couldn't see just changing M right there, so I flagged down a stew- oops, flight attendant - and asked if we had time to go to the bathroom before we took off. She said yes.
So, we got into the even hotter and massively pee-smelling airplane lavatory. It was disgusting and there was nowhere to put the baby down. The last one I was in had a changing table thing, but not this one. I finally took out the pad from our diaper bag and balanced it and the baby precariously on the toilet lid. He was inches from all the crud around the toilet seat, but there was really nowhere else to put him. I opened the diaper to one of the biggest and grossest blowouts he's ever had. Which he immediately stuck his little hand right into. We eventually got him all cleaned up and the diaper disposed of and he didn't fall off of anything. I was kind of proud of myself. I think it's experiences like these that will eventually make me feel like the type of confident parent that can handle anything :)
**************************
This weekend, I was talking to a friend who mentioned that she had told many friends about how we came to have a child. This was not the first time this has happened. In fact, it's happened frequently that friends (straight, mostly) have found our process of baby-making fascinating and have told us about how they have shared our story with lots of people and what their reactions were. I'm not sure how I feel about it. In some ways, I'm glad that our experience is helping normalize LGBT families to people who haven't heard much about them. And I'm happy to have our experiences shared in a way that might be helpful. In other ways, I wish it didn't have to be such a novelty. I guess it makes me feel vulnerable in a way that talking or writing about our lives myself doesn't.
This is about as close as I'm going to get to a contribution to Blogging for LGBT Families Day. I had lots of other thoughts to put into a post for it...so actually, maybe I won't give up on it quite yet. I'll post something in the next couple of days!
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