Super Franks

So this will be a short update with a few pictures of Super Franks. It is the indoor play area we went to last week in Pleasanton. Its actually like a 30-45 minute drive away, so not too close by, but a lot of the people in one of my playgroups live further south and further inland then I do. Technically its all the East bay and all Alameda county, we actually have an eye doctor appointment out that way next week. BUT that said, I don;t think I will be back there on a regular basis. It was not very expensive about 7$ for the upstairs and downstairs "Tot Town" Rooms, but the day is broken into sessions from 10:00-1:00 and 4:30-7:30. So for only 3 hours, and such a long drive.

These top two pictures are in the upstairs room. it was pretty cool to have all the little play houses with various themes, one is a school house and another a home and another a fire station. inside there is a little kitchen or a table and other items to play with. There is also a stage in the second picture and there is a real light board where the kids and play with the various levers which change the color of the lighting with red and green and blue gels, and then out front is the TV where the parents can see there superstars inside.

My main issue with this place although very comfortable, is that even though there are a few cubbies the notion of putting strollers and shoes and bags in a separate area is not really adhered too. So the play area is scattered with diaper bags and other items that look like toys to little ones, and well Holly was much more interested in digging through someones purse or chewing on there show and pushing the stroller then she was in actually playing with the toys and structures. I think a lot of that has to do with her age and that many of the structures were for older kids like that cool twisty slide.

I did let her climb into the bouncy house which she had fun in. At the moment there was just one other little boy so it was pretty safe, but then I had to coax her back to the door and pull her out before the other kids climbed in so she wouldn't get trampled. Another thing about this place was that it wasn't really baby proof. This bouncy house was just plugged into the wall, the outlets were protected the wire wasn't hidden or taped down, and it was pretty easy to get behind it for a little explorer. So unlike some places I really had to follow her around like a hawk preventing me from really relaxing and chatting with the other moms.

Downstairs there were a few more things for her to play with and the space was a little more open. She loved throwing the puzzle pieces to the floor and of course was eager to show this little boy how to close the panda.

There was also this large slide downstairs which was too big for Holly to play with. There was also a few large mats and blocks for the kids to climb on and since this was a few weeks ago she was still cruising so it was nice for her to have stuff to hold onto and cruise. There were also cars and other push toys in the large open area to play with.

This is the little kitchen that I want to get for Holly. She played with it first over at Teagan's house and mainly spent her time opening every door and dumping out all of the food. You can see here she is still into opening all of the doors, there just wasn't any food for her to dump out. New this kitchen set cost a few hundred dollars and I have seen it a few times on craigslist for about 50$ or at least that is the price I would pay for it. But it seems that the top and the bottom do not separate from each other and there is no way it will fit into my car trunk, so I am not sure how I would get it home if i did buy it. Also I have to figure out where I would put it. The plan would be to convert downstairs into a playroom, but first I think I will need to sell the pool table. Regardless, Holly had fun playing, and that was our day at Super Franks.

Just a Rainy Day

It’s been a lazy rainy day. Sally came over today and she got to chase Holly all over the house and was very impressed with her mobility, especially all of the “squatting” she does. She brought over the red horsey for Holly to bounce on and play with and had a chance to stretch out some of her muscles and said she seems to be getting a teeny bit looser. She played some reaching games with her and saw some good head extension and reaching, but now she is extending her head only at the neck not arching her upper back between the shoulders. That area is still super duper tight.

She worked on some rotation, and some cause and effect playing. She was working on “Push” and getting her to push some of the toys she has. The Little Orange Panda pops out when you push him, and we have another toy then you put the top the little balls inside all spin, and finally there is one shaped like a top and when you push it the entire things spins, and it plays music. It has 4 little animals and when you press each one it says, “I’m the Lion” or “What Sound Does the Monkey make” ect. It is a pretty cool toy, as once Holly has some more language skills, it asks her questions and gets her to keep playing, like “Can you find the Elephant”

Holly got a bit cranky about ½ way through the session because Sally restrained her when she was trying to crawl off to her room and she didn’t like that one bit, and then afterwards she has been fussy. We got a nap today for about 90 minutes but she seems tired again. We just had some Green beans and Blueberry pear for lunch and now she is lying in the next watching Lullaby time, I don’t think she will fall asleep, though she might, but she seemed to need the down time.

Yesterday she slept in till 10:00 so she only took 1 nap from 3-5 and was up until about 10:45. I was worried about her this morning though because she woke up crying at 7:30 and was really hungry, so she only got 8.5 hours, and she needs 12-14 a day according to the literature, and she often sleeps a minimum of 10 a night. After her bottle she went back to bed but only for another hour. I think she is either going through a growth spurt, or maybe coming down with something.

I suppose a better mother would keep her warmer, but she slips and slides and pulls off her socks or has trouble crawling when she is wearing PJ’s with feet, so I let her play in what’s comfortable even though her feet and legs sometimes feel cold. But her core is still like a little heater, her feet will be cold but her belly is toasty, and her head, so I guess she is fine. The last two days she has been having a bit of a dry cough, but I think maybe it is like an allergy, I have been coughing since Sunday because our friends have a cat and I am allergic, and I think she is copying me. She is up and playing some more, I guess she was tired of sitting still.

Yesterday we ran a few errands; we had to go back to the Plastic Store and re-cut the doors as they needed a bit more room to allow space for the hinges. I need to correct that the doors are not actually Plexiglass, but clear Acrylic. Joel has informed me that I could hit it with a hammer and it would not break, and it does not shatter, so they are super safe.

It was much more complicated getting the doors right and everything lined up, but Joel was such a trouper and stayed up till 2:00 last night and finished them. The magnet latch isn’t strong enough for her to not open them, so we added the Baby Proofing Cabinet latches which we were expecting to do, and today she was able to cruise all along the entertainment center and try and open the doors and kiss the “glass” she was quite pleased.

Have I mentioned that she is starting to show more emotions, such as Frustration and Anger? This is a great developmental milestone, though a hard one to deal with. I don’t want her to be frustrated or angry, but then I also can’t just rush in as soon as something doesn’t go her way and I have to let her fuss and cry it out sometimes, which is very hard for me, as she is a baby who never cries unless she needs something and then her need it met almost immediately.

But an example of this would be the blinds. Now that she can stand against the wall under the window she tries to reach up for the blinds. Today she reached them; it is just the bottom part of the wooden blind so totally safe. Well I guess in her mind they were “sitting” on the window sill and like other things (the drum sticks on Rockband, the remotes on the side table) Once she reaches them it is a simple effort to slide or push them down to the floor, at which time she will sit and play with her new “toy” well she doesn’t get that the blinds are attached, so they kept pushing them off the sill and pulling them away from the window and they weren’t coming down and it was no easier to reach them and she couldn’t put them in her mouth this made her very frustrated and she proceeded to shout and fuss at them.

Well, what is a mom to do? Let her fuss until she gives up and goes onto something else? How long is enough fussing, she is a very determined little girl and doesn’t give up easily, how much fussing does it take before she gets really upset and is throwing a tantrum. Well while she was standing pulling the blinds she did it maybe 15 times, fussing, but not “upset” so I just kept letting her do it. Then she got mad, sat down starting to hit the floor and cry, so I went over to her and she immediately was happy again. I opened the blinds and let her look out and touch them, from my arms and it seemed to appease her and she hasn’t tried again yet today, but did I swoop in to the rescue too soon? I guess these are things I will learn in time, but I hate seeing her “unhappy” but I am reminded that this is the time when she developmentally NEEDS to learn that she can’t always get what she wants, and things will be frustrating. I am told this will happen with Walking, where her gross motor skills won’t be on par with her cognitive skills that want to walk, so this can cause frustration.

Some of the other exciting new developments is her improved dexterity with her stacker. She used to simply dump it out and chew on the base or wooden donuts, but now she can lift each disk off the base one at a time. She even makes a game of it, I will point to it and she will lift another and then another. She is so proud to be able to take them all off one at a time, but isn’t interested in putting them back on yet. She also I think is learning that if you push the Orange Button Mr. Panda will pop up. At first she did it by accident when crawling over the toy, which I guess in many ways, is how babies learn everything, but then the other day she stopped closed the Panda and then pushed the button again, close, open, close a few times. So I think she is starting to get it. A few times since she had opened the panda, but hasn’t learned about the other switches yet.

The other game we are playing, which I realize she is way too young for is the matching game. We have this cool book with Red Apple, Orange Fish, Yellow Sun, Green Turtle, and Blue Bird. The colors are also listed in Spanish. On the left is a space where you can place a cardboard cut out of the creature that matches the larger picture of the creature on the other side. She loves flipping through the pages of this book back and forth. Sometimes I say the color of the page, sometimes the creature, sometimes I say it in Spanish. Well yesterday I decided to take all 5 “blocks” out of the book place them in front of her and turn the pages one by one pointing to the creature and asking her if she can pick up the one that matches.

She did it right 2 out of 5 times, but I think it was luck, and she just put them in her mouth and tasted them, but I would say, nope, this orange Fish doesn’t look like the Red Apple, and then I would pick up the Red Apple and Show her how the little Red apple she was holding looked like the big one on the page. She had fun. I completely don’t expect her to get this at all for now, but I figured it doesn’t hurt to play the game with her. I also like it because I am trying to teach her pointing, which is something she would normally begin to learn about this time. So I point to the pop up animals and to other various things when we play.

Also, I forgot to mention… She is actually bouncing in her bouncer now. This is very exciting, as it is important that she bounces if she wants to learn good balance for walking. She really jumps up and down and gets all excited, it is very cute to see her do it. It is funny, when she is ready to get out she fusses and whines so then I go and get her, maybe after ten minutes this will happen, but she is so excited that I listened and come that she jumps up and down while I am trying to take her out. Very cute.

We haven’t done much with the two walkers she has. The few times I have tried recently she just sat down to a crawl and climbed on them, I don’t think she sees them as stable enough to walk around or quite understands push yet, but then again, I am in no rush to get her walking. I am convinced that if I was making any effort on my part like, walking her around the room holding her hands ect. That she would be walking already, just based on her cruising, but Sally informed us that its not good to teach a baby to walk too early, especially when they have High Tone Issues, so we are letting her completely come to it at her own pace and lead the way.

So sweet, I love that she falls asleep in my lap after a bottle it is the most precious thing and I know I will miss this when she grows out of it. It is hard not to simply let myself enjoy her and watch her sleep for the whole hour or more, but alas this is my time to get stuff done like bills and blogging, so 15 minutes of Indulgence and then she was transferred to her little nest. Sometimes I just have to squeeze her I love her so much. She doesn’t quite get cuddles yet, she lets you do It sometimes for just a minute but I am looking forward to when she is older and like to be cuddled and understands the concept of sitting still, like if we were going to watch a movie or something. But then again, if she is anything like me, which she is, she probably won’t sit still.

Ohh two more things..

I called a Pediatric Dentist and asked about the teeth thing. He said it is a phase and if she gnaws on wood or metal for a few months it is ok, but if she is still scraping her teeth on metal in 6 months it could start doing some Damage. He said the key is to make sure there is no decay, as that weakens the tooth and makes it easier to damage it. As with the pulling, he said babies don’t know their own strength, it is possible she could damage her tooth, like the old shoelace and door slam to pull a tooth out, but in reality it is very unlikely she will hurt them just pulling a cord or lip of a toy over them at this point. He said in 6 months if she is still doing it, take her in to get checked. Right now she is not on Joel’s Dental insurance, but during open enrollment I think in like April, I will add her so she can get an official check up. Though I suppose I should see how much one visit costs versus 1 year of premiums, paying out of pocket might be cheaper for now.

Foot tapping.. Apparently she gets this from mommy who unconsciously taps her leg/foot all the time, I hear even her Oma does this. So the other day she was playing over by the mirror and the activity gate and I was flipping through a magazine tapping my foot, I look up at her and smile so she knows I am paying attention, as she often turns and checks that I am still here, and then she decided to crawl all the way over to me.. No pauses or breaks, all the way across the living room, when she gets to the edge of the carpet she sits and begins to tap her foot/leg against the hard wood floors in unison with me. I just had to pick her up and squeeze her I was so amazed, and she was pretty amused with herself too!

Hollyland

Today was a low key day. We had some bananas for breakfast and Holly explored her new play area. I am not sure that she really acknowledged that the tree was gone but she was happy to have the extra space and dug right into her toys.

She quickly went to and found the nearest thing that could get her into trouble. We forgot to put up the special thing that keeps the blind strings short, so after finding the string, which I put up she then discovered the blinds themselves. I guess the good thing about her getting herself into trouble is the good physical therapy it provides I mean seriously look at that neck extension, no its not 90 degrees, but it is certainly at least 45.

Holly did not want to take her nap and didn’t fall asleep until almost 11:45 so I had to wake her at 12:30 when Katie arrived. It took her a bit to warm up to her being here and she was done earlier then usual. We played with the big bouncy ball and crawled through the tub. Katie decided to let us keep the tube here for a couple of weeks since Holly is the only patient she is using it on. Joel and I have come up with some fun ideas that I am sure you will read about in the days to follow.

After therapy we had lunch #1 which consisted of Banana and Squash, later we had some snacks. I always forget to give her snacks to chew on because I am afraid of the gagging so ideally I need to do it between food and bottles. During therapy I was eating lunch, some left over Pizza and she was very interested in my food so I gave her some of the crust to chew on. Over protective Daddy protested, but Katie backed me up and thought it was a great idea. This reminded me I should try with actual baby snacks today.

So we had some Puffs, a Wagon Wheel, a Teething Biscuit, Some mini Crackers, a Zwieback toast, and these new Strawberry Yogurt Puffs that melt in your mouth. She did pretty good munching on them, as you can see here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4HErh3LehY

Once she was done I gave her some Apple Vanilla and then we played some more. She was getting very fussy and grumpy and fell asleep around 5:45 for her second nap. I decided to let her sleep since her morning nap was cut short and since she had Night Terrors a few days ago. She ended up sleeping until 8:15 and woke up so precious like a little gopher.

Daddy was excited to get a little bit of Holly time. She woke just as we sat down to eat dinner, so Joel played with her and let me eat first. She was being clingy though and wanted Mommy. She was happy if I was sitting on the floor with her and would crawl over and stand up next to me if I was on the couch.

She did get to bed a little late, but it wasn’t terrible. We tried putting her down twice, and I even made her an 8th bottle, but she didn’t want it. In the end I gave her a teething rind which soothed her and she fell asleep. I wonder if it is a sensory thing, as the teething ring is freezing cold, I mean it is basically ice and she likes to put it on her face and especially on her ear, it doesn’t seem to bother her at all. So those of you with kids who have SPD any input please comment.

The other thing I am curious about is the biting. So I realize that FX Kids tend to like to chew on things, thus the chewlery and damaged collars. But Holly does a few additional things. 1st she grinds her teeth, which drives me crazy, but isn’t the most worrisome. 2nd she likes to chew on wood, but also metal. She loves to chew on Metal, like the bottom of my Sigg Bottle, is it the coolness? The sound it makes when she crapes her teeth on it? And 3rd she likes to pull on her teeth, like she will put a string in her mouth that goes behind her four bottom teeth then pull it out on either side. Or if she is chewing on like a baby food lib, she will put the lip behind her teeth then pull it out. She also has some toys she does this with.

Is this Dangerous? Will she Damage her teeth? Have your kids done things like this? Is she trying to get more sensory input? I was talking to Katie about this today and she said that swinging happens to provide the same input at biting, so we put her down on a quilt and each held two sides and swung her side to side. The first time she look terrified and I was ready to give up, but we tried slower one more time and the second time she liked it, so we did it two more times. Weather it helped or not, who knows. Thoughts?

Meeting Otter

Today was a fun and productive day. Mommy slept in but I feel great and rested. Holly after a shaky night took a 3 hour nap this afternoon which was great, she needed the rest. She was giving Daddy trouble this morning and didn’t want to eat her peas or much food at all, but once she woke up from her nap I was able to feed her the rest of her Sweet Potatoes, all her Sweet Peas, and even the second half of her Strawberry Apples.

Once her belly was full we were off for a play date with Otter. He is a little guy, just 7 weeks old and so very adorable. Holly was very intrigued with him, but it didn’t hold her attention for too long. First she walked over to the table and wanted to play with the chocolates, and candles, and anything else in reach. I think Otter’s parents were very entertained, excited and terrified of what lies ahead for them. Of course having a new born they have not even thought about baby proofing, I mean look at us, it took us 10 months to get started, but Holly playing at their place today certainly gave them an idea of what they had in store.

We chatted and talked and played. Holly was very intrigued with the guitars so Otter’s Daddy took it down and let her strum it. She really liked it a lot, the vibration and the tone. She would bang down on the strings and they would make a pretty sound and then she would look up and smile all surprised. Sometimes it was hard because she would put both hands on the neck and when she tried to strum with on hand the other hand prevented the guitar from make any music. But then we showed her how, and held one hand so she could strum with the other and it made pretty notes.

Later we played with the drums which her a bit more her style, she could bang on those right away and she even sang along, it was very adorable. We stayed for dinner and had some Vietnamese, but had to take turns eating, as Holly could not be contained. She was getting a little sleepy which means clumsy and bumped her head twice. I tried putting her down in Otter’s swing but it only worked for like 5 minutes. It was a cool swing that made ocean wave and splashing water sounds which did intrigue her. After Dinner we headed out since she was getting cranky.

She fell asleep in the car, and we decided to bring her up in the car seat and then eventually transfer her to the crib, but she woke up after about 30 minutes. She had a bottle and played for another hour and a half or so, and then started making the sleepy eyes in my lap after another bottle. I laid her down around 10:30 and put on her rainforest toy, it glows blue and makes a rainforest type of sound, it is very soothing and I guess she fell asleep, I left the room and she never cried.

While she was playing we did a little more baby proofing, Joel attached the mirror to the bookcase, as Holly’s new game was looking behind it to find the Mirror Baby. Once it was attached she tested it out and it was quite secure, so I no longer have to run over and watch her every time she crawls over to the mirror worried it is going to fall and break on her.

After we put her to bed we took down the Christmas tree. I was both ready and sad to see it go, but it was time, as this is the last week the recycling will be picking it up and we only ever have time on the weekend, so I didn’t want to wait another week. After Joel went to bed I did a little more rearranging and I am very happy with the new layout. The extra space is great. We didn’t have time to put the doors on the entertainment center yet, but Joel says he will work on it after work this week, once that is done, my life will be heaven, as I will have no worries at all. I plan on moving Holly’s toy box over to near the window, and then she will have the entire entertainment center to use for cruising and a nice big play area in front. I am very happy with our progress.

What We Accomplished

I think today was a success. I am so proud of Joel for staying positive and productive even though it may have seemed like I was trying to sabotage him with my cranky mood at every turn. It was so not my intention, I have figured out why I was grumpy and I will get to that later. But I swear my Husband is a saint, it was like I was undermining him with every decision he made today, I was reminded of Bree Hodge from last weeks episode of Desperate Housewives and I so don’t mean to be condescending, I just come across that way sometimes when I don’t even realize it.

I am pretty sure Joel realizes this, and that is why he is amazing, but it can be a downer especially when little things do go wrong, instead of being encouraging I was like.. see I told you so. However in the end he did such a wonderful job with the baby proofing. We didn’t get as much done as he would have liked, but then again I slept until like 12:30 and it was almost 2:30 before we left the house, and the darling that he is we even stopped at a baby store to just shop and look around.

We went to this great Plastic and Acrylic place where they custom cut the Plexi for the entertainment center doors, I of course was convinced Joel had the wrong measurements and there was no way they would be big enough, I was of course wrong, I mean come on, I should give the guy some credit, he does know how to use a tape measure. The Plexi was much cheaper than I expected which was exciting. Then we went to Subway for lunch. I was starved since I didn’t eat any breakfast.

After that we stopped at a used baby store called Little Raspberries. I learned that they are passing both a federal and already passed a state law that you cannot resell used baby clothes or toys. I was like WTF!! Yes, I suppose there is these fear that they are not up to spec/code and there will be toxic lead in the buttons, so no more thrift shopping for all of you frugal moms out there. That is insane. The store might have to close down. I mean they can still sell things like used swings and such, but no clothes and toys I am sure is ½ of their business and what about all of the stock they already have. I think it is just people going way off the reservation…

So I took advantage and purchased an adorable light blue traditional Chinese pants suit outfit thingy. I had just read this article about teaching our children to be global citizens and it listed all of these neat holidays we could celebrate throughout the year starting with Chinese New years on the 26th. This outfit was so beautiful and at that price I couldn’t leave it behind.

Next we went to the hardware store. Holly enjoyed sitting on my shoulders, but I got tired of her pulling my hair and ended up finding a cart and wheeling her around in it. We found a safety gate for the hallway and all of the various fasteners and hinges and such that Joel needed for his projects. Then we went home.

Holly fell asleep in the car for her second nap, so I decided I would sit and read my Magazine and let Joel get started upstairs with the drilling and such. She ended up only staying asleep for like 30-40 minutes total, and she woke up way cranky, I tried to sit her down and feed her Apple/Strawberry and she was having none of it, so I gave in and fed her a bottle. Normally I would push her to eat but she wasn’t simply resisting she was outright crying, which isn’t typical, so I knew she was still very tired and decided to pick my battles. After the first bottle I tried to feed her again, as she drank it down in about 2 minutes but she was having none of that, and drank another 2 ounces a few minutes later.

Once she had a chance to wake up and play, about an hour later I tried feeding her again. It was about 7:00 now and her regular dinner time. She wasn’t too jazzed about this, and had a few bites so I decided maybe she didn’t like this flavor and tried some Sweet Potatoes instead. She had some but still wasn’t that into it and getting crankier by the minute. She was so fussy and all over the place looking back and forth and trying to escape. She was reaching for the lid to the food container so I picked it up and said Holly if you open wide you can play with this. She stopped fussing looked me right in the eye and opened her mouth. I put a bit in and gave her the lid. I was of course in shock. She totally understood me. I could not believe it.. And then I told her that she was much smarter then I give her credit for. I was able to use the lib bribe for another 8 or so bites and then she was just done.

All this time Joel was happily at work, of course with me nit picking. There were a few obstacles he had to overcome and I was less then supportive when he was explaining them to me. On the surface this was because he never explained how he planned on doing this door thing to begin with so I couldn’t visualize his initial plan, but I was grumpy for other reasons.. I promise I will get to that.

So first he installed the gate across the hallway and of course Holly had to test that out. Then he brought up the child fencing we had downstairs that was given to us by a friend. I think this will be great for Holly’s party, we can use it outside in the backyard around the play mat and it will be wonderful. I wanted to over complicate things and move the swing to the other side of the room and have the fence go from the entertainment center in front of the bookcase and across the heater. We will eventually do this, as Holly keeps hitting her head on the swing and pulling books of the shelf, but Joel wanted to focus on the task at hand and not get off track, so we simply blocked of the heater. This is also Holly tested and approved and at least tonight she wasn’t able to knock it down, so I think it’s a win.

Next we installed some plexi glass in front of Mac’s tank where the wires, times, and extension cords are so Holly can’t reach inside and get at them. This was wonderful, as she can now safely go and look at his tank and pull up on this piece of furniture and I don’t have to worry, currently I had boxes in front of it making it too far for her to reach, but really not very safe. I also decided to move my laptop over here and plug it in there so I don’t have to stretch the wire across the living room when I need to use it or unplug it. So I am also happy about this.

So finally Joel was working on the main project, and this was the glitch. The plexi was actually about ¼ inches too big because he did not account for the space that the hinge on the top and bottom would take. I swear though in the outside world they looked way too small. But anyways, he devised a plan to cut a notch and sand down the area where the hinge went and did this as a proof of concept for the first of 4 doors. The second glitch was that shelf was pushed back for some reason and the others are flush, so he will have to adjust the other 3 shelves, and by this time it was late, so we decided to have him finish the install tomorrow since we have a proof of concept and know it will work.

Tomorrow we will also need to take down the Christmas tree, and do something with all the crap on top of the entertainment center. Ultimately it all belongs in the office, but I simply don’t have enough shelf space in there for all of my crap. I do think however that we will be able to get it all down. Oh and there is one other extension cord we have to do something with, but we have another do it yourself plan for that one too.

So for dinner we ordered pizza and holly was being very fussy. I tried putting her down twice and gave her two nighttime bottles and she finally fell asleep, but then about 2 hours later she woke up screaming with a night terror. This one lasted about 20 minutes and then I gave her another bottle (only her 8th though) and she fell back asleep, or stopped crying.. She did whimper however for a good twenty minutes and just a few minutes ago I heard her whimpering again, it’s been another 3 hours since she was last up. Something is going on with her, a developmental thing, or a growth spurt, or transitions. This morning she only slept about 40 minutes though and we had a very busy day out, so perhaps she just didn’t get enough naps and good sleep. I am not worried about her but she isn’t quite herself, so I am hoping she isn’t getting sick or anything. They say kids get 10 colds per year, and she was certainly sick in daycare, but since then she hasn’t been, so she is far from that 10.

So besides the fact that I am stressing because I have a stack of mail and bills I need to go through and organize I have this proposal that has been looming over me.. So here goes the explanation of why I am grumpy. I of course didn’t realize it until now that I am done with the review and I feel much better. So I am on this Committee for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and I am one of the reviewers who gives all of the colleges and universities in this region (the western states) there accreditation. So I am not the official person who gives it out, that is a board who ratifies the committee’s recommendations, typically comprised of university presidents, but I am the person who does all of the legwork and my peers are VP’s and Provosts. So I feel very lucky to be on this committee, and it is pretty prestigious, and a wonderful thing for my career, plus nerd that I am, kind of fun!

Anyways When I was working a large portion of my time when into the work of doing the report needed for my own school to renew this accreditation, this happens once every 7-10 years. It’s a big to do, the whole institution is involved and it is much like strategic planning, but we also have to evaluate ourselves, and show how we are using what we have learned for improvement, so it’s all about assessment.

Well anytime a school wants to start a new program (I am over simplifying here) they need to write a proposal, prove some items and get permission from the accrediting agency. That’s where I come in. Once a month I read a schools proposal, see if they meet the requirements, the program is educational sound, sustainable, cost effective, assessed, planned, resourced, ect. And grant or deny approval. Each proposal has 2-3 reviewers. This month I am the lead reviewer for the first time. I received said proposal way back in December and my review is due 9:00 AM Monday.

Well of course I didn’t read it all over break, and then once break was over I got busy, so here is it 3 days till it is due and I have to read it, and well these proposals are long, and then I have to analyze it, and review and assess it and make educated remarks for my peers to read and get my game plan together for the conference call with the institution this Thursday where I tell them what I think and give them an opportunity to answer any questions before my team makes its final decision. Long story short.. This overwhelming responsibility looming on my shoulders has made me very grumpy. There aren’t enough hours in the day, Joel will ask me if I am coming to bed early tonight, and it’s not like I want to stay up until 4:00 Am, but It’s also not like I have time between 9:00 am and 10:00 pm to do paperwork, write the blog, pay bills, or read this review. So if I want to get any of that stuff done I do have to stay up and do it.

So now here comes the weird philosophical part of this post. Having to do this review, so reminds me why I am so happy I quit my job. I simply do not want the stress of having to write reports and a looming deadline at all when I could be enjoying every waking Moment with my daughter, carefree with no loomingness. However after 5 10 hour days with a Baby, reading Baby magazines, and talking to other Mommies about baby things all of which I love it was kind of nice to get out of that space and into a very different intellectual part of myself and remember how smart I am. I know I sound like an a$$ but it took a lot of hard work and dedication, and education to get to where I am, and the fact that I can evaluate this proposal and talk and write like I know what I am talking about, because I do, reminds me that I like my child, know a lot more then I remember sometimes to give myself credit for.

So in the end it was kind of fun to read about this program, get all uppity about the things they were doing wrong, and be all impressed with the things they are doing write and being able to analyze it all and articulate my thoughts for my peers to read and finish the review. Now I have the call to look forward too, which I am usually never at all nervous or anxious about,. This time I am but only a teeny bit because I am the one in charge and the others will be looking at me to take the lead, so there is a bit more responsibility, but I am so also looking forward to using all kinds of grown-up words like rubric, educational effectiveness, Carnegie Unit Calculations, Needs Assessment, ect.

So all in all, what have I learned, well I don’t want to work, but I do need something on occasion to remind me that I have a life outside of my child. Not that I like being there for too long and can’t wait to get back to her clingy little arms, but to appreciate her, and who I am that made me such a great mom, I have to remind myself of what else is out there on occasion.

Just Another Day

Today was a pretty busy day. We got an early start with a 9:00 AM Session with Katie. We played with the ball, and the tunnel, and did some big stretches. Holly woke up early at 8:00 so by the time Katie was ready to go at 10:39 she was cranky and ready for her nap. She ended up drinking 3 bottles before her first nap and we skipped her morning Yogurt because she was in her session. So once she woke up I fed her lunch, the Squash we froze didn’t thaw very well, like the first container, it was very watery so I had to mix 1/3 with Rice Cereal, then 1/3 with Banana and then finally the last 1/3 with Sweet peas. She ate about 2 full containers worth and then we played for just a bit before it was time to leave for swim class.

Swim class was fun. Holly really gets into it now, splashing and kicking. There is this little step inside the pool and I let her sit on it and she jumps to my arms. Today she particularly enjoyed the “Mighty Duke of York” because she enjoyed being lifted up into the air. After swim class she was hungry and wanted a bottle and then fell asleep and took a long nap in the car. Mommy decided to relax and read her magazine and then we stopped at the store and got some Burger Buns for dinner. We picked up Daddy, and holly was very hungry by then, so I fed her right away. She finished her Sweet Peas and had some Banana Blueberry for desert.

We ate dinner and Holly played some more and we watched Battlestar Galactica… So Exciting!!! Holly fell asleep in my lap after her last bottle of the day and she came in safely at 27 ounces. Today in the mail we got two huge well not really huge but large packages of formula, it is the go and grow kind for 9-24 months. I read in one place that you should not give formula in a sippy cup, just juice and water. But then I read somewhere else that that was because formula is only good for an hour and most parents leave the drink in the sippy cup all afternoon, so it goes bad.. it is one of those over protective things. So then in this other article I read that you should give them formula in the sippy cup because they already like and know it just to be careful with it. So since I have all this Enfamil I think I might try and introduce the sippy cup again. The other thing I am trying is to get Holly to drink bigger bottles less often. You may recall she drinks 7 bottles a day, 4 ounces each. But from what I have read for her age she should be drinking three 8 ounce bottles a day.

The ideal schedule: Morning Bottle, Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Bottle, Dinner, Bedtime Bottle. I am not at all going to be obsessed about this schedule, but it is good to have goals. So usually at least 1 time a day I give her a 6 ounce bottle and try to spread out her meals a little longer, but even when she hasn’t eaten for 3 hours she almost never drinks the whole 6 ounces. I still also have to figure out when I can give her snacks. The other day she shared a Banana and Orange with me, but she basically just sucked on them and didn’t do much chewing or swallowing. I also want to give her more crackers and such, but with the gag reflex I have to find time between other meals and bottles so there isn’t fresh food in her system.

One mom suggested rice krispies. She said she gives her son one piece at a time and it crackles in his mouth and he really likes it. She sometimes also mixes it with his other food like veggies so make them more fun to eat, crunchy and crackly. Another suggests Cerrios, so we will see. I have given her a bit of saffron rice and the other day Joel over cooked some Mac and Cheese so the noodles were mushy and I gave her a few of those. In this case she actually swallowed them. I was very excited. We have a whole bunch of empty baby food containers and a new veggie box, so the plan this weekend is to make some carrots and more squash. We also plan on Baby Proofing. Joel actually researched it today and found a place in Emeryville that sells Plexiglass cut to spec and we are getting some to use as doors on the entertainment center and the space in front of Mack’s tank. We also need to take down the Christmas tree this weekend. I am ready and hope it won’t take too long, but I am not looking forward to it while also watching Holly.

Defiant

So quick story….



I have discovered that my child is defiant. We already know she laughs at me when I say no; well her recent trick is specifically doing things that she isn’t supposed to as if it is a game. She certainly knows how to get my attention… It goes like this.

Crawl crawl crawl.. Oh here is my toy box, lets dump this out and play with my toys… (tip) oh here are all my toys all around me and I am happy as a clam, Mommy is sitting comfortably on the couch not worried at all about me. Here is one toy and another and another, OK playing happily with my toys is too boring.. (Let’s stand up, we can use the toy box to stand up.)

Hmmmm is Mommy watching me? (Looks over shoulder and sees Mommy) Hmmm…. I wonder if she will mind if I stand over here near this self (Check’s Mommy and smiles) Hmmmm… What will she do if I just play with this bin of stuff I am not supposed to touch (turns and sees what Mommy is doing.. Still watching) OK well what if I shut this red lid… (Looks back again… ) She is letting me get away with this… OK what if I reach for these wires… Oooh There she goes she is calling my name… Giggle Giggle (looks back over shoulder again) Giggle Giggle..

(Open the lid.. shut the lid.. Open the lid…) Hmmm whenever I shut it she calls my name.. That’s funny… Ok what if I pull on this bin and try to dump it out (Looks back… Uh Oh here she comes… BIG Laugh) Hmmm… Now I am over here… what other trouble can I get into?

REPEAT!



I realize I must be a neglectful mother as I MUST child proof SOON..... It will just make my life easier.