Pull up your big girl panties...

And keep 'em dry all day! She did it!

Lulu refused a pull up this am, and asked for her "mermaid pants." So I made sure she peed AGAIN before we got in the car for the 40 minute drive to the sitters, and put a towel on the car seat just in case. But it's after 6 now, and she's kept them dry all day. I just wonder what going to happen when she needs to drop a deuce...

Flipper

Sitting on the couch, relaxing my achy back ad hips when the deuce decides to flip Our at least that's what it felt like.

When the bee stings...

Poor Bebe Lulu got her first bee stings today...three of them. Poor Lulu. She's fine, but it put a damper on the day care trip to the playground.

In other news, her crib was recalled. Which is just what we needed to make us move forward on moving her to a toddler bed. Which I own, but need to get from the basement of my office. Plus it means the newbie will get a brand new crib.

Week Fifteen

I STILL get so confused about the weeks. But since I just passed the day I on which I had been pregnant for 15 weeks, I guess that means that this is me at the start of 16 weeks. Or something.

Lady of the Lake

Except its the wrong lake and she's, well, living. She sure shares her dad's need for speed!

Trauma free dining

What on earth does a toddler eat? Very little, if she's mine. Bebe Lulu has a very small repertoire of foods she will allow into her mouth, and very few of these will be eaten every time:

hot dogs
yogurt
bananas
grapes
ham
cheese
crackers
salami
fruit snacks
mandarin oranges
a hamburger (about 1/3 of the times we offer it)
french fries (about 1/3 of the time)
meatballs
noodles
eggs
bagel and cream cheese
toast
pizza

And that is about it. Which makes planning dinners hard and annoying. I SWORE I would not be the kind of mom who makes totally separate meals for her kids, but its starting to go in that direction. I always offer her what we are eating, but the number one response is "I don't like it." And if she's had it before: "I don't like it anymore." So tonight we tried falafel (new), couscous (LOVED before), cukes in yogurt (both had before). Her response "YUCK." She ate half a yogurt.

She supposedly eats everything at day care. But then again she always pees on the potty there too.

So...how do you encourage new foods without dinner time becoming a battle and food becoming a HUGE issue? I feel like forcing her to eat gets us nowhere. (She'll chew food but never swallow it) and I don't want her to be hungry. Bushe's too young to make decisions about nutrition for herself. So I got nothing.

Advice?

Tongue Tied

I have so much to say, and Bill's not home and I can't really blog about it, and I have nothing else to say.

Except this. Why does my house smell so damp? It has rained a lot the last few days, but this smell happens every summer. I can only assume it is rotting out from under us. (Over us we knew about, so that's ok.) We have lots of talks about what we should do about this house. We own it completely. No mortgage. And it needs work. And we talk about selling our other property to do that work. But we always get stuck on a few things: what do with us and stuff while we renovate, and whether or not we should just sell it (and we would probably get 3 times what Bill paid for it, even in this economy) or tear it down completely. But yet. I love this house. With it's seven tiny bedrooms. And no tub. And three half assed closets.

kNOw McCain!

Raining Buckets

No bath needed tonight.

And then it happened...

I outgrew my non-maternity clothes OVERNIGHT.

So yesterday I went shopping and I feel so much better about the world, now that I can breathe!

My Tomato, the Interweb, and Other Thoughts on the Mommy Wars

I have had three cravings so far this pregnancy, and I could be crucified for expressing desire for every one of them. They are: soft serve ice cream, root beer and tomatoes. I recognize that two are unhealthy choices, so I try to limit them. But it is might hard to resist walking down to the dairy bar for a nightly small twist, as I did the entire summer I was pregnant with Lulu. I could even write it off as not totally damaging, since the walk is almost a mile. Ok, closer to a half mile. But here's the thing: soft serve machines are apparently breeding grounds for the listeria, the same bacteria that makes deli meat off limits (unless heated to steaming, which = YUCK) And listeria can kill your baby. (Maybe the protesters should go picket the deli!) So root beer, well, that's full of sugar (but not caffeine: I get that via a 12 oz bottle of coke. Yes. I do.) And now, the tomato. Friggin' salmonella. At least the ones on the vine are still safe, and I will keep eating them until I shit my brains out.

So clearly, I know what's what. But should you happen to ask the interwebs if you can eat soft serve, you WILL be sorry. The knocked up boards of our favorite Fertility site (aka Fert*lity Fri*nd) are filled with fellow preggos laying in wait. If you mention a soda, or an iced coffee, or something with aspartame, you will be treated like a reckless fool, who has no idea she is ENDANGERING HER BABY. I can only guess what warnings I would get about my tomato and mozzarella salad ("Isn't that a SOFT cheese???")

It's like boot camp for the mommy wars. It gets us geared up for comments about strangers "raising" our children, and snickers about wanting to stay home. I think it comes from sheer terror. Pregnancy has become so restrictive. It gets to the point where if you listen to all the don'ts, you can become paralyzed. Not that some of the don'ts aren't totally valid. They are. But in our efforts to minimize risk and protect ourselves from loss and pain, we have become too vigilant. So we can't just enjoy being a fat preggo on a picnic bench with a root beer float. So when something goes wrong, GUILT is there, ready to remind you of the tomato or the coke or the cold cuts. And our fear, as it so often does, manifests itself in attacking others.

So I'll have my occasional soft serve, with a side of worry. And you have your sushi. And I really don't give a shit. Unless my tomato, still on the vine, has salmonella after all.

Its even hot here

Yes, it is hot even in the Adirondacks...which makes me feel really bad for all the folks in non-mountainy, lake dotted, river crossed places. But in spite of some many possible fishing holes, we decided it was too hot to leave the yard this afternoon and turned one of canoes in a pool for Lulu. We have more than enough canoes to make a pool for each of us, but she allowed us to share.

Today was the first Keene Valley farmer's market. Several folks have recently said that the market is no good until July, but I disagree. Sure there were two bags of lettuce and some rhubarb and no other produce, but we got our pork from Martha and John at Yellow House Farm and bread from the bakery formerly known as Merricks. Veggies will come later and I think local meat is more valuable.

I think it might actually be getting to be summer. Evidence: Bill out guiding til late, no tights, ice cream place open, Ironfuckingmen on the roads.

Why it matters...

Pomas the Train

Yesterday we went to North Creek to see Thomas the Tank Engine, or as Lulu calls him, Pomas.





We did everything we could there...the bubble station, hay bale maze, met Sir Topham Hat (also know as Mister Hat, and she wouldn't look at him. But as we walk away, she called "I love you, Mister Hat!"), played with toy trains, got a Thomas Tattoo, ate a hotdog and a hamburger, danced with the singer in the music tent, climbed on a fire truck, and of course, rode the train. Three hours of activity. She crashed in the car in about 5 seconds.

My favorite moment:
Lulu discovers a tiny cut on her finger, just as Thomas steam past us into the station.
Normal Lulu voice: "Pomas! I have a booboo!"
Deep Lulu Voice: "What, sweetie? I can't hear you."
Normal Lulu Voice, only LOUDER "I have a booboo!"
Deep Lulu Voice: "Okay, I'll kiss it sweetie."
Normal Lulu Voice: "Thank you, Pomas! I love you!"