Chocolate Orange Indulgence

My birthday present from Mark was a gift certificate to Synergy Spa, which is here in Raleigh. I have been waiting to use it all these months since I was waiting for the perfect monthly special to come along to redeem my gift card.

This month, it came: the New Years Orange and Chocolate Body Indulgence. The treatment was an hour and a half, and included a full body massage, a warm sugar scrub to exfoliate all over, really hot aromatherapy towels to remove the scrub, and a super-rich moisturizer afterwards. And the whole thing smelled citrusy and chocolatey. [happy sigh]

In the last four years, I have been to many (ok, like 5) massage places in the area. And let me tell you, this is the best one. My treatment was ueber-relaxing, my massage therapist was nice and friendly and seemed really comfortable without being overly chatty, and my body and skin felt so good afterwards. It had been a stressful afternoon before that (long story - but the short version is that Nathan hasn't grown much in the last 2 months, which is probably nothing but still not a good sign, and I am a little nervous about what that might mean, and a tad guilty since I've been solely responsible for his food supply and all that)... and while the massage didn't solve any of those problems, I did leave feeling completely relaxed about them. It was heavenly. And the flourless cake and iced tea I had at the chocolaterie next door didn't hurt.

Too bad I can't afford to do this once a week!

Birthday and a Half

Mark likes to say there's no such thing as a half-birthday. I'm sad for him that becoming four-and-a-half, or six-and-a-half, wasn't celebrated when he was growing up. It's such a big deal, especially in the mind of a child (or in the minds of parents who have a child under 1)! I remember every year on May 1, I would get a Little Debbie cupcake, or get to eat off the I'm The Best plate at dinner, or we would find some other small way to celebrate. No presents, no fuss, but a general aacknowledgement that another semi-milestone had been passed was very much appreciated. And it was fun... and who doesn't need another excuse to have fun? I mean really.

I remember one year my sister (whose birthday is in December, seemingly always trumped by Christmas and other holiday gatherings) wanted to have a summer birthday party, so we celebrated her b-day in June. I remember very distinctly that her birthday glow was not there, and it just proves that while half-birthdays are fun, they don't have the luster of the real thing. A real birthday will always trump a half-birthday.

This past weekend, we went to Millers Creek to celebrate the fact that our friend Lucas is now 1 year old. Since he's exactly six months older than Nathan (January 26 and July 26), we were kind of celebrating a birthday and a half. But seeing as Nathan isn't really moving yet, and can't do anything cute with cake yet, and was only celebrating a semi-milestone as opposed to a legitimate mile marker, and is generally far less entertaining than his slightly older but far more worldly friend, it really was a day for Lucas.... in much the same way that Nathan's arrival distracted all of us from Lucas's half-birthday in July. It's only fair, I guess.

I cannot believe that in the last 12 months, Lucas has come from a little squirming newborn to a walking and talking toddler. And Nathan has come from his newly acquired designation of "fetus" (Cletus the Fetus, we were calling him at that point) to full-on babyhood... complete with personality. Amazing. Truly amazing.

One of the more amusing moments from the birthday celebration. Someday Nathan (who will no doubt be bigger than Lucas, based on the boys' parentage) will get even for Lucas treating him like a speedbump!



Is it weird that this video has been watched more than 1550 times on youtube -- without any comments -- even though I haven't shared it with anyone yet? (Esepcially considering the next-most watched from our family has only been viewed 95 times?) Maybe people are hunting for another video with similar titles or content and they keep coming across this one instead. Odd.

Anyway, happy birthday and a half to Lucas and Nathan! For more pictures of the festivities, click on the pooh cake below.

by mgoetts

Six Months Old Already

Happy half-birthday, Nathan!

The Great Poop Adventure of 2008

Every day, I seem to get closer and closer to being That Mom, who revels in the run-of-the-mill adventures of mommying. I didn't think I would be like this. I really didn't. But one day, before I knew it, I'm stressing about shoes that don't stay on. And which gymboree class to put him in. And the next, I'm in the middle of a full-flung poop adventure. What has happened to me???

Remember how we gave Nathan some cereal for the first time last week? That was Monday night. As of last night (that's right -- 8 days later) he still hadn't pooped out said cereal. I wasn't terribly worried about it at first... even 6 or 7 days in, it was more of the amusing anecdote for the weekend than truly concerning. But Sunday night, when his mood got worse and he started waking up at night with his straining and groaning, I realized that I had passed on to Nathan the one thing (ok, fine... one of several things) that I didn't want to... Poo Issues.

I asked about it at handbells and at the office the other day, and everyone said to give him prunes (it must be like mommy rule #14b -- prunes fix Poo Issues), but I was hesitant since his poor tummy was clearly stopped up from trying to digest new foods... more new foods didn't seem like the way to fix that, even a new food that, in theory, would run right through him. Still the advice of my fellow tintinnabulators has been noted, and prunes will be the next food for sure. I should also mention that my choir director, when I joked (ok, pleaded) to pray for poop, sent me the following: “Dear God, From time to time we all need to let things go. Please help little Nathan to do just that. Amen.”

So, after a day and a half of hemming and hawing, and after several calls to dr. marmie, I finally called Nathan's doc and he said the best answer was a suppository laxative. (Which my mom had also told me, but somehow I gave him the wrong kind the first time. Poor kid. I don't think he quite needed me to treat any 'roid pain.)

So I popped that sucker up there (Nathan thought it was hilarious, in case you were wondering) and we promptly have a yucky orange mess on our hands. I made the mistake of trying to change him after about ten minutes. Oops. Finally I just slapped a diaper on him, dirty and all, and laid him in the crib and let him go to it.

Mark was the first one to get to him this morning and let me tell you, he was thrilled.

After several loads of laundry and half a box of wipes, Nathan seems in much better spirits. He ate oatmeal today like a champ. Tomorrow: prunes. He's going to become a regular prune eater, I hope - I am determined to head off as much of these Poo Issues as I can before he reaches adulthood.

I'm not gonna lie; my beautiful angelic child suddenly seems very.... human. I guess finding out your kid's poop really does stink will do that. ;-)

(This is an older picture, but it seemed appropriate.)

Developmentally Appropriate

My friend Sarah is all about stimulating children in developmentally appropriate ways. She knows more about what's developmentally appropriate for a child at a given age than pretty much anyone else I know. She also uses the term "developmentally appropriate" in her regular speech more than anyone else I know.

It was Sarah who taught me that babies don't go in walkers anymore. I'm pretty sure she called them death traps. I guess it makes sense that babies maybe shouldn't careen around on the tops of staircases and doorways and under tables and stovetops, etc - but I assume you I never thought about it until Sarah told me. As a result, Nathan has been spending time in the much safer Exersaucer, which apparently is the new millennium's safe nephew of the walker. I think I am the last mom to find out about this. Nathan's Exersaucer came from Lucas, and he loves it (finally). He seems really focused on just one or two toys, though - for the rest, he's kind of over it.



In other developmentally appropriate news, Nathan and I started a Gymboree class a few weeks ago. Yes, I'm now That Mom. I wanted to take a mom/baby fitness class, but they didn't have room anymore by the time I got my act together to register. So we're doing a play class, and Nathan LOVES IT. He squeals and laughs and does things (like rolling and throwing toys, and scooting on his belly) that he never tries at home. And he's so excited to be around other babies. He's the youngest and smallest in the class, but I kind of like that... I think he'll have fun trying to keep up with them. Yes, it's yuppie and annoying (and I have to go to Cary to do it - ick), but it makes him so happy, and it's time that I intentionally take away from my work, that he doesn't have to sit around and watch me type and return phone calls, so it's more stimulating than his average day. And I'm not gonna lie, I like that we can finally bond over something other than my boobs (love me for me!!)... and let's face it: that laugh is the best sound in the whole world.

I've Been Tagged

Here are the rules for this meme:
List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself. Tag seven people to do the same. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag “whoever wants to do it.”

I am stoked to have an excuse to make a list that I can blame on someone else (thanks, Mary!) instead of my own neuroses.

I don't know that there are 7 quirky things about me that you don't already know (or that are truly quirky, which sort of implies cute... and as Mark will testify, there's a fine line between cute and annoying!)... I am sort of a sharer, so probably none of this will be a surprise to some of you. But here goes:

1.) Even though I am type-A in many (many many) ways, I have no problem living out of my laundry basket. Truth be told, if Mark weren't around, I might never get the laundry put away. I own very few things that shouldn't get wrinkled (and by "shouldn't," I obviously mean "blip on my radar of caring"), so I'm happy just putting clothes straight from the dryer into an empty basket, and grabbing from there.

2.) I adore chocolate and red wine. Especially together.

3.) I do not measure when I cook. I learned from Rachael Ray; I think she can do almost nothing wrong, and she doesn't measure. So I don't either. Contrary to popular belief, you can even bake without measuring, so long as the recipe doesn't include flour... for other things, it seems you can just work on it until it's the consistency you want.... and then hope you adjust the baking time to match. :)

4.) I have a really hard time getting to sleep without having my back scratched. Apparently I never learned to self soothe.

5.) I have a compulsion about tearing pages and paragraphs from magazines. If I come across a review of a book I want to read, a product I want to try, a website I want to look at, a vacation op to try to sell Mark on, or an article I want to share with a friend, I rip it out. As a result, there are torn magazine pages in every tray on my desk, every compartment in my car, ever pouch in my purse, the pockets of most of my jackets and pants, and completely covering my nightstand. To an outsider it probably looks like John Nash: The Bad Years, but really I am not psychotic.

6.) I met my husband at band camp. He likes to feed people the party line, which is "we met in high school," which isn't untrue.... we were in high school, and even in the bus parking lot at the high school... but the whole truth is we were definitely at band camp.

7.) Mark says I always have to be reading something. I never noticed it before he pointed it out, but it's true. When I have down time, I can't stand to just be. For lack of any better bathroom reading, I have pored over the toxic shock syndrome warning packet that comes in tampon boxes. I'm pretty sure I have that thing memorized. I have also been known to read manufacturer's labels inside clothing and backpacks, promotional material on the sides of bread bags, etc. Several years ago I learned never to go anywhere without a book or magazine. Traffic jams can occur at any time.

I'm not sure I have 7 friends in blogging world, so tagging them is going to encompass pretty much everyone I know who has a blog. But there are definitely people out there whom I'd like to have some rarely-shared or little-known info about. So I'm tagging Merritt, the other Erin G, Katie (even though I know it's a long shot), Ashley (whose answers can be posted here as a guest blog), and Kelley. And because the world needs more posting from daddies, Jonathan and Mark too.

Auf die plaetze... fertig... los!!

First "Solids"

I know some moms who were super-excited for the first time they got to strap their little ones in a high chair and bust out the spoon to make a fun mess with baby's first foods. Me... not so much. When Nathan was about 3 months old, my What to Expect the First Year book started talking about introducing solids. I balked. NOT READY. Even though most doctors say it's ok to introduce solids between 4 and 6 months, the general consensus seems to be that if baby is nursing well and thriving on breastmilk alone, then it's best to wait until he's 6 months to introduce other foods.

So I got through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and many many conversations with well-meaning relatives and others, asking if he was eating yet. No, no, and no. And not yet. And leave me alone. And I don't care if you think he looks skinny -- he's just long... he is at a perfectly healthy weight for his age.

I think I have been equating baby food with less nursing, and that's a relationship that neither Nathan nor I seem ready to diminish. But in the last few weeks, I realized I was not going to be able to put off this solid food thing forever. He just needs more food... I still plan to nurse him until he's at least a year, but he's eating more and more often, so we decided it's time to supplement that milk with some food.

So this week, half a pound short of doubling his birth weight, and a handful of days short of his half-birthday, we busted out the "solid" food. I say "solid" in heavy quotations because I assure you that our mixture of infant rice cereal and breastmilk was not, in fact, solid. Not even lumpy. It just looked like milk, to be honest.

Nathan found it sort of stinky, and as Mark diplomatically says about meals I prepapre for him that he doesn't like, "it wasn't his favorite." But he did ok, and yesterday he got some carrots with the rice, which he liked much better. He looks like such a big boy in his chair. Hardly even like a baby anymore. (Ok, he still looks like a baby. But much older than when he's curled up with me, nursing!)

It wasn't the fun hootenanny for me that it is for some moms. But I'm relieved that we're on the food track, and it's a hump I don't have to dread anymore. And for what it's worth, he seems no less interested in the boob. For now at least. :)



For more pictures of Nathan's first meal, click here.

African Chicken Peanut Soup

We had a most pleasurable evening with Sarah and Neil this weekend. Since Justin and LeAnn moved back to Millers Creek, and both sets of our neighbor friends have made grand exits in the last 6 months, our contact with non-baby locals our age has been sort of limited. Not that we don't adore the other people in our lives, but it's kind of nice to hang out with people where there's not a big age difference, or whose friendship with us has no bearing on Nathan and his peer group.

So. Not a terribly exciting evening - dinner and wine and chatting. But after an incredibly stressful week, I really needed to laugh... Sarah and Neil are always good for that!

We tried this week's new recipe on them, too... normally we wouldn't do that when we have guests over, but we're sort of past the point where we count them as guests. Y'all, this soup is really good! It has an interesting combination of flavors, and just enough spice to give it a kick. Bonus - all of the ingredients are really cheap, and the whole thing together is fairly healthy, if you're not concerned with sodium (and if you are, just buy the low-sodium versions of these ingredients). AND Mark whipped it together in about 25 minutes (not counting grilling and chopping the chicken).

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup cubed sweet potato
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup diced green (or red - we like red better) pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tbs)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups grilled and chopped chicken (or a rotisserie chicken from the store, if that's easier)
1 cup bottled salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
28 oz fat-free chicken broth
2 cans condensed chicken and rice soup
15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbs cornstarch stirred into 1/2 cup cold chicken broth, set aside

DIRECTIONS:
-Please a large stew pot, coated with cooking spray, over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato, onion, peppers, and garlic, and saute about 5 minutes.
-Stir in chicken, salsa, cumin, broth, soup, and beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
-Add peanut butter and stir until blended. Mash up potatoes to combine. Stir in cornstarch mixture if you desire a thicker soup. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

We served ours with a crusty sunflower seed bread (another thumbs up for Mark), which was really nice. It was a hit. Neil even scraped the bottom and ate it directly from the pot (see why we don't consider them guests anymore?), so I think that's a good sign.

Donna's Mom's Meatloaf

So I am a little behind on posting - I have a bunch of drafts started but I realized I hadn't actually updated in a while.

Remember how I am trying one new recipe per week, as part of my new year's resolutions? (Let's not talk about the others, shall we?) Well, here we are ushering in the new year.

This recipe is from my church cookbook, Bountiful Blessings... From Our Table to Yours, which was one of my Christmas presents this year. (By the way, I always pronounce that last word "yers" like Paula Deen would say it. Just thought you should know.) In the book, this is just called Mom's Meatloaf. But since my normal meatloaf is based on my mom's recipe, I can't call it that. So I'm calling it Donna's Mom's Meatloaf - I know this recipe came from Donna, who is the director of food services at the church (yes, we have one of those), since she made it for an event I attended this fall.

The good news is, it's really easy (no eggs!) and very tasty. I think I would do a little less onion next time, since I don't love onions the way that some people do.

Anyway, here goes:

MEAT:
1.5 lbs lean ground beef, thawed
3 tbs finely chopped onion
1 cup (8 oz) evaporated milk
3/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
salt
pepper

SAUCE:
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
3 tbs cider vinegar
3 tbs chopped onion
1/2 cup water or beef broth
1 cup ketchup
2 tbs sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all meat ingredients together until coated. Do not overmix, or it will cause the meatloaf to be too heavy. Shape into a long loaf in a 9x13 pan. Mix all sauce ingredients together and pour half over meatloaf before baking. Bake for 30 minutes, then pour remaining sauce over meatloaf. Bake for another 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Genius Daddy!

Well, the word is in - Mark has officially completed all requirements that Georgia Tech has for receiving a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, including passing this last class -- yes, the one he was so worried about -- with a B.

I am so proud of him... this is one of the best programs in the country, for a degree that probably isn't easy at the most laughable of academic institutions (which GT is most decidedly not). He has worked so hard, juggling schoolwork, watching classes, scheduling tests, working full-time, and now daddying on top of all that.

I know he's lurking out there somewhere, so if you read this post, tell him you're proud of him and I promise he'll see it!

Mind you, he doesn't actually get the degree until graduation in the spring.... [sigh]