Choose Wisely....

Most days, I'm all about offering choices to Travis whenever possible. Choices empower kids, and it's good for them. Part of it, I suppose, is also selfish. Especially on non-essential matters, choices make MY life easier, most of the time. I will admit, that often times... the "choices" offered are both things that I want... for example...

"Okay, you can either put your shoes on first, or your jacket."

"You can eat your yogurt first, or have cereal."

Or, things they are things that get the job done, regardless of the "choice." And MOST times, they diffuse potential conflicts before they can start.

"You can get into your carseat yourself, or Mommy can put you in."

"You can hold my hand in the parking lot, or mommy will carry you."

I let him choose between two pairs of shoes and I let him choose between two different shirts when I get him dressed. I've been known to give him a choice between two different designs on his diapers. He chooses between Mickey and Little Einsteins on Tivo. Sometimes, he decides on Blues Clues instead.

There are times, though.... when Travis comes up with his own choice. One that was clearly not offered. Bargaining.... like he'll ask for the shirt that's in the dirty laundry pile after I've already given him the option between two clean ones. Or, worse, still... the shirt he outgrew however many months ago... 'cause his memory? It's like STEEL!

I asked him today, "Would you like waffles and eggs for breakfast this morning or Yogurt"? He counters that he wants Brownie Bites from Starbucks. At 8:30 in the morning. Um, nope. Nice try, bucko.

The real problem is that he's incessant! He'll repeat his request.... scratch that - his DEMAND no less than 850 times.

"Want brownie bites!!! Waaaant brownie bites!!!! Go byebye! Get brownie bites!"

And NOTHING will sway him. He goes on, and ON and OOOOONNNNN, until I nearly lose my marbles.

He finally relented on the breakfast this morning.... (waffles and eggs, by the way) but only after an HOUR of alternating (in his whiniest voice) ....

"Brownie bites? Where'd Daddy Go? Go bye bye!" in an endless, yet varyingly-worded loop.

AN HOUR!!!

Seriously.

Tell me this gets easier? Please? Feel free to lie to me.... if you think it will make me feel better! :)

Tis the Season....

This last week has been a blur.... all the build-up that comes with the holiday season. Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks. As long as there are only 3 pumps of peppermint, then there's no heartburn! Woohoo! Thanksgiving times 2.... cooking, baking, cleaning, shopping, tree lighting.... frantically trying to finish up gift knitting, and the digitally scrapbooked calendar for 2008 for the family in my "free time." Sigh. Free Time? There's free time? HA! :)

Also, I am officially a NaBloPoMo failure. Buit, I'm okay with that, and you should be, too! :)


Next Saturday we find out if baby #2 is a girl or a boy. I am really excited, because the bonding when I was pregnant with Travis REALLY set in when we knew he was, indeed, a Travis.

And, also, my milk? It's completely gone. Well, except for a few drops of colostrum. So, as of Thanksgiving, we are no longer breastfeeding. I was a little sad, but also breathed a little sigh of relief. I didn't want to tandem nurse... really I didn't.

The sweet thing is, Wednesday morning when Travis woke up, he asked for Cuddles (to nurse) - normally I'd tell him no, because we've only been nursing for nap and bedtime for quite some time. But, I said okay, and enjoyed just laying there, stroking his hair, while he nursed, unbeknownst to either of us, for the very last time.

I wonder how many times we've nursed in the last 3 years, 15 days. How many sweet moments have we shared. How many times I've been able to soothe him, after a fall, a bump, when a teething tooth was really bothering him, when his tummy was upset, when he was tired, cranky, sad, or uncomfortable for some unknown reason?

My magical panacea may be gone, but the memories, and close relationship we've forged will never fade.

Officially, a soccer mom....

Isn't it purdy? We bought it this afternoon! 2003, Honda Odyssey EX, with about 35k miles. Power doors, cruise control, everything we wanted... It rocks! :)

19 weeks....

I couldn't remember if I had an OB appointment today... so I called this morning. Well, actually I woke up at 10 after 9. And, guess what? My appointment was at 9:45 CRAP! So, I rushed us out the door. For what? Only to have to wait in the office, for an HOUR with a pretty pissed-off 3 year old. Nice. Just how I want to start my morning.

Everything is going good, though. Nice strong, heartbeat, my BP is behaving at 130/60, and the growth is right on. No weight gain for me in the last in 2 weeks, so woohoo!

My next appt. is on 12/11. But, by then, we will already know what we're having.... my 4-D ultrasound is scheduled for 12/1. I can't wait! :)

To do......

So, apparently I screwed up the whole Blog Every Day for the month of November thing. Cause.... ummm.... yeah. A little thing called having a LIFE got in the way. Bleh. Life.... it gets in the way of things I NEED to do, and leaves very little time for the things I actually WANT to do.

My apartment is STILL a mess, except for my bathroom. The laundry STILL needs to be done, and folded. The yarn is STILL taking over my living room. I STILL need to hang up the four pictures I spent an hour matting and putting into frames the other day. It STILL looks like Romper Room in here, what with all of the pieces of brightly-colored plastic that look like Toys R Us exploded all over the living room. I STILL need to work on my Christmas gift-knitting.

Today, though... we went out to lunch. We took Travis to see the Bee Movie. We went grocery shopping, and looked at vans. I worked on my digi-scrap calendar this morning, and loaded the dishwasher. Oh, and showered. And made dinner. So some things, they did get accomplished, see? I just hope I have clean undies to wear tomorrow.

Project Blue Puppy cake.

Cake? Baked, from a box, cooling on a rack right now.

Buttercream? Made. From scratch. Fluffy and just as achingly sweet as it ever was. Now with Non-hydrogenated shortening!

Tinted? (Yes! All 7 colors...) Blended, mixed, compartmentalized in Ziploc storage containers, tucked away in the fridge.... ready for buttercream hell tomorrow.

Hands? Also tinted. Purple, blue, pink, red. I look like I'm afflicted with some Technicolor skin disease.

I must really love this kid! :)

Kid is sleeping on the couch after a birthday dinner at Bubba Gump's and a chocolate brownie sundae at Ghirardelli.

He napped not today.... which means neither did I. But at least my bathroom is clean.

Party down!

I hereby decry Travis' 3rd birthday a success! Well, how could it not be, with presents and CAKE? Actually, we're doing 3 celebrations. Yesterday, his actual birthday was a Great Grandma's house. Friday night will be celebrated with my dad, by going out to dinner with MORE cake, presents, etc.... and then Saturday, we're going up to Jeff's family's for birthday #3. I'm sure presents will also be making an appearance there, too. ;)Also, I will be decorating a Blue's Clues cake. With many, many million blue star-tipped-buttercream-icing-piped stars. Entirely without wine. Unlike the Mickey Cake of last year. Because, I am, in fact, secretly a masochist.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday to you, my sweet little man! I can't believe you've already been here with us for 3 years! We already could never imagine life without you! I can't wait to see you continue to grow, and learn. Travis, you continue to amaze us with your brightness and charm, each day! Your sweetness, and empathy toward others is truly remarkable, and I hope you keep that with you throughout your life.

I wish you all the continued happiness, and love that the world has yet in store for you, little man.



Love always,

Mommy

Rip, Neon.

My poor, poor, Neon. It's got almost 100k miles on it. And it's terminally ill.

The transmission is almost toasted. It needs a complete rebuild, apparently. It would cost $2,400 to fix it. My car? It's only worth $2,700. So guess we're getting that minivan sooner rather than later, huh?

Walk like a man.....

My body is starting to figure out it's pregnant.... and achy, and generally, pissed off at me today. Woohoo!

I was really, really tired today... we didn't do much all morning.... but this afternoon, I took Travis to the Aquarium for the first time in awhile.
Oh, my God. The kid insisted I carry him almost all of the 2 blocks there and back from the parking garage, and it's UPHILL to get back to the car!! And, while we were in the Aquarium, he kept whining "Mommy carry you!!!" over and over. Ugh. To clarify... he was indicating that he wanted ME to carry HIM. Stemming from back in the day, when I used to ask, " Do you want to walk, or do you want mommy to carry you?"

He does it all the time, now. In the grocery store, Target, the other day in the parking lot of the bookstore. Argh!

I SOOO can't do this anymore.... I am almost 5 months pregnant, and he is EFFING HEAVY! Oh, and did I mention, he is turning 3 on Wednesday?! He can walk damnit!

I hung up my slings when I found out I was pregnant with this baby. And, we had to give up the stroller many, many, months and months ago because he hated it so much he would just scream, and fight, and freak the eff out every time we'd put him in it.
But, now he just whines, and cries, and refuses to walk. Yeah. Fun times.

Back together again....

I'm far too tired to post a real update from the weekend.... but we had a great time eating, sleeping, just being together. You know, like enjoying a leisurely 2-hour-long dinner.... and a lazy Sunday, with no responsibility.

But, with all that - at times, we still missed Travis terribly. When I got up to pee in the middle of the night... he was not there in the bed next to us, sleeping peacefully. He wasn't there at breakfast, enjoying his pancakes, and complaining loudly about the 15-minute wait.

How funny, that once upon a time, and for many years - we were this young couple... selfish, carefree... and now we're suddenly parents. There is no magic switch you can shut off... now it's always there, no matter what. And, yes, we did miss our boy. The void was there, obviously, cause damn, was it entirely too quiet.

Life is sweet!

Dinner for 2 at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena: $185.00 including tip.
Suite at a really nice hotel with HUGE bathtub in Napa: $339.00
Flosty Gritter Bubble Bar from Lush, resulting in bubbliest bubble bath EVER: $6.00

First night away together since Travis was born, with free and GREATLY appreciated babysitting from (wonderful) Grandma?

Priceless!

Long day....

I was stricken with insomnia this morning. At 3:00 am. Yeah. Lovely, no? I was on a streak, too. See what happens when you get cocky? Hormones kick your ass awake.

So, I got up, peed. Drank a glass of milk. Cause I had the heartburn, and I was STARVING. So, that helped on both fronts. I checked my blogs, I went on Ravelry. I did a tiny bit of digi-scrapping, I knit. I went back to bed around 6:30.... which was when Jeff was going to work. Travis was all cuddly and warm, and we snuggled until nearly 10:00am.

We got up, I showered, he watched a bit of TV. The damn Doodlebops were on Playhouse Disney, they kept him busy so I could shower, and take care of some serious.... eh hem, landscaping issues while I was in the shower.

All was well and good, until the effing Doodlebops were OVER and Travis was absolutely was devastated that he couldn't re-watch it. He was watching tv in our room, which is Tivo-less. Plus, I HATE that freaking show! So, we don't Tivo it, anyway. The child threw the biggest effing tantrum because of some stupid-ass gay clowns.

Yeah. Then he wanted to go to Starbucks, but not get dressed to actually LEAVE the house.

So, he eats breakfast, at nearly 11:30, and then we FINALLY leave the house about an hour later. We hit Starbucks. He wants a cookie. Okay. Here ya go. Gaudy leaf decorated with bright-ass-fake-colored icing cookie. He loves it. We go to leave, and he wants me to carry his ass across the parking lot to the bookstore. I am talking ACROSS the parking lot. THE ENTIRE THING! I was like. No, you are pushing 45 pounds, and I am 4 1/2 months pregnant. We are driving to the bookstore! Freakout #2 ensues.

Then we go to the bookstore. He's fine throughout, because I read him several hundred stories. He craps his pants, and flips out because I have to change him on the changing table in the bathroom. I talk him down from that meltdown.... we go back to reading. Everything is fine. Until....I take a kid's book with us around the corner to the knitting section, then he loses his marbles. He screams, yells, kicks, because I won't let him go back to the kid section unsupervised. We leave. Immediately. He freaks out because he wanted the book. Guess which one it was? The effing Doodlebops.

Shit.

I cannot win,I tell you.

Food is good, mmkay?! :)

We had a lovely romantic anniversary dinner out... and a wonderful Halloween with Travis. Pictures on Flickr of H'ween!

It was definitely nice to have dinner at a place with no crayons on the table! We went to one of our favorite Italian places in downtown called Cibo.

We had a super-yummy dinner. I even had a glass of merlot with dinner. While 4 and nearly 1/2 months pregnant! Shocking! Scandelous! Arrest me now!

Sue me, I'm Italian! I didn't even feel a little tipsy. :p

We had:

ANTIPASTO MISTO
calamari fritti, crab cake, bruschetta, grilled prawn, half an artichoke (grilled on a wood grill, and topped with chopped tomatoes, basil, and olive oil)

SPAGHETTI DELLA CASA (me)
Pasta straws, baby shrimp, with a pesto vodka cream sauce (holy crap it was yummy!!)

TAGLIATELLE BOLOGNESE (Jeff)
Thin pasta ribbons with a rich tomato meat sauce, and a side of their house-made italian grilled sausage.

Neither of us had room for dessert, and I ended up taking half of my pasta home and had it for lunch yesterday. Helloooo heartburn!

Last night we (well - I) carved our pumpkin, and we took Travis out Trick-or-treating. My dad came with us, and we went out to Papa Chanos for dinner.

Travis had fun.... but the neighborhood we went to, even though it was really good last year, was mostly dark. Maybe we started out too late? I don't know. He didn't get that much loot, but he had fun. :)


We went to the grocery store today, and got some 1/2 off candy anyway. We are... I mean the kid is set. :)

Travis didn't want to wear his costume last night at first, but he got into character (Superman!) and the first thing he asked for this morning was to put his costume back on. And, yes, he wore his costume almost all day. Even to the grocery store. I t was a nice diversion, considering I didn't get a chance to shower this morning. Instead of looking at my and my oily hair, people were smiling and paying attention to the cute kid in the cart instead! Endearing and cute? Yes. BUT, we'll see how that flimsy costume holds up over the next week, though. Yikes!

Right now, I am making a yummy pot roast in my slow cooker. I am using a recipe from my "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook!"


I am also going to roast fingerling potatoes, baby yams, pearl onions, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, parsnips, and turnips - really simply with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Yummy!

"Our Best Pot Roast with Roots"
from "Not your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook"
Use medium oval or large round or oval slowcooker
Serves 4-6
Setting & Time Low for 8-9 hours


2 T olive oil, or more as needed
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery (including some leaves)
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced turnips

3 lb boneless chuck roast, trimmed of all visible fat, patted dry
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 c. water

In large, heavy skillet, heat 1 T of the olive oil, over medium-high heat. Cook the veggies, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Heat the remaining 1T oil in the same pan, and add the chuck roast. Cook until well- browned, about 3 minutes per side. Add another bit of olive oil if needed before flipping over. (I was using a stainless pan, so needed the extra oil to keep roast from sticking.)Season with salt and pepper, add to the slow cooker on top of the veggies.

Pour wine into the skillet, bring to a boil. Scrape up brown bits, and boil until wine has reduced to a syrupy consistency, 1-2 minutes. Pour wine over the roast. Add the water, and bring to a full boil. Pour over the roast. Cook 8-9 hours on low.

To serve:

Transfer meat to a cutting board, scraping any clinging bits of veggies back into the cooker. Pour veggies & liquid through a mesh strainer set over a bowl. Use a spoon to press sll the liquid possible from the veggies. Discard veggies. ALlow liwuid to settle for a few minutes, and skim off as much fat from the surface as possible. Slice roast against the grain, and serve with the gravy.

Note: If the roast is cooked for the full 9 hours, it may be too tender to slice. If this happens, serve the fork-tender chunks over egg noodles, corkscrew pasta, or mashed potatoes to soak up the juice.