Noah had a very late nap this afternoon.

Actually, he only had a morning nap at school. Apparently the fact that they fired the new lead teacher who only started 2 months ago was too exciting for him to sleep. Yeah, another one of those on-the-spot, today, not about a danger to our children things. Um. Bye, Miss K.

So he napped from 5:30-6:30 pm, and then stayed up listening to the election results with us on NPR. (Our cable is out. But the Internet is working. WTF?)

Here’s Noah’s cheering when they announced that Senator Santorum was defeated!

There’s been no cheering about the anti-gay ballot measures, especially the two where Noah has grandparents, and especially especially the one where we thought we might have a chance, Wisconsin.

Maybe mommy will get to cheer later about the Democrats taking control of the House and/or the Senate.

PLLP 11/7: Fruit, 1 organic gala apple; Veg, um, I forgot veggies today; Treats, small bar of 77% cocoa chocolate that I could happily eat for the rest of my life only I have no willpower so I may have to try the actually full blown unsweetened chocolate to see if that is easier to stop eating, AND also pizza for dinner.

STRESSFUL ASIDE about cold meds and milk if you click more. (more…)

Don’t forget to go vote!!!

Ok, Internet, I need your help.

In my effort to make healthier choices, I need some ideas for that awful time in the mid-afternoon, usually sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 pm.

Coffee and chocolate have been my “pick-me-up” standbys. What can I do for a snack instead?

Here are the parameters:

• It can’t require refridgeration, at least not past the morning I’m going to eat it.
• It can require up to ~45 minutes of prep time, if that effort will get me 2-3 weeks worth of single-serving snacks. (Freezing is ok.)
• It can’t require day-of prep time.
• It should be healthier than a candy bar or a pop tart.
• It can’t be messy, as I’m going to be eating it at my desk.
• It can’t involve peanut butter. (I know, I know, I’m unamerican. I hate peanut butter.)

Don’t forget to go vote!!! 

PLLP 11/6: Fruit, 1 organic gala apple; Veg, some carrots in dinner stew; Treat, 1 pc hazelnut chocolate candy; Exercise, took the stairs once today.
Don’t forget to go vote!!!

Noah is saying his first clearly identifiable word: Good!

Among the things that are Good! are:

• apples
• pears
• anything he can put in his mouth himself
• clapping
• getting to come to the mommies’ bed at 4 am after being up from 2:30 - 3 am and keeping mommy up another half hour actively nursing with my eyes closed
• nursing
• new toys or shiny objects
• getting a mommy’s attention

His teachers claim that he can also say “uh-oh” and wave “bye-bye” but we are not so sure. Waving his hands has been a wildly popular activity with Noah for some time now, and I’m not yet convinced that it has communicative properties. We have heard an “uh-uh-uh-uh-uh” sound, but we aren’t sure whether that’s the “uh-oh” in question or just a sound Noah like’s to make.

We’ll try to capture all this cuteness on some video this weekend.

Other than that, all of us are sick. Jill has bronchitis, I developed a scratchy throat and stuffy head yesterday, and Noah’s fever is gone, but now he’s coughing and congested. He’s also been asleep for almost 2.5 hours, which may be the longest nap he’s taken in the last 6 months.

I also realized I haven’t been doing my Project Live Long & Prosper reporting in days and days. I’m also reviving the ramp-down on caffine.
PLLP, 11/3: Veggies: squash casserole; no fruit or exercise; 2 cups coffee, 1 black tea.
PLLP, 11/4 (so far): Fruit: 1/3 apple, 1/2 cup raspberries; anticipate lots of carrots & sweet potato in the crock pot chicken stew I’m making, and if it isn’t too cold, a nice walk when Noah gets up; 2 cups coffee.

Check out Choke on a Pretzel by Brian Krause, Todd Yampol on sax!

(Not Brian Krause, the actor from Charmed, but Brian Krause
the software designer/musician/bicyclist from Milwaukee.)

PLLP 10/25: Fruit - organic gala apple, Veg - 1/2 cup pot roast veggies, Treats - donuts at work (2) and 1/2 cup ice cream, Exercise - walked up and down the 7-story staircase in my building and am committed to doing it at least once/day. Plus carried around Mr. 22-lb Clingon for at least 20 minutes, maybe closer to 30. My back and shoulders are really insisting that this counts as exercise.

My friend Cindy had a lovely article published in the Orthodox Union magazine, about the unexpected spiritual journey that led her to create a Kosher home. I highly recommend the article! Cindy is a wonderful writer.

* * *

Noah was bitten again today at school. This time, it appears that he started it by pulling someone’s hair. We have to figure out how to teach him gentleness, more effectively than we’ve done so far.

We have an appointment to look at another day care center tomorrow.

* * *

We’re looking at alternative ways to babyproof our house. Putting all the stuff we don’t want Noah to reach is unrealistic.

We’re talking about investing in one of those segmented plastic play yards that you assemble around your living room or whatever.

Do any of you have any experience or opinions about these?

This kind is middle-expensive, but a friend of mine has an hilarious picture of his toddler daughter demonstrating that the little holes are perfect toe-holds. I don’t see how it’s different from this slightly less-expensive one.

By contrast, this one looks safer, but is it sufficiently “more safer” to justify the 40% price increase? (Comparing like sizes.)

PLLP, 10/24: Fruit - organic gala apple, Veg - 1/2 avocado & 1/2 cup veg leftovers from last night, Treats - donut, Exercise - none.

Last night, Noah was fussy in the evening. He couldn’t seem to decide whether or not he wanted to nurse. During one of his “not nursing” moments, he snuggled with me on the couch. The whole family watched some extremely silly and not at all scary “family” halloween movie together.

I don’t know which of us noticed it first, but Noah and I kicked back on the couch in exactly the same position, which Jill caught on camera.

Ugh.

I still think the picture is funny, but I’m also embarassed by it.

We’d weighed Noah in the morning, and I’m up about 5 lbs from a few weeks ago, and up 18 from pre-pregnancy. (He’s up to 22 lbs, but according to the baby growth charts, his height & weight are within a few percentile points of one another. Unlike mommy.)

Observations:

• When I was reporting here on what I was eating, I ate better and was losing a little less than a pound per week;
• When I eat multiple servings of fruit & veggies most days, I lose weight;
• When we have egg sandwiches for dinner or other super-easy-super-fast food because there’s been no planning involved, I gain weight; and
• Running upstairs or downstairs with Noah to get something that I left the other place is not enough cardio, but carrying my own personal 22 lb klingon does count as strength training.

PLLP, 10/23: Fruit - 1 organic gala apple, Veg - 2/3 cup raw carrots with lunch, +1 cup carrots, parsnips, mushrooms, and potatos (cooked with a 2-more-meals-worth pot roast in my bran-new 5.5 quart crockpot) with dinner. Treats - 3 mini candy bars, 1/2 cup chocolate pudding cup. Exercise - none.

I am mostly happy to report that Noah slept wonderfully this weekend. Yesterday, he had 2 naps (1 hr, 10 min & 2 hrs 25 min), and today, he had 2 more (1 hr, 40min & 2 hrs, 20 min).

I’m glad he’s getting close to an average baby his age amount of sleep on the weekend, and it really made me determined to work with the school to help find a way to help him sleep more during the week.

Now, Mommy needs to get some of that sleep.

PLLP: 10/1: Fruit - going to go have raspberries & figs when I get off the computer; Veg - none; Treats - none.

9/30: Fruit - fruit salad; Veg - carrots, mu shi chicken; Treats - none.

9/29: Fruit - sm scoop fruit salad; Veg - 2/3 cup creamed corn, few baby carrots; Treats - donut.