What does it mean?

Any Spanish used in blog posts is hyperlinked to its English translation.

Monday, August 5, 2013

My sweet beautiful ginormous baby boy

The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe is dutifully filing away a pile of accumulated paperwork. Today was Kid 2's well-child visit. (Ouch!)

THCSITU found the little report cards from the Guajolotita's visits as he filed away the Guajolotito's from today. He is heavier at 4 months than she was at 9 months! He is only 1/2 an inch shorter! I can't believe that he is the same physical size as she was on her first trip to Mexico.
Kid 2, 4 months: 18 lbs14 oz, 27.25"
Kid 1, 9 months: 18 lbs 3oz, 28.25"
 She was crawling and cruising and clapping and pulling the magnets off the fridge and fell off the bed onto the (concrete) floor face-first (twice). He likes to "stand" and pull hair and giggle and drool. At 9 months he'll do all the same things she could, I imagine, but how big will he be by then?? My sweet delicious boy. He's so cuddly and amazing.

D'oh: having typed that it just occurred to me, this is going to be one heckuva crowded trip. We were 3 people in 2 seats on that trip. Now we'll be 3 people in 4 seats but the guy without the seat will be a lot bigger than our first lap child. Ah well.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Anecdotes

I'm super angry right now because I forgot ALL of the components of the pump at home - yesterday it was the tubing, last week it was something else.


*   *   *

Kid 1 is learning about relationships. She told me something like, "R** es el esposo de Abuela." I tell her that's right, and we go through and name all the husband/wife pairs in our family. She immediately follows up with: "*** es mi esposo" (Kid 2 is my husband), as she hugs him tight.


*   *   *

We went on a weekend roadtrip 8hrs away for a relative's memorial service. He died one year ago and we'd nicknamed the event J**'s Permanent Siesta Fiesta. Kid 2, just like his sister as an infant, HATES THE CAR. Screams for hours without stopping. Our last stop, for food and potty breaks, left us 2 hrs till home. From 8pm-10pm, Kid 2 screamed. Without stopping. Kid 1, poor girl, is cooped up back there with the screamer. She started making pretend phone calls to her second cousin whom she'd met at the Fiesta. For two hours. She would hand the phone to me and tell me to talk to her, and then started demanding that Papi also join in the conversation. This cousin speaks English, so these conversations were in English:
"Hi! What are you doing? I'm in the car."
Papi cleverly answers,
"I'm driving, I can't talk on the phone."
To which Kid 1 has a solution:
"Put it on speaker! Papi you press the button! Put it on speaker! Talk to C**!"

*   *   *

Kid 2 rolled over for his extended family audience this weekend. He's rolled from tummy to back several times, but doesn't make a habit out of it yet. This was the first time I've seen him roll from his back to his tummy all on his own. I was doing one last diaper change al fresco as Kid 1 played with some of her second cousins. He starts arching his back and flipping onto his side. I am talking to a cousin (who is an OBGYN, knows lots about babies and childbirth and is just a super interesting lady) and we start to cheer him on: Come on! You can do it! He sort of slowly pivots around one shoulder, fussing with all his effort, and eventually Whomp lands on his belly, completely sprawled out in the grass. He was 16 weeks old that day.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Denying the approach of Back to Work

I have two weeks left.

I'm freaking out internally. I did post an ad for childcare, but I just have no desire at all to meet these women. I don't want to leave my baby for someone else to love. I don't want someone else to negotiate the relationship between my kids. It's astounding the amount of thoughtless, stupid stuff that people say to kids.

On the other hand, I have no desire to fix dinner while managing the kids. The idea of trying to accomplish that is just exhausting. Either I leave the Guajolotito to scream for a while in the early evening, or I strap him on and attempt to cook with 18lbs suspended between me and the stove. Usually I choose option 1 because option 2 doesn't seem safe. Besides which that's the witching hour so the Guajolotita is either running circles around me or having insane meltdowns about nothing.

I also do not manage to keep the house clean OR do fun things with the kids. Really, I mean a usual outing is walking to the grocery store with the wagon which is kinda fun but she'd rather ride her balance bike to the park. But then she's too tired to cooperate at the grocery store... or if we are out all morning then the dishwasher never gets loaded and I can't plan something for dinner. But staying home realistically means changing diapers and negotiating the potty and nursing the baby and feeding the kid and I usually do run a couple loads of laundry but nothing really gets picked up or cleaned.

They don't sleep at the same time. My sweet boy naps in the late morning, waking up just one Kid 1 goes to sleep, and he falls asleep again about an hour after Kid 1 wakes up. This also contributes to the difficulty we have going for outings. I want to get the house a bit picked up/organized before going out for the day and by then Kid 2 is asleep in his bed. He will happily sleep in the Ergo but, having Kid 1 as such a poor sleeper I really want to let the Guajolotito sleep IN HIS BED so he doesn't get used to sleeping only with the motion of being strapped on to me. Also I am more or less trying to the Guajolotita be more responsible for herself - waiting for her to put her shoes on, waiting for her to let me know she has to go to the bathroom - but she takes FOREVER. And between that and the other one sleeping, then we are captive till 3pm each day.

But after I go back to work, I'll only see these kids for an hour before bed, AND still have to fix dinner during that time, and laundry and real cleaning will have to happen after they are in bed. A babysitter does a better job of loading/unloading the dishwasher and keeping the toys picked up than I do though. Or at least, that was true with one kid. I dunno if that will be true with two. I suspect probably.

Even though I don't feel like I do a very good job of "being home" I do really have fun with these kids. It's a wonderful feeling to just know everything the Guajolotita is talking about. None of it is a mystery - well OK a lot of it still is a mystery, I have no idea where some of her ideas are coming from, but many things I can relate to various conversations we had during the week. She's so sweet with her babydoll Alex, and occasionally plays so nicely with her brother, and tells me these neverending incredible stories. I really do feel so fortunate to know her and get to see her so much. I don't want to give that up.

:-(

P.S. childcare will be more than my salary when I go back. For at least the next 2 years.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

El guajolote

We sometimes refer to Kid 2 with a typical diminutive of his name (ending in "-ito") but more often make a silly version ending with "-azo" or "-ote" which implies bigness. This kid is big. He's wearing mostly 9 month size clothes at 2 months. At his two month checkup today he was off the charts for height and weight. He's my Ferdinand the Bull - sweet, loveable, and massive. He can hoist his entire upper body up with his arms during his tummy time (that's of his nearly 17lb body, mind you). He usually suffers his sister's love - administered in smacks to the face, suffocating kisses, and thrown objects ("Estoy compartiendo!") - with little complaint. His baby smiles are a huge open mouth, a soundless belly laugh.

I'm so in love. I spend all day kissing his squishy cheeks and snuggling him. Well, that time that I'm not fending off Kid 1, or stuffing him into the Ergo so that I can accomplish something despite my two lovely assistants, or studiously setting him down to sleep so I don't screw up his sleeping patterns like I did Kid 1. So, like maybe an hour a day? Sigh, second child syndrome. Poor kid.

Bears run the internet

The Guajolotita was on the computer today - punching the keyboard and clicking around with the mouse to entertain herself - and she started explaining something to me about "las osas" and "internet". I kept thinking she was bastardizing an English word or I was otherwise hearing her wrong. Recounting to THCSITU tonight to see if he knew what she was talking about, I realized: she likes the Charmin commercial that has been coming up before the version of El son de La Negra that she usually watches.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

2-week postpartum checkup

I was 177 the Friday before the Guajolotito was born - it's 20 days later (18 since he was born) and I am at 151. Still a long way to go to get to 133 - well, say maybe 138 while still breastfeeding.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

English!

The kid's English is exploding by leaps and bounds, though of course her productive vocabulary is smaller than normal. She definitely knows more English than we think she does, though. Tonight she told me:
"Give me another one balloon!"

That is a longer sentence than usual for her in English - her English is still phrased via memorized chunks of speech (she can't conjugate on her own, for instance). Things like "See you soon!" and "I want [noun in Spanish or English]" and "I have [noun in Spanish or English]" make up most of the English that we hear at home. She includes words like "more" in appropriate or close to appropriate spots.

This last weekend I had told her in Spanish that my dad was coming to take her to Trader Joe's (so she should go potty, get ready to go, etc.) When he called to say he was on his way, she heard his voice on speaker phone and started marching around shouting at him (over the phone),
"I'm go Trader Joe's! I'm go Trader Joe's!"

She's also an adept translator. If she says something in English, she can absolutely say it again in Spanish. Or, if she hears us say something in English - she often repeats it back to us (or otherwise follows up) in Spanish.

We spend time each day talking about languages. If she asks us something in English (I want more blueberries) we'll say something

Last night we played "camion" for more than 20 minutes. She put her kid chairs in a row and handed me a fake hamburger bun while grabbing a plastic plate for herself and sang "The Wheels on The Bus" in English - though all the other conversation ("Sientate aqui. Maneja tu! Yo me siento aqui con el oso.") was in Spanish. I kept calling it "Los Wheels on the Bus" which is wrong anyway because they are "LAS Ruedas del Camion". I'm sure she will correct me one day soon.

She knows the song in both languages so she'd occasionally repeat the verse in Spanish after singing it in English - it was just fascinating to listen to her use her languages and move between them so freely.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Missing my little girl

Yesterday was a relatively large snowstorm so I left work early to pick up the Guajolotita #1 from school. Usually my MIL does that, but we didn't want her to be driving so far in that weather so I got to do it instead.

The kid looked at me when I walked in - she was one of the last kids left, the school was closing early because of the snow - and got shy. Then confused. "Vamos... a la escuela?" she asked me. I laughed and apologized for not being Abuela and told her she was already at school - now we were going to leave school.

We got to spend the afternoon together which was just great. Honestly THCSITU and I each get very little one-on-one time with her. Yesterday I found out that she needs to cuddle for like 30 min after school even if she's hungry. I didn't know that. It was so fun to just hold her. She wouldn't let me put her down, so I made her tea and got her snack ready with one hand, and her on my other hip. I didn't mind it - there are only a couple weeks left where we can have that kind of time together. I won't be able to carry her even when necessary very soon because my arms will be occupied with her "hermanito" (o hermanita, no sabemos).

The midwives also were closing early due to the snow so my appointment was moved up. The Guajolotita and I came late for the new earlier appt time (but fed and happy - not worth rushing and bringing a CRANKY toddler!) and were the only clients there. She was VERY excited to "escuchar al hermanito al corazon," as she put it.

Then we got back home and I let her play in the snow. I attempted to shovel the front walk (8 or 9 inches deep by then) but of course didn't do a very good job. The kid followed along behind me or attempted to walk through the snow but of course it was nearly up to her crotch so she ended up crawling around in it like a tiny bear or something. I noticed her eating the snow which made me laugh so much - her first taste of snow! I didn't say anything - it was clean and interesting and new and such a perfect thing for a kid to be doing. :)

We went inside and stripped down and read books on the potty till Papi came home. I made a SALAD - we haven't had salad in weeks - and she was in bed without any crisis at a reasonable time (for us - 8:45 or so).

Now it's Wednesday and I'm at work and I miss her SO much. I want to listen to her go on and on about things that I can't make any sense out of, and have her boss me around (Trae una silla! Sientate! Aqui!!). She's just so interesting and sweet and confusing and hilarious.

I just wanted to write all this down because it's probably the last time we will have such a fun leisurely time together just she and I for many many months.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Third trimester, school!

This goes along with the other new sibling preparations.

Besides the things I wrote about here, enrolling the Guajolotita #1 in school was absolutely part of preparing her for her new sibling.

I decided that the Guajolotita was ready for some outside-the-home activities. She loves to be with other kids and I think she could use more stimulation than what she was getting with our babysitter. If I was home with her, I might have felt differently because I would appreciate the things we did together more than the activities the babysitter did with her. (Sometimes I thought the babysitter's idea of a fun/educational activity were absolutely idiotic.)
  • we enrolled the Guajolotita in school. We started visiting schools the first week of the second trimester. We visited 5 schools and picked one, submitting our application and deposit a few weeks before the start of the third trimester.
  • we talked a lot about school during that searching time. The Guajolotita's cousin is 2 years and 9 months older than she is, and after being at our house for childcare started school before this pregnancy was public. Our babysitter would pick him up from school - so the Guajolotita was very accustomed to the idea that kids go to school. She'd seen his school and been in the building to pick him up. So she was excited to be doing the same thing as her idolized older cousin.
  • After submitting our deposit, the week we left on vacation, we took her to visit her new school. She stayed almost an hour and I took some photos of her with her teachers and classmates. I made a little multi-image print, with several copies and the names of her teachers. We took this with us on vacation and reminded her about her experience. She learned the names of her teachers and gave a copy to each set of family we visited - a little kid-souvenir for them, and a chance to take ownership of her coming new experience for her.
  • She's been home full-time since birth with Abuela or a babysitter. She's used to running around with other kids at the park and at the library every day for a couple of hours. We started her with 3 hrs/day, every morning, 5 days a week. The adjustment was hard.
  • Our babysitter left us and my suegra's schedule only allows her to get the Guajolotita from school after 3pm. So we extended her day and she is at school 6 hrs/day, 5 days a week. This adjustment was absolutely easy. I still feel guilty about this though.
I really think that she was ready for school anyway - perhaps one or two hours a day, two or three days a week. However, the schools all said that consistency and routine are best for the child. MWF different from T/Th would just make the adjustment harder. I think they are right.

The upside to starting her in school a bit earlier, and for longer, than I might otherwise have done had I not been pregnant, is that when I am home on maternity leave - sleep deprived, nursing around the clock, washing 1000 diapers - the Guajolotita will be having fun with her friends, working on projects at school, and go to the park every day. Her naptime will be uninterrupted by any baby crying. Her life will continue to have some normalcy instead of every moment being upended by the baby.

I will get to have some alone time with this new baby, hopefully get dishes and laundry done while she is at school, and then when she comes home I can have some quality Guajolotita #1 time and not feel guilty about "neglecting" the infant (as I've read there is a lot of guilt about focusing on one child at a time).

Also, when I go back to work at 12 weeks and our new babysitter starts, that babysitter will also have time to get to know this new baby, and perhaps do a load of laundry, before picking up the Guajolotita #1 from school and playing with her.

I am excited about maternity leave and picking up the Guajolotita from school myself for those months. I am hoping my suegra wants to come over sometimes and have time with the new baby while I WALK to pick up the kid from school and hopefully bring her home in the jogging stroller. Postpartum fitness, quality time with Kid 1, grandma gets to have Kid 2 all to herself - win for everyone!

Preparing Guajolote #1 for Guajolote #2

These are the things we've been doing to try and help the Guajolotita be able to adjust to being a big sister. She'll be about 2 years and 2 weeks old when the Guajolotito #2 is born:

First trimester:

  • we moved her out of the crib and onto a floor mattress in late July, before I even knew I was pregnant.
  • we never took down the crib or allowed her to play in/with it.
  • way back when we told our parents I was pregnant, around 11 weeks of pregnancy in September, we started calling the pink-painted bedroom where the Guajolotita sleeps "el cuarto de los niños" ("the kids' room") instead of "Guajolotita's room" "your room" etc. Stuff like, "Put your shoes away in the kids' room." She was not quite 18 months and started calling it that right away.
  • We took her to the 13 week NT-scan ultrasound to see her "hermanito"

Second trimester:

  • The cutest thing ever about "un bebe en mi pancita" is that after her bath, as we are putting her pajamas on her, she would grab her own round little belly and tell us that she had a baby in her belly. She'd pat mine and talk about it then grab her own and talk about it the same way. Just hilarious and so adorable. She went on to tell Papi and Abuelo that they also had babies in THEIR bellies. Her Abuelo had a good time talking to her about what WAS in fact in his belly: cerveza, pizza, papaya, etc. and also about what was in hers: papaya, carnitas, etc.
  • she started to interact a great deal with my belly. She pulled up my shirt, caressed it, hugged it, kissed it, talked to it: "Hola hermanito!" and "Hermano o hermana, no sabemos!" were the two things she said the most.
  • I gave her one of the diaper covers (we cloth diaper) for her stuffed animals. She has a stuffed bear that became "el oso con pañal" and she was always undiapering it and asking for "Ayuda!" to put it back on.
  • her Abuela gave her a baby doll and toy stroller. It's a very nice toy. She loved marching back and forth with it. The babysitter taught her to put the baby and her shoulder, pat her back, rock her, and shush her to sleep.
The babysitter also taught her to change the baby's diaper - lots and lots of toilet paper used in this process for a few days! She'd put the baby crossways on top of the open disposable diaper, then run to the bathroom for a square of toilet paper. She wiped at the baby's still-clothed behind, then ran to the bathroom, threw the toilet paper in the toilet, grabbed another square... like 15 times per episode.
  • She started to share with my belly too. If she was eating strawberries, she'd lift up my shirt and pretend to feed my bellybutton. She would ask to read "con el hermanito". She shared toys, for instance "compartir el rompecabezas con el hermanito" by putting the puzzle pieces on top of my belly as she sat on my lap to do a puzzle. (She still spoke in infinitives about half the time at this age.)

Third trimester:

  • we bought a little kid-sized drawer set and put her clothes in it. She can reach all of the drawers easily and put her own clothes away (with some supervision, but she doesn't need physical help). The dresser that matches the crib is empty of her things. Around Week 36 or so I figure to wash the baby clothes and she can help me put them away.
  • we bought kid-friendly coat hooks and hung them on her door, the bathroom door, and the front door at the highest height she could reach. This is to give her more autonomy. She hangs her own hand towel and dries her hands herself, gets and puts away her own coat, and has her own drawer in the shoe cabinet by the front door that she can put her shoes in herself.
  • at this point, my belly is her property. She tells strangers that her "hermanito" is in there when we are out. Anything she is doing, she expects to be able to incorporate her "hermanito".
  • We are trying hard to remind her "hermanito, un nino con pene, o una hermanita, una nina con vulva" (bad translation at that link! vulva is the same in Spanish and English!) We do ask her if she thinks it might be one or the other. She usually says "hermanito" but I think that's just because it's the first part of the phrase. We'll find out in 6 weeks...
  • we got these books: I'm a Big Sister! When You Were Inside Mommy, and The New Baby at Your House. We skip parts of all of these stories and just talk about the pictures on some pages - they address some of the negative feelings that a small child may have when a sibling is born: jealousy, regression, etc. If the Guajolotita #1 starts to do those things, it will be useful to have those books to talk about them but for right now we are keeping it positive.
  • We bring her to almost all midwife visits. We told her she will hear the corazon de su hermanito, and she seemed to start to understand around week 30. She talked all the way there about it, she was very excited - and when the midwife put the doppler on my belly and turned the speaker towards her, you could see the wheels turning: she looked at my belly and at the speaker and at me, again and again, with these big eyes. She talked about it for days afterwards too. She'd heard the heartbeat on the doppler before, but I think we'd just told her that the sound was her hermanito - this time the different phrasing (and her getting just a bit older and understanding more) seemed to make a difference.

Preparations not yet undertaken:

  • Week 36? install infant carseat so she gets used to having a roommate in the back seat, having to get in and out of the car on the driver's side, etc.
  • Week 37? get out/put together the baby gear: bouncy seat, co-sleeper, diapers&changing pad, tummy time mat, rock-n-play sleeper. So she learns that these are not toys, they are only for the baby.
  • Week 36? Wash and put away the baby clothes.
  • I'd like for her to learn how to dress herself some more. She can almost do her undies & socks & shoes herself, and she can take off most of her shirts herself. She's learning to pull her pants down too. I think with some focus she can learn to do at least her undies and pants on and off mostly herself.
  • We need a way for her to eat at the dining table with us. Right now all 3 of us eat at her kid-sized table in the kitchen - which only has space really for 2 toddlers. Add a baby to one toddler and two adults and there's just no way.
  • She needs to learn to fall asleep without someone immediately next to her bed. She's starting to object less if I move from the chair next to her bed to the glider in her room. I figure I'll be sitting in there nursing a baby anyway so it's OK for her to expect someone to be there, but she needs to accept that I won't be immediately next to her bed.
  • What else?!?

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

11 things Liebster

"Liebster Award" is a blog chain letter thing. In the rendition I was tagged in, by Korinthia's Quiet Corner, I am supposed to:
  • List 11 things about me
  • Answer the 11 questions she posed to her nominees
  • Propose my own 11 questions
  • Nominate 11 small time bloggers to do the same (list 11 things about themselves, answer my 11 questions, propose their own 11 questions, and nominate 11 more small-time bloggers)
    • "small-time" bloggers were indicated as blogs with a following of fewer than 200 - um, I totes qualify. Go me!

 11 things about me:

  1. Too much of my mental space is mom-oriented at this point. Probably quite a few people who know me casually and who know me well would agree.
  2. We got married in semi-secret and we never officially "told". I confessed to my closest friends after several years, but that was it. It sort of eventually got around, after several years.
  3. Playing in an orchestra this year has been so amazingly good for me. Having a great conductor is wonderful icing on that cake. I think this may help with Item 1.
  4. I rarely read anymore, unless it's a parenting-related book. Changing this would also help with Item 1. But there are dishes to do and meals to cook and I never post updates about my kid(s) anymore as it is... and soon there will be diapers to wash too.
  5. I knew what would happen to my breasts post-breastfeeding. But especially following almost 2 years of "real" boobs thanks to pregnancy and breastfeeding, it was still a nasty shock. I have always been fairly comfortable with my body shape and proportions - until then.
  6. I really regret never studying abroad. Or teaching english abroad after graduation. Or going on any sort of independent international adventure.
  7. I'd like to have more than 2 kids, but we can't afford to travel with more than 4 plane tickets, so we'll stop. Also, I'd like to see part of my paycheck again someday. This working-for-childcare arrangement is soul-sucking.
  8. The first 7 were written on a different week than these last 4. This one may color the remainder. Item 8: I can function for a long time on very little sleep. However, my house and my nutrition and my relationship with my husband all suffer because of it. Please, child, sleep...
  9. I will eat anything, but I am also happy to eat the same thing every single day. I had the same sandwich every day for months until I got pregnant again, and hummus suddenly became unpleasant.
  10. You cannot imagine the state of my desk at work. It's incredible. The layer of stuff is at least 6" deep. This is its normal state.
  11. I went back to work after the Guajolotita #1 was born in part because I was scared to stay home.

And here are my 11 Answers:

  1. If you had to leave your house in a hurry and could never go back what items would you grab?

    Kid(s), of course. Beyond them... Perhaps the folder with our passports? Our photo albums are in the basement so I probably wouldn't have time to get those. If for some reason I did have that kind of time, I'd grab the photo album from when we got married, and also throw the computer out the window so some of our vacation pics to China and Turkey wouldn't be lost. Beyond that I can't think of any *thing* that I would be so upset about in the face of whatever was causing me to be evicted from the premises on short notice. (As it was Korinthia's Quiet Corner that put me up to this, I feel obligated to mention my instrument and while I appreciate my viola and think it has a nice sound, it is not actually fancy and was only $250 plus repairs.)


  2. Is there anyone from your past you hope never to run into?

    I think I've blocked such unpleasant experiences. There are a couple of ex-boyfriends that would be awkward to run into, but I would certainly survive the experience. Things that were worse - highschool humiliation or semi-frightening sexual harassment incidents - I can't remember exactly the context anymore so I can't conjure up who was what. Also, I've changed so much, and have so much confidence now that things I might think would bother me probably wouldn't.
    Although, for those that know me, here's the DUH answer: my mom. (yeah, that's sad, especially on a mom blog, but sweet jesus it's the truth. These have been the best 10 years of all of our lives.)


  3. If millions of dollars fell into your lap lottery-style, what would you do with it?

    • Pay off the buildings we and our parents own.
    • Put away $ for kids' college & my nephew.
    • Send my brother & sister to college.
    • Get our family abroad hot water and flush toilets and a college education for those who want it.
    • Buy a condo for each of my siblings and husband's siblings.
    • Donate half of it - perhaps start a foundation for college scholarships for undocumented immigrant kids, or maybe to fund education in low-income communities some how?
    • Pay my sister's med school debt.
    • Pay my brother-in-law's law school debt.
    • Also we'd probably have another couple of kids, since at that point we could afford to.
    • Oh and have better retirement funding for us too.


  4. If there was one thing about yourself you could magically fix what would it be?

    This is really general. That is intentional - I imagine the thrust of the question-asker is more personal-flaw oriented than physical. I don't know what my biggest flaw is - I can list many but I don't know what the worst one is that needs the most immediate attention. I guess selfishly I'd say I wish I kept a better house - I'm not highly organized and not a good housekeeper. Our floors always should've been mopped a week ago. However, less selfishly I would say I should have more patience with my family. I have lots of patience with Kid 1 and I think also with THCSITU, but sometimes my original family - siblings and dad - get the short end of my patience and they shouldn't. Like all families, they have put up with a lot from me over the years.


  5. What book do you think I probably haven't read but should?

    The Diamond Age. The original Dune and any Ray Bradbury and Hobbit&LOTR are some of my favorite books. This one is fairly dystopian though, not really uplifting. Not as epic and drawn out as LOTR, since you mention that you don't like that trilogy.


  6. Do you think it's true that no two snowflakes look alike?

    Nope. The odds of them being actually identical are low. But to look alike to the untrained eye, even with a high magnification image? I bet that happens.


  7. Who is the person you can most rely on to make you laugh?

    Kid 1, she cracks me up an awful lot. The person who makes me laugh the most overall, however, is probably THCSITU. I see him/talk to him most so he has the most chances. :) I can't go looking for a laugh from either one though - it's not fair to the kid of course, and THCSITU just doesn't work that way.


  8. If you had to live in a different country, which one would it be?

    I'd give Europe a shot. That paid maternity leave and social support system is really tempting. Also the kids would get to be trilingual by default, how cool would that be?


  9. If I told you tomorrow you could hang out for the whole day with anybody, who would you pick?

    Anybody in the universe? Or anybody I know?

    Anybody in the Universe (living): I think I'd like to hang out with Barack. He seems fun and incredibly smart, and interesting. Other people I admire of similar stature (say, Hillary) I would just be too intimidated. It would feel like I was in the interview of my lifetime. President Obama smiles and jokes and is less scary.

    Anybody I know already in real life: another of my oldest friends, who lives in China with her family, kids, etc. so the chance of us actually getting to spend a day together without also refereeing kids is slim to none. That would be a great treat. I feel lucky that I got to see her a few days this summer at all.


  10. What is your favorite building?

    My dad's house. I think I've come to terms with the fact that he will sell it in the next few years. I am not sad or angry about that anymore... but I think it will still be really hard when it does happen.


  11. Sisko or Janeway?

    Well my geek card is totally revoked because I did NOT recognize this question at all. A quick google helped me remember about Captain Janeway - we watched a LOT of STNG with my dad growing up, but I was already older (and busier) by the time it ended. I've seen some Voyager, but little Deep Space Nine at all. My youngest sibling would give me a lecture if he knew I couldn't answer this question.

11 Questions

  1. What's the best vacation you've ever been on/what made it great?
  2. What is something you've never done that you really want to try some day?
  3. What study/career path did you NOT follow that you are still intrigued by?
  4. How do you get the news: read, watch, or listen? (To follow political stuff, find out about international crises, that sort of thing.) Feel free to elaborate.
  5. iPhone, Android, something else?
  6. When you fight with someone close to you, are you a screamer? Do you curse? Do you stomp off and leave the situation/leave them behind? What's your natural approach?
  7. Where've you never been that you wish you could go?
  8. What's your favorite thing about your current living situation?
  9. What language would you most like to learn?
  10. What can you repair yourself? (computer, car, sock, etc.?)
  11. Who would be your preferred desert island buddy? (not kids or spouse/boyfriend - you were on a cruise without them when you got stranded!)
I tried to think of questions that are a little fantastic but attainable, and also others that make me think about the good things I've got (or for that one of them, things I could do better).

11 blogs:

Like Korinthia's Quiet Corner, I don't know of 11 small blogs to link to. I came up with 7, all except one are people I know IRL. Some of these blogs haven't been updated in many months though:

MonkeysGoHome
Classical Sass
Motherhood
waitingforlittlefeet
MommyWorkingFullTime
Hey Unity & Brixton
Tania

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Muy argentina

"Leelo chanchitos!" she says, with Pigs in Hiding in her hand.

Papi takes the book from her, and she hits the armchair. "En el sishon!" (sillon)

Mi suegra has been in Mexico for a month, and we were on vacation there for two weeks before that. Asi que the babysitter has been coming 5 days a week - 5 afternoons of Argentine Spanish. Before we went to Mexico she did this really interesting instant accent switch whenever the babysitter walked in the door on Wednesday morning, and switched back overnight on Fridays. But without the alternating schedule, the Argentinian pronunciation is taking over.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Escuela

Jan 9th (1st day of school)

9:21am

Proud of us today: 50 min from waking the kid up, to in the car on our way to first day of "school" (montessori preschool that accepts 2 yr olds). Did #1 and #2 on the potty, ate 2 eggs with pesto and half a grapefruit, dressed, teeth brushed, and hair done. Un-freakin-believable (to me). I heard her start to scream for me as I left her there but I am having faith in her personal strength that she'll have a fun morning after all.

(P.S. those achievements were on her part, not mine. I did shower and make breakfast before waking her up, but my teeth are NOT brushed yet - garlic breath to talk to her teachers this morning, go me - and I'm wearing the same pants we flew in yday)

P.S. again: checked my phone and got a pic from a teacher via text of her happily "working" within 30 min of being dropped off. All is fine.

3:25pm

P.S. again: she named her baby doll "Alex" this afternoon, I'm assuming after a kid in her class. Promising, I think. However, this was also followed by "No me pegas, Alex" ("Don't hit me, Alex") so I'll wait to celebrate that one...

Jan 19th (end of first full week of school)

Last night was bad (how does a kid wet the bed twice in one night when she's had no nighttime accidents in weeks?) But this morning my husband got up with her, loaded&ran the dishwasher, and made breakfast! Amazing and so very much appreciated.

Jan 21st

Friday night was bad, but last night (Sunday night) was SO MUCH WORSE. I think this is worse than newborn sleeplessness because I don't have the bonding hormones making me delusional over my beautiful child AND because I have lots of anxiety that if she and I don't sleep NOW, how in the holy hell will we sleep after there IS a newborn here IN 9 WEEKS?!? freaking out. freaking the F out.

Jan 23rd (second day of second full week of school)

She mostly slept through the night last night. She went to bed with relatively little fuss (yeah, nearly an hour of singing and convincing to stay in the bed, but few tears) and then slept from 930-5. I gave her some water and put her in bed and she rolled over and fell asleep till 730. I think she did it just to screw with me.

Jan 24th

7:30am

I don't even know how many times she woke up last night. I knew she slept well one night just to mess with me.

1:22pm

NO TEARS at dropoff this week. 2 days, the teacher met her before her actual classroom and led her by the hand. Today, she just left me behind and climbed up the 3 steps herself (as I took off running so she couldn't look back at me and waver). I think a late dropoff (caused by NOT SLEEPING ALL NIGHT) is actually helpful because none of the other kids are crying when she gets there. She gets upset when kids cry.

Jan 29th (second day of 3rd full week of school)

UPDATE: SHE SLEPT THRU NIGHT LAST NIGHT. 2 DAYS IN A ROW HAS ENTERED CLASSROOM HAPPILY AND ON HER OWN - NO SUBTERFUGE OR HANDHOLDING. I ALMOST CRIED WITH HAPPINESS!!! THIS IS THE BEST DAY!!!
 


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Ramblings.

Tenemos que arreglar la calle porque esta MUY OSCURO!

This was her technique for stalling getting into the car last night - she wanted to play outside but I wanted to get to the grocery store. So she balked at the car door and started pontificating about whatever she could come up with in the hopes that she could redirect me into playing outside instead. That line above was her opening volley and it worked. I laughed a little out loud and followed her up and down the the block as she narrated. It was 6pm, totally dark out, and there was an inch or so of snow on the ground. But we were letting THCSITU sleep since he'd gotten up with her during half of her night wakings and spent most of the day single parenting while I was out.

When she says stuff like that, it's usually accompanied with some hilarious gesture mimicry - she takes her finger and uses it to sort of accentuate her point, whatever that may be. It's sort of halfway between a finger wag and a "Eureka!" motion. I'm not sure where she got that from.

In general, when she really gets going, she will construct these incredible run-on sentences, usually using a single connecting word repeatedly: porque, pues, y, or despues. By the time the "sentence" ends it's so far from where she started that the whole thing makes no sense at all. One clause porque another clause porque a different clause porque...

Her use of "esto" is really hilarious. It's totally correct, but just so entertaining to hear her say it. I'm not sure why.

Also, the "muy oscuro!" referenced in the first line is a phrase she's had for months. She has this great inflection when she says it, very dramatic. MUY OSCUUUUUUUUUUUROOOOO!