early mornings

This post is for anyone whose baby wakes them up crazy early in the morning.

Sunrise, Fort Greene Park, Isaac is almost as sleepy as me.  That's why he's blurry!

Morning = Spring
Daytime = Summer
Evening = Autumn
Night = Winter

Spring is the most lovely and fleeting time of the year, no?  And we get to be awake for it!
Thank you babies!

Milk Money!?

Jeremy brought home Wired magazine from work yesterday.  No biggie, he does that often.
But this time there was an article about breast-milk(!) inside!  Quite a biggie!
First of all, I have never known of Wired magazine, with its microscope focused on innovation and technology, to report on our boobs.  [Actually I'm wrong - there was an article about plastic surgery sometime ago, but that is certainly not my boobs!]
To summarize, breastmilk equals big money nowadays.  The wet-nurse of times gone by has been replaced by craigslist like websites where women can hock their rich and creamy milk, for a fee, or for the satisfaction of helping another momma in need.  The FDA is worried that mothers will make their babies sick with milk that has not been tested to be contagion free, and companies like Prolacta are spinning our milk in centrifuges to break it down and sell it concentrated.  Its a delicate and expensive balance to feed babies!
I shouldn't be surprised that breastmilk has hit its own marketable stride, which it appears to be doing, as fast as I can pump.  Or even faster.  But it still leaves me a little uneasy. 
Nevertheless, I couldn't wait to drink the article up.   Which I did while flossing, last night.  And which you can too, by clicking on the milk bottles below.

Photo: Mitchell Feinberg

Down By The Bay

For a while now I've been telling Jeremy that I've found where I want to live.

here!

In this book!
It's a story-song about a little boy who doesn't want to go home because his mom will make silly rhymes like, "Have you ever seen a whale with a polka-dotted tail, down by the bay?"
I personally have no idea why he wouldn't want to go home.  To me it looks positively, colorfully, water-ly delightful.  The bay is so blue, the grass so verdant, and his momma disheveled-ly charming.
Plus, as he complains to his friend about how he can't go home, he looks so darn happy. They're swinging from trees, spitting watermelon seeds (home is where watermelons grow), and hanging upside down.
What more could a kid (or me) want!?

That is why yesterday, when as usual, I should have been napping (I am very pro-nap), I was instead filling my mind and body with glorious daydreams of living in this house:

Down by the bay?

What huge windows!  Loads of grass!  A wooden bench!?  I see Adirondack chairs too...
The NY Times said the master bedroom sits "perch-like" overlooking the trees.  It has gardens: Where watermelons could grow?  Or is it too cold in Maine to grow watermelons?
I must find out.
My dream-house is cradled by 8 acres of land (near the bay!), and dotted with a studio, and a workshop.  Heaven, heaven, heaven.
More pics for you to drool (with me) over below:

That's the studio back there ~ oh, so cute! And functional!

No mosquitos gonna get you in here!

Not exactly my style, but I would not complain, promise.

Isaac could be a fan of orange, easy.

They had a few other houses to drive you nuts with in this slideshow, but I'm just going to keep on with my Maine-ia.

Beauteous Buns!!

Isaac's buns:  I find them so very irresistible!
His buns are why I stayed up too late the night before last (I'm still tired), immersed in cloth diapers from the website, Preston's Pants.   Please understand that a momma such as myself spends an unbelievable amount of time doing and undoing diaper-pants.  By online shopping late into the night, I was standing up for my artistic sense and state of mind!

Isaac's Pants

Preston's Pants is run by a delightful momma to 3 (Preston being one of them) named Colleen.  She lives in Pennsylvania (I imagine countryside?) and makes the best cloth diapers I have ever seen.  The one the wee Isaac is modelling above and below (on the nice green sort of grass/sort of clover of the Pratt Art Institute), I found at a consignment shop, thus beginning my lovely diaper obsession. 
Seriously, these bun-coverings are like fine little gems, works of art.

check out the gathers!

I am still not done bestowing the virtues of Preston's Pants!  Most of the pants are made custom, so you get to pick all the fabrics and snaps yourself!  Its like being a momma in a fabric shop.  Especially exciting since there has been no time for this momma to go to a fabric shop. 
My "fluffy", as she calls them (because their baby-buns look extra fluffy while wearing cloth!) will arrive in the next few weeks because custom takes a little longer, as I feel it should.
In the meanwhile I will make do (or Isaac will make doo! ha!) with the mass produced ones whose snaps don't even work.
I'm almost done, just one more thing:  Her diapers only cost 5 bucks more.  I'll stop proselytizing now.  The End.  Or really, the beginning!, of the cutest buns ever.

We look to the future...

Omi Buys the Best Presents

We would love her even if she did not, but we sure wouldn't look as cute.

mini elmer fudd

In case you want a hat for your little fashion forward sun protected babies, she got it @ REI
The little book in his big hands has also made for big smiles, and I like it too!
Its called Peek-a WHO? by Nina Laden

Yummiest, Oddest, Easiest (& Healthiest!) Dessert Ever

 This is my first ever recipe on my mommy-blog, and I am very proud of it for three reasons:

1. I made it up!
2. Its so crazy easy.
3. My god, its good.

My aunt Betty's little egg cup full of mousse!

Chocolate Coconut Milk Mousse

*1 can of coconut milk (not the light kind!), unsweetened
2 tablespoons more or less of unsweetened cocoa powder, depending on your desired chocolatey-ness
**Agave nectar, a big squirt, or a small squirt depending on your sweetitude.

Directions
Mix the coconut milk with the cocoa and agave nectar and stir really well.
If you are a perfectionist you can push the mixture through a sieve/ strainer so that there aren't any white little lumps left about.
Put the not yet thickened mousse in your refrigerator for a few hours until it gets cold - when the coconut milk chills, it will thicken resulting in a lovely mousse!
I like to serve it in little egg cups so that it looks as special as it tastes, but that is not a requirement.

*Cans of coconut milk seem to vary in how thick they are - you want to use mostly the white creamy part on top (the milk separates in the can), unless you want more of a thick chocolate soup, in which case use more of the water part underneath. 
**If you have no agave nectar, then you should buy some, but if you don't have time to do that, sugar, honey, or maple syrup works too!

This is Isaac, not letting me see his Fang(s)

I think he was telling me that no photographing of new teeth are allowed while on the potty.

No!  I will not show them to you!

I'm not giving up though. I promise I'll try again, perhaps in a different locale.

I hate my cats

Today has not been a good cat day AT ALL.
5 minutes ago I was all snuggled in for a nap in between piles of partially folded, but very clean laundry. I was just beginning to doze when Goose jumped up to join me in napping (I thought) and instead threw up on 2 piles of laundry and the comforter in between the two piles.  Aaarghhh.  Now I'm awake.
But that is not all.  This morning, that same Goose (bad cat of the day) didn't recognize her own momma Evette, coming in from outside, and started howling, hissing, moaning, and whatever else totally freaked out cats do and say.  All that carrying on woke Isaac up, a mere 30 minutes into his morning nap.
Oooh, I was mad.   Sooo mad.  I never knew how mad I could get at a nap other than my own being disturbed.  My hands were balled into fists and I was saying all sorts of words that you aren't supposed to say in front of a (now awake) baby.
If anybody wants a pair of lovely and terrible cats, let me know.

This photo is from when I loved them (Goose in front).

Goose right now, sleeping alone on the laundry.

Goodbye lovely diaper-service

Today officially marks the day that I wash Isaac's diapers, "all by the self," as my little sister used to say, or was that me?  It certainly is not Isaac, yet!
It is such a major day that I felt it should be commemorated on my blog.
I loved my diaper service very much.  Perhaps even more than a person is supposed to love a diaper service?  I just couldn't help myself.
I loved their logo,

I loved the owners email writing style (very...jazzy!)
I loved the stack of pale cottony diapers brightening my dark and dreary brownstone gate.
It was Christmas morning once a week (Thursday mornings); Very exciting for a Jewish gal.
So why on earth would I leave them?
Enter, the potty!
My ode to the potty will come later when I complete an EC (elimination communication) post, but for now, just know that the little guy is using his little potty (of which I am also quite fond) a lot!

fun times

Now that the day is done, I should note that it has not been a perfect diaper transition.  We had some leakage with my home diapers being nowhere near as mega-absorbent as those from Diaperkind, and with me being too shy to potty him at the playground.   But the weather was warm, his pants a relatively fast drying cotton, and my attitude hopeful.  I write as I listen to the swish, swish, swish of the washing machine (first a cool rinse, then hot wash) feeling equal parts triumphant, and ...pooped!

Making Mush

Isaac's dinner mush inspired me tonight; a sweet potato & melted goat cheese delight.
I'm going to make an equal mush for Jeremy and I in the form of a pancake, by adding eggs.

Isaac's mushes have been very creative lately, mostly because he eats so much that I have to keep adding things to them.  There is the banana-spinach mush mixed with yogurt, baby oatmeal, or baby rice for an (almost!) complete meal.  There is also the applesauce/yogurt/cinnamon mush.  That is usually a breakfast mush, and its pretty much always a winner.  Also for breakfast we have baby oatmeal mixed with peanut butter that I liquify first, for exposure plus taste sensation.
I tried pea carrot mush, but he wasn't such a fan.  I added some egg, and then he really wasn't a fan, not that I can blame him.  The avacado and rice mush is a lovely seagrass green color and Isaac opens his mouth wide in anticipation of its nutty creaminess.

When Jeremy feeds the little guy and I ask later what he ate, Jeremy says, a little of the green stuff, and then all the orange, he didn't like the brown.  Or something close to that.  Color coding of mush is very sensible.

Oh mush, tush, mush, tush, what fun there is in mush!

Enjoying a tan mush with Grandpa

Isaac's finger puppet moose

This is a flying moose.

So very exciting, I must taste.

Demonstration of a no hands moose hold.

You wanna try?

beachdaddy and child

There is just something about this picture that I love, love, love.  I most certainly love the 2 peeps in the picture, but its the triangular-ness of their persons that gets to me, and the look on the little guy's face that makes me feel so content, though I'm not totally sure he was.

Goodnight Moon

Goodnight Moon is a very trippy book!
I love it, thank goodness, since I have been reading it to the little guy 97% of nights, sometimes while he's on the potty, sometimes not.
I pretty much love everything about it.
I even love the author's name, Margaret Wise Brown.
For those who have not read it in a long time, here it goes (with just a little bit of commentary):

"In the great green room there was a telephone, [is someone going to call?, why is this first on the list of things?] and a red balloon, and a picture of--
The cow jumping over the moon [why the cow?, and not a cow?  who is this cow she's talking about?]
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs
And two little kittens
And a pair of mittens [where did the little one go that his mittens are drying by the fire?]
And a little toyhouse [why are the lights on in the little toy house?  who's in there?]
And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush [why a full bowl of mush?  is there going to be a night visitor who will eat mush?, or did the little bunny not eat his mush?]
And a quiet old lady who was whispering "hush"  [not an old lady, an old lady-bunny]
Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon [oh, I do like how she narrows it down!]
Goodnight light
And the red balloon
Goodnight bears
Goodnight chairs
Goodnight kittens
And goodnight mittens
Goodnight clocks
And goodnight socks
Goodnight little house [now it is a house, not a toyhouse!]
And goodnight mouse
Goodnight comb
And goodnight brush
Goodnight nobody [where'd everyone go??]
Goodnight mush [poor sad uneaten mush.]
And goodnight to the old lady [lady-bunny] whispering "hush" [has she been whispering "hush" this whole time?]
Goodnight stars
Goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere [oh!, what an ending!  The lady bunny is gone and the room is dark except for the little lit-up toyhouse and the starry night sky]

I do feel a little insane now, for transcribing all the words, when I should be making dinner, but once I started I couldn't stop.  Besides we're having an easy soup, and this labor-intensity seemed the ultimate way to show my appreciation.

Tonight I thought Isaac was appreciating the story too.  He was very intent, but then at the end, he took the book out of my hands, and stuffed a pointy corner into his mouth, and I remembered, he's a baby!

materialistic mom

I am very sad because my husband whom I love (usually) very very much got me a whole lot of nothing for my very first mother's day.  He's very apologetic, with lots of reasons, and silly songs about what a wonderful mother I am.  He's given me loads of kisses, and promises for the future, but no things!
No flowers, no card, no sweet poem, chocolate, or whatever else a gal is supposed to get on Mother's Day, and I don't even know what a gal supposed to get on Mother's Day since I have never before been a mother on Mother's day, until now.
Poop!

none of these
 

A small post amendment:  He just sent me something.  An email with this, “The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.”
- Honore de Balzac

my momma

I just spent way too long looking for a photograph of my mom and me.
She's wearing sunglasses in the photo, with a canvas channel 13 bag curved over her long shoulder.  We were visiting the Statue of Liberty, so she's got little black Olympus camera cupped in one hand while looking into the distance, looking very beautiful and tough.  In a Jennifer Beals sort of way.
I'm up front and center in two braids, big glasses, and my Washington "deecee" overalls, looking squinty (no sunglasses).

Sadly, I can't find it anywhere(!) so please imagine it, and  instead, look at this picture, from around the same time.  She didn't usually wear deely boppers in the kitchen, but I think it suited her goofy side quite nicely.
Here are some memories of my mom from when I was a kid:

1.  Strong, smooth, warm, brown hands with veins bobbing all about on the surface.
2.  Big sunglasses, big regular glasses too!
3. The softest, silkiest, curly hair ever.  I used to want my friends to stick their hands in it, to everyone's embarrassment, and to my pleasure.
4. Her key chain, a little brass pulley, worn smooth and soft.
5. Blintzes with blueberry sauce, homemade applesauce, big pasta shells stuffed with cheese in tomato sauce, warm raisin scones snuggled into a cloth napkin, sour cream coffee cake, and cookies, lots and lots and lots of cookies.
6. Delicate porcelain boxes (made by her) with mysteriously fitting lids.
7. A majorly green thumb resulting in bags upon bags upon bags of zucchini.
8. Love.  Such an incredible amount of love, I swam in a whole mountain lake of it.

Happy Mother's Day Momma!

multi-tasking

Oh boy, I just realized I am honestly trying to sew pants, eat lunch, and write a blog post all at the same time!
Why?  Because the little guy is napping, of course!
I wanted to write about chewing my baby's food for him, how that many people find that gross, but I'll save that one for later, because multi-tasking is really the most pertinent thing of the moment.
Its funny to think of all the things I now do on the phone that I never did before.  I must buy a phone where the speaker phone works.   That would really help me grow the "to do" on the phone list.
Well in all honesty its not that many different things I do, just an important few.

When he goes down for a nap, I feel like a shotgun has gone off in my head.  Like a practiced racehorse, I feel my head moving in front of my body, willing, daring it to keep up.  And also like a race horse, sometimes I crash into things and it all goes to pot.
And then when he makes those little grunting noises, I have to first canter, then trot a little, warming down, as he warms up.
But that is hopefully 45 minutes away. Now I gotta go have another bite and find some brown thread, probably at the same time.

Oh, how I hate to listen to him cry

Whoever says that sleep training works so that they won't cry like crazy after the first few days is wrong, wrong, dreadfully wrong.
His crying ties my stomach in knots (I feel sick).
I can hear the sleep sheep (velcroed to the side of his crib, eyes closed, to set an example) once in a while when he stops.  It's a sheep full of ocean waves (or heartbeat, or eerie wale sounds, or rain depending on your taste), trying (not always so successfully) to soothe.
And then when he is quiet (like now!) the sleep sheep takes over, growing as big as his little room so he can snuggle into its fur and dream (or so I imagine).

My camera is broken and won't upload.  Poop!  Here is a visual, albeit an old one of the little one in dreamland...

sleep sheep and Isaac

Baby-food diet?

Is someone, other than me, thinking about how its a little weird that I feed my little (big) guy pureed carrots, while I eat cookies?
Take yesterday for example,
Breakfast:
me: bagel with cheese and apple
little guy: yogurt mixed with applesauce
Lunch:
me: chicken sandwich on white (oy!) bread with a helluva lot of "chive mayo"
little guy:  egg mixed with pureed carrot (yum!)
Dinner:
me: spinach salad with chicken sausage, oranges, manchego cheese, and zuchinni.  (It was healthy!) Then ice cream.
little guy: banana blended with spinach (sounds gross, but not bad!)
(ok, I guess yesterday wasn't all that terrible, but let's now check out our varied snacks)
Snacks:
me: McVitties cookies, all together too many of them.  And peanuts, perhaps too many as well.  Something else I can't remember...
little guy:  breastmilk, breastmilk, breastmilk, and then perhaps a little more breastmilk.

He wins!  I'm sure of it, vitamin wise at least.
Not that I want to eat everything mushed up, but if only I fed myself as I do him, then...then, I would be drinking a lot of breastmilk, and that would be a little weird.  But really, I want to eat closer to the source, that's all.

He's got a fang!

He's got a fang!

Actually 2 fangs, on the bottom, really cute and small, just where they are supposed to be.
I’m not sure why, but I was worried that he would end up getting his first teeth in a weird spot, like way over to the bottom right.
I was worried that he would end up looking like an old drunk.  And that's so silly since he is so very young and sweet, having drunk almost nothing besides breastmilk.  Though there was that one time I had a mojito and he spit up a lot after and I felt very guilty, but that was it!
Picture coming soon…they are hard to capture!