Last year, I had some pretty doable resolutions, and it made me feel good to accomplish them. This year will bring lots of changes, so it deserves a clear set of guidelines that I can achieve and will enjoy following.
1. Be a loving and caring wife and mom (I snagged this one from Patrick, who said he wanted to be a loving and caring dad and husband).
2. Pet the cats plenty... and brush them.
3. Take long walks with Patrick, Phoebe and the baby.
4. Read a book here and there, not just magazines and Web sites, and not just baby preparation books. Devour the New Yorker!
5. Eat even more fruits and vegetables (I did pretty well with this one last year so I'm putting it back); integrate some organics and add more colors.
6. Try mixing some decaf with my French Roast coffee.
7. Read to the baby -- lots -- everyday. And sing, even if it feels silly.
8. Continue Salsa lessons and go out and dance once in a while.
9. Drink much more water.
10. Go to bed earlier.
11. Surprise people.
12. Send birthday cards on time. (Last year, I had the goal of being a better friend. I think I improved and will try to continue to improve.)
13. Continue exercising -- even if it's tough to schedule.
14. Limit laptop usage. Shut off the TV. Turn on the radio. Talk.
15. Continue to drive slowly. Don't worry about grumpy drivers next to me. They clearly lead terrible lives.
16. Explore new neighborhoods.
17. Thank mom and dad -- often.
18. Read in French once in awhile, especially to the baby. Try Spanish, too.
19. Start cooking again; plan meals ahead.
20. Learn to work the iPod. Find new music.
21. Don't rush.
22. Follow my instincts.
23. Love our little baby like crazy; savor the moments.
24. Take deep breaths.
25. Compromise.
26. Enjoy it!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Belly update week 31
Goodbye small hips. (This picture doesn't do me justice. I'm huge.) Anyway, I've been experiencing these indescribable aches and pains around my upper legs, tailbone and back, but I couldn't pinpoint where they really were -- until today. I think my pelvic bone aches, perhaps because it's preparing to fit a baby.
This is from about.com and pregnancyguideonline.com:
For mom: Your abdomen swells and your rib cage and pelvis may be sore as the baby gets bigger and fills up all the space you have available. While it is really great that your baby is gaining weight and growing strong, you may be in line for different discomforts at this stage of the game, like heartburn and leg cramps.
And for Baby M: The baby's irises can now dilate and contract in response to light. Due to the deposits of white fat underneath the skin, the baby's skin is no longer red but pink, and your baby weighs about three pounds and five ounces (1.5 kilograms). The finger nails may reach the end of the hands. Growth begins to slow a teeny bit, and the brain goes through a period of rapid development. The only major organ left to fully develop is the lungs. If your baby is a boy, his testes begin to descend from the body cavity to the scrotum.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Big snow in Michigan
We had a big snowstorm in the D -- so much so that we burrowed inside the house for most of the day. (We had planned to go to Ann Arbor today and finalize some shopping, but it was too messy.)
However, the snow turned out to be a small blessing since it forced us to take care of some things indoors -- namely, we put together the baby's chifferobe, practiced how to use the new car seat, washed a bunch of baby clothes in our overpriced Dreft detergent and did a few minor things for the baby shower.
(Okay, my mom and I did many of those things. I think Patrick watched football and toyed with the Web site he's creating for the Project Runway pool. And he put some crucial, annoying screws in the chifferobe.) All in all, I didn't mind the house arrest. Sometimes, I need to be forced to sit still. A big snowstorm turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
A polish kind of day.
We trekked with the parents to Hamtramck and Srodek's deli for the annual pierogi trip. (Yes, I learned how to make them this year, but we need our back-ups.) We got an armload, too, of cherry; strawberry; plum; mushroom; and cheese and potato.
Afterward, we popped by Markowycz's European Homestyle Sausage in Detroit (founded in 1954) for some Krakowska lunch meat, Polish candy, and three types of Laroshell German-imported liquered chocolates (Grand Marnier, Brandy and Brandy with cherries). Mom and Dad are going back to Markowycz's on Tuesday to get kielbasa (it has to be fresh), but they had to get the chocolates now. Markowycz's ran out last year, my dad said. The lady behind us bought 8 boxes at $8 a pop and had driven all the way from Ann Arbor. The chocolates are better than Godiva, she said.
We then stopped at Supreme Bakery, also in Detroit, for some fresh pumpernickel and Italian bread for the lunch meat. We also had to get some doughnuts because Supreme makes the best cinnamon rolls. My parents used to get them practically every weekend when I was a kid because the bakery is just a few blocks from where my grandma's house sat.
The best part of the afternoon was coming back and sitting down with a Krakowska sandwich on pumpernickel with a little mayonnaise and horseradish. Krakowska, according to Wikipedia, gets its name "from Poland’s previous capital of Kraków. (Often served as a cold cut), it is made from cuts of lean pork, seasoned with pepper, allspice, coriander, and garlic, packed into large casings, and smoked." Mmmmm. Patrick bought a six-pack of Hamtramck beer that was bottled at the Michigan Brewing Co. He's saving it for Christmas, but if I was a drinkin' woman at the moment, I surely would have had a bottle with my sandwich.
Yes, it was a Polish kind of day.
A Slows evening in the D
On a frigid Michigan night, there's really nothing like walking into the warmth and coziness that is Slows Bar-B-Q on Michigan Ave. in Detroit. We love it. And as my Dad reminded me yesterday, it was one of our first hangouts when we moved back to the D.
Last night reminded me why. Sure, we love the exposed brick walls and the 20 beers on tap (at which I simply look longingly these days). But the real draw is the people (bartenders and the patrons).
Yesterday, we hung with Stan, a Chrysler employee who was drinking Grand Marnier and sitting by himself at the bar in a big poofy fur-rimmed coat. He looked like he wanted to be left alone, but Stan turned out to be a super-softy who loves dogs, cats, fish and reptiles. (And hates Michael Vick. Yeah, us too.) Patrick and Stan started out with Pistons chatter (always a good bar topic). But that quickly migrated to talk of clear versus silver braces, Syracuse, Shar Peis and just a dozen other topics.
The night went by too fast at Slows and before we realized it, it was time to hit the road. Perhaps we'll meet Stan again, but if not, I'm sure there'll be a new character at the bar next time. Can't wait.
(Want to know the inside story? Click on the short video below.)
Friday, December 14, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Dear Viking oven...
I know you think I've abandoned you because you've been sitting in storage for all these months. I imagine it must be cold in there, especially in contrast to the magnificent heat you produce on your six heavy-duty burners and your 18,000 BTU broiler.
I bet you think I've forgotten all the nights we spent together, preparing juicy chicken cordon bleu with asparagus and ham; luscious wine-soaked lamb chops with rosemary; tantalizing chicken tagine with olives and lemon; or succulent pecan-crusted salmon. And perhaps you think I don't remember the joys we had as I learned how to prepare divine desserts, like spongy molten lava chocolate cake with its gooey chocolate center; and rich creme brulee with its sweet glassy top.
But I truly haven't forgotten our shared, but brief affair -- right down to the moment that we decided cookies weren't worth our time. (That's when we fell in love with truffles, if you recall.)
I'm sure this letter is not enough to comfort you. So to prove how often I've been thinking about you, I promise to come bearing gifts the next time we see other -- perhaps in the spring. The book sale at work was kind to us both, and I have stocked up on Chocolate Obsession; The Cheese Lover's Cookbook and Guide; Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban; In Nirmala's Kitchen: Everyday World Cuisine and more.So please be patient and wait for me as I patiently await our next meeting. And let us not say 'goodbye' but but rather 'au revoir' or 'until we meet again.'
With fondness, Jen
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
And I thought we were clumsier...
The New York Times had this piece...
Why Pregnant Women Don’t Tip Over
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Pregnant women do not tip over, and researchers say an evolutionary curve has a lot to do with the reason why.
Anthropologists studying the human spine have found that women’s lower vertebrae evolved in ways that reduce back pressure during pregnancy, when the mass of the abdomen grows by nearly one-third and the center of mass shifts forward considerably. That increases pressure on the spinal column, strains the muscles and generally reduces stability.
Even without the benefit of advanced study in biomechanics, women tend to deal with the shift — and avoid tumbling over like a bowling pin — by leaning back. But the solution to one problem creates another, since it puts even more pressure on the spine and muscles.
And that, report researchers from Harvard University and the University of Texas in the current issue of the journal Nature, is where evolution enters the story.
The lower spine in humans had already developed a unique forward curve that helps compensate for the extra pressures that arose when the primate ancestors went from moving around on four limbs to walking upright. Researchers looked for an additional mechanism that might have compensated for the increased strain of pregnancy as well.
What they found, said Katherine K. Whitcome, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard and the lead author of the paper, was evidence that evolution had produced a stronger and more flexible lower spine for women. After studying 19 pregnant subjects, Ms. Whitcome found that the lumbar, or lower back, curve in women extends across three vertebrae, as opposed to just two in men. And the connecting points between vertebrae are relatively larger in women, and shaped differently in ways that make the stack more stable and less prone to the bones shifting out of alignment or breaking.
Since the engine of evolution runs on the passage of genes from one generation to the next, pregnancy is a critical moment. Without that adaptation, Dr. Whitcome said, females would have been in considerably greater pain during pregnancy and might not have been able to forage effectively or escape predators, ending the pregnancy and the genetic line as well...
(Go online to read the rest of the article.)
Why Pregnant Women Don’t Tip Over
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Pregnant women do not tip over, and researchers say an evolutionary curve has a lot to do with the reason why.
Anthropologists studying the human spine have found that women’s lower vertebrae evolved in ways that reduce back pressure during pregnancy, when the mass of the abdomen grows by nearly one-third and the center of mass shifts forward considerably. That increases pressure on the spinal column, strains the muscles and generally reduces stability.
Even without the benefit of advanced study in biomechanics, women tend to deal with the shift — and avoid tumbling over like a bowling pin — by leaning back. But the solution to one problem creates another, since it puts even more pressure on the spine and muscles.
And that, report researchers from Harvard University and the University of Texas in the current issue of the journal Nature, is where evolution enters the story.
The lower spine in humans had already developed a unique forward curve that helps compensate for the extra pressures that arose when the primate ancestors went from moving around on four limbs to walking upright. Researchers looked for an additional mechanism that might have compensated for the increased strain of pregnancy as well.
What they found, said Katherine K. Whitcome, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard and the lead author of the paper, was evidence that evolution had produced a stronger and more flexible lower spine for women. After studying 19 pregnant subjects, Ms. Whitcome found that the lumbar, or lower back, curve in women extends across three vertebrae, as opposed to just two in men. And the connecting points between vertebrae are relatively larger in women, and shaped differently in ways that make the stack more stable and less prone to the bones shifting out of alignment or breaking.
Since the engine of evolution runs on the passage of genes from one generation to the next, pregnancy is a critical moment. Without that adaptation, Dr. Whitcome said, females would have been in considerably greater pain during pregnancy and might not have been able to forage effectively or escape predators, ending the pregnancy and the genetic line as well...
(Go online to read the rest of the article.)
Monday, December 10, 2007
Jabberwocky
I have been reading Jabberwocky (aloud) any chance I get ever since I got the baby that new poetry book.
The poem, a nonsense verse, made its debut in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872.
It's just so much fun to read such "glorious nonsense." Try it.
Jabberwocky
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
More on plastic
Canadian Retailer Bans Some Plastic Bottles
The following excerpt is from the NY Times
By IAN AUSTEN
Published: December 8, 2007
OTTAWA, Dec. 7 — A line of water bottles that had become a symbol of environmental responsibility has been removed from the shelves of Canada’s leading outdoor gear retailer over concerns about a chemical used in its manufacture.
Polycarbonate plastic bottles are transparent and almost as hard as glass.
The Mountain Equipment Co-op, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, removed the bottles, sold under the brand name Nalgene, and other polycarbonate containers from its 11 large-scale stores on Wednesday.
The retailer said that it would not restock the bottles, which are made by Nalge Nunc International in Rochester, a unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific, until Health Canada completed a review of bisphenol-a, or B.P.A., a chemical used to make hard, transparent plastics as well as liners for food cans.
...Church and environmental groups in Canada have mounted campaigns against bottled water because of concerns about the huge amount of plastic used in containers. As a result, the reusable Nalgene bottles have become ubiquitous on college campuses and elsewhere.
Polycarbonate plastic, which can only be produced by using B.P.A., creates bottles that are transparent and almost as hard as glass, but particularly shatter-resistant.
Recently, however, the use of B.P.A.-based plastics in food containers has questioned in Canada by Environmental Defence , a Toronto-based group. Environmentalists in the United States are also raising concerns about the chemical.
Last year, San Francisco’s board of governors passed a local law banning the use of the chemical in children’s products. B.P.A. was removed from the ordinance before it went into effect, however, after an industry lawsuit.
Critics point to studies dating back to 1936 showing that the chemical can disrupt the hormonal system.
While there is little dispute about that, the plastics industry, supported by several studies from government agencies in Japan, North America and Europe, contends that polycarbonate bottles contain very little of the chemical and release only insignificant amounts of B.P.A. into the bodies of users...
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Not your average cookies
Per my earlier post, I can't really make cookies.
So after attempting the adjacent Brazilian cookies, I also felt the need to do truffles and bourbon balls for the cookie exchange. The truffles are my own recipe, adapted from something I read in a cooking magazine. The bourbon balls are a true Kentucky gem, a recipe passed on from my friend, Kristina, who got it from her mom, Martha, who probably got it from generations of Southern women before her. Mmmm.
Scary plastic/container product
Have I posted on this? I can't even remember. But let's just say that it's daunting to consider all the research to help keep a baby -- or us -- safe from all the potential cancer-causing stuff out there. Has anyone considered how stunning it is -- in the 21st century -- how many women are affected by cancers?
From cancer.gov:
The National Cancer Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health, estimates that, based on current rates, 12.7 percent of women born today (often expressed as "1 in 8") will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives.
In the 1970s, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States was just under 10 percent (often expressed as "1 in 10"). The estimated lifetime risk has generally been rising gradually since then.
And this research spurred my post...
Are baby bottles with bisphenol A unsafe?
JULIE DEARDORFF
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO -- Whole Foods now carries Born Free baby bottles, a brand advertised as "safer" because they are made with plastic free of bisphenol A.
And Medela, a company that makes breast-feeding accessories, will no longer use materials made with bisphenol A (BPA) in any of its breast-pump kits or components. But Philips Avent, a global electronics/ baby-care products company, has no plans to follow suit. Like most baby bottles on the market, including Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Gerber and Playtex, Avent containers are made of shatterproof polycarbonate plastic manufactured using BPA.
Bisphenol A leaches from baby bottles with regular washings, even if the bottles are not heated. And in low doses, BPA has been shown to affect the reproductive system of rodents. Other studies have linked low doses of BPA to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes and even hyperactivity.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Cookie catastrophe
So I make a delicious chocolate molten cake, a scrumptious chocolate mousse and pretty damn good creme brulee.
However, I'm disastrous with cookies. Whywhywhy? I don't know because they should be simple. I tried the above chocolate cookies with icing and sprinkles. They looked nice, but the taste was just so-so. (My parents hated them.) Then we tried some butter cookies with raspberry centers. My dad and Patrick liked them; I hated them! (Then again, I hate butter cookies.)
So I ended up making some Brazilian coffee cookies topped with chocolate and nuts. They were passable. I'll take them -- begrudgingly -- to the cookie exchange but I had to go a step further and do some mint truffles and pecan-topped bourbon balls so I could show my face.
Anyone out there have a good cookie recipe, send it!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Don't fear the cloth diaper!
Patrick and I attended a cloth diapering class this weekend, as I mentioned, and we were sold. First, let me point out that the above diaper (found at www.fuzzibunz.com) is a cloth diaper. It's one of the easiest versions and is commonly referred to as an "all-in-one." That means that there's no confusion about how to fold the diaper or anything because it contains everything you need. When the baby needs a change, you just strip the whole thing off, give it a rinse and throw it in the waterproof diaper hamper.
Now, keep it mind that we won't have a ton of these because they're costly -- about $13 to $20-plus. (We bought this one and five like it on clearance because fuzzi bunz is apparently coming out with a new design. They were $13.95 each.)
We'll instead purchase an assortment of all-in-ones, along with the traditional pre-folds (the kind you have to fold, fasten and then stick in a cover that looks something like the fuzzi bunz version above).
At the risk of offending anyone who was plastic-diapered (like me!), we think cloth diapering is the best, safest option for our baby and will even be cheaper than the disposable route -- even if we get a few more all-in-ones.
From newparentsguide.com
The greatest concern for parents is to keep their baby’s skin dry, healthy and free from diaper rash. Many things can cause diaper rash. Prolonged wetness, lack of air circulation, soap, chemical and dye allergies, ammonia formed by bacteria that interacts with urine left sitting against the skin and the growth of microbes in the diaper area can all be irritating and cause rashes.
Some concerns about disposable diapers have been about dyes, sodium polyacrylate (the super absorbent gel), and dioxin, which is a by-product of bleaching paper. Sodium polyacrylate has been linked in the past to toxic shock syndrome, allergic reactions and is very harmful and potentially lethal to pets. Some dyes and dioxin according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is known to cause damage to the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver. The (FDA) Food & Drug Administration has received reports that fragrances in disposables caused headaches, dizziness and rashes.
Problems reported to the Consumer Protection Agency regarding disposables include, chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors, babies pulling disposables apart and putting pieces of plastic into their noses and mouth, choking on tab papers and linings, plastic melting onto the skin, and ink staining the skin. Plastic tabs can also tear skin if the diaper is not properly put on the baby.
According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54 % of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16 % having severe rashes. A study done by a disposable diapers manufacturing company ... shows that the incidence of diaper rash increased from 7.1% to 61% with the increased use of throwaway disposable diapers.
Sure, we're concerned about throwing all those gross disposable diapers in landfills (a practice that we were told is illegal unless you empty its contents in the toilet, by the way), but there's an ongoing debate about whether all the extra washings required with cloth requires more energy, making cloth no less "green" that disposables. (I doubt it, but whatever!) Our real concern was to avoid putting that plastic against our baby's skin. And disposables, with their crazy super absorbent characteristics, mean kids are more likely to sit in a wet diaper without knowing it's wet. That might be easier for the diaper-changer, but do you really want your kid sitting in urine?
Finally, studies have shown that cloth-diapered kids potty-train months earlier on average than plastic-diapered kids. Why? For the reasons above. Plastic-diapered kids don't know they're wet so they're comfy sitting in those plastic monsters.
From The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year:
The average child who wears disposables is in them for 36-40 months, compared to 24-30 months for kids in cloth diapers.
Plastic may be a little more convenient, but plastic-diaperers will be enjoying that "convenience" for up to 10-12 months longer. It's just a thought.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Weekly ritual
Yesterday, Patrick and I drove to Babies R Us at 8:30 at night in the middle of the first real Detroit-area snowfall because I felt the need to return a baby bedding set. This was after getting up at 7:45 a.m. so we could be on time for our cloth diapering class in Ann Arbor and then spending 2 hours traipsing around the tree farm with the family. And I actually volunteered to cook dinner for the folks -- chicken cordon bleu with asparagus.
Thursday and Friday (our two days off) were much of the time. Poor Patrick!
From parentingweekly.com:
Nesting Instinct
Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.
Females of the animal kingdom are all equipped with this same need. It is a primal instinct. Just as you see birds making their nests, mothers-to-be do exactly the same thing. The act of nesting puts you in control and gives a sense of accomplishment toward birth. You may become a homebody and want to retreat into the comfort of home and familiar company, like a brooding hen. The nesting urge can also be seen as a sign of the onset of labor when it occurs close to 40 weeks of pregnancy.
Nesting brings about some unique and seemingly irrational behaviors in pregnant women and all of them experience it differently. Women have reported throwing away perfectly good sheets and towels because they felt the strong need to have "brand new, clean" sheets and towels in their home. They have also reported doing things like taking apart the knobs on kitchen cupboards, just so they could disinfect the screws attached to the knobs. Women have discussed taking on cleaning their entire house, armed with a toothbrush. There seems to be no end to the lengths a nesting mother will go to prepare for her upcoming arrival.
This unusual burst of energy is responsible for women ironing anything in the house that couldn't out run them. Being preoccupied with ant killing, squishing them one at a time for weeks on end. Packing and unpacking the labor bag 50 times. Cleaning the kitchen cupboards and organizing everything by size to the point that you make sure the silverware patterns match when it's stacked in the cutlery drawer. Sorting the baby's clothes over and over again is a favorite theme. Taking them out of the drawers and re-folding them, putting them away and doing it over and over again. Nesting will provide interesting stories for years to come.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
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