Free money

I wanted to make sure this completely worked, before I posted it here, but a new service has come out similar to PayPal called Revolution Money Exchange. I currently am not happy with PayPal because they restricted access to my account for seemingly no reason over the last few months, and it just now got restored. So, I am definitely interested in a new one. Revolution Money Exchange is great - you can transfer money to friends or as part of a business exchange (like PayPal) but with less fees. Plus, if you sign up soon (I think before May 15) you get a free $25. The money is now transferred to my checking account, so it really works! You do have to get your SSN because this is a real account (FDIC insured) just like through a bank.

So, if you are interested, in my opinion, it is definitely worth it! Plus, you get $10 for every person you refer. So have fun and make money!

The Cheerio Test

Andrew went to see his "Feeding Team", which is really just an occupational therapist, again on Friday. She is really great and always really optimistic and happy. She (and we) think Andrew is making good progress. Basically, it can be summed up like this. Last time he went, Andrew would "eat" a Cheerio and when he spit it out it would still be completely whole. Now, when he "eats" a Cheerio and spits it out it is in 2 or 3 pieces. Definitely progress. The next goal, of course, would be that he "eats" a Cheerio and when he spits it out it is all mushy, with no more "o" shape. Or maybe, even, maybe, he eats a Cheerio, no quotation marks needed. The problem really is not so much the swallowing (he must be a champion swallower of breastmilk - look at his size!), but chewing.

I think a year ago I had no idea I would so interested in Cheerios and their respective shapes. Funny what parenthood does to you.

So, in case any one of our like 2 blog readers is concerned: yes, eventually Andrew will eat!

30 seconds

30 seconds is all I needed to melt some cheese on a tortilla for a quick lunch for me. 30 seconds ... Andrew found the bathroom door slightly ajar, opened the bottle of shampoo, spilled it all over the floor, crawled in it and got it all over his legs, fell down trying to crawl with shampoo-y legs and then started crying for me. I grabbed him as he grabbed a syringe we use to give him medicine, which he promptly gagged himself with and then started spitting up. What a boy!

Books I've Read

Okay, so I'm definitely procrastinating writing my paper, but at least I'm running simulations, so it's okay to blog a bit, right ... right?

Anyways, the books I've read so far (or at least attempted to read) this last month or so.

Protecting the gift : keeping children and teenagers safe (and parents sane) by De Becker, Gavin

Someone on a parent's email list in Ann Arbor recommended this book and I read about 90% of it. I liked the ideas in it, though it did tend to get a little stale. Basically, it recommends ways to keep your children safe from unsavory people - i.e. abuse, kidnappings, etc. The main idea I took away from it is: Be slow to add an adult into your life and quick to take them out of it. Also, use your intuition and pay attention if someone is acting weird, trying to charm their way into your life, or taking an inordinant interest in your or your child's life. A useful read, a bit dull, and a little dreary on the subject matter.

The ten-year nap by Wolitzer, Meg
Still debating whether I will finish this book. I've read about 100 pages, and I have to say, this book is not at all what I thought and kind of boring to boot. The premise is about women, especially those who have stayed at home with their kids (i.e., the ten year nap from the professional world) and their lives. But as fiction, I find the characters a little bland, the story a little tiring, a little too much sexuality for my tastes. Probably won't finish it. Too bad - because it sounded like it could have been interesting. With a different plot, different characters, and a different author, perhaps.

The world without us by Weisman, Alan
This non-fiction book describes what will happen if someone all the people just disappear. Some things won't last very long (like the NY skyscrapers and the subway system) and some things will last a really really long time (I think maybe aluminum). I only read a bit of this book, because I found it very stale. Very stale. Maybe a civil engineer or a materials scientist or a geologist or something like that might love it. But I can only read about plastic-this and steel-that and forces and pressures for so long when it's my precious free time. So, not for me.

Shattered dreams : my life as a polygamist's wife by Spencer, Irene
I really enjoyed this autobiography. I feel like I have a new understanding for what it would be like to grow up as a FLDS. I feel like I better understand the dynamics between their religion and ours. But most of all, I just felt so sad for this lady. The abject poverty and utter loneliness of her life was astounding. I mean, at one point in the book, this lady is caring for 25 children ALL by herself in this little trailer home (not all her own kids, of course). Day in and day out with no relief. Unbelievable!!!

Sex and sensibility : a parent's guide to talking sense about sex by Roffman, Deborah M
Now, I know Andrew is a little young to need talking to about this, but I figure why not start early? I really really enjoyed this book - it was pretty dense, but I loved the way the author described sexuality. It was such an all-encompassing picture looking at all the different aspects, and I really liked that. Thinking of behavior, feelings, and emotions on a continuum I think is really great. I also really liked how she recommended talking to kids about sex. It just seemed all very logical and unmysterious. I really liked this book and want to buy it and refer to it later on.

Infidel by Hirsi Ali, Ayaan
This was our book for book club, and I read part of it, but I just could NOT get into it. I admit, I am not one for biographies, and I also have to admit that the jacket totally turned me off. I was not in the mood for another book where someone talks about how evil Islam is. Because while I know some people do really bad things in its name (although, what about Christianity and the crusades? Or what about Joshua's era in the OT and the killings of all non-Israelites). But, I refuse to believe that Islam is not a good religion without some truth and some connection to God in it. So, maybe I'll have to pick this up and give it another try some time.

Plenty : one man, one woman, and a raucous year of eating locally by Smith, Alisa

This book was like a really sad and sorry version of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which I loved from last month. Wanting to eat locally - great. Starting in the spring - well, maybe. Without any planning and living in cold Canada - are you crazy!!!! These people didn't really grow any of their own food, did not plan ahead and basically live off of potatoes. At one point, they are at the point of eating the only locally produced grain which is a mixture of about 75% rat poop and 25% wheat which they separate with a credit card. YUCK! Read the other book and steer clear of this one. Please!!!!

Ghosts of Spain : travels through Spain and its silent past by Tremlett, Giles
I read the first little bit of this and while I found the perspective interesting, it was just a little dry. But I must remember to pick this up and read it again before we go to Spain again (if we go to Spain again). I loved Spain and I love reading about the people. Hmm ... when I get some time, I definately want to study a little more Spanish history. Too much to do, too little time.

How soccer explains the world : an unlikely theory of globalization by Foer, Franklin
Maybe if I was a soccer lover ... although I have to say the one or two chapters I did read of this taught me a lot about the EXTREME violence in soccer. I had NO idea! Man, it's like the Mafia or something. Red Star Belgrade in Serbia is insane. I could not believe the amount of corruption. WOW! Definitely enlightening.

Consumption by Patterson, Kevin
Another book I got only a couple chapters through last month. This book takes place among the native Alaskans or Canadians - wow, my memory is totally failing me. The eskimos, basically. It follows a girl who is sick and goes down to the main part of the country for treatment for consumption, I am assuming. I did not realize the book would be about the illness consumption when I picked it up and I just could not focus on this book. But as you can see, I always have like 20 great books on hand just waiting to be read and if a book doesn't really grab me, I am always moving on to another. The good and the bad of reading entirely TOO much!

My paper is published!

Well, sort of. But my paper is up on the IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging web site under the preprints section. So, it is basically printed. And I am really a published author in a real journal. If you are interested, check the paper out.

Yummy recipe

We had a really yummy recipe yesterday, so I just had to share. It was my first time trying quinoa and I really liked it. Especially with the mango. Really really easy and really really yummy. So, here is the Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt.

Andrew is 11 months old!

Well, Andrew is 11 months old as of a few days ago and it is time for the obligatory post (which is also serving as a little journal for him).

This has been a busy month again for Andrew. I guess every month seems busy when you are such a little busy boy.

We spent a lot of the month at doctor's offices - he saw 5 different doctors in 3 weeks! Thankfully, it was mostly all good. He got his helmet off (HALLELUJAH!), though this was at more of our assistance than the doctors. This, of course, led to his first obligatory hair cut since his hair was done to his nose. We cut it a little short, but it's hard to cut a baby's hair when he keeps crawling away.

He also saw his pediatrician about his eating, who was alarmed about his tonsils, but the ear/nose/throat doctor said he was just fine. Of course, this was after putting a scope down his nose to look at his throat without any anesthetic. Let's just say Andrew did not like that very much. He just has some irritation from reflux, but is otherwise healthy.

We also saw the "feeding team", who reassured us that Andrew seemed to be doing just fine. He could have gone from gagging and throwing everything up to refusing to eat, but thankfully he really likes to be independent and feed himself. And he'll "eventually swallow". We also got some easier to swallow food (which unfortunately resembles cheetos to me) and some more things to play with and feed himself with to help desensitize his mouth some more. Unfortunately, weaning doesn't look like it'll happen as early as I hoped. But, he seems to be swallowing a little bit of food now. So, we only have to clean up the 95% of what we feed him that he spits out.

Andrew also unfortunately had a relatively high fever (102-103) for a week that didn't really respond to medicine. So, he was understandably cranky, but otherwise healthy.

Wheew ... but really, this was a good month, doctor's appointments withstanding. Andrew is crawling at an amazing speed. He is EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING. Most especial favorites - cords, laptop computer, outlets, cook books, dishwasher, Joe's food, trashcans, bathtub, and baskets of toiletry samples. As soon as he hears me open the dishwasher, he crawls at lighting speed to try to play with all the utensils. Anytime we leave the pantry or bathroom door open, he also rushes there. If the door isn't completely shut, he climbs up on it and then pushes it until he opens. He also does this in his bedroom, but ends up pushing his bedroom door shut and gets stuck in there and starts crying. But all this crawling means he plays pretty independently by himself.

Andrew is very tough. We were worried that when he got his helmet off, he would hit his head and cry all the time. But no. He rarely cries when he gets hurt. He cut himself on the finger at a friend's house the other day, and we didn't notice until we saw all the blood. Unfortunately, he also is a tough guy to other babies. He is still biting other kids. We got a "No Biting" book at the library, which while cute, obviously is a little over his head.

Andrew is babbling all the time and says Mommy and Daddy (mostly Daddy) all the time. He says what might be a few other words, but it's really hard to say at this stage. He also figured out how to scream, and screams whenever he doesn't get his way. I can see this as a preview of the tantrums to come.

Andrew thinks that the cat Joe is his best buddy and they play together a lot. Andrew will grab the cat's toys and dangle them in front of Joe and just laugh and laugh and laugh. It is really cute.

We are really having so much fun with our little boy. We can not believe that he is almost 1 year old!!! Yikes, how the time flies.

By the Pound

I just wanted to take a second while the baby sleeps and my code runs to tell you about my new favorite store in Ann Arbor - By the Pound. We stopped by last night while getting super yummy ice cream at the Washtenaw Dairy.

By the Pound is great - you can buy everything by the pound. So, say you need a new spice, you can go buy a teaspoon of it and just pay by the pound. Same for a new grain. Or of course, for snacks or candy or trail mix. It really is fabulous.

So, we've been trying some new food. Last time, we got some organic millet; I had found a recipe using millet to stuff portobello mushrooms with millet and sun-dried tomatoes and it was DELICIOUS. We also tried our lentil salad with some new red indian lentils yesterday. They cooked a little faster than the other lentils, so the salad didn't turn out quite as expected but it was fun to try. We also have some quinoa, arborio rice, and steel-cut oats to try and we stocked up on couscous, because they have a fabulous price.

So, if you are in Ann Arbor, try it out. Maybe they even have a similar place around where you live otherwise. So fun.

Food (and the Holidays)

There have been a lot of holidays lately - which means food! And with Andrew's visit to the feeding specialist and his issues with eating, we've been thinking about food a lot.

One day, I had it with all of the old frozen bananas in the freezer and made them all up into better food - two different recipes of banana bread and banana muffins. They were all yummy! We had a slice for our St. Patrick's day breakfast of eggs and orange juice. Katsu thought it was really gross (to look at) but ate it anyways. Andrew ate some bread and some spinach for his green-ness.





We also had to make hot cross buns for Good Friday. Yum! And eat our Easter jelly beans.





We also have tried coming some more things lately from scratch. We are thinking about making all of our own bread instead of buying it. Also, we are thinking of making a Friday night pizza tradition, where we make it and put all kinds of yummy things on it. Here is a recent best:



And of course, we are just hoping that Andrew will learn to swallow earlier rather than later. The feeding team seemed to think he was doing really well. He really loves to "eat" food ... he just doesn't swallow it.

Big News: The Helmet is Off

I forgot to post that Andrew's helmet is off! He wears it at night for a couple more days (he got it off almost 2 weeks ago) and then he is done. The doctor thought he could keep wearing it, but since he hasn't had any improvement since his visit at the beginning of January, I think it is good enough.

Of course, that meant another big change was coming - a hair cut. We bought a hair cut kit (but we just used scissors this time) and did a little trim ourselves. But he kept crawling away! It was kind of hard, but at least it's not in his eyes anymore.

Before:







and After: