Books from the rest of July

1-2-3 Magic by Thomas Phelan - 3.5/4 stars - I had heard this book recommended a few places and we've been trying to start reading up on discipline, so we can get an idea of what we want to do (discipline is obviously going to be just around the corner ... ). Right now, our only real discipline is removing Andrew from the situation or distraction. I really liked this book and thought it was extremely easy and very thorough. I also liked how it separated start behavior / stop behavior. I think this could really work well if it is applied correctly, but has a lot of flexibility for the specific child. Unless I find something I like better, I think this is what we are going to use.

Toddler Play - 3.5/4 stars - This book by Gymboree gives lots of great ideas on what to do with Toddlers (from 1 year and up). I thought it had lots of great suggestions. And it got me really excited about teaching new things. Of course, coloring with crayons led to drawing on the refrigerator, but it washed off, so all is good.

Women's Health Perfect Body Diet - 1.5/4 stars - I have been thinking of going on a diet lately because I just feel like I have been eating so not very well and I think it's hard to figure out how much to eat after having such high calorie requirements (well, higher) during pregnancy and nursing. This book sounded promising, and the diets themselves (two, mostly depending on whether you are an apple (me) or a pear (not me)) were okay, but they recommending eating tons of this glucomannan - a supplement from a yam - that was just not something I was interested in. Plus, I think their "perfect" weight was too standard and maybe too low for a lot of people (based on frame size and height). Not a great book.

Naptime is the New Happy Hour: and other ways toddlers turn your life upside down - 2/4 stars - another sort of slacker-mom book, but it wasn't too new or too interesting, though I did agree on lots of points.

Look me in the Eye - my life with Asperger's - 3.75/4 stars - I loved this book. This memoir about an Aspergian (as he calls himself) growing up and then finally leaving a very mentally unstable family and his crazy adventures. I am amazed at how much he has made of his life and how well he was able to work around his difficulties with understanding the social nicieties. Some of the stories were completely hilarious and all around it was a very fun, enlightening read.

A Crime so monstrous - face to face with modern day slavery - 1.5/4 stars - This is the book I wanted to like. I wanted to read it and really understand a problem that exists everywhere, even in the United States. But I just ... could .... not ... get ... through ... it. Oh, my goodness, I really tried. And the first chapter about the children slaves in Haiti was interesting and horrendous. But once I got into the chapter on Africa and Christian groups paying to free slaves, the writing slowed, the names came down in a torrential shower, and I just didn't follow it. And I didn't get into the US part. Maybe another time?

2 more CSA's and Andrew's baby pool and adventures!

After playgroup we decided that Andrew needed a pool of his own. It's a little tough to fill up because we have to toss it over the balcony and then fill it up with a bucket from the tub, all the while making sure that the wasps haven't come out and made a new nest in the ceiling of our balcony. So, we've only done it once since we got it (but it hasn't even been a week yet, so we're not too lazy). And, in our defense, the wasps did make a new nest which we had to spray. Here is the cute pool in all its glory on the apartment complex's lawn.



Also, we've gotten two CSA boxes - one last week and one today. They are still a little smaller than we had hoped, but maybe they'll get bigger! The first week, we had rutabaga, a beet, more herbal tea mix, some basil, some little zucchini, some little carrots (from thinning), and some onions. I have to say - I am starting to love the smell of turnips and rutabagas - delicious!!! All the food we have gotten in pretty yummy, though I didn't love the rutabaga greens as much. We also bought some sweet and tart cherries. I used the tart cherries to make a real, live cherry pie. I guess you can't use sweet cherries because they lose their flavor in cooking. And one of the few places that grow tart cherries is Michigan. Yeah! Because they are super delicious.



Today's box had lots of cucumbers, a zucchini, herbal tea mix, kale, garlic, and dill. We also picked up a couple leeks for a dollar because I just LOVE leeks. Andrew does, too. Now, we'll just see if he loves the flavor - he probably will since he is a VEGGIE lover.



Now, two quick "adventures". I went to shave last week so we could trek the hot hot streets for the Art Fair. (Which by the way was tons of fun) (And which I convinced Katsu that we probably shouldn't buy artwork even if we really loved it because how can you justify a $2400 tapestry on a grad student budget, really?) So, Andrew decided to play in the toilet while I showered. With his toy watering can. Pouring water on the floor. Then falling and crying. But I just shaved away - I had to take my chance while I could.

Adventure two: Last week was the day of cleaning the kitchen floor. Andrew found the Arborio rice (Delicious for risotto!) and spilled the bag all over the floor- my poor, expensive rice. As I was cleaning it up, I realized I left him unattended with the trash can. BAD idea. He pulled some old cut flowers out of the trash and scattered the petals all over the kitchen floor. So, then, I cleaned those up. But of course, he had to end the day by spilling the cat's food and water everywhere. All in a day's work.

It's going to be a long day ...

You can already tell it's going to be a long day when ...
- the baby wakes up at 11:30 ... after letting him cry and checking on him and comforting him every 5 minutes ... you finally give up at 1:00 and then it still takes another hour of singing and holding to get him to sleep
- he throws your health insurance card in the shower while you are showering
- he walks up to you with a diaper in his hand ... the one he was wearing
- he has already thrown something in the toilet.

Quick story

Today at dinner we were having our favorite Spinach Loaf as well as some chilled Minted Pea Soup. Andrew was whining for some food and we finally figured out he wanted to try the soup. So, we got him a bowl of it and were trying to spoon feed him but he wasn't so interested. So, I said something like, "Well, should I feed this to or are you going to get it?". And Andrew said completely clearly, "I'll get it." Usually when he says something, it's so garbled and hard to understand that I'm like, I think he said dog. But this was crystal clear. Katsu agreed. It was very weird. But he did get his soup and did a pretty good job with the spoon for a minute before he dumped the bowl on his high chair. He still isn't eating much, but he loved the soup and he loved our dessert of stewed cherries (tart cherries we got at the Farmer's market). And by the way - a paper clip actually does a fairly decent job of pitting cherries. Who knew.

More book reviews (June and some of July)

As June was such a busy month, I didn't get much reading in. In addition, we were making a library transition to a newer nicer library which meant that I had no very close by library anymore. Well, sorta. Anyways, enough excuses - on to the reviews for June and July so far.

First, of all, I read (or speed-read) lots of parenting books this month(ish) and didn't really like any of them. I don't know why - except that I went to a different library branch and they tons of parenting books (unlike our old branch) and I got them, and then once I get a book, I tend to read it.

What every 21st-century parent needs to know : facing today's challenges with wisdom and heart - I have to say, I barely remember this book anymore. Hmm ... seemed like it was okay.

Confessions of a slacker mom - Looked good, but SO boring and obvious. And the lady kept saying, when my aunt (who by the way won all these gold medals at the Olympics) did this, blah blah blah. Like enough familial name dropping. And people have thought of the not buying tons of toys and not constantly entertaining them. You did not invent using a toilet paper roll tube as a toy.

Mealtime solutions for your baby, toddler and preschooler : the ultimate no-worry approach for each age and stage - This book wasn't too bad, but didn't find it all that helpful for our situation. Maybe reassuring seeing how little kids are supposed to eat ...?

Getting your child to sleep --and back to sleep : tips for parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers - Not very useful. At least I think. It's been a lot of sleep-deprived nights since then.

The nursing mother's guide to weaning - Interesting history on nursing and weaning. But not as useful as I'd hoped. Main premise was - are you sure you want to wean (for pre-12 months) and yeah, it's pretty hard to wean (for post-12 months). My favorite part is the African tribe that paints scary faces on their breasts to scare the babies away. And they wonder why their kids seems somewhat traumatized by cold turkey weaning ...

Making up with mom : why mothers and daughters disagree about kids, careers, and casseroles (and what to do about it) - Almost done with it. Another book on the hold shelf where you are like, "Why is this there? I really put that on hold, because I have no idea what it is?". Okay. Doesn't seem particularly relevant to me and my mom as we don't seem to disagree about any of those things. But I could see how people do.


AND the more interesting books ....

The year of living biblically : one man's humble quest to follow the Bible as literaly as possible - I loved this book. I had thought of checking it out before but figured it would be stupid, but I LOVED IT. And it totally inspired my scripture reading, which has been majorly suffering since Andrew was born. I loved the way the author totally jumped all into living and following the Bible. Some of the laws are kind of silly, of course. And yet, even then, the author manages to find meaning. What I find even more inspiring about this it that the guy is not even really religious at all, and still professes to be agnostic. Maybe I'll have to read his encyclopedia book, too.

Love the one you're with - Silly chic lit. But not too bad. Got kind of exasperated with the main character and was quite concerned about the ending, but of course it ended as expected.

I know - not a great reading month, but we were busy. What can you see.

One note - we are thoroughly loving the History Channel / BBC History of Britain TV series on DVD. Check it out.

CSA Week #4

Still a smaller week, but it's already been fun.

Rainbow Kale Bunched (green bor, red bor, red russian, and lacinato) ***
Garlic Bulb
Green Onions
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Dill
Fresh Herbal Tea Blend (Borage, Greek Mullein, Feverfew, and Peppermint)


*** We ate the kale for dinner tonight using a recipe from Epicurious - Creamy Polenta with Kale and Mushrooms - and it was DELICIOUS. Katsu gave it a 9.5 (out of 10). If you didn't know it, Katsu rates every dish that I cook. Yup. We used all the kale plus some of the dill and parsley. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tanabata

On July 7th, we celebrated the Japanese holiday of Tanabata. This holiday is based on a story about lovers (a women angel and a mortal man) who suffered the wrath of the Gods, so they were turned into stars and only allowed to meet once a year. Anyways, on this day you are supposed to write your wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to a bamboo tree.

We mulled over options. Tie wishes to tree in the backyard? Tie wishes to weeds growing in flower pots on wasp-infested porch? None of these options worked for Katsu, our own Japanese guru.

So, while Katsu was at work, Andrew and I went to the park and then walked over to the local flower shop. They had a cute little bamboo plant. So, I bought it and then balanced it on the stroller valence as we walked up the hill home in the muggy icky weather.

Katsu loved it! We wrote our wishes. And we even found the song to sing in our nifty Japanese children's songbook that the Funais gave us.

Maybe this will make us for forgetting Boy's Day this year.

Andrew is 14 months old!

Andrew is growing up so fast and I think it's more fun as he is getting older. Bring on the independence - I love it!!! And he does, too. One of the biggest blessings about Andrew is how well he plays by himself. He likes to walk around and pick things up, then swing over to his room and play quietly with his toys for a little bit, before coming back and touching base, maybe then reading some books, etc. He hardly ever wants me to play with him. Of course, it's a challenge, because I have to remember that he still need me to spend lots and lots of time with him.

Andrew loves walking and walks so independently and everywhere. This month, he started being a little climber. And I swear he is practically running. He likes to get into everything. And anything that he can use as a step, he does. He climbs into cabinets and up stairs and onto everything. He still loves this the most, but he is starting to spend a little more time playing and looking through books. His favorite is to play with cars by himself, just running them back and forth. It's so cute.

No progress really on speaking. He can say cat and dog. But mostly he just grunts or says "That. That" And then has a little tantrum if you can't figure out what it is that he wants.

Speaking of tantrums, I swear these started as soon as his birthday did. They are not full out tantrums, but he definitely arches his back and screams and cries for several minutes. Mostly when we leave the park. Or anywhere that has fun toys. They don't bother me at all yet, but I am sure they will just get worse.

Andrew is also sneaky and always doing things he isn't supposed to - especially after looking right at you first. Mostly this involves playing with cat food, the toilet, or running away from you. The best course of action, of course, is to remove him from the situation, but I have the world's worst backache now from picking him up and carrying him. Hopefully, that goes away soon.

Andrew has been teething a lot the past month. His molars broke through in the last week or so (on the top) and I know those incisors are right behind. This has made Andrew VERY cranky and very tearful and always chewing on pacifiers (I knew these would come in handy someday!) or wet washcloths. Poor thing. This might also explain his sudden lack of interest in food. He only wants to eat rice balls, seaweed, frozen vegetables, and strawberries. Oh, yes, and goldfish crackers. We are also very gradually trying to wean him, but I just know this will take a long time. Especially as he won't drink milk. He drinks a bit and spits it out. Still. After two months .... I guess we are going to have to try something else.

Andrew's sleep ... well, we're trying to do sleep training, which is only sort of working. The whole teething thing is a compounding factor and even when he falls asleep on his own well, he is still waking at night some. Well, mostly in the early morning. Hopefully, those teeth will all break through soon.

This was overall a very exciting month for Andrew. The trip to Great Britain was surely the highlight, but camping was fun, too. Time away from Daddy was not so fun, but he's around the rest of the year!!!

When you wish you'd turned on the camera ...

When you check out a belly-dancing movie from the library (for work-out purposes, of course) and try it out ...

And look utterly ridiculous ...

And then your toddler starts trying to do it, too ...

But then, again, a camera would have shown my belly - which is the precise reason I need to work out in the first place.

But boy was Andrew cute!

Fourth of July Campout in Hell

Note the choice of preposition - "in". On checking into the campground in Pinckney Recreation Area, I realize we are practically in Hell, which seems to be right in the middle of the park. How convenient, since I've always wanted to go there. Our assigned campsite was flooded, but we got another one, right next to the playground. Which meant that camping mainly consisted of running after Andrew as he ran to the playground. We also made some yummy brats and foil dinners for dinner and eggs and sausage for breakfast with plenty of roasted marshmallows added in. We saw the kiddie parade in the morning and then headed to Hell. The ice cream was yummy, but unfortunately Erik from Survivor was not working on Independence day. Maybe reality TV fame means no more working on holidays ... overall, a great little trip. Maybe we are ready to travel somewhere further away and camp for a couple days! We'll see ...