The new Radiohead is currently my favorite album. I was flipping channels earlier today and they had a really cool live show on Music in HD. MHD always has on something good. Be it live Gorillaz with special guests aplenty, weird random videos, or today's Radiohead performance, they have some of the coolest bands around doing some of the coolest stuff.
Picture a recording studio. Picture five super talented guys playing their many instruments. Now picture that big window you'd normally see the sound engineers sitting behind, and replace them with a live audience. That was the show. A dark studio setting, band completely closed off, and a small group of fans content to sit back fifty feet behind long curtains and two picture window-sized sheets of glass. It was interesting and I loved it.
It took me a few months to find the time to really listen to "In Rainbows" but it was worth the wait. And you know what, the other day my mom asked me if I had read the new David Sedaris book. And I wondered aloud, "Which new David Sedaris book?" It was almost embarrassing that my mom knew about it and I did not. I may be getting out of the house more often, but it looks like I still have some catching up to do.
Sunday, June 29
Saturday, June 28
All together now
Today we bought a double stroller -- hotness! It's cute. Silver and powder blue, with all the features I wanted. The main purpose it will serve is to help me lose my baby fat. Not phat, fat. This morning's test run around the neighborhood was quite successful. Olivia napped peacefully in the back seat while Nico enjoyed his view up front. On our little family walk we stopped at one of the playgrounds down the street. When it got too hot, we headed back home and set up the kiddie pool on the deck. An hour of splashing around and we were all relaxed and cooled off. Aaah.
I'm seriously determined to be done with the baby tummy before summer is over. I'm bordering on obsession over it. It's difficult to put into words exactly why, so the best explanation I can give is that I just want to have a nice, fit body again. I'm picking out new workout clothes, and if I can fit the new stroller in my car then this week I'll be able to grab some new running shoes. I already feel better, and I can even feel all my ab muscles again when I do my core workout. Trust me, it's been a looong time since I've felt all my abs. So here I go, off on my fitness quest, with kids in tow.
I'm seriously determined to be done with the baby tummy before summer is over. I'm bordering on obsession over it. It's difficult to put into words exactly why, so the best explanation I can give is that I just want to have a nice, fit body again. I'm picking out new workout clothes, and if I can fit the new stroller in my car then this week I'll be able to grab some new running shoes. I already feel better, and I can even feel all my ab muscles again when I do my core workout. Trust me, it's been a looong time since I've felt all my abs. So here I go, off on my fitness quest, with kids in tow.
Friday, June 27
Thursday, June 26
Toughing it out
It's time to say bye bye to binky. Nico never liked the binky at all when he was a newborn. When he started cutting his fifth tooth, though, he really needed something he could bite down on for extended periods of time. He refused all the teething rings and cold washcloths we gave him. One day Frank found a pacifier from the hospital and gave it to Nico, who was delighted to have something just the right size on which to chew. At first he wasn't too attached to it. He just wanted something to chew. But as tooth after tooth came in, he got more and more into it and eventually it was part of our everyday routine.
For the past several months, Nico has been sucking on the paci as he drifts off to sleep. In the morning, he happily trades it in for a sippy of milk. I put the binky on the counter and he gets it back again at bed time. With the transition to the toddler bed, I wanted him to give up the pacifier and most of all I want him broken of the habit so that I don't have a binky-dependent three-year-old on my hands. It's a lot at once, switching beds and stopping the binky, so for now he's back in the crib until he knows the binky is gone for real.
Last night he did great. He fell asleep with no problem, and only whined a couple of times during the night. He woke up at 6:45 this morning and didn't even look around for binky as he walked out in to the living room. Not bad. This afternoon's nap time was a little sketchier. He cried and I held him and explained that the binky is something for little babies to use. And since he is getting bigger, it's time for us to leave the binky behind when we go to sleep. Not that he understood every word, but he always handles things better if there's an explanation. He nodded his head and I rocked him in the chair until we both fell asleep. 20 minutes later I woke up, put him in his crib, and he's been there asleep for the past hour.
I know it's difficult for him, but he's toughing it out and that makes me proud. Outgrowing baby stuff isn't always easy for either one of us. The best I can do is offer an explanation and trust that he'll understand. It's so tempting to give him the binky when he's standing in his crib frustrated and crying. I want to make everything easy for him, but that's not really the best thing. I expect it won't be too long before he forgets all about the paci. After all, there are so many more things to think about in his expanding world.
For the past several months, Nico has been sucking on the paci as he drifts off to sleep. In the morning, he happily trades it in for a sippy of milk. I put the binky on the counter and he gets it back again at bed time. With the transition to the toddler bed, I wanted him to give up the pacifier and most of all I want him broken of the habit so that I don't have a binky-dependent three-year-old on my hands. It's a lot at once, switching beds and stopping the binky, so for now he's back in the crib until he knows the binky is gone for real.
Last night he did great. He fell asleep with no problem, and only whined a couple of times during the night. He woke up at 6:45 this morning and didn't even look around for binky as he walked out in to the living room. Not bad. This afternoon's nap time was a little sketchier. He cried and I held him and explained that the binky is something for little babies to use. And since he is getting bigger, it's time for us to leave the binky behind when we go to sleep. Not that he understood every word, but he always handles things better if there's an explanation. He nodded his head and I rocked him in the chair until we both fell asleep. 20 minutes later I woke up, put him in his crib, and he's been there asleep for the past hour.
I know it's difficult for him, but he's toughing it out and that makes me proud. Outgrowing baby stuff isn't always easy for either one of us. The best I can do is offer an explanation and trust that he'll understand. It's so tempting to give him the binky when he's standing in his crib frustrated and crying. I want to make everything easy for him, but that's not really the best thing. I expect it won't be too long before he forgets all about the paci. After all, there are so many more things to think about in his expanding world.
Wednesday, June 25
Baby signs
By doing a little research, I found out that my town's library has a wealth of entertaining and free activities. Especially for kids, which makes me super happy because we really needed something different to try. I signed Nico up for the six week baby sign language class. Today was the first meeting, and we had a blast. There were about 19 kids ranging in age from six to 24 months.
At first Nico was a little shy, but after the first five minutes I couldn't get him to sit still. He was mingling with the other toddlers who had made their way out into the middle of the circle, and then he was going up to the moms, waving and saying hi. He made friends with the little boy, Noah, who was sitting next to us. Lucky Noah even got a hug and a smooch on the cheek when it was time to go. I was really surprised at how easy Nico was around all those kids. There were four infants in a little group, all on their bellies just starting to crawl around, and Nico said hi to them too. He even got down on his belly to get a closer look. Then he went from stroller to stroller, buckling the buckles and reaching for every sippy cup left unattended. Fortunately Olivia was content to lie in her stroller the whole time. She must have known I was pretty busy. She's good that way.
Until next week, we will be practicing our new signs from today's lesson: eat, cereal, drink, milk, bib, yes, and done. Fun, fun, fun!
At first Nico was a little shy, but after the first five minutes I couldn't get him to sit still. He was mingling with the other toddlers who had made their way out into the middle of the circle, and then he was going up to the moms, waving and saying hi. He made friends with the little boy, Noah, who was sitting next to us. Lucky Noah even got a hug and a smooch on the cheek when it was time to go. I was really surprised at how easy Nico was around all those kids. There were four infants in a little group, all on their bellies just starting to crawl around, and Nico said hi to them too. He even got down on his belly to get a closer look. Then he went from stroller to stroller, buckling the buckles and reaching for every sippy cup left unattended. Fortunately Olivia was content to lie in her stroller the whole time. She must have known I was pretty busy. She's good that way.
Until next week, we will be practicing our new signs from today's lesson: eat, cereal, drink, milk, bib, yes, and done. Fun, fun, fun!
Tuesday, June 24
Workin' out with my secret girlfriend
You all know about my secret boyfriends, Henry Rollins and Anthony Bourdain. Well now I have a secret girlfriend as well. You might be able to guess who it is. Ok I'll say it. It's my "Workout" girl Jackie Warner. I'm not a lesbian like she is, but I can still make her my girlfriend.
I think this is the perfect addition to my pretend love life. When you get into a relationship, there's a certain amount of morphing that happens. You unwittingly take on some of your partner's traits, whether you like it or not. It happens to everyone. And I intend to adopt Jackie's no-nonsense attitude about fitness, as well as her penchant for wearing cute, cute workout clothes and never looking the least bit dumpy. She also seems to have some sort of clarity regarding the business end of her life, and I hope some of that rubs off on me as well. But mostly I'm in it for the looks. My looks. I want to look fit, not fat. Yesterday I did her core training workout, which I found on demand for free. Today I'm a-hurtin', but in a good way. I felt the burn and I'm still a little on fire to be honest with you. But it's all so I can look hot, so it's worth it.
I think this is the perfect addition to my pretend love life. When you get into a relationship, there's a certain amount of morphing that happens. You unwittingly take on some of your partner's traits, whether you like it or not. It happens to everyone. And I intend to adopt Jackie's no-nonsense attitude about fitness, as well as her penchant for wearing cute, cute workout clothes and never looking the least bit dumpy. She also seems to have some sort of clarity regarding the business end of her life, and I hope some of that rubs off on me as well. But mostly I'm in it for the looks. My looks. I want to look fit, not fat. Yesterday I did her core training workout, which I found on demand for free. Today I'm a-hurtin', but in a good way. I felt the burn and I'm still a little on fire to be honest with you. But it's all so I can look hot, so it's worth it.
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