momtourage

Happy 2008!

 

courtesy of Katia, Loïe, and Karolyn

A Few Things About Me

I am:
pregnant,
knocked up,
with child,
in a tender condition,
full,
in the family way,
preggo,
carrying a fetus,
on the nest,
eating for two,
(by choice) up the duff,
expecting,
fertilized,
in an interesting condition,
fecund,
gestating,
incubating,
preggers,
in a delicate condition,
anticipating,
due in early July.

I have:
a bun in my oven,
a pea in the pod,
a baby bump,
no normal pants that fit me anymore,
too many hormones...
overwhelming happiness and relief.

Cruelty to Baked Goods

This morning, my two-year-old son, who I call Cakie online, demanded a bagel.

When I put half of my bagel on his plate he looked at me and said "Oooooh Noooooo!"

His other mom said, "Do you want me to cut the bagel into little pieces for you"

He said something that sounded like this "Oooooh yes the bagelcutitintopiecesofthebagelgoobuushaabuucut it cut it."

So she took a knife and proceeded to cut the bagel into small pieces... brutishly, apparently.  Cakie dramatically said this while she cut the bagel up:  "Ohh bagel OUCH! Bagel.  Hurt bagel..... SORRY bagel."

I have been unknowingly cruel for all these years.  Sorry bagels. 

Winter Travel

In about an hour we will be taking a car to the airport, the first leg of our 19+ hour journey to visit relatives in Argentina. I'm excited about going there, but am dreading the long haul overnight flight. I hope I've packed enough amusing things and that the kids will be able to get a semi-decent night's sleep because as soon as we get through customs in Buenos Aires we will be on our way to a family reunion.

Expect lots of photos upon my return. And in the meantime, Happy New Year!

OOPS! She's pregnant...

You couldn't turn on the TV or go online without hearing about 16-year old Jamie Lynn (Britney's sister) Spears' pregnancy this morning. I had to blog about it because her mother reportedly wrote a book about parenting, and the publishers have decided to put that book on hold indefinitely...

My question is, do people hold the parents responsible in circumstances such as this? When Britney had her breakdown, did people think worse of her parents? Would anyone buy Lynn Spears' book?

Being of Asian descent, I was raised to believe that one's actions reflect upon one's family. But I often wonder how much of this is true in Western cultures. I'm sure when my kids are having a tantrum, people are probably wondering why I can't control my kids...or conversely because the younger one is so calm, someone immediately came to the conclusion that I must be good with kids. (ha!)

Public Refrigerator

I'm shamelessly sharing some images taken by my budding 5 year-old gun designer/photographer, Mr G...

Housecleaning

About once a week (okay at least once every other week) I do a big houseclean. I am probably one of two households on the block that does the cleaning in house rather than hiring out, but that is another story with a lot to say about where I'm at and have landed up . The thought of hiring out cleaning is still slightly scandalous. To me.

Not that I love scrubbing toilets, but I have attempted to take a zen approach to it.  I try to make cleaning day fun.  I secure  an ipod and listen to  inspiring music - for me, Broadcast, Of Montreal and today Velvet Underground, whichever album includes 'Candy Says.' It's not my ipod, and I scroll endlessly.

Maybe it's just the power of suggestion (the Post's horoscope said I'd be very self-involved this week) or maybe it's just human nature, but I really responded to Candy Says (Velvet Underground) today. I must have listened to it at least a dozen times during the day. As I was wondering about the drudgery of housework, and feeling sympathy for the legions of nude cleaners (at least it's something different! - but not for me after all those latke parties) I found sadness and comfort in this song. 

Last year my husband got tickets to see Lou Reed doing 'Berlin' at St. Ann's Warehouse here in Brooklyn.  I was skeptical, but by lord he had paid for those tickets and we were going to go.  Which we did, selling two extra seats at cost as our friends couldn't make it at the last minute. Which was as it should be as the performances were transcendent. I was crying at times in spite of myself, and thinking that this would be a real pinnacle of my music-going experience, forever and for always. That this is why I am here in the city, have remained here, and have not fled to start that farm where my primary interactions are with that ipod, while milking the cows.

It's kind of a non-sequitur,  but it's what keeps me afloat in this big place that everyone thinks I should be completely used to, especially me.

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus...

My kitchen is now finished.

And let me tell you,  I feel like I'm house sitting in a rich woman's house. 

I will post photos below.  But first I need to tell you an unexpected result of the renovation... I like to cook!  It is amazing how fun it can actually be to cook when Tupperware and cookbooks aren't falling on my head from all sides and things are actually easy to find.  Since the renovation finished, I have been on a cooking rampage.  I've been a bit of a comfort food maniac.  Cooking Light published this great little section of their favorite recipes, one for each day in December.  I made Dijon chicken stew with potatoes and kale, chicken potpies, baked pasta with sausage and  farfalle with creamy wild mushroom sauce.  Then I rediscovered a cookbook we've had for years: The Barefoot Contessa.  I've never really used it much because it looked so fancy, I assumed the recipes would be too hard.  Wrong!  They are both easy and delicious.  I made her crunchy banana muffins yesterday.  Tonight I made her turkey meatloaf with Parmesean Smashed Potatoes.  Yum!  My two favorite foods.  This is all really practice for cooking a few wonderful meals for a few wonderful folks who fed us home-cooked meals in the midst of our take-out and one-pan frozen entree month-and-a-half of heck.  Thank you people.  (Yes, Kris, you are one of those fabulous folks.  Of course you always feed me when I step over your threshold. God love ya. XOXO)

The bottom picture is of my favorite functional part of the kitchen... the Tupperware drawer.  I LOVE it.

A couple of other knits

Just had to add these two knits, finished right before the sleet storm hit us yesterday.

This is the oldest yarn in my stash - bought in early 2001 to knit a scarf order for Barney's. (I combined it with a nice boucle.) Yes, I did have my own hat and scarf line for one season, then failed to design/follow through the next year. Aargh!

Oh well, at least the leftover bits made soft + warm mittens for Sam. No pattern used - just knit to fit his hand. I used Kitchener stitch for the top. I'm making a brown pair too, only with a burgundy stripe on the hand above the thumb and a longer cuff.

This is the Elf Cap from Handknit Holidays. I love the pattern - it is well fitted and the swirling decrease at the top is very pretty. BUT I should have used the suggested yarn (Cascade Magnum) instead of Bartlett Bulky, which I had left over from a felting project. Hank says  it is 'too  scratchy' and I had to promise him a chocolate in order to quickly take this photo.

I do actually have the recommended yarn, which is gorgeous. But I think I only have enough to make a sweater for Sam and didn't want to cut into it for a small project.

By the way, this took barely an hour to knit, so I am filing this pattern away in my mind under 'last minute gifts.'

toy joy

Some oldies are real goodies, especially vintage Fisher Price toys.

Take this little schoolhouse. It's an imaginative play-set and learning toy in one: complete with students, teacher, desks, playground...It has a chalkboard...magnetic letters and numbers...a clock with movable hands, and a bell that works...They all store cleverly inside the structure and has its own carrying handle. They thought of everything!