Monday, November 17, 2008
Nerd?
Am I a nerd, or, in the alternative, overly sentimental for wanting to make sure I always have the earrings that I was wearing on Election Night 2008, so that when I am an old lady, I can go through my jewelry with my granddaughter and point them out as the earrings I was wearing the night Obama was elected? They are flashy and turquoise.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
11/15/08
Most people count their birthday as one of their favorite days of the year. I'm sure mine will remain for me, but I think that Johan's birthday is even better. I mean, I don't remember being born. I do, however,remember Johan being born and the anniversary of his birth is a great time to reminisce and reflect on how he's grown and changed (and also how I have grown and changed).
Johan had a lovely first birthday. We got up and had breakfast together. His party was at 2 in the afternoon- I planned it for non-lunch/dinner hours so that it would be short and less likely to cause Johan to have a meltdown.
Our tiny living room was filled with close to 40 people, and another 10 or so kids playing in the basement. I opened most of Johan's cards and gifts (no duplicates; lots of cool stuff, especially musical instruments, a lady bug "motorcycle," some high-quality shoes that have improved Johan's steadiness and walking exponentially). Johan played with Ruby and hid in the hallway with Grandma Lund.
After gifts came cake. Chocolate. Pictures forthcoming.
Johan did great until about 3:30 at which time he reached the point of too much birthday and we politely invited our guests to leave.
After the crowds cleared out, he had some time to enjoy his new toys and scooting around in his new shoes. This was followed by dinner with a small group of family where Johan sat next to his great-grandma, which (hopefully) saved me from months of her bitching about how she barely got to see him on his birthday and she never sees us anyway and how he'll probably be in college before she spends any time with him...Riiight.
When we got home from dinner, the sugar set in. Johan was very tired, but rather than having a minor meltdown, he rolled around on the basement floor and laughed. Because that's what 1-year-olds do.
Johan is now 1 year and 1 day, and no worse for wear. He is enjoying his new toys, and we are struggling to get the last remnants of chocolate cake crumbs out of his nose.
Johan had a lovely first birthday. We got up and had breakfast together. His party was at 2 in the afternoon- I planned it for non-lunch/dinner hours so that it would be short and less likely to cause Johan to have a meltdown.
Our tiny living room was filled with close to 40 people, and another 10 or so kids playing in the basement. I opened most of Johan's cards and gifts (no duplicates; lots of cool stuff, especially musical instruments, a lady bug "motorcycle," some high-quality shoes that have improved Johan's steadiness and walking exponentially). Johan played with Ruby and hid in the hallway with Grandma Lund.
After gifts came cake. Chocolate. Pictures forthcoming.
Johan did great until about 3:30 at which time he reached the point of too much birthday and we politely invited our guests to leave.
After the crowds cleared out, he had some time to enjoy his new toys and scooting around in his new shoes. This was followed by dinner with a small group of family where Johan sat next to his great-grandma, which (hopefully) saved me from months of her bitching about how she barely got to see him on his birthday and she never sees us anyway and how he'll probably be in college before she spends any time with him...Riiight.
When we got home from dinner, the sugar set in. Johan was very tired, but rather than having a minor meltdown, he rolled around on the basement floor and laughed. Because that's what 1-year-olds do.
Johan is now 1 year and 1 day, and no worse for wear. He is enjoying his new toys, and we are struggling to get the last remnants of chocolate cake crumbs out of his nose.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
More on Soy
The joy and celebration have not dissipated. It's hard to get me in a bad mood these days- I just keep thinking about Obama.
But, alas, it is ok to blog about something else, although I have a few more Obamablogs in the pipeline.
Today is about soy. A couple things.
1)Tonight at dinner, we discovered a food Johan doesn't like: Tofu. At least, baked tofu. He opened his mouth for it, then spit it out directly, shuddered and made a grunting sort of gross sound. Even when I said "yum yum" to try to make him realize it is something he should like, it was a no go. This is the first food Johan has absolutely refused. Sorry, California.
2) Johan will be one year old on Saturday. Wow. He can walk and laugh and get an attitude and entertain himself and help put on his hat. It's pretty awesome. One of the changes we get to make on the big 0-1 is to switch him from formula to regular milk. But, I've been thinking about switching him to soy milk. We are not anti-dairy. In fact, cottage cheese is probably my favorite food; Johan's too. (Eduardo thinks we are gross for eating cottage cheese, but he just doesn't understand American freedoms and the like.) Any-hoo, between cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, I have a feeling this little boy will be getting *enough* dairy. And since soy protein is supposed to be so great, soy milk in lieu of whole milk seems like an easy way to get soy protein. On the other hand, I have read reports of soy mimicking estrogen and while there's no doubt that Johan is pretty, I don't need a little boy with breast buds or anything. Johan's 12 month check up is next Tuesday and I purposely made the appointment with the younger, more open-minded MD so I can ask her about soy milk.
If she says soy milk is a safe choice, don't tell Johan that soy milk is made from the same stuff as tofu, ok?
But, alas, it is ok to blog about something else, although I have a few more Obamablogs in the pipeline.
Today is about soy. A couple things.
1)Tonight at dinner, we discovered a food Johan doesn't like: Tofu. At least, baked tofu. He opened his mouth for it, then spit it out directly, shuddered and made a grunting sort of gross sound. Even when I said "yum yum" to try to make him realize it is something he should like, it was a no go. This is the first food Johan has absolutely refused. Sorry, California.
2) Johan will be one year old on Saturday. Wow. He can walk and laugh and get an attitude and entertain himself and help put on his hat. It's pretty awesome. One of the changes we get to make on the big 0-1 is to switch him from formula to regular milk. But, I've been thinking about switching him to soy milk. We are not anti-dairy. In fact, cottage cheese is probably my favorite food; Johan's too. (Eduardo thinks we are gross for eating cottage cheese, but he just doesn't understand American freedoms and the like.) Any-hoo, between cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, I have a feeling this little boy will be getting *enough* dairy. And since soy protein is supposed to be so great, soy milk in lieu of whole milk seems like an easy way to get soy protein. On the other hand, I have read reports of soy mimicking estrogen and while there's no doubt that Johan is pretty, I don't need a little boy with breast buds or anything. Johan's 12 month check up is next Tuesday and I purposely made the appointment with the younger, more open-minded MD so I can ask her about soy milk.
If she says soy milk is a safe choice, don't tell Johan that soy milk is made from the same stuff as tofu, ok?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
JOY.
Elation. I am still unable to even truly believe that it's final; that we won. Every time I think of it, my heart fills up anew with so much joy that I shiver.
I have loved reading about and seeing images from around the world celebrating. Sure, they're celebrating Obama, but I think more than that, they're celebrating America. Despite 8 years of America the jerk, most countries and most people in the world still believe in us; in our ability to do the right thing; to believe in hope and goodness; to be a bastion of freedom; to be a friend rather than a bully. I am so proud of us.
I started this post on Wednesday (it's now Saturday), and I just had another thought.
Since I first voted in 2000, the president has been a person that I don't believe was actually elected. Before the wars; before the torture; before the wiretapping, there was 2000. When not all the votes were counted. When, if the votes had been counted, the Bush Administration would have never happened. How incredible it is to go directly from that type of election to this year's election. When more people voted than have ever voted and it seems that those votes have been counted; when a grassroots campaign made up of $5 contributions fought all the way to the White House; when even former slave states helped elect a black man to the Presidency.
Talk about the yin and the yang of elections. So, joy. Sometimes I'm in the car and the reality of what happened on Tuesday night will pop in my head, and I will feel like I just heard the news all over again. Still a lot of joy to be celebrated.
I have loved reading about and seeing images from around the world celebrating. Sure, they're celebrating Obama, but I think more than that, they're celebrating America. Despite 8 years of America the jerk, most countries and most people in the world still believe in us; in our ability to do the right thing; to believe in hope and goodness; to be a bastion of freedom; to be a friend rather than a bully. I am so proud of us.
I started this post on Wednesday (it's now Saturday), and I just had another thought.
Since I first voted in 2000, the president has been a person that I don't believe was actually elected. Before the wars; before the torture; before the wiretapping, there was 2000. When not all the votes were counted. When, if the votes had been counted, the Bush Administration would have never happened. How incredible it is to go directly from that type of election to this year's election. When more people voted than have ever voted and it seems that those votes have been counted; when a grassroots campaign made up of $5 contributions fought all the way to the White House; when even former slave states helped elect a black man to the Presidency.
Talk about the yin and the yang of elections. So, joy. Sometimes I'm in the car and the reality of what happened on Tuesday night will pop in my head, and I will feel like I just heard the news all over again. Still a lot of joy to be celebrated.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
No words.
How can Johan possibly understand the magnitude of tonight? There are truly no words. I love this beautiful America so dearly tonight. I have never felt this alive. Ever. Tonight is history. Go America.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Gotta Have Faith
I'm not much for religion and prayer, and the existence of God is certainly beyond my pay scale. Ahem.
But, on tonight of all nights, it seems a night for faith. I mean, just in case God exists, it's worth asking for a little help to make sure we get the change we need.
Tonight when I got home from work, the first story I heard on the news was that Obama's grandmother died this morning. An elderly ailing woman was certainly not going to make it to Grant Park, but rather would have been watching from Hawaii. When I heard about Mrs. Dunham's death, I thought of something one of my more faithful friends said to me right before I got married. See, Eduardo's grandma died just 3 days before our wedding, and it was very hard for him. My friend said that his grandma wanted to be at our wedding, no matter what she had to do to be able to see her grandson get married. Not sure about the afterlife, but it's a nice thought. And, maybe, just maybe, I can conjure enough faith tonight to think that Mrs. Dunham knows something we don't-- she just had to make it to Grant Park to see her grandson make history tomorrow night, no matter what it took to get there.
Part of hope is faith, and tonight I'm ready to believe...
But, on tonight of all nights, it seems a night for faith. I mean, just in case God exists, it's worth asking for a little help to make sure we get the change we need.
Tonight when I got home from work, the first story I heard on the news was that Obama's grandmother died this morning. An elderly ailing woman was certainly not going to make it to Grant Park, but rather would have been watching from Hawaii. When I heard about Mrs. Dunham's death, I thought of something one of my more faithful friends said to me right before I got married. See, Eduardo's grandma died just 3 days before our wedding, and it was very hard for him. My friend said that his grandma wanted to be at our wedding, no matter what she had to do to be able to see her grandson get married. Not sure about the afterlife, but it's a nice thought. And, maybe, just maybe, I can conjure enough faith tonight to think that Mrs. Dunham knows something we don't-- she just had to make it to Grant Park to see her grandson make history tomorrow night, no matter what it took to get there.
Part of hope is faith, and tonight I'm ready to believe...
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Back on Track
I finally took the time to call linksys (India) and figure out my wireless connection. After following strange and hard-to-understand instructions, I'm back to being able to use my computer in all rooms of my house, rather than just the cold, mean laundry room. Life is good. Just in time for all the wikapediaing I will need to do about the history of the electoral college in just 48 short hours.
In other news, 2 weekends ago, Johan had his first road trip. ROAD TRIP, OMG! We headed to Madison to visit Sarah and Charlie. Overall, he was a great traveler- only making me stop once on the way there and twice on the way back. Pictures of our trip, which was mostly spent on Sarah's couch and at Tex Tubbs Taco Palace are available at facebook.com.
What else... I realized today that I really enjoy fall yard work. Raking leaves and filling lawn bags to take them away is a lovely way to spend an afternoon, especially when it's sunny and warm enough to wear flip flops.
Finally, Johan is walking! Not well, but he is walking. He took his first steps at his music class a week ago Thursday, and now is able to make it almost across a room. By his birthday he should be ready for a 5K, right?
In other news, 2 weekends ago, Johan had his first road trip. ROAD TRIP, OMG! We headed to Madison to visit Sarah and Charlie. Overall, he was a great traveler- only making me stop once on the way there and twice on the way back. Pictures of our trip, which was mostly spent on Sarah's couch and at Tex Tubbs Taco Palace are available at facebook.com.
What else... I realized today that I really enjoy fall yard work. Raking leaves and filling lawn bags to take them away is a lovely way to spend an afternoon, especially when it's sunny and warm enough to wear flip flops.
Finally, Johan is walking! Not well, but he is walking. He took his first steps at his music class a week ago Thursday, and now is able to make it almost across a room. By his birthday he should be ready for a 5K, right?
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