Me: Anna, do you need to go pee-pee in the potty?
Anna: Not YET, mommy.
That was the first time I heard her say "yet". She has SOME indication of time...or something.
The other night she asked to see the food on my plate. I showed her and she said, "I wanna see it AGAIN, mommy!" So I showed her again.
Funny how this all happens right before your eyes.
I have resorted to giving her the paci back in the car, after 2 months of paci-free drives. It's no use fighting the teething. The paci has made the rides to and from school peaceful again, so frankly fine by me. I guess I knew this day would come with teething of the bottom molars and here we are. So back to the original plan: once the teething is really done (after these 2 molars), no more paci in the car. I will fight that battle with more confidence later but at this point there's no use in depriving her of a comfort crutch while forcing me to listen to the screaming all the way home. It does no good.
This morning I spent a few hours at Anna's end of school year party. We went to chapel and then had a little party in her room with 15 other 2 year olds and their parents (and I survived!). Anna was soooo proud to have me there with her. I love the little closed-lip grin she gives me when she's proud of something. She was proud that mommy was sitting next to her in chapel, watching her sing her songs. She was proud I was holding her hand while she and her buddies walked to the chapel (holding onto their rope as a group). She kept looking over at me and smiling that little proud grin. It's the same proud grin she gave me when Nana and I ate the bunny cookies she had just made herself (with my help ;) ). I LOVE that cute little grin. I am so happy she gets it and she can be proud.
The past 2 nights have been rough getting her to sleep. She usually has a tidy little routine and she tells me night night and I love you and I leave the room and she will fall asleep soon after. But the past 2 nights she hasn't wanted to let me leave the room easily. She is also more clingy at drop off at school. I suppose it's the teething. She's also been having night terrors about 1-2 nights per week for the last 3-4 weeks or so. She'll wake up screaming "no no no" in her bed and when we rush up there, she'll just keep screaming and crying and won't let us touch her or talk to her or even sing to her. The screaming/crying goes on for like 5-10 min then she will either snap out of it or go back to sleep. We're reading there's not much you can do to comfort her in a situation like this (that's apparent). I've gotten less worried over them because it seems to bother us more than her. Could be a result of the teething, cognitive development, or even pinworms. In fact, the pedi gave us a script for pinworm meds for her just in case. It's pretty easy treatment: one chewable tablet now and then another in 2 weeks. Don't know if she really has them, but the meds can't hurt so we're trying it out.
She's especially picky about little things bothering her (dirt floating by in the bathtub, a shirt that doesn't fit her right, her sock feels funny). I'd swear the child is OCD but I am learning that part if it is just the toddler life.
She has to do everything herself. If we attempt to help at all, she has to stop completely, and start all over again from the beginning. I have started allotting more time for this! And more patience.
As it turns out, Paul and I (or at least one of us) are traveling once a month (at least) between now and the rest of this year. Good grief. This was supposed to be the year we backed off on travel. Good thing, huh? :) It's a mix of work and personal travel. Some of it Anna will join us for, but some she won't. Now we have to pay for her airline ticket. Blah...believe me, she'll get her own frequent flyer account!
Later.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Happy
Anna's attitude improved as soon as Paul came home. She's still been HORRIBLE with the car seat, which now includes actually getting her INTO it...(thus making me 20 minutes late for work, oh joy!). She still continues to scream bloody murder to and from school each day...I hate the car seat now as much as she does.
With mom being gone, there's no one to make dinner or clean my floors or do the laundry so that it comes back to my bedroom all nicely folded. Thanks mom! Anna has asked about her a few times. Bummer.
But Paul's home and Anna seems to like it and I know I do. I realized last week when he was gone that I can do this mom thing if something were to happen where he'd never come home again, but it certainly wouldn't be as much fun. I missed his presence and he brings to this house the stuff I don't bring. So not only do I love him and enjoy his company, he completes our household. So welcome home, honey. We love you and missed you so much.
Anna has also taken to having to do everything herself. If we so much as attempt something she has her mind on, we get told to back off (in toddler-speak) and she has to start the entire process over from the very beginning, with impatient, often rushed, on-looking parents. Again, see how I have gotten progressively late to work in the morning.
This means we will wake her up 30 minutes earlier now. Paul doesn't know this yet. But it starts tomorrow.
I am currently now wearing my "goal pants" that I couldn't even get into just 2 weeks ago. Score me. I haven't worn them since before I was even pregnant. I am pretty much down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I have about 5 more pounds to go before I'm happy with it all. With the end of my teaching, last night I found time to get some good exercise in. It had been 4 weeks since I'd even been on the bike, much less exercised. It felt amazingly good for some tired, weak muscles and it reminded me to continue to do it even if I feel tired.
Other than surviving the Terrible Two's, the household is great. The weather here has this in sane cold front that makes me feel happy because it reminds me of fall. Heck. Paul's home, teaching's done, the evenings are ours, and even our finances are in good shape. There's no reason to not be happy.
Except for the car ride that's coming up within the next 30 minutes. I am dreading that. Gotta go pick up the booger. Car rides = boo.
With mom being gone, there's no one to make dinner or clean my floors or do the laundry so that it comes back to my bedroom all nicely folded. Thanks mom! Anna has asked about her a few times. Bummer.
But Paul's home and Anna seems to like it and I know I do. I realized last week when he was gone that I can do this mom thing if something were to happen where he'd never come home again, but it certainly wouldn't be as much fun. I missed his presence and he brings to this house the stuff I don't bring. So not only do I love him and enjoy his company, he completes our household. So welcome home, honey. We love you and missed you so much.
Anna has also taken to having to do everything herself. If we so much as attempt something she has her mind on, we get told to back off (in toddler-speak) and she has to start the entire process over from the very beginning, with impatient, often rushed, on-looking parents. Again, see how I have gotten progressively late to work in the morning.
This means we will wake her up 30 minutes earlier now. Paul doesn't know this yet. But it starts tomorrow.
I am currently now wearing my "goal pants" that I couldn't even get into just 2 weeks ago. Score me. I haven't worn them since before I was even pregnant. I am pretty much down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I have about 5 more pounds to go before I'm happy with it all. With the end of my teaching, last night I found time to get some good exercise in. It had been 4 weeks since I'd even been on the bike, much less exercised. It felt amazingly good for some tired, weak muscles and it reminded me to continue to do it even if I feel tired.
Other than surviving the Terrible Two's, the household is great. The weather here has this in sane cold front that makes me feel happy because it reminds me of fall. Heck. Paul's home, teaching's done, the evenings are ours, and even our finances are in good shape. There's no reason to not be happy.
Except for the car ride that's coming up within the next 30 minutes. I am dreading that. Gotta go pick up the booger. Car rides = boo.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
And there's our answer
It looks like it's not so much the Terrible Two's. More like the Terrible Tooth.
I finally saw it. She finally opened wide enough in just the right light for me to see it tonight: one big, fat second year molar poking its way partially through her lower left gum line.
Ah-HA!!! There are no words for me to explain how I felt. Relief? To sum it up, it all suddenly made sense. The thought of teething as the root of her major pissy attitude of the last week or 2 crossed my mind only once or so. It crossed my mind when the first night terror showed up a few weeks ago (there have been about 1-2 of those per week for the last 3 weeks). It crossed my mind a little with the extra car seat crankiness and even her irritability in the bath tub (she usually loves baths). Mom suggested it but I dismissed it. I bet if I took a second to go back through these posts on her previous teething symptoms, they're all similar with a few adjustments for her age. But there has been no drooling, and no hand sucking. She has asked for a tablet (Motrin) and even a paci in recent days, to which I replied: AS IF!
But now I get it. Whether this tooth is the source of her horrible attitude lately remains to be seen I guess. But the fact is that when I saw that tooth myself, the skies parted and I found peace and patience. I cheered to my mom and gave Anna hugs. She thought I was crazy I'm sure. I thought I had been patient over these last few days. While I ACTED patient, inside I was tired, pissed, and rushed. Now that I can (whether right or wrong) pin her attitude on a cause, I have totally let go and relaxed, and this evening has been just like the old days (pre-2 weeks ago). Can't explain it but even Anna was happier, less oppositional, and more cheery, just like her old self. It was a great night. Maybe she just picked up on my happiness and caught on too. I don't know. One way or another, it was just so much better.
And then I remembered I was always relieved to see a tooth poking in. Because this meant that my usually pretty chilled-out toddler had a reason she was recently turning "Terrible" and I could put off the "Terrible Two's" a little longer. So much relief in seeing that tooth. It holds ANSWERS.
But still I wonder how much longer we will be dealing with the car seat crap. She usually does get super pissy in the car seat when she's teething so I hope that's a portion of what's going on for us lately. I've been putting her straight from the car to Time Out once at home. Today on the ride home with my mom, she screamed. Mom threatened her a Time Out and she never said another peep (this has never even worked for me so either she obeys my mom and not me, or she's starting to believe she WILL get the dreaded Time Out at home after all). Either way, it bought my mom some peace in the car.
Well, it's time for me to watch some much needed TV. Night Night.
By the way, Paul is having a fantastic time at Cowboy College. He's so in his element. I am so glad he's having some real fun. He loves dirt and horses. And Westerns. Yee-ha!
I finally saw it. She finally opened wide enough in just the right light for me to see it tonight: one big, fat second year molar poking its way partially through her lower left gum line.
Ah-HA!!! There are no words for me to explain how I felt. Relief? To sum it up, it all suddenly made sense. The thought of teething as the root of her major pissy attitude of the last week or 2 crossed my mind only once or so. It crossed my mind when the first night terror showed up a few weeks ago (there have been about 1-2 of those per week for the last 3 weeks). It crossed my mind a little with the extra car seat crankiness and even her irritability in the bath tub (she usually loves baths). Mom suggested it but I dismissed it. I bet if I took a second to go back through these posts on her previous teething symptoms, they're all similar with a few adjustments for her age. But there has been no drooling, and no hand sucking. She has asked for a tablet (Motrin) and even a paci in recent days, to which I replied: AS IF!
But now I get it. Whether this tooth is the source of her horrible attitude lately remains to be seen I guess. But the fact is that when I saw that tooth myself, the skies parted and I found peace and patience. I cheered to my mom and gave Anna hugs. She thought I was crazy I'm sure. I thought I had been patient over these last few days. While I ACTED patient, inside I was tired, pissed, and rushed. Now that I can (whether right or wrong) pin her attitude on a cause, I have totally let go and relaxed, and this evening has been just like the old days (pre-2 weeks ago). Can't explain it but even Anna was happier, less oppositional, and more cheery, just like her old self. It was a great night. Maybe she just picked up on my happiness and caught on too. I don't know. One way or another, it was just so much better.
And then I remembered I was always relieved to see a tooth poking in. Because this meant that my usually pretty chilled-out toddler had a reason she was recently turning "Terrible" and I could put off the "Terrible Two's" a little longer. So much relief in seeing that tooth. It holds ANSWERS.
But still I wonder how much longer we will be dealing with the car seat crap. She usually does get super pissy in the car seat when she's teething so I hope that's a portion of what's going on for us lately. I've been putting her straight from the car to Time Out once at home. Today on the ride home with my mom, she screamed. Mom threatened her a Time Out and she never said another peep (this has never even worked for me so either she obeys my mom and not me, or she's starting to believe she WILL get the dreaded Time Out at home after all). Either way, it bought my mom some peace in the car.
Well, it's time for me to watch some much needed TV. Night Night.
By the way, Paul is having a fantastic time at Cowboy College. He's so in his element. I am so glad he's having some real fun. He loves dirt and horses. And Westerns. Yee-ha!
Everything's under control
Paul's out playing cowboy at Cowboy College in Arizona this week. It was a gift my family and I gave him when he graduated from PT school a few years ago, and he finally found the time to go!
Mom's here with me this week to help out.
Monday started off great but ended with a car seat screamer who ended up puking all over herself in the car in the midst of her screams.
The screaming started when she wriggled her arm out of her car seat and she saw the look on my face when I discovered it. Then I pulled the car over. And got out. And went around to her side.
Louder screams. Cries.
I buckled her back in, and tighter. This led to an amazing symphony of screams and cries, and heavy inhales until the gurgle of vomit...a pause...more screaming combined with gurgles. She rode home that way.
Yay Monday. Yay car seat booger head. Oh how I love our cozy rides home.
At home, my mom meets me and my puky toddler at the door with bloody thumbs. Both of them. She underestimated the power of our cutlery. Looking for bandaids. Off to Walgreens for bandaids and bug bit itch stopper for Anna.
My return home from Walgreens meets a toddler who had just slipped in her own mess and bumped her head. She cried and was fine, but the large size of the knot and the fact that soon she'll be going to sleep told me we should get it checked out at the ER.
Ofcourse she turned out fine and did remarkably well at the ER. Even the bump is gone.
But all this week she has been a Terrible Two. I am admitting it. Just a few weeks ago, she was perfect and happy. Then as each week goes by, she gets more and more rotten. Oppositional is the key word, complete with a rainbow of sassy vocabulary. Everything is NO and everything is a struggle. I can't even express the patience I am drawing from within myself this week. I do believe my mom is in awe and at one point blamed teething.
No. But now won't those final two bottom molars be great fun when they DO come in?
And silly me, I thought we'd be one of those parents who got away with minimal Terrible Two's. Don't laugh. It happens. I've read about those parents. Probably the same parents who had the easy baby.
One thing I keep telling myself is (other than the fact she picked a fine week to become a terror with her dad gone) the advice I gave at my friend's babyshower last week (ironically). Everything comes in phases. Good and bad. When it all starts falling apart, just tell yourself it's temporary and that the good phase will come again in time. Just deal with this phase. Even though it has made you 15-30 min late to work each day this week.
My mom decided to pick her up from school today. Mom just called. Anna won't leave school. What should she do? This is not new. I just happen to have more tricks up my sleeve to get her to leave. Mom hung up and is giving it another shot. Stay tuned because I'm sure you'll want to see how this evening ends.
Uh oh, mom just called...she got her into the car. But the screaming is just as severe. I'd better go...
Good times. Car seat. This is a C O N T R O L issue, folks.
Mom's here with me this week to help out.
Monday started off great but ended with a car seat screamer who ended up puking all over herself in the car in the midst of her screams.
The screaming started when she wriggled her arm out of her car seat and she saw the look on my face when I discovered it. Then I pulled the car over. And got out. And went around to her side.
Louder screams. Cries.
I buckled her back in, and tighter. This led to an amazing symphony of screams and cries, and heavy inhales until the gurgle of vomit...a pause...more screaming combined with gurgles. She rode home that way.
Yay Monday. Yay car seat booger head. Oh how I love our cozy rides home.
At home, my mom meets me and my puky toddler at the door with bloody thumbs. Both of them. She underestimated the power of our cutlery. Looking for bandaids. Off to Walgreens for bandaids and bug bit itch stopper for Anna.
My return home from Walgreens meets a toddler who had just slipped in her own mess and bumped her head. She cried and was fine, but the large size of the knot and the fact that soon she'll be going to sleep told me we should get it checked out at the ER.
Ofcourse she turned out fine and did remarkably well at the ER. Even the bump is gone.
But all this week she has been a Terrible Two. I am admitting it. Just a few weeks ago, she was perfect and happy. Then as each week goes by, she gets more and more rotten. Oppositional is the key word, complete with a rainbow of sassy vocabulary. Everything is NO and everything is a struggle. I can't even express the patience I am drawing from within myself this week. I do believe my mom is in awe and at one point blamed teething.
No. But now won't those final two bottom molars be great fun when they DO come in?
And silly me, I thought we'd be one of those parents who got away with minimal Terrible Two's. Don't laugh. It happens. I've read about those parents. Probably the same parents who had the easy baby.
One thing I keep telling myself is (other than the fact she picked a fine week to become a terror with her dad gone) the advice I gave at my friend's babyshower last week (ironically). Everything comes in phases. Good and bad. When it all starts falling apart, just tell yourself it's temporary and that the good phase will come again in time. Just deal with this phase. Even though it has made you 15-30 min late to work each day this week.
My mom decided to pick her up from school today. Mom just called. Anna won't leave school. What should she do? This is not new. I just happen to have more tricks up my sleeve to get her to leave. Mom hung up and is giving it another shot. Stay tuned because I'm sure you'll want to see how this evening ends.
Uh oh, mom just called...she got her into the car. But the screaming is just as severe. I'd better go...
Good times. Car seat. This is a C O N T R O L issue, folks.
Friday, May 8, 2009
The imperfect toddler
She eats pretty well.
She sleeps great.
She responds well to our discipline methods.
Her tantrums are pretty mellow compared to what I have heard can happen.
Her only real vice is her paci for sleep at home.
But the car seat. OH THE FRIGGING CAR SEAT.
Some mom please read this and tell me I'm not the only one. She screams all the way to school and then all the way home.
It's only 3 miles one way. But it's been 2 years. I get the pleasure of it daily. I dread picking her up at the end of the day, even though I'm so happy to see her. I dream of a peaceful co-existence with my Tank.
I look forward to when this crap will end. You have no idea.
I've tried books, snacks, drinks, games, talking, pointing out objects, and for awhile last year, I tolerated endless toddler songs, which I firmly believe is the cause of her early talking. Each appeased her in phases. I've told myself over and over again to just let her scream. On some days it's so easy to just let her scream because I tell myself that ignoring the tantrums will make it stop. But it hasn't stopped, has it? Other days, like this morning, I have to consciously control my desire to lose my mind completely and turn into an evil, frothing beast that would scare her into car seat silence forever. Actually, if I knew it would silence her in the car seat, and if I could turn into that beast, I would.
Yesterday she got a Time Out for it when we got home. This morning she got a tap on the leg while still in the car. So the Time Out didn't "stick" and the tap on the leg was a joke. She knows what I mean by "no crying and no screaming in the car". Disregarded.
I feel like she's still too young to feel the full freak-out factor that would accompany me actually pulling off the road, getting out, and threatening her. So that would be pointless.
But I can't take this anymore. She is over 2 now. She's too old for this crap. She likes to climb into the car seat and buckle herself up like a big girl. After that, before my butt even hits the driver's seat sometimes, it's all over.
She's ironically fine on long drives and when running around town on errands. So this is starting to seem personal. Like it's now a routine for her. See mommy's truck, climb in, buckle up, let the screaming begin! Yay, way to let out all toddler complaints in one sitting, where I have mommy's complete undivided attention!
Paul didn't really believe my complaints about the daily scream fests till he called last week while we were in the middle of one. He was surprised! Like I am this creative to make this up?? Do I exhaggerate? No.
Someone tell me what I am doing wrong. What opportunity for discipline am I missing here?
She sleeps great.
She responds well to our discipline methods.
Her tantrums are pretty mellow compared to what I have heard can happen.
Her only real vice is her paci for sleep at home.
But the car seat. OH THE FRIGGING CAR SEAT.
Some mom please read this and tell me I'm not the only one. She screams all the way to school and then all the way home.
It's only 3 miles one way. But it's been 2 years. I get the pleasure of it daily. I dread picking her up at the end of the day, even though I'm so happy to see her. I dream of a peaceful co-existence with my Tank.
I look forward to when this crap will end. You have no idea.
I've tried books, snacks, drinks, games, talking, pointing out objects, and for awhile last year, I tolerated endless toddler songs, which I firmly believe is the cause of her early talking. Each appeased her in phases. I've told myself over and over again to just let her scream. On some days it's so easy to just let her scream because I tell myself that ignoring the tantrums will make it stop. But it hasn't stopped, has it? Other days, like this morning, I have to consciously control my desire to lose my mind completely and turn into an evil, frothing beast that would scare her into car seat silence forever. Actually, if I knew it would silence her in the car seat, and if I could turn into that beast, I would.
Yesterday she got a Time Out for it when we got home. This morning she got a tap on the leg while still in the car. So the Time Out didn't "stick" and the tap on the leg was a joke. She knows what I mean by "no crying and no screaming in the car". Disregarded.
I feel like she's still too young to feel the full freak-out factor that would accompany me actually pulling off the road, getting out, and threatening her. So that would be pointless.
But I can't take this anymore. She is over 2 now. She's too old for this crap. She likes to climb into the car seat and buckle herself up like a big girl. After that, before my butt even hits the driver's seat sometimes, it's all over.
She's ironically fine on long drives and when running around town on errands. So this is starting to seem personal. Like it's now a routine for her. See mommy's truck, climb in, buckle up, let the screaming begin! Yay, way to let out all toddler complaints in one sitting, where I have mommy's complete undivided attention!
Paul didn't really believe my complaints about the daily scream fests till he called last week while we were in the middle of one. He was surprised! Like I am this creative to make this up?? Do I exhaggerate? No.
Someone tell me what I am doing wrong. What opportunity for discipline am I missing here?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
What's going on at work
The job as the Associate Program Scientist for the ISS is going well after a little over 2 months. Now that I'm here, I feel like I've been here awhile, pretty much at home and comfortable. The uncomfortable part revolves around the fact that there are no processes like there were in my previous position in flight hardware. It's a little nice, but since I'm a control freak, I feel like I could miss something important without a process to catch me. Currently, my "work instruction" is a meticulously-kept notebook of my own actions and questions.
I'm still in learning mode. There is a whole suite of terminology here I'm trying to understand. Sometimes I kick myself when I can't answer questions readily and say, "uhhh...I'll have to get back to you..." but then I'm reminded I'm fairly new here.
It doesn't matter, I still kick myself because that's just what I do. I like to be really good at what I am doing, whatever it is. It's been awhile since I've been in the learning stage of something at work, so I am trying to accept it. Still, there are fleeting moments of my leadership capabilities which fuel my self esteem and keep me going.
Like I am starting to get the hang of presenting at higher-level meetings without my voice cracking. Bonus.
I survived media training (but nobody "normal" really likes to see themselves answer tough interview questions-though fake- in front of their boss and boss's boss and co-workers on a huge projection screen). Whew.
I was part of a neat phone call last week to the on-orbit crew to discuss science experiments they're doing.
I'm currently working with Public Affairs on a story about the COLBERT and the other exercise equipment up on the ISS and what kind of data they collect to support human research.
There's probably more I'm not covering, but it's just not as much fun to talk about :) . In the end, I am really enjoying this position and am learning tons of stuff. It was soooooo the right move for me.
Now, on to pick up the Boogie-Marie and then administer Exam 3 to my Human Physiology class. No more lectures. Just this exam and the final on Friday.
Yeah, baby. I actually have been asleep by 9:30pm the past few nights. Just like the old days.
I'm still in learning mode. There is a whole suite of terminology here I'm trying to understand. Sometimes I kick myself when I can't answer questions readily and say, "uhhh...I'll have to get back to you..." but then I'm reminded I'm fairly new here.
It doesn't matter, I still kick myself because that's just what I do. I like to be really good at what I am doing, whatever it is. It's been awhile since I've been in the learning stage of something at work, so I am trying to accept it. Still, there are fleeting moments of my leadership capabilities which fuel my self esteem and keep me going.
Like I am starting to get the hang of presenting at higher-level meetings without my voice cracking. Bonus.
I survived media training (but nobody "normal" really likes to see themselves answer tough interview questions-though fake- in front of their boss and boss's boss and co-workers on a huge projection screen). Whew.
I was part of a neat phone call last week to the on-orbit crew to discuss science experiments they're doing.
I'm currently working with Public Affairs on a story about the COLBERT and the other exercise equipment up on the ISS and what kind of data they collect to support human research.
There's probably more I'm not covering, but it's just not as much fun to talk about :) . In the end, I am really enjoying this position and am learning tons of stuff. It was soooooo the right move for me.
Now, on to pick up the Boogie-Marie and then administer Exam 3 to my Human Physiology class. No more lectures. Just this exam and the final on Friday.
Yeah, baby. I actually have been asleep by 9:30pm the past few nights. Just like the old days.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Slap-Yo-Momma and other toddler stories
We didn't do anything special but it was just a great weekend.
Maybe it's due to the fact that it's the first time in a few weekends we were all actually at home together with only a few small commitments on the agenda. And me with no lectures to prepare.
While I proctored Zo's class of students on Sat morning during their exam (Zo went to the UTMB graduation), Paul took Anna off-roading at a place he found north of Houston. Off-roading. Yes. I know. With a toddler. But this is Paul. Apparently she was impressed but then passed out in the car right around naptime. While she was off-roading.
Anyway, their jaunt gave me enough time to go purchase some much needed shoes (Lord help me, shoe shopping. Ick. Desperate, yes. And without Paul, who actually usually finds the best shoes for me!) and a baby shower gift for JTB, and the super cool thing about this was that because I knew Paul and Anna were busy with their own stuff, I didn't feel like I had to rush through this shopping to get back to them. So I actually took some time with the miserable task of finding shoes. Then on to a baby shower for a friend where someone brought up the fact when the baby comes, time will no longer be her own. As a mom your time will become more valuable. Truer words were NEVER spoken. But that's a different post.
The night before that, Paul and I talked a little about how we thought Anna might be ready for her toddler bed (yes, she's still been in her crib. Sue me. She's never complained. She's on the second floor, across the house. I am not eager to wake up to a screaming toddler who just fell out her bed and then hurls down the stairs in the dark trying to make her way to our room because we forgot to put the baby gate up...). Anyway, we talked about it. Then it ended with me saying, "nah, I still don't think she's ready". Especially since she fell out of our bed last weekend when she slept with Paul and I was out of town ("Daddy, I fell out da bed"...then: snoozeeee....).
I came home that afternoon to the work that Anna and Paul had done to remove the crib rail from her bed, thus converting it to a toddler bed. (In your face, Spacemama! Push, now swim!). So this is a shot of her first night all by herself in the big girl bed. She's had two nights total. Neither has resulted in a "thump" and cry yet, but I have admittedly been sleeping with the video portion of her baby monitor on at night just so I can peek in on her every time I roll over...
She also is enjoying sitting on the potty, looking at her sticker books. She also tells us when she's gone in her diaper (and actually demanding a change instead of fighting us) so we're trying to encourage her to tell us when she needs to go, rather than telling us AFTER she's gone. She wore big girl Elmo undies all morning yesterday (thanks TJ) so she felt what it was like to be more aware of when she was going. We expected accidents and got them...2 before noon. But it's part of the game plan. However, it would have been great if she'd chosen tile for those instead of one of them being located on the carpet just under my nose of where I sleep every night.
This is the part I hate about potty training: pee. In places it should not be. But this is also why yesterday was just for learning and we're not pushing anything, but instead we're just exploring stuff.
Here's a question: Do parents say their kid is potty trained just because mom puts them on the potty every hour and kid does his thing and so therefore stays "dry" all day? Or does a parent say the kid is potty trained when the kid can actually verbalize he needs to go to the potty? Just wondering. This is something I am not prepared for so I guess I'd better read (gasp, not the developmental books!!) :)
Anna was lots of fun this weekend. Oh yes, I think I have finally overcome my grocery shopping anxiety with Anna. You know, the fear that she'll act like a brat and everyone will stare at you if you discipline or if you don't? I've overcome it because she had a meltdown in a busy Kroger parking lot yesterday, during which she proceeded to slap me in the face 3 times (totally unusual. Then she slapped her own face: total frustration, yes?). Not wanting to beat her in front of my community, I carried her screaming to the truck with her arms pinned to her side while I pushed the previously-fun-time toddler-sized shopping cart with the other hand. A mom passed by me with a wonderfully friendly and empathetic look like: "I've been there, sister. You go, girl." And that helped. And I smiled like I knew exactly what I was doing.
She got Time Out in her car seat for slapping mommy in the face. She hated it. She apologized. She proceeded to slap me later on at home for something else. Just once. She got time out. She said "yes m'am" and "I'm sorry". Yesterday's round of slap-the-mommy hasn't happened since she was just over 1 or something. She knows better. She is pushing. She has not slapped Paul. I guess that just means she loves me more.
Here's a true anxiety nightmare come true: I met someone this weekend who told me a story. It turns out last weekend she'd locked herself and her 2 kids (5 and 2) out of the car at Walmart (horror starts right THERE...). While waiting for the lock smith, her 5 year old smacks her brother. So momma spanks the 5 year old and a woman actually came over and threatened to call CPS. You see this? DO YOU SEE? It's a mom's worst nightmare. It's a spanking, not a beating. While I'm not about spanking Anna per se, I still think it's a parent's choice as long as it's not a beating. And there it is. A mom's worst nightmare. That ofcourse starts with Walmart...at least it wasn't me. This time.
Other than the mommy-slappings, Anna has been a fun little riot and an amazing little big kid. She watched TV with us last night that wasn't cartoons. She still loves to sing, and now it's more clear than ever. I wish I could list all the fun stuff she's doing but I can't even remember it all. Bummer. She is SO INSISTENT at this time that she does EVERYTHING herself. "Lemme do it!" It leads to meltdowns (such as the Kroger incident) when it becomes a safety or sanity decision on my/Paul's part. It is just THE THING to overcome lately.
She's been off the paci in the car now for the last few months so we're way past that. She does still get it at home for sleep (but sleeps fine at school without it). Tomorrow and Wed are her water play days at school. How fun!
She's agreeing to brush her teeth every morning these days instead of me forcing it. So it's actually become something fun for her.
The other night while sitting on the potty, she asked for lotion. I put it in her hands and she proceeded to rub it all over my face, with concentration, love and smiles at such a serious task.....ahhhh, how sweeeet. You see how the hands of love can turn into Slap-Yo-Mama? It's bitter sweet, my friends.
Maybe it's due to the fact that it's the first time in a few weekends we were all actually at home together with only a few small commitments on the agenda. And me with no lectures to prepare.
While I proctored Zo's class of students on Sat morning during their exam (Zo went to the UTMB graduation), Paul took Anna off-roading at a place he found north of Houston. Off-roading. Yes. I know. With a toddler. But this is Paul. Apparently she was impressed but then passed out in the car right around naptime. While she was off-roading.
Anyway, their jaunt gave me enough time to go purchase some much needed shoes (Lord help me, shoe shopping. Ick. Desperate, yes. And without Paul, who actually usually finds the best shoes for me!) and a baby shower gift for JTB, and the super cool thing about this was that because I knew Paul and Anna were busy with their own stuff, I didn't feel like I had to rush through this shopping to get back to them. So I actually took some time with the miserable task of finding shoes. Then on to a baby shower for a friend where someone brought up the fact when the baby comes, time will no longer be her own. As a mom your time will become more valuable. Truer words were NEVER spoken. But that's a different post.
The night before that, Paul and I talked a little about how we thought Anna might be ready for her toddler bed (yes, she's still been in her crib. Sue me. She's never complained. She's on the second floor, across the house. I am not eager to wake up to a screaming toddler who just fell out her bed and then hurls down the stairs in the dark trying to make her way to our room because we forgot to put the baby gate up...). Anyway, we talked about it. Then it ended with me saying, "nah, I still don't think she's ready". Especially since she fell out of our bed last weekend when she slept with Paul and I was out of town ("Daddy, I fell out da bed"...then: snoozeeee....).
I came home that afternoon to the work that Anna and Paul had done to remove the crib rail from her bed, thus converting it to a toddler bed. (In your face, Spacemama! Push, now swim!). So this is a shot of her first night all by herself in the big girl bed. She's had two nights total. Neither has resulted in a "thump" and cry yet, but I have admittedly been sleeping with the video portion of her baby monitor on at night just so I can peek in on her every time I roll over...
She also is enjoying sitting on the potty, looking at her sticker books. She also tells us when she's gone in her diaper (and actually demanding a change instead of fighting us) so we're trying to encourage her to tell us when she needs to go, rather than telling us AFTER she's gone. She wore big girl Elmo undies all morning yesterday (thanks TJ) so she felt what it was like to be more aware of when she was going. We expected accidents and got them...2 before noon. But it's part of the game plan. However, it would have been great if she'd chosen tile for those instead of one of them being located on the carpet just under my nose of where I sleep every night.
This is the part I hate about potty training: pee. In places it should not be. But this is also why yesterday was just for learning and we're not pushing anything, but instead we're just exploring stuff.
Here's a question: Do parents say their kid is potty trained just because mom puts them on the potty every hour and kid does his thing and so therefore stays "dry" all day? Or does a parent say the kid is potty trained when the kid can actually verbalize he needs to go to the potty? Just wondering. This is something I am not prepared for so I guess I'd better read (gasp, not the developmental books!!) :)
Anna was lots of fun this weekend. Oh yes, I think I have finally overcome my grocery shopping anxiety with Anna. You know, the fear that she'll act like a brat and everyone will stare at you if you discipline or if you don't? I've overcome it because she had a meltdown in a busy Kroger parking lot yesterday, during which she proceeded to slap me in the face 3 times (totally unusual. Then she slapped her own face: total frustration, yes?). Not wanting to beat her in front of my community, I carried her screaming to the truck with her arms pinned to her side while I pushed the previously-fun-time toddler-sized shopping cart with the other hand. A mom passed by me with a wonderfully friendly and empathetic look like: "I've been there, sister. You go, girl." And that helped. And I smiled like I knew exactly what I was doing.
She got Time Out in her car seat for slapping mommy in the face. She hated it. She apologized. She proceeded to slap me later on at home for something else. Just once. She got time out. She said "yes m'am" and "I'm sorry". Yesterday's round of slap-the-mommy hasn't happened since she was just over 1 or something. She knows better. She is pushing. She has not slapped Paul. I guess that just means she loves me more.
Here's a true anxiety nightmare come true: I met someone this weekend who told me a story. It turns out last weekend she'd locked herself and her 2 kids (5 and 2) out of the car at Walmart (horror starts right THERE...). While waiting for the lock smith, her 5 year old smacks her brother. So momma spanks the 5 year old and a woman actually came over and threatened to call CPS. You see this? DO YOU SEE? It's a mom's worst nightmare. It's a spanking, not a beating. While I'm not about spanking Anna per se, I still think it's a parent's choice as long as it's not a beating. And there it is. A mom's worst nightmare. That ofcourse starts with Walmart...at least it wasn't me. This time.
Other than the mommy-slappings, Anna has been a fun little riot and an amazing little big kid. She watched TV with us last night that wasn't cartoons. She still loves to sing, and now it's more clear than ever. I wish I could list all the fun stuff she's doing but I can't even remember it all. Bummer. She is SO INSISTENT at this time that she does EVERYTHING herself. "Lemme do it!" It leads to meltdowns (such as the Kroger incident) when it becomes a safety or sanity decision on my/Paul's part. It is just THE THING to overcome lately.
She's been off the paci in the car now for the last few months so we're way past that. She does still get it at home for sleep (but sleeps fine at school without it). Tomorrow and Wed are her water play days at school. How fun!
She's agreeing to brush her teeth every morning these days instead of me forcing it. So it's actually become something fun for her.
The other night while sitting on the potty, she asked for lotion. I put it in her hands and she proceeded to rub it all over my face, with concentration, love and smiles at such a serious task.....ahhhh, how sweeeet. You see how the hands of love can turn into Slap-Yo-Mama? It's bitter sweet, my friends.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Help Wanted
Paul and I actually have tickets to the No Doubt concert here in Houston on May 31. Anybody up for the love and caring of this little beauty for a few hours that evening? (When in doubt, said beauty responds well to "Time Out!")
PS you must be overly-qualified.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Looks like she's right on track...
I get these emails periodically from Baby Center. Actually, I've gotten them since I was pregnant and they're fun to read to see what's coming, or what's going on in short spurts. This explains the constant "What IS that mommy/daddy?" Anna started last weekend when I thought we'd already gone through that at like 18 months. It's clear to me that this second round of "What is that?" takes on a different meaning now than it did 6 months ago. She's really soaking it all in. It's a fabulous window of opportunity to tell her that it's a "Macaw" and not just a "Bird". Get the idea? Paul is actually better at that than I am. I underestimate her over and over.
Here's the little tidbit from the email. Timely:
Ask Me Anything
"Why, Mommy?" "Why?" "Why?" Questions are probably your preschooler's new favorite form of speech. And there's a reason for that: Asking is a good way of finding out, and your child is constantly coming across new situations he wants to know more about. Although endless questions can get wearisome — especially if you have a tenacious, super-curious child — answering them simply and patiently encourages your child to keep asking and learning.
Last night I gave her my watch and told her to listen to it "tick tock". She quietly held it up to her ear and focussed. She said she could hear it. Then she pointed to it and said, "dis is 10 minutes, mommy"...WHAT? Another one of those moments where Paul and I each guessed at where we thought it might have come from. He tells her 10 more minutes before bedtime and points at his watch. Anyway, super cool. She asks alot of "what" and I don't mind. If I hesitate for a second to think about the right answer, she gets impatient and asks again as if I didn't hear her.
I guess "Why" is forthcoming. I love a challenge.
Here's the little tidbit from the email. Timely:
Ask Me Anything
"Why, Mommy?" "Why?" "Why?" Questions are probably your preschooler's new favorite form of speech. And there's a reason for that: Asking is a good way of finding out, and your child is constantly coming across new situations he wants to know more about. Although endless questions can get wearisome — especially if you have a tenacious, super-curious child — answering them simply and patiently encourages your child to keep asking and learning.
Last night I gave her my watch and told her to listen to it "tick tock". She quietly held it up to her ear and focussed. She said she could hear it. Then she pointed to it and said, "dis is 10 minutes, mommy"...WHAT? Another one of those moments where Paul and I each guessed at where we thought it might have come from. He tells her 10 more minutes before bedtime and points at his watch. Anyway, super cool. She asks alot of "what" and I don't mind. If I hesitate for a second to think about the right answer, she gets impatient and asks again as if I didn't hear her.
I guess "Why" is forthcoming. I love a challenge.
This picture has it all...
Nice, huh?
The jets are the T-38 trainers the astronauts use. The two space shuttles on the pads will probably never be seen again together on the pads like that. The first shuttle will be used to launch the STS-125 crew into space to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. The second shuttle (all the way in the back, on the left...can you see it?) is on the pad as a potential "rescue unit" that was instituted following the Columbia accident. It will actually be used again in a few months on the next launch to ISS.
This photo was taken from the NASA website:
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
I can feel it...
Normalcy will be returning soon.
Already I'm ahead of my lecture notes for tomorrow night's class so I'm not sure what to do with the little free time I might have tonight. What did I used to do before traveling and the respiratory and cardio system took over my schedule? I can't remember. I think I even exercised. Oh yeah, I rode the bike a bit.
Tomorrow night, my last lecture night. Woo-hoo!!! I will take the rest of the week off then start running in the evenings like I used to do around 7:30-8pm before Anna was born. I may even start swimming in the mornings if I'm that motivated. I'd like to but I'd also like to sleep I think. I guess we'll see.
Friday is media training at work. It's the same media training crash course the astronauts take. I'm really not looking forward to performing mock interviews. I think I'm probably much better under pressure, but then again I have NEVER watched any of my NEEMO6 interviews bc I thought I pretty much sucked on camera compared to the astronauts I was with. Digressing...
The Program Scientist crew conference that was scheduled for me to participate in while I was in Albany was canceled due to TVIS (the ISS on-orbit treadmill) maintenance over-runs. Congrats to TJ's husband (CM) and the TVIS team for pulling it off. It was a pretty major ordeal and had its bumps and so I imagined that the tension in the TJ housebold this past weekend could potentially have been a little higher than usual. But frankly I DON'T KNOW! TJ lives just around the block but I don't get out much to talk to anyone :)
Soon, that will change too!
My trip to Albany was great. The SUNY Albany campus has an amazing facility for superconductor work at the nano-scale. I learned a whole bunch of stuff about materials and the students/staff were really nice. They did pack my itinerary full of stuff to do, even though I'd been planning for some extra sleep and getting some work done in my hotel room. Alas, you don't go on travel just to hole up in the hotel room. So it was a nice outing. Also, Albany is in love with tulips. They even have a tulip fest for it. Tulips are my favorite. Nice.
I was only gone 3 days and I came back to Anna's latest cognitive leaps: "What IS that mommy/Daddy?" It occurs every minute or so and it's super cute. Did I blog about this already? I can't remember. Anyway, she catches EVERYTHING and asks about it. Today I had to ask Paul the name for a conduit because she asked me and I didn't know. Isn't it a little early for mommy not to be able to answer a 2 year-old's questions?
The cognitive leaps are apparent in her sleeping patterns lately. We watch her "run" in her sleep and talk and whine and stuff. Last night she even woke once and I had to go up to see her. She went right back to sleep after a round of "Wheels on the Bus" but it's still unusual.
More later I guess. Gotta go pick up the booger-bear from school.
Already I'm ahead of my lecture notes for tomorrow night's class so I'm not sure what to do with the little free time I might have tonight. What did I used to do before traveling and the respiratory and cardio system took over my schedule? I can't remember. I think I even exercised. Oh yeah, I rode the bike a bit.
Tomorrow night, my last lecture night. Woo-hoo!!! I will take the rest of the week off then start running in the evenings like I used to do around 7:30-8pm before Anna was born. I may even start swimming in the mornings if I'm that motivated. I'd like to but I'd also like to sleep I think. I guess we'll see.
Friday is media training at work. It's the same media training crash course the astronauts take. I'm really not looking forward to performing mock interviews. I think I'm probably much better under pressure, but then again I have NEVER watched any of my NEEMO6 interviews bc I thought I pretty much sucked on camera compared to the astronauts I was with. Digressing...
The Program Scientist crew conference that was scheduled for me to participate in while I was in Albany was canceled due to TVIS (the ISS on-orbit treadmill) maintenance over-runs. Congrats to TJ's husband (CM) and the TVIS team for pulling it off. It was a pretty major ordeal and had its bumps and so I imagined that the tension in the TJ housebold this past weekend could potentially have been a little higher than usual. But frankly I DON'T KNOW! TJ lives just around the block but I don't get out much to talk to anyone :)
Soon, that will change too!
My trip to Albany was great. The SUNY Albany campus has an amazing facility for superconductor work at the nano-scale. I learned a whole bunch of stuff about materials and the students/staff were really nice. They did pack my itinerary full of stuff to do, even though I'd been planning for some extra sleep and getting some work done in my hotel room. Alas, you don't go on travel just to hole up in the hotel room. So it was a nice outing. Also, Albany is in love with tulips. They even have a tulip fest for it. Tulips are my favorite. Nice.
I was only gone 3 days and I came back to Anna's latest cognitive leaps: "What IS that mommy/Daddy?" It occurs every minute or so and it's super cute. Did I blog about this already? I can't remember. Anyway, she catches EVERYTHING and asks about it. Today I had to ask Paul the name for a conduit because she asked me and I didn't know. Isn't it a little early for mommy not to be able to answer a 2 year-old's questions?
The cognitive leaps are apparent in her sleeping patterns lately. We watch her "run" in her sleep and talk and whine and stuff. Last night she even woke once and I had to go up to see her. She went right back to sleep after a round of "Wheels on the Bus" but it's still unusual.
More later I guess. Gotta go pick up the booger-bear from school.
Monday, April 27, 2009
I Love This
The below blog entry is taken from a Blog I love so much: Motherhood Is Not for Wimps (the link is posted on the right side here of my own blog). Liz, the writer, has just had her third baby and has asked her brother to write a guest post. He is also a new dad (2 months in). I LOVE his perspective on being PRESENT. It is actually something Paul and I are very cognizant of and have implemented since the day Anna was born. In the beginning, I was afraid to confuse being present with obsessing over Anna. But Paul and I both feel innately that what's the point in having a kid if you don't fully engage with them? They're a litte person. So many parents can simply "check out". And believe me, it'd be much easier to check out on days that are already draining and demanding. No lie, I am often grateful for Anna's early bedtime so that I can unwind. But even on days when Paul and I are both super exhausted for one reason or another, an inner voice remind us that parenting is a non-stop job and that's what we signed up for going in. Fortunately, Paul and I have great work ethic that I guess just keeps us going even when we're too tired. Anyway, I like this post from Liz's brother:
GUEST POST:What, me guest?
April 24th, 2009
Everybody asks me about what it’s like being a dad. I don’t want to tell them. Not because I’m afraid or overwhelmed, but because there is nothing new I can contribute. Everything everybody has ever told me, everything I thought was trite, and I only half listened to, about it being the greatest and most rewarding experience of your life – well all of that is true. And it’s been uttered by most of the nearly 3.5 billion fathers in the history of mankind. If you’re a parent you know what I’m talking about, if not you don’t, but I wish upon you that you might someday feel it, because nothing in the world prepares you for the first time your daughter smiles at you, and you know it’s because it’s you (as opposed to the fact she just pooped, which to her is always cause for celebration).
So I won’t discuss the pleasures of it – if you have a child you know, if you don’t, I can only be condescending and tell you you won’t get it until you have one, and since I hate condescending people…. Well I’ll shut up on how life changing this experience is.
So what can I say… What can I contribute to this blog?
Well, there is only one thing I have learned of any value (besides which end gets the diaper, a lesson which staggeringly improved my and my daughters relationship). That lesson is presence.
Presence. What is that? Certainly there are parents who are with their children all the time, and parents who work all the time and can’t be there with their kids. Neither is presence.
Presence, for me, means being there with my daughter. It means not thinking about the newest character on “Lost” to be… well lost, or the latest new idea for a book, or what the Dow Jones is doing. Honestly it doesn’t even involve thinking about my daughter, about her future, how I’ll pay for her education, or what will she chose to be.
Being present, to me, means being there on her terms. It means congratulating her when she poops, passes gas, lifts her head, or for the most part accomplishes much of anything. It means watching her actively, not simply to make sure she has not gotten into trouble, but for it’s own sake. It means putting a hand on her, not to steady her, but just to let her know that I am… well, present.
Sometimes presence means being involved, sometimes it involves just watching, but if it is true presence, it is always active, not passive. It costs energy, you have to make an effort and you have to let her be your focus.
Therein lies the rub. I don’t have a lot of energy. I get to stay home all day, I don’t even need to go into some job for $10 an hour, and I still feel too tired to be “present” in my relationship with Emily. Too often I feel like just tossing her onto the changing table, slapping on a pair of diapers, and watching television while I rock her to sleep. I get so few simple pleasures in life compared to B.E. (Before Emily), that I furiously hold onto the ones I get.
And yet, if I allow my love for her to fill me, if I watch her with the eyes and wonder of a new father, it’s not as hard to be “present” as I would think. And presence, while a wonderful ideal, can’t be achieved perpetually. You can not be present 100% of the time, even when you’re there all the time. Much of the time you’ll walk through the day a zombie, and you’ll not have a lot of energy to spare.
Yet above all else – loving your child unconditionally, keeping them from licking the electrical sockets, feeding and swaddling them, speaking to and singing to them – above all that, if someone asked me to write an essay, a “blog” if you will… If some sadist who thinks I have gobs of time to spend writing on subjects about which I know very little asked me to write on parenting and say something I thought was important on the subject – above all those things I would say that finding a little time each day, even if it’s only 15 minutes a day, to be “present”, has been both the most rewarding, and in my mind the most important part of being a father. Be present, and as far as I can tell, the rest takes much better care of itself.
Nick
GUEST POST:What, me guest?
April 24th, 2009
Everybody asks me about what it’s like being a dad. I don’t want to tell them. Not because I’m afraid or overwhelmed, but because there is nothing new I can contribute. Everything everybody has ever told me, everything I thought was trite, and I only half listened to, about it being the greatest and most rewarding experience of your life – well all of that is true. And it’s been uttered by most of the nearly 3.5 billion fathers in the history of mankind. If you’re a parent you know what I’m talking about, if not you don’t, but I wish upon you that you might someday feel it, because nothing in the world prepares you for the first time your daughter smiles at you, and you know it’s because it’s you (as opposed to the fact she just pooped, which to her is always cause for celebration).
So I won’t discuss the pleasures of it – if you have a child you know, if you don’t, I can only be condescending and tell you you won’t get it until you have one, and since I hate condescending people…. Well I’ll shut up on how life changing this experience is.
So what can I say… What can I contribute to this blog?
Well, there is only one thing I have learned of any value (besides which end gets the diaper, a lesson which staggeringly improved my and my daughters relationship). That lesson is presence.
Presence. What is that? Certainly there are parents who are with their children all the time, and parents who work all the time and can’t be there with their kids. Neither is presence.
Presence, for me, means being there with my daughter. It means not thinking about the newest character on “Lost” to be… well lost, or the latest new idea for a book, or what the Dow Jones is doing. Honestly it doesn’t even involve thinking about my daughter, about her future, how I’ll pay for her education, or what will she chose to be.
Being present, to me, means being there on her terms. It means congratulating her when she poops, passes gas, lifts her head, or for the most part accomplishes much of anything. It means watching her actively, not simply to make sure she has not gotten into trouble, but for it’s own sake. It means putting a hand on her, not to steady her, but just to let her know that I am… well, present.
Sometimes presence means being involved, sometimes it involves just watching, but if it is true presence, it is always active, not passive. It costs energy, you have to make an effort and you have to let her be your focus.
Therein lies the rub. I don’t have a lot of energy. I get to stay home all day, I don’t even need to go into some job for $10 an hour, and I still feel too tired to be “present” in my relationship with Emily. Too often I feel like just tossing her onto the changing table, slapping on a pair of diapers, and watching television while I rock her to sleep. I get so few simple pleasures in life compared to B.E. (Before Emily), that I furiously hold onto the ones I get.
And yet, if I allow my love for her to fill me, if I watch her with the eyes and wonder of a new father, it’s not as hard to be “present” as I would think. And presence, while a wonderful ideal, can’t be achieved perpetually. You can not be present 100% of the time, even when you’re there all the time. Much of the time you’ll walk through the day a zombie, and you’ll not have a lot of energy to spare.
Yet above all else – loving your child unconditionally, keeping them from licking the electrical sockets, feeding and swaddling them, speaking to and singing to them – above all that, if someone asked me to write an essay, a “blog” if you will… If some sadist who thinks I have gobs of time to spend writing on subjects about which I know very little asked me to write on parenting and say something I thought was important on the subject – above all those things I would say that finding a little time each day, even if it’s only 15 minutes a day, to be “present”, has been both the most rewarding, and in my mind the most important part of being a father. Be present, and as far as I can tell, the rest takes much better care of itself.
Nick
This just in: The pigs are trying to kill us
In my JSC NASA inbox this morning:
JSC TODAY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
From The Center Director:
Within the last week, a new strain of influenza has emerged in North America called swine influenza (H1N1). Confirmed cases have been reported in Mexico, California, Texas and most recently Kansas. Normally human cases of swine flu happen in people who are exposed to infected pigs but it is possible for the virus to spread from person to person.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), state and local health authorities are working together, increasing surveillance and assessing the potential threat to public health. At the Johnson Space Center, the Space Life Sciences Directorate and Center Operations Office of Emergency Management are working together with local officials to protect the health of the workforce, our families and the community.
Please understand that we are in the very early stages of learning about this potential emerging threat. What we do know is that it is an Influenza Type A virus and can spread from human to human through coughing or sneezing of infected people. It is not known how easily it spreads between people.
The signs and symptoms are very similar to the symptoms of regular human flu. Those symptoms include fever, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people with swine flu are also reporting diarrhea and vomiting. Like human influenza, swine flu can lead to pneumonia and respiratory failure and can worsen underlying chronic medical conditions.
The swine flu can be treated with antiviral medication. If you think that you are having symptoms of influenza it is important to see your personal physician as soon as possible for these medications to be most effective. There is no vaccine available at this time.
We need the JSC workforce to take the following actions that can help prevent the spread of germs and cause respiratory illness such as influenza:
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.
Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you get sick with influenza, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
If you develop an illness with fever and respiratory symptoms, such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, such as body aches, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea; DO NOT COME TO WORK AT JSC but instead contact your health care provider.
For more information visit www.pandemicflu.gov and www.cdc.gov/swineflu.
JSC TODAY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
From The Center Director:
Within the last week, a new strain of influenza has emerged in North America called swine influenza (H1N1). Confirmed cases have been reported in Mexico, California, Texas and most recently Kansas. Normally human cases of swine flu happen in people who are exposed to infected pigs but it is possible for the virus to spread from person to person.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), state and local health authorities are working together, increasing surveillance and assessing the potential threat to public health. At the Johnson Space Center, the Space Life Sciences Directorate and Center Operations Office of Emergency Management are working together with local officials to protect the health of the workforce, our families and the community.
Please understand that we are in the very early stages of learning about this potential emerging threat. What we do know is that it is an Influenza Type A virus and can spread from human to human through coughing or sneezing of infected people. It is not known how easily it spreads between people.
The signs and symptoms are very similar to the symptoms of regular human flu. Those symptoms include fever, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people with swine flu are also reporting diarrhea and vomiting. Like human influenza, swine flu can lead to pneumonia and respiratory failure and can worsen underlying chronic medical conditions.
The swine flu can be treated with antiviral medication. If you think that you are having symptoms of influenza it is important to see your personal physician as soon as possible for these medications to be most effective. There is no vaccine available at this time.
We need the JSC workforce to take the following actions that can help prevent the spread of germs and cause respiratory illness such as influenza:
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.
Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you get sick with influenza, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
If you develop an illness with fever and respiratory symptoms, such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, such as body aches, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea; DO NOT COME TO WORK AT JSC but instead contact your health care provider.
For more information visit www.pandemicflu.gov and www.cdc.gov/swineflu.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Want to know what Earth looks like from the Space Station at this minute?
Check here to see images of Earth that the astronauts can see right now according to the International Space Station's current location in space.
http://external.jsc.nasa.gov/events/issphotos/
http://external.jsc.nasa.gov/events/issphotos/
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Quick updates
Dang, more quick updates. Sometimes I wish my brain could tie directly into this blog when I don't have the time for the real info I want to post here...gggrrr...
This past Friday we drove out to my mom's place in Wimberley, TX (near Austin). The plan was to drop Anna off for the weekend fun fest with my mom, while Paul and I bussed back to Houston to then turn around and ride our bikes back to Austin over Saturday and Sunday during the MS150 bike ride. Plans changed when a huge storm fell between Austin and Houston and caused cancellation of Day 1 (Saturday) of the MS150. It's the first cancellation in the programs' 25-year history. Happy 25th anniversary, MS150. You're partly-cancelled! Day 2 (Sun) proceeded as planned from La Grange (again, near Austin) and finished at the downtown Capitol building. The day started for us at 4am though the ride didn't start till 9am. The entire ride had beautiful weather, except for the WIND, which averaged around 9mph but gusts up to 30mph. In the morning, that wind was slightly head-wind but mostly cross-wind. Which was great, considering we had to conquer long, rolling hills. But still, the wind plus hills averaged us at only 9.8 mph on the bikes all morning long!!!! Compare that to the previous year's, which saw perfect weather, at an average of 12-14mph with the hills (not exactly elite, but do-able). I'd swear at some point on Sunday morning the wind was actually pushing my bike backwards. Nothing like pedalling and getting NOWHERE. We started to feel the pain in the knees before lunch. The route after lunch was even worse when we turned directly head-wind. Then I averaged about 7 mph and the legs started cramping. Nothing like a constant head wind and hills for an entire day! It sure has been a windy spring, with every training ride leading up to this giving us some kind of head-wind (anyone wanna blame Ike for this too?). But at least during the training rides, we always made a loop back to the finish line. The MS150 was no loop. It was a straight line in the same direction all day. All in all, we didn't finish till 5:30. In the previous year, we finished by 2:30 or 3pm. Blah. Also, there's something to be said here for the 2-day bike ride. Crossing the finish line in Austin didn't seem as exciting to me for this one-day ride. There's just more achievement in my mind in a 2-day struggle.
Even so, I skipped the part of the story where my legs cramped so much I had to ride a little support van between rest stops just to get a break and keep up with time. $)!@$!@(#!! this year. We got back so late, we held off to head back home to Houston till Monday morning, where we both had 10am appointments. So tired, sunburned, and sore, we packed up with Anna and actually made it back to Houston in time!
Nothing really went right with the MS150 this year, it seems. BUT the good news is that we did get out there to ride and we did raise money for MS. So sweeeet. And thanks to you guys who donated. YOU ROCK! I bet the MS society looks forward to this income every year because I think the last time I checked, things were looking like $12 million was brought in this year! I'm, not sure the final numbers yet, though. But I am looking forward to things going better next year, all around (curse you, wind and bad weather)!
Anna had fun at my mom's place, where she and my two Aunts spoiled the CRAP out of her. I guess that's what extended family does :) but now she's back in the real world. I guess that hurts.
Two of my close girlfriends had babies over the weekend. One's a new mom, and the other is only on #3 of planned 8 ;) (Sorry, ER I can't help tease you...it's just so easy). Congrats to both!!!! Good luck and keep in touch! You are so far away...
As for my job, I am still enjoying it. I learned today that I will have a conference call with the crew that's currently on-orbit on ISS to discuss science. I should prep for that call but in the meantime I'll also have to work out the technical logistics of how to do that since I'll be in Albany. Figures the first crew conference I get and I've got a conflict. Hopefully it works out. Dang it.
Also I'll be working with PAO (NASA's Public Affairs Office) to create a story concerning the use of the ARED and COLBERT in research. Yes, all NASA officials have been told that COLBERT is indeed the official name, and we actually use it interchangeably here with "T2" (Treadmill 2) depending on what company you're in ;)
On the Anna front, she has gone from sweet, agreeable, happy toddler the week before Easter, to "NO"-over-100-times-per-day Anna this past week. True to toddler form, she's up and down. But boogie can hold a conversation. And good ones, too. They're super fun, especially when she tells you about her day, or about something that happened a few days ago that she hasn't forgotten. I LOVE it when she talks to us. Including when she tells us what incidents can lead up to a "Time Out" and how to avoid them. Heh.
I only have two more class lectures before the semester is DONE. I think I may be looking forward to it more than the students because frankly I can't keep up with preparing for the lectures with so much else going on around me. Where is the time going? I'm supposed to teach 3 hours of digestion tomorrow night. I'm only half way through the chapter. Think I can bluff it? ;) Food goes in, crap comes out. Any questions? Read your book.
I'm tired. I want to watch TV. The up side of DVR'ing everything and not getting to watch it yet at all this season is that when re-runs come on this summer, I'll have a full DVR!!! Yay to that.
One thing that occurred to me on the MS150. I guess I'm tired of being mediocre with the athletic stuff I do. I must be a pretty pathetic performer, because my friends who tell me they're slow, or they haven't done XXX in so long seem to still out-perform me when it comes right down to it. I mean I knew I am super slow and all, but the last 5k really bugged me, and the MS150 reminded me I could do better. I have done better. I run the half marathons and do the long bike rides because I can endure, but I can't really perform. I want to perform better, I think. I've never really been motivated to perform better. I've always been just happy enough with being out there and finishing. But now I think that's changing.
At least it will change after I get through the next two weeks of freaking busy life. For now, running shoes stay in the closet, and the bike is getting put back on the garage wall till I can get through the next 2 weeks of schedule.
Hopefully I'll talk to you before then...
This past Friday we drove out to my mom's place in Wimberley, TX (near Austin). The plan was to drop Anna off for the weekend fun fest with my mom, while Paul and I bussed back to Houston to then turn around and ride our bikes back to Austin over Saturday and Sunday during the MS150 bike ride. Plans changed when a huge storm fell between Austin and Houston and caused cancellation of Day 1 (Saturday) of the MS150. It's the first cancellation in the programs' 25-year history. Happy 25th anniversary, MS150. You're partly-cancelled! Day 2 (Sun) proceeded as planned from La Grange (again, near Austin) and finished at the downtown Capitol building. The day started for us at 4am though the ride didn't start till 9am. The entire ride had beautiful weather, except for the WIND, which averaged around 9mph but gusts up to 30mph. In the morning, that wind was slightly head-wind but mostly cross-wind. Which was great, considering we had to conquer long, rolling hills. But still, the wind plus hills averaged us at only 9.8 mph on the bikes all morning long!!!! Compare that to the previous year's, which saw perfect weather, at an average of 12-14mph with the hills (not exactly elite, but do-able). I'd swear at some point on Sunday morning the wind was actually pushing my bike backwards. Nothing like pedalling and getting NOWHERE. We started to feel the pain in the knees before lunch. The route after lunch was even worse when we turned directly head-wind. Then I averaged about 7 mph and the legs started cramping. Nothing like a constant head wind and hills for an entire day! It sure has been a windy spring, with every training ride leading up to this giving us some kind of head-wind (anyone wanna blame Ike for this too?). But at least during the training rides, we always made a loop back to the finish line. The MS150 was no loop. It was a straight line in the same direction all day. All in all, we didn't finish till 5:30. In the previous year, we finished by 2:30 or 3pm. Blah. Also, there's something to be said here for the 2-day bike ride. Crossing the finish line in Austin didn't seem as exciting to me for this one-day ride. There's just more achievement in my mind in a 2-day struggle.
Even so, I skipped the part of the story where my legs cramped so much I had to ride a little support van between rest stops just to get a break and keep up with time. $)!@$!@(#!! this year. We got back so late, we held off to head back home to Houston till Monday morning, where we both had 10am appointments. So tired, sunburned, and sore, we packed up with Anna and actually made it back to Houston in time!
Nothing really went right with the MS150 this year, it seems. BUT the good news is that we did get out there to ride and we did raise money for MS. So sweeeet. And thanks to you guys who donated. YOU ROCK! I bet the MS society looks forward to this income every year because I think the last time I checked, things were looking like $12 million was brought in this year! I'm, not sure the final numbers yet, though. But I am looking forward to things going better next year, all around (curse you, wind and bad weather)!
Anna had fun at my mom's place, where she and my two Aunts spoiled the CRAP out of her. I guess that's what extended family does :) but now she's back in the real world. I guess that hurts.
Two of my close girlfriends had babies over the weekend. One's a new mom, and the other is only on #3 of planned 8 ;) (Sorry, ER I can't help tease you...it's just so easy). Congrats to both!!!! Good luck and keep in touch! You are so far away...
As for my job, I am still enjoying it. I learned today that I will have a conference call with the crew that's currently on-orbit on ISS to discuss science. I should prep for that call but in the meantime I'll also have to work out the technical logistics of how to do that since I'll be in Albany. Figures the first crew conference I get and I've got a conflict. Hopefully it works out. Dang it.
Also I'll be working with PAO (NASA's Public Affairs Office) to create a story concerning the use of the ARED and COLBERT in research. Yes, all NASA officials have been told that COLBERT is indeed the official name, and we actually use it interchangeably here with "T2" (Treadmill 2) depending on what company you're in ;)
On the Anna front, she has gone from sweet, agreeable, happy toddler the week before Easter, to "NO"-over-100-times-per-day Anna this past week. True to toddler form, she's up and down. But boogie can hold a conversation. And good ones, too. They're super fun, especially when she tells you about her day, or about something that happened a few days ago that she hasn't forgotten. I LOVE it when she talks to us. Including when she tells us what incidents can lead up to a "Time Out" and how to avoid them. Heh.
I only have two more class lectures before the semester is DONE. I think I may be looking forward to it more than the students because frankly I can't keep up with preparing for the lectures with so much else going on around me. Where is the time going? I'm supposed to teach 3 hours of digestion tomorrow night. I'm only half way through the chapter. Think I can bluff it? ;) Food goes in, crap comes out. Any questions? Read your book.
I'm tired. I want to watch TV. The up side of DVR'ing everything and not getting to watch it yet at all this season is that when re-runs come on this summer, I'll have a full DVR!!! Yay to that.
One thing that occurred to me on the MS150. I guess I'm tired of being mediocre with the athletic stuff I do. I must be a pretty pathetic performer, because my friends who tell me they're slow, or they haven't done XXX in so long seem to still out-perform me when it comes right down to it. I mean I knew I am super slow and all, but the last 5k really bugged me, and the MS150 reminded me I could do better. I have done better. I run the half marathons and do the long bike rides because I can endure, but I can't really perform. I want to perform better, I think. I've never really been motivated to perform better. I've always been just happy enough with being out there and finishing. But now I think that's changing.
At least it will change after I get through the next two weeks of freaking busy life. For now, running shoes stay in the closet, and the bike is getting put back on the garage wall till I can get through the next 2 weeks of schedule.
Hopefully I'll talk to you before then...
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