Anna is 6 months old!

 

Happy Birthday Isaac!

 

 

We've been busy these last few weeks (honestly, when am I not busy??) and it has been tough for me to post, so here is a quick update:

(1) No, I am NOT pregnant. Just because I crocheted some itty bitty baby shoes does not mean I'm pregnant. Silly readers.

(2) Anna is crawling. She has been crawling for 2 weeks now. Yikes! She's not even 6 months old.

(3) Caroline thinks that Tyrannosaurus Rex is the best dinosaur ever.

(4) Isaac likes chicken. Anytime I'm making food, he asks hopefully: "chicken?"

(5) Caroline calls fish sticks "fish fingers"

I don't even like meat, but the kids are always asking for it, so they are eating lots of chicken and fish these days.

Well, that's all for now.

Here are some more photos...

 
 

These photos show a little more detail if anyone is interested. The stitches are mostly double crochet (dc), but the stitches single crochet(sc), half double crochet(hdc), and double crochet 2 together (dc2tog) are also used. I have the pattern if anyone is interested (it is a freebie).

My latest crochet project.

 

I haven't really crocheted much recently, but I did this little project last week. They are baby booties for Anna Sophia. Unfortunately, since she has started crawling, they don't really work for her as she kicks them off any chance she gets. Oh well.

Happy Boy!

 

Isaac turns 2 this month!

The New York Stock Exchange.

 

It was another exciting day in NYC I took the children on the Staten Island Ferry today. It is a nice excursion that occupies a sizable portion of the day and since today's weather was good, I made the most of it. This evening Todd and I went to see "The Dark Knight" with Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, et al and there's an incident on the actual Staten Island Ferry in the movie. Ironic, eh? The boat in the movie is called the Gotham City Ferry, but make no mistake, it is the S.I. Ferry in real life. I will mention no more, except that you must go see this movie right away. I mean it. Go right now. Why are you still reading this post? Why??????????

Things have been going well this week, but I guess since it is Monday, there is plenty of time for chaos. The kids played themselves into the ground today. We went to the playground (as we do most days) and Isaac and Caroline went down the slide a hundred or so times. The playground is surrounded by sand so by the time we get home and eat dinner and have a bath, I have to start the real cleaning. I sweep with a broom first, then vacuum and we have enough sand for a new sandbox. The tub, by the way, is also full of sand. I suppose I should just change everyone outside, before we go in, but that requires extra planning on top of all the necessities our family requires for even the smallest of outings. I shall not bore you with a list...On second thought, you all are getting a list. Enjoy.

(1) Diapers (size 5 and size 2)
(2) Wipes
(3) 2 sippie cups of water
(4) A change of clothes for Anna
(5) water for me
(6) cell phone
(7) $20 cash (just in case)
(8) travel potty for Caroline + travel potty liners
(9) bucket plus a shovel, a scooper, and a small rake, all labeled, thankyouverymuch
(10) hats for everyone
(11) sunscreen 50 spf
(12) first aid kit (you can never have too many bandaids at the playground)
(13) toys for Anna
(14) baby food for Anna, plus a spoon and a bib
(15) a child leash. Don't even get me started on this one. It is for safety. I don't have to use it often, but when I do, I most certainly need it.
(16) a bag of almonds. I often end up at the playground and realize that I haven't eaten all day. It's my power snack until dinner.
(17) the keys!

There's more, but you get the picture. As we were leaving, Caroline opened the door for me. I pushed the stroller out with Isaac and Anna in tow and then she said...........................

"Oh wait mommy, I need to get my cell phone!"

 

Does it make me a bad parent to crop out my other 2 children?

 

Anna Sophia is always sticking out her tongue.

 

Taking photographs of children is like herding cats.

 

 

I really like not having a car. I walk everywhere. I like it. I've never liked cars really. I avoided getting my driver license until I was almost 18 years old. I just never wanted to drive. So when I go anywhere with the three children (nearly everyday) we walk. Anna Sophia and Isaac ride in a double stroller, while Caroline walks alongside. She can walk a few miles at this point. She doesn't complain or whine about having to walk either. She talks about all the yellow cars (taxis), buses, planes, helicopters, and boats that she sees. I'm starting to realize just how sedentary my lifestyle was when we had a car. I've worn through 2 pairs of shoes already this year. I need new sandals. Again. I've never worn through shoes like this. I've already gotten the kids new shoes as theirs were also worn through. The other nice thing about walking everywhere is that I see my friends everyday. I know lots of people who live on our block and we always exchange a few words or the kids (theirs and mine) decide that they want to go to a playground so my friend and I will grab an iced coffee before heading to the swings. I know our mail carrier, our UPS guy, our building's staff, the guy who sells hotdogs and pretzels on the corner, the guy who sells t-shirts on the other corner. If I were to drive everywhere, I would miss out on knowing these people. I would miss on the wonderful community we live in.

Caroline loves boats.

This isn't really news to me. This morning she started asking if we could go on the white boat. I didn't know which boat she was talking about as we only have ridden an orange and a yellow boat. It turns out that she wanted to take the Water Taxi (yellow boat) to Ikea. The new Ikea in Red Hook (Brooklyn) has a big playroom and a very inexpensive cafe. I've taken the kids there just for lunch and the diversion of a boating expedition. It's not my favorite way to spend a day as it actually takes most of a day and involves Herculean effort on my part, but when we have a long day ahead of us and the weather isn't bad, then it is definitely do-able. Caroline and Isaac finally got their boat ride this afternoon and they seemed to really enjoy it. The boat goes fast and the water can be choppy, especially during rush hour (yes, we have a water rush hour in NYC. There are ferries going every which way in addition to the container ships, Coast Guard, NYPD, yachts and catamarans) So anyway, the boat bounced up and down on the water as though it was a small fishing boat and the people on the boat cheered and the Caroline clapped and laughed..

A peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich?

Even though we live in a city with many exotic foods (did you know that Whole Foods sells Ostrich eggs?) peanut butter and jellyfish is a new one for me. Caroline requested one yesterday morning. I explained to her that we were fresh out of jellyfish and asked if she would like peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

 

 

Anna Sophia, almost 5 months

 

So about 20 minutes after my last post published, Indymac, the bank, failed. Expect to see more bank failure in the near future. After all, when all your depositors are insured by a government agency (this is NOT insurance, but another bailout) there is no need to be cautious about lending out the deposits. In fact, I think that FDIC insurance encourages banks to increase their risk levels and their leverage when times are good. Increasing their leverage this way also increases their returns. Then, when the banks fail the government (taxpayers) foots the bill. It's a beautiful system they have figured out. Privatize all the profits to their shareholders and then socialize the losses to everyone else.

On a side note: we are all doing well here, but I'm getting so irritated about all the bailout talk that I can't resist these posts. Sorry everyone!

Too big to fail

I keep hearing this statement tossed around when talking about particular businesses or industries. That latest chatter is that surrounding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants who are in deep financial doo-doo over lots and lots of bad debt on their books. Nothing is too big to fail. If Fannie and Freddie are bailed out by the U.S. Government (you and I paying the bill) then we are creating a serious moral hazard. Why should corporations or individuals take any financial responsibility for themselves if they know the government will bail them out when they leveraged beyond their ability to pay?

In 1989 the Savings and Loans were bailed out by the US government for $124 billion. Nine years later, LTCM (Long Term Capital Managment) was bailed out by a mix of investors and the government for mere pocket change, only $3.6 billion. Of course, then there was the Bear Stearns bailout (a credit line issued by JPMorgan with a guarantee by the federal government) ever so recently.

Companies don't learn to take care of their financials, because they don't have to. Regular bailouts ensure that large corporations need not worry too much about solvency, because they implicitly backed by the federal government. The government won't necessarily raise our taxes to pay the bill; they can always print more money. Of course, this leads to inflation which means that we need more money to maintain the same lifestyle. I think we need to let a lot of businesses fail in order to maintain a strong free market. When businesses fail, it keeps business honest. If these bailouts continue, I predict the next big one will be in year 2020.

Update: Here

I'll have some green berries please.

Caroline called green grapes "green berries" the other day. She has been eating a lot of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries (which she calls red berries), and black berries, so I guess its only natural to see a green grape and call it a green berry.

I bought C&I a new cup for the rinsing hair in the bathtub. The old cup was orange and mildewy (so sort of green) This time, I bought a green one and when Caroline saw it, she said "oh my, the cup is beautiful." Everything is "beautiful" to her.

Another update...

I just spoke with Isaac's pediatrician and she has said that Isaac is not a child with FTT and that he is growing well. This is definitely a relief. We still don't know why he's having issues, but at least they are not as bad as I thought.

A small update...

Todd called Isaac's pediatrician today and she's out of the office until Wednesday. I called the pediatric GI specialist and he's out of the office until Thursday. I'm getting a little worried that I won't hear anything until Friday and then it will be the weekend and, again, it will be too late to take Isaac to the doctor. There has been no real change since we took him off milk, but we will give it a few more days.

In other news, Isaac knows his elements through Argon (atomic number 18). Caroline knows them through Xenon (atomic number 54). Pretty soon, we will reach Ununoctium and I think we will just have to stop, because I can't pronounce it. This is how it's pronounced, apparently:

/ˌjuːnəˈnɒktiəm

Exactly.

Okay, I'm exhausted.

We have been very busy lately. Isaac has not been feeling well so we have been going to the doctors, getting tests done and so forth. His pediatrician diagnosed him with failure to thrive(FTT) which is basically a catchall term used to identify children who are not growing/developing well for whatever reason. Isaac has been having diarrhea for a while now and coupled with his very slow growth and sour disposition lately, we are starting to think there is something wrong(there are quite a number of symptoms, but these are the main ones). Isaac went to a pediatric GI specialist, had some bloodwork done, and a test for Cystic Fibrosis (which was negative). I think he has an allergy to something. Dairy, eggs, wheat, nuts...I have no idea, so we are now on a dairy-free trial period. I've been giving him soy-based formula (as regular soymilk does not have very much fat). He had his first soy milk today and he is at least drinking it. I have learned that I cannot bring out the regular milk cartons though, because he recognizes them and starts shrieking for milk. I don't personally drink milk, because I think it is tough to digest, so maybe we are both lactose intolerant. So, if you were wondering why I've been so quiet lately, it is because our son is sick and we don't know what's wrong. I'm hoping we get some answers soon. I will keep everyone posted, I promise.

 

 

Isaac and the cat

 

Hi, Caroline!

 

 

Anna tries out her new high chair.

Mommy tip of the day.

I put frozen peas in hot food to cool it down. Frozen peas can go in anything from macaroni and cheese (which is called macaroni and peas in this house) to lasagna and hot soup. The kids love peas now and anytime anything is hot they ask for peas. One morning, I made oatmeal and it was really hot so Caroline asked me for some peas. I found some blueberries in the freezer and she seemed satisfied with the now edible oatmeal.

Oh the irony of all ironies...

I took Anna Sophia to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist yesterday to discuss her slow weight gain, reflux, and so on. After chatting with the doctor for a while, he told me that I was mostly likely feeding Anna TOO much TOO often. Go figure. The solution to helping her gain weight is to feed her less. We are now on a strict once every 3 hours feeding schedule.

Do as I say, not as I do.

In the year since Al Gore took steps to make his home more energy-efficient, the former Vice President’s home energy use surged more than 10%, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month.

Read it here.

I have entered bizarro world

Or the twilight zone?

It's very quiet in our apartment right now. Quietness and children foreshadows almost certain disaster and any time they are quiet I start to imagine what is being destroyed. Are they coloring on the walls? Playing "drop the cell phone in the toilet?" Eating glue? Painting with White-out? Is Caroline dressing up Isaac in her clothes? My imagination knows no bounds when it comes to quiet children. I went to inspect the damage and instead found them all asleep. Caroline is asleep on the couch, Isaac is on his bed and Anna is asleep in the stroller. We normally go to Preschool Play in the Park today and I was getting everybody ready when the sleepies attacked. I think it's time for my nap.

Anna Sophia, 3.5 months

 

I just declared war on my email.

Last night I told Todd that I deleted every last email from my email account. He said, "oh, email bankruptcy?" Apparently, this is a trend. I had been trying to delete 100 or 200 emails a day, but I regularly get 200 emails a day and of those 200, maybe 2 are real mail. I finally hit my limit last night when I was trying to find Todd's flight information. After 2 or 3 pages of "junk", I still could not find it (it had been sent the previous night). With over 25,000 emails in my account, I just selected all of them (this took several minutes) and hit delete. I had mixed feelings about doing it when the screen popped up to ask if I was "sure" but I didn't look and just clicked away until my emails we all gone. So to all my family and friends who recently sent me email that went unanswered, I am sorry. Please send your email again, and I will actually answer it. There are presently 3 emails in my inbox and none are junk. It is so nice to have my email account back. If your email account is overflowing with suggestions on increasing the size of various body parts and prize winnings (I think I've "won" a billion dollars by now), I suggest you give email bankruptcy a try. Start with a clean slate. It's a really nice feeling. I was definitely happier this morning when I opened my email to find 2 emails, both from Todd. At least now I know he's made it to his destination (late, and sans bag, but these are the airlines so what can you do?)In other news, apparently I "won" a yacht. I just need to send them my bank account number along with the routing number so they can send me the necessary funds to "receive" my prize.

Drive by posting...

Quick update...Isaac is sick, vomiting, and all kinds of unpleasantness I'd rather not mention. He's miserable and waking up in the wee hours of the morning (or night?) like 4am thinking it is time to start crying for the day. Poor little guy. He is obviously feeling really bad. Daddy will be going out of town for a week, so we will definitely miss him. There isn't much new to report except that I'm planning on going to bed very soon in anticipation of our early morning.

 

 

Things to do when you're bored, pt 3

 

SLEEP! Yes, Isaac is sleeping in this picture. This is what happens when you get up at 4:30am.

 

Where to start?

There's so much to tell, really. We've been enjoying some hot weather here in NY (finally, it did not really get warm until the end of May and not much in the 80s until June).

Caroline and Isaac have started getting up before the crack of dawn. 4:30am is the new 5:30am apparently. Todd has been a saint in trying to quiet them with movies and snacks so I can sleep until at least 5:30am. This morning at 4:30, I told Todd to just put them back in bed. There is something seriously wrong with our schedule. I find myself eating lunch at 9am and ready for bed by 5pm. Soooo........the experiment worked and Todd and Isaac are still sleeping past 8am. I woke up at 7:30am, which is great for me because it 2 hours of sleep I don't usually get.

Isaac is still using the potty some, but he's not the in habit of going of his own initiative. As much as I want him out of diapers, I can't keep up with a "sit on the potty every 20 minutes routine" all day long. He potties in the morning and that is enough for now.

Caroline is making lots of friends in the neighborhood. She knows all the kids and when we meet someone she say hi so and so. It's shocking to me, because I often don't know their names.

Anna Sophia is doing well. I feel like her reflux is gone, which is a relief. She still spits up, but she is not vomiting after most feedings like she used to. YAY! Sh is back to nursing most of the time, which is so nice.

We're still here. I haven't posted in forever, because I've been busy, tired, and outside thanks to the warm weather. Look for a more in depth update soon!