It's cold!

It's 26 degrees this morning! It's usually in the 40s at this time of year, and on good days in the 50s. This weather isn't supposed to be here until January.

This morning I heard Caroline quietly talking to Isaac. This is what she said:

"Isaac, go ask mommy for egg sandwich" She initially asked me and I responded "maybe" (a response I used to detest as a child) so she sent in Isaac to ask me. We get egg sandwiches from the deli in our building. We go probably once a week for egg sandwiches and coffee, but I didn't feel like venturing into our sub-zero hallway. I ended up giving them banana bread from yesterday (It was great!) and some frozen waffles. (well, I toasted the waffles first, but they were originally frozen)

The Baby Dragon and little arms.

We live in a sea of cuteness. Caroline has started referring to Anna as "Baby Dragon." Isaac is also a Baby Dragon. Mommy is a cat. Daddy is a Hippo.

This morning, Caroline was asking me to fetch a toy for her. She wasn't far away from it (maybe 5 feet) and she doesn't have any broken legs, so I told her that she needed to get it. She whined and complained. "But mom, I don't want to." Finally, she claimed "But I can't mommy! My arms are too little."

An update about Isaac...

We've been having GI issues with Isaac. Diarrhea, vomiting, fevers and really all kinds of unpleasantness. I don't want to go into much detail, but we have been dealing with this for a year now. He has been tested for Celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, and worked up and down for answers. His most recent blood work came back normal. We have a new symptom now, though. It's Anna. She has started having diarrhea. I called his doctor and we discussed this most recent development. We think that it is either infectious (possibly) or a milk allergy. I hope that we can get this resolved soon! Either that, I will need to buy stock in pampers wipes and lysol!

School!

I sent Caroline and Isaac off to school today! They were really excited (well, Caroline at least) and I was happy for a little peace. It's a one day thing and they didn't really go to school (they went to a factory!) Ok, just kidding about that. It's a daycare that is part of Todd's work. It's a really, really nice daycare with castles and pirate ships built into the center. They have great toys and do fun art projects. I'm starting to get a bit jealous that I didn't go! The kid/teacher ratio is like 1:2 or something insane like that. Anyway, I've had a nice break today.

A first!

I just caught Anna Sophia standing the in the middle of the living room clapping and laughing. I didn't know she could clap, but she has been standing up unsupported here and there for a few weeks. Caroline thought it was funny and was clapping too chanting "she did it!" several times.

A box of dinosaurs in every corner

I was changing a rather interesting diaper yesterday and needed wipes, so I reached for the wipes container and opened it. Much to my surprise, I found that it was filled with little dinosaurs. What does one do in this situation? I called for Caroline and handed her the box of dinosaurs and asked her to get me the wipes. She brought a handful to me from the floor of her room, which I then used.

Caroline asked me the other day to call her "dragon." I don't know what started this, but she spent hours insisting that she was "dragon" and not Caroline.

ME: Caroline, please clean up your toys.
C: I not Caroline. I dragon.
ME: Okay, Dragon, please clean up your toys.
C: Dragons don't clean up toys.

Q: How many economists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: None. The invisible hand does it for them.

Sorry for the long absence again. We are fine, just busy. The kids are sitting in a box beside me playing "pirate ships and dinosaurs" a game that has been a favorite lately. Isaac is becoming more and more vocal. Instead of saying, "no" he says, "no, I don't want to" or "my not want it". Caroline is learning how to negotiate and will tell me that she will indeed eat her broccoli, but only after I give her a banana. I, of course, don't let her negotiate her dinner, but she tries and I admire her diligence. Anna remains very active, not quite walking, but not just crawling either.

 

 

I'm trying to get a nice photo of the kids for our Christmas card and I've been taking take pics for a few days now. This is the best one. Yeah, 2 of the kids have their tongues sticking out. *sigh*

 

Wow! Has it really been this long?

Let me first say that the little ones are fine. We have been busy, all of us, doing fun things like learning how to read (Caroline) drawing on the floors/walls/furniture with marker (Isaac) and cruising around the furniture (Anna). Seriously though, Isaac has a knack for coloring. He loves markers and most importantly loves to connect them end to end into long poles. When he's not making light sabers, he's coloring on the walls! Boy he is quick! I leave to change Anna's diaper (which has been extremely unpleasant this week, by the way) and he's turning our wall into Picasso's canvas. How do you get marker off walls? I have no idea. Anyway, things really have been going well.

Caroline is starting to read the Bob Books (volume 1) and she is really excited to be able to sound out small words. She knows how to spell her name now too. One morning, she said to me Caroline C-A-R-O-L-I-N-E spells Caroline. I have no idea where she learned that. She can spell some smaller words to, like Cat and Sam. Since she is turning 4 in December, I'm starting to think more about homeschooling and what specific things I want to teach her this year. Reading and counting/math are at the top of my list. Caroline can add and subtract small sets of objects if it is in front of her.

Isaac is learning the periodic table of elements and trying to keep up with his sister (who, by the way knows the first 54) and he knows all the planets in our solar system (Pluto included), shapes, colors, animals but his favorite thing now is trucks and cars. When we walk to the playground, he identifies everything. Yesterday he saw a concrete mixer and a tow truck and a taxi cab. The other day it was a crane, a bus, and a helicopter. Sometimes he will be looking out the window and he will be able to point out "the Staten Island Ferry" and "cruise ship."

Anna Sophia is going to be walking soon. She is cruising around furniture now, but she has her sights set on being more independent. Anna weighs about 16 lbs now, so she is still small, but she is starting to get chubby cheeks and fill out into more toddlerish proportions.

She is starting to wean, which sort of makes me sad. I really want her to breastfeed for at least a year. She is comfort nursing at nights mostly, but there is too much action going on during the day for her to nurse. She simply doesn't want to. Oh well. She is healthy and growing and I really shouldn't complain about it.

It has been a lot of fun these last few weeks. All the kids in our neighborhood are in school, the tourists are not around as much, and the weather is gorgeous, so we are really taking advantage of the empty playgrounds.

I got my cast off today. I was really looking forward to it and now that it's off, moving my hand is very difficult. I can't bend my wrist much at all or even hold things. I've started wearing my old splint, because I almost feel like I have more freedom with it on. I will start physical therapy on Friday and I hope to gain my regular mobility soon.

Anna is better now...

And better yet, she is now sleeping through the night! Almost. She woke up once last night and I was able to get her back to sleep without nursing her, which is progress for us. Oh, and my cast comes off tomorrow!

Anna is sick.

Last night she started throwing up and during the night she developed a fever. Todd gave her some tylenol, which brought the fever down for a few hours but it wore off and the fever returned. I gave her some more tylenol and she finally slept for about 2 hours.

I've moved some posts...

I'm trying to keep all my political posts off this blog. I moved them to my political blog for those who are interested.

I can stand up now!

 

The Year of The Bailout!

2008 is going to go down as the Year of the Bailout. How many more will there be? Sure Bear Stearns was 'bought' by JP Morgan, but only because the government backed all those trashy mortgage bonds that no one else wanted to pony up for. Fannie and Freddie were just bought by the government outright and we will be paying dearly for it for YEARS. All the bank failures are going to be paid for by us. Are we bailing out the failing automakers too? The airlines? When is enough enough? I'm outraged!

One Week!

I have one week left of cast-hood and then the cast comes off. It seems like forever away, but it will be 6 more days. Once it is off, I hope to write a more substantial post.

 

teensy update

Anna Sophia just started pulling herself to a stand. Not even 7 months old yet and she already wants to walk (and wean, which is a post for another day) Hand is still feeling like poo, but I guess it is to be expected. Hope all my readers are doing well!

Surgery...bleh

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today (where in the world did that saying come from?). Don't expect much blogging until my cast comes off, which will be Sept 23. Hope to be back on soon!

Back from surgery! Everything seems to have gone well, but now I have to type with one hand, so this post is short.

Isaac and cars

Isaac loves anything with wheels these days. I think his favorite thing, though, is not even a toy, it's a book with pictures of cars and trucks. He brings it to me 4 or 5 times a day to read (which really means that I read it 15 times). He even sleeps with this book! He is speaking in complete sentences now, though sometimes his pronouns are mixed up or verbs are used incorrectly. His favorite phrase starts "My need...(milk, book, truck, train, cookie)"

I think I could really use a cookie too, but as my surgery is today, there is no food for me!

I'm sure you've all heard about the Fannie/Freddie bailout. Only $200 billion. I suspect that it will be more, because bailouts are always underestimated. I guess the bailout has been in the works for a while, but it's still a bit of a surprise. Of course, big business has the concerned ear of government and can squeeze out goodies for itself by the barrel. After all, the government is not paying for it, at least not in any meaningful way. WE are paying for it.

Sisters

 

Sippy Cup Art

 

 

I'm so tired! This pile of cuteness has refused her naps today and she kept me awake a lot last night. She's been crawling around the floor playing with toys and crying intermittently. I don't see any teeth coming in so I can't figure out why she is so fussy these days.

I want to rename this blog as its present name is getting a bit long. Suggestions? Anyone?

News...

I'm having another surgery performed on Tuesday. For those who know me well, you might have noticed that I have a bump on the back of my left hand. It's not supposed to be there and it's causing me a few problems, so I'm getting it removed. I have a similar bump on the right hand, but it's much smaller and is not causing me problems. Anyway, say a little prayer that it all goes well. The bump is officially called a Carpal Boss.

The kids are all doing well. We are going to the playground a lot these days and generally enjoying spending time outside. Anyway, I'm sorry this post is uninspired. I'm really tired.

Involuntary volunteering?

I heard about Barack Obama's plan to require community service of its citizens. Is he serious?

Apparently.

This is absurd. Volunteering should be voluntary. I'm all for volunteering but it isn't necessarily the "right" thing to do. And requiring people to "volunteer" without pay seems wrong to me.

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.