12/31/09

Good riddance, 2009.

Just a few thoughts on the past year. Yes, it's one hour 'til midnight on New Year's Eve... I guess this is what people do when they have toddlers and babies.

1. Hey, 2009, thanks for letting my boy be born. That was pretty much the only good thing about you. Obama's induction, deployments, housing crisis, and many people dying... yeah, that all sucked.

2. Dear 2010, try not to f*ck it up.

3. Replays in video games are stupid. It's not real life. I don't really care what some fictional 2D character did.

4. Is 11pm too late to chow down on pita chips and hummus?

5. Tax time = Mac time. I tried. I really did. I wanted to give you, PC, the benefit of the doubt, promising myself it would be different this time, but it wasn't. You crapped yourself in April, and now you're left retarded. I'll never go back.

6. This is the year Father Time will be smacking me upside the head with an anvil. The past couple of years has aged me quickly (I feel), and I'm getting to be an old fart. The three-oh awaits.

7. Perhaps this year, I'll sleep through the night.

8. At the start of this year, we celebrated with LB in Hawaii. Now, we are celebrating with LB and JC, sans Puppy :(, in California. Can 2010 please not be filled with an insane amount of life-changes?

9. 2010 will be the year of shedding. Planning on shedding some hair (especially after LB recently pulled a fist full out during a tantrum), shedding some baby stuff, and shedding weight (big one).

12/29/09

Bye bye, Puppy

Today, Hubby and I gave Puppy away to the SPCA. I cried a lot. He was a great dog, but was becoming increasingly mentally insane. Every time we'd move (which was often), his separation anxiety would get worse. Now, he'll bark whenever we're not home, so even going to the store makes for angry neighbors. Just this past weekend, we tried to go to San Fran, and came home to angry letters from neighbors and a visit from Animal Control.

Lovely.

So, poor Puppy had to go. My family offered to take him, but that's not realistic, since he'd have to fly (which makes him worse). Plus, the problem wouldn't be solved. The dog needs constant attention.

I think maybe getting him at five weeks old started the separation anxiety. Way too early for a pup.

But he was a good dog. Great with the babies, great with people, very soft and furry (although he shed a lot and his hair was everywhere), and generally calm. He kept me from going insane in 2006, although he was driving me insane in HI. He really deserves a more stable environment, some place to run around, maybe with other dogs. I hope he finds a great family out here- I'm sure he'll get adopted quickly.

Bye bye, Puppy- I'll miss you and hope you have a happy life!

12/25/09

Merry Christmas!

This year, LB really got into the holiday. He didn't realize that Santa had come and brought presents, but he loved ripping the paper and finding out what was inside. Unfortunately, every present that was opened was a little too intruiging- he would play with that toy and cry and get angry when we took it away to unwrap more. It's like he didn't realize there were more toys to unwrap!

JC was just chilling out most of the time. He doesn't know what's going on, so LB "helped" by opening his presents for him. So cute. We taped most of it, but we're still trying to figure out how to transfer the video onto our computer.... damn PC, we had no trouble with the Mac!

Hubby got to work right away, setting up the toys and putting things together. I cooked a lot today- eggnog french toast w/ eggs for breakfast, then a big dinner- slow cooked ham (SO GOOD!), green beans, butternut squash soup, rolls, salad, and wine. Oh, and can't forget the chocolate cream pie for dessert. This may be my last one, though. I still can't really get it right- it's like my bane. Funny- I can make more complicated stuff, but for some reason success with the chocolate cream pie is elusive. Will be posting recipe for the ham, though. It was the first time I made it, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Of course, we called our families, too. My family was all together, so I got to speak with them all. They really miss the boys. Some longtime family friends of ours happen to live about 14 miles from us, so they invited us over for Christmas Eve. It's funny- I hadn't seen them in 23 years, and they saw the boys, but our own families couldn't!

I'm pretty tired. I'm sure I'll post more when I'm more awake, but it's been a long day. :) The boys were ridiculously adorable, and LB really kept us busy. I hope you all had a good holiday!

12/11/09

My kid is a cracker-tarian.

LB isn't a vegetarian, or a carnivore, or an herbivore. He's what I call a cracker-tarian.

The kid only eats foods that are brown or tan and very crispy and crunchy... aka, crackers. He'll drink milk and eat yogurt, which I'm thankful for, but forget meat and veggies (and some fruits). So I set out on a quest to make him eat veggies.

First, I tried to offer them nicely. Didn't work. Then I demanded he eat them. We had a two day standoff where I only fed him veggies and he didn't eat a single thing. Concerned about his health, I gave in. Next, I checked out Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. LB wouldn't eat anything I cooked from that cookbook. I think those recipes would work wonders for kids who are a tiny bit older.

Finally, about to lose my mind, Hubby and I came up with an idea. What if we made a smoothie in the morning and snuck in veggies? Hubby made one concoction, but LB didn't like the texture. I don't blame him- I'm not a pulp person, either. But I thought it was a good idea and we could make it work with a little more ingenuity. Sooooo...

the LB Smoothie was born!

Here's the recipe (I don't measure, so it's approximate, but you can always tweak it):

2 scoops Gerber Banana-Orange medley baby food (about 1/2 cup)
1 scoop Gerber Mixed Vegetables baby food (about 1/4 cup)
2 scoops vanilla yogurt (about 1/2 cup)
8 oz whole milk

Pour it all in a large glass and blend with an immersion blender (or blend it in a blender, whatever). Serve in a really cool sippy cup or something with a cool straw.

LB always asks for seconds! Make sure to use all Stage 1 foods, so they blend really well and don't leave a bunch of chunks. And I haven't played with different fruits, but I'm sure it would taste just as yummy with pears or something. I've tasted it myself, to make sure it doesn't taste too vegetable-y, and I'd totally drink this in the morning, and it's wicked easy to make. Hope this helps any moms of cracker-tarians.

12/9/09

Goin' back to Cali

Yes, I quoted LL Cool J. Ha. This will be long, so I've broken it down into chapters. Hope that doesn't seem to ridiculous, but I thought it would be easier that way.

Chapter 1- The Flights

Well, we are finally in CA. As you know from my previous post, we stayed in a hotel in Hawaii for a few days before our flight. It was surreal to sit at the airport with the luggage and kids, waiting for Hubby to return our rental car, and see one last sunset on the island. I wondered how long it would be before I could sit outside on a warm night again.

Once we got through security and dropped Puppy off, we had about an hour to kill. The boys were tired, so we scouted a quiet area of the airport to relax. LB fell asleep for a little bit, but JC was grumpy. I quickly found out why after he had a huge explosive poop... right on me. His whole outfit was ruined- I had to through it away. Luckily I had an extra sweater on me, so the poor kid wasn't completely naked. But you'd think I'd learned my lesson traveling with kids- always bring extra clothes. It wasn't until I cleaned JC up when I realized the poop had soaked through my jeans as well. Great. So before we even left the airport, I was already stinking of nasty poop. Hubby thought that was hysterical.

The first flight to San Fran went well. The plane was huge (777), quiet, and dark, so the boys slept a lot, as did Hubby. For some reason, I couldn't sleep much. Maybe I smelled too much. I managed to get about an hour in. Once we arrived in SFO, both boys needed to be changed... more poop. Sheesh. During our layover, LB rode the moving sidewalk about, oh, a bazillion times. But at least it kept him busy and not whining too much. JC and Hubby managed to get more shut-eye.

The flight into Monterey was ridiculously short. We were in a very small prop plane, but since it was lower to the ground, we could see the coastline. Very pretty. What wasn't too pretty was what awaited us at MRY. Our suitcases all arrived quickly and in great shape, but poor Puppy didn't. As soon as they brought him in, I could smell the poop. Ugh, more poop. We loaded everything in the rental SUV, poop smell and all, and got to the Motel 6. I really wanted a shower after being in poop-covered jeans for the past 12 hours, but Hubby used up all the shampoo and soap we had cleaning the dog.

Did I say the Best Western was crappy? That was the friggin Four Seasons compared to this. Small, dirty, old, yucky, blech. And to make it even more nasty, Puppy had a massive case of diarreah for over 24 hours... and pooped multiple times on the carpet.

The trip would have been a piece of cake if it weren't for all the poop!

Chapter 2- Carmel Valley

The day after we arrived, we saw the house and immediately moved in. No more nasty Motel 6. Our landlords lent us a bunch of household stuff, like things to sleep on and dishes and a bassinet for JC. Super-nice people, we're so lucky to be renting from them. They had decided to put new carpet in, so we delayed our stuff until after that, as to not cause more chaos.

I'm glad we waited, because the company that delivered our goods was a wreck. I had called JPPSO (the Navy end of the move) to let them know the house was tucked away and couldn't accommodate large trucks. Hubby and I called the moving company several times, telling them no large trucks. Well, they brought them anyway, and despite my landlord being present and telling them "no", they brought our stuff to the house... and nearly lost the entire shipment. Our driveway curves around a cliff, and the back wheels of the truck were thisclose to falling off the cliff. Not to mention they cracked the concrete over our waterline and kicked a bunch of supporting rocks down the ravine. And why? Because they had brought a 26 foot moving truck!

Arguments ensued. Nasty words were hurled at each other. I kept the boys indoors, letting the men duke it out, until our landlord left. Our stuff came mostly in one piece, although our Blu-ray player suffered the most damage (dammit!). We haven't turned it on to see if it works, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hubby and I decided to unpack all the boxes ourselves, so the moving morons could just get out of here. It took several days, but it felt like Christmas, since I hadn't seen our stuff in over a month!

The house is looking good now. Our bed frame also suffered some damage, but nothing Hubby can't fix. The Christmas tree and decorations are up. Comcast installed our cable and internet today. Everything is in order, except the laundry situation. The house was built in the 80s, and has a three-prong plug for the dryer. Our dryer has a four-prong plug, because it takes more amps or something (Hubby explained the reasoning, but I forgot... all I know is it would be a pain in the a$$ to make compatible). We can't use the dryer, so I have to line-dry everything. Not bad, just not as easy as throwing everything in the dryer. Plus, I miss that Bounce smell.

But overall, we are in love with the place!

Chapter 3- Cali Living

Now that the big move is over, we have been able to enjoy what the community has to offer. Carmel Valley is full of little shops. There isn't a McDonald's in sight. There are tons of wineries, farms, galleries, antiques, etc. There is one big grocery store, but we do most of the shopping at the commissary anyway. I love the small town feel of the place. It's been pretty evident that everyone knows everyone, and the residents here are some of the nicest (and normal) people I've met.

We live adjacent to Garland Park, so we've been on the trails. It's very beautiful. We also did the tourist thing and drove 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, checked out Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf, and popped into a local winery (Boekenoogen... I love saying that). We took the boys to see the Christmas tree lighting in the valley, and played in the local park. We also bought our first antique furniture- a red hutch for the kitchen. It really serves a dual purpose, since we needed it to fill a space for the baby gate. But it also looks really cute.

Hubby is in AZ this week, visiting his dad, so I've been with the boys. They're two of the most adorable boys in the world. LB is getting into his terrible 2's phase, which according to my mom I never got into. It must be from Hubby. JC is an eating machine- he is in the 95th percentile for height and weight for his age. We've come to calling him Man-baby, since he's so huge. :) The boys charm everyone they meet, especially the little old ladies at the grocery store.

LB learned this week how to use a spoon and fork, although he holds the spoon upside down. We have some very messy yogurt meals. He loves using the fork- he'll even try to stab his crackers. He understands way more than he says- he can put away all the blue blocks if I ask him. He knows his colors and letters very well and can pick them out in everyday items, like find an "n" in a magazine ad. He loves to say "no" now, and has replaced signing "more" by saying it... although it sounds a lot like "bar". But we know what he means. Hubby had to unscrew all the lightbulbs in his room, since he would turn them all on after being put to bed. He also replaced all the doorknobs on the lower level of the house with locking ones. It's a little annoying to have to keep keys on me, but at least it keeps LB from wandering outside. The park is very large and undeveloped, so he could get lost easily.

JC is getting cuter by the day. He's not even three months and already almost 15 pounds. He's more vocal than LB was. He's also a lot more needy and clingier, but I don't mind cuddling up with a little baby. :) He loves watching LB play and talk and sometimes he'll smile at him. He hasn't rolled over yet... probably because his hugeness is getting in the way, ha. But I can see him try.

As for me, my quest to lose weight continues. I weigh 162 now, a little less than a few weeks ago. But once we have a schedule set here, and I'm able to get to the gym, hopefully that number will continue to improve. I've set up a music stand and my flute upstairs and have been playing a little bit. It's hard with the two boys, since one of them will need my attention at almost all times. But just the other day I was able to play for twenty minutes. I haven't been sleeping well, but that's old news. JC wakes up once or twice at night. A few times, he slept right until 6am, but not lately. But even when he sleeps soundly, I still wake up- maybe out of habit.

Hubby is doing well. Like I said, he's in AZ right now, but once he's back, we're taking the boys to see Santa fly in on a helicopter to Carmel Valley, then we'll watch the Christmas parade downtown. Hubby has been working out a lot and eating well, which has been great for him. When he was on the boat, his health deteriorated. It's funny- the military wants their guys to be fit and in shape, but they don't invest in the health of them to keep them that way, like feeding them good food. Anyway, he's been taking advantage of the healthy lifestyle in CA by hiking and visiting organic farms. He's also become quite a paradox- a generally conservative person living a slightly hippie life. He bought biodegradable dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent and has been a recycling fiend. But it's what he wanted to do all along in HI, and just now has the resources for it all. He also took the bike out once, but it's a little too cold for motorcycles right now. But how could he resist? :)

The End