I heart Lomax

Check out my smart and funny friend Jenny's new blog about raising a guide dog pup.

Let's see...

That was 6 minutes I believe.

Excuse me, I need to sit on the kitchen floor and have a cry.

Fait accompli

I have both girls down for naps.

Any wagers on how long it will last?

Surveying her realm

Lunchtime

"Do you want mac and cheese?"

"No. No way."

"Mac and cheese and grapes?"

"No. More Maisy."

"What if you get to eat outside?"

"Okay!"

Outside at her little table, she gobbles up the grapes and spills her bowl of mac and cheese. As I clean it up, she pats my back and says, "It's okay, Mommy. It's okay."

I bring her a new bowl of mac and cheese.

"Do you want to eat this mac and cheese?"

"No Mommy!" (bursts into tears)

"Do you want to go to bed?"

"No. Yes. Okay."

Staying home

I have finally admitted to myself that I really do have a nasty cold and really do need to stay home and "rest." By "rest" I mean change diapers, breastfeed, prepare snacks and meals, play on the floor, do laundry, do dishes.... If only there were sickdays for SAHMs, huh?

Audrey has been lying on her playmat showing off her newest tricks: grabbing toys and grabbing her feet! She has been sick too, but seems to be doing better today. Maggie is fine, except for her heroin-like addiction to TV.

Trip to the toy store

I took the girls to Toys r Us and Trader Joe's this morning. I'm getting better all the time at taking them places by myself. I have two basic methods: Audrey in the bjorn and Maggie in the shopping cart, or Audrey in the stroller and Maggie on foot. Audrey is getting so heavy that I'm relying more and more on the latter method. Maggie is great at walking and rarely runs away from me.

Today at the toy store she was awesome, and stuck right with me most of the time. She kept picking things up and putting them in the stroller basket, but she always put them back when I told her to. She's been really into her Little People lately, so I got her the Fun Park, which should be a big hit.

Her favorite part of the toy store is saying hi to all the dollies. She takes it very seriously, and likes to walk slowly down the aisle and speak to several of the dollies. She was quite taken with a dolly who had a pacifier attached to her mouth. No...I didn't buy it. Her attachment to Dolly and Tula is quite enough at the moment.

Audrey is 3 months old

Getting cuter all the time!

Happy birthday to me

Last night's birthday party was great. We had about 30 people including kids. Dad expertly barbecued burgers and hotdogs, everyone brought appetizers and salads, and my mom-in-law Nancy provided an exquisite cake. The $1 gift exchange went swimmingly, I thought. I chose first and got a lovely lace poncho. Other choice items included a $1 bottle of champagne (which Mom won), a rat-shaped pocket knife on a keychain, a ceramic pear and three Twix bars. Just as I was about to cut into the yummy cake, Audrey started screaming and I had to go nurse her. Talk about a lesson in putting your kids first! Delaying my favorite food--birthday cake and ice cream--to take care of Audrey! But I didn't mind. Much. And when she was done I helped myself to two huge servings.

Today is my actual birthday. Robert and the girls gave me some awesome gifts! Maggie gave me a DVD of "Bambi," which she then refused to watch. Audrey gave me a book about how to raise siblings. They both gave me a book about things to do with kids in California. And Robert! Robert gave me a Coach wallet and a gift certificate for enough to "buy almost any purse in the Coach store," or so the salesperson claimed. Whoo-hoo! Maybe we should celebrate tonight with some $1 champagne, if Mom can be persuaded to part with it.

Birthday Party Day

Here's another great 70s photo of me and mom. Notice our matching dresses! We're having our joint birthday party tonight in the backyard. More pictures to come.

Taking breakfast for a walk

I love that she took the trouble to strap in the sippy cup and bowl of cereal.

Musing about multi-tasking

Hee...Maggie is watching TV and reading books and eating cereal (she is a pint-sized multi-tasker), and she just sneezed and said to herself, "Bless you Maggie-girl!"

She must have learned the multi-tasking from her mother. People who have "real" jobs may think they can multi-task, and I'm not disparaging how hard some people work (like the Robert, who works very hard so that I can stay home and eat bon-bons and watch TV raise our children), but it's nothing like what a stay-at-home-mom does on a daily basis.

You haven't really multi-tasked until you've cooked a meal with one hand while holding a baby with the other while singing "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore" complete with all the verses. You haven't really multi-tasked until you've breastfed, talked on the phone, turned pages to a storybook and kept the 2-year-old from squishing the breastfeeding baby at the same time. Heck, I just realized I'm doing it right now--I'm blogging, breastfeeding Audrey, discussing Blue's Clues with Maggie and making notes on a shopping list.

If I ever get a "real" job again, you think I can list any of this on my resume?

The Grumpy Cowgirl

Yoga Maggie

Maggie is going to be in a book that's being published this fall! It's called Born Yogis, and is full of photos of babies and toddlers doing yoga poses. The photos were taken last winter when she was just over a year old. She's supposed to be in the book twice, and I believe these are the shots they're using.



We didn't get paid for it, but they're giving us a CD of all the photos they took (I'm actually in a few of them), a nice print of one shot of our choice, and a copy of the book.

Fire truck BIG!

I have had this exact same conversation at least 20 times with Maggie:

Maggie: Fire truck! Fire truck!
Me: Did you see a fire truck?
Maggie: No, a bus.
Me: Did you see a bus?
Maggie: No. Fire truck BIG! Fire truck RED! Fire truck HELP PEOPLES!

(repeat)

Pet store and more

I felt like a brilliant mom of two yesterday, completing a successful visit on our own to Maggie's favorite shopping center. I put Audrey in the stroller and let Maggie go on foot. She was great and stayed close. Actually, she mostly wanted to push the stroller. I would walk beside the stroller steering it while she hunkered down and pushed, her hands on the edge of the basket (because she can't reach the handles). People would look at me funny because I was walking next to the stroller instead of behind it, but then they'd spot Maggie and break out into big smiles.

First we went to Old Navy where the girls were patient while I tried on clothes and bought a pair of jeans, a pair of khakis and a black sweater. We're taking a trip to Monterey next week (yay! our first family vacation in a year and a half!) so I need to stock up on some warm clothes.

Then we went to the pet store to visit the fish, birds, dogs (in doggy day camp) and "maisy mouses." At the Party Store, I let Maggie pick a pack of party plates (say that three times fast!) and some stickers. She chose Mickey Mouse plates. She loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse even though her exposure to them has been minimal. Stickers were Winnie the Pooh, another favorite. I used to feel somewhat scornful of mass-market characters and kids' obsession with them. "Not MY kids" I would think, smug in my pre-child convictions. Now I think it's pretty darned cute that Maggie is so into these characters, and it comes in handy for bribes ("if you finish your vegetables, you can have an Elmo cookie!").

And there's the added benefit of finding myself having perfectly serious conversations about the characters with other adults. Like this one with Gina:

Gina: We finally saw the Blues Clues episode where Steve hands over the show to Joe.
Deborah: No way! Was it good?
Gina: Yeah, it was good. We sat down and watched it as a family. Steve goes away to college even though he's like 40.
Deborah: Joe is way better anyway.
Gina: I know! I love Joe.
Deborah: He's a much better singer and dancer than Steve ever was.
Gina: And way cuter.
Deborah: Did you Tivo it?
Gina: Yeah I totally saved it for you.

Baptism

Margaret and Audrey were baptized today at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.


Normally we put Maggie in the nursery and sit in the back with Audrey, where I can nurse her or slip out as needed. Today we sat in the front pew with our parents and the girls for the entire service. They did well considering, but Maggie talked out loud a few times ("Hi Mama!" during a prayer) and Audrey yelped a few times. During the ceremony Maggie was fidgety and shy, but she did great when Rev. Barbara Anderson put the water on her head.





Audrey couldn't care less when Rev. Mark Smutny did hers. Then a small choral group sang a song while the Revs walked around the congregation holding the girls. Maggie started crying and had to be brought back swiftly! After church, we went to Il Fornaio for lunch and had a private room to ourselves. The grandmas gave the girls gold cross necklaces and children's bibles.

Even L.A. has a county fair

Two parents, two kids, two strollers.
Two funnel cakes.
Four diet cokes.
One set of fairy wings that Margaret Mommy needed.


Maggie was amazingly brave in the petting zoo, even when the "cows" (actually goats) and "sheeps" mobbed her.

I know how you feel, Bessie.

Angie to the rescue!

My brilliant friend Angela has saved the day. I went to visit her yesterday and she dipped into her closet and pulled out an outfit I can wear to the baptism tomorrow. It fits, it's pretty, and it's FREE! Thanks Ang!

Maggie had a good time playing with Malena. We kept saying they look like tiny female versions of the daddies, Robert and T.J.

Caught in the act

So cute it hurts

Margaret:

Walking a plastic Pooh Bear around her Little People farm: "Come on Pooh, follow me!"

At the dinner table with my parents, when she was finished and the rest of us were still talking: "Come on peoples!"

In the car, rolling Cheerios down her chest and then eating them: "Seven, eight, nine, ten, go, whee!"

Where have all the pretty clothes gone?

Normally shopping is one of my favorite pastimes. I don't understand people who say "I hate shopping." What's not to love about browsing shiny new clothes and housewares and pretty things, picking and choosing the choice items to make your life a little bit nicer?

But shopping has turned on me. I desperately need to find an outfit I can wear to the girls' baptism this Sunday (a mere 4 days away), and I have eeked out precious time for a few shopping trips to try on clothes, and...nothing. I have found nothing that looks okay, fits okay, doesn't make me look like an oompa-loompa and doesn't cost more than the amount I have determined will not cause Robert to wince at the Mastercard bill.

I realize this may be partially my fault. I refuse to try on some clothes that may fit because I REFUSE to believe I need a size (number removed to protect deborah's vanity). I also refuse to consider one of these horrid hippie peasant skirts, which I keep encountering in store after store. Who is wearing these things? Why aren't I seeing them everywhere if they are supposedly so popular? Is Kate Hudson the ONLY one buying them?

My first birthday party since the late 80s

My mom and I have birthdays that are only one day apart, yet we've never had a joint birthday party. This year, we are finally doing so. My dad and Robert are throwing us a party on the 25th in the backyard with burgers, hotdogs, The Perfect Dessert (birthday cake & ice cream), and a $1 gift exchange. I plan to decorate with a pictorial retrospective of my mom and myself through the years. This shot is from circa 1975. Do you dig my homemade Easter dress and bonnet?

Audrey-Time

I took Audrey to a newborn parenting class today. I've started taking two classes through Pasadena City College, one for each girl. It was nice to be in a room of babies and moms (only two others also have toddlers; the other 20-odd are first-time moms). It was a lot more calm than Margaret's 2-year-old class last week, that's for sure!

When the instructor asked what we're looking for in the class, I said that I want some devoted Audrey-time, when I'm focused on her needs and development, rather than letting her always play second fiddle to her big sister's more active, more loud, more (I admit it) interesting lifestyle. And the instructor (who has a doctorate in early childhood ed AND five kids) talked about the benefits of the more hands-off rearing that second babies get, the benefits of quiet observation that second babies engage in, and some other wonderful information about how if I just let Audrey be, she'll turn out great. It did a lot to assuage my mom-guilt. AND there were bagels there. I'm happy.

Happy birthday to Ryan

Technically Ryan's 2nd birthday was a couple weeks ago, but he had his party today. We were more than happy to help him celebrate and eat his cupcakes. The whole drive there, Maggie kept saying "Happy birthday Ryan! Happy birthday Maggie! Cake!"

Huntington Gardens

We took the girls to Huntington Gardens this morning. I've found that it really pays to have a couple of annual passes to places that are good for kids. We're getting a lot of use out of our zoo and Huntington passes. Last week we let Maggie walk the entire time, which was nice but meant we had to travel at toddler-speed (includes dawdling, whining and smelling every flower). So today we used two strollers to get to the Children's Garden, where we let Maggie run loose. She had a blast.

Toddler Diet

Maggie's dinner tonight:

• 2 garbanzo beans
• 1 shred of carrot
• A forkful of blue cheese dressing
  
• As much parmesan cheese as she could pick up by pressing a damp finger onto the table
  

Put the sea-tet in the pack-back.

Maggie's latest cuteness is mixing up letters in some of her words and phrases. So bookmark is "mook-bark," tea set is "sea-tet" and backpack is "pack-back."

More cutenesses:

• She bursts into our room in the morning and shouts "Good morning Mommy!" It's not a bad way to start the day.
• She has learned how to pout. She does so by lying down or resting her head on something and saying "Maggie tired." This is her response when we want her to do something she doesn't want to do.
• She puts on a pink foam crown I got her at Michael's, runs to look in the mirror and says "Princess Maggie! Princess Maggie!"

What am I doing wrong?

It's happened again. For the THIRD TIME since Audrey was born 10 weeks ago, someone mistook me for a pregnant person. Today, it happened when I ran an errand by myself while my mom watched the girls. I was entering a store as a woman about my age was exiting, her arms laden with shopping bags. I kindly pulled open the door and held it for her. She grinned, looked at my stomach and said, "I should be holding open the door for YOU!"

I was so surprised that I didn't say anything. Later of course, I thought up several appropriate comebacks. Pick your favorite:

A) I already had the baby. You should never ask anyone that question. (This was my actual response the previous time.)

B) Actually, I've just been diagnosed with a malignant tumor the size of a grapefruit. They gave me 6-12 months.

C) Thank you! And how far along are YOU? (shout-out to Allison for this idea)

Sure, sure, we're all laughing about it now. But you missed the part earlier where I was sitting on the kitchen floor crying, clutching a box of Frosted Mini Wheats, demanding that Robert explain where my body went.

The Towel Incident

I knew that I ran this household with an iron fist, but I had no idea of the extent of my power until this incident occurred. On Monday I laundered our towels and hung them up in the bathroom. We have a towel rack with two bars, one behind the other. For the past five years I've hung my towel on the front bar, to the left, and Robert's towel on the back bar, to the right. But today I accidentally hung our two towels side by side on the front bar. Three days later, I finally asked Robert why there had been a damp beach towel balled up in a corner all week. He said he was using it because his regular towel was "missing." Mind you, there were two towels hanging there as always. It's just that his towel was hanging one inch south of usual. Apparently I had put the fear of deborah into him too many times about touching my face towel, and he figured he'd better play it safe.

Could you have figured it out?

Farewell Soda Jerks

Soda Jerks, the 50s-style soda fountain in Old Town Pasadena, has sadly closed. We took Margaret there several times (the first was on her 3-month birthday) and just barely managed to get Audrey in on their last weekend open. Maggie had a strawberry shake, while Robert and I each had a two-scoop sundae. Audrey got her share later (as my wise friend Laurel keeps telling me, ice cream makes the best breastmilk).They claim they might open a new restaurant at the corner of Arroyo and California, but since there are apparently some issues about the owners disagreeing, who knows if it will happen or if it will bear much resemblance to the original. The original was, by the way, cramped, uncomfortable, slightly dirty and home to the best ice cream treats around. We'll miss it.

Welcome

I've been keeping an online journal for my daughter Margaret since 2003, and I started a new one for my daughter Audrey when she came along. It's starting to seem silly to keep posting on two sites, so I have started this new blog. I'll continue posting developmental milestones on Audrey's site (my goal is to continue until she's 2 so that hers is similar to Margaret's), but this is now the place to check for daily updates, photos and ruminations.