Despite driving for two hours every day from Thursday through today, our Thanksgiving holiday was truly wonderful. We spent Thanksgiving and Friday with my Dad and my late aunt's family, and it was great to see everyone. It was a wonderful, laid-back, mellow day, and not as sad as I'd expected. We did not do the standard Thanksgiving meal (it was too hard for my cousins to try to do the traditional stuff, having lost their mom last month), but instead my cousin grilled steaks, chicken, and corn on the cob, and there were baked potatoes, a terrific garlic potato soup that my brother's roommate contributed, salad, rolls, and more desserts than you can shake a stick at, including the amazing Hello Dollys that I discovered were the simplest crowd-pleasing dessert imaginable. I started making them when I was eight months pregnant, and have brought them to every potluck I've been to since. The only people who don't like them are those who have aversions to pecans or coconut, otherwise, people can't seem to get enough of them. (They're also sometimes called Magic Cookie Bars, and some people call them Nanaimo Bars, although the cookbook with the Hello Dolly recipe has a different recipe for Nanaimo Bars. That is probably more information than you wanted about Hello Dollys.)
Yesterday and today we spent at my mom's house. My mom invited TM's parents and grandparents, as well as my brother (who again brought his roommate -- Hi, Peter! Thanks for the terrific bruschetta!) to spend the afternoon with us on Saturday, and again, a lovely time was had by all. Kid A is TM's grandparents' fifth great-grandchild. They really enjoyed being able to spend time with her. As TM's grandpa pointed out, they had only met her once, and that was when she was about a week old, so they had a great time with her emerging sociability.
It's much later at night than I would like, and there's so much I want to write. Kid A is doing amazing. She's exhibiting some head-cold symptoms, and the last half hour of our drive home was excruciating, but once she was out of her car seat, she was mostly back to her usual (of late) happy, talkative self. She's been hungry lately, taking in more formula than I've ever seen her do. And the big news is, we weaned her this weekend. She nursed to sleep the last three days (for naps) and nights, but today she did not nurse at all. I feel a little nostalgic already for our nursing days, but I am really glad to be done with pumping. The last 2 weeks I'd been pumping less than 4 ounces each day, and it was starting to feel like more effort than it was worth. I'd really been keeping it up for the antibodies more than for nutrition (and had been protecting my supply so that I could nurse at night). But we started introducing a midnight bottle last week, and it worked out beautifully -- she falls asleep almost instantly upon finishing the bottle, and sleeps longer, so I'm up fewer times during the night -- so even the night nursing no longer seemed necessary or even beneficial. The upshot is, only 5% of me misses nursing. The other 95% is glad that formula isn't as difficult as I would have thought, and in public or among mixed company (such as male family members -- I'm way more modest with my family than I am with my friends!), it's quite nice to be able to feed Kid A without having to sequester myself, or drag out the hooter hider.
Ok, I'd love to keep going, but I really must get to bed, or else I'll end up with a head cold! Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
So FUN!
This morning, a photographer came to our place to take some photos of Kid A. It was an amazing, wonderful time -- Kid A had a meltdown about 10 minutes before the photographer was due to arrive, and we were able to get her down for a nap.* And thankfully, our place is somewhat hard to find, so our photographer got a teensy bit lost, which bought us a slightly longer nap for the babe. When we were ready to get started, we brought her into the nursery, swaddled, thinking we'd get some sleeping photos, but she woke up pretty much right away, and once we got her unwrapped, she was so taken with the novelty of the big black camera and the sound of the shutter that she didn't fuss. She proceeded to be an absolutely delightful angel of a Gerber baby for the next 90 minutes. TM and I had such a great time, and Kid A graced us with smile after smile after smile. Yay yay yay!
*Thank heavens we didn't have to actually go anywhere for the photos. It was wonderful to be at home, with all our stuff, able to change her (and ourselves!) in a flash (so to speak), and not worry about getting her to a location on time. I cannot wait for the (digital) proofs to arrive!
Ok, now for the other, work-related news. The day that the CFS director gave us the news about the "potential" layoffs, I decided to dig up the email I received at the end of September from a neighboring county, indicating that I am on their eligibility list for an interview. I called them up, in a spirit of gathering information about when they are looking at interviewing/hiring. The HR person I spoke with said, "Oh, we were planning on sending you an email today or tomorrow to set up an interview!" Wow. I mean, really. Wow. The timing could not have been better. Within two hours of the most dismal news I could have imagined, at least a window of opportunity had opened, just a crack. What I really have going for me (as does my friend who was hired along with me, and who also has an interview pending), is that this county has hired a large group of new workers, all of whom we have been in trainings with for the last 2.5 months. Not only do we know all of their new workers (many of whom we already knew, through being classmates or having interned together), but this county has been the lead host county for these trainings. It is even possible that my current county did not actually pay for our trainings, but the host counties (four in all) may have footed the bill. This is a huge selling point during my interview: "You have already paid to train me, therefore you should hire me."
My plan is to prepare like crazy for this interview, so that I stand the best chance possible of receiving an offer. In this whole process, there is very little that I can control, but the one thing that I am sure of is that I can prepare my answers. Not that I know what the questions are, but I know some of the points that I need to make, and I am going to write, whenever I can, some social-work-y paragraphs. If all goes well, it is possible I will transition seamlessly from layoff to new job. Please send whatever prayers, visualizations, good thoughts, etc. you feel comfortable with my way! Mama needs a new job!
Yesterday, I met a good friend, who happens to work for the other county, at the Farmer's Market near where we used to live in Oakland. It was great to see her, and Kid A was delightful. It was a beautiful day, and people were out in full force at the Market. There was a zydeco-flavored band playing when we got there, and Kid A really seemed to enjoy the music. I also had a great time talking with a lively and exuberant 5-year-old girl who was fascinated by my knitting. We spent a little time walking along Lake Merritt, and then we headed back home.
This weekend has been all about sleep for my little one. She took a gigantic nap yesterday when we got home -- three hours, I think. She woke up this morning at 5, but was ready to go back down at 6, and slept until I got up at 8. She napped again for about 30-40 minutes (and likely would have slept longer, if we hadn't awakened her for the photos) at 10, and went back down at a little after noon. And who knows how much longer she'll sleep?!
I am absolutely LOVING having DVR. I have been able to keep up with my shows, and I'm stoked. Grey's Anatomy was awesome this week, as was Survivor. I'm even watching Top Chef, The Daily Show and Colbert, even 30 Rock! Ah, life is good ...
*Thank heavens we didn't have to actually go anywhere for the photos. It was wonderful to be at home, with all our stuff, able to change her (and ourselves!) in a flash (so to speak), and not worry about getting her to a location on time. I cannot wait for the (digital) proofs to arrive!
Ok, now for the other, work-related news. The day that the CFS director gave us the news about the "potential" layoffs, I decided to dig up the email I received at the end of September from a neighboring county, indicating that I am on their eligibility list for an interview. I called them up, in a spirit of gathering information about when they are looking at interviewing/hiring. The HR person I spoke with said, "Oh, we were planning on sending you an email today or tomorrow to set up an interview!" Wow. I mean, really. Wow. The timing could not have been better. Within two hours of the most dismal news I could have imagined, at least a window of opportunity had opened, just a crack. What I really have going for me (as does my friend who was hired along with me, and who also has an interview pending), is that this county has hired a large group of new workers, all of whom we have been in trainings with for the last 2.5 months. Not only do we know all of their new workers (many of whom we already knew, through being classmates or having interned together), but this county has been the lead host county for these trainings. It is even possible that my current county did not actually pay for our trainings, but the host counties (four in all) may have footed the bill. This is a huge selling point during my interview: "You have already paid to train me, therefore you should hire me."
My plan is to prepare like crazy for this interview, so that I stand the best chance possible of receiving an offer. In this whole process, there is very little that I can control, but the one thing that I am sure of is that I can prepare my answers. Not that I know what the questions are, but I know some of the points that I need to make, and I am going to write, whenever I can, some social-work-y paragraphs. If all goes well, it is possible I will transition seamlessly from layoff to new job. Please send whatever prayers, visualizations, good thoughts, etc. you feel comfortable with my way! Mama needs a new job!
Yesterday, I met a good friend, who happens to work for the other county, at the Farmer's Market near where we used to live in Oakland. It was great to see her, and Kid A was delightful. It was a beautiful day, and people were out in full force at the Market. There was a zydeco-flavored band playing when we got there, and Kid A really seemed to enjoy the music. I also had a great time talking with a lively and exuberant 5-year-old girl who was fascinated by my knitting. We spent a little time walking along Lake Merritt, and then we headed back home.
This weekend has been all about sleep for my little one. She took a gigantic nap yesterday when we got home -- three hours, I think. She woke up this morning at 5, but was ready to go back down at 6, and slept until I got up at 8. She napped again for about 30-40 minutes (and likely would have slept longer, if we hadn't awakened her for the photos) at 10, and went back down at a little after noon. And who knows how much longer she'll sleep?!
I am absolutely LOVING having DVR. I have been able to keep up with my shows, and I'm stoked. Grey's Anatomy was awesome this week, as was Survivor. I'm even watching Top Chef, The Daily Show and Colbert, even 30 Rock! Ah, life is good ...
Friday, November 21, 2008
Everybody knows things are bad, worse than bad
That's a sampled lyric from a mix by Steinski. TM bought the CD about a month ago, and I've been hooked on it ever since. He's a great DJ, check it out: "Nothing to Fear" is the disc.
Anyway, that lyric has been in my head for about 48 hours straight now. My first-choice county, the only county I wanted to work for, the one that finally hired me after being passed over in the first round, the one that has been a serious roller-coaster ride, is looking at layoffs. And when I say "looking at layoffs," I mean they are going to do it. When I say "looking at layoffs," I mean it's a bloodbath -- somewhere between 10-25% of their workforce just in Child Protective Services. So things are bad, worse than bad. Morale is shot, the office is a crummy place to be. In fact, I'm supposed to be in the shower right now, getting ready to go. But I kind of can't bring myself to do it. I got assigned another referral yesterday, and I'm wondering, How am I supposed to apply myself to learning a new job and all its functions and duties, when I know I'm out the door in less than six weeks? I know that I will do it, because that's the kind of person I am, but the whole office is feeling that way. One of the supervisors told workers that they should be looking for a new job if they have less than three years with the county. That feels insane to me.
So things are going to get weird. I have some good news, too, but I'm going to hold off on writing about that now. I think I need to stay in the crappy part of it right now, to honor the bad feelings, since I so often jump to optimism and the power of positive thinking. That's there, too, but this is all about the fact that it kind of sucks right now.
More later.
Anyway, that lyric has been in my head for about 48 hours straight now. My first-choice county, the only county I wanted to work for, the one that finally hired me after being passed over in the first round, the one that has been a serious roller-coaster ride, is looking at layoffs. And when I say "looking at layoffs," I mean they are going to do it. When I say "looking at layoffs," I mean it's a bloodbath -- somewhere between 10-25% of their workforce just in Child Protective Services. So things are bad, worse than bad. Morale is shot, the office is a crummy place to be. In fact, I'm supposed to be in the shower right now, getting ready to go. But I kind of can't bring myself to do it. I got assigned another referral yesterday, and I'm wondering, How am I supposed to apply myself to learning a new job and all its functions and duties, when I know I'm out the door in less than six weeks? I know that I will do it, because that's the kind of person I am, but the whole office is feeling that way. One of the supervisors told workers that they should be looking for a new job if they have less than three years with the county. That feels insane to me.
So things are going to get weird. I have some good news, too, but I'm going to hold off on writing about that now. I think I need to stay in the crappy part of it right now, to honor the bad feelings, since I so often jump to optimism and the power of positive thinking. That's there, too, but this is all about the fact that it kind of sucks right now.
More later.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
What she's up to
Wow, I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I last had a chance to write. It's late, and I really should be in bed, but I'm not sure when I'll get another chance to post, so ...
Kid A is now well over four months old. She is doing all sorts of cool new stuff. Mainly, she is practicing -- over and over and over again -- grabbing objects and stuffing them into her mouth, taking them back out, and putting them back in again. It's really funny when she has been staring at something we are holding for her, and then makes a sudden move to grab the object and tries to put it in her mouth ... but she has missed the toy, and she succeeds in putting only her own hands in her mouth. Very amusing for her daddy and me!
She is also "talking" much much more. The other night, while we were having some quiet time after nursing, I started just making random sounds, and actually worked my way through the entire alphabet. There were certain sounds that interested her more than others (I could tell by how vigorously she kicked her legs in response to a sound), but she was transfixed by all of them, just looking up at me with her enormous eyes. Anyway, I have been making a greater effort to introduce her to "letter" sounds, because she is more and more interested in "talking" to us. She doesn't really laugh yet, but she does this funny thing when she's excited or really happy ... oh my goodness, I don't know if I can describe it! It's a loud and vocal inhale. I don't know if it's something she would have done anyway or if she learned it from me; for the longest time now, I've been giving her tummy-raspberries when I change her diaper, and in between belly-blows, I lift my head up and inhale with an excited look on my face, and I make a sort of excited sound while I'm breathing in. I sort of think that that is where she got it, and it totally cracks TM and me up!
Another neat thing is that it is now a surprise as to what she might decide to smile at. For instance, one night I was holding her quietly, thinking that she was going to fall asleep. I had nursed her, and she was lying in my arms with her pacifier, just looking up at me, and I decided to "shush" her. So I started going, "Shhh," and she looked at me and just broke into the biggest grin behind her paci. I did it again, and she had the same reaction. I did it 5 or 6 more times, and by this time I was laughing so hard. Needless to say, there was no nap after that!
Kid A and I went shopping with my mom today. My mom was nice enough to buy me a few new shirts for work (thanks, Mom/Nana!). Unfortunately, Kid A had a super rough day and it was really hard for me. She got hungry and tired and overstimulated, and I was never able to meet all of her needs sufficiently. The worst part was the noises. Over and over again, there were way too many loud and surprising noises that just sent her over the edge. First there was a really loud motorcycle, just as she was about to fall asleep for her Nana, while I was browsing in a store. Then, after a fairly decent nap, I went into a public restroom to for a long-overdue diaper change. The bathroom was really small, and the toilets were so loud when they flushed! Five or six flushes during our short diaper change, and poor Kid A's eyes bugged out every time and she flailed her arms and kicked her legs ... it was pretty awful for me, since her little system had already been overtaxed. I realized today that if I take her on outings like that, I have to ensure that I have comfortable places for her to eat and to sleep, so that everyone concerned will have an enjoyable time. If I can't be sure that those things are possible, I probably shouldn't go. This will be an adjustment for me, but I think she's starting to be easier to read, in terms of her preferences and sensitivities.
In other news, I am fully an Emergency Response worker now. I have completed the client contact portion of my first two investigations, and all that remains is the bureaucratic documentation/forms-completion components. So far it's going well. I suppose that's really all I have to say about that right now.
And I have new hair! I have chopped off the long, graduate-student hair, and I have a cute, short, new 'do. I hope to post some photos soon, especially since I have no idea when I might be seeing folks these days!
So glad I got a chance to do this. Off to bed!
Kid A is now well over four months old. She is doing all sorts of cool new stuff. Mainly, she is practicing -- over and over and over again -- grabbing objects and stuffing them into her mouth, taking them back out, and putting them back in again. It's really funny when she has been staring at something we are holding for her, and then makes a sudden move to grab the object and tries to put it in her mouth ... but she has missed the toy, and she succeeds in putting only her own hands in her mouth. Very amusing for her daddy and me!
She is also "talking" much much more. The other night, while we were having some quiet time after nursing, I started just making random sounds, and actually worked my way through the entire alphabet. There were certain sounds that interested her more than others (I could tell by how vigorously she kicked her legs in response to a sound), but she was transfixed by all of them, just looking up at me with her enormous eyes. Anyway, I have been making a greater effort to introduce her to "letter" sounds, because she is more and more interested in "talking" to us. She doesn't really laugh yet, but she does this funny thing when she's excited or really happy ... oh my goodness, I don't know if I can describe it! It's a loud and vocal inhale. I don't know if it's something she would have done anyway or if she learned it from me; for the longest time now, I've been giving her tummy-raspberries when I change her diaper, and in between belly-blows, I lift my head up and inhale with an excited look on my face, and I make a sort of excited sound while I'm breathing in. I sort of think that that is where she got it, and it totally cracks TM and me up!
Another neat thing is that it is now a surprise as to what she might decide to smile at. For instance, one night I was holding her quietly, thinking that she was going to fall asleep. I had nursed her, and she was lying in my arms with her pacifier, just looking up at me, and I decided to "shush" her. So I started going, "Shhh," and she looked at me and just broke into the biggest grin behind her paci. I did it again, and she had the same reaction. I did it 5 or 6 more times, and by this time I was laughing so hard. Needless to say, there was no nap after that!
Kid A and I went shopping with my mom today. My mom was nice enough to buy me a few new shirts for work (thanks, Mom/Nana!). Unfortunately, Kid A had a super rough day and it was really hard for me. She got hungry and tired and overstimulated, and I was never able to meet all of her needs sufficiently. The worst part was the noises. Over and over again, there were way too many loud and surprising noises that just sent her over the edge. First there was a really loud motorcycle, just as she was about to fall asleep for her Nana, while I was browsing in a store. Then, after a fairly decent nap, I went into a public restroom to for a long-overdue diaper change. The bathroom was really small, and the toilets were so loud when they flushed! Five or six flushes during our short diaper change, and poor Kid A's eyes bugged out every time and she flailed her arms and kicked her legs ... it was pretty awful for me, since her little system had already been overtaxed. I realized today that if I take her on outings like that, I have to ensure that I have comfortable places for her to eat and to sleep, so that everyone concerned will have an enjoyable time. If I can't be sure that those things are possible, I probably shouldn't go. This will be an adjustment for me, but I think she's starting to be easier to read, in terms of her preferences and sensitivities.
In other news, I am fully an Emergency Response worker now. I have completed the client contact portion of my first two investigations, and all that remains is the bureaucratic documentation/forms-completion components. So far it's going well. I suppose that's really all I have to say about that right now.
And I have new hair! I have chopped off the long, graduate-student hair, and I have a cute, short, new 'do. I hope to post some photos soon, especially since I have no idea when I might be seeing folks these days!
So glad I got a chance to do this. Off to bed!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Picture postcard
Kid A had her 4-month pediatrician appointment on Friday (Halloween). The doc said she's doing great. Here are her stats, at not-quite-four-months old:
- She weighs 14 lbs, 9.4 oz
- She's 26 & 3/4 inches tall
- She's in the 75th percentile for weight, and
- She's off the charts for height (above 95th percentile).
Basically, she's healthy, tall and lean. She handled her vaccinations like a champ. TM and I got DTaP and flu shots at the same time, and I think we were in worse shape on Saturday than she was!
And now, for your enjoyment, photos!
Kid A loves putting her hands in her mouth. It's her favorite activity these days.
Well, one of her favorite activities. Her other favorite activity is looking at her hands.
Dude, why you all up in my grill?
Sleepy little lamb, at the yoga mama reunion.
She loves to stand!
And tonight, her very first rice cereal!
Sometime soon, I'll write actual words. Tonight, I'm too tired. Hope you liked the photos!
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