My little Mynah Bird

Weeze is quite the Chatty Cathy now, and she's picking up words and phrases left and right. This isn't necessarily a good thing, as I learned when I was putting her hair in pigtails. I accidentally snagged her hair, and she looked up at me with her sweet little face and said, "Daaamn...It." Err, don't know where she got that one from.

Lately she's been saying, "aww, man!" quite frequently when she drops something or if something doesn't go her way. I'd been feeling guilty about that one - I didn't recall saying that, but she only has to hear a word/phrase once to pick it up. I was watching Dora the Explorer (oh, I remember the days when I didn't even know who that was!), and one of the characters exclaimed, "aww man!". I excitedly told J, "Yay! She didn't learn it from me! She learned it from TV!!!!"

I'm a great mom, aren't I ;-)

Bliss

Weezie woke up crying about an hour into her nap this afternoon. I went into her room, and she was standing in her crib calling out, "mommy, momma". Awwww... I scooped her up, and she rested her head on my shoulder. She seemed still tired so I snuggled with her on the couch. As I lay there with her, it struck me how incredibly lucky I am. How many moms get to do this? Granted, it's not always like this (sometimes I joke I'm going back to work because it's easier), but I know that I should be counting my blessings. We ended up napping together for another hour. It doesn't get much better than that!

Help, there's a bird on my head!

Halloween was a blast despite Weezie's initial very physical protestations against wearing her costume. Like any good mother, I wrestled her to the ground and wrangled the outfit onto her. Just a few tears and scratches later (oh, and Weezie cried, too), voila - my perfect little peacock!

We went to my SIL's house so Weeze could go trick-or-treating with her cousins. She adores her cousins, and it's hilarious watching them play. It's as if she doesn't realize they're older than her (and sizeably larger seeing that their parents are 6' and 6'5", respectively). They live in a much more kid friendly neighborhood than we do (read: no crackhouses to avoid, bums that Weeze might trip over). She had also organized a hayride to take the children from house to house - each home is on a several acre lots, so it's a lot of walking for short little legs.

I was a bit apprehensive about how Weezie would do, but she had a wonderful time. She wasn't frightened by all the costumed kids and she quickly got the hang of trick-or-treating (at first she was taking candy out of her basket and putting it into others' - J quickly corrected that, lol). Every time the hayride stopped, she'd pop up, grab her basket, and yell "all right!". She hung with the big kids all night, too.

I can't wait until next year, and I'm thinking I have one more year before I hear "I want to be a princess!". Hmmm, shark, peacock, what embarrassing costume can I put her in next???

Enron, Wal-Mart, and Fisher-Price

If you're a parent of a child under 5, then I won't have to explain. Several months ago, Fisher Price started sending out teasers about the 10th anniversary Tickle Me Elmo. Except they didn't call him that - they just put ads with a shadowy image with "TMX Elmo" across the body. "What will TMX Elmo do? Find out September 19th!"

Weezie loves Elmo, so in August I considered pre-ordering the TMX Elmo (retail price $39.99) to make sure I had one for Christmas. Even though I didn't have a child at the time, I remember the huge demand for the Tickle Me Elmo when they came out 10 years ago. J said I was being silly, so I decided not to pre-order.

Well, when they were released Sept. 19, they sold out of the stores immediately, and people started selling them on ebay for $200-$300. I consoled myself with the fact that Weeze is too young to not know that she's "the only kid that doesn't have one" and that daddy ruined Christmas, but when she started squealing with delight when she saw a commercial for TMX Elmo, my heart broke! I know, I know, I'm being suckered in just like "they" planned!

So last week, my girlfriend showed me a flyer from Wal-Mart - TMX Elmo's advertised for 34.98 beginning October 1. She said they also had signs all over the stores - TMX Elmo's coming October 1! My girlfriend spoke to a lady in the toy department, and she said they'd be putting them out at 7AM today with a limit of 2 per person.

Now I hate Wal-Mart and avoid going there. For my baby, however, I'm willing to trek to Wal-Mart at 6 in the morning. When we arrive, we find out that they had put them out at midnight! And get this - they had only 5 for the whole store! If we had gotten there at midnight, we probably wouldn't have gotten one anyway. They said that Wal-Marts all over town were getting just a few, and some didn't even get any.

I'm not really mad about not getting Elmo - was just taking a chance that we'd get one, but I think it's terrible that they would advertise so much about having them when in reality they only had a few for each store, and some stores didn't even get any!

So, I'm boycotting Wal-Mart. Predatory pricing didn't move me. Unfair treatment of workers? Eh, not my problem. But playing on a momma's need to get her baby the "It" toy of the year? I'm never stepping foot in Wal-Mart again!

Yes, I realize Fisher-Price is playing games with us well. My guess is that they're purposely only releasing limited quantities and will flood the market right before Christmas. Unfortunately, Fisher-Price is a little more difficult to boycott when you have a 2-year old.

More like her father every day...

Look at what I caught Weezie doing:

Setting a good example for my daughter

One of my major pet peeves is people who drive Suburbans/Tahoes/Escalades/Yukons and don't park them properly. I drive an SUV, so I don't have anything against them, but it drives me batty when I'm trying to find a parking spot and some big-ass car is double-parked. I will be the first to admit that I'm a terrible driver, but I make a concerted effort to park so that there is plenty of room on either side of my car. I complain so much about it that my girlfriend gave me a booklet fake parking tickets to give to people. You fill in the time/date/car model, and it's preprinted with:

You are an inconsiderate person. This is not a real ticket, but it should be. Because of your rude and lame attempt at parking you have taken enough room for an army and a circus. You have received this ticket in hopes that you will learn to think of others before parking in the future. You probably change lanes without using a turn signal too. I hope your engine blows up during rush hour on your birthday.

I couldn't open my door tonight at dinner because of a bad parker, so I gave out my first violation. It's terrible and juvenile, but it made me laugh, and that's all that matters :) My only regret is that I didn't stick around long enough to see the car owner's reaction when they found the ticket under their wiper.

Pump it, louder!

Not sure what this says about my parenting skills. I guess I should be glad she wasn't singing "My Lumps".

Vy Trump, part 2

We closed on the house, woohoo! I'm chronicling my adventures in a separate blog.

Baby Einstein

We went to the bookstore last night, and I bought some picture flashcards for Weezie. I picked out a few cards to work with her this morning, and she immediately learned "apple". It's so neat to see the difference in her cognitive abilities in just a short period of time. A few months ago, she probably would have repeated "apple", but not really learned the word as she did this morning. If I put several cards down and ask her to pick out the apple, she'll pick the right one and say "apple". She already knows banana, so I tested her by asking her to pick out the banana, and she guessed correctly!

On non-baby news, I was reading O (Oprah's mag) and found out about free workouts on ExerciseTV - it's a free video on demand channel offered by some cable providers like Time Warner. Who knew?!

It's like having access to a free library of workout videos since you can turn on demand, pause, etc. Weez and I did a short 10-minute pilates workout together this morning. She likes to copy my moves when I exercise (her squat imitation is hilarious!), and she loves to climb on me when I do floor work. Not good for my form, but it's fun :)

Vy Trump

On Saturday, one of my girlfriends and I drove to see the house I'm remodeling. I'm armed with a notebook and a digital camera so that I can start taking notes. We don't close until the end of the month, but the owners have given us copies of the keys so that we can start getting contractor bids. After driving down the street a few times and not seeing the house, I sheepishly call J.

"Um, what's the address of the house again?"

Once I get on the right street, I quickly find the house and we hop out. And I realize I forgot to bring the keys. So much for getting off on a good start.

In any case, it was good to get another look at the outside of the house and bounce ideas off my friend. I tell her about the crazy lady who lives next door - she had stopped J and said, "you know the house is haunted, right? It's filled with ectoplasm." Hmmm, yeah...

While we were chatting, a little old lady walked over from across the street. Ella has lived in the neighborhood for over 60 years, and she's known both respective owners of the home. Of course, I had to mention the neighbor saying the house was haunted. "Eh? Ecto what?" Not that I really thought the house was haunted, but Ella confirmed that no had died in the home and that yes, the neighbor was crazy. Side note: when I mentioned this to J, he told me I should never ask if someone died in a house since once I know, I'd have to disclose it when selling. Ah, so much to learn!

Calgon take me away

For my birthday last year, J gave me a gift certificate for a day at Fiori. Since my birthday is coming up again in a few weeks, I finally booked an appointment before the certificate expired.

OMG, why have I not gone there sooner? I'm not really a spa person (i.e., I like them, but I don't go very often), but this was definitely the nicest spa to which I've been. I'm really picky about...uh...hygiene, and I usually find some fault. Usually something minor like the towels not being quite plush enough for the amount of money I was paying. OK, that's not really a hygiene thing, but one of my typical "Gawd, you're so picky" complaints. I never actually complain because I realize it's no big deal - only J knows me enough to perceive that split-second flash of my nose wrinkling.

The owner is a business acquaintance of J's, and he built the building from the ground up. Even though it's a new building, it manages to exude an "old-world" Mediterranean feel. It even has a grotto with hot tub/pool! This is impressive since basements are unheard of in Houston. I can't say enough of the experience - everyone was helpful and sweet without being fake/overbearing. In between sessions, you could lounge in the "quiet room" or use the pool, hot tubs, or steam rooms. I had a wonderful massage, facial, manicure, and pedicure. It was incredibly relaxing, although every once in a while I would start, panicking, "Where's Weez?!" before I'd remember she was with J for the day. Of course I've had days away from Weez before, but never just a day of just quiet tranquility.

Some friends and I are going to the Arizona Biltmore in November for a spa weekend. I was excited about going before, but I'm looking forward to it even more now that I've had such a wonderful spa experience. It figures that I'd now become a spa junkie once I became jobless, LOL.

Mas palabras

Weeze learned two more phrases in Vietnamese while on vacation with my parents:

• hut roy - hết rồi (all gone - shakes her hands while saying this)
  
• wang rack - quẳng thùng rác (throw trash in the trash can. If you tell her "quẳng thùng rác", she'll repeat it, walk to the garbage can, and then throw whatever she has in her hand away.)
  

My little bilingual baby!

Moms gone wild

About once a month, some friends of mine and I go out for a girl's night out. Since three of are moms, it's usually pretty low key. Our usual haunt is the bar at La Griglia, although last time we ended up at JR's, a local gay bar. Since Weezie goes to bed at 8, it works out well since I leave after she's gone to bed and I'm usually back by the time she wakes up (I always sleepover at A's after we go out).

Last night we didn't end up getting to La Griglia until 10:30 and the restaurant bar closes at midnight. I managed to drink three grey-goose tonics and two Kamikazie's that were sent over to the table before we left. I didn't feel too tipsy last night, but this morning I felt like crud. I don't know what's worse, the headache, or knowing that I had about 900 calories worth of drinks, LOL.

In any case, I still had a lot of fun. While I love being Weezie's mom and wouldn't trade it for the world, it's nice to be out once in while with just other adults.

I can taste the margaritas now...

As we were driving to my parents' house for the requisite weekly Weez visit, I was thinking about how summer was coming to an end and we had yet to make a trip to the beach (a real beach, i.e., NOT Galveston). By the time we arrived, I had already mapped out a trip for the whole family - my parents, sister, Weez and I renting a condo in South Padre for a week, and J joining us for 3-day weekend (work's too hectic right now for him to take a full week off). Everyone thought it was a great idea, so I immediately made arrangements for the condo and flights for J and one of my sisters (who has to return early to start back at work August 8).

Interestingly enough, because of the last minute plans, I ended up booking the same condo we used to go to on our family vacations in Padre when I was a kid. I'm excited since I love going to the beach, and it'll be fun to spend time with my family and vacation with them as an adult. Not to mention the 24/7 access to free babysitting :)

We're leaving next Tuesday and driving to McAllen to visit my Aunt and her family for a day before moving on to South Padre (1.5 hour away from my Aunt's home). It's about 5 hours to McAllen, so I'm a bit worried about Weezie being in the car so long. Luckily, she will have my mother and sister in the car to be at her entertainment beck and call. Her last long trip was when she still a wee babe and we were trying to leave Houston to avoid Hurricane Rita. We were in the car for 7.5 hours and traveled 25 miles - not something I'd like to ever repeat. Hopefully this trip will be a might less stressful.

In other news, J found a property in the Heights that's perfect for flipping. We drove by together on Sunday and made an offer. The owner accepted, and we should be closing August 30th. Woohoo! Now, normally I wouldn't get terribly excited since J does this pretty regularly, but we've decided that this flip will be my project. I've wanted to get more involved, and now I actually have the time to do so. The house needs top to bottom work - rewiring, sheetwork, the whole shebang. It's a small house, though, so I'm hoping I won't get too overwhelmed. Obviously I'm going to rely a lot on J's experience for the contractor negotiations. I can never hope to be as good as he on financial negotiations, but I think I'll hold my own as far as cracking the whip and getting things done. Famous last words?

Birkenstocks come in different colors, right?

Weezie's shoes were getting snug, so off we went to Stride-Rite to get some new sandals. It pains me to buy shoes there (their average baby shoe is $40), but they have the best selection of wide width shoes for children. While I don't see the resemblance when everyone tells me she looks like J, she most definitely got her father's feet. J just got a pair of tennis shoes in 14EEEE. Yes, that's 4 E's.

They had a bunch of the cutest sandals on sale, for about half off original price - I was stoked! We got a few 6W's to try on and... they were too narrow. Yes, my baby needs Extra-Wides.

They only had one pair of sandals in XW, not on sale of course. So $45 later, we left with the most boring, plain white sandals in the store. I know it's ridiculous, but I was sad because she couldn't get the cute shoes with flowers or the ones with flashy lights (she would have loved those!). I'm a shoe horse (I probably have a hundred pair;I've lost count), so I became even more sad when I started to think about how she'd have a hard time finding shoes when she's older, when she'll actually care.

Yes, I realize that I should just be happy she's a healthy, happy baby...and that she has a really stable base, LOL.

The good ones always are....

I am devastated. I just found out from reputable sources (the Internet) that my boyfriend, Anderson Cooper, is gay. This ranks up there with finding out George Michael is gay ("George, not George! But I wanted to marry him when I was a teenager!")

With as many gay friends as I have, it's obvious gaydar is something you're born with and can't cultivate.

Off to sulk now.

Bueller? Bueller?

I wonder if anyone reads this blog - I think I have 2 readers, LOL. I guess it would help if I actually let people know I have a blog.

I took Weezie to her first music class at Gymboree (she's had music classes before, but not at Gymboree). As she normally is when she's around new people, she was very shy and wouldn't leave my lap. She wouldn't sing or clap along to any of the songs because she was too busy staring down the other children and teacher. Part of me (the hypercompetitive, Type-A part) wanted to scream out, "She sings all the time! And dances! Oh, you should see her dance! Did I tell you she raps?", but I think I managed to be encouraging without pushing her too much. I hope once she's gone to a few classes she'll open up more - the daycare told me she loved Music & Me (the music classes she took once a week), and she stops in her tracks when music shows come on TV.

After class, I went to Ikea to pick up a little kid's table/chairs so she'd have a place to color (other than the wall, which she's already done). I made the mistake of trying to put it together while Weezie was still awake. As if putting together Ikea "furniture" isn't frustrating enough, Weeze ripped the instructions to shreds and then insisted on helping. Let me tell you there are few things scarier than a 1 1/2 year old coming at you with a hammer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. An hour later, I finally had it setup and immediately regretted my decision to buy a table from Ikea. I don't think it's going to survive the WMD (Weasel of Mass Destruction). I can't wait until we're back in a house so that I can buy real furniture again.

Speaking of the house, we drove by the lot yesterday. They've cleared off the old house on the property and have started building out the alleyway. The existing alleyway is just grass and not level, so we're leveling, paving, and installing a drainage system. We're started about two months later than planned, but surprisingly, my blood's not boiling yet. Because of our last building experience, I went in expecting delays, and I know that there will be many more to come. It helps that I do like living where we are now. The location is fantastic, and I love never having to park my car. If we had more space, I could live here indefinitely. At this rate, we may have to, LOL.

18 months update

A little late, but Reese had her 18 month appointment a few weeks ago. Inspired by our friends the Handkes who recently posted baby Van's stats, I thought I'd post Reese's.

She is in the 70th percentile in both height and weight at 25lbs 3oz and 32" long. Yay for being proportionate!

Words:

• Dog-dog
  
• Elmo
  
• Mama
  
• Dada
  
• Way Dada? (Where's dada?)
  
• Ba-ba (drink)
  
• Baby (for babies and her Stitch doll)
  
• Shoes
  
• Ball (balls and grapes/blueberries)
  
• No
  
• Hi
  
• Yah (yes)
  
• Mine!
  
• Allo? (hello?)
  
• Boon (balloon)
  
• Clock
  
• Ta tu! (thank you)
  
• Up & down! (bounces when she does this)
  
• Bubbos (bubbles, she says this with an accent on the second syllable)
  
• Coo-Coo (cookie and crackers)
  
• Sassy (name of her friend Mia's puppy)
  
• Bye-bye!
  
• Poopy!
  
• Ong ngoai ("grandfather" in Vietnamese)
  
• Ai day ("Who is that?". I don't think I spelled that right. She also uses it for "What's that" as well. Incorrect, but still cute)
  
• Um-um (eat)

I put exclamations after some of the words because that's how she says them. She is also a veritable chatterbox of other nonsensical sounds I haven't quite deciphered yet. It's really fascinating seeing her communication skills progress - though I'm quite over thinking that "Mine!" is cute. She also loves to sing along to children's songs like Elmo's World, Wheels on the Bus, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. She doesn't say the words exactly, but she'll make sounds in the same rhythm

My parents are convinced that when she says dog-dog, she's actually saying cho-cho (dog-dog in Vietnamese). They also have a dog that is similar in size to Sassy, and they think she's trying to say "Chelsea" (their dog). It's quite funny - kind of like the sound that a dog makes (bow-wow! ruff-ruff!) is different in other countries (wau-wau in Vietnamese, bau-bau in Italian, etc.)

The words we do agree that she's saying in Vietnamese (Ong ngoai and Ai day) are perfectly accented. She also repeats many of the words my parents say to her, but since she doesn't use them consistently, I haven't included them in the list. I've been trying to teach her Vietnamese, but it's difficult since for all intents and purposes, Vietnamese is my second language. I speak it fairly well, but since I don't "think" in Vietnamese, I often forget to speak to her in it. Oh, yeah, Whitey's a problem, too, since he only knows how to say pho (noodle soup), bun (vermicelli), and ba ngoai (grandmother). Though I suppose Reese is all set if she needs to ask my mom for lunch :)

Cluck, cluck!

RG and crew have raved about this roast chicken recipe, so I've been meaning to try it. Feeling industrious this morning, I went to Central Market to pick up the ingredients. Even though the recipe is really simple, I didn't have any of the ingredients on hand (chicken, kosher salt, thyme). After some pointers over IM from RG and four viewings of this trussing video, the bird was in the oven.

When it was ready, I excitedly pulled it out of the oven. It looked amazing! I didn't think to snap a picture until I had already started carving, so it doesn't capture how wonderful it looked. Nice enough to impress your guests! I'm pleased to say that it tasted just as good as it looked. Scrumptious! The skin was golden and crispy; the meat moist and flavorful. Like many who make this chicken, I ate my serving standing up, standing over the cutting board, LOL.


Even Reese loved it! Reese generally does not like meat, and even she was won over. More often than not, I have a really hard time getting her to eat anything other than pasta and bread. If there was ever any question whether she is my daughter (okay, not much of a question since she CAME OUT OF ME) her love of all things starchy is definitely a trait from me.

This recipe is definitely a keeper.

TGIS!

If it's one thing that I love almost as much as food, it's sleep. I LOVE to sleep, and have a talent for being able to nap anywhere (which comes in handy when you're backpacking through Europe. I've napped everywhere from a cold, damp doorway in Salzburg to an overpacked, overheated train stuck somewhere between Nice and Pisa filled with...ahem...pungent Italians). I'm definitely one of those people that needs 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, becoming a mother has put a big dent in the amount of sleep I get. On weekdays, I usually get about 7 hours of sleep a night. I know, that seems like a lot of sleep, but when I said I need 8 hours, I REALLY MEAN I need 8 hours.

On Saturdays and Sundays, however, Jim lets me sleep in while he watches Weezie. I do feel a wee bit guilty that he still takes weekend morning duties even though I've stopped working, but the flip-side is that I'm much more pleasant to be around when I've gotten a full 8 hours. I slept until 10:15 this morning - Heaven!

Like megmoo, I still look forward to weekends even though I don't go to the office anymore. It's not just the ability to sleep in; Jim's home and I love just putzing around being a family. We usually don't have anything too exciting planned - we'll visit with friends, hang out by the pool, that kind of thing. It's incredibly relaxing because there's no agenda we have to follow or appointment we have to make like we have to on weekdays.