Elana smells like a sewer. First, it was that she did not poop for several days. That was fine you expect a little funk. I also expected that it would go away. NOPE. Countless people have held her and then passed her to me to say they thought she pooped. Well she did not. I have looked at what I am eating, how much she is eating, is it gas or what. She just has a stinky pooper.
The kid can clear a room...worst than a dog fart and those are bad. They are a little less once she poops but then she builds up some funk in there. I can only imagine what will happen once she starts real food.
Her other newer thing she has developed is screaming. Not at anything and not because she is mad just because she likes the sound of her voice. Leaf and I know nothing else but according to everyone else this is abnormal....whatever. She also likes to babble a lot so I think she is just talking loudly. Sometimes she laughs huge belly laughs after she yells which is funny. She also like if you join in and scream a bit too. I guess the days of quiet mornings and peacefulness are gone.
Oh and we misplaced the camera charger in the move. I think it is in a box in storage so I have no pictures for a while. I am going to see if I can get another charger somewhere.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Yum Rockets???? Bad advertising
I was watching TV and a Subway commercial came on. At first I thought I must have misheard. Then the commercial came on again and yep I was right...they said Yum Rocket when referring to a sandwich.
The commercial goes something like "stop on buy and order yourself a nice yum rocket." The first thing that came to my mind cannot be written in a nice respectable blog like this. I feel a little dirty just writing this. To test if it was just me with the perverted sense of humor I turned to the authority or at least the guy with a 12 year olds sense of humor and asked what he thought they said. When Leaf broke out in laughter I knew I was right. We managed to expand a bit on the commercial and add some Ace and Gary comments.
Yum Rocket sounds like a pick up line heard in the Castro, not a sandwich. Imagine walking down the street and saying "mmm, I would love to put my lips around a nice yum rocket." I am OF COURSE talking about a Subway Club people! Still it could be totally misconstrued.
I dared Leaf to go in and order a yum rocket and see what they clerk would say but then we thought it might get him arrested.
The commercial goes something like "stop on buy and order yourself a nice yum rocket." The first thing that came to my mind cannot be written in a nice respectable blog like this. I feel a little dirty just writing this. To test if it was just me with the perverted sense of humor I turned to the authority or at least the guy with a 12 year olds sense of humor and asked what he thought they said. When Leaf broke out in laughter I knew I was right. We managed to expand a bit on the commercial and add some Ace and Gary comments.
Yum Rocket sounds like a pick up line heard in the Castro, not a sandwich. Imagine walking down the street and saying "mmm, I would love to put my lips around a nice yum rocket." I am OF COURSE talking about a Subway Club people! Still it could be totally misconstrued.
I dared Leaf to go in and order a yum rocket and see what they clerk would say but then we thought it might get him arrested.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Bluetooth
Bluetooth technology is great. Something I have taken advantage of for a while so when the hands free law was passed I thought it was not a big deal. Then, I helped my mom figure out her Jawbone....
First, no one even considered that the law would require people like my mom to drive and try to use their bluetooth device. This is probably more dangerous than having mom use her phone with her hands. She cannot remember what button to push, she is distracted while trying to use the voice recognition commands and she WAS totally frustrated. To top it off she yells into the earpiece so it does not understand her.
So I had to train mom how to use herJawbone...which probably rivals teaching Camryn to use the potty. First, linked the bluetooth to mom's phone, as I have done for a few people, figuring it is easier than trying to explain how to do and less time consuming. Then there was the real work. Mom had to have the Jawbone...she was caught up in the frenzy at the store...so this was a little more difficult than a regular earpiece. The training actually took several days and several attempts.
Just getting mom to figure out how to answer the thing was a chore. She would excitedly push the button and then say hello not realizing there is a delay she needed to wait for. This is where this gets comical. We literally sat at home calling each other back and forth so that mom could practice answering. I think we both were amused and realized how ridiculous it was. As any good teacher would do I encouraged her and acknowledged her progression. Once mom somewhat mastered the answer we had to move onto the calling people.
Mom's phone has voice recognition software. Basically you push a button and the phone starts talking to you asking for commands. The Jawbone has a button on the back that you push to activate this feature. You would think it would be simple to remember which button to push but it was hilarious watching my mom trying to remember which one to push and what to say IF she happened to guess the right one. I realized this lesson was going to take some serious repetition. We were taking a ride to Fremont and so I told mom to put her earpiece in and try to make a call. Once she got down which button to push the thing would not recognized what she was saying. Since the Jawbone has a noise reduction feature I guessed that maybe her yelling into the thing was causing the problem or that she was pronouncing the word funny because of the yelling. I can attest that my sisters and I have told my mom that she yells into her phone. Honestly, we may have made some jokes about it too. Regardless, the issue is gone and the phone recognizes what she is saying.
So I can happily say my mom can use her Jawbone now.....I fully expect her to write a reaction.
First, no one even considered that the law would require people like my mom to drive and try to use their bluetooth device. This is probably more dangerous than having mom use her phone with her hands. She cannot remember what button to push, she is distracted while trying to use the voice recognition commands and she WAS totally frustrated. To top it off she yells into the earpiece so it does not understand her.
So I had to train mom how to use herJawbone...which probably rivals teaching Camryn to use the potty. First, linked the bluetooth to mom's phone, as I have done for a few people, figuring it is easier than trying to explain how to do and less time consuming. Then there was the real work. Mom had to have the Jawbone...she was caught up in the frenzy at the store...so this was a little more difficult than a regular earpiece. The training actually took several days and several attempts.
Just getting mom to figure out how to answer the thing was a chore. She would excitedly push the button and then say hello not realizing there is a delay she needed to wait for. This is where this gets comical. We literally sat at home calling each other back and forth so that mom could practice answering. I think we both were amused and realized how ridiculous it was. As any good teacher would do I encouraged her and acknowledged her progression. Once mom somewhat mastered the answer we had to move onto the calling people.
Mom's phone has voice recognition software. Basically you push a button and the phone starts talking to you asking for commands. The Jawbone has a button on the back that you push to activate this feature. You would think it would be simple to remember which button to push but it was hilarious watching my mom trying to remember which one to push and what to say IF she happened to guess the right one. I realized this lesson was going to take some serious repetition. We were taking a ride to Fremont and so I told mom to put her earpiece in and try to make a call. Once she got down which button to push the thing would not recognized what she was saying. Since the Jawbone has a noise reduction feature I guessed that maybe her yelling into the thing was causing the problem or that she was pronouncing the word funny because of the yelling. I can attest that my sisters and I have told my mom that she yells into her phone. Honestly, we may have made some jokes about it too. Regardless, the issue is gone and the phone recognizes what she is saying.
So I can happily say my mom can use her Jawbone now.....I fully expect her to write a reaction.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Elana's 4 Month pics
Elana wanted to wear these I swear.
This is from our trip to Monterey to escape the heat. Obviously I forgot to pack a blanket for her. I froze since that is my sweatshirt. This kid is made for traveling she never made a peep all day.
This is when I realized why they have those safety belts on the baby stuff. The bassinet was worse. I caught her flipping her legs over the side for leverage...now she sleeps in a crib.
Lindsey is pretty quiet and does not seem to care so much but she loves her cousin. This was a rare chance for her to hold the baby without Camryn bugging her.
Here are the girls at Sycamore Grove after a picnic lunch. We have a picture of my grandparents from about 25 years ago in the same park. This park is one of the reasons I wanted to move home. I love the smell of the trees and the peacefulness of the place.
We all have skills...
We all have things in life that we are good at I have found my gift, potty training. I approached like a horse whisper except I was dealing with a stubborn almost year old. Camryn has been "potty training" for a while. 6 months ago Darlene gave up. My mom has tried recently but it has been a battle. The other day after watching what everyone else was doing I decided to give it a try. First, I talked with Cam about the benefits of underwear and disadvantages of diapers....like she understood it all but still. Then I convinced her to come with me and give it a try. Being mellow and not caring if she really did it was the key. I also red the two same books over and over. I got her to do things no one else has. Finally we ended with her putting on panties which has not happened...which led to her peeing in them but that is besides the point. We focused on the positive.Today Cam was totally ready to give it a go again. This time I had a game plan. I was not letting her off the potty. 2 hours later, a hot dog, bowl of ice cream, a lemonade, her hands soaking in warm water, and a manicure we had success. I was even able to take her to Walmart in panties to buy Pull-Ups and a root beer float. Somehow some Starburst wound up mixed in too.
So I know it is just the first day of success but unless you know Cam you really cannot understand how big this is. She was going to be the first kid to go to college in diapers.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
This is my life
Okay we came to our senses. We had a house and could still have it but when we started looking at what needed to be done in the next 6 months and what we were paying we decided to walk. Plus the home inspection opened our eyes to some things. Basically at this point we are going to take a break from house hunting and just relax for a few weeks. Our back up plan is just to add on to my parents house.
Now this is something that can only happen to me. Leaf and I decided to take a trip to the mall and have a family night out. We are kind of exploring places we used to go as kids and seeing how they changed. Elana was hungry so I said lets go to Nordstrom because they have a mothers area in the bathroom. Elana and I went in and found a nice spot on a couch but it was not in the mothers area because they were all full. It was in the main sitting area. No big deal I thought since it was the women's room. Half way through my first boob a little boy, about 5, walks in with is mom and he was on a mission. He ran in all crazy and went straight to the bathroom. I thought nothing of it. About a minute later the same kid came running and plopped on the couch next to me declaring "I am all done going pee" I said great. Then he said what are you doing. Mind you the kids head is about 6 inches from my boob. The Elana decides she needs to look at him too. Now the 5 yr old kid has my boob in his face and is talking to me. His horrified mother runs out of her stall (why she let her 5 yr old by pee by himself, who knows) and comes and gets her son. I apologized but I really should not have. I just hope the kid does not have nightmares.
Now this is something that can only happen to me. Leaf and I decided to take a trip to the mall and have a family night out. We are kind of exploring places we used to go as kids and seeing how they changed. Elana was hungry so I said lets go to Nordstrom because they have a mothers area in the bathroom. Elana and I went in and found a nice spot on a couch but it was not in the mothers area because they were all full. It was in the main sitting area. No big deal I thought since it was the women's room. Half way through my first boob a little boy, about 5, walks in with is mom and he was on a mission. He ran in all crazy and went straight to the bathroom. I thought nothing of it. About a minute later the same kid came running and plopped on the couch next to me declaring "I am all done going pee" I said great. Then he said what are you doing. Mind you the kids head is about 6 inches from my boob. The Elana decides she needs to look at him too. Now the 5 yr old kid has my boob in his face and is talking to me. His horrified mother runs out of her stall (why she let her 5 yr old by pee by himself, who knows) and comes and gets her son. I apologized but I really should not have. I just hope the kid does not have nightmares.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Culture Shock
Well Livermore has been an experience so far. I guess we did not realize how different it is from Stockton or that we would notice so much. First, was our experience at Comcast returning our cable box. Immediately at the door I pointed out there was not a security guard AND once you were inside there was no one waiting....maybe it was the time of day. To top it off there was not a glass partition between you and the workers. It was kind of weird because the woman talked to us in a friendly manner and was able to help us. This is unheard of at Stockton's Comcast. We chalked that up to just the luck of the draw. We must of just chosen a good day to come in.
The second shock has been shopping. Leaf and I went to the grocery store one day and we both felt odd...not in a bad way or good way. Just strange. It was one of those things you cannot put your finger on...then Leaf pointed it out. EVERYONE is white and middle class! We felt totally out of place. Not that being white and middle class is a bad thing but when you are used to diversity it is shocking to not see it. Okay, there was one or two people who were not white....but you get the point. Both Leaf and I agree that having diversity in Stockton was a bonus. It was amazing to me to see kids in my classes all get along even though they spoke different languages and came from totally different cultures. For the most part the kids just took it for granted that they lived with people from all over the world. I think when you grow up in a place where everyone looks just like you and/or everyone is somewhat in the same socio-economic group you develop a skewed view of the world. It is a life experience thing. Not that you have to experience everything to understand it; there are just some experiences in life that have to happen.
The flip side of Livermore would be the neighborhood I worked in back in Stockton. My students assumed that all white, middle class families ate dinner together at a table and had family meetings to discuss issues. It was really funny to hear their view of what it was like to be me....I then had to break the sad news that my dad had more street credibility than them and that he was darker than they were.
I guess the third shocker for us is that despite years of schooling and a great job we are yet to find a house. It is frustrating to say the least. We have actually bid on 5.5 houses (it will make sense later). The first was over priced and they pulled it off the market. The second is still sitting there and over priced. The third we missed being the buyer by a day or so and had a back up offer on it and the original offer went through. The fourth we missed because we figured it was the 4th of July and we could wait until today to put the bid in. Well they got an offer yesterday and took it. With that news I was really frustrated and ate some pie, then I had to go shopping. When I got back Darlene and Leaf had a list of houses for us to see so we ran out and looked not wanting to miss any more. We found a beautiful house that we really like on a 1/4 acre lot! With our luck we figured there was already a sale pending....well there was not, just another offer so we put our in the mix and we should find out by Monday night.
Until Monday
The second shock has been shopping. Leaf and I went to the grocery store one day and we both felt odd...not in a bad way or good way. Just strange. It was one of those things you cannot put your finger on...then Leaf pointed it out. EVERYONE is white and middle class! We felt totally out of place. Not that being white and middle class is a bad thing but when you are used to diversity it is shocking to not see it. Okay, there was one or two people who were not white....but you get the point. Both Leaf and I agree that having diversity in Stockton was a bonus. It was amazing to me to see kids in my classes all get along even though they spoke different languages and came from totally different cultures. For the most part the kids just took it for granted that they lived with people from all over the world. I think when you grow up in a place where everyone looks just like you and/or everyone is somewhat in the same socio-economic group you develop a skewed view of the world. It is a life experience thing. Not that you have to experience everything to understand it; there are just some experiences in life that have to happen.
The flip side of Livermore would be the neighborhood I worked in back in Stockton. My students assumed that all white, middle class families ate dinner together at a table and had family meetings to discuss issues. It was really funny to hear their view of what it was like to be me....I then had to break the sad news that my dad had more street credibility than them and that he was darker than they were.
I guess the third shocker for us is that despite years of schooling and a great job we are yet to find a house. It is frustrating to say the least. We have actually bid on 5.5 houses (it will make sense later). The first was over priced and they pulled it off the market. The second is still sitting there and over priced. The third we missed being the buyer by a day or so and had a back up offer on it and the original offer went through. The fourth we missed because we figured it was the 4th of July and we could wait until today to put the bid in. Well they got an offer yesterday and took it. With that news I was really frustrated and ate some pie, then I had to go shopping. When I got back Darlene and Leaf had a list of houses for us to see so we ran out and looked not wanting to miss any more. We found a beautiful house that we really like on a 1/4 acre lot! With our luck we figured there was already a sale pending....well there was not, just another offer so we put our in the mix and we should find out by Monday night.
Until Monday
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