Adventures in Life & Motherhood

post-op: 1 month

2012-02-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

Part of me wants to write an in-depth post about the tonsillectomy recovery, with all my suggestions for how to survive it, in case any of you have to go through your own 10-14 days of Parenting Hell.And part of me wants to never think about it again.Basically, we survived through gritting our teeth and reassuring ourselves (and him) that IT WOULD END. Because it's hard to remember that when

early valentine's daffodils

2012-02-13T17:09:00.001-08:00

I just realized it is already mid-February. How did that happen?I keep writing a post in my head about Elan's 1-month post-tonsillectomy update.But somehow, writing it in my head doesn't mean you get to read it. Funny how that goes.Anyway, what I wanted to say is that Elan loves Instagram. He loves playing around with the filters and choosing one his very own self. Like this:I love my new iPhone.

after dinner

2012-01-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, 8:35 p.m.:If I just eat that last bit of mac and cheese, I won't have to find a Tupperware lid that fits.You've been there too, haven't you?

today's confessions

2012-01-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

I confess that...Sometimes the baby gets chocolate bread for breakfast.Emry, 14 months, January 2012And he really likes it.(Notice the gummy smile - Emry's first tooth has broken through so he's toothless no more!)Both my children drink bottles. Occasionally while watching TV.December 2011In the hours between 5 and 7 a.m., I frequently want to curse. Sometimes I do. Early morning is not my finest

my mom's banana bread

2012-01-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

Can a boy live on banana bread alone?Elan is testing this theory.My mom (aka Nana) bravely volunteered for 10 days of post-tonsillectomy hell recovery without really knowing what she was getting into (along with my dad, who was here for the first few days and then had to go back to work). My mom left on Saturday and has since been replaced by my equally brave mother-in-law. Getting through Elan's

not for the faint of heart

2012-01-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

Botanical garden, Berkeley, January 2012Let me tell you, having your kid get their tonsils out really sucks.I'm really hoping this is worth it, because last night, when I was awake with a screaming, thrashing, kicking child who refuses to take his medicine in the night, from roughly midnight to 4 a.m., with breaks when he'd fall asleep, then wake up twenty minutes later, hysterical once more, and

mil gracias

2012-01-16T09:08:00.000-08:00

Botanical gardens, Berkeley, January 2012I want to say thank you for the text messages, emails, phone calls, voicemails, old-fashioned cards, and telepathic messages that have been sent our way over the past week. It's been so nice to feel the support of our community as we deal with this, our first real medical situation with one of our children. (And how lucky we felt, at Children's Hospital,

post-op: days 1-2

2012-01-14T19:41:00.000-08:00

Elan doing his impression of a giant-eyed wood elf, January 2012First off, Elan's T&A surgery went fine. The surgeon told us afterwards that his adenoids were big, and that she thinks the surgery will correct the sleep apnea. So that's the good news, and it was a big relief to hear after what was, for me, the worst part - the time during the actual surgery. I have an overactive imagination, and

being brave

2012-01-11T23:16:00.000-08:00

Elan, Botanical Gardens, January 2012I have to say, my little guy has really been handling the lead-up to his tonsillectomy tomorrow better than I expected.When we first told him, he railed against it. ("No, no, no, I am NOT going to get my tonsils out! You know when I'm going to do it? NEVER!")But within a few hours, he was making peace with the news.This morning, as soon as he was verbal (after

countdown to T&A

2012-01-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Serenity on the Washington coast, September 2011This Thursday is Elan's tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy (T&A). Just writing that gives me butterflies in the stomach. What a strange start to the new year it's been so far. Coming home from a wonderful two weeks away has been jarring. I'm actually happy to be home, I love our little house and the amazing community around us, and the weather has been

gifts

2012-01-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Elan actually wrote a wish list for Hanukkah/Christmas this year.In translation:angry birdspigssnow hatsoccer shirtmoneyThis list is hilarious because a) it showcases his obsession with angry birds which seems to be a fairly universal obsession for any 5-6 year olds who have been exposed to it, b) my child hates wearing hats, proven by the fact that he doesn't want to wear his "snow hat" even

message in the sand

2012-01-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

I love coming across other peoples' art on the beach.We are having holiday hangover after two weeks in San Diego with my family. After two weeks of fabulous sunshine, football with the guys, and rolling around in a big kid/dog pile on the ground with my sister's two-year-old, her two Bernese mountain dogs, and my parents' dog, Elan is waking up in the dark, trying to get back to sleep and failing

completion

2011-12-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Driftwood burl, Washington, August 2011My friend Andrea posted a cool free downloadable worksheet that's about completing 2011 and looking forward to 2012. I think it will be a perfect way to ease into what Mikhail and I have done around new year's these last few years: picking our word (or two, or three) for the year to come. Looking back and looking forward, that's so much what this last week

the 5-year-old unicorn

2011-12-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

One month ago, Elan turned 5.We made a sign. He wrote his name but insisted I write "Birthday Party." And those are balloons decorating the sign, in case you're not sure. Balloons being an absolute must for the celebration.I love little kid writing. Adults can imitate it, but they can't ever quite get the adorable haphazard quality of randomly placed backwards letters and the way the whole line

merry.go.round

2011-12-21T21:46:00.000-08:00

Elan, Tilden Park, Berkeley, December 2011We are working on creating family traditions, now that we're 5 years into this whole kids thing. One is going to the holiday carousel at Tilden Park, in the hills above Berkeley.Mama, what's with all the pictures of me with funny expressions posted on your blog lately?Of course, this necessitates me thinking about when we did this or that last year. Which

a diagnosis and a decision

2011-12-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

Elan, nearly 5 years old, November 2011Back in October, we took Elan to the Stanford Sleep Clinic. The doctors there examined him and then took a complete history, which translated into an hour and a half of us talking, trying to explain exactly how it is that our child doesn't sleep. That's an exaggeration. He does sleep, obviously, otherwise I would have sold him on Craigslist by now, or

poop or chocolate?

2011-12-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

Emry, November 2011Thanks for the material, kid.(Don't worry, this time it's chocolate.)And it took a bit of searching through my brain and the Internet, but here's that clip (from Baby Mama, Tina Fey & Maura Tierney).

on a cold and foggy morning...

2011-11-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

Someone came and frosted the spiderwebs.Or should I say they dewed the spiderwebs.Except it doesn't sound as good.Now these someones, the ones who go around frosting or dewing the spiderwebs, whichever you want to call it, depending on whether you're in a literary or literal type of mood...Are they the same someones who put flyers on my car windshield in the middle of the night?I don't think so.

no, really?

2011-11-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. We had a very happy Thanksgiving. The food at my husband's aunt's house was so good, I made slightly inappropriate groany noises as I ate it. We went for the traditional walk to the park, football playing in the park, and then came back to the house for dessert. It was all lovely.And then... (because you know there had to be an "and then")My husband was

because i know you were wondering

2011-11-19T22:15:00.000-08:00

Elan on the pumpkin pile, October 2011Halloween was a very big deal at our house this year. First, we went to our neighborhood's version of a pumpkin patch, which is more a pumpkin pile, a huge hill of pumpkins at Monterey Market. The kids (and brave adults) scramble all over the pumpkins, including some that must weigh 100 pounders (pumpkins, not people, well, people too, but that's nothing

boys in sleepers

2011-11-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

November 2011They might not always sleep a lot, but they always spend a lot of time in their sleepers.

sometimes it goes like this

2011-11-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

On the hunt for stuff to get into, October 2011Today, I am sorry to admit, my baby ate his own poop.Need I say more?He has become a total squirmy monkey during diaper changes, and this morning, he almost managed to kick the dirty diaper off the edge of the changing table. I caught it, but a tiny bit of poop must have fallen onto the floor, because after I had cleaned him up and re-diapered him

ONE!

2011-11-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Emry's first birthday was on October 22.The birthday boy is seriously into his thumb these days.He is seriously into his brother too.The birthday hat has stick-on numbers from 1-5. Elan's worn it for 3 out of his 4 birthdays. I like that it's now an official family tradition, even if I did drop the ball on Elan wearing it last year, when he turned 4.And of course, no first birthday would be

sick

2011-10-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

Fall spiderweb, Berkeley, September 2011I'm having one of those weeks when a cold turns into laryngitis, turns into a sinus infection that feels like someone's sticking knives into my cheekbones, turns into a night spent alternatively shivering and roasting with fever, turns into the nurse practitioner saying I have the flu on top of the cold/sinus infection, turns into Emry taking Tamiflu

one year ago

2011-10-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

A year ago, I was pregnant.I went to the pool a lot. Sometimes with my pregnant friends.Elan was already telling the baby jokes.Did I mention? I was VERY pregnant.But soon not to be.At 2 a.m., I woke up. It was pouring. First I heard the rain, then I felt the sensation of the contraction. It was the baby's due date and a full moon. I couldn't believe the baby would really be so precisely punctual

baby + sand

2011-10-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Emry turns one year old. While I try to process this fact, a hit of Mama nostalgia is putting me in a photo kind of mood. So I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of Emry's first beach experiences, way back in July when he was only a wee 8-month-old (sniff).Did you know that beach rocks make excellent teething toys?Of course, sand tastes pretty yummy on its own.Right?What?Now

allergic

2011-10-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

Superhero on the beach, San Diego, July 2011A conversation between Elan & me, on the topic of allergies:"Mama, what am I allergic to?"You're not allergic to anything, love." (thinking I'm delivering good news)"That's not fair!""Oh, okay. Maybe you're allergic to... to... porcupines.""Yeah! Remember when we saw that one at the zoo?""Yup.""I wasn't very close to it, or I would have sneezed.""Yeah.

yosemite, anytime

2011-10-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Rocks & stream, outside Yosemite, July 2008It has been too long since Mikhail and I went to Yosemite. We've been discussing this a lot lately. We keep trying to find a little time to make a pilgrimage, but we haven't yet. In the meantime, I came across these time-lapse videos of Yosemite. Each one takes only a minute to watch. Watch the weather move in, or the snow melt, or the moon rise over

to-do list from the deep end

2011-10-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Comfort food in progress, October 20111. When all else fails, cook a brisket. With lots of roasted carrots and potatoes to soak in the briskety juices. Do not expect your 4-going-on-5-year-old, the source of The Trouble, to touch it, but the baby, who still has no teeth yet loves chicken sausage and pesto pasta, might gobble it up.2. Do not allow your husband, plumbing novice, to try to replace

a realization while my child screamed at the park

2011-10-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

So often, motherhood is about looking bad in public.It's about kneeling in the rough playground sand, the kind that leaves an imprint on your knees in twenty seconds flat, to play tic tac toe, because your kiddo is having a tough afternoon after Day 1 of his new preschool class.It's about getting down on your haunches to try to hold him, even though you're wearing a skirt and you know you're

more on the "how does she do it?" question

2011-10-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

Dandelion, Washington, August 2011Some of my favorite friends-who-also-happen-to-be-bloggers have written recently on this question I was exploring yesterday, the how does she do it? question we women tend to ask ourselves about other women who seem to effortlessly and perfectly juggle the balls that we ourselves feel we might currently be dropping.(Yes, I know there's a Sarah Jessica Parker

on muddling through

2011-10-01T17:29:00.000-07:00