Something I'm trying not to think about

The Danes are going back to Europe in 2 days. They've been here this past year, and were also here from 2001-2002, when we became friends. I'm going to miss them so much, so I'm avoiding thinking about it. On one hand, I am thinking about it, how can I not? My house and car are filled with things Mona's generously given me. On the other hand, it's easier if I pretend they're not leaving. Mona's become my best friend and I see her every couple of days now. Our kids play together (or rather, her kids are abused by my kid who pulls their hair!) Lauren even invented some new names for her- "Monma" and "Mon ami".

Mona does not read this blog because I never got around to emailing her about it way back when it started (as a way for people who were calling me every few days to see if I had the baby yet when I was pregnant and overdue). Then we had discussed weird people on the internet and the fine line between sharing pictures of your kid and being sure no pedophiles or kidnappers or what have you could see. So I tried not to put pictures of her kids up too much (but there are a few "Lauren with her boyfriend" etc.) and never identified them by last name, etc. But it's been hard because so much of our lives this past year involved them. But you know, bloggers don't always write about their favorite things or the most important things. Some things near and dear to your heart, you keep close.

Anyway, thank you Mona for another of adventures and stories and laughter. If I think about it or write too much more I'll start to cry. So I leave you with this-have a safe journey home and we'll look forward to more good times together on skype and when we meet again soon in Europe!

MRI results

The neurologist's office called with the results of the MRI. My brain is normal but my sinsuses have some problems (that is not why they did the MRI, but they noticed it anyway) so they want me to have my primary care doctor review the findings and follow up with me. So of course, I have been googling sinitus and all of that stuff. I don't feel sick. Did any of you have this? What happened? Please comment or email me.

Day at the Beach:Tourist in My Own City

We went to the beach today with Alex & Suzy & Alexa. Above is a picture Suzy took. It was Lauren's first time at the beach, first time in the ocean, first time playing in the sand, and first time at Gladstone's. (We ended up not eating there for lunch because there was over an hour wait and the girls needed their naps). It was a great, relaxing time.

The thing is, we live in a part of the world where many people pay lots of money to come on vacation and we need to make ourselves take more advantage of things like the beach. Before this, I think the last time I was at the beach was at Steve's for 4th of July in...2005? 2004? And we live *4 miles* from the water. 4 miles! So, we've decided to go more often. And also to do other tourist things like the Getty and Huntington Gardens. I did finally go to Chinatown in March and the Getty Villa in April. That took me only 7 years to get around to doing! We also keep meaning to go to the Museum of Tolerance and the Museum of Jurassic Technology (which we can walk to, and still have not gotten around to it!) My aunt and cousin may be coming to visit in July and maybe they'll want to do some of these things.

MRI

Ick, I had my MRI tonight to rule out any lesions on my brain from the car accident, which could be what is causing the migraines I get every few months now. Or at least, I had the first part of the MRI. They had neglected to mention that I was also supposed to have a contrast MRI where they hook me up to an IV with a dye in it that is potentially harmful to babies, so I wouldn't be allowed to breastfeed for 48 hours afterwards. Also, the MRI took an hour and a half! I didn't eat dinner first and it started at 6:15. We got there at 5:45 didn't leave until almost 8:00.

I'm not claustrophobic, so I wasn't too worried about this in advance but man, it was hard to be completely motionless that whole time! I thought I was being still, until they told me they had to redo one of the scans. She thought I had fallen asleep and maybe coughed in my sleep (???) There are these weird clanging sounds and I felt like I was in college again listening to experimental electronic music for a class, or at least I tried to tell myself that's what it was. It was in 6/8 tempo. I was trying to relax but the whole time, I kept thinking about how dry my mouth was and how much I wanted to swallow. It was even worse than that feeling at the dentist when your mouth is propped open and filled with gauze and you're kind of gagging and thirsty.

Anyway, so I had to pass the time somehow in a very still way, so I counted to 200 and then backwards, and I tried to think of all of the Robert Frost poems I had memorized, and then all of the Indigo Girls song lyrics. Then I tried childhood memories but that is when I supposedly looked like i was asleep, and twitched, so i had to go back to counting.

Is this post boring? I know, not very exciting. But you have NO IDEA what boring is until you have to lie motionless for 1 hour and can't fall asleep or even wiggle your toes.

Anyway, I told them I would go back for the contrast MRI another time. When I have a little notice so I can save some milk for Lauren. I'm pumping right now as I type this. "Isn't she a little old for breastmilk, still?". Yes, but it's so much easier knowing that for at least 2 meals a day (when she first wakes up and when she goes to sleep), she is getting a balanced meal. I don't have to mix formula for her or make her take vitamins. And she likes it. I don't mind. But no way am I having her quit cold turkey just because of an MRI test I've waited 2 years to get. I can wait a little longer.

cuteness discount

Because I'm so adorable, oops, I mean because *Lauren* is so adorable, we get the cuteness discount. On Tuesday at Farmer's Market, we got pink dahlias for $3 and a bunch of yellow ones for free, 8 pounds of tomatoes for $3 (I made soup and sauce), and the apron, she's pictured wearing, for free. We have become friendly with the woman who sews baby clothes, aprons, and quilts there. Since Lauren thinks hats are disposable, we give her quite a bit of business. She also makes these very unique bibs which she sells under the label "My Baby's Closet". They're big and pretty and made out of vintage chenile & lace and I love to put them on L. if she's wearing a fancy party dress when we're eating out. If you're at a baby shower with me, now you know what I'm giving.

I'll have to take a picture of one but that won't be soon because today I broke the camera in a really dumbass move. (No, not taking a self-portrait!) I somehow loaded the car in such a way that the camera was hanging out of the door while the strap to the camera case was on the floor and so it banged against the car and I didn't notice until I heard a strange sound when we were on the freeway. It got smashed up near the battery. If anyone has a Nikon E775 Coolpix and wants a free charger, memory card and 2 batteries, let me know. The case is pretty shredded, you don't want that. It may be fixable with duct tape or something but I've been wanting a new camera anyway. Now I'm on the hunt for one, so you can leave your suggestions in the comments section. Yes, I would love a Canon EOS 30D (I right-clicked to see what kind of camera Lori used for Lauren's portaits) or something high end, but my budget does not allow that. Plus I think something small & light in the $200 range would be more relaxing to take to the beach, etc. and not have to constantly worry about it getting stolen. Ideas? Bargains spotted? Anti-recommendations? Oh, and if you know a shop that gives a cuteness discount, do tell. :) Please comment.

Happy Baby, Cranky Momma

Today as we were heading home from the doctor's office, Lauren was in the back seat chanting "HAPPY! BABY! HAPPY! BABY" and was exactly her self-description. She's mostly, 95% recovered. Just the occasional runny nose.

I on the other hand, am waiting for Rite-Aid to fulfill my Amoxycillin prescription for bronchitis and an ear infection. They say you get to relive your childhood through your children. My doctor was puzzled that Lauren is fine, but I'm the one with the childhood illness. How many adults do you know who get ear infections? And I've had 2 in the past 6 months, plus pinkeye in December. I'm gonna start demanding a sticker at each visit, too!

Feeling better and up to my old tricks!

On the Mend

After almost a week of flu at our house, I've decided that Lauren & I are officially going to be better tomorrow. When I wake up in the morning, I will not have a hacking cough, and she will not be sensitive and clingy and feverish. I hope this will come true.

Seriously, we took her to the doctor today because this morning she still had a fever. After her nap and by the time she saw her doc, she had no fever and was laughing and getting into mischief in the exam room. Last Saturday when we took her to the doctor, she pointed to the doctor's back and said "bad, bad!" after she was done with the exam! Did I already write about that? I meant to. It was pretty funny, guess you had to be there!

Helper Monkey unloads the dishwasher

the family that sneezes together...

lauren caught some kind of cold and on friday night (on the way back from barbara's birthday dinner at il fornaio in pasadena, yum!) she started a runny nose. she screamed in the car on the way home, and kept waking up screaming in the night. i thought maybe she had an ear infection. our thermometer is somehow stuck on metric, so i couldn't remember if 36.6 was a fever or not (it actually meant i didn't take her temp correctly, that's below normal.) saturday morning, brought her to the doctor where it was pronounced that her ears "look great" and she has a cold. she had a 101.5 fever. she then napped for 3 hours at home and i cancelled mona & peter & karen's visit.

the doctor told us we would probably catch the cold in a few days. and so today, lauren woke up smiling and not feverish, and i woke up with the sniffles. ryan is ok so far. i'm going to attempt a nap now. i can only nap productively if i'm sick. otherwise, it resets my body to wanting 8 hours of sleep and then it feels like the middle of the night when someone wakes me an hour later. but if i'm sick, it means an hour of not being aware that i feel yucky.

14 month Lauren update

I love this picture even though it's fuzzy, because it shows the blur of motion that Lauren has become these days. My mom is visiting right now and even though she just saw Lauren last week, she says she is "even more of a personality. It's like she's in every room in the house."

Now that she's walking, and also kind of running, she goes everywhere and "pips" things. Here's an example from a few days ago. She likes to go into my baking station in the kitchen and stack bags of chocolate chips. I let her do it, and just put it back later. Unbeknownst to me, she had grabbed an open box of Tapioca and was sprinkling it around the living room carpet. Ack! So I cleaned that up, and that made me thirsty so I went to the fridge for a soda. While I had the fridge door open, she reached around me and grabbed some eggs and smashed them. So I cleaned that up and set down the nearly empty soda can. She grabbed the can and ran into the living room with it. I then had to clean drops of Diet Coke from the white carpet. Phew!

Anyway, so she is on the move a lot. And she is delighted with herself for her new skills. She loves to climb backwards down the stairs, so when we leave the house, she walks, and then stops at each set of steps and climbs down them herself. She still has a very unique sense of humor. One thing she loves to do is to giggle really hard, make sure I'm watching her and then pretend to eat something inappropriate, like pieces of paper or Kleenex. When I go to take it out of her mouth, she reveals that she didn't really eat it and she just about falls over with the hilarity of it.

She still loves her books. Old favorites were "Baby Duck and the Cozy Blanket" and "Who's in the Sea" but now she needs more of a plot. She likes "My Truck is Stuck" and "Jack and the Beanstalk", and a "Thomas the Train" book. While reading her "touch and feel baby animals" book, I said "touch the baby bunny's tail" and she said "no, no, no, rabbit" and giggled. Then when I got to the parakeet, she corrected me with "bird". She also likes to point to the "duck", "ball", "bear" and "baby" in books.

She goes to story hour on Wednesday mornings now, since we can never seem to make the Tuesday evening one, and also since her 1 nap a day (down from 2) is later so she stays awake for the 10:30 reading. However, she conks out afterwards in the car seat on the way home.

Last night we tried her inflatible toddler ReadyBed on the floor next to ours. She LOVES the bed and plays on it and giggles and is thrilled to have it. She lasted until 1 a.m. and then she wa sin bed with us.

She loves to eat adult food, and earlier this week for the first time (on Ryan's birthday, congrats Ryan!) I ordered her first plate, all for her, from the children's brunch menu at Overland Cafe. She had 2 pancakes, a vegetarian "sausage" patty, and scrambled eggs. Last night my mom and I each had a glass of wine and she threw a pout because neither of us would give her a sip.