Friday, November 27, 2009

Jonah's first Thanksgiving


Well, it has been a busy week. My parents came back into town for the winter--THANK GOD! They are truly my saviors when it comes to childcare support. I seriously don't know how we managed all those years living so far apart. Grammy and Grampy totally rock, and Mia is absolutely thrilled to have them around full time again. Jonah seems quite happy too, and spent most of Thanksgiving day snuggled up in Grammy's arms. Yes--Thanksgiving has come and gone. I can hardly believe it. Jonah is 7 months old, and this is our third Thanksgiving since moving back to the US. Time just flies!

Thanksgiving day was quite lovely. Very small. We had my parents over for a large Thanksgiving lunch and then Stacey and Joe joined us for dessert. Jeff had to work that afternoon from 3-11. Despite this fact, he spent the entire morning cooking, ate lunch with us, did all the cleaning up, and then scampered off to work at 3. And the cooking was amazing! Everything was pretty much perfect.

Today we decided to get a little holiday activity in and went to River Place for the annual Winter Carnival--or was it the Winter Extravaganza??? I don't know...something like that. There were all sorts of Christmas trees that had been decorated by local designers. There were kids activities and an exhibit of gingerbread houses. This is not our usual sort of activity, I must say. We aren't really the crafty exhibit types, and we don't actually celebrate Christmas, so we don't typically go to these Christmas events. However, we really had a nice time. If nothing else, it totally put me in the mood for winter--Christmas cookies, snow falling, Frosty the Snowman on TV...you know, all the good stuff about winter. Here are a few pictures of our week:

Grammy, Grampy and Mr. Jonah



Jeff--cooking tirelessly in the kitchen


Our feast, and the back of Jonah's head


Mia on a recent shopping excursion with Daddy


Building toys at the crafty Christmas event


Our very own Christmas decorations


This picture does not do this tree justice. It was a Grinch Christmas tree. It was amazing!


Enjoying our day off at Cafe Latte

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

A bug by any other name...

A terrible plague has befallen the House of Raich. It is not, thankfully, the dreaded H1N1 (or as Mia calls it, the "H111"...or as Jeff and I lovingly refer to it, the "Hone-None" [pronounced Ho-nee No-nee]. It is also not the much talked about seasonal flu. Rather, it is the less fashionable, but equally horrendous stomach flu--or as Mia's doctor has informed us, is not properly name the flu at all, but is actually named "Viral Gastroenteritis." I personally think it should be named "Death by Vomiting", but that is just my opinion.

It all started one unsuspecting Saturday not so long ago (last weekend actually). Little Jonah woke up a bit cranky. He seemed rather uninterested in eating most of the day and displayed an unusual propensity for spitting up. In hindsight we realize he was actually throwing up. How, you dare say, could we not know our own child was throwing up? This may seem odd, but you must understand that Jonah is a rather hard to read baby. Yes, liquid did escape his mouth on numerous occasions that day, and yes, he was cranky, but he was not obviously sick in any way. We would be walking around the house--Jonah perched on my hip as usual--when suddenly I would hear a 'splat' on the floor. I would look down to find a small puddle of baby spit up at my feet. I would look at Jonah who would either be grinning like a mad man at me, or looking away as if nothing had happened. If he could whistle, I'm quite sure he would have been whistling a happy tune and staring at the sky as if nothing had just happened. In fact, a few times after a "splat" I would notice him looking down at the floor with me with a look on his face that said "how did that get down there"? So, as you can see, there really was no way to know what was going on with this kid. I just thought he didn't like the mango I had fed him that morning for breakfast. Little did we know what was on the horizon...

The next day (Sunday) sweet little innocent Mia was at her weekly swimming lesson trying her hardest to float on her back and master the doggie paddle when she got out of the pool and told Jeff that she needed to return home immediately due to stomach discomfort. She came home and immediately put herself to work on the couch watching marathon episodes of Scooby Doo and protesting every so often that her belly hurt. We didn't think much of it--no fever, no vomiting. She went to bed after eating some toast for dinner only to wake several times in the night to complain of stomach pain. Early that morning she came to our bed and proceeded to vomit on everything several times. Convinced that she needed to stay home from school, I called in to work and spent the morning happily tending to my little convalescent. Jonah was fine and went to daycare as usual. Jeff went to work. As the morning progressed, however, little Mia's condition seemed to worsen with her moaning in agony and holding her belly. I knew it was serious when she asked me to turn off Scooby Doo. This was definitely something serious...I called Jeff and he consulted with a doctor at his work. They suggested that it could be appendicitis and suggested we take her to be seen immediately. Jeff rushed home from work and we took Mia to the doctor. On the way to the doctor's office, Mia became exceptionally sick in the car--crying out in pain and vomiting profusely (luckily Jeff thought to bring a big bowl). I imagined that we would be carrying her into the doctor's office in our arms while she cried and howled in pain. We would be rushed in to the nearest office where we would be seen immediately by a team of concerned physicians. Not the case. As fate would have it, the 5 times Mia threw up in the car actually made her feel quite a bit better. By the time the doctor came to see us, Mia was hanging upside down like a monkey off the bed and giggling. I'm quite sure the doctor thought we were completely insane for bringing her in at all. But she did a full exam and listened to our tale of woe. She diagnosed Mia with stomach flu (ooops...excuse me, "viral gastroenteritis") and sent us on our way. Jeff went back to work, and I continued caring for Mia who really could do nothing much more than stare at the ceiling and sleep. Poor little thing was so sick.

Unfortunately for us (and for you) that is not the end of this sad tale. That evening, after both kids were tucked away in their beds for the night, I was washing dishes in the kitchen, merrily chatting away to my husband, when I felt the weight of 1000 bricks crashing in around me. It was seriously that sudden. I had been struck. Within a few hours I was vomiting with a force previously unbeknownst to my body. This went on every few hours throughout the night until finally I passed out cold in a sweaty mess on the bathroom floor. When I resumed consciousness I had no idea where I was or what had happened. I guess Jeff had caught me so I luckily didn't break my neck on the tub (as Jeff has reminded me of his life saving heroism). I felt Jeff toweling me down with a wet cloth, but I literally could not move any part of my body. It was as though I was paralyzed. As I lay there for a bit, I remember feeling a bit awe struck by the power of this little virus that had invaded my body, and even more awe struck by my body's resolve to fight back. Wow! What an amazing thing when you actually think about it. There was literally a war going on inside my body. Unfortunately at that moment I was not at all clear who was winning. I was, after all in a heap on the bathroom floor unable to move my arms or legs. But in the end, that seemed to be the final battle and my body was victorious. Don't get me wrong...I have felt like death warmed over since then, but the vomiting has stopped and, I am happy to report that I CAN, once again, move all of my extremities.

Jeff, super hero that he is, has not succumbed to the nasty little bug that got the rest of us. He stayed home from work the next day and tended to Mia and I with the care and compassion of Florence Nightengale! Mia was in her room demanding saltine reinforcements. I was on the couch demanding more blankets and watered down apple juice. My husband did not blink an eye (well, he may have rolled them a few times), he did not complain, and most importantly, he never told me I needed to take a shower or brush my teeth. My hero!!

So, now Mia is back at school, although she still says her belly hurts a bit. She seems fine, however. I think she may just be angling for a way to stay home another day and watch more movies. I, on the other hand, am healing a bit more slowly. I am still quite nauseous and weak, but definitely on the mend. Who would have though that one little baby could inflict such agony and drama in one household? Will I stop letting him put his little fingers in my mouth to be eaten? Will I stop kissing his snotty little face? Will I stop letting him drool all over me? Not on your life!!

One good thing has come out of the whole ordeal, however. All this time at home has given me ample opportunity to work on one of the most important items on my 101 list--watching every episode of The Office. Speaking of the 101, a quick update on my list. As some of you may have noticed, my dear friend Cheryl caught a few indiscrepancies in my list. Apparently I had listed several items twice. Thanks for pointing this out my good woman! I knew that something was off with the list, but I could not locate the duplicates. For that you have earned yourself a place at number 66. Although, I do need to take issue with your comment that I have never called you since we have been back in the states!! Simply untrue!! I have called you several times and asked you to call me back!! That counts as calling you! But you are absolutely correct that our new I Phone does require us to have a calling plan, so I no longer have any excuses for not calling.

In answer to your other questions:

Yes--strippersize class. I am quite excited about this--although slightly intimidated at the same time. Here is a link to our local strippersize studio:
http://www.flexappealstudios.com/flash_intro.html.

I haven't thought about rules for the poem. I guess that children's poems will NOT count (so no Mary had a little lamb)

Good questions Cheryl. I know that you will be watching me closely, so I will be on my best 101 list behavior!

Now, back to my couch...
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Friday, November 13, 2009

My 101 in 1001 days

As you may well know, my 36th birthday occurred this week on Monday. In honor of my birthday I created my 101 things to do in 1001 days list. This is part of the Day Zero project. The idea is to make a list of 101 tasks to complete in 1001 days. Here are my 101. Items that are crossed off are done. Items that are in color are in progress...

1. Create my 101 list

2. Commit 20 acts of random kindness (0/20)

3. Eat at a 5 star restaurant without worrying about money

4. Have 10 dates with my husband (0/10)

5. Take a trip without the kids for our 10 year anniversary

6. Volunteer with an organization of my choice

7. Walk the Race for the Cure

8. Donate gifts to an organization every year at Hanukkah/Christmas (0/3)

9. Work at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter at least one time

10. Learn to make sushi at home

11. Call Kayo in Japan at least once every 6 months (0/5)

12. Go on a girls getaway weekend with my sister and mom

13. Improve my career situation

14. Make a trifle

15. Take my dad out to lunch

16. Take my mom out to lunch

17. Eat a Juicy Lucy

18. Attend 5 local festivals (0/5)

19. Save 1000k for my 10 year wedding anniversary

20. Go to the symphony

21. Visit six local museums (0/6)

22. Paint the kitchen

23. Tile the fireplace

24. Complete two deepening classes at Seeds of Mindfulness

25. Take a yoga class

26. Go to a meditation session at Clouds on Water Zen Center

27. Do one meditation retreat or class every year (0/3)

28. Call my sister once a month (1/32)

29. Juice every week (1/141)

30. Take a strippersize class

31. Get a massage

32. Get rid of all the clothes in my closet that don’t fit and that I don’t like

33. Spend the entire day doing nothing but playing with Jonah

34. Spend the entire day doing nothing but playing with Mia

35. Paint the upstairs

36. Buy a rug for my dining room

37. Start a savings account for Jonah

38. Make a budget for 2010

39. See 10 classic movies I have never seen before (0/10)

40. Watch every episode of The Office

41. Go ice skating

42. Go to the ballet

43. Have a garage sale

44. Learn a poem by heart

45. Watch 10 documentary films (0/10)

46. Go on a picnic

47. Take a dance class

48. Get CPR certified

49. Buy a really nice purse

50. Move into our new upstairs bedroom

51. Eliminate all processed food for one week

52. Read one great book per month (0/32)

53. Watch movies for an entire day

54. Give up the computer for one full day per month (0/32)

55. Learn self defense

56. Learn how to swim properly

57. Make a Danish pastry like my mom does

58. Go Geocaching with Jeff and Mia

59. Send my Grandma pictures of the kids every three months

60. Visit Madison and eat at Himal Chuli

61. Read a book about Buddhism

62. Post a blog entry once per week (2/141)

63. Add a blog entry for each item completed on this list (0/101)

64. Make a new finance binder

65. Set up a trust for Jonah and Mia

66. Call Cheryl at least once every 6 months (0/5)

67. Walk around Lake of the Isles once every season (0/10)

68. Try five new foods at the state fair (0/5)

69. Try one new recipe per month (1/32)

70. Learn to cook (successfully) with beans

71. Take a bike ride by the river with my family

72. Visit my home in New York

73. Try every local brand of ice cream in the Twin Cities

74. Try one totally new fruit or vegetable every month (0/32)

75. Try 10 of Dara Moskowitz's favorite restaurants (1/10)

76. Write an advanced directive

77. Go on a family retreat

78. Learn 10 shortcuts on the Mac (0/10)

79. Teach Jonah sign language

80. Frame three pieces of artwork (0/3)

81. Volunteer at Mia's school

82. Make a first year movie for Jonah

83. Remake our wedding album

84. Teach Mia to ride a bike with no training wheels

85. Go to a Saints game

86. Read a biography

87. Put shelves up in the basement

88. Buy all of our produce at the farmer's market for one week

89. Change all of our passwords

90. Get my correct address on my driver's license

91. Buy reusable sandwich bags

92. Decorate Jonah's bedroom

93. Find curtains for the dining room

94. Meet 7 new neighbors (0/7)

95. Eat at Ecopolitan

96. Build an entire snowman

97. Learn three constellations (0/3)

98. Sell the kids clothes at a consignment sale

99. Read a book about investing

100. Make challah from scratch

101. Save $10 for every item accomplished on this list (0/101)



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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Halloween

Well, the big night happened. Mia's favorite night of the year--Halloween. It was actually an entire week and a half of festivities starting with the big L'Etoile du Nord Halloween Party (at Mia's school). The entire family went and enjoyed games, prizes and the haunted house. Mia was a nervous wreck about the haunted house but got up the courage to go in with Mommy in tow. I swear she nearly peed her pants she was so scared; but you should have seen the triumph on her face when she emerged! It was so worth it. Of course the first thing out of her mouth was 'I want to do it again!'


Mia surveying all of her party options at school


Standing in line for games

Next in our week of Halloween festivities was Mia's in class party at school. Jeff volunteered for the day and showed up dressed in scrubs and surgical mask (much to Mia's surprise). He was going to smear catsup all over the front of him, but decided that might be too intense for a bunch of 1st graders. I wish I had pictures of the party, but alas, I do not.

Then came Halloween night. Mia dressed as a Spider Countess and Jonah donned his bat costume and the entire family headed off to the neighborhood Halloween party on the corner. This is a yearly event thrown by Mia's friend's parents. Everyone brings a dish to share and stands around freezing their skivvyies off until trick or treating time. My big question was--why do we suffer through trick or treating to get candy when we have a huge bowl of candy right at home. In theory we could just put up our feet in the nice warm house and eat the candy we already own. Mia didn't like this idea, however, so the candy march went forward. Jeff went out with Mia and our neighbor's kids while I stayed home with Jonah and did door duty. We had about 15 groups of kids come to the house. Not bad. Jonah and I gave away most of our big bowl of candy, only to have Mia come home an hour later with her bag of candy--which, by the way, were pretty much the exact same kinds of candy we had just given out.


Preparing for the candy march

A bit apprehensive about his new duds

Ahhh yes...this is what it is all about!

Then finally on Sunday Jonah had his baby group Halloween party. Yes, all of us moms stuffed our little boys and girls in their costumes one more time so that we could prop them all up and try to take pictures of them together. Why we subject ourselves to this sort of torture is beyond me. Poor Jonah was fighting off two of the babies who couldn't seem to keep their animal paws off of his bat head. It was all good fun, however. Until next year! BOO!

Jonah getting bashed in the head by his friends

Jonah holding them at bay. If he could speak he would have been saying
"Please boys, give me a little space. Hands off the bat ears!"
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