Anyone Hungry?

I've gone and done it. I've committed myself to another blog. As much as food is a part of my life, I didn't feel like making my primary blog into a recipe book. As a result, I've just created a new blog, From Mosh Pits to Mashed Potatoes, to track the kitchen adventures of the Dog family.
You can check it out at moshtomash.blogspot.com

How To Be a Domestic Bozo

I'm all into trying new new things. Especially new recipes. I've been on a cookbook buying binge in search of new ways to thrill and delight the tastebuds of my family. One of these purchases was Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess" Great title. How could I not buy this one.
Add to that, this is the same Nigella Lawson who seems to have pioneered the modern cooking show as pornography trend, rife with sensuous close ups and "yummy noises" more fitting of an adult film than a dinner party. Excellent, this woman loves her food.

My first attempt from this book was an amazing looking Zucchini and Chick Pea Filo Pie. Simple ingredients, good spices, all wrapped in filo, sounds like a can't lose proposition to me. Unfortunately, I made one ingredient change. Instead of basmanti rice I used brown basmanti rice and increased the prep time by some unimaginable duration. I guess the liquid absorption time between these ingredients is significantly different. Instead of dinner at 7:30 pm we had dinner at almost 9:00 pm. On the upside, it tasted delicious and looked like something right out of the recipe book. And, if you starve your children for a late dinner, they eat like champs.

Has Mr. Dog Entered the Wold of Online Marketing?

Just yesterday, after complaining that the online marketing efforts seem to be tapping into my mind to flood my mailbox with pregnancy, infant and baby related goods, I get one more offer from baby.com. The subject line, I shit you not, was "The Savings Solution for New Mom's Bladder Control Problem"
How's that for putting things in perspective. Maybe tomorrow I'll get an offer from Preparation H to remind me of pregnancy hemorrhoids. Or Tums to bring the fun of 3rd trimester heartburn. At least we're finally getting some reminders of the parts of pregnancy and childbirth my mind has been smoothing over.

Web Marketing Uses Mind Reading?

What the hell is going on here? I open up my in box today and the Peanut Shell sling company has emailed me twice offering new slings. I loved these slings when Little Dog was actually "little", but I have no tiny baby needing a safe harbor. And this isn't the first time the marketing gurus seem to have tapped into my raging urge to procreate.

In recent weeks, I've received email from:
BabyStyle showing off their new maternity line
Pottery Barn Kids bragging about their new crib bedding
BabyCenter with some cute new spring outfits for infants and babies.
BabyInABag (yeah, creepy name, but great products) with their summer sleepsacks at 20% of (including a really nice looking soy based sleepsack for the "greener" families).
Baby Universe is having a sale on their Britax carseats for those who may have new additions to their families (thus not me unless I can find one to fit a Great Dane, but I somehow doubt I could).
Seattle's own PEPS (Project for Early Parenting Support) has emailed me with some program promotion or other. I didn't bother reading that one.
Hanna Anderssen has a new line of fleecey clothes for "tiny bunnies".
Amazon Grocery contacted me about Baby Mum Mum, some kind of teething rusks I have no use for, unless I have a new toothless one coming at some point.
Köhlr Baby, who makes the most adorable Moses basket bedding, has a new eco-fleece line including crib sheets and a sleepsack for those newborns everyone else seems to be stocking up on lately.
BabyAge offered me free shipping on their special of the day at least once.

Why do they taunt me with their wares? I'd love to have a tiny one on the way that needs me to stock up, but given that Mr. Dog is highly unlikely to relent, I am left to look longingly at their beautifully photographed goods and sigh a little. *sigh*
Maybe I should take Victoria's Secret up on their latest email offer and see if that doesn't help shift Mr. Dog's position on things a bit.

Scenes from a Car

Today on our drive home from daycare, Big Dog was especially talkative.

"Mommy, this looks like a dog!" he exclaims as he points to a large smear on his passenger window. It is probably leftover from this weekend's sanity saving trip through the Starbuck drive thru, but who knows. My car is not what is conventionally thought of as "clean".
"Oh, and this one looks like pants! Look mommy!"
A short pause, then "If you chopped my hands off, they'd be bloody!"
"I'm sure they would be." I say, half laughing, half wondering where the hell that came from.
"Yes, it would. I know I'm right." another pause "This looks like a car, or a dog. Maybe a dog car," he says going back to his filthy window.

Welcome to the World Baby BAWP

Congratulations on the birth of your little boy, M. I am jealous, insanely so as I imagine you holding that new little life in your arm, experiencing that whole "getting to know you" part where you finally meet that tiny person who has been occupying your body for so long. I'd love another baby, but despite my jealousy, I am so excited for you. Boys are amazing, so much fun you won't know what hit you. And trust me, it will feel like something hit you from time to time.

He's Inked.

I knew it was too quiet in the arts and crafts room.

How to feel like a bad wife and mother

without even trying.

I have a job that requires occasional travel. The pay off for this travel is that I get to live in Seattle and keep my fantastic job in San Jose. Another perk is that I get to see my best friend almost every time I make a trip the the home office.

But there are drawbacks, for one, I have to leave the family behind. I miss them. Sure, I get a few nights of great sleep, I get to eat out at the pace a normal adult usually eats and I only have my own to do list, not the combined to do list of an entire family. The problem is that when I leave my responsibilities behind, Mr. Dog has to pick them up. Not normally a huge deal, but every time I am left to manage on my own with two kids, I gain a new level of admiration of single parents everywhere.

Unfortunately my latest trip was delayed due to my ear infection, I thought I was doing a big favor to everyone by delaying my trip a week, putting it after little dog's birthday. And Mr. Dog was convinced too, until the night before my trip. Little Dog was up every couple of hours. We both were deeply deprived of sleep, and I stagged to my taxi in a zombie like state leaving Mr. Dog to manage on his own.

It wasn't until later that evening I knew just what I had left him to manage. Little Dog has a a fever, it got up over 103 and stayed there for the duration of my trip. On top of being sick, he was up all night, he would not sleep unless he was being held and in general he was being miserable. Mr. Dog had to manage that, take care of Big Dog and his longing for mommy and still go to work. When I talked to him, he seemed completely wiped out. When I talked to NE, she told me how sad Little Dog was, he kept asking for mommy and his fever was sapping his normal wildness.

When I got home I spent a sleepless night with my feverish baby, trying to let Mr. Dog catch up on his sleep a bit, while trying to show Big Dog I missed him too and give him the attention he deserves and needed.

Now I am completely drained. Business travel is always exhausting for me. Since I don't go to San Jose frequently enough, I am constantly trying to fit in all of the face to face time that I miss by working remotely while attending my normal busy schedule of business meetings and making time for anyone on the team who drops by my visitor office. I'm hoping I can smooth this all out this year by traveling more often, but this puts more stress on Mr. Dog since I'll be gone more often. It is like juggling, but with really big and heavy objects, like kids, computers and homes. No wonder my body aches.

Amazon, you're a tease

Amazon fresh has backed out. Just days after launching the service, before I even had a chance to get hooked, they've pulled out.
Lame.

Portrait of the Artist as a Giant Smiley Face

The Hunger- Part 2

Last night, after a festive birthday with too much sugar, Little Dog sunk his teeth into my arm. I put him in a time out.

While he was in time out, Big Dog went in to visit. "No biting, Little Dog! Are you hungry?"
The adults within hearing distance dissolved into laughter.
A few minutes later Big Dog came back into the living room and recounted his visit to the time out prisoner.
"I told Little Dog, no biting. And I said 'are you hungry?'"
Again the adults lost their composure.
"Oh, he's hungry? Was he trying to eat mama?" I asked.
"Yes, you should give him some food."

Ah the wisdom of the young.

Look at Him Grow!

Happy birthday Little Dog. Today you turn two. Amazing.
You are such a ray of sunshine in my life, occasionally grouchy opinionated sunshine, but sunshine none the less. Your exuberance and outlaw spirit make your smile and lust for adventure completely contagious. Your morning hugs with the sweet back patting, and your kisses and snuggles are addictive.

In the past two years you have developed your own personality, your own style and even your own little fan club. I know your "girlfriends" at Red Mill and NE would agree. Your fearlessness shakes me at times, but I try not to stand in your way too often. I love the way you try to emulate Big Dog, and although he acts annoyed by your presence at times, I know he loves it too. It is especially apparent when he calls to you to play and asks for you first thing in the morning. I see the pride in his face when he takes time to introduce you to EVERYONE as his "baby brother". Watching you run away from Papa's kitchen tongs this morning with your partner in crime reassures me that sibling issues you may have are easily offset by the companionship you share.

Your verbal skills astound me. You routinely string seven words into sentences that make your wants, needs and flat out demands clear to anyone willing to listen. "I want it, some kisses" or "I don't want it, diaper" even "Go away" or "Pick you up" are hard to misunderstand.
At such a young age, you have already managed to develop a fantastic sense of humor. You excel at funny voices, goofy facial expressions and just hamming it up when you know we are looking.

I'm also amazed by how physical you are. For a toddler, you are coordinated and have such a strong sense of balance. Your dad told me you were standing on a wheeley bug the other day, just to jump off. I couldn't manage that as an adult, and here you are as a toddler balancing with no effort. In addition to the crazy boy stuff, you also are a natural dancer. Any song can get you moving. I love the way you imitate the Backyardigans and dance along with anyone willing to cut the rug with you.

Baby, I love you. Every inch of you. Every marker obsessed and covered inch of you. And today as you gain another year, I am only a little sad to know you aren't really a baby anymore. You are quickly becoming a little boy. I look forward to standing back and watching my little whirlwind grow.

Well Hello Mr. Buzzkill

So I told Mr. Dog about my amazing good fortune aka Amazon Fresh and he just has to say,
"but we're trying to support local small business."
Woosh! That's the sound of wind going out of my sails. Damn him.

My Life Just Got Easier

I am taking time here to declare my undying love for Amazon.com. Today, they announced they would be offering Amazon Fresh, their grocery delivery service, to my office.
AND, if I order by noon, they'll deliver it the next day by 4 pm.
AND, they will have it ready for pick up right outside of the parking garage from 4-8 pm.
AND, there will be nice people there to pack it into my car for me so all I have to do it pop the back of my wagon, they'll do the lifting and carrying.
AND, I checked it out online and the prices are the same or less for the same products I buy at my local store.
AND, they have a big selection of organic produce and other products.
AND, did I mention there is no delivery charge?
Woo Hoo! I can be a monumental lazy ass and still have fresh groceries!

A BIG FAT SMOOCH for Amazon!

amazonfresh.com

Redefining "Cool".

I'm a busy lady, and most of the time I'm fueled almost entirely by caffiene. So sometimes, when I'm out and about, I'll hit the drive through Starbucks. Yeah, I know, Starbucks is evil, they squeeze out the little guy, their coffee isn't "all that" and they are a corporate nightmare. As much as I hear that, I can counter most of it, and for Christ sake, they have a DRIVE THROUGH for busy moms who's idea of hell is having to take my two kids out of their carseats, juggle coffee and food containers from the counter to the car and then con the kids back into their seats. Yeah, that's me.

Well, I bring this up because recently I've had some strange experiences at the drive through check out. Really. The twentysomething cashiers have on more than one occasion, looked into my car and said "Wow! Cool carseats!" Once, the cashier called another staff member over to show off my "cool carseats." See what I mean, that's just strange.

Let's start with the obvious. Cool carseats is an oxymoron. There is nothing cool about carseats, they are bulky, huge and not at all stylish. Sure mine have animal print covers, but that was really more of a sad attempt to look like I wasn't driving around with two ultra safe kid conveyors in the back of my "I scream mommy so loud you can't miss it" station wagon. Don't get me wrong, I like our carseats. They would keep my kids safe if we ever got into an accident, but they aren't cool. Really, they just aren't.

My second point of confusion is that these young, stylish women full of Seattle coffee culture attitude are even noticing the carseats. And it isn't only when there are kids in the car (yeah, I'll occasionally hit the drive through on my own, I'm that pathetic). They don't look like they have kids, they don't look like they should even take note of my Britax bling. And even stranger, one of the most enthusiatic compliments came from a guy. Maybe I'm sexist, but I think that is even more out of the realm of normal.

The first time I heard "Cool carseats!" I laughed. I thought she was kidding. She wasn't. I felt like an ass. Oh well, I guess new things are in with the younger set.

If I Could Talk to the Animals

We have dogs, and our dogs are a big part of our lives. The kids have been nearly peers with the dogs since they were born. At times, the kids have told me they were dogs as they crawled around on the floor barking at me. So it came as no surprise to hear Little Dog talking to Nikita this morning.

She had taken up her normal post on the guest room bed and he had crawled up next to her and was having a little chat.
"luv ooo Kita," he said, "nice gog Kita"
It was cute, there he was telling our big sweet pit bull what a lovely pet she was.
"nice Kita," a pause "yick ya bum! YICK YA BUM! Come on!"

I looked at NE and asked "Did he just say 'Lick your bum?'"
She cracked up and nodded. "That's what I heard," she confirmed.

"Yick ya bum! Come on! Yick ya bum!" he continued to prompt. When I went in to see what was going on, Nikita was laying on the bed peacefully ignoring the wild thing shouting at her to "YICK YA BUM!" and he was grinning ear to ear. Probably not the kind of thing Dr. Doolittle would have focused on, but there I never claimed my kids were traditionalists.