March 29th, 2011

Mom's Stuff:
I've been thinking a lot recently about what it means to be a "working mom." First of all EVERY mom I know is a working mom - and every dad I know is a working dad - and every same-sex couple I know has a pair of working moms or working dads. Here is some news for anyone thinking of having children: parenting is serious work!!! And someone also has to earn money somewhere in there as well.

I'm incredibly lucky to have my amazing husband also be a stay-at-home-dad. But he works his butt off, and so do I, both as a mom, and in my full-time bread-winning role (by the way, there has got to be another name for that. I mean, come'on. I barely buy bread, let alone win it!). I often feel a like I would like to talk to more women in my position. I have read some stuff about life from the stay-at-home-dad, or about working moms where both parents work outside the home. And I sometimes feel like a total whiner when I start to feel like my life is too hard - because I have it soooo much better than most people. I would love to talk to more moms in my situation if they are out there. I feel like I would like to talk to others who have navigated the mom/breadwinner role and hear their thoughts - not for answers, but just someone else to validate the thoughts and feelings I have.

LP's Stuff:
LP had a great time at his first birthday party last weekend. He enjoyed a huge cupcake (all for him!) and running around with some really great "big" kids. Of course, to be fair, almost every kid is "big" to him. He also had a great time with his aunt and her awesome roommate! They did a good job keeping LP busy all weekend! LP has figured out how to give hugs, and he is having fun with it. When he and the G-man went to Together in Motion LP went around hugging a bunch of kids. The only problem is his "hugs" often start from behind the kid and involves his arms around their neck. He means well, but it isn't the most effective way to approach someone. Luckily, he also gives people great hugs from the normal way, which his dad and I are enjoying immensely!

LP is learning to communicate with more than hugs. He has learned the sign for "more" which is great at meal time. Unfortunately, he thinks it is the sign for "gimme what I want" and uses it whenever he wants something that he can't have (chocolate chips, dad's wine, a knife, etc.) In his defense, that meaning makes as much sense as "more" from his experiance of the sign (where he makes it, we applaud and then give him more of what he wanted). So, we're working on clarifying the meaning for him.

Food:
LP continues to eat what we eat, and a lot of it! He chowed down on two pieces of vegan pizza from Peace 'O Pie last week, and over the weekend he enjoyed toast, cupcakes, lentils and numerous other goodies. This week he has enjoyed dinners of risotto, lentil/orzo soup and he continues to follow his routine of blueberry baby mix in the morning, followed by avocado and veggie dogs or tempeh (sometimes with some miso soup thrown in) for lunch.

Pictures:

March 15th, 2011

Mom's Stuff:
I'm hesitant to jinx it, but I'm feel pretty good about how things have been going lately. The weather is getting better, so I am able to bike to work again (and therefore get home earlier - biking is faster than taking the bus)! I've been getting home in time to hang out with LP and for the whole family to eat dinner together. I've also tried to keep my work at home to a reasonable level, which means working a lot more on Friday afternoons and giving up on some things. Some (ok, a lot) of my lessons haven't gone as well as they could have, and some papers have not gotten graded as quickly as possible, but I am getting the basics done. And, most importantly, I get to see my little guy as much as possible!

LP's Stuff:
We both love LP, but his dad and both agree - he can be quite a destructive force! LP wants to move ALL the time. He is pretty much done with nursing before bedtime, but that has turned bedtime into a bit of a battle to get him to calm down. The time change this weekend did not help with this process. However, LP really is an incredibly great kid. He loves being able to go outside and run around. He loves getting to go for rides to the park or the store in his really awesome red wagon. He also can be quite a party animal - he went out to a friend's house with us a few weekends ago and he was the life of the party until 9 pm when Dad and I started to poop out!

LP is also starting to get more sounds and play with talking a bit more. He now says "ga" for any furry four-legged creature (including both dogs and cats). He hasn't said "ma" for a few weeks, and he still hasn't said "da" at all, but he does know a "ga" when he sees one! He is also asserting his will a bit more and demanding that he handle his own spoon during meals, which means that both hilarity and extreme messiness result.

Food:
As a vegan family, we do want to make sure our baby gets enough protein. Frankly, any family should make sure their baby gets enough protein - and the best stuff doesn't come from animals! LP is a huge fan of tempeh especially when it is marinated. We usually marinate cubes in the smokey tempeh marinade (which has some veggie broth, soy sauce, garlic, maple syrup and a bit of liquid smoke) from Veganomicon and then grill them on a cast iron skillet for about 5 minutes on each side. These little cube are great hot, cool or heated up again in the microwave or toaster over. LP loves then - we just cut them up into baby-friendly pieces and stick them on his tray - he eats this high-quality protein right up!

Pictures:

March 3rd, 2011

Mom's Stuff:
Today is a big day - LP is turning one year old! It is kind if exciting to look back and think about where I was a year ago - in a ton of pain, but still pretty excited. I still pretty vividly remember the point in labor where I realized that, no matter how much pain I was in, the kid wasn't going to turn around - the sooner he (it) was out, the better off I was going to be! It is really amazing to look at LP now and think about the fact that, a year ago he was just an abstract idea in many ways - we didn't even know his sex, and my only focus was to get him out of my body as fast as humanly possible. Now he is a walking, (sorta) talking little dude, with a ton a personality! Sometimes I don't know how much I am really molding my child - he dad is the one who is home with him all day. But then every once in a while I see my influence (genetic or otherwise) creeping out- usually when LP asserts his will. Watching LP grow and change this first year has been totally amazing, and it makes me so happy to think about all the fun, interesting, exciting (as well as painful, excruciating, difficult and intense) times we will continue to have with him year after year. And so continues the roller-coaster we call parenting.

LP's Stuff:
For his first birthday LP had a wonderful day! He and his dad went to the Museum of Science, where he got to run around the children's area (and I mean literally run). LP and his dad also hung out and watched the tamarind monkeys for a while, and the museum host wished LP a happy birthday! The boys then came home for LP's nap, after which he opened his presents and skyped with his grandma and grandpa. Finally, he ended his special day with a special dinner - pizza! We made a yummy pizza with Daiya cheese, bell peppers, red onions and pineapple - and LP loved it!! He really enjoyed the sticky cheese, and he had a goopy, cheesy grin after each bite. He followed up by skyping with his Uncle and then going to bed after a nightly reading of Goodnight Moon. All in all it was a busy day for a little guy, but he had a great time on his first day as a one-year old!

Food Stuff:
As mentioned above, our little vegan baby did enjoy his first vegan cheese! He is long beyond baby mush as food, so here is a little "taste" of LP's favorite foods these days:

Green Smoothies: I have been making green smoothies using kale, frozen mango, banana and orange juice. These smoothies are really delicious, according to both me and LP. When I am enjoying my smoothie in the morning, he shares with me by using his new-found straw-sucking skill. I'm not measuring, but I think it is safe to say he is getting about a 1/3 of my glass. Grilled Tempeh: We have been loving the smoky grilled tempeh recipe from Veganomicon. It involves a marinade of maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic and liquid smoke - need I say more. We marinate the tempeh and grill it up and it is a favorite of LP. He enjoys it so much, he often won't have much else on his plate if we bring out the tempeh first!

Pictures and Video:

LP with his great-grandparents (he has four of them - how awesome is that!)



I'll help you clean dad!