2008 December | Goddess in Progress

Archive for December 2008

One more snowfall

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (1)· December 31st, 2008

We had a snowy last day of 2008 here in Massachusetts. M ended up working from home due to an urgent client call and the accelerating snowfall. To keep the kids out of his hair while he was on a conference call, I took them outside to play in the snow. Thankfully, I managed to time it before it got windy and started coming down too hard. They weren’t too keen on the boots, but eventually realized they could walk in them just fine. And they won’t let a little thing like snow and cold get in the way of backyard fun.

Comments (1)

Categories : Photos, Toddlers

Tags : playing outside, snow

2008 in Pictures

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (6)· December 31st, 2008

I am blatantly stealing this idea from Little Bites of Heaven, who in turn borrowed it from Be Different… Act Normal. Incredible how much difference a year makes. It was incredibly hard to narrow it down to 12 pictures. In fact, the best I could do was 60+, and even that was hard. But if you want to see a bit more of 2008 in our world, I put together a Flickr photoset for the occasion (see left sidebar). Anyways, without further ado, a brief look back at the year that was, with links to each month’s archives…

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

Amazing, isn’t it? From little babies who couldn’t even sit up, to walking and talking toddlers. Can’t wait to see what 2009 brings…

Comments (6)

Categories : Child Development, Infants, Photos, Reminiscing, Toddlers

Tags : year in review

Food Rut

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (7)· December 30th, 2008

I feel like I’ve done a lot of cooking in the last two days. Maybe it’s because I’ve barely cooked a thing in the last month while I was at my parents’ house. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to get back on the WW wagon. Maybe I just missed being productive. But anyways, it reminded me of a question on my Q & A post from MereCat:

Here’s my burning question.. what do you feed your kids? Food is such a pain at our house, I’m always looking for ideas. And it’s different with twins, don’tchaknow.

Well, I feel like I’m in a bit of a rut, always making the same few things. But then, I realized, other people are in different ruts! So maybe we can all share our current toddler food ruts and switch things up a little. So here, in no particular order, are my go-to meals for the kids:

Grilled cheese – This is pretty much the first thing I make when I can’t think of anything to make. I like a mix of American and Mozzarella.
Pasta – Preferrably something filled like tortellini or ravioli, usually with jarred pasta sauce or pesto. Not to be attempted with light-colored clothing.
Roasted chicken – An easy go-to for parents and kids alike. I get the big package of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, and roast a whole bunch of them at once and keep them in the fridge. Cut ‘em up for a casserole, shred for tacos or burritos, or just cut some up for a sandwich. Rub some olive oil and season with salt and pepper, cook in a 375° oven for about 45 min. Let them cool, then store them (intact) in the fridge. Cut or shred as needed. For the kids, I’ll cut up chunks, toss them in a touch of barbeque sauce, and heat in the microwave with shredded cheese. We call it “Chicken à la Mommy.”
Turkey Chili – I make this recipe all the time for me and M, and the kids also love it. Especially with some cheese. And cornbread.
Hot Dogs – Second only to grilled cheese on my “aw, hell, I don’t know what to make” list. I prefer Hebrew National (since they don’t have Vienna Beef in Boston). And yes, I put both ketchup and mustard on it. M makes fun of me every time.
Fried Rice – Just made a big batch this afternoon. Rice, frozen mixed veggies, eggs, and tofu with a little sauce. Try to get in as many food groups as possible. Medium-grain brown rice makes it a little healthier and stickier (easier for little hands to pick up, and doesn’t dry out as quickly in the fridge).
Bell & Evans Chicken Nuggets – A little pricey and I can only get it at Whole Foods, but it’s awfully tasty. Especially with some barbeque sauce for dipping.

Other than that, I do try to give the kids leftovers of whatever M and I had. Do they love all of this stuff? Hey, they’re toddlers. Sometimes Rebecca will eat a big bowl of chili and still want some of her brother’s. Sometimes she’ll look offended if I try to give it to her. You just never know.

I’m trying not to get into the habit of preparing multiple things for each meal. I’ll put a few different things on their plate, like a bowl of chili plus some cut-up fruit and some veggies. But if they decide they don’t want chili, I’m not going to go make a grilled cheese. And some days they eat very little. Some days Rebecca will finish it all and Daniel will have none, and vice versa. They won’t starve.

So, everyone, what’s your food rut? What are your go-to easy toddler meals? Maybe we can all swap ruts for a while, and it’ll feel new… right?

Comments (7)

Categories : Cooking, Feeding, Toddlers, Your turn!

Tags : in a rut, reader questions

Good Trade

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (0)· December 30th, 2008

The kids have been slowly transitioning off their morning nap for a long time, now. I think it was around September that I started having to limit the morning nap for the sake of the afternoon. Since then, they’ve started staying awake longer, and sometimes not actually sleeping at all before I go to get them. It seems to roughly correspond with what time they get up in the morning. If it’s before 7:00, then they’ll probably sleep for at least some of that naptime. If it’s 7:30 or 7:45, then at least one of them will probably stay awake the whole time. But they really seemed to still need that morning down-time between 9:30 and 10:15, sleep or not.

[Yeah, I'm just going to toss in some random pictures from Chicago, since there are so many I have yet to share.]

Then, there was our crazy travel coming home. Stayed up way late at the airport, woke up when we landed around midnight and were up until we got home at 2AM. Slept until 9:00 that morning, and our normal routine was thrown out the window. One decent nap around 11:00, meals at weird times. Exhausted and an early bedtime at the stroke of 6.

But then, the next morning (yesterday), they didn’t get up until a mind-boggling 8:30. They were starting to wake up maybe 45 minutes before that, but would talk for a second and then be quiet for a while, so I didn’t get them until 8:30. Putting them down in the morning seemed silly, so I just kept them up until about 12:30. Slept until 3, and stayed up for a normal 6:30-7-ish bedtime. I figured it would be a fluke, still tired from traveling.

But… this morning… they did it again! Not a peep until nearly 8, and really pretty quiet until 8:30. So, I’ll give the one-nap thing a try again.

Don’t get me wrong, I already miss the morning break. Even if they didn’t sleep, it was a nice break for all three of us. Hell, it was when I could manage to get in a shower.

But if the trade-off for dropping a nap means they’ll sleep until after 8:00 in the morning? Holy crap, I’ll take it! Good deal! And yes, I know this might just be a passing phase. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll last at least a few more days…

[Find out how nearly four weeks of not counting points worked out for me over at the Ladies of Loserville...]

Comments (0)

Categories : Sleep, Toddlers

Tags : dropping a nap, nap transition, Naps

In one piece

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (5)· December 28th, 2008

Or, at least, in as many pieces as we started with… we’re finally home.

The flight last night ended up being delayed about two hours. We went intentionally late to the airport, which was a good call, and the airport itself was not at all crowded. In the security line, I noticed a double Combi stroller in front of us. Immediately, of course, I thought to myself: “twins or just siblings?” Got a peek at the kids, definitely twins. Then… wait a sec…. “Liz?” Yep, friend of mine from my MOT club. On the same flight as us, with her nearly-3-year-olds. Crazy, huh?

Otherwise, the flight was OK. Kids were up way past their bedtime, and it’s not as though there was no whining or crying. But walking up and down the halls (in pajamas and sneakers) and spotting several dogs kept them mostly entertained, and daddy even busted out the iPhone for a little emergency Elmo.

They slept most of the flight, and were in generally decent moods when they weren’t sleeping. No total airplane meltdowns, thankfully. Baggage took over an hour, and every time something got stuck and they stopped the carousel, I wanted to cry. It was 1:00 in the morning. We finally got home at 2, we all crashed nearly the instant our heads hit the pillows, and thankfully did not get up until 9AM. Kiddos have had an odd mid-day nap, and we’ll just have to see what the afternoon and evening brings.

Bummer that it’s Sunday and M has to go to work tomorrow, but at least he’s got Thursday and Friday off. Still lots of unpacking and other post-trip things to accomplish, but it feels really nice to be home.

Comments (5)

Categories : Toddlers, Travel

Tags : flight delays

It could be so much worse

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (4)· December 26th, 2008

I was going to log on and bitch about my flight being delayed.

And, delayed it was. We were on a 7pm flight tonight, which is already later than ideal with two toddlers who are usually in bed at that hour. Sadly, JetBlue only has one daily nonstop from Chicago to Boston, so there it is. As I mentioned earlier this afternoon, it started showing delayed way in advance. Suck-tastic. My dad and stepmom left this morning for California, so my mom was going to come pick us up and drive us all to the airport. We decided to still have her come get us, but we’d kill half an hour at her house and let the kids play with the dog one more time.

Checked the flight online again, and now it’s delayed an hour and a half, instead of an hour. Then, an hour and 45 minutes. Then two hours. A freakishly warm and wet weather system has moved into Chicago, making for incredibly dense fog and soon-to-start heavy rain. The prospect of waiting at the airport at 9 or 10pm with two past-their-bedtime toddlers was, shall we say, less than appealing. We decided to call and reschedule for the ass-crack of tomorrow morning, which also means flying through JFK. And, may I say, the fog and rain is still supposed to be around. Boo, and boo some more.

But you know what? I don’t even really deserve to complain. I’m not going home tonight, which is sad. Being delayed is no fun, being delayed on your way home with two toddlers when you’ve been away from home for 3 ½ weeks really kind of sucks. But it could be so, SO, SO much worse. And so, I remind myself, here’s why it doesn’t suck to be me right now:

When I called JetBlue to reschedule, I admit that I pulled the twin card right off the bat. I don’t know if it made a difference, but the woman on the phone was super friendly to me and got me on tomorrow morning’s flight with no cajoling and no change fees.
We were already at my mom’s, and she still had the booster seats and a ton of leftovers to feed the kids for dinner.
Mom is letting us drive her car to the airport, and leave it there for her to pick up, since we’re going ridiculously early in the morning.
We’re back at my dad’s house. It’s big, it’s comfortable. It has a nursery with comfy, familiar cribs for the kids and a bed for us. It has a fridge full of leftovers and there’s even still some milk left. I can even throw in one more load of laundry.
Even my Peapod order, which I so carefully planned to be delivered first thing tomorrow morning, was able to be canceled without a fee.
M got his dates mixed up (time and dates, not his strong suit), and accidentally made the reservation for the dog at the kennel to be a couple of days longer than we needed. And I hadn’t called to change it yet.
Though we have a potentially long-ish layover in JFK tomorrow, I was informed that they have a brand new terminal with free wi-fi and a kiddie play area.

I’m so glad we checked the flight before we left, and so glad we didn’t just decide to go and sit at the airport, anyways. I’m so glad that I’m in a comfy house and the kids are asleep. I’m so glad M is with me, and it’s the weekend so it doesn’t mean another day off of work for him.

I may yet curse the crazy Chicago weather patterns when I have to wake up at 4:00 tomorrow morning (or is that still technically tonight?). And tomorrow may be long and cranky and sucky. But, seriously, it could be SO much worse.

UPDATE:

Good thing I’m an internet addict and decided to check my email one last time before I went to bed. Early-morning flight was cancelled. [Beats finding out when my alarm goes off at 3:45 in the morning!] We’re re-scheduled for tomorrow evening. Extra day in Chicago, I guess…

Comments (4)

Categories : Toddlers, Travel

Tags : flight delays, JetBlue

Christmas Madness

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (1)· December 26th, 2008

We leave this evening to fly home. We’re almost entirely packed, four boxes full of toys and books have been dropped off to ship to Boston, and I’m enjoying a few last moments of calm before our insane travel night. The flight is later in the evening than I would prefer, to begin with. But it’s also already showing as delayed. Could get interesting.

In the meantime, while I have a few minutes, I thought I’d give you a run-down of what Christmas Day was like this year. While the addition of two toddlers makes it even more tricky, it’s not really all that different from what I’ve done for the last 15-20 years.

7:30AM – Kids wake up, we do the usual first-thing-in-the-morning routine.

8:00AM – My brother calls, is finally on his way to my dad’s house (despite the fact that I told him to get there at 8), and says he’ll stop for bagels on the way. I can hear the precious minutes tick by, as I know we’re on a tight schedule.

8:45AM – Brother and sister-in-law arrive, we can finally have some breakfast and open presents. Madness. Wrapping paper and boxes everywhere. It’s actually not as over-the-top as it has been in the past, but my dad doesn’t really know the meaning of the word moderation.

9:30AM – Presents are done, rush the kids upstairs for their morning rest/nap. No time to shower, just wash face, change clothes, and otherwise prepare to dash out the door as soon as we get the kids up.

10:15AM – Wake up kids, change into festive gear, head over to my mom’s sister’s house. All six of mom’s siblings (and their spouses and kids) are there. Toddler nap schedules means we’ve skipped going to my mom’s house entirely. Seems like someone is always getting short-changed.

10:30AM – More food, people, and presents with mom’s family. Kids eat their body weight in Harry & David pears, bananas, bacon, and more bagels.

12:15PM – Kids start to melt down. Lots of people, lots of noise, and nearly nap time. Head back to dad’s house and put them into their cribs for a 1PM nap.

1:00PM – Kids are up for their nap. M and I sit down, exhausted, and wonder how it could only be 1 in the afternoon.

3:30PM – Kids wake up, change into another adorable holiday outfit. Dad’s family begins to arrive. Within an hour, there are easily 35 people in the house. Cousins, aunts, and uncles galore. Fun to see my toddlers with older (like 3-6 years old) kids. Even more presents. Even more food. Preschoolers putting on impromptu singing recitals and playing pool. Aunts and uncles playing cards or LCR for dollar bills. Dining room table loaded with enough food for a small country. General madness ensues.

6:00PM – M starts giving me the eye and asking when I want to put the kids to bed.

6:25PM – M is cranky because I didn’t take the kids up to bed 25 minutes ago.

7:00PM – Kids are exhaused, bathed, and in bed. Extended family is taking down dad’s tree, packing up leftovers, and putting tired kids into pajamas for the drive home.

8:00PM – Oh shit, are we seriously going to another party? Back to mom’s house for her Christmas Night party. [Too tired to take any more photos.] Same crowd as the morning, plus about 25 more. Mobbed. Another dinner. We stay until the old Michael Jackson starts playing and all of the inebriated relatives start dancing. Gotta go!

10:30PM – Crash into bed. M wonders aloud if we’re really going to keep doing this every year. I don’t bother to answer. Fun. Exhausting. Family. Traditions. Can’t wait to go home. [Will absolutely do it again next year.]

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Categories : Family, Holidays

Merry Christmas

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (3)· December 25th, 2008

Merry Christmas, blogosphere! I hope everyone is having a lovely day, whether you celebrate the holiday or not. We’re enjoying a brief break in the madness with the kiddos’ afternoon nap. When they get up, it’ll be just in time for the party to re-start. Tomorrow, we pack it all up, take boxes of goodies to the UPS store for shipping home, and fly back to Boston. It’s been, on the whole, a really great trip. But I’m more than ready to be home.

Many more photos to come, but here’s a quick peek at my dad’s house this morning before it was covered in torn wrapping paper and overrun with relatives.

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Categories : Holidays, Photos

Hop on the horse

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (2)· December 23rd, 2008

I’m full of short blog entries today. A new language development for Daniel on HDYDI, a big “no comment” on the Ladies of Loserville.

And here, well, here you get cute pictures. When my dad set up the kids’ nursery in his house last Christmas, one of his favorite things was this little Radio Flyer bouncing rocking horse thing. Last year, at four months, they were too little for it. This year, they just wanted nothing to do with it. But my dad was determined to get them on it before our visit was over. He sat on it himself, he encouraged them to check it out. We left it in their nursery so they’d get used to seeing it. And today… victory!

Note: It was immediately post-diaper-change and pre-nap, hence the lack of pants.

Note 2: They’re a little blurry, what with my hatred of my camera’s flash and the low indoor light. Must get flash like LauraC, who I apparently always feel the need to copy where camera supplies are concerned. And why did I not know this was something I wanted until after everyone stopped asking what I wanted for Christmas, just like last year? Apparently January is my month for new camera gear.

Comments (2)

Categories : Photos, Toddlers

Tags : rocking horse

Happy Hannukah

By Goddess in Progress · Comments (5)· December 22nd, 2008

A very Happy Hannukah to any and all out there who are celebrating. A few years ago, when I converted to Judaism, my very sweet dad and stepmom got a big kick out of buying a Menorah to put out with the rest of the holiday decorations. It was sweet of them, but whether an issue of timing or laziness, it was never lit. Last night, though, they were all excited about celebrating the first night of Hannukah with us. So, I cooked up a storm (brisket, latkes with homemade applesauce, and noodle kugel). The kids had their first latkes, and Rebecca, for one, is solidly anti-sour cream. Later, we lit the candles and played dreidel for money. Actually, none of us (M included) had ever played dreidel, and we fairly quickly decided it’s kind of boring. So we switched to the similarly-inspired Left, Right, Center – always a favorite at our house, and Dad won the whopping $15 pot.

All of this reminded me of my friend Tara’s question on an earlier Hot Seat post:

I know you converted to Judiasm when you married M, although you grew up Christian. I think you’ve mentioned before something about Christmas. So I’m wondering what your “plans” are for teaching your kids about religion and balancing the various holiday celebrations that your extended families take part in.

The answer is… I’m not really sure. I know, lame. But I really am not entirely sure how I want to deal with this, and have happily used the excuse of “they’re too young to understand, anyways” so far. I wrote about it last year around this time, and I haven’t gotten much further in my thinking.

So, for the background: I grew up in a Catholic-ish house. My parents were never the church-going type, but sent us to Sunday School because, you know, it’s what you’re supposed to do. Some members of my (large, Irish) extended family are more practicing than we were, but religion was not a big part of my life growing up. I spent a few years loosely self-identifying as Episcopal, mostly because there was a church I really enjoyed, but I wasn’t really into the specifics of the actual belief system.

It was in college, in an intro to religion class, that I first toyed with the idea of considering Judaism. But I never really took it anywhere. Then, I met M. His dad is Puerto Rican, his mom is the daughter of German Jewish immigrants who fled Europe in the earliest days of WWII. When talking about a possible future together, M always said it was important to him to raise his (someday) kids Jewish. Sounded good to me!

Anyways, I started reading, eventually decided I wanted to actually convert, myself (zero pressure from M or my future in-laws… we weren’t even engaged at the time). It was a great experience, but a long one. By the time it was “official,” I was a little burned out and we haven’t brought a lot of practice into our daily lives. No nearby synagogue that we really like, and Friday evening services just don’t jive with our kids’ early bedtime.

But I do want it to be a part of our kids’ lives. I want to do nice, family Friday Shabbat dinners. I want to have beloved Jewish traditions. But I also want to come back to Chicago every Christmas. I want them to be a part of what is, to me, a great family holiday. And I still don’t know how I’m going to explain those things to them in a way that is truthful and unambiguous, but without sucking any of the joy from either side.

Yep. Still putting it off until next year…