THEY ALL ASK'D FOR YOU

We went on down to the Audubon Zoo...
and it was a very humid free day, not cool, but nicer than it has been so it felt like fall (it's all relative). So we went to the zoo
and they all ask'd for you
It was fun. We went with our friends and we strolled around. The little Buddy and C didn't really care about the animals but they chatted the whole time. They had a lot to talk about. They hadn't seen each other since coffee.
The monkeys ask'd, the tigers ask'd
The gorillas were hilarious. a bit scary. The biggest one was hangin' out. Didn't have much going on. He had one arm propped up oh-so casually behind him and one leg bent up on the bench. It's scary how much they act like us. I kept trying to get W to look at him because he was staring us down but he was more concerned with catching up with C. And then in the distance there was another one laying on his back with one knee bent and the other leg crossed over with his right arm covering his eyes - must've had a crazy night, that one. C kept saying "ruff, ruff" because he figured since dogs go like that all other four legged creatures probably say it too. Pretty smart deduction, I thought. and W must have agreed but he just responded with another "ruff, ruff" when C prompted him. It went on pretty much throughout the zoo.
And the elephants ask'd me too.
They didn't feel like venturing too far out from the shade so we saw them from afar.

Then we went on the carousel. Throw up-it made us so dizzy. but the boys were okay. You forget how kids can twirl around for hours and still be standing. It was fun though. I felt like a kid again.

So we lolled the day away at the zoo. Then we came home. W has been under the weather. He was sick twice today and has 100 degree fever. But he was in great spirits and the on-call doctor was an idiot (oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh, I don't know, ooooohhhhhhh, I guess it could be, oooohhh, I don't know what it is, maybe a cold, oooohhh, maybe a stomach virus, I just don't know) or maybe she just didn't know. So I am praying that we won't have anymore episodes, that his fever will go down and it is a 24 hour thing, and we can have a great Friday!

You know what?

I really have been blocking it out, subconsciously, I guess, the anniversary of Katrina. Of course, I didn't forget because W was born 10 days before but I just wasn't into watching all the hooplah. Until today when I read the paper and then listened to a friend talk about the coverage she watched. So reluctantly, we watched the foxnews coverage tonight. It's the home videos that really got me. It truly is unbelievable but you know what? I am ready to move on. I'm ready for New Orleans to move on to bigger and better.

I went to a new shop today. Angelique Baby on Magazine. A cool place, very clean and white and inviting. I was telling J about a purse that I LOOOOVED-and before I could finish he asked, "A new store on Magazine, after Katrina?" Yes. YES!!!! You know what? they had the guts to do it, so check it out.

I've been very depressed about NOLA lately. The real estate market, the dirt, the crime, the streets, the streetcars, the attitude, all of it. I could go on and on. But you know what? We always bitched about the state of our city. We love it anyway, because it is the coolest, most soulful, most unique city in America. We need to live it and love it and promote it like there is no tomorrow.

Because you know what? When you say that you would rather be somewhere else, you may not know it, but you're lying.

Survivor

I was blogsurfing today and I came across a post about the new Survivor. Now, I'd heard from my husband the news-he said there was some hoo-rah about it but I didn't really understand so I didn't think about it again. Not until I read the post on (which I just found and absolutely love)Musings of Stressed Out Mom.

In case you aren't aware of it (and you care) there will be 4 teams instead of 2. The 4 teams will be separated by race. African American, White, Asian and Hispanic. and people are OUTRAGED! J is a lot smarter than me and he likes to hash out things he feels passionate about so I asked him, "Am I missing something? What's the big deal. They are not discrimating against any one race." His answer was that he didn't get it either.

I'll tell you. I'm much more concerned about the fact that Gene Simmons' sister-in-law brought a body piercer to his house while he andShannon were out of town to pierce the belly button of their 13 year old daughter. (see Gene Simmons' Famil Jewel review blog) Now that's a reason to be outraged.

But back to Survivor...if anyone can explain the hoo-rah to me, I'd be very appreciative.

Fell off the wagon

While on vacation I stumbled upon a book, a healthy way of eating book, I won't go into details. It's been awhile since i've been on a health kick. Before I got pregnant I was a Body for Lifer. I swore by it. It was my bible. and then....I got pregnant....and fat. It was all worth it but I never got back on. So anyway, I stumbled upon this new book and it gave me the inspiration I needed and I've been back on. Since Wednesday. I know, not that long. But I felt GREAT! and skinny. Not saying I AM skinny. I just felt skinny. Until.....I fell off the wagon. at the hands of the great, great Superior Platter. You know the one. I've talked about it before. And it was one of the best ones I've ever had. CHEEEESE like you've never seen before. I didn't eat the Superior enchilada. Just the chicken and ground beef taco and a lot of chips. Imagine that. BUT. Here's the kicker. I didn't have a margarita. No L. No Uncle RaRa. I didn't have a margarita. So tomorrow I'm back on the wagon.

Gotta go.

I'm going to get that margarita. Ole!

Healthy Snacks

He's still not eating at mealtimes. I am now feeding him snacks instead of feeding him when he takes his bottles. It's working, sort of but it depends on the day. He's eaten so far:
Guacamole
Bananas
Graham Crackers
(Will not eat scrambled eggs)
(Will not eat cheese)
Yogurt
(Will not eat peanutbutter)

Taking it day by day. Found some good ideas at Healthy Kids Snacks

Mom Blog Sites

I've been looking again for other mom blogs. Not many NOLA mom bloggers but I ran across this list today of mom blogs. Check it out
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/07/the_ultimate_mo.html

I'm on my way to check it out more closely. I'll let you know if I have a favorite.

Whew! for now

Thank goodness. It looks like Ernesto is headed to Florida. I was freaking out. J didn't seem too concerned but he never really is. A true optimist, that one. For Katrina, although at the time it was a nightmare, atleast W was a 10 day old baby and didn't really know that he was being uprooted. This time, ughhh, I don't even want to think about it. But I can't stop thinking about it.

Today I am backing up all of our pictures we have on the computer, for 2 reasons. In case we have to evacuate and in case for some odd reason our computer crashes. My dad's crashed a few months ago and we lost all the pictures from when W was a little baby. Luckily, I have photos a friend took at his christening during that same time.

Only 3 more months, right? of this constant worry about hurricanes.

Good Night

TGIF. We had margaritas tonight
The recipe:
2 ounces goooooood Tequila
2 ounces Grand Marnier
2 ounce fresh lime juice
2 ounces fresh orange juice

Shake in an icy cocktail shaker
Pour into cocktail glass filled with ice

We call it: AnJo's Mojo Margarita

How's it goin'?

While I'm on a roll here....

How are my new mother's doing? more specifically MemphisMom and MetairieMom? Remind us about what it's like when there are relatively itty bitty? Are they sleeping through the night? Any advice for soon to be moms?

I met a girl in North Carolina who desperately needs advice. I do remember this, crying at BabiesRUs and running out the door. I was so overwhelmed with all of the choices. I never registered. Wipe warmers, co-sleepers, mattresses, cribs, bottle warmers, bottle kits, nursing kits, bathtubs, soap, wedges----AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I told her all she needed was a bunch of onesies, a bunch of diapers, some wipes and pacifiers. How was that for starters?

Whas up, Oprah?

I don't watch much tv anymore during the day. I DVR alot of stuff and watch it at night or on the weekends. Ever since we discovered the wonders of DVR I record Oprah but I probably have watched 3 out of 50 and erased the rest. Oprah, I ask you, What is up? Nothing on mom's, except the ones like "Have you let yourself go?" Which I have but that's besides the point. I want an informational show. I'm doing my part here, with NolaMom and all, but it takes awhile to get it out there, to get people contributing, to get people to comment, to create an actual forum, not to mention the huge learning curve on formatting a blog. So Oprah, can you do your part? I'd love to see normal mothers, young (like my friends L, C, and S), middle of the road (like Crazy Sista) and old (like me, A and D) on Oprah. Talking. Surviving Motherhood is doing it. Which I love by the way. But there is nothing prime time. Oprah always mentions that motherhood is the hardest job, so why can't I be on there, asking questions? Just a thought. I've always wanted to be on Oprah.

Still thinking about it...

I'm still thinking about it. The food issue. Since W turned 1 I have been so excited about new food opportunities. I let go IMMEDIATELY of any food fears I had-they scare you to death about eggs, peanutbutter, strawberries, milk etc. But something in me clicked and I just thought-boom-he'd start eating normal food. So I went on a grocery shopping spree for him. What was I thinking? he is no different than he was a month ago. It's just that I all of a sudden I had permission to not be so worried (from my doctor, who doesn't worry about anything and if he is your pediatrician you'll know of whom I am speaking). But every baby is different. Someone can tell me to give him peanutbutter and I'll try that, like I did today, and he won't let it anywhere near his mouth. Other babies looove scrambled eggs and others-meat sticks! Blah! So what I've decided is...there are no answers. You just have to experiment. Let him see you eating something. If they show interest-let 'em have it! Kind of like the special man says. Because once I thought about it, those are the foods that he likes. The ones he sees me or J eating.

And after all of my bitching about my doctor not worrying...about anything...he was right. Make sure he has healthy options in front of him and let him choose. No use dealing with a meltdown over it. He'll eat when he's hungry. Even if it's 18 Nilla Wafers (they're healthy, aren't they).

So although I've come to my own conclusion, any input is much appreciated by us Nola Moms who are embarking on a whole new world of toddler feeding.

I've been on hiatus. I'm back.

While we were gone W wouldn't eat anything except his bottle which is now mostly milk. He didn't have any problem with the switchover. He is now gloriously gobbling down Nilla Wafers (like father, like son) and even licked a few fingerfuls of guacamole. He doesn't much enjoy the cheese uncrustables I got him-so I did my best not to eat the leftovers.

Other suggestions for what to feed picky new eaters from veteran moms:
Peanutbutter
Danimals (yougurt type smoothies, first I have to teach him to eat out of a straw which I don't think will be a big challenge)

That's all I've gotten. Any others will be much appreciated. I picked up my Babywise: the Toddler years book. I swear by Babywise so I thought it may be of help-wasn't. Not near as informational. I'm on the lookout and I've come across some other blogs that talk about feeding toddlers. I'll look into that again and post it up here.

Sorry I missed Wine Down this week. I was traveling. But check it out anyway-I'm posting it today.

Sorry! I didn't get to talk about Laguna Beach. We are on vacation and having a fabulously relaxing time, so I may be remiss in writing for the next few days.

Quick Laguna comment
Cammie is awful. I cannot stand her-so much so that it may deter me from watching-it would be one thing if her inner self were pretty-it's not-she has such an ugly personality. She thinks she's funny. She's not. How about the girls who were such bitches at the party. Who was ever that mean?

Growing up
I'm having dreams that he is full on talking. Like he said, "It's my first birthday" very clearly. His r's were a bit off but he was talking. He also said "Listen". Wierd.

Travel
W is the best baby. He was so good on the plane. It's funny though, from the moment we started to board until the end of the flight, every passenger, stewardess etc. acted like he didn't exist. Not like everyone has to coo at him and tell us how cute he is, but no one was making eye contact. I think it's the "if I look at him theory he will exist and will cry the whole way". I've been there. The only thing he did that was mildly annoying to another passenger was bang on our tray. Not even on the one behind the man. At first I was just glad to have him do anything that would distract him from the crampiness of the seats, and atleast he wasn't crying but the man looked back so we had to stop him in his glory. When we were getting off, that's when people starting raving about him, I guess since there was no chance of them being annoyed anymore.

So here we are. He's having a grand time. Exploring a new place. The weather's cool-really a non issue. It's not cold or hot. It just is. No pouring sweat getting him in and out of the car seat. It's awesome.

Milk
We are gradually switching him over. 5 ounces of formula to 3 ounces of milk. Doctor said we could quit formula cold turkey but that made me nervous since he was out of his element anyway. He seems to love it. We're drinking 2% here and even that tastes like cream to me-imagine WHOLE MILK. How could you not love it?

Laguna Beach

Oh my ga! We'll talk tomorrow.

To W on your Birthday

You are 1 year old today! and as promised here's a photo of your birthday cake. Made exclusively by NolaMom (and Duncan Hines of course). I must say it is adorable. Uncle RR said it was much better than the first one I tried, which I thought was cute too so who's to say he's not lying about liking this one too.

I cannot believe it-my baby is growing up. Poor thing, you've had a day. We got a flat tire early this morning and had to walk home in the 100 degree heat when all you wanted was your bottle. The rest of the day has been spent, waiting to get it fixed and getting it fixed. We played with friends for an hour this afternoon though. So atleast we had a bit of fun time.

You wouldn't eat your carrots for lunch but since it's your birthday I didn't force the issue and let you have yogurt. We go to the doctor tomorrow. I can't wait. I need to finally get to the bottom of this eating thing. You still love your bottles and really only likes sweet things-fruit, yogurt and such. For lunch I can usually get you to eat vegetables or lasagna or something else but by the time dinner rolls around...well, you won't eat anything except your bottle. I don't know what we'll do once we switch to milk. I hope the doctor has answers but...I doubt it.

You're not walking yet but you're cruising around like nobody's business. You love to stand and will even take a few steps so it shouldn't be much longer. You finally have hair, just a little blond bit, but hair nonetheless. Today you started sharing things and you belly laughed every time you gave me something, so I belly laughed too. Your laugh is much cuter than mine, but I couldn't help myself. Cheers to one year past and another great year on the way.

Happy, Happy Birthday, my little sweet potato pie. I love you. Mom

P.s. I've included Veuve Cliquot on the Wine Down in honor of the big day! Let us all drink champagne! except for Baby W of course.

Email Chief Riley

A friend saw a drug deal go down in front her house today. She lives Uptown in a good neighborhood and saw it happen with her own eyes. She happened to be looking out of her window. I'm not lying-she saw the exchange of money, the guy count the money, hand some pills over to the other guy. She called 911, she called the neighborhood security, she called the district police department, she called the mayor's office. No concern from anyone. It's a sad day in New Orleans. The district police department told her they couldn't do anything about it. That's nice. They're just lazy is what it is. easier for them to stop someone with an expired break tag. This is the city we live in. It's only a matter of time before someone gets shot in Audubon Park.

She is a passionate citizen. She loves New Orleans. She pays her taxes. She supports local merchants but now she is talking about moving. I don't blame her. Is this the kind of city in which we want our babies to grow up? We have to start screaming!!!!!

Gone are the days when you could walk around after dark. But come on, before we know it we won't be able to walk around in broad daylight without fearing for our lives. If you care, please email Chief Riley and let him know we won't stand for it. Tell everyone you know. Create a ruckus, I tell you!

I'm no certified nursing consultant, but...

I nursed both my girls for 13 1/2 months each, so I have some hard experience I can share. I've been through everything and anything that can happen during breastfeeding. Here's where my disclaimer comes in...breastfeeding DOES NOT prevent pregnancy, as I have gotten pregnant with both my 2nd and 3rd children while nursing the 1st and 2nd, respectively.

First I should say I believe that nusing, for some, just comes easier than it does for others, through no fault of the mother. It's not about wanting to or not wanting to do it. So don't be too hard on yourself if it just doesn't work out. For example, some babies can be allergic to something in your milk and there is nothing you can do, but make the best situation for your baby and yourself by talking to your pediatrician.

That being said, I AM a huge proponent of breastfeeding. I really enjoyed it, it was very natural for me, my husband was very supportive of it, and I truly enjoyed the benefits it gave me (along with the benefits for baby, of course). The endorphins that breastfeeding produced for me was sometimes better than sex. Okay, that sounds sick, but what I mean is that it was really relaxing...like I could feel a "wave of calm" come over me when my milk let down. As time went on, though, this feeling of calm waned as the milk production slowed down. But I "milked" it for everything it was worth! Now of course I'm going to milk my husband's offer for breast augmentation & a lift!!!

Breastfeeding was also so easy for me. I got to the point where I could do it one-handed, while I was fixing a bowl of cereal for my older baby, and talking on the phone, all at the same time. And I felt comfortable enough to do it anywhere. If you can nurse your child (discretely) in your husband's restaurant, and talk to the owner while doing it without him knowing...you've gotten pretty good. Of course I would never do it in front of someone who was going to be uncomfortable...I did spend a lot of time in many public restrooms or the back seat of my car nursing my girls. I even had to pull over on the Causeway bridge once.

So really all I'm trying to say is if you have any questions or concerns or need advice or hints about nursing, feel free to ask. I probably have experienced your situation or pain and can tell you what worked for me. And sometimes it's just easier to ask another mom instead of your pediatrician or a lactation consultant that can make you feel badly that it's not going so well.

Lastly, I'm not one of those freaking moms out there that talk about nursing to everyone they meet on the street, and when I say I nursed my girls until they were 13 1/2 months--those last several months were just a morning and nighttime events, not like when the walking child comes up the mother and says I want nummies. Weird!

Okay, now go celebrate National Breastfeeding Awareness Month! I need to go convince myself that my boobs have gotten bigger and not so droopy from breastfeeding : ))

The Party's Over...

and I'm exhausted. I had such a busy weekend-what with the in-laws in town, my mom's birthday and 'the birthday party'. I was on my feet all day Friday making the cake and lasagna for my in-laws. They were both de-licious. I make a mean lasagna and I have just discovered I make mean birthday cake too with the help of Duncan Hines. I know, it was originally Betty Crocker but when I went to stir up the mix I realized I bought the wrong box. But take it from me, a yellow cake from a box is a yellow cake from a box. Although I do have to suggest going with the Moist Deluxe not the butter cake. The butter cake wasn't as moist as the Moist Deluxe, hence the name. The cake was adorable and a picture is on it's way tomorrow. My fingers were sore from squeezing all the icing dollops but it was well worth it.

Party:we made the mistake of not feeding W his 2pm feeding. He puts nothing in his mouth except for an occasional graham cracker so we thought if we didn't feed him he would be ready to eat all the cake making for a good photo op. (That sounds horrible, doesn't it?) Well really, he was all smiles and wasn't even ready for the bottle until the minute we put him in his high chair in front of the cake. That didn't go over too well. Then my mom picked him up thinking that would help, it didn't, and he didn't tolerate the party hat too well either.

After he drank his bottle I tried again. I dipped the candle in icing and he lapped it up, laughed and then willfully ate the cake. He loved it!

W was in surprisingly good spirits all afternoon except for the above mentionned rejecting of the cake.

The champagne was exactly what I needed and I think the perfect addition to a one year old birthday party.

I'm thinking of putting together a book especially for his 1 year party. I am not a scrapbooker. But I thought it would be cute to put his candle and invitation and pictures and what not in a separate book from his birthday. and have a book for each year? May be too ambitious. maybe I will stick with just this year.

That's all. I'm tired and going to bed.

Nursing

A friend of a friend just had a baby and I heard she was having trouble breastfeeding. I only nursed for 5 months but I was proud I made it that far. It definitely got easier towards the end but the first few months were filled with anxiety, and Katrina didn't help. Anyway, I was miserable. I never knew how much he was getting, if he was getting enough, if he was hungry, if he was latched on correctly, why he was crying when he was eating---so many questions. I scoured the internet looking for answers and anyone to talk to about it. It was hard to find , which is one of the reasons I started this blog-as support for moms. Unfortunately, I am not nursing now so I am out of that phase and don't remember much but I welcome any and all questions or comments. I bet Crazy Sista has some good advice too. She actually was one of the few people who kept me from quitting after 10 days.

But to those who are at the beginning stages of nursing-I can tell you take it day by day. and I remember I desperately asked the pediatrician if I needed to keep nursing and he told me if you don't enjoy it don't feel guilty quitting. I couldn't imagine at the time that I would ever enjoy it but amazingly enough I got there. So hang in there and keep asking questions to anybody you can find. That will keep you going if you want to keep going.

You say it's your birthday

Oh my gosh. I am so anxious. W's birthday party is this Saturday and I am a wreck. We are only having family and close friends so it's not a production by any means. I just had such an idea in my head of how I wanted it to all go down and it's not going to go down like that. I have begun to realize that I love planning but planning and executing are different matters entirely. So, I just need to relax, have fun and drink champagne as I am secretly wondering, "How did it all go by so fast?"

Can't Put It Down

A friend told me about this book a few months ago. I've added it to my book list and I haven't even finished reading it. I've barely begun but I can't put it down. The Blessings of a Skinned Knee. More later, gotta go read.

Wednesday Wine Down

Someone asked what the Wednesday Wine Down was all about. Not much-no big grand idea or anything-I just think that we need to pamper ourselves every now and then. You may find that you would rather get a manicure, pedicure or massage. Go for a run. Take a hot bath with no one around. Me, nothing sounds better than a good glass of wine.

A friend of mine told me a story once. Every afternoon she would stroll around Audubon Park about 3pm. Every afternoon she saw an acquaintance, another mom, doing the same thing and she always had a big go cup in her hand. Finally one day she asked her what was in the cup. She said it was her afternoon energy drink. Vodka and Cranberry. Now, 3 pm is a tad bit early. I wait until atleast 5 or 6 o'clock and I don't drink vodka. But some of my most fun days have been "wine down" at my house with other moms. We get together, have a glass of wine and just hang out.

So in honor of those days I will post a good bottle of wine for your "wine down". Why Wednesday? because it makes for a good alliteration (sp?)

I'm not encouraging drinking or getting sloshed because truth is you have a baby and you need to be responsible. So everything in moderation.

The funny things they do.

Everyday it's something new. One day he is clapping his hands with closed fists, the next day with one hand open the other closed and before you know it he is full on clapping. His newest thing is a new sound. You remember the commercial with 4 guys screaming, "Whaz uuuuup?!" That's what it sounds like-but instead of saying "Whaz uuuup?!" he's saying "Aaaaaahhhhgggg" Raspy throat and all. Like he just took a big gulp of a cold beer. It's so funny. and he and John will go back and forth forever
"Aaaaahhhhhhh"
"Aaaaahhhhhhh"
"Aaaaahhhhhhh"

I wish you could hear it.

WHO are these disgruntled people and why are they following me to P.J.'s? No lie, everyday there is someone that gets me all in a hoo-rah and I have to call my husband on the way home to tell him about it. He doesn't really care-J's mind is saying "Is your morning at the coffee house so bad that you have to call me at work to tell me about it?" It's not that my day is bad. Don't get me wrong. I love my life and have truly never been happier but it doesn't negate the fact that I keep running into people who are truly bugged by me, my baby and my friends with babies. Let me set the scene:

3 moms and babies, 1 friend sitting at P.J's DELIGHTED to be there chatting away. A seemingly nice lady with a rod up her b--- (SNLWARUHB) walks in (I don't even think she was getting coffee) and yells (no exaggeration)
"Scuuuuse me!" as my friend M was holding her laughing baby up in the air. She shoves her way rudely past her to get a Gambit.
M: "Oh, I'm sorry"
SNLWARUHB: While basically knocking giggling baby out of the air, grabs a Gambit and shoves her way past L.
L: "Oh, I'm sorry"
SNL: "WE-HULL, you sure are DOMINATING the corner!"

Now, it all seems so innocent and you can't hear the SNLWARUHB's tone of voice but believe me when I say it was one of disgust, absolute disgust. and like a friend told me today, "I understand that not everyone is googly over babies" but I wanted to scream back at her
"Listen to yourself!!!! You are upset because we are "dominating the corner"? Are you kidding?

When I talked to L this afternoon she was still fuming over it because the whole incident was absurd. I wish you could have been there because I know it's not translating well but I had to write about it.

We're bored. After coffee we have done nothing except go to the bookstore. I 've been reading John's golf digest-you know it's bad. Actually, I enjoyed it-found out stupid rules about golf that I didn't know before. So it's been just me and W all afternoon-thank goodness he went down for an afternoon nap because I was running out of things to do. We played with water in his new bucket system. That was a disaster! He obviously didn't get the fact that you have to keep the buckets full of water over the bigger bucket so there was water, water everywhere-water near and far-anyway, I think that's a bathtub game.

The poor child needs more stimulating activities. Its' too hot to go outside. So the coffee shop and grocery store are usually the extent of our day.

the countdown has begun to his birthday. I went to Sav-A-Center yesterday and thought I would just check out the cakes to see if they were any better than what I was making-NO COMPARISON-mine is ten times cuter. They all had an airbrush effect-downright wierd I thought.

Please welcome Crazy Sista! She's a new contributor to the blog and I know she is going to come up with some really crazy stuff, hence the name. So keep checkin' in.

Okay-he's walking. Well, he'll atleast take a few steps if we stand him up and tell him to walk to us. He has no desire to just get up and go because he can really MOVE on his knees. I'm rea--owwwww~! he just bit my knee-never done that before, but it hurt---anyway, I am ready for him to walk. I know everyone tells you you'll wish you never said that, but I am.

He looks awfully cute in his new little outfit I bought him yesterday at Mignon in the Rink. It was on sale for half off. I couldn't make myself go to the Orient Expressed sale. It made me sweat just thinking about the mob scene. I am not that kind of shopper-supposedly you really have to dig through it all. At Mignon it is neatly arranged on the rack-easy in, easy out.

gotta go-he's all over the keyboard...

Can we talk about "The Hills"? It's on my mind because I had to watch again yesterday on DVR. and then The Sports Guy from the ESPN website wrote about it. I don't remember exactly what he wrote but it was something like that Jordan crying when Heidi dumped him was one of the most pathetic scenes in tv history. I LOVED it! That scene is the whole reason I watched it twice. I like Heidi a lot more than I did at the beginning. I gained respect for her when she dumped Jordan because he wasn't treating her well and especially after she stuck to her guns when he was balling crying. I am still upset about the ending-how stupid can Lauren be? Jason is such a jack--- and she gave it all up to spend the summer with him?

Oh and here's the question. My friend L and I were discussing-is it real? If it isn't-they are really good actors. If it is....It's awesome! J thinks (he's going to kill me for even suggesting that he in any way contemplates this show) that they are real people but it's not real like Real World is. He thinks it's real just pseudo-scripted. Interesting thought.

and for those who don't know-Laguna Beach is coming back with a whole new cast on August 16th-I think that was the date. Do you think it will be the same theme song?

So we went to P.J.'s this morning. I usually feed him his bottle there around 10. He is still drinking 4 bottles a day at 6, 10, 2, and 6 and food with three of them. Lately he hasn't been drinking all of his bottles. Anyway, I feel horrible about this but I forgot his bottle so we came home around 10:15 to eat but he just started playing and seemed pretty happy so I waited until 11 to give him his bottle (he did have graham crackers at coffee). I am wondering what to do?
1. Should I move his bottles up so that he eats at 6, 11, 3, 7? and still give him 4 or
2. Should I drop the 10 o'clock bottle, give him a snack instead and move his lunch up to 11. Is it okay to just give him 3 bottles instead of 4. He's almost a year-every book tells you something different and the doctor just tells me "whatever works"

Oh, I hate to keep whining about things but when we got to P.J.'s the only highchair was taken. Fine-I don't mind holding him but the mom who took it had a 2 or 3 year old in it. Aren't they old enough at that age to sit in a regular chair? The child wasn't eating or drinking anything. But I guess the mom can do whatever makes her feel comfortable. My bigger issue is with P.J.'s having only one highchair.

Thanks for the all the suggestions. Luckily, he didn't try it yesterday. So we are keeping our fingers crossed. Maybe it was just a 2 time thing.

I know I wrote about unwanted touching of my baby the other day but it happened again!!! Yesterday, in the line at P.J.'s, the lady behind us put down everything she was holding, her wallet, car keys and purse and reached out to W saying, "Oh, I have to hold him." WHAT?! Thank goodness he just looked at her and held on to me for dear life. What's the deal? A friend went to Target the other day and said the cashier and a stock boy touched her baby. We must rise up and do something about it. Any suggestions?

I welcome ANY suggestions. I have yet to come across a mom who knows a full proof fix for this one. When I went in to get him from his afternoon nap he was sopping wet and his diaper was hanging out of one leg. Last night he unfastened his diaper from outside of his all in one pajamas. In a perfect world I would like to have a solution before he smears a number two all over like a friend's son did a few years ago. Some people say ducktape his clothes on but they said it didn't really help. HELP!

For some reason the previous post for the Wednesday Wine Down is dated yesterday. Please forgive the error. I can't figure out why it did that or how to change it. I appreciate your patience.

Welcome to NolaMom's Wednesday Wine Down. With the risk of sounding like a lush...I really look forward to a glass of wine at the end of the day to just "wine down" and relax with my husband. So I thought it only fitting that I have a Wednesday Wine Down. So pour yourself a glass of wine and toast to your life of being a mom! (corny, I know)

This week's wine is...
Waimea and it's dee-licious! It's a Sauvignon Blanc and it's light and summery. I'm not a connoiseur so that's about all you get as far as a description.
I bought it at my local wine seller-hence the name of the store-The Wine Seller on Prytania. See side link for more about the wine and where it came from.

I just got back from walking in the park. Whew-it is humid out there. It felt like I was swimming in a warm bowl of spit. But I have to do it. It's too hot to take the little buddy out so I try to go in the morning or late evening when J is at home. I was telling someone the other day that I had let myself go. They asked me why and I had good excuses. Not enough time, don't have someone to watch W-excuses, excuses. I do lift weights once a week but that is not going to cut it. But I think more than anything that ever since the last month of my pregnancy I just started eating with a vengeance. What got me in this rut is that I didn't gain too much weight when I was pregnant, then I started nursing so I lost the weight and maintained it. When I stopped nursing-WATCH OUT! I have probably gained half the weight that I did when I was pregnant. I never would have gone to Superior Grill every week before. I just can't get out of the rut of beans and rice and a Superior platter of enchildas. So yesterday I got back on Body For Life and I am sticking to it. It's a book, a program, a way of life. I sound like a commercial but it works. I lived on it before and I felt great. I highly recommend it.

Oh, one more thing. In response to my comment: I will post a photo of W's first birthday cake. It is going to be fabulous!

Uh-I will never go to Walmart with W again. Everybody under the sun touched him-on his arms, legs, head, hands-ENOUGH! and he was bugged too. I could tell. I never touch stranger's kids. Please don't touch mine. What's up with that? I usually try and go to Walmart when I don't have him but I didn't have any choice today. We were out of formula and baby food and Sav-A-Center has no selection. Oh-I'm boycotting them-by the way. I'll talk about that another time. He won't eat real food-well, he will but only certain things like bananas, graham crackers and peaches. I've tried cooked pasta, mashed potatoes and more and he wants nothing to do with it.

and he has taken to only eating sweets at night. Nothing salty. The rest of the day he will, but not at night. I think they go through stages because sometimes he won't eat at all. I am very afraid that he is going to be one of those kids who we have to pump up with milkshakes because he needs to gain weight. That doesn't scare me. It's my behind that scares me after I've slurped down the rest of the unfinished milkshake, or french fries or chicken fingers.

W loves a lot of things these days. The toilet, the computer power button, the holes in the back of the t.v., dead roaches. None of which are too good for him. He's not even walking yet and he can get from one to the other in zero to 3 seconds. I have been dying for him to walk but he's not showing much interest because he can really MOVE on his knees. He will walk if he's holding on to my nightgown or my hand. We've tried pushing the coffee table farther away from the couch but he's no dummy. He just gets down on his kees if his wing span isn't wide enough.

So right now I am sitting here typing away with him on my leg talking up a storm. Whining is more like it so I should go and play. I'll be back later on in the day.