What a day

Had my marathon of appointments at the hospital for today. All pointless, maybe except for the gestational diabetes test. Did that first, then had to go to an appt to discuss my anesthesia options and watch a 12 minute video on vaginal birth and anesthesia-again pointless because I am scheduled for a c-section and even if they did address the c-section stuff, still pointless since I 've already been through it. Went back to the lab to have the blood drawn. The girl was a bitch and it hurt so frickin' bad. I cried. Really. I'm not sure what she did. I don't like needles but usually it's the anticipation that is much worse than the prick. Then I had to go to pre-registration where she informed me that my baby had to stay in my room once I delivered. I wanted to cry all over again. I don't want to sound cold and heartless but it will be the only time that I can relax and recover. Oh! and she told me to bring a lot of Vaseline in case I had a boy and circumcised him because he would need that for his tallywag. WHAT!?! Don't the nurses take care of all that? They did for the Little Buddy. I don't think I even got a good look at it until he was like 3 weeks. I am truly concerned about the state of our healthcare in this city.

So, I leave and it's storming. I decide to take a different route than usual and I get stuck at a standstill because the roads are flooding. No, nothing has changed since the storm. I finally make my way close to home and all I want to do is go drink a big, fat, glass of wine in a really dark bar, okay, if I'm being honest, all I want to do is drink a bottle of wine. That's obviously out of the question so I opted for Wendy's instead. I really wanted Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun but it had already taken me so long to get down the avenue going 5 miles an hour and knew that it would take much longer to get to McD's all the while risking flooding my own car so I did the smart thing and headed towards the river (high ground, there's a natural ridge there) to the Wendy's. I didn't dine in, but I ate it in my car. I enjoyed it, thoroughly and it took my mind off of the bottle of wine.

The Hills Season 3-Save the Date

Yeah you right!!! The Hills is set to premiere season 3 on August 13.

LC has a new roomate and "wingman" in Audrina.
Heidi has an engagement ring around her finger.
Whitney has a new job at Teen Vogue.
and Audrina has a new boyfriend! LC may not like this. Seems like he may be "the one" and she'll have another roomie leaving her high and dry.

I cannot wait!

Picture this..

a fat pregnant lady on her knees, leaning onto an ottoman with her butt on the edge of the chair and her belly hanging watching tv. That's me in my most comfortable position. Probably too much information. It's getting to that uncomfortable point where it doesn't feel good to stand, sit or lay down. There just is not a good option but I think I feel sorriest for the Little Buddy. He has got to be soooo bored. I don't have any motivation for anything. Cooking is getting to be miserable because after 15 minutes on my feet, my back feels like breaking. I think Hamburger Helper is even too long of a process. Tonight I cooked meat stuffed pasta shells (I think I am going to stick to A's famous lasagna) and a Panzanella salad which actually was delicious. I may even make it again tomorrow night. I used leftover garlic bread from Whole Foods and a bit of La Boulangerie's ciabatta bread. I kind of winged the recipe-read up on Emeril, Ina (Barefoot Contessa) and Giada's recipes and kind of put them all together.

This is what I did. Made the salad dressing with garlic, let the grape tomatoes marinate a bit in the dressing with salt and pepper. Tossed in the bread cubes then decided they needed to be harder so I fished them out and toasted them. Right before we were ready to eat I shaved in the parmesan, tore up the fresh basil, added back the bread and tossed it with the remaining dressing. Dee-licious. Really. If you want a more accurate recipe, just let me know.

Motivated Haircut

W's hair was getting long. It was starting to grow over his ears and J said it was looking kind of 'girly' the way that it fell in the back and he insisted it was time to take him to the barbershop. I've trimmed a bit here and there over the past few months but only on one side when he is distracted in the bathtub.

Today was the big day. J took him to the barber. Now, J is a marine so he tends towards a motivated haircut, himself. Although lately he's gotten a wild hair (no pun intended) and has let the time in between cuts get longer and longer as does his hair and you can even see a few curls here and there. But this is about the Little Buddy. A motivated do is okay for a Marine so I told him he could take him only if they didn't touch his bangs. I was scared they would cut them straight across. So off they went.

J said he was the good Little Buddy that he always is and the barber was even bragging to his co-barber about how well behaved W was for a first timer. I asked if he cried. J said, "Not so much." He looks kind of distressed to me. Judge for yourself.


The finished product...well, I'll just say that he looks like a little marine and you can easily see the resemblance between me, my dad and W with the ears now sticking out. but atleast they didn't touch his bangs.

I guess this is just another milestone to remind me yet again that my baby is growing up. It makes me teary-eyed.

I do!

The Little Buddy babbles alot and says something that sounds like "I loo, I loo, I loo" and the faster he says it and he says it pretty fast, it starts to sound like "I doI doI doI do". So when he starts saying it I pipe in, "Who loves Mommy?!" and he stops, listens and responds with his
"IdoIdoIdodo I do!!!". It's too cute.

Daneel Park has finally been mowed. I have reason to believe that it was a neighbor who had it mowed since I know that she sends her handyman over to empty out the trashcans and also because these days that doesn't seem like a top priority for the city (well, alot of things don't seem like a priority but that's a subject for someone more well spoken/well written). Whatever the case we are very appreciative because Audubon playground is just too sunny in the heat of the summer and the LB was getting frustrated wading through the belly high grass.

73 days left! of pregnancy. I'm takin' it day by day. Tonight I realized, as we were watching tv, that my belly button has disappeared. It totally grosses me out and I'm ready for my bb to resurface.

Just when I think that I would be okay if for some reason we had to move out of New Orleans (I don't know what that reason would be but my dad emailed today about the state of New Orleans and how depressed hew was about it, especially after reading an article on the front page of the New York Times about the state of our healthcare, blah, blah and how we should consider moving) I read something like this and it makes me think and remember the good things about N.O.

The tantrums...

are getting better. I feel bad labeling him as a terrible two-er a few weeks back. I think it was because he was getting sick.

Aching, tired, horrible mom

I don't know what to do. The Little Buddy is having sleep troubles. I am so not used to having to deal with sleep issues because he is such a good sleeper. But now I am, just when I am slowly becoming down for the count and really tired with this pregnancy. My back is aching and I'm just plain tired. ACHING AND TIRED, I TELL YOU! Twice now it's been hard putting him to bed. Well, he goes to bed pretty easily but about 20 minutes later he starts crying. We would have no problem letting him cry it out but it's out of the ordinary and he seems scared. I am thinking it's separation anxiety. So we check on him a few times and then he goes to sleep after about an hour. Today was the first day it happened at naptime. I put him down at 1pm and immediately he started crying. I went in there and reassured him and then let him cry for a few minutes and he went to sleep. So did too, for about 45 minutes. The minute I got downstairs to eat my snack in peace and watch Bringing Home Baby he started wailing and nothing worked. I went up, kissed him and left. I went up 20 minutes later patted him, wiped his nose, told him it was time for naptime and left. and STILL he was crying. I went up, sat in his rocking chair, told him I was there, pretended to sleep myself and he just stared at me like I was an idiot. I finally bregrudgingly took him out of his crib. I feel cheated of my own rest time and I feel like a horrible, horrible mom for feeling that way. I told him he had to play by himself while I sit here getting out my frustrations on the computer. It's going to be a long afternoon. I can't wait until the fall when it's not too hot to go outside for extended periods and I'm not pregnant anymore. And I can't wait until he grows out of this (what I claim to be) separation anxiety stage.

Our anniversary at Restaurant August

J and I went to August for our anniversary tonight. We got there and of course they sat us at a table which I hated. I swear I get anxious every time I walk into a restaurant because I always expect the worst. I can't stand to have a spot light shining on the table when I got out to eat and it seems as if every single restaurant thinks this is a necessary component of dining. Our table was in one of the back rooms. It was 6:30 and full light outside and they sat us in the darkest room possible at a table with spot light shining on the seat where I would prefer to sit, looking out towards the dining room. So I had to take the seat facing the wall which makes me totally claustrophobic. Luckily the food was enough to distract me from this. But if you do go to August ask to sit in the front room. I felt like my dad who has to bring a flashlight with him when he dines out so he can see the menu. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared so I moved the candle to my menu so I could read it.

We decided to do the 5 course tasting menu. I was so excited! This was our menu. My menu descriptions are probably not totally accurate but here goes:

1. Grilled watermelon with grilled baby heirloom tomatoes drizzled with a balsamic reduction sauce.
I thought I would really enjoy this course. It sucked. The flavors were totally off, the tomatoes were bitter and the balsamic reduction tasted , this will sound crazy, fishy. When the waiter came to clear the course he got flustered and made a comment about me leaving so much on my plate. He said the chef would be upset. From working in the industry, I understood his worry, and told him to tell the chef that I was pregnant and that I can't eat that much. This would backfire on me later.

2. Olive crusted sheepshead on a bed of basil risotto and garnished with fried baby heirloom tomatoes stuffed with an aioli.
This was my hands down favorite course. Unbelievable. I basically licked the plate clean. Which is why I then had to explain to the waiter that that was going to put me over the edge of fullness so the chef wouldn't catch on that I didn't really like the first course and he wouldn't take it out on the waiter.

3. Rabbit sausage with white beans and tomatoes
Really, really delicious.

4. Kobe beef short ribs resting on an artichoke puree, garnished with steamed asparagus.
I'm not sure I have ever had Kobe beef before. It was tender and good. I enjoyed it. But there was something missing. The lack of this something didn't make this dish bad though. It was really good.

5. Creole Tomatoe pie and tomatoe sorbet
This was the only reason I hesitated in suggesting to J that we get the Tasting Menu. I'm pregnant for goodness sakes and I want something rich and delicious for dessert. The only time in my life that I crave sweets instead of another glass of wine. Not just because I can't have the wine, I have a big sweet tooth also. Anyway, talk about expecting the worst.....AND GETTING THE BEST! It was so unexpectedly decadent. It was like a tiny Hubig's Pie (and I love me a Hubig's Pie) with tomatoes instead of apples. I could have done without the sorbet.

My only other complaint was that they rushed us in and out of there. I think we had the whole 5 course menu in 65 minutes. Poor J had atleast 2 glasses of wine in front of him at all times. So the experience per se wasn't the best but it was a fun, delicious night and a very good substitute for our upcoming anniversary.

Our Little Golf Pro

I don't want to be one of those pushy parents who put pressure on their kid to "be" something specific. You know, like, a doctor, lawyer, banker, football player etc. W can do what he wants. What he loves. If he loves what he does, he will be successful. Isn't that what they say?

Have I told you how much he loves golf? Really. He has a set of plastic golf clubs that Mimo and Papa got him. He probably plays with it 75% of the day. I mean, he's not always hitting balls. Sometimes he's putting the balls in the golf bag. Sometimes he's throwing them. Sometimes he's just swinging the clubs around. But he does have a knack for hitting the balls like a pro. And he's got the personality to be a professional. Really, I'm not making it up. He's patient and easy going like his dad. He likes to get things just right and he is definitely showing an interest in the game. He could be the next Tiger, without the attitude. But, really, W, no pressure from Mom. Just do what you love.

Attack of the Ducks

I knew the ducks at Audubon Park were not scared of people. It's apparent as you walk by. They kind of leer at you, but I don't think I've fed them since I was a kid. The LB and I needed something to do to pass the time yesterday so we brought a bag of old buns and headed over there. We parked on Prytania and walked into the park. Before we could get to the main track I noticed a few of the ducks walking toward us, which was odd, because like I said, they don't really give people the time of day. And all OF A SUDDEN THEY WERE INCHES FROM US. I picked up the LB while realizing they saw the bag of buns and they started to go ballistic. Quacking like you've never heard them quack before. I started tossing out pieces of the bread. The smaller ducks took off running but the Mama ducks kept at us, closer and closer. I was absolutely panicked. W was hysterically laughing while clutching onto me. and I ran. Moral of the story: Don't feed the ducks.

I'm going to cry

W STILL has a snotty green runny nose. His cough isn't near as bad. But it's all still enough that we have to miss playgroup. Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! I'm seriously thinking about bringing him to the Parenting Center just so he can infect all those mom's kids who bring their kids there sick on a daily basis. But I'm not that selfish. So here we sit another day. Alone and Bored. Atleast today it's not pouring down rain and we can take a trip to the playground.

Maybe we'll run some errands. Get some of the supplies we need to buy for school in the fall. It's rather unbelievable. We have to buy Kleenex, wipes, paper plates just to name a few things. I find it to be quite a racket. I won't complain much more because it's a good program and we're excited he's going and I know he'll have a great time.

We are going stir crazy! what with all of this rain on top of being quarantined with the croup. It came on so quickly. By looking at this picture you would never know that he got the croup the very next day.
He is much, much better. All he had today was a runny nose and a little cough but by the end of the day he was even better than this morning. Hopefully, there will be no trace of anything tomorrow because we are running out of fun things to do around here. Puddling playing was the highlight of our day today.

Here's a closer look.

Still Coughing

The LB still has a bad cough (although not crouping) and a horrible runny nose. We gave him Robitussin last night in addition to the humidifier but he still coughed his way through the night. A friend mentioned that Benadryl would dry him up but will that stop the coughing? I forgot to ask her. I'm kind of nervous giving him both before he goes to bed.

and I also want to apologize to all of those people whom I know I brushed aside when they acted neurotic about their toddlers being around other sick kids. This, of course, was before I had one of my own. You can never know how truly miserable it is to have a sick baby until you have one. It's not only miserable for the parents but it's miserable for the baby. It's the saddest thing to watch. and now I am one of those neurotic mothers who gets so angry when someone knowingly brings their sick kid around us. I'm just living and learning, I guess.

Flank Steak

and of course I didn't mean to overlook the fact that the flank steak that J grilled was absolutely delicious. The marinade was tangy and he grilled them to the perfect temperature.

Was yesterday just so gross? It rained ALL day and when I mean all day, I mean ALL DAY! I think it let up just a tiny bit in time for J to grill the meat medley. I'm working on my meat management skills. We bought chicken breasts and flank steak. J grilled it all and I will manage my meals with that so hopefully I won't have to go to the store 18 times in a week. We had the flank steak last night with a warm potato salad that I heard about from Kate F.

She has a great photo on her website of it. I mixed it up a little bit due to pregnancy restrictions. I'm so over these limitations, I don't know why I bother. But anyway, basically you saute onions, garlic and shallots and then mix it in with the warm potatoes, add some salt, olive oil and cider vinegar at the last minute with a sprinkling of parsley. I sauteed the ham in with the garlic and onion mixture so that my deli meat was hot (pregnancy rule-hot deli meat). It actually was really good. But don't forget the vinegar! that's what makes it. Uncle RaRa even had second helpings which he rarely does with carbs. We're having the leftovers tonight with our chicken breasts.

Tomorrow we are having a fajita combo platter of grilled chicken and flank steak. So I have at least Monday and Tuesday's dinner planned. It's all very exciting.

I also whipped up the Barefoot Contessa's avocado and red grapefruit salad. It was alright. I think that the grapefruit overpowered the avocado although it was a beautiful plating. I really wish I would have taken a picture of that. Maybe you'll like it better. I could tell everyone else wasn't that thrilled either. We had a lot of grapefruit leftover-no avocado.

Hard Body

I'm fat. I haven't gained that much weight and my belly isn't super big but I'm definitely fatter than I was when I was pregnant with W. I can not only see cellulite in my milky white fat thighs (isn't that a pretty visual?) but I can feel my arms wiggling all the time. It's my own fault. I haven't been as neurotic about lifting weights or excercising this time. I excercised pretty much until my 7th month with W, all the while continuing to weight train. But not so this time-because I never got back into it, really, after I had W. My workouts are sporadic at best and if I lift it's only once per weekend. Anyway, as you can see I'm obssessed with the fatness. I was talking to a friend on the phone the other day. She's pregnant too and her husband works with J. So we see each other at work functions too. We were talking about being fit and skinny for next summer and CLICK , I remembered this dream that I had. We were at one of J's firm's work parties and this is what I was wearing. A tight orange ribbed tank top with white trim. It was a half shirt and super low rise pants. I was tan-ha! for anyone who knows me I'm the farthest you can get from Coppertone-and my stomach was ripped-I mean ripped to China and back. Yeah, it was such a cheesy outfit but what made it a dream instead of a nightmare was that I looked so damn hot. People, you just wait. I may have to get a cut off tight orange tank top. I'll buy it and save it just to make my dream of being hot and ripped come true-then I'll take a picture and post it proudly. It will probably look like this!

The Croup

The Croup. That's what the Little Buddy has. His nose was running but he seemed in pretty good spirits until he woke up early from his nap coughing like a seal, wheezing and crying. Luckily between my mom instincts and what I had heard about it from a friend I called the doctor. All I could think about was having to go to the ER at Children's Friday night. I was sure the doctor would think I was crazy. But they didn't. It was the Croup. The doctor was surprised that it showed up during the day because it usually gets worse at night. So we got his medicine and came home only to him getting worse. He started violently shaking and wheezing again. I wrapped him in a blanket on my lap where he sat perfectly still for a half hour but when his eyes started to close but he was still shaking I got scared. So we went and sat in the bathroom with a hot shower running for 20 minutes and it helped dramatically. It was an awful hour or so but then he seemed to feel better. I guess the medicine finally kicked in. We put him in the car for a ride to pick up our dinner at Byblos with the windows down (supposedly fresh air and humidity makes it better, which it did). By the way, Byblos once again disappointed. My order was wrong. I'm over it for a long while. Anyway, the night was uneventful, W even slept in a bit and today he seems much better. Still coughing with a runny nose like a faucet but J took him to the park for more fresh air and he had a blast.

I feel like I've been through so many scary sicknesses with him. High fevers, throw ups, 2 ear infections and now this and to think this is just the beginning. I always get really anxious at night anyway, worrying about things, anything really, but when the LB is sick my anxiety increases tenfold. I can't even imagine worrying about two kids.

Yaaay! Today the slipcover was ready for one chair in the pecky cyprus room. I was a bit nervous about the color. I was worried it would be too dark but it turned out to be beautiful. I tried to take a photo for you but the color didn't really show it so I'll try to explain. It's a deep caramel color in a luxurious linen fabric. I love it. I haven't sat on it yet. I won't. For some reason I feel like if I sit on it...I don't know what my fear is but it looks so pretty just being a virgin slipcover. At the rate I'm going by the year 3000 I will finally have my house the way I want it! Yaaay! The couch is going to be taken away next week to be reupholstered. I can barely contain my excitement and by then maybe the rug will be here and it will hopefully begin to feel like a new room. I almost bought a new couch but this one is the best. It's a hand me down from my parents but it's good and sturdy and some really good brand of old couch my mom swears by and J can even lay on it all spread out, if he wanted, because it's so long.

The LB has been sleeping since it came. I'm not sure what he will think about his chair being recovered and in a totally different color. I wonder if he'll be wary of sitting on it, too? I'll keep you posted.

Ode to J

I feel like a bad wife, lately. My patience is wearing thin, although I feel relatively good, I'm tired and hot and I find myself taking it out on J. He's the best, really and I need to keep myself in check or he'll soon go running for the hills. He works all day, hard and works at night too and he even finds the energy to wake up with the LB, feed him breakfast, let him roam around our room while I sneak out and go downstairs to eat breakfast and read the paper before my day with the LB begins and then when he comes home he takes the LB upstairs while he changes out of his suit, then he gets the LB ready for bed and puts him to bed too. Whew. I'm even more tired just thinking about his life.

and I get all giddy when he comes home early and I know that he thinks its because he can play with W so I can relax but it's not that really. I get giddy when he comes home early so that we get a chance to hang out and talk before the nightly tv marathon begins. Tivo has changed the way we watch tv and I always thought for the better but it just allows the room for more and more and more shows to come into our lives until finally we aren't doing anything else but watching tv. It must stop. I'm getting couch potato-ish.

But the point of all of this is to thank J for everything he does and to tell him I love him. Because I forget to do that as I am fast forwarding through the next commercial.

Pulled Pork

Some of you have inquired about the outcome of the pulled pork. Let's just say, it wasn't what I expected and rather than pulled pork it was cut off pork. All of the recipes that I consulted said to cook it for like 6 hours. But when I stuck my thermometer in, it had reached the specified temp. after 3 hours. My mistake, I am guessing, was taking it out then. I probably should have left it in but I was worried I would over cook it. I thought the flavor was good-the dry rub was-it's just that it was kind of tough and chewy. BUT I'm not giving up that easily. Like they say, try, try again.

Quick Note on Big Brother 8

Did you watch? If you did, how about the clip with Jen ugly crying over her picture on the Big Brother Wall. It was hilarious. What a vain idiot.

The Diaper Nightmare

Okay. I am fed up. I ran out of diapers so I took the LB to Walmart the other day. I HATE going to stores other than Whole Foods or Langenstein's with the LB for some reason. Probably because I'm pregnant and lazy and don't want to walk farther than I have to with him. But we were out of diapers. So we get there, park, walk on the hot, hot black asphalt to get the cart, with him whining because the sun was in his eyes (I don't blame him). I get to the diaper section and they only have like a 24 pack of the diapers we use. AAAAHHHHHHH! I wanted to scream. So I had to truck it out to Target this weekend, when I could have been working in the garden, working out or just sitting on my fat ass, to get more diapers.

But while I was browsing Amazon.com for a book I happened to get a lightbulb idea and looked up diapers. They sell them, like everything else. I have been saved. The LB will be in this size for awhile so I am just going to buy them online and have them delivered. I am a genius. So if you want to jump on the genius bandwagon and your kid wears Pampers Cruisers, you can now buy them from my blog! Click Away!

I am already a neurotic mother but because the Little Buddy is relatively calm and sweet and mild mannered I have found that I am a lot more relaxed about some things than I should be. I have discovered this in the past few days dealing with some incidents that nearly threw me over the edge. The last straw was this morning when we were hanging out in bed watching J get ready for work. The LB was lounging up against the pillows with his vintage nursery cards that he so loves, taking them out of the box, putting them back in, pointing out the animals, when he looked like he was scooching off the bed to follow J into the closet. He can do it so I wasn't concerned. But instead of schooching off he landed with a loud THUD on his back. He cried, hard, but he was okay. I checked his limbs for breaks and he slid off of me and went about his business with a smile on his face. But it really scared me. Accidents happen so fast. and I need to get ready for the new baby because I have a feeling that he/she won't be as good or as easy as W. With W I didn't have to worry about random little things hanging around anywhere because he NEVER put anything in his mouth. Things like that. I need to gear up for a child that does the usual baby things that W never did and it's kind of overwhelming me. There is so much to do. I also want this baby to have a nursery that W never did. His room was an office/guest/nursery with a closet that was mostly mine besides the fact that he didn't get to live in for the first 4 months of his life because of Katrina. So there's painting and organizing and rearranging and decorating to be done. and we all know how I am about making a decision. It takes me forever. I hope 3 months is enough time!

Big Brother 8

I wasn't very inspired by the cast of BB8 this season. I am sure that some of them will grow on me but can anyone ever match Will's personality. I don't think so. I didn't much like the twist of them sending in rivals/enemies. It's kind of old. They already did that-Alison's and Jason's season, although I am intrigued about Danielle's hatred for her freak of a father. From what I gather she is embarrassed not only by his looks but by his attitude and lack of morals. I am just guessing. Even though I wasn't smitten with any of the cast, the show was still good and it was over before I could say Expect the Unexpected.

For more the premier episode see Reality TV News Blog

Geez, another tantrum, go figure

The tantrums are killing me. It's so not W. He was always the easiest baby. I never had problems with putting on his shoes, changing his diaper, getting him to go upstairs or downstairs, with him walking when I wanted him to or letting me carrying him if we were in a rush, putting on his clothes. Nothing. I'm not exaggerating. Now I am having problems with all of the above and I am tired. Today he was pissed off I put the colors away so we could go upstairs to wind down for his nap. I had to basically drag him up the stairs, dead weight and all. Not an easy task period, much less when you are carrying an extra ten pounds or more of baby weight. I'm still trying to catch my breath. I will say thought that all the crying stopped when I had him turn on his music for naptime-at this stage, the sweetest part of the day.

What to do with these few hours. So much! I don't even know where to begin. So I move from the anxiety that tantrums produce to the anxiety of not enough time to nap, blog, prep for dinner (I'm making a new dish from Giada di Laurentis' Everyday Italina, inspired by my friend who is making something from her cookbook too), call the AC man, the doctor, make my haircut appointment, organize the office that's still in shambles since we moved in, and eat lunch.

Gotta go! Times a wastin'!

Kobayashi defends Hot Dog Eating Crown

I just watched the Nathan's Frankfurter Eating Competition. There was a 'reversal' at the end. A reversal is when you regurgitate and depending on how much vomit there is, the competitor is either dq'd (disqualified) or docked a few hot dogs. Now, I still don't quite get how the judges figure just how many hot dogs you threw up, but I don't get a lot about this competition. One of the competitors is the grilled cheese champion. That I get. But I don't want to give anything away in case you tevoed it and still haven't watched it. For more info see Nola Blogger.

Cherries

I bought some cherries the other day. I deseeded one and gave it to W. He thought it was a grape so he willingly ate it. Didn't like it. Today, Jessie said he loved it. Swallowed it whole. She forgot to take out the seed. Fortunately he didn't choke. Am I supposed to keep a lookout in his poo for the pit? I feel like I hear of people doing this when their kid swallows a rock.

Okay. I hate barbecue. Maybe that's a strong word. I hate beef barbecue so any other barbecue is not my favorite. Let me explain why.

When I was a kid, my parents loved Luther's Barbecue. Is it still around? I don't know. We ate there a lot. Not only did we eat there but whenever we went with friends to Pass Christian or Florida for the weekend my mom would send a big ole tin vat of Luther's Beef Barbecue. Makes me want to vomit just thinking about it.

But pregnancy does strange things to a person. I am craving a pulled pork barbecue sandwhich. So I got my fat pregnancy butt over to Langenstein's and bought a Boston Butt and am going to slow roast it for 6 hours, basting it every so often with a wet mop-that's what the recipe called it. I'll let you know how it turns out. If it turns out finger lickin' good I'll have to take a photo and email to Kate F. who is one of my favorite food bloggers. She may not be interested. She lives in the north. Do they eat barbecue in the north or is that an ignorant question?

Grumblings

There have been grumblings in the city and beyond about my lack of posting. I've been napping when the LB is napping so that limits my blogging and at night I'm tired and all I want to do is sit. Oh and he was sick last week, or was it the week before?, which leads me to a few grumblings of my own.

The Parenting Center at Children's Hospital is not clean. When the LB was smaller I was more germ conscious so I stopped taking him there b/c he got sick every time we went. Now that he's older I am a little less neurotic about it. Even though I still don't want him to get sick I know there is only so much I can do about it and it will if anything build up his immunity. But let me just get this off of my chest. I feel the need to say this again since the staff at the Parenting Center obviously isn't going to say it. It probably won't do any good either because I doubt the guilty parties are reading.

The Parenting Center is not a daycare. It's a place where parents can go and obtain resources about parentin and can hang out with other moms while there children play in a child proof environment. Yes there are times when your child may be sick or have a virus but does not yet show symptoms of these infections. But when you knowingly bring your child to this place that is supposed to be a fun and healthy environment, you are acting irresponsibly and selfishly.

W caught an awful stomach bug a few weeks back. I am pretty sure he got it there, I can't be 100 percent positive but I overhead a mom saying how her toddler was barely over the stomach bug as she turned him over and checked his diaper for diarrhea. Gross. Low and behold a few days later W threw up all over the car and me and himself on the way home from the Parenting Center. It was a fun few days.

There's a group of mom's who go every Tuesday. Today they brought not only the younger kids but older ones who were out of school for the fourth. I'm sorry that you're bored and don't want to stay home but the maximum age is 4. The Center is for toddlers. I don't want to have to watch out for your older kid railroading my toddler. and on top of it, one of them had a hacking cough. We brought it to the attention of the staff on the way out who got defensive and said that it was probably just allergies. Sorry, when you're congested and basically coughing up loogies, it's not an allergy.

So please, if you or your child is
a. over 4
b. sick with a cold or stomach flu, has lice or is sick with anything else that is contagious

STAY AT HOME! We do.