mandalei

No, I’m not talking about the guy in the checkered pants holding aloft his victory burger with the weird eyes (how can he see with a wedge-shaped chunk out of them?), although he does share some similarities with ten-month old Jack.  They both have rather round bellies.  And like ground beef.

I have always had a problem managing my weight, from the time I was on Nutri-system as a sophomore in highschool, to the Atkins diet (it worked!), to now (the “all organic eat whatever” diet, which isn’t so much a diet as it is a food choice).  I remember being told as a freshmen in college by a junior “you would be so hot if you just lost 20 punds.”  Gee, thanks.  Needless to say, weight is kind of a flash point for me.

At Jack’s 9 month appointment, he was in the 75th percentile for height and 90th for weight.  As near as I can tell, this is the same a month later (although I haven’t checked his height recently).  Our doc said to limit his formula intake to 16-20 ozs a day*, and as near as I can tell, that about 4-12 ozs a day less than any other guidelines I can find, and while she didn’t explicitly say it was for his weight, after we left I wondered.  I don’t want my kid on a diet when he’s less than a year old, but I also don’t want him to grow up to be overweight.  He eats a fair bit in addition to his bottles, but all the things I have read say that kids at this age eat because they’re hungry, not because of any other motivation.

I don’t want to get in the way of his being able to figure out the signals he gets when he’s still hungry or if he’s full.  Child of Mine has been a great read for all of these issues (how to feed your baby), but I guess I still worry about it.  It’s hard not to, when people comment on it all the time:

He doesn’t miss many meals, does he?
What a big boy he is!
You’re a chunky one, aren’t you? [except, he isn't.]

it makes me feel defensive, for both of us.  And I don’t want him to have the same feelings I had (and have) about weight and body image.  I want him to have a healthy relationship with food.  And exercise.  I want him to feel at ease in his skin, and I am not sure how to supprt him in that, since I don’t have it myself.

I love the Archer font.  You’ll recognize it from Martha Stewart Living magazine.  Can you imagine typing everything in this font?  Mmmmmmmmmmm…  love love LOVE.

Too bad it’s so pricey, just like the lifestyle in that magazine.

I came across this article by Lenore Skenazy about how she let her 9 y.o. son ride the subway home in NYC. I am always interested in these kinds of stories, because I don’t remember having that freedom, even though I may have wanted it (but was too afraid to have it, if I did). We were encouraged to play, sure, there’s a story I always tell that sums up how I grew up.

We lived in a suburb in Nashville, on about an acre of land. It backed up to the woods, and you couldn’t see our neighbors to either side, so it was pretty secluded. This one time, mom was at us to go outside and play (over and over! go outside! go play! it’s beautiful! have fun!), so we finally got the gumption to do it, and she kind of sucks in her breath and says “watch out for strange men and wild dogs!”

Yeah. It didn’t inspire the greatest sense of confidence in being alone outside. I know my mom would arge that it never hurt me none–I regularly would go on archaeological digs in college (my old major) to rather unsafe and unsavory places (riots? check. bombs? check), but I felt more comfortable being alone in a foreign country than in my own United States. It’s hard for me to shake a feeling that a molester or abductor is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. Because, well, aren’t they?

I don’t want this for Jack, because as an adult I still struggle with this (how many of the 2 people who read this blog have received those emails about how to protect yourself or a woman you love from abduction, by the way??). He needs to know how to handle himself, in or out of the house, and to make good decisions. I don’t want him to be afraid, but I do want him to be aware, and trust himself and his skills (yet not be so confident that he thinks he can handle any adult).

This article by the BBC shows a really interesting map of the range of 4 generations of a single family, and how the range of the kids diminishes with each generation. It’s kind of a bummer.

We were watching “The Conscience of a King” (Star Trek, season one) tonight, and there were some truly fantastic quotes… I had to share them with you, they were just *that good*

McCoy: This is the first time in a week I’ve had time for a drop. Would you care for a drink, Mr. Spock?
Spock: My father’s race was spared the dubious benefits of alcohol.
McCoy: Oh. Now I know why they were conquered.

***

Lenore: (to Kirk) All this power, surging and throbbing, yet under control. Are you like that, Captain?

***

Kirk: Worlds may change, galaxies disintegrate — but a woman is always a woman.

***

Kirk: (searching for the phaser set to overload and blow up the ship) Double Red Alert!

And for your further edification, here’s a breakdown why you never want to be wearing a red shirt in the series.

Edited to add: McCoy also gets his drunk on in the sickbay!  On duty!  Awesome.

Jack was crawling around the foyer today, and came across one of the cat toys, a long bendy plastic rod with a long string and a feather on the end.  After I removed the feather, lest it be eaten by the wrong mammal, Jack has been amusing himself with it for almost half an hour.

Yeah ok, that’s everyday-cute. BUT.  Jinxy and Seamus the cats have decided to come down to see what all the fuss is about–and they’re playing with Jack as he waves the string around.  It’s pretty cute, especially when Jack laughs and laughs.

It’s here!  Hurrah!

Have you ever had one of those days where you just go all out and get alot one, for no real reason?  I am having one of those days (clearly, given the number of posts I have put out today, blogging is on the list of things accomplished).

This morning, while Jack was napping, I worked in the yard (hello, suburban mom).  He woke up, I fed him, and we went for a 2 mile walk.  We got back, I put him down for a nap after I put the bread on to rise, and I worked on getting the kitchen and hall primed, a project that’s been incomplete for months now.  I wrote blog posts.  Did two loads of laundry.  Fed Jack again (we had leftovers of the lamb and tabouleh in between slices of fresh bread.  YUM).  And tonight at 7:30 after Jack is asleep, I am going to a seed party, where the moms in my mom group are all going to plant seeds for the coming growing season.

Sometimes I read what I write and I can’t believe what I just said…

This tasty looking (not) concoction of cashews and chicken from Indian Home Cooking.

It was actually really good even if it looked pretty bad when we were done with it.  We had made it in the class with him, though, and it looked pretty much the same, so I know we didn’t screw up somewhere.

Last night we made this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa.  We had made this before with a 9 lb leg of lamb, but this time we used a 1.5 lb piece from the farmer’s market.  Also, made tabouleh with it (and guacamole for an appetizer, since the avocado was good and we had to).

In the oven proofing right now: 2 loaves of whole wheat bread.  I am using whole wheat bread flour, so maybe this will help with loaves that are kinda heavy when simply using plain WWF.

We’ve been pretty busy these last few days.  Jack has been learning how to stand on his own, and has done it here and there for a half second or so (blink and you miss it).  This has been enough to torch his little brain cells, so he’s been all sorts of cranky.  It sure doesn’t help that he’s teething, either.   Here are two gratuitous pictures, for your viewing pleasure:

I’ve also been working outside, now that most of the snow has melted (though not all!) and have been delighted to see that my roses, iris bulbs, and peonies have all made it through the winter.  Hurrah!!  I wasn’t convinced this was possible.  But they all show signs of growth, which is good.  Now let’s see if I can keep them alive in the spring and summer…

We’ve also been grilling every night since we got the new grill, and I made buns to go with the first nights hamburgers.  Holy cow!  Together, hamburgers and fresh buns kick ass.  In a good way.

They’re really easy to make, too, which is nice.  Mix dough, let rise for 45-60 mins, shape, let rise for 30-45, bake at 375.

Hope everyone is enjoying the spring… I know we are!

it’s his first time.