werewolf bar mitzvah

Matt and I have been singing this on and off to each other for days. We can't get it out of our heads since we finished season 2 of 30 Rock, and what's more, we don't want to . . . ("spooky, scary").

psa: eat more vegetables

Many of us could use more vegetables this time of year. Crunch, crunch, crunch!

snowshoeing

Andrew threatening poor baby Gigi with a snowball:



Posing on the trail:

back to work

Of course I got called into work my first day back to be there at 7am, AND we had a huge snowstorm making it impossible to get our car up the hill to the hospital. Matt had to drop me off at trax just so I could get to the hospital to relieve the night midwife. It was a crazy day, with two women in labor, one birth, and me running back to the call room every 3 hours to pump! When Matt picked me up after 7 that night I was pretty beat. The Gig did fine of course, under the care of her auntie Liz and tolerating the shrieks and swats of her favorite cousin, baby Hank. Going back to work so far has been bittersweet. On the one hand, I miss the Gig and our time together, on the other hand, our time together can get mundane and boring. Also, I really love my job and the work I do with women. A few people have asked me so far if having my own baby has changed me as a midwife. I'm still trying to process it all, so right now I'm not sure. It does feel a little different attending a woman in labor. I can't say that I am a better midwife, maybe just different. I'll keep mulling over this question and let you know in a few years what I come up with. Here is some more of the Gig for those of you who can't seem to get enough (my Mom):

colic

This is the Gig and I after she had a very cranky day. We both look tired.

resemblance

Me


+ Matt

=

happy thanksgiving

An early morning snooze in her favorite contraption:

Turkey-hungry eyes:


Gigi, learning the art of Thanksgiving dinner-making:


Beautiful Karin and her rolls:

Serving ourselves a heaping:

Old people row (Matt's grandparents):

dance dance

Is anyone else as taken with the new Beyonce video "Single Ladies" as I am? Doesn't it just make you want to memorize her moves? Apparently the inspiration for the video came from a Gwen Verdon act on the Ed Sullivan show.

Ed Sullivan show:


You can check out Beyonce's video here.

Now if only I could get myself in leotard shape by New Year's I could really rule the dance floor (or maybe just my own kitchen). Ricks ladies are you with me?

(BTW, Justin Timberlake's SNL spoof of Beyonce's video is hilarious if you can get it on YouTube before they delete it -- nothin' like a man in a leotard and heels)

laughs

Recent media consumption that made me laugh:

1. I know I'm late to this but I love 30 Rock. Matt and I just got Season 1 at the library. I laughed so hard especially at the "Cleveland" episode.



Don't you love how Alec Baldwin says, "we'd all like to flee to the Cleve?" And I love the musical Cleveland montage (unfortunately I couldn't find this on the internet). Now if only we could move up a little faster in the library hold-queue for Season 2.

2. On a similar note, I enjoyed Terry Gross' interview with Tina Fey on Fresh Air. You can check it out here.

3. I've been catching up on my New Yorker reading since Matt has been otherwise occupied grading endless high school papers on Thoreau. "A Desert Encounter" by John Updike, in the Oct 20 issue made me laugh out loud. I'm not able to link to the text so you're on your own unless you already subscribe to the magazine.

apple cider doughnuts

I have such fond memories of going apple picking in upstate New York every autumn and eating warm apple cider doughnuts at the roadside apple stand. A month ago we visited Matt's brother's family in Boulder, CO. I decided to take advantage of their deep fat fryer and try out the doughnuts on my own. The trick is keeping the oil the right temp (a fryer is essential for this), otherwise they can soak up too much oil and get greasy. I found the recipe here. Thanks to my skilled niece and nephews I had lots of help.

baby wearing

I've found two baby carriers to be indispensable so far. You can read more about baby wearing and the benefits here.

The Ergobaby carrier:

The Moby wrap:

my saturday (by gigi thomas)

I woke up bright and early:


I helped dad with yard work:


Working hard:


Catching a ride with my mom:

My first leaf-frolic:

my baby the cheeseball

Unlike most babies who instantly fall asleep in the car. Gigi HATES the car. She will scream with tears running down her cheeks for a good twenty minutes when I have to go pick Matt up at work. The other day I decided to run through the radio stations to see if it would make her stop. When I got to FM 100, the station that plays continual Christmas music from Halloween until Christmas, she instantly stopped crying and appeared to be listening. I tried it again the following day with the same result. Matt is beside himself. The verdict is in: Our daughter is a cheeseball.

Smiles:

Whigging-out with the camera flash:

grateful

This season I am grateful for not being pregnant anymore.

(picture taken by James Rabdau)

juno

Check out my brother, Spencer, and his fiancee, Erica's, Halloween costume. Isn't he a dead ringer for Michael Cera?

baby's first rock concert

Matt's brother Dave and family were in town this weekend for a reunion Stretch Armstrong show (Dave is the drummer). It was so great to spend time with them and rock out with the Gig. We put little earplugs in her ears and she slept the entire time--oh well; maybe she was dream rockin'.

Girls lunch out:

Two hot babes:

moptop and cousin Henry's foot

(thanks to Liz for this pic)

cloth diapers

Let me just start out by saying that when the issue of cloth diapers first came up early in my pregnancy, I was extremely skeptical. I grew up with disposable diapers in my family; it is all I ever knew. Matt grew up with the old cloth diapers and had vague memories of time-consuming, messy, folding, pinning and then dunking diapers in the toilet before laundering. But I felt it was my duty to at least look into cloth diapers as a responsible resident of planet earth. A few midwife friends of mine were using cloth diapers and swore to me that they were NOT a big deal, almost as easy as disposable, and cheaper in the long run. Matt and I are busy working people, so we needed something that didn't take up any time. In preparation I did a ton of reading. Here is some of what I've found:


1. Are cloth diapers really more environmentally friendly than disposable? This is not as easy a question as you might think. The cliff notes answer is YES. You can read more about this here.

2. There are so many kinds of cloth diapers. What kind are right for us? I chose to use fitted one-size diapers. You don't need to fold them, they are already shaped like a store bought diaper, you just close them with snaps. The one-size diapers have multiple snaps so you can use them on a child of any age, just adjust the snaps you use to close them as the baby grows. To prevent them from leaking, you put a waterproof cover over them that also snaps. Gigi was able to fit into them from the very beginning, and I have friends who have used them through until potty training.

3. Which cloth diapers are the best quality? As far as consumer reviews of one-size cloth diapers, the Mother-ease cloth diapers get some of the best ratings for being leak-proof and durable. I have one friend who used them through two kids then gave them to her friend who used them through another two kids before she resold them (still totally in decent condition) to another mom on eBay.

4. How do you care for them? Step 1 - Remove soiled diaper, spray with Biokleen if there is poop, and throw in diaper pail. We line ours with a diaper pail liner that you can just throw into the wash with the diapers. Step 2 -- Put in a hot rinse cycle with normal detergent then wash on hot cycle as usual. Step 3 -- Dry in dryer on hot. I like to do a small laundry load every other day, but my friend, Jen, only does a load every 3-4 days. The covers only have to be washed every 3 days or so.

5. What is the cost? For the Start up Mother-ease Complete Package it is $334. This includes 24 diapers, 4 covers, and diaper inserts if you need even more absorption (especially at night).

A few anecdotes . . .

--We've never had a "blow out." And if you know newborn poop, this is pretty amazing.

--Matt likes them (also pretty amazing if you know Matt).

--When we are on the go we put the wet diaper in this bag. It works great.

--Cloth diapers are known to make potty training easier as the kid can feel when they are wet.

--Gigi likes them. Who can argue with that endorsement?

our scary neighbor

fav fall album

I'm addicted to track 4. Check it out here.