Feeling better, The Daily Show helps

Today I was at work all day, networking and acting like the professional that I am. It was in all a good day, although I HATE pumping. I do have a funny story, although only those of you nursing mamas might find it funny.

I went out to my car to pump in the morning, intentionally missing one of the speakers (who was boring) vs the break when people would be milling around. When I parked that morning, I made sure my car was facing an open field vs the parking lot and had a little privacy. So I got into the car, plugged my pump into the cigarette lighter, turned on the radio and was pumping away in my own world. I finished pumping and realized that there was someone standing right next to my car getting into the car next to me - I guess it was break time!! I was mortified as I sat there with my shirt open trying not to spill milk everywhere while I put my stuff away. I don't know who it was, just know he was wearing brown pants and drove a large truck. I'm glad I don't know who it was, and hope he pretends he didn't know who I was either. LOL

My milk duct is doing a lot better and I barely feel it. Ellie took a bottle from Grandma Shirley today while I was gone, I'm mainly thrilled and a little sad that now I guess this means I have to go back to work.

Anyway, here is a link of the day. As my Mom so succinctly put it "FINALLY the right tone"

a 2 martini day

Today is a 2 Martini Day... as in it would have been more enjoyable under the influence.

We are blessed to have Grandma Shirley here visiting for 2 weeks. Today is her 85th birthday, and I had illusions of a proper celebration, unfortunately it fell flat. Our day as planned was to get up, go to Great Harvest for a little celebration, then to NW Kids Club to play with Christy, Ingrid & Pierre, then to lunch with my Mom at McGrath's then who knows what, followed by me getting to go to Pilates at 6:30 and meeting the family at Konditeri at 7:45 for cake. On paper it seemed like a nice way to celebrate the day.

We ended up skipping Great Harvest because Isabel wanted to get on to NW Kids Club. We did have a nice time there (with the usual bumps and tears and massive snack eating). We were there from about 9:30-11:30 then went to McGraths. Isabel is mostly potty trained and prides herself in wearing underpants but as she says "poop is scary in the potty" so when she asks for a diaper we give it to her, otherwise she holds it in, and that isn't pretty! So while at NW Kids Club she asked for a diaper which I obliged. She hadn't gone before we left, and quite frankly I then forgot about it.

And did I mention a clogged milk duct? I awoke this morning to a dull pain in my left breast, and assumed that Ellie wasn't latched on when nursing in the night and gave me the equivalent of a hickey on the side of my breast. As the morning went on, it became clear to me that this wasn't the case and that something else was wrong. So as Isabel was playing, I kept trying to nurse Ellie on my left side, OUCH!!

So we arrived at McGraths, Isabel was getting "pie-eyed" or sleepy and Ellie was hungry. Mom arrived and we started to have a nice lunch. Then Isabel got under the table and wouldn't come out, and had her head down, which was fine with me because she wasn't causing mischief. I had a lovely meal of salmon with roasted red potatoes and asparagus wrapped in bacon. Mom had the ahi tuna and red potatoes and Grandma Shirley had coconut prawns. Ellie started crying and so Mom took her to walk with her. Then Isabel went to crawl back up on the bench and her back was covered in poop. Lovely.

So I took Isabel to the bathroom to change her. When I got in, Mom was there with a crying Ellie. I stripped down Isabel to nothing, wiped her off, gave her all new clothes (now she wanted to wear underpants). Meanwhile Grandma Shirley was sitting at the table by herself. When we returned, her birthday ice cream sundae had been delivered to her as she sat alone and the bill was sitting at my place. I felt SO bad! But then Isabel helped her finish the sundae and we were off for home. Isabel fell asleep in the car on the way home, I carried her in and put her in bed. She slept for a few hours, and when she woke up her pants and bed were wet.

Where are my Martinis?

Ellie nursed all afternoon, and Isabel wanted to climb and was in and out of time out. Larry didn't get home until 6:15, and I barely made it to my Pilates Class, then to have cake.

I needed the Martinis in the afternoon, but instead satisfied myself with a healthy mix of Peppermint Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Champagne Cake, and Gerry's Chocolate Cake. Somehow it seems things come out even.

Tomorrow I go to work all day for a conference... we'll see how it lasts with my clogged duct, I'll probably be home several times.

WASSSUUUPPP

So one of my favorite commercials a long time ago was the WASSSUUUP commercials... here is a new spin

What's in a name

So I was listening to my favorite podcast Jumping Monkeys, and the guest on the epidose I was just listening to was the author of the book "The Baby Name Wizard". Now this is my favorite book for picking names, given that Larry and I are each engineers it has a graph for each name showing the popularity over time, and I have to say, this satisfies a lot of our inner geek. But I also like the way she shows similar in genre names for girls and boys so if you find one you like but something stops you from making it your favorite, you can continue on to other similar names.

A few things I found interesting. First she said "when you hear a name, you hear a culture that is formed by all the people who have worn that name for generations". I found this really interesting. As a parent picking names, I think I obsessed about it being too popular, but not about who has worn it before. Yet when we hear a name, all we remember is that kid in the 6th grade we didn't like or our Aunt who made a special pie... someone who has worn the name...
I also thought it was interesting that today parents are all seeking for different and unique names, thus those are the names that are the most popular, and the traditionally popular names are not as popular. Also when a name is popular it is used by a much lower frequency becuase of the larger number of names.

Check it out for yourself, and check out her Baby Name Voyager to look up your own name. Please comment and let me know your thoughts!!

Here is Erica (they don't have a graph for Eryca)

Popularity of names starting with ERICA

Larry

Popularity of names starting with LAWRENCE

Isabel

Popularity of names starting with ISABEL

Ellie

Popularity of names starting with ELLIE

Elisabeth

Popularity of names starting with ELISABETH

First full day of work - most of us survived

Today is Ellie's 2nd birthday. I can't quite believe that she is 2 months old, but the calendar said so. Today I was at work all day for the first time. I was helping on an interview panel, and although I don't want to be back at work, it is helping slightly to ease into it. I got up at 6:30, meant to get up at 6 and get on the elliptical, but that didn't happen. I showered, pumped, made breakfast, nursed Ellie twice, made my lunch and then started the daunting task of finding something presentable to wear. I didn't get dressed first, because well Ellie is a spitter-up-er and I thought it would be futile. As it was, she didn't urp on me at all, but had I been wearing nice clothes, yes she would. I left the house at 8:45 slipping into the office right at 9. Larry then brought the girls to me at 11:15 for my lunch break so I could nurse Ellie. He took them to NW Kids Club and Ellie slept and Isabel ran around, so sounded like an easy morning. Ellie nursed for a full 40 minutes, then was grinning and smiling, seemed like a happy baby. I went back in for the rest of my day, and Larry went home. Apparently Ellie still isn't taking a bottle, so the afternoon was really rough for Larry. I got home and she is much happier, I told her not to be so hard on daddy.

So here is the picture of a milk induced coma for Ellie, I have a feeling we will be up lots of the night nursing and sleeping. Tomarrow I meet with day care and see the infant room and home to get the girls part time schedule extended through January...

A few links for today:

Sarah Palin name generator I'm "Chalk Revelations"

YouTube Video on many reasons to vote republican.

Favorite Daily Show: September 30, 2008. I find the best part to be about 7:30 into it, but the entire thing is very good including the interview with Bill Maher on his new movie Religulous.

Coming up soon: the adventures of my cauliflower puree making experience and my yummy dinner tonight.

I can see the moon from my backyard, does that make me an astronaut?

So I'm looking for bumper stickers to show my disgust of Palin. I think I'm going to make one of my own, as I want it to say "Mom's don't let Mom's vote for Palin". In my search, I found a site Zazzle which has all kinds of offensive and funny bumper stickers, regardless of your political leanings. Some of my favorites:








So use the little wigit and vote for which bumper sticker I should get, including the one I made up.

Another good read on the Palin subject..."The Sarah Palin pity party"
Everyone seems to be oozing sympathy for the fumbling vice-presidential nominee. Please. Cry me a freaking river.
By Rebecca Traister

So as much as I despise this woman who clearly is in over her head and clearly isn't able to hold a rational conversation without sneering and acting weird, I do have some issues with how some of my like minded friends are portraying her.... judging her for her choices with her special needs child and her daughter's engagement to the winner of a boyfriend. My issue is in the focus on judgment and steering away from a conversation about teen pregnancy, prevention, and the lack of abstinence only programs working... the lack of conversation that John McCain could likely not be alive or functioning in 4 years with his 4xs cancer so far... the lack of conversation about special needs children and are we as a country doing enough to support those families dealing with these difficult circumstances. No - instead we judge her for being willing to take on this huge job when she has a special needs child. Well, this pisses me off! If instead of Sarah Palin, we were talking about a Steven Palin, we wouldn't be talking about how dare he run for VP with such a child. In most cases we'd applaud him and his wife for the work they've done with xyz charity that deals with the challenges they've faced.

I don't understand her decisions, and I don't agree with many of them. But my lack of agreeing on any fundamental value with Palin shouldn't allow me the luxury of judging her choices, when I haven't been faced with the same challenges. It does give me the luxury of singing from the rooftops the bad policy decisions she has enacted in a professional capacity, and continuing to do what I can to focus on the issues for both her and her styrofoam looking running mate. I'm for choice - choice on your reproductive system, choice to adopt, choice on how to raise and F*&^up your kids... all I can wish and hope for, is that my fellow neighbors do some informed choice to make the right decision for themselves.

The other thing that irritates me is the assumption that Mom's will run to her as a symbol of us and of course that will sway us. This thought is SO insulting in light of her contrary positions on issues that are important to mothers and families, minor luxuries like universal health care, breastfeeding, equal pay for equal work, paid leave for family leave needs such as maternity leave or a sick parent.

Irony - so McCain stated back several months that there wasn't a pay inequity problem between men and women - that women just needed more education and more training... and then he voted against a bill for equal pay for men and women... and then he chooses this idiot... ironic...

So I see the moon and the moon sees me... NASA here I come.