I [heart] Davids

April 1, 2009

All You

Filed under: Books — admin @ 9:23 pm

Ele turned me on to the hip parenting magazine Cookie, but I just recently found another magazine that I’m really excited about. It’s called All You and it’s an easy-to-read grab bag of tips and stuff.

ALL YOU is a new magazine that speaks directly to value-conscious American women like you. In each issue, you’ll get helpful articles on taking care of yourself, healthy and fast ways to feed your family, clothes you can wear and afford, do-it-yourself home repair projects, relationship advice from real women, and easy-to-make decorating ideas. And you’ll get all this in a beautiful, affordable magazine that truly speaks your language.

allyou1

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March 29, 2009

Love in Bloom Maternity – Now Open!

Filed under: Ele,Shopping — JeniQ @ 11:28 pm

Love in Bloom

Saturday night, Dave, Henry and I went to the grand opening of Ele’s new store, Love in Bloom Maternity. It was a fabulous affair, like all of Ele’s parties.

Pregnant? You should check out the loads of fabulous clothes and accessories they carry!
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One Year Old

Filed under: Birthday,Henry — admin @ 10:54 pm

I just can’t believe that Henry is one! It’s amazing how fast time flies. He’s just gone in for his one year checkup and everything seems to be fine. He is 21 pounds, 15 ounces (37th percentile), 30 inches (63rd percentile) and his head is 18.5 inches around (69th percentile). He has dropped in weight percentile, but shot up in the length and head circumference categories. He’s going to be skinny, smart and tall. Sound like someone you know?

Henry's 12 Month Growth Chart

It’s helpful to inventory milestones and it’s been a while since I have, so here’s what he’s up to these days.

He is walking, though he still falls down with some frequency. However, I think running might be in his near future.
He sleeps from 8:30 PM until about 6:30/7:00 AM.
He eats breakfast around 7 AM, has a snack at 9 AM, eats lunch around 11:15 AM, has another snack around 3 PM, and then has dinner before 7 PM. He is completely weaned off the bottle and drinks from a sippy cup.
He eats lots of ordinary table food, though he still hasn’t tackled anything too tough or large yet. I still cut everything up into small pieces and cook it til it’s soft.
He might be a pirate because he loves to throw his food and cups overboard.
He has all four incisors on the top and bottom and one set of molars on the top and bottom.
He likes to read and will sit in his room pulling out books and looking through them. He also loves for you to read to him.
He loves to go down slides and walk back up them.
I think he has more of a “shy” temperament, even though he was such an “easy” baby. This one has been a bit hard for me to adjust to, but I imagine he comes by it honestly. I have to be vigilant in reminding myself that he is a very sensitive little boy and he probably won’t be impressed by my very-funny-though-sarcastic-off-the-cuff remarks.
He loves dogs and cats. He sometimes comes close to our cats and then just sits and watches them. And then he mauls them.
He’s on his fourth earache. He is, understandably, miserable when he’s sick.
Recently I’ve noticed him lost in thought when he has a full belly at the dinner table. What’s he thinking about?
He knows the sign for “more” and will use it. He also knows the sign for “eat“.
He goes to “school” five days a week and is really enjoying it. He is in a class with about ten kids and two teachers. He misses his old teacher Julia but he’s warming up to his new teachers. He has a great deal of fun every day playing with all the toys and the other kids in the class.
He had three haircuts before his first birthday, and is in need of another.
He loves his bathtime in the evening.
He hasn’t adopted a favorite stuffed animal yet, though he has plenty to choose from.
He can stack blocks up to build towers, as well as knock them down. He can nest boxes. He can push shapes through a shape-sorting toy. He’s a bright little boy.

OK, that’s all I can think of to add for now. He’s just the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen. I feel like someone slipped me a Mickey because I know he can’t possibly be the world’s cutest baby, can he…? But when I look at him, all bets are off. I love to see his sweet face at the end of a long day, and hold him when he’s tired. I like to watch him sleep. This whole motherhood thing is an amazing trip. It’s impossible to describe without having been through it. I just widen my eyes in surprise every day at the feelings I feel and the wonder of it all. I can’t believe a year with him has already come and gone.
Morning Tickles

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Currently Reading

Filed under: Books — JeniQ @ 2:04 pm

Y:The Last Man
Y: The Last Man
I finally finished this 10-book graphic novel.
I really enjoyed it, another success courtesy of Brian K. Vaughn. However, I thought the ending was a little weak. Or just disappointing. I’ve been trying to figure out why and I think it’s the same reason I was disappointed with the end of Battlestar Galactica. But, sorry, no spoilers…
Still, I would unconditionally recommend this series to anyone who wants an easy read full of Pop Culture goodies.

The Watchmen

I decided I had to read this prior to seeing the film, and I’m glad I did. The movie was nicely done and I thought it was really fun to watch on the big screen. Though I coulda done without blueman’s bits on the screen. I was sad they changed the ending because I really wanted to see the alien, but Dave and I both think the original ending and revised ending both have the same problems. Still, worth watching if only for entertainment purposes. I’d recommend the book, too.

The Happiest Toddler on the Block
Having loved The Happiest Baby on the Block I decided to give this one a try. The premise is that toddlers (1-4) are like little cavemen, whose primitive instincts and gut reactions rule their world. Trying to rationalize with your toddler is not an effective strategy. Karp has a few theories that he presents in a kind of annoying way, where he keeps repeating his points over and over again. Ultimately, the biggest piece of advice he has is about how to communicate with your toddler – by speaking toddler-ese. You know how you talk to a baby by saying “Good! Good job! Cup. You drank from your cup!”? Well, he suggests keeping the same tone and abbreviated syntax when dealing with a negative situation. For example, “Mad! Henry is mad! Play outside! Henry wants to play outside! But no, it’s raining.” It’s totally weird. It feels weird and sounds weird and is so unnatural. But he’s got a point. So far, though, it hasn’t worked for me and Henry. There is a video that goes with this book that I’d like to watch. It’s supposed to help make sense of the book. So, I’d say I’d give this three out of five stars and would recommend with reservations.
Happiest Baby/Toddler

The Wizard of Oz
After having read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, I feel compelled to read the original. I’ve requested it on audio book from the library and hope it doesn’t let me down. That being said, I’m not sure what my expectations are. I guess I expect that it’s not going to be a musical, and I’m hoping that the story is slightly different from the movie. The last time I watched the movie, I was a bit let down by it all.
Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Son of a Witch
Maguire‘s first Oz novel was certainly engaging enough. There’s no reason not to read the sequel.

What are you reading?

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March 21, 2009

One Artist

Filed under: David Bowie — admin @ 10:30 pm

A silly Facebook meme that took too long, so I’m cross-posting.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Naturally, I chose David Bowie.

Are you male or female: Pallas Athena

Describe yourself: Always Crashing In The Same Car

How do you feel about yourself: Can’t Help Thinking About Me

Describe where you currently live: A New Career In A New Town

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Fantastic Voyage

Your best friend is: Soul Love

How you feel about your ex: Dodo

Your favorite color is: Golden Years

You know that: Speed Of Life

What’s the weather like: Chilly Down

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Moonage Daydream

What is life to you: Sound And Vision

What is the best advice you have to give: Hang On To Yourself

If you could change your name, what would it be: Algeria Touchshriek

Your favorite food is: We are Hungry Men

What do you wish other people would do: Sell Me a Coat

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March 9, 2009

Henry’s First Birthday

Filed under: Birthday,Henry,Party — JeniQ @ 10:56 pm

We celebrated Henry’s first birthday on Sunday, the day before his birthday (March 2nd). It was so awesome and super fun! Thanks to everyone who made his day special.

Dave’s folks came down and my mom and Gene were there, of course. Unfortunately, my granma got sick the week before and was not able to make it. That’s okay, though, she’ll just get all that Henry-time to herself the next time we see her. We missed having the West Coast contingent of the family but hope to party down with them sometime this summer.

We had a very easy party. I served champagne, wine and beer and a few easy hor dourves that went straight from the freezer to the oven. Dave made this amazing Angel Food cake with orange flavoring, topped with orange-colored Cool Whip and mandarin oranges. Henry’s favorite!

It seemed like everyone was very relaxed and had a good time. As per usual, I felt like I didn’t get to talk to half the people who were there but that’s just how it goes.

Two of Henry’s little friends came over, Sawyer and Finn, with their parents. It was fun to have someone for Henry to share the toys and cake with. And of course, Cristin and Beanie made it, too. The surprise guest was Julia, Henry’s favorite teacher from school. She may have won “best gift” award with her Mickey Mouse airplane. It was a hit with all the kids! However, they didn’t have any lack of toys to complain about.

Henry got lots of great gifts from all his friends and relatives. I’ve pictured only a few here. Perhaps the most labor intensive gift was the sweater that Cristin knit him. She’s too crafty! It’s the perfect blend of David Bowie and Henry’s birthday! It’s from the Strangers When We Meet video (I adore this song) and it has a “1” on it in honor of his birthday. Although he may not be wearing it anytime soon (it’s a tad big), at least he will not grow right out of it.

The next day we got to open more fabulous presents from Monica, and the day after that presents from Jonah and Nolan arrived. Hooray for the weeklong birthday!

(I realize that there are way too many pictures in this post and I’m sorry. But he’s my only baby and he only turns one once. If you’re a Henry junkie, you can see all of Cristin’s photos here and my photos here.)

: Angel Food Cake

: Prepared to Party

: Background slideshow

: Grinning Birthday Boy

: Mountain of Presents

: Little People Farm

: Finn and Henry

: Mickey Airpane

: Excited about Tigger

: Henry’s Number One!

: Puppy Rocker

: See Kai Run

: Tigger

: Hut Hut!

: Granma Q’s gift

: Happy Birthday!

: Stuffing Cake

: Happy Cake

: Sawyer and Henry

: Family Portrait

: Henry and Mommy

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March 6, 2009

Subscriptions Working Again

Filed under: Blogging — admin @ 6:00 pm

I got the Subscriptions feature working again. If this post was emailed to you then you know that you are currently subscribed to my blog. You will receive an email whenever a new post is published.
You can manage your subscription settings or sign up as a new subscriber here.

Please let me know if you have any questions or problems.

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Everything you ever wanted to know about recycling

Filed under: Household,Worm Bin — JeniQ @ 5:49 pm

I was given the opportunity to tour the Sonoco Recycling Facility in east Raleigh this past week. It was great, a good learning experience and really neat to boot.

Raleigh has switched to a “single stream” recycling program. That means that instead of sorting all your materials at the curb and putting those materials into different bins within the truck, you can mix all your items together and they get transported to the recycling facility mixed together. This is a cost-savings measure for the city of Raleigh as it means they can use less sophisticated waste pickup trucks, and the pickup crews can move faster and more efficiently. I also think that more people will be likely to recycle because now it should take less work to recycle.

The impact of comingling recycling materials is that once it arrives at the MRF (materials recovery facility), it then all must be separated. That’s what we learned about in our tour of the facility. I tried to document in pictures and videos. It is really an amazing process and watching these people in action makes me want to work harder to keep contaminants out of my recycling bin.

A few tips I learned while I was there.

Trash doesn’t belong in the recycling bin. There are people who have to pull it out by hand if you put trash with the recycleables in your bin.
Follow Raleigh’s easy-to-use list of acceptable materials when selecting items for recycling.
The biggest contaminate to the recycling stream are plastic clamshell packages and plastic bags, neither of which is recycleable.

Ready for our tour!

To see the pictures and video of my tour, read the rest of the article.
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February 27, 2009

Last Day of School

Filed under: Henry — JeniQ @ 10:40 am

Today is Henry’s last day in the Infant class at his school.

Before breakfast:

Ready for school:

I can’t believe that he’ll be a year old on Monday! He is such a big boy. He is definitely ready to move up to the next class. He’s a bit of a terror in his current class as the next youngest child is 8 months old. I think he’s tired of hanging out with all those babies!

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February 26, 2009

Twice-light!

Filed under: Cristin,Movies — JeniQ @ 12:51 am

Twilight

I Heart Sparkly Vampires

Saturday Cristin and I went to see Twilight. Twice. It was so super awesome. The first time we sat in the back row and drank beers and ate popcorn. The second time we sat in the front row and drank more beer and ate candy. We were totally giggly and talking and goofy, it was awesome. I’m telling ya, this is the only way to watch a movie.