Now that Owen is using the big potty (yay!), the next lesson will soon be in aim. As we cheer him on when he goes in the big potty, I also can't help but notice that his pee always hits the back of the toilet, or the seat, or all over the rim.
Of course, it's the best when we run out of cleaner (found some ancient bleach, though), it's 12:20am, the in-laws are coming for a rare overnight visit, plus I'm going to NYC tomorrow and I have to finish packing.
Hooray, solo mama/girlfriend trip!
Boo, crazy late night cleaning!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
potty party
We've been sloooooowly working up to going diaper-free since at least March, so there were a couple things that finally needed to happen. I told him last Saturday that I wasn't buying any more diapers to wear during the day, and we gave him the choice of diapers vs. underpants (staying away from the "big boy" label since he's pretty conflicted about it). We've had less than 5 accidents in the last week, which is great. The drawback is that he's been wanting to sleep with us, he's outgrowing his daytime naps, and he wants me to rock him before bedtime. Minor.
The last hurdle was getting Owen to poop in the potty. We set up a reward chart, so that when he went 3 times, he'd get a party. He made poop #3 last Sunday, so we set the party for Thursday, complete with pizza, cake, and a "Way to Go" balloon. But now he wants a party all the time, and he's coming to the realization that you don't get a potty party all the time.
The cake, by the way, wasn't a chocolate bundt cake with white frosting. I was really wanting to make one, but the night before the party, Tak & I went out for wedding anniversary #8, and cake making was not going to happen when we got home. Instead, Owen got a fudge cake with a cherry in the middle (ha!) from Shaw's bakery--which has really great cakes and possibly the best frosting ever. Thank heaven it's almost gone.
Now, Owen is sleeping and Tak is on his way home from a Dig photoshoot with photos for the Fall Style guide. Nice, huh?
BTW, I've only watched the 1st half of Nightwatch (Nochnoy Dozor) and I love it. Can't wait to finish it tonight and will probably be chomping at the bit to watch the sequels.
The last hurdle was getting Owen to poop in the potty. We set up a reward chart, so that when he went 3 times, he'd get a party. He made poop #3 last Sunday, so we set the party for Thursday, complete with pizza, cake, and a "Way to Go" balloon. But now he wants a party all the time, and he's coming to the realization that you don't get a potty party all the time.
The cake, by the way, wasn't a chocolate bundt cake with white frosting. I was really wanting to make one, but the night before the party, Tak & I went out for wedding anniversary #8, and cake making was not going to happen when we got home. Instead, Owen got a fudge cake with a cherry in the middle (ha!) from Shaw's bakery--which has really great cakes and possibly the best frosting ever. Thank heaven it's almost gone.
Now, Owen is sleeping and Tak is on his way home from a Dig photoshoot with photos for the Fall Style guide. Nice, huh?
BTW, I've only watched the 1st half of Nightwatch (Nochnoy Dozor) and I love it. Can't wait to finish it tonight and will probably be chomping at the bit to watch the sequels.
Friday, August 18, 2006
my favorite typos
Maybe it’s because I’m an editor, but there are some things that I see over and over that drive me bananas.
whose (possessive) vs. who’s (abbreviation for “who is”)
your (possessive) vs. you’re (abbreviation for “you are”)
periods and commas outside the quotation marks (In America, they go “inside,” not outside.)
whose (possessive) vs. who’s (abbreviation for “who is”)
your (possessive) vs. you’re (abbreviation for “you are”)
periods and commas outside the quotation marks (In America, they go “inside,” not outside.)
Thursday, August 10, 2006
zombie-phobia "cured" by (P.K.) Dick
Ha! sorry. I couldn't help it.
Ever since the remake of Dawn of the Dead played in heavy rotation in April/May, I had awful nightmares about zombies. It kept me awake at night. What would happen if there was an outbreak and they broke into our house? How would we fight them? How would we try & escape? Maybe it was a mother instinct, but I was pretty freaked out. And I love horror films. Something about this movie, every time it was on, I had to watch it. It was my own stupid fault. Finally, Mr. Man took control of the remote when it was on (thankfully).
But it's weird, there are just some things I can't watch anymore. I can watch all kinds of freaky, creepy, scary-ass movies (the Grudge, Ringu, Audition, etc.). I even sat through all of The Blob (the 80's version, mullets, shoulder pads, pegged jeans, and all) last month when it was on. But Resident Evil? Saw? Hostel? No thanks, I'm not interested. Can't do it.
It got me thinking, vampires are really just pretty zombies, depending on which movie version. I'll take Underworld/Buffy vampires over the 'Salem's Lot version, thank you. Any monster movie preys on the audience's fear of losing control/thrill of regaining control. What makes us human? What sets us apart from the undead freak that's eating brains, the werewolf, the serial killer? The will to fight? The ability to choose who are the victims, if any? That maybe I really needed to sit down with a few old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and make sure I have my super-long knitting needles with me at all times? What about voudoo zombies, the kind that need a master, a la Serpent and the Rainbow? That helped temporarily. I figured it was best not to get into the psychology/ philosophy of zombies. Especially since they're already dead and don't think, or feel, anything.
On a sidenote: Shaun of the Dead is too funny to scare me. At the end, the army comes in and saves the day. Happy endings, all around! 28 days later has enough of a really faulty lynchpin that it doesn't scare me so much. Rage? C'mon. Well, not that Zombie-ism is really supposed to make sense anyway. The victims are still kind of human, too. Plus, not only does it happen in England, but the film also has Cillian Murphy naked. But that's not quite the dick I'm talking about.
About the height of my zombie-phobia, I got two excellent reading recommendations at a friend's wedding from my table-mates (all well-cultured sci-fi/horror/cult film afcionados):
One was for the Zombie Survival Guide, a part tongue-in-cheek, part Boy Scout manual to living through a zombie invasion. I know, in my conscious brain, that it's a joke. Author Max Brooks is Mel Brooks' son, and Brad Pitt's production company Plan B just bought the rights to a pseudo-sequel; they are all laughing on the way to the bank. My subconscious brain, the one that goes into overdrive at 3 A.M.--because from my bed, I can see my unit's front door (yes, BAD feng shui. we're working on it.)--was oddly comforted.
The other reading recommendation was for Philip K. Dick. (Yes, finally the long winded punchline.) Oh. My. Wow. Blade Runner is in my all time top film list. Philip K. Dick's work is still being looted for really well-done sci-fi/action films. But it's bleak as hell. In the future, humanity is defeated, over and over, by its own undoing, usually creating machinery that perpetuates a vicious cycle of destruction. Or in a post-apocalyptic world, innocence is lost, religion is alien, pointless and/or frightening, reality is a hallucination, and memory is never to be trusted. Those are just a collection of short stories (including Minority Report and We Can Remember it for You Wholesale/Totall Recall). The most hopeful story hinges on the character's ability to rebel. I'm still digesting it, and I haven't even read A Scanner Darkly or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Don't worry, I'll get to them--after I've read a truckload of picture books, Peter Pan, the Wee Free Men, City of Ember, a couple of historical romance novels, and a few potty training guides.
I don't need zombies to keep me up at night now that I know in the future it won't really matter. We'll be going through the motions, if that. Um, thanks? I think I'll watch Reign of Fire now. Dragons plunging the civilized world into chaos seems more reassuring.
Ever since the remake of Dawn of the Dead played in heavy rotation in April/May, I had awful nightmares about zombies. It kept me awake at night. What would happen if there was an outbreak and they broke into our house? How would we fight them? How would we try & escape? Maybe it was a mother instinct, but I was pretty freaked out. And I love horror films. Something about this movie, every time it was on, I had to watch it. It was my own stupid fault. Finally, Mr. Man took control of the remote when it was on (thankfully).
But it's weird, there are just some things I can't watch anymore. I can watch all kinds of freaky, creepy, scary-ass movies (the Grudge, Ringu, Audition, etc.). I even sat through all of The Blob (the 80's version, mullets, shoulder pads, pegged jeans, and all) last month when it was on. But Resident Evil? Saw? Hostel? No thanks, I'm not interested. Can't do it.
It got me thinking, vampires are really just pretty zombies, depending on which movie version. I'll take Underworld/Buffy vampires over the 'Salem's Lot version, thank you. Any monster movie preys on the audience's fear of losing control/thrill of regaining control. What makes us human? What sets us apart from the undead freak that's eating brains, the werewolf, the serial killer? The will to fight? The ability to choose who are the victims, if any? That maybe I really needed to sit down with a few old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and make sure I have my super-long knitting needles with me at all times? What about voudoo zombies, the kind that need a master, a la Serpent and the Rainbow? That helped temporarily. I figured it was best not to get into the psychology/ philosophy of zombies. Especially since they're already dead and don't think, or feel, anything.
On a sidenote: Shaun of the Dead is too funny to scare me. At the end, the army comes in and saves the day. Happy endings, all around! 28 days later has enough of a really faulty lynchpin that it doesn't scare me so much. Rage? C'mon. Well, not that Zombie-ism is really supposed to make sense anyway. The victims are still kind of human, too. Plus, not only does it happen in England, but the film also has Cillian Murphy naked. But that's not quite the dick I'm talking about.
About the height of my zombie-phobia, I got two excellent reading recommendations at a friend's wedding from my table-mates (all well-cultured sci-fi/horror/cult film afcionados):
One was for the Zombie Survival Guide, a part tongue-in-cheek, part Boy Scout manual to living through a zombie invasion. I know, in my conscious brain, that it's a joke. Author Max Brooks is Mel Brooks' son, and Brad Pitt's production company Plan B just bought the rights to a pseudo-sequel; they are all laughing on the way to the bank. My subconscious brain, the one that goes into overdrive at 3 A.M.--because from my bed, I can see my unit's front door (yes, BAD feng shui. we're working on it.)--was oddly comforted.
The other reading recommendation was for Philip K. Dick. (Yes, finally the long winded punchline.) Oh. My. Wow. Blade Runner is in my all time top film list. Philip K. Dick's work is still being looted for really well-done sci-fi/action films. But it's bleak as hell. In the future, humanity is defeated, over and over, by its own undoing, usually creating machinery that perpetuates a vicious cycle of destruction. Or in a post-apocalyptic world, innocence is lost, religion is alien, pointless and/or frightening, reality is a hallucination, and memory is never to be trusted. Those are just a collection of short stories (including Minority Report and We Can Remember it for You Wholesale/Totall Recall). The most hopeful story hinges on the character's ability to rebel. I'm still digesting it, and I haven't even read A Scanner Darkly or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Don't worry, I'll get to them--after I've read a truckload of picture books, Peter Pan, the Wee Free Men, City of Ember, a couple of historical romance novels, and a few potty training guides.
I don't need zombies to keep me up at night now that I know in the future it won't really matter. We'll be going through the motions, if that. Um, thanks? I think I'll watch Reign of Fire now. Dragons plunging the civilized world into chaos seems more reassuring.
Monday, August 07, 2006
the muffin man
Owen is all about helping to cook these days. Luckily, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and he's a dessert devil, just like me! But finding eggless batter (hooray, botulism!) is tricky. Mixes that stand out are Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mix (just add water), No Pudge Brownie mix (add fat-free vanilla yogurt), and mixes from the Country Gourmet. The Lemon Poppy Scone & Muffin mix is a fave, and the Blueberry Oat Scone & Muffin mix also makes good size muffins--not the lame kind that have zero rise. Oh no. Made incorrectly, these babies could break a window. If small children aren't going to be licking the bowl, go ahead and add the lone beaten egg to the mix and water. The best way to enjoy them is cut in half, toast, and add a little butter or jam. A little "gourmet" at Marshalls ($3.99/lb bag), but they're healthier than a coffee shop muffin.
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