Armchair Abecedarian

May Daze

2011-05-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some quick shots of the last month. Sadie is getting to be a big girl (officially 18 months!)- talking a lot and loving life!

Sadie always loves to cuddle with her friends- frog, dog, and owl (these are 3 of her favorite words too)

Owl makes an appearance again

Learning bike safety

Loves her new chair and table set. and it's better shared with a friend :)

Daddy is off to the prom

my little reader

papa time

Happy beginning to Summer!!!

XOXO, Rebecca

PS- Sorry I've been neglecting this blog. I've been pouting a lot of my time into my other blog. :)

Who do you think you are?

2011-05-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite song. I love female singers. I heard this on the radio a month or so ago and rushed home to google the lyrics I remembered- but had no luck. I thought it was Adele-like, but knew it wasn't her. Then Glee happened. I knew I had found the song- and I guess all of America found it at the same time too. Happy weekend. Turn up the music and sing along.

The Town Represents

2011-05-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

I love my city.

Brotherly Love on Mother's Day

2011-05-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

My brother just posted this link to his facebook. So sweet! I love it, Johnnie!! Happy Mother's Day to all of you and especially to my mom, momma Ruff!

Mommyhood

2011-05-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

I love being a mom. But I also have a mom that loves being a mom (and a grandmom). I remember my mom always saying when I was young (and quite recently): I was made to be a mom, being a mom is my finest joy in life, my children bring me the most joy of all. Wow! After hearing that for the past 32 years, who wouldn't have a positive view of being a mom?

Being a mom feel much like being a teacher to me- it just fits. It makes me feel like I am doing what I should be doing- what I was born to do.

I want to thank my mom- for giving me such a glowing review of motherhood, day in and day out. It makes a HUGE difference.

I love being a mom to this little one. She gives me so much: snuggles, laughter, perseverance, etc... I love to watch her curiosity about life and the world.

I love the way my mom loves Sadie (and her other grandbaby girls) too:

I love sitting at the piano singing hymns with my mom. It's been a Sunday ritual forever.

I love laughing with my mom:

I love snuggling with my baby:

I love exposing my baby to interesting things, and watching her excitement blossom!

I love bonding with Sadie. She liked my toenail polish, or at least was fascinated by it- so I painted one of her feet. She loved it. And again, I just loved to watch he excitement about little things.

I also love my daughter's bold will. Her she is standing on the bed after being told repeatedly to sit. She understands. She knows. But she love pushing the boundaries. But despite that, I love her so. I love that she has a strong spirit.

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing moms out there--I bet most great moms out there had/have a pretty special mom that showed them how to love and care for a child completely

If I didn't have to work tomorrow...

2011-05-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

I would take Sadie to the local pool
I would go on a hike in the redwoods- maybe Muir Woods, it would be nice and cool
I'd eat ice cream for lunch dessert
Sadie and I would retreat to the beach and get sand in our hair and our toes
Sadie would sleep in until 10am- so I could indulge in a book
I'd go to the Ferry Building and get Blue Bottle Coffee
I'd get a pedicure
I would go visit friends and have a long lunch and a good talk
I'd go to the park
I'd meander in a book store
I'd go to the Farmer's Market in Old Oakland
I'd learn to sew
I'd plant my summer veggies
I'd go catch an afternoon movie- all by myself (something I've never done!)

But, in reality, I do have work. I have to teach test prep to reading intervention students in a very hot concrete tomb. I know I'll enjoy being at work (despite my morose description), but I'd much rather be playing the day away.

I hope you get some good play time this weekend!

XOXO, Rebecca

I'm in love

2011-05-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

I just had a yummy salad for lunch. Baby arugula, cherry tomatoes, and this fabulous Cilantro Salad Dressing from Trader Joe's. MMM-- I love Cilantro! Thank you TJs!

Philly Water Ice in My Hood?!?!

2011-04-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

It being a beautiful sunny day today, we went to Flavor Brigade for some ice cream this afternoon. Has anyone been to this place? It's close to our house on Fruitvale at MacArthur (across the street from the library and the creepy vet). Um, it's amazing!!! Our family is a bit phantic (yes, ph) for all things philly. And Flavor Brigade hit it OUT of the park. Let me count the reasons why this place it wonderful!!--

They have custards (you may have to be from Philly to get this)- you can have it on top or mixed into your water ice
it's organic!
they use Strauss milk base for their ice creams
they make it in house (ps. using recipes from RITA'S!, yes, RITA'S!!!)
they use real fruit
their water ice is legit- so good, and tastes like Rita's.
they have soft pretzels
they have Tastykakes

I got a small (but it was pretty big) cherry water ice with custard (they put it on top and at the bottom, mmm) for $2.99. Yum. It may be dangerous that it's only a few blocks away. But this place is so good- you have to go try it! Especially if you hail from Philly.

I'm in love. And so is my daughter.

35 years later...

2011-04-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

The wonders of toothpicks. I love this, especially because it's about my home turf:

Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay from Learning Studio on Vimeo.

Pacifica in March

2011-04-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

I know you're jealous. I would be too. Us Californians have it all.

Beautiful sunny day in March? Check.

Cute baby? Check.

Killer waves? Check.

Plastic sand rake? Check.

Taco Bell beachside? Check (that's it on the left).

What a joyous day! Thank you sping break! We couldn't have asked for more! Gotta say- we love where we live...but I guess you picked up on that.

xoxo, rebecca

Go Dadda Go!

2011-04-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Mark ran in Oakland's 1/2 marathon in March. We were so excited to cheer him on! His friend ran with him, while I hung out with his friend's wife (also my friend) and their son (sadie's buddy). A good day was had by all!!

At the starting line! The energy was high...

Rolling into mile 12! Is that a bird, is that a plane?? Oh my it's dadda! He's going so fast I almost missed him!

All smiles:

Sadie is really obsessed with with GIANT inflatable Geico lizard behind mom (the photographer).

Dad enjoys his post run beer (his running bib included tear-off bear tickets, is that normal?). Sadie is still obsessed with the giant Geico lizard (there was a costumed dancing lizard in addition to the inflatable one).

I think Sadie will be ready for the Kids' fun run soon!

We were so proud of dad! What a dedicated runner he is!!

XOXO, Rebecca

Workin' It

2011-04-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

Over our spring break we moved back into our Casita. We put a TON of stuff in storage, and we're gradually moving things back (We're still going to keep the extra storage space- to keep our sanity!). We decided to make some purchases, so that our stuff will fit into our place better. I think we went to IKEA at least 5 times! I'll post some pics of how of space is coming together- as soon as I get all the boxes cleaned up and tidy.

We spent hours getting some of these IKEA pieces together...and little miss was a big help. This video cracks me up. She was very serious about helping mom and dad.

And now that we'll be rocking the Dimond neighborhood, I think our house needs an official name, any ideas?

I Better Watch What I Say

2011-04-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

It's dinnertime and Sadie just walked into the kitchen saying Rice, Rice Rice...she wanted a rice cake. I love my little linguistic queen. It feels like she's learning a word or two a day.

Here are some of her recently learned, and oft-repeated, words:
frog (fro)
bike (bi)
uh oh
cheese
strawberry
outside (side)
light (dight)
apple
door
please (pease)
thank you (da do)
gracias (I didn't hear this- her daycare people told me she started saying this week)
bus
book (boo)
agua
milk (mil)
sorry
owl
animal (she spat this out at the zoo! crazy!)
bye bye (fill in the blank)
roro
ruby
bath
dog
baby

It's fun to watch her language go and grow!! And it's exciting to hear her create phrases with the words she knows. It's also interesting to hear the sounds she leaves out- it's usually the ending sounds/tricky sounds/the sounds that aren't stressed.

I'm so proud of my little baby!! She's such a little learner!

The sad thing is that she's starting to feel less and less like my little baby, and more and more like a big girl. Time does fly!

XOXO, Rebecca

Fwa Fwa FWAAA

2011-04-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

Here's Sadie is full affect. She was 17 months old yesterday and she's been a blast lately- my little buddy. In this video, she's freaking out because I was washing one of her 2 frog blankies. She didn't even see me toss it in, so she must have seen it tumbling around. Fwa Fwa Fwa is the her way of saying, "Mama! Get froggy out of there! I don't like baths and neither does he!" (And yeah, apparently now she loathes bathtime. She screamed bloddy murder through her whole bath last night. I think the cold pacific ocean may have traumatized her.)

XOXO, Rebecca

Cousin Love Fest

2011-04-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

These were too cute! Had to steal them off my sister's blog !

Happy Friday!

XOXO, Rebecca

Baby Beer Cozy

2011-04-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Sadiekins sure seems to fancy the beer cozy that Aunt Lida and Uncle Scott gave out on their wedding day. It's one of her new obsessions-

I love my silly little muchkin!

XOXO, Rebecca

Contenta

2011-04-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent videos taken over the past couple of weeks- of Sadie just being Sadie. These are especially for those friends and family far away. I love how content of a baby Sadie is. She seems to really enjoy life.

Chatting away at bath time-

Her she is loving on a dog we dog sat. She loved walking into his tail and patting her.

Sadie has become quite the sous chef these days-

XOXO,
Rebecca

All of the Above

2011-03-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. This week has been FABULOUS. I can't decide if it's because a) we're on spring break, b) we're back in our casita, c) I'm getting to redecorate. I think it's all of the above. The awesome thing about spring break is that Mark and I both have the same vacation schedules. What can be more fabulous than that? And we have 2 weeks of spring break!!

Sunday-

Mark ran in Oakland's Running Festival- the 1/2 marathon! Sadie and I went to the sidelines to cheer him on. We had a blast, and loved celebrating with dad afterwards (more pics on this later...)

Monday-

Moved back into our house.
Walked to Peet's, went shopping.
Chilled.
Had family dinner at my mom's.

Tuesday-

We went to little farm in the Berkeley Hills- even though Sadie was quite sleepy- it was awesome!! (see piggy video)
Met my friend for coffee
Had some good friend over for dinner

Wednesday (Today)-

Went shopping at IKEA (we had breakfast there too- $7 for three people!)- and made big plans to organize our small space wisely! Sadie loved running around IKEA. She especially loved the kiddy kitchen and snuggling on daddy's shoulder.
Took afternoon naps
Went to Dimond Park- had fun chatting it up with neighbors

Thursday (tomorrow)

Day trip to the beach!

Friday

Go to Muir Woods (in the Marin Hills, by the coast) with our friend Seth

I love the sun (especially after weeks of cold rain)! I love California! I love my family!

xoxo,
Rebecca

Take 2

2011-03-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

FYI friends,

To make it easier for people to remember, I renamed my other blog- The Joy of Literacy

Check it out here:
http://thejoyofliteracy.blogspot.com/

My mom thought Bedfellows and Pocketbook Companions would make a good title for a memoir....ahhhh, someday mom.

XOXO,
Rebecca

It is what it is

2011-03-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

Since August we have been trying to sell our house. We lowered our price and tried again this spring, and got an offer within the first couple weeks of putting the house back on the market. But the deal collapsed yesterday. We are bummed that we put so much time, effort, and money into this 8-month journey...

Today we are back at our cute little house after spending weeks at my mom's (she's been such a gracious host). And we're spending time reflecting on the circumstances.

Mark is strumming on his guitar, and wrote some lyrics-
The breeze
blowing through the trees
outside my window
sky is blue
My baby is asleep
in the other room
We got everything we need
When I'm next to you

I'm reading Cutting for Stone. And last night, after getting the news of our botched deal, the last words I read for the night felt apropos (@ 24% on the kindle version)-

For the first time since Sister Mary Joseph Praise's death, Matron felt a sense of peace, a sense of certainty where there had been none. She was certain that this was the spot- this was where the long voyage of Sister Mary Praise would end. She remembered, too, her first days in Addis, when things looked so bleak, so terrifying, so tragic- it was at those moments that God's grace came, and that God's plan was revealed in his time. "I can't see it, Lord, but I know you can," she said.

So here's what I can be optimistic about going forward-
1-We love being blocks from such an amazing park.
2- We love the convenience of our neighborhood. Yes, we have Peet's, the library, banks, restaurants, 2+ grocery stores- but more importantly, easy freeway access is such a perk!
3-We feel safe in the Dimond- you hear a lot more gun shots in the neighborhood we were planning to move to. This was a low priority for us in general, but somehow having a kid changes these sort of priorities for you.
4- Our neighborhood is very walkable, and encourages us to have a more active lifestyle.
5- Hopefully we'll be creative and make this house work better for us going forward. I'm looking forward to possible renovations.
6- We love the school we're slotted for, Glenview. It's public, diverse, has good test scores, has a dynamic parent community, and is walking distance from our house.
7- We love that we're in between the hills and the flats.
8-We love Farmer Joe's- and we've missed it.
9- By staying longer, we'll be able to put more equity in the house...hopefully it will be a better financial decision in the long-run.
10- The leak in our garage (which really killed our deal), only got 2 of our boxes wet.

Here's to being optimistic!

XOXO,
Rebecca

sadie in the land of short-lived obsessions

2011-03-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

I can't say that life has been wonderful to me (or to our little family) lately. It was looking up until....today. We just got back a crappy inspection on the house we're trying to sell. Really? 5 years ago when we bought it, our inspector told us it was in great condition. I think those contractors are just trying to get some work in this dang blasted lousy economy. And I don't really think it's fair that the contractors do the inspections...does that seem fair to you...it feels quite biased. We were so close to being settled for 15 years, but now, who knows? So the waiting continues...

Here's some of the fun we're having as learn to have more patience and live life:

Fashion police...arrest this girl! Well she was festive, at least, it being St. Patty's Day.

Success with veggies!! Here are some photos catching Sadie in action with a veggie-laden mommy creation. This is brown fried rice with broccoli, corn and egg. Tonight I tried throwing some sauteed shredded carrot and onion into her quesadilla- it was a hit! For some reason she liked the sauteed veggies more than the tortilla itself. She also loved the hidden veggie pasta sauce I made- so I've made that a couple of times. I'm getting better at this.

Mommy, I love it, see?

This is classic Sadie- she wanted daddy's belt. So I put it on her (double wrapped, of course). She walked around the house for more than an hour with the belt on. Isn't this look kinda hipster? Here she's bringing spices to the dog bed (we are dog sitting). She loves the dog's bed, even though we tell her it's dirty and that she cannot sit on it. What to do? She loves it.

This is Sadie's latest obsession- our friend's BOB that we're borrowing. She calls it a weee weeee. Today it was raining pretty hard all day. Sadie wanted to sit in the stroller by the front window with books and toys.

She just sat there for a good hour and was so content. I love my silly little girl.

XOXO, Rebecca

In a nutshell

2011-03-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Top Ten Activities this week:
1) Walking around the hood almost daily
2) Sadie eating whole peas covered in vegetable-loaded tomato sauce
3) Getting picture texts of baby cousin Rory
4) Finally getting back the a counter offer on a house we are trying to buy (5 days late! Craziness.)
5) Our appraisal going through on the house we're trying to sell. Whoot Whoot!
6) Husband didn't have class Thursday night, so we got to hang out
7) Making (green) cupcakes last night
8) Sadie is slowly adjusting to daylight savings time change (That's a good thing, even though it means she's short napping herself)
9) Reading before bed- I'm finally hooked into my current book club book
10) It's finally Friday night!!! And Mark's back with the take-out Indian! Yum!! Bye!

XOXO, Rebecca

Photo Bomb of Sadiekins

2011-03-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

Life is full lately. We're in escrow on our house, and trying to buy a new house. I am so ready to be settled. But despite 1/2 of year of transition, cleaning rampages, and staging - our little bundle of joy remains resilient.

Sadie thought it was awfully funny to crush the blackberries in her hands.

Playing with dada's hat:

Where's Sadie?

More eating pictures. I think this is the only time Sadie is semi-still lately. Sadie says "nana" all the time for banana, "agua" or "bebe" for her milk, and she also said strawberry this week! She's becoming quite the word smith. She picks up a lot of things from day care- that's where she learned agua. She also says "abre" for open (spanish), etc... She says new things daily- it's a lot of fun!

Sadie loves grandma's. She carries around gma's necklace. In her other hand is a toothbrush- one of her new obsessions.

Reading in her favorite chair. Sadie can get in and out of this chair with no end. She usually fills it with her favorite things (books, keys, froggie, milk cup, etc...), sits for a bit, then takes everything out of the chair and starts all over. Funny girl.

Which picture doesn't belong? Last week we had a yummy white bean and kale stew using a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, so I thought I'd share the end result. The bread was a bit brown (whoops!), but the poached egg was delicious. And the stew itself was FABulous!

Have a great WEEK! Laugh and eat something yummy!

XOXO, Rebecca

roar!

2011-03-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of new Sadie videos:

Some exciting news- Mark's sister, Claire, had a baby girl this week: Rory Elisabeth! When we told Sadie, she started roaring dramatically! We tried to recreate this moment for video, but Sadie had toned down the drama by that point. We're so thrilled to have a new addition to the family!

Sadie got to go to her first Quinceanera last week! So fun! Happy Birthday 15th Nana! If you watch closely, you can watch the birthday girl walk by in her princess dress- she looked amazing! And the pork tacos were awesome!

This is a typical day in the life of Sadie- dancing, chattering, and playing contentedly with her toys. It's fun for me to watch her play.

XOXO, Rebecca

My New Blog about Literacy!

2011-03-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

If it isn't apparent by now-I am such a literacy nerd. As a Literacy Specialist in an urban school district in California, I am particularly interested in community literacy, family literacy, and learning how to best teach my struggling readers (all of my students!).

Being passionate about literacy prompted me to start a second blog. This blog will be my professional blog taking up best literacy practices for teachers and families.

The blog is called Bedfellows and Pocketbook Companions, read along, if interested. I'd love any ideas you have about things you'd like for me to post about (or let me know if you to join in with the posting).

Here's the direct link: http://pocketbookcompanions.blogspot.com/.

XOXO,
Rebecca

Being Myself

2011-03-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

My brother and his awesome wife, Sarah, came over for dinner last night. We usually have family dinner night on Mondays (with gma, brothers, sister, spouses, cousins), but since gma and team prinz had other things going on- we decided that it would still be fun to have dinner with Aaron and Sarah.

My hubby always comments about my behavior when Aaron leaves. He always says something to the effect of, "You're so you when you're around Aaron" or "You were so fun tonight." And I think to an extent, he's right. I am completely myself around Aaron. I'm not sure why that is. Aaron is Aaron- non-judgmental, excited about life, a little wacky sometimes, curious, thoughtful, and so untrendy that it's almost hip. It's just nice to be around him. We may gel well together because we played together a lot as kids, went to the same college, like playing (nerdy) board games, and get really excited about things we're excited about. But maybe it has more to do with who Aaron is, than having to do with Aaron and me (hmmm....); he is a pretty neat dude.

Last night the four of us ate meatballs subs of deliciousness together (see the recipe from Smitten Kitchen here ) and chatted about schema, iphones, education, playing games, and the nieces.

Thanks for a fun Monday night you two!

[Now Aaron- I'm putting the pressure on. You have to start that blog linking all the blogs that talk about you coolness! And you can also field test your book 7 out of 10 Doctors Recommend It.]

Besides your spouse, who do you feel the most you around?

Spring has Sprung

2011-02-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

Folks have been asking for it....so here's more of Sadie!

While the photography is not particularly stunning in these recent shots, you get an idea of our life. We've been busy- going to the zoo, birthday parties, the Lindsey Museum, gmas, etc... The Bay has been a bit rainy...but the clear days have been warm and gorgeous. We've been trying to take advantage of the sunny weather, whenever possible.

This post is dedicated to Claire, Mark's sister! She's past her due date and a new little cousin (gender unknown) will be born any day now! Who hoo! We're so excited for her and her hubby, excited for Sadie to have another cousin (more=better!), and we're thrilled to be auntie and uncle to a newborn all over again! I'll update you all when the wee one is born.

Enjoy the photos!

XOXO, Rebecca

Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

2011-02-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

Kindle you have been wonderful, but really, The Hangman's Daughter? Overall, it was pretty bad. And now I am spending precious minutes commenting on this poor novel with the hope that you too will not squander your life away.

When you have a Kindle, or probably any other e-reader, you can view the top rated downloads and instantly (but, of course!) read reviews. This book was #1 for Kindle downloads, only $3.99, and it had gotten one rave review after another. After reading most of the book, I checked the reviews again, and the negative comments had multiplied. I came across a review that said the plot reminded him of Scooby-Doo-- The evil guy is after those pesky kids. That put the nail on the head.

The general gist of the book: A hangman from a long line of hangmen in a small Bavarian town has to execute someone he knows is innocent. In order to make peace with his conscience, he tries to find out who is guilty. The crime? Murdering small children and practicing witchcraft.

The plot plods on and on. The characters are 2-dimensional. The writing is unsophisticated- it felt like a middle school novel. But i did finish it (what if it got better?).

In the end I decided 2 things:

The book was translated, and it could have been well written in German. If the writing was elevated, it would have made the book a lot better. So it may be the fault of the translation.
It was a mostly true story about the author's family (which I didn't find out until after i finished it)...this makes it a lot more interesting in hindsight.

Sorry Germany, you'll have to wait a bit more for your Steig Larrson...but it may happen some day. On Goodreads I gave it 2/5 stars. I did finish it.

Now on to a (hopefully) better novel- Cutting the Stone. It's probably a good sign that this one didn't turn up on Kindle's most downloaded list.

xoxo,

Rebecca

Life in Waiting

2011-02-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

Life has been true to form lately- rushed and hectic a lot of the time, and other time completely dragging. Life- what is with you?? I don't want to drone on and on about life's woes...because overall things are really great (wonderful husband, baby, family, job)...BUT...

Since September of last year we have been on the eternal journey of trying to sell our house. And all this trying to sell, has been quite trying (I know that was a lame-o pun). At first I was very idealistic and positive....but I'm so over it now (after 6 months of instability). I want to be in a house I'm going to be in for 20 years. I want to have the time and capacity to have friends over. I want to plant veggies for summer. I want to think about having other kids. I want Sadie to be able to play in the backyard. I don't want all my kitchen gear in storage (boo!). I want to leave my house a mess sometimes!! I want clutter and knick knacks suffocating my living space. Most days I feel like it's never going to happen.

I know I need to be patient, and I know this is of our own doing, our choice (and apparently at a really bad time for the market)- but it still feels therapeutic to complain. I was talking to my students about whining today. And one student said, "Adults don't like it when kids do that." Ha! So true, so true. But it is so necessary sometimes.

So we'll see what happens. While we may be in the same small place with a couple babies for years to come, the upside is we do love our house and current 'hood, but just wish it had a little more space, and a yard to frolic in. I just need to remember to take my own advice not to whine, and that the grass is NOT usually greener (but sometimes it is!).

xoxo, Rebecca

Hold The Butter Part 2

2011-02-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

I appreciate all your comments on the first post in this series. I feel like your ideas and reassurance quelled much of my anxiety about Sadie's diet. In general, she eats pretty healthy. She loves her fair share of carbs (don't all toddlers?), she's still not a fan of green veggies, and I'm sure she's getting juice and the occasional preservative laden cookie at daycare- but I'm a little less stressed about it now.

I brought the issue up with her doctor, and she laughed. She said not to worry, that a cookie every day from daycare is no big deal. Really? She even suggest I lighten my load and have Sadie's daycare family give food to Sadie, instead of me providing the food. Ha! I love Dr. Tenney. She always knows how to put my slight anxieties at bay. It helps that she has 3 young children of her own, I think it makes her a lot more understanding, and helps to put issues like this in perspective.

Well, even though I have a hard time getting Sadie to eat veggies, she's discovered the joy of strawberries. She also says "nana" now for banana, so that's pretty dang cute.

Now I'm off to enjoy some Oreo cookies my mom bought for me...haha, no wonder why my daughter likes cookies- it runs in the family...

XOXO, Rebecca

Who doesn't like Gwen?

2011-02-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

We are going to give it one last go at putting our house on the market. So all this weekend (and the last weekend, and the weekend before that...) we were getting our house ready to sell. It hits the market manana.

All that to say is that Mark and I were washing floors and scrubbing tile when the Grammys were on last night. The Grammys seem like the most watchable awards show to me- it's actually entertaining. I don't really follow new music closely, but I was interested on what went down last night. I was able to get the jist of the Grammys last night via MySpace music and the NY Times. Ce Lo Green's performance was so odd and yet, so much fun. I love that Gwen P comes in with her 13" heels. She's rocking Glee and now the Grammys- I love that woman. I guess Cold Play dude is rubbing off on her in all their marital bliss.

On the subject of martial bliss, it's Mark and my 7th anniversary tonight, and he's back with dinner. So ta ta to you! Enjoy the video...be entertained!

Cee Lo Green Grammy Performance 2011
Uploaded by PopulerMuziginRenkleri. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Craft Success!!

2011-02-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

So my friend Mary was so wonderfully kind to show me the basics of sewing a couple weeks back!

First off, she has an awesome sewing room with bookcases, drawers, cups, and more drawers filled with sewing goodness- pom poms, ribbons, fabric, buttons, etc.. She gets much of her fabric vintage from local thrift stores...so she has some pretty interesting fabrics. It may be inappropriate to have a dedicated crafting room if you just crafted every so often, but Mary crochets, sews, or creates almost nightly after she puts her boys to bed. I love that! She's inspired me to let my creative juices flow more often- it's good for the soul!

After she helped me pick out some coordinating fabric from her room of fabric galore- we went to it. In the course of (just) 2 hours, here are some of the things I learned about sewing(you can tell I didn't have much knowledge to start with):

how to thread a needle in a machine
how to accurately measure and cut your fabric
about the right tools to use
how to guide the fabric as you're sewing
how to start and stop properly (reverse sew, lift the needle, etc)
how and when to pin (I never knew why those pins belonged in sewing kits!! ha!)
how to improvise! We made the case too small- whoops! So, Mary had an idea to add ribbon to the side to give us some room. It worked!

AND in addition to learning all of that (and much more), I walked away with a finished Kindle cover. I can't wait to try my next project, any ideas? It will need to be fairly simple.

WOW! This took only 2 hours to make! Sewing is magic!

XOXO, Rebecca

Hold the Butter

2011-02-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

Preface: Mom, I love you. And you raised me so wonderfully- really and truly.

Part 1:
I want to be healthy, BUT. In addition to loving fruits and vegetables: I like my meat and potatoes. I like sugar and cream in my coffee. I really like cheese. I like treats (a lot and especially chocolate treats). I like seconds and secret eating (TM Peter Lendway). I like sweet cereals (perish the thought!!). And, even though I try to exercise, I'm not a fan of sweat (and really, do I have time to go to the gym?).

Part 2:
I envy my husband at times. He eats like I do...but he has this amazing metabolism, so you would never know that he's more of a sweet fiend than I am. I know that he was programmed differently as a child. If he and a friend wanted sodas after school, his mom would make them run a lap around the block. This is why he doesn't mind exercise, being fit was expected in his family (and still is to this day). Whereas my parents didn't exercise. My brother played sports. I roller skated and rode bikes from time to time. But we didn't exercise. Oh, and on top it, us Ruffs like to eat and find joy in creating food deliciousness!

Part 3:
I really want Sadie to want to eat and live healthfully. But I get so worried she's going to turn out like me- not so into the gym or into wheat over white (even though I know I should be). We're trying to limit her sugar intake, staying away from processed foods, and feeding her a ton of fruits and veggies. But I feel like all of my good intentions are going to go to the wayside, because she is going to know my heart of hearts. Do as I say, not as I do, isn't a very good parenting strategy. And it's started already- she's rejecting green veggies for cheese and meat, she's been drinking juice and having cookies at day care (aghh!!), and she wants everything I'm eating.

The End:
So, how do I go forward? I know I should change my habits...but it's hard when they've been in the making for 32 years. How do you get your kid to like being a healthy person and enjoy eating well? What do you do as a parent to form healthy habits? What did your parents do for you? I feelo a bit lost, and like her food intake is spiralling downward, which is definitely making me go into a tizzy.

XOXO, Rebecca

Life as a Mom: Where did all the crazy go?

2011-02-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

It is so nice that I am able to work 60% time (I may go up to 80% next school year....I'm mulling it over). Working part time means I get home at 12:45ish and I have the afternoon to---- well, it usually gets swallowed whole by dishes, redirecting Sadie, making food, eating it, doing school work, emailing, etc... I never feel like I get anything done. But today- I was successful. It's only 3:30pm and dinner is ready (Chili) and simmering on the stove for later tonight. Yeah for me!

The recipe I used comes from allrecipes.com. I use it as a reference because it includes the kitchen sink, so I won't forget to add anything that I think belongs in good Chili. But I can't believe that it calls for 3 pounds of meat AND Bacon Bits- pretty ridiculous!!

All that meat got me to thinking....in college I was an RA. I went to a small liberal arts college, Biola, so our dorms are really the center of the campus' social life. I really wanted to name my all-girls floor "The Carnivores" (!!)- that's a lot more ridiculous than 3lbs. of meat in a chili recipe. I suppose I wanted to defy the girly stereotypes. I know that I was uber enthusiastic about the idea (surprise, surprise!), but it quickly got vetoed, because all of my floormates thought I was crazy. And I was. Adulthood has settled me down a whole heck of a lot.

My friend's parents still call me Crazy Becky, because they remember what I used to be like. All through high school and college I just did- and didn't think about it for very long. Life was grand, life was about me, and life was fun, fun, fun: I think that's why I was so impassioned and inhibited. As an adult I feel like I've worn the craziness out, and it's been replaced by a very measured and intentional attitude about life. Overall all I think it's a better way to be. I know that I am now a lot more about others, and less about my needs (I think I honestly used to think of myself as the center of it all- so selfish!). But...sometimes I miss the crazy.

So, as I go about my afternoon as the good housewife....do you have any answers? How do you get the crazy back and still be a responsible and caring adult?

XOXO, Rebecca

Crafting: Learning to Sew

2011-01-31T15:31:00.000-08:00

So, I've wanted to learn to sew forever and a day. I love being creative...but I've never been in an art/craft class, sewing included (wow! that's kind of shocking, right? since I come from a family of artists and my mom sews). Most of my creative projects come from my limited knowledge of craftiness- I know how to Mod Podge amazingly well, and that's about it. IMHO-You really need to know how to sew well to make practical and cool things by hand. Here's my lesson learned- creativity can only get you so far.

Oh, I've tried to learn on my own. There was the (poorly sewn) pillow project. A couple of (poorly) hemmed dresses. My mom even gave me a new sewing machine (that I wanted so badly) a few years back, and I spent 2+ hours trying to figure out how to thread and sew with this said sewing machine, to no avail (pretty pathetic considering I had the directions too). Then this year there was the Christmas stockings: I can cut out designs, use the iron to attach the felt, but once I needed to sew to finish the project- I choked.

All that to say-- I think it's finally happening! A friend of mine from church has offered to teach me to sew. And it's not just an offer any more- we have set a date (this Thursday) to get started with the lessons. I am completely ecstatic to learn from this master sewer! Who-hoo! She's going to help me learn how to make a padded Kindle cover for my new Kindle. :) I'm super thrilled!!

Beware, you may soon be gifted with an amateurish hand-sewn thingamajig ;)

xoxo, Rebecca

Being a Mom: Winter Funfest

2011-01-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

Check out a slideshow of recent pictures of Sadie: Enlarge window and click "Show Info" to see captions in the top right

XOXO, Rebecca

Making the MOST Impact

2011-01-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to Vitamin Angels today. Apparently this one of the charities that is making the most impact in our world.

Mission: Our mission is to mobilize and deploy private sector resources to advance availability, access and use of micronutrients, especially vitamin A, by newborns, infants and children in need. Vitamin Angels reduces child mortality worldwide by connecting essential nutrients, especially vitamin A, with infants and children under five. Essential nutrients enable young immune systems to fight infectious diseases, helping children attain good health and the opportunity to lead meaningful and productive lives.

Pretty neat.

See video for more about Vitamin Angels:

Vitamin Angels: Be an Angel from Vitamin Angels on Vimeo.

Thoughts? Have you all heard of Angel Vitamins before?

Books: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, By Rebecca Skloot

2011-01-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

Interesting read. Skloot goes on a decade-long journey- researching the family behind HeLa, the cell line of Henrietta Lacks which has been pivotal in medical research over the last 60 years. The cells were taken from Henrietta's cervix in the 1950s (without her consent) for cancer research. In Skloot's book, the quality of the writing was satisfactory (weak in parts)- but the human interest aspect of it kept you reading.

Skloot spends a lot of time with the Lacks family in her research of the book. She goes on week-long adventures with Henrietta's daughter, trying to uncover as much as possible about the Lacks family history and the HeLa cells. Even though some have reported on the origins of HeLa in the past, the reporters did not have as much access to the family as Skloot did. Also, much of the previous research into the origins of HeLa cells were full of fallacy. As Skloot does research for the book (which is part of the narrative), the Lacks family finally learns the extent of the impact HeLa cells had on science. The family is able to resolve the personal rift they had with the medical field, and they are able to find peace about the death of their mother/grandmother.

Throughout the book, Skloot is trying to communicate that she's not in the business of writing this book to exploit the Lacks family. Yet, at times, it feels like she is indeed exploiting the family by exposing their simple mindedness and their glaring misconceptions about science. I feel like Skloot tries to justify her research intentions- rationalizing to the reader that it's okay to publish the idiosyncrasies of this family because she's different from all the rest- she's the nice reporter that's come to help the family. Hmmmm, to me it still feels exploitative. Oh well, still a worthwhile read.

4 stars out of 5

Life as a Mom: Complexities of Language

2011-01-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

Little baby Sadie is quite the talker. Sometimes it's frustrating though...she has an arsenal of pretty complex words (for a 14 month old), but her favorite word is NO, of course. I get down on myself for letting this happen. I think, "Why is my baby so unfriendly and disagreeable?" or "I really should be able to 'parent' this out of her." But, alas, the "no" prevails every time.

In thinking about it more, it's pretty cool that she says no, in a way. She's picked up on our voice intonation and she knows when we're asking a question. She may not exactly understand our questions- Are you hungry? Do you want some lunch? Does Sadie want to take a bath?- but she gets that we want to communicate with her and that we are looking for a response from her. And her first response is no or no no no no no no, even though most of the time she is hungry and she does want a bath.

I'm a little worried about the next couple years; she's so strong willed already, I don't know what to expect from her when she's 2 or 3. Well, I love my little bundle, strong will and all, so we'll just have to deal with what comes our way (it's payback time, as they say).

Here's a pathetic video of her "no"ing me:

Here's a video showing off her smartness. Maybe she does know what we're saying...in the video I ask, "What does a cat say?" and she makes a cat sound, pretty cute :)

XOXO Rebecca

PS As I'm signing off, Sadie picked up my glasses and shook her head dramatically and said no. She's right, that's a no, no.

Little Miss: Walking :)

2011-01-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a clip of Sadie walking. Just a couple days later, she has so much more balance. Last night she was a walking machine...people tell us that we're in trouble! This morning she started climbing, she successfully got to the top stair of my wobbly step stool on her own, oh no! We shall see...

On another note, Mark and I have the tradition of volunteering on MLK day. Any good ideas of local volunteer work we can do with Sadie in tow?

xoxo
Rebecca

PS. It's my favorite sister's bday today! Make sure you send some bday love her way- because she is just that fabulous!

Playtime

2011-01-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

Here are a of couple recent videos of Sadie on her new horse from Gma Ruff (a new fav), and another of her strolling along with a friend. Good times. She's officially walking, so I'll upload a video of that soon! She's gaining more and more balance daily- It's fun to observe her progress.

xoxo, Rebecca

Books: Goodreads + Faithful Place by Tana French

2011-01-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

I just got hooked to Goodreads over the holidays (see side bar). It's a really fun way to connect with family and friends over books- a book lover's facebook. I love getting to peek at books my friends love (or didn't love so much). Books can be a highly personal- what you read says so much about your personality and interests, so looking at friends' personal book shelves almost feels like reading their journal. It's so fun! And, it's a great way to find new authors/books to read. (My glowing review should encourage you to try it out!)

Anyhow--

This year I set a personal challenge to read at least 20 books (and this list won't include any professional reading I do). I think 20 is completely doable (I'm hoping), especially with the new Kindle I got from my hubby for xmas. I'll keep you updated on what I've read/am reading.

This week I finished Tana French's Faithful Place. It was my first Kindle read- who hoo! This is the 3rd book in her Dublin (not CA) murder squad series. I've read all three. I thought I found an author that I alone adored, but apparently she's on a lot of folks' Kindle nowadays- and for a good reason. I've enjoyed reading everyone of her murder-mystery books. She follows a different murder/under cover detective as he/she slueths to find the murderer. Each detective always has a personal connection to the case in some way, so that adds a different element to her books.

Faithful Place follows an under cover detective, Frank Mackey, back to his family's home, which he's managed to successfully avoid his entire adult life. Frank's sister calls her cop brother when a suitcase is found in an abandoned building. The suitcase belongs to a girl that went missing in the 80's, a girl that Frank Mackey was dating at the time she went missing. So- the plot thickens! And, like I mentioned, French likes to add in this personal connection between the detective and the case. It definitely makes the plot more enthralling. The detectives have a lot more at stake in solving the mystery. The book is entangled with dysfunctional family drama, nostalgic childhood romance, complicated adult romance, and good ol' sleuthing.

I recommend it.

See the NY Times Book Review here.

Now I'm reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. If you know the Kindle- I started today and am at 12%- it's really interesting so far.

Read on!

Holiday Wrap-up

2011-01-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

Pre-Christmas my BFF visited with her little girl and hubby for the afternoon. It was great to catch up a have the girls play for a bit. I think they're all set to be BFFs too!

For Christmas we went to Chicago. The trip was a bit trying- we had a flight cancelled, several delays, 8 of us got the stomach flu on Christmas eve/day, and the airline lost the car seat on the way back. In the end, it was alright. It was good spending time with Mark's family, and it was especially good for Sadie to get some QT with her cousin, aunts/uncles, grandparents- but makes me realize how hard it is to travel with a 1-yr-old. It took her 5-6 days to recover from the jet lag/lack of sleep/social saturation. She's finally back to her sweet self, but I have to say, was the crankiest, moodiest, most worn down I have ever see her for several days after we got back. Traveling takes its toll, unfortunately!

Cousin play time in Chicago! The loved banging the pots and pans.

When Sadie starts reading a book on her own- she gets a sing-songy reading voice. It's so awesome, especially to her reading specialist mom. :)

More cousin time in Chicago. The were definitely interested in each other.

Following in our southern sister-in-law's footsteps, we made Hoppin' John for New Year's Day. It was a last-minute get together with family and friends. Many were sick and couldn't make it, but we still managed to make great headway with the black-eyed pea soup- it was too delicious (Thanks for the new cookbook Andy and Claire!- we used it for this recipe). Folks say that every black-eyed pea you eat on New Year's brings you a day of good luck throughout the year. Considering Mark and I snacked on the soup all day long- I think we're going to have a pretty lucky year.

I made little cards with pennies glued on the front (for good luck), so folks could record their New Year's resolution.

Waiting for the party to get started, looking cute... (and maybe a little saucy)

Of course she was really interested in Dad's beer-

We're dog sitting and Sadie is in heaven. I think she said "Whatisit?" (referring to the dog) 40x in her first 10 minutes awake this morning- seriously.

Happy New Year to you! Hope this year is full of goodness for you and yours!

XOXO

Date Night (with Gather + True Grit)

2010-12-31T09:46:00.000-08:00

Tuesday I turned the big 3-2...which seems not too notable or exciting. Since we had such a downer of a day on my birthday (travel + jet lag), we decided that this would be birthday week! Last night my mom babysat and we had a date night- I can't remember the last date we've had. It was the perfect birthday treat.

We started the night off at Gather. It's this amazing new restaurant near the UC Berkeley campus. The food's local, sustainable, and all that good stuff. The chef is young (he looks like a grad student that wandered off the school's grounds across the street), and hailed as a best new chef by various foodies and media outlets. With Gather's righteous attitude towards food and all the fanfare we thought the place would be pretentious, but it was quite the opposite. After leaving the restaurant Mark and I were talking about how several Bay Area restaurants serve upscale, to-die-for food, while remaining completely down-to-earth and approachable. Gather has instantly become a new favorite for me: most everything in the decor is salvaged material (including bench upholstery made from old leather belts sewn together), every bite of the food was flavorful and completely enjoyable, the waiter was warm, knowledgeable, and not too into himself/explaining the food (a plus at this type of place).

Food and Wine Magazine voted Gather's Vegan Charcuterie (pictured below) a top ten restaurant dish of the year. Umm- it was amazing! I can't describe the flavors- but I wanted to savor every delicious bite.

Here's what we had:

*out of 4 starts each

Vodka Smash (Cocktail) **

Bitter Rose (Cocktail) **

Vegan “charcuterie” ****

Sausage

– pork belly, chile, Fontinella ****

Barbecued young chicken

– farotto, turnips and tops, punterelle, cheese rind oil ***

(farotto= farro risotto and was freaking awesome!)

Scoop of cream cheese cranberry ice cream **

(The choc mousse looked tasty- but we were pretty full by then)

Bottom line: Go here. It's awesome.

After dinner we walked two blocks over to see True Grit at the California Theater.

I'm not one for westerns- but this is a must see. It was funny and touching. Jeff Bridges and 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld stole the show. I won't ruin it, but young Mattie is out to avenge her father's murder.

Matt Damon is also in the movie, and provides a lot of laughs. I usually bristle at the Cohen Brothers violent movies, but this was entertaining and not too violent at all.

All in all, a great date night.

Living Nativity

2010-12-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

My sister and her husband had a living nativity this past Sunday with all their friends' kids. Grandma Ruff had Sadie for the night- as a samurai shepherd.

xoxo Rebecca

Thanks to David for the video footage-

Season of Busy

2010-12-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Things have been a little busy in these parts--

Just this week:

Mark's finishing up a massive paper for his master's program

I finished up a Lit Assessment course I taught online

Our staging was taken away (now we have an empty house)

We had several realtors show our house (which = a lot of cleaning for us!)

Lots of Christmas parties, shopping, and wrapping

AND...the most important....Sadie is starting to walk!! She's gaining confidence and is taking 3-5 steps regularly. Perhaps she'll be polished enough to WOW the relatives at Xmas.

Here are some recent photos-

Cutie patootie

See Mom, I can share (with buddy, Kate).

They both "stole" these items from each other. The grass is always greener...

Cheese and books= bliss

blocks!

Bye bye boring furtniture!

Dance Party

2010-12-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

This weekend Sadie was clapping her hands to the music, bobbing her head, and playing a little tambourine.

My (belated) Birthday!!

2010-11-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks for my party guys! I love being one. It was so cool to have a party at the park!

I liked playing in the sand with the big girls.

Mmm bangers and beans. Grandma Ruff cooks up some mean beans!

Uncle Aaron cooking with his crazy face on.

I like playing with my baby friends (hi Audrey!), but I play nice so that I can sneak away their food.

Mmmm- I like to make use of my 8 teeth!

My cousin Roro

Some more friends!

Kate- I got my eye on your bread stick!

Judah and Micah take a whack at the sticker-filled Zebra.

Judah got very attached to the Zebra. He didn't quite understand why we were hitting it and why treats eventually came flying out if it.

I loved when you all sang me happy birthday! I felt so special!

All done! I liked my purple frosting the most!

Can't wait for my next party!

Love, Sadie Fern

1-2-3 I loved you vacation! See you again soon!

2010-11-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

My vacation was restorative! Who hoo! Let me count the ways-

1. I love people and being with friends, it rejuvenates me. There was lots of social time over break. It made me happy. To name a few...

Indian food at Mike and Shea's
Christmas stocking making with Anne
Hang out with Aaron and Sarah
Thankgiving with family and good friend Seth
Apple picking with my family
Thanksgiving leftover meal with OCC friends

2. Another reason why this was such an lovely break, is that I got a lot of time to create. I made an Advent calendar for my sister's family out of paper. I spent all last Tuesday cutting and pasting tiny figures to complete a wintry scene. It was bliss! If you'd like, I can make one for you too (if you ask nicely)! I also spent yesterday making felt Christmas stockings for our family with my good friend Anne. Again, I got a surge of joy in the creative process. We're not quite done yet, but I got the gist of it, and we should be able to finish up soon. Sadie and Mark's stocking are super cute! Tis the season to create!

3. Our family time was so relaxing over break. Sadie was especially silly and happy over this week. It was nice to play with her. She often breaks out in giggles at the slightest oddity (e.g. dad playing with her toy, dad chasing her, or dad doing something else silly). Having a baby has to be one of the best things in life.

Now it's time to gear up for work tomorrow. I'm going to put on my positive face!

xoxo- Rebecca

ps. pictures to follow, once my new charger comes in the mail!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

2010-11-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, if I didn't have these things in my life I don't know what I'd do!?--

1) My husband. Mark is amazingly supportive. If it's a dirty diaper that needs changing, a dish that needs washing, or a wife that needs to talk- he's there, quick. I don't know who I'd be without Mark- he's been my side kick for over 9 years (!). I'm especially thankful that Mark helps me to be a better me, and we just have fun together.

2) My Sadie lady. This year has been the year of Sadie. She is my joy. I love every inch of her- she makes me laugh a lot. I am really thankful to be her mom!

3) My family. We are alike in so many ways, and different in so many others. Things are not always peachy when you have a handful of emotional, passionate, and dramatic peoples sharing life together. But, I love my family. We are there for each other when life calls for it (and sometimes just for fun!), and being with my family makes me feel safe.

4) Peets. I know this is silly, but Peets feels like community. When we go to our nearby Peets we always run into someone- sooz, roro, my mom, neighbors, friends, folks from work- it feels like Oakland to me, like home.

5) Creativity. This really fuels a lot of what I do, and I'm so thankful that I'm a creative person. Mark just commented yesterday that that's probably why I love teaching- I love creating ideas for lessons and motivating kids.

6) My church. We've been going to a new church this fall- Oakland City Church. It has really motivated Mark and I spiritually. It's also been great to become involved in a vibrant new community.

7) Steadfast friends. I'm not a great friend- I've come to realize (even though I try). I'm good at having a couple of close friends, and I'm not so good at cultivating a large deep friend network. My two closest friends- Trish and Katie live so far away from me, but they are dear to me. And, they've put up with me for a long time. It's just like to have people that know you so well, and that experience the ups and downs of life with you. Thanks ladies! It's also been lovely to have a group of friends in Oakland to share life with... we've lived here about 10 years and we've creating some lasting friendships...I'm really thankful for my everyday friends!! It's been so wonderful having a group of friends nearby that are at the same life stage and share the same values.

There's a lot more...but the rest is pretty superficial (like Hulu, new clothes, my car, farmer joe's etc...).

Be thankful today, and listen tomorrow- because tomorrow is the National Day of Listening (not shopping!).

Peace xoxo

Chatterbox

2010-11-24T14:29:00.000-08:00

So my camera's battery is dead, and I can't seem to find the charger anywhere. And can you believe that Cannon charges $95 for a new charger! Hmmm, we'll need to shop around.

Sadie is one- who hoo (pictures to follow at a later date)! We had a lovely celebration for her in the park with family and friends. It was a perfect fall morning. At her 1-yr healthy child visit, her fabulous doctor, Dr. Tenney, reported that she is in the 90% percentile for height, 90% for her head size, and 50% in weight. Sounds like her dad!

Sadie motors around all day, here are some highlights:

playing with toys- whether sanctioned or off-limit items
constant talking, including her catch phrases, "uh-oh" and "oh yeah". and she started saying "happy" after her birthday- for reals!
praciting her standing and taking a tentative step! Perhaps more will follow, soon!
being a yogi constantly with the downward dog yoga pose
playtime with friends- she's learning to be gentle and not grab hair
she's loving food- homemade soups, vegetable/fruit medleys, crackers, yogurt, and of course, cheese

Here's a video shot a couple of days ago- Sadie is in her element. And, she calls this caterpillar toy A-B, because it sings the A-B-Cs. Hmmm, I think I have a little chatterbox on my hands.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!! XOXO

Round Up

2010-11-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

It's a typical afternoon in the Anderson casa. Sadie is tired, but refuses to sleep. Instead, she's motoring away placing her favorite bath toy (a camo pick duckie from Aunt Susannah) in and out of plastic cups. She has toys in her room, but she always eventually crawls to find her bath toys- which are her #1 favorite.

I started teaching an online course- Literacy Assessment- for a teaching credential program in late October. So, if you were wondering why I've been a blog slacker- I'm been channeling my computer energy to teaching this class. I'm learning a lot as I go about how to teach an online class and more about literacy assessment. I'm glad for the opportunity. Perhaps I'll teach more college classes in the future. I think I would like that. To teach teachers, I think it really helps if you are an current teacher yourself- IMHO.

Sadie's 1st birthday is this Friday. I can hardly believe it. My little one has grown up so fast. Her reasoning ability is skyrocketing. She's also more aware. So we have to be a little more careful- she understands so much, and is soaking it in. One annoying thing is that she's learning how to manipulate us- her cries are more insistent and for things she really wants (food and freedom from her bed, mostly). But it's great to watch her learn and discover. As I type, she is putting her bath toy bucket on and off of her head, over and over.

We're planning to have a low key party at a nearby park- and we're hoping California graces us with some seasonally warm weather. Having a bunch of families over isn't as fun in our small house. A big space with slides and swings is definitely a lot more fun (and more manageable too)!

We went chestnut picking for Mark's 34th birthday. We had a lovely day. It was nice especially to have a lot of driving time for Mark and me to talk. Here are some photo highlights:

This are what the chestnuts look like on the tree. But you have to pick them up off the ground. They're not ripe when they are on the tree inside their prickly husk.

Okay- Well, I'll be sure to upload some photos from the birthday bash.

xoxo

Chatty Lady

2010-10-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here are several recent videos of our chatty baby. She's 11 months-- 1 year on November 12th. She saying a lot of words now, including pa/ba for grandpa, bye-bye, ma ma, da da, up ("p"), dog, and a few more.

oaktoberfest for sure

2010-10-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

So, we've been off this week. And it's flown by so fast. We stayed around Oakland- did some fun things with friends and family: Grandpa Vince visited from Chicago (so fun!) last weekend, we went to SF Zoo on Wednesday, and out to Underdog Wine Bar in Livermore today to visit my brother. Other than that we really chilled a lot with Sadie, went on walks to Peet's (of course!), and yes, worked. Tomorrow we have a packed day- helping out at Harbor House, my old 9 to 5, and going to the most awesome (for reals) Oaktoberfest in our hood.

The biggest turning point this week is that we came to terms with the fact that we probably won't sell our house this fall. We'll keep it on the market until the staging contract expires...but the market is looking pretty bleak. On the downside, we did a lot of packing and cleaning to get the house ready. On the bright side, we don't HAVE to sell, and we really like where we live (besides it being a little smallish). So I'm trying to emphasize the positives so I don't get too bitter about the wasted $ and effort.

So here's my list, 10 things I love about where we live:
1) Great Walkability: Library, Dimond Park, Farmer Joes, Safeway, Peet's, CVS, Chase, Glenview, etc..
2) We have great new oak floors in the kitchen...they are wonderfully beautiful
3) We really like our neighbors!
4) My driveway garden rocks
5) PEET'S (this deserves to be on the list 2x)
6) Jean Quan Councilwoman - and hopefully soon-to-be mayor!
7) Sausal Creek trails a couple minutes away
8) Our bedroom paint color is perfect
9) Close to friends- nyquists, rorks, ogdens, family... and we always run into people we know
10) Oaktoberfest (but why can't they just call it Oktoberfest?)

So, i love the Dimond. And if we don't sell now, maybe we were meant to be here a little longer. And that's okay.

p.s If you're in Oakland, make sure to check out Oaktoberfest...year #3, and a guaranteed good time for all!
p.p.s. Last year they ran out of beer at 4pm.

Laughing and Talking and Walking

2010-10-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

This video starts about two minutes into a Sadie laugh attack. But don't worry, she still had some giggles left for the camera. She then proceeds to walk all around her room, giving a lecture in her Sadie language.

Queen of Crawl

2010-10-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

Sadie has had several developmental breakthroughs. In the past week, she's learned to crawl, stand up, and get from lying to sitting on her own! Also, she's started consistently saying bu-bu for bye-bye whenever we leave the house, and she's fascinated with dog and says d- d- every time she sees a dog. One smart baby. The only issue is...she's been interested in practicing these skills, and not napping. Grandpa Vince got to see her in action this weekend...she slept very little, but sure learned to get around her crib. I know this fascination with her new skills will pass...it frustrating and silly all rolled into one!

Yesterday, Sadie shows how she can get up to standing in her crib.

This video is from last week. Sadie's first attempts at crawling. She's gotten a lot faster in the last week. This is a long one, but if you make it to the end-- Sadie says bye bye.

Sleep Sitting

2010-09-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day that I saw Sadie sitting up in her crib (after I had put her down). I was very excited that she finally got into a sitting position on her own. She just learned how to crawl, so I guess this comes with territory.Then, this afternoon I was having a hard time getting Sadie to go down to sleep. Every time I went into her room she was sitting up, crying. I thought she just wasn't tired. Then tonight about an hour after she went to bed she started crying. I went to check on her and she was sitting up crying and in a sleepy daze. Oh my! What a silly bean! I think she's just practicing her new trick, or sitting up unconsciously, and then getting stuck. I wonder how long this will last. It's quite a funny sight to see!

Night!

se vende casita

2010-09-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

our house is for sale.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Oakland/3427-Adell-Ct-94602/home/677689

someone please buy it.

:)

Phew!

2010-09-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Boy, I've been a lame blogger this month. My world is super busy. Our house goes on the market tomorrow (hence the Phew!). We're hoping for the best. In a perfect world we'd love get an offer and find a new house simultaneously, but in reality, we'll probably have to shack up with my gracious mom for a bit. We love our current house, but we're just outgoing it (and i know what you're thinking....no, I'm not pregnant).

Most importantly (and wonderfully!)-- My brother, Aaron, got married. We are all so excited about his fabulous new wife, Sarah!! Their wedding was a blast. So those of you who haven't seen the gazillion pictures on facebook- here's some to give you a little taste of a lovely day. A day all planned in less than 6 weeks- uhhmaazing!

The sweetest couple ever--really--

Baby Polly (Sarah's niece) with Sadie...there were 4 flower girls in matching tutus...ridiculously cute

The babies rode down the aisle in style--

Some of the Baird clan--It's always nice to celebrate life's joys with good friends

Family and good friends-

Yumminess- Lunch was falafel or taco truck food fare

Shell Bell- Mama #2

Cousin dance fest

The Ruffs made it all the way out from Philly!!

It was a perfect day. I'm so excited for their marriage! It's also really fun that we have more extended California family (her family lives in Chico and is great). And, Sadie has a new baby BFF.

As far as Sadie stats- she's as cute as ever, and hanging in as we scurry her around place to place throughout this moving process. She's not crawling yet...but loves cruising on furniture. She can get pretty far real fast.

Happy Wednesday!!

Time for bed. I'm pooped.

Sadie Lady

2010-09-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a blog slacker lately. Our life has been a little crazy. We are aiming to put our house on the market in a couple weeks, and there is a lot to do to get ready. So for those of you (especially family) that have been waiting for some Sadie updates, here is some video highlights over the past few weeks.

We took her to her 9-10 month appointment last week. She clocks in at 20.5 lbs and 29 inches. One long baby! She's not crawling yet, but cruising around on furniture and moving around wonderfully!

My musical little lady--

Bath time fun!---

Getting ready for Aaron and Sarah's wedding THIS weekend!!!--

We're Moving!?!

2010-08-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we were driving with my mom to the Oakland Zoo. It was a Sunday afternoon, so there were a lot of open houses around. We stopped at one right around the corner from my mom's....and that off-the-cuff decision started us on the path to pack up our stuff and put our house on the market-- quite unexpectedly. We didn't end up going after that house. We love love loved it-- but there were to many structural issues to make it worth it. But we decided, along with our kind realtor's gentle urging, that it was as good of a time as any to get our house ready to sell.

Three week later our living room looks like this:

And an army of these guys (gross dust mites)--

Is making me feel like this--

I'm pretty sick. I don't think it's just the dust...but it may be part of it. I'm also running myself ragged trying to pack, getting ready for my brother's wedding, taking care of a 9-month-old, and working. So, we shall see if this was the best decision to move now. We all need a little something crazy in our lives once in a while, eh? Btw- I already found my dream house. We just hope it doesn't sell within the next month!

Fatal Paris

2010-08-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

These are my most recent reads. My sister suggested I read Sarah's Key, a historical fiction novel set in the 1940's in France. In a series of events largely ignored by the French people, the French police, in collaboration with the German Nazis, locked up French Jews and sent them off to the gas chambers. Families were separated from each other early on in France and then taken to other concentration camps.This book tells of a young girl's journey to the camps, and what life was like after her escape. I loved the historical aspect of this novel. A whole new moment in history was opened up to me. This was a fast read too, which always makes a book enjoyable. The last 1/3 or so of the book seemed unnecessary-- the author trying to connect the past to the present with a feeble love story. Great novel, sans the romance. Just give us the real hard grit (with a little redemption at the end), please!

The Paul Auster book I picked up at the library. I read the book jacket and was hooked. Being a bit of a design aficionado- I was also intrigued by the pretty cover. I loved this book. It's a hard book to explain. It starts in 1967 when a Columbia college student meets a professor at a party. You get the sense from the beginning that this professor has a dark side, and is possibly up to no good. This eery relationship is central to the plot of the book. And, like Sarah's Key, Paris plays a starring role in this novel as well. The story ends in the present day, and you're left wondering, even as you read the final page. I don't want to say too much--but it's an oddly enjoyable book.

Read on!

Could I not bee any cuter??

2010-08-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Dear People. I am having so much fun being 9 months old! You wouldn't believe how wonderful the world is becoming with each passing month. I love standing now. I've stood for several seconds on my own at different times-- I get really proud of myself when I do that. I'm still not that into crawling, but I think I'll learn to crawl soon-- especially so I can play with those hard-to-reach toys. I love walking by holding onto mom or dad's hands (that's the best!).

Here I am with Grandma Ruff. We went to the zoo! At first I was confused. Why were we walking around and looking at nothing?? But I soon realized that this was a cool place indeed, and many of the animals had been sleeping. Finally we saw some animals! My favorites were the elephants, zebras, giraffes, meerkats, and monkeys. I made a special noise (a raspy growl) when I talked to the animals-- they liked that! After a bit, I began to get excited when dad reached to get me out of the stroller-- oh boy, that meant that he was about to show me a new animal. I can't wait to go back! Hopefully even more animals will be awake next time.

My daddy loves my mommy:

My dad has a cool hat. And I have new sparkly shoes!!

Every time I go to sleep my parents make yummy food! I can't wait for the day when I get to eat this goodness.

This pork looks delicious! Especially with the corn scallion salad. MMM, I love melon, so I know this watermelon, mint, onion salad must be the bomb!!

Okay, Grandma is a really good pie maker. I heard that if I'm a really sweet grand baby, I'll get some pie soon. But for now, only mom gets to enjoy grandma's baking. [ BTW: This strawberry rhubarb pie, was THE BEST pie grandma ruff has EVER made. Serious.]

I couldn't wait for Halloween! This bee costume was calling my name!!! Mom just got out my 12 months clothes from the garage, so we played dress up. It's going to be hard to wait until Halloween to wear my bee costume again...I just loved it soo much! Thanks Elise and Ava for passing it down to me!!

I really like the hat too.

Could I not BEE any cuter??

XOXO, Sadie

here comes the bride(smaid)...Part II

2010-08-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

Okay...after I put all those dresses online, I went with a totally different one! Their wedding is going to be super casual, so I wanted to be casual as well. I loved the J Crew Dresses, but I think they were a little much for a laid back wedding in the park. This dress and sweater are from Old Navy..and the shoes Kenneth Cole. I think I'll wear gold jewelry. Oh, and I'm super excited about the baby girls- they are going to wear tutus. It's going to be so much fun! Hmmm, but since I got these at Old Navy, I think I can convince my hubby that I need a rehearsal dinner dress too! Oh how I love new dresses!

Side note: Last night I was looking through old picture albums...ahhhh, those were the days... I remarked to Mark that I remember events by the dresses that I wore. I can remember the dress, shoes, hair, jewelry of every dress-up event I've been to (proms, homecomings, sadie hawkins, weddings, graduations, etc...) Is that just me, or is that a girl thing? Maybe I think about it too much!

here comes the bride(smaid)...

2010-08-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

So my brother is getting married is less than a month-- who hoo!! The engagement will be quick--they don't want to concentrate to much on the hullabaloo surrounding a wedding. I'm very excited! Sadie, along with 3 other nieces will be flower girls. So in addition to finding Sadie a cute dress to match with her cousins, I'll need to find a dress. I'm going to be a bridesmaid-- so fun! Mark's going to be a groomsman too-- so it will be fun to have the whole family stand up in support my bro and his lovely bride-to-be. The wedding is at a park, and casual. The couple envisioned the wedding party wearing bright colors, preferably green and blue hues. What do you think? Which dress is best for me? There are 8 options here. By the way, in this process I found some awesome sites- Mod Cloth and Shop Style. If you like dresses, check em out.

Green Urban Outfitters Dress

Target Sleeveless Plum

Target Chambray Yum Plum

Mod Front of the Mezzanine Dress:

Mod Cloth Good to GO Dress:

Juliet J Crew Dress

J crew Taryn Dress

p.s.

2010-08-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

i think it's a little funny that aaron also mentioned that this new blog format looks like my house decor. yeah, it does. lots of warm colors and lots of books. i have such a perceptive (and almost married!) brother. happy thursday!

pps. Remember this little one? She's looking a little crazy-eyed here :)

rule breaker

2010-08-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, this isn't a super entertaining video...but, it's such a milestone for Sadie-- her first swim in Chicago! We loved that Sadie was more intrigued by the lap swimmer in the pool than her first swimming experience. Our little one loves people!

A few days after, mark's parent's condo association made an announcement, "No diapers in the pool!" They're special swimmer diapers, I swear!!

happy tuesday

2010-08-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

okay. my brother didn't like my blog design...so i'm trying a new one. thx for the feedback aaron. i like books, so I thought this would work. Here's a video of Sadie cracking up mid-July. Such a silly baby! She turns 9 months this week. :)

More Windy City

2010-08-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

In late July, we were in the Midwest for 9 days visiting the Anderson's. Part of that time we spent with Mark's extended family at the Dells in Wisconsin. It was great fun to see Sadie interact with all of her cousins. 2009 was a boon year for Anderson babies.

Cousins Lars and Sadie-hanging with grandma and grandpa.

Anderson cousin fest in the Dells.

Lars- so cool

Contenta con cousin Jules (visiting from NZ)

Love from the big cousins...they were very nurturing with Sadie

Nice Sunset in the Dells

Group Photo (one of many!). Sadie was distracted by the ducks and was reluctant to look towards the camera. I like that she was so into the ducks.

Uncle Owen with Lars, Dad with Sadie, Uncle Scott and Jules--

2009 Anderson babies, all a few months apart. Hmmm, there's a slight resemblance with the grown-ups here, eh?

Aunt Lida and Lars, Dad and Sadie-- not a couple with twins.

Sadie ready in her party dress for Aunt Claire's 30th bday!! Who-hoo Claire!!!

Gotta Say, it's nice to be back to work...I have a lot more me time, which I'm realizing I need more than ever before. I love love love vacation, and I especially love that my hubby and I are both teachers that share holidays. It's such a gift!! But, I also like having down time...and with my new schedule I am with Sadie at home for a large chunk of time daily, so that's nice.

Happy day to you!!

you spin me right round baby, right round...

2010-08-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Little Sadie ladie has gotten the hang of rolling over and is lovin' it! This is a clip of her rolling around in Chicago at her grandparent's:

Happy Tuesday! Hope Sadie's joy brings of spot of warmth to your day!

Sweet Sunday

2010-08-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Just made these...so easy and so good! I had 3+ boxes of semi-sweet chocolate in the cupboard and a visitor to host...so these cookies hit the spot, delightfully! Try 'em!

I only put in about 1 1/2 cups of walnuts

Chocolate Bliss Cookies

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided 1/4 cup Butter, softened 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 Eggs 1 tsp. Vanilla 1/2 cup Flour 1/4 tsp. Baking Powder 2 cups chopped PLANTERS Walnuts Make ItHEAT oven to 350°F.

CHOP 8 chocolate squares; set aside. Microwave remaining 8 chocolate squares in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min., stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add butter; stir until melted. Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder; mix well. Stir in chopped chocolate and nuts. (Note: If omitting nuts, increase flour to 3/4 cup to prevent excessive spreading of cookies as they bake.)

DROP rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets.

BAKE 12 to 13 min. or until cookies are puffed and shiny. Cool 1 min.; remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely

Suck it! The REAL Way to Prep for Breastfeeding - Parenting.com

2010-07-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

I got this link from my BFF. So funny for you moms who have nursed your wee ones. I laughed out loud several times.

Suck it! The REAL Way to Prep for Breastfeeding - Parenting.com

Enjoy!

The Windy City

2010-07-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

The talk of the town is the filming of Transformers 3. Here is a picture of the movie's mobile homes below. We thought it was kinda ridiculous that they brought their caterer with their truck all the way from West Hollywood. Hmmm, not very economical. There was tons of debris littering the downtown Chicago streets-- upturned buses, newspaper stands, and cars. Also, there were large concrete slabs, billowing smoke, and general destruction.

The used these tanks in the movie. There were 4 parked tanks across the river from Mark's parent's condo (their red/green condos are in the background). The tanks are real, guarded by army personnel, but the guns on top of the machines are rubber.

Nate and Heidi came down to Chicago from Madison. So lovely to see them!

Sadie likes to hang out in Grandpa's room-- her main entertainment is ripping pages out of catalogues and bopping foreheads with Grandpa.

We went to brunch with Nate, Heidi and Nadia at Tre Kroner-- a favorite North Park spot!

Sadie went napless on this morning, but rallied and was all smiles when Nadia showed up. My social butterfly! Below: Nadia with mama!

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa's

Mark, Aunt Fern Emma, Mom, Sadie, and Uncle Arthur out on a walk. It was so nice-- on their way to Indiana to visit my other aunt and uncle, they stopped by downtown Chicago for an afternoon visit.

Uncle Arthur (Mark's Doppelganger) plays with Sadie

Sisters

BP Bridge in Millennium Park

The view of the lake from Mark's parent's place

Aunt Fern Emma with Sadie Fern

Getting ready for her first dip in the pool in her swimmers!

So far the trip have been wonderful and relaxing. Sadie is sleeping well and has loved seeing her grandparents. We are heading to Wisconsin for the weekend with the entire Anderson clan!

Photo Bomb

2010-07-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

I've been a neglectful blogger over the summer. These past couple weeks we've packed a lot in--book club, visiting with old friends, cousins and aunts, chilling with baby friends, and hanging at home. This morning the Anderson clan went to the Ferry Building with Sooz, Matt, RoRo, Ruby, Mom, and my awesome Aunt Ruthanne and cousin Laura. We had a great time drinking Blue Bottle---mmmm my favorite coffee--- and walking around with the napping kiddos. So here's a photo montage....

We hosted book club at our place and made some corn cakes with shredded pork, and a kicking side of beans. This pic is of the day-after leftovers...MMM, yumminess. The food and the conversation with friends definitely overshadowed the book.

Whatever-is-in-the-fridge pizza: Pancetta, cherry tomatoes, marjoram, brushed with garlic olive oil---

MMM, again.

With Polly! Sarah's (Aaron's gal!) sister's baby. We couldn't wait for these girls to meet--they are only a week or so apart. We had a great brunch at my mom's place with the ladies of Sarah's family-- they are so sweet!

I harvested 18 ripe tomatoes from my driveway garden this week. Bliss!

Yeah!!! My BBF Trish came to visit with her baby! We went on a lovely walk. She lives all the way in North Carolina, so I savor her visits out west! She came with some awesome homemade gifts, hair clips and a pillowcase dress with bloomers for Sadie...check out Trish's new Etsy shop here where you can buy super cute girly hair clips for your wee one. Trish's little girl taught Sadie to wave...she's been doing it all day today. She also said "bye-bye" at least 5x!

baby bffs!!!

Good times at the Ferry Building---with grandma here.

Papa Prinz with Roro.

Cousin Laura with baby-toting Sooz.

1 hot mama!

Our family :)

With the crew (sans Mark)

mom, sleeping ruby, and sooz...lovely!

relaxing at home, Sadie helping herself to some water (such a big girl!)

Love this photo of my 2 sweeties!

Baby Love Fest

2010-07-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Sadie loves her baby friends! Here she is with baby K.

Talkin and Playin

2010-07-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent videos of Sadie talking as she plays the day away! Enjoy!

XOXO

Laundry Day

2010-07-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

I plopped Sadie in the laundry bin for some fun the other day. I love how Sadie knows she's being super silly--her face says it all! She's even standing on some dirty laundry...

so she sank a little-

I love my silly baby. We've been having some good laughs this summer.

xoxo

Hop On!

2010-07-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

I know I keep talking about it, BUT....

Is the whole world reading this freaking wonderful book series? Now, it seems a little bandwagonish, but I have some good company---

Seth
Seth's sister
Aunt Fern Emma
Mark's whole family (Claire, Andy [Andy's whole Family too], Scott, Lida, Vince, Sally)
Sarah P
Kaaren
Sarah M
Girl at Wheel Works yesterday
Susannah?? I don't think she started it though...

Besides, it's that good.

What are you reading this summer?

Oakland Love

2010-07-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

Check out the Scaper Bike movement in Oakland. The neighborhood featured is where Mark and I teach.

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

First Fruits

2010-07-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

This week my first tomatoes ripened. Mmmmm, and they were delicious. Picking and eating food from your own garden brings a certain joy to your day. It is a joy filled with wonder and accomplishment. I think some summer squash will be ready soon too.

We are getting our house painted next week, and I worry that the painters might do some damage to my tomato plants. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they are gentle to my garden friends.

The tomatoes are trying to climb up to Sadie's window to watch over her as she sleeps... as a guardian tomato plant.

Goodbye Week One

2010-06-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

As teachers, we have five weeks off during the summer. I know I can't complain. It's absolutely wonderful to have so much time to spend with my little family. BUT it goes by so fast. And of course, summer never seems quite long enough. So today, on Tuesday of week two, it's time to say farewell to week one. It was a pleasant week.

We've been doing a lot of hanging around our casita. We are caring for baby K. K's dad watched Sadie for several weeks this spring, so now we're watching K. Mark and I love to bring baby K in to surprise Sadie after her nap. Sadie always gets a kick out of it and starts laughing. I know she's thinking, "Hey, there's another baby here- how silly!" Baby K would rather not be tormented by grabby Sadie, but it's too cute a picture op to pass up!

Baby K is really good at taking the bottle. She doesn't spill and gulps it down quickly. Sadie never got super proficient at the bottle. She takes forever to drink it, and spills everywhere. Last week we tried giving Sadie milk in a sippy cup. She drinks wonderfully from it! Goodbye bottle, hello sippy cup.

We gave Sadie some strips of peaches to gnaw on this last week. And no surprise, she loves them! It great to watch her hand-eye coordination develop. She's adept at picking up whatever she wants, and she usually wants things far out of her reach. Again, surprise, surprise! I have a daughter who definitely knows what she wants. I wonder who she takes after...

We had a busy weekend with several social outings. Mark and I went up past Sacramento to Auburn for a wedding of Mark's colleague. Gma Ruff watched Sadie for the night (thanks mom!). We had great fun at the wedding. It was our first overnight trip away from Sadie. On Saturday night Mark watched cousin roro with Sadie, while the rest of the fam went to see the Adrianne and Travis recommit themselves. It was a great time! (BTW Adrianne is a rock star!!) Here's a photo of sooz and me from the night---

Sadie has become the little poser! Every time I take out the camera she gets her goony smile. Again, I wonder whose daughter she is?! Also my childhood doll (Strawberry Shortcake) has become one of Sadie's favorite toys. She loves to grab Strawberry's hair!

Hooray for upgraded Internet speed. We cancelled our land line, got a new modem, and a new monthly Internet package. WOW! It takes a 1/4 of the time to upload pictures to my blog. I couldn't be happier!

Jean Quan for Mayor!

2010-06-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

We have a mayoral election coming to Oakland this fall, and I plan to vote for Jean Quan. She's a serious grass roots organizer. I have probably seen her around Oakland/my hood than any other local politician. Here are some videos from her website. And is you want to get a lawn sign click here. I plan to get mine today!

Father's Day Edition

2010-06-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

With the free time afforded by summer vacation (which started this past weekend) and the occasion of my first Father's Day, I'm spending a little time in the blogosphere. Father's Day was preceded by a great visit from my own father, and mother. He and Sadie love to spend time together, and it was neat to think about how I had a great father as a role model as I figure out how to be one myself.

On Sunday I was greeted by two cards, one from my wife, and one from my daughter. Sadie dictated her sentiments to Rebecca, who apparently is better at deciphering what our daughter means when she says "da-da-da-goo. Ahhhhh!" Much of the day was spent relaxing and reading. Sadie kept trying to grab my book, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," but I didn't think the material was very appropriate. I also received a couple presents--one of which was a basketball and a hoop. She already has enthusiastically embraced the key fundamentals of the sport, diving for the ball, dribbling, showing correct form for her jump shot, and of course dunking. I can see that we will spend many future Father's Days together hoopin' it up.

Seriously....

2010-06-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

...can this baby of mine be any more hilarious? I just got this walker for her today....and she is a riot in it! She's also been talking up a storm in the last few days. Funny little lady.

School's Out for Summer!

2010-06-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

This is my first official day of summer. I look forward to many lazy days lounging with my baby Sadie. She's the best snuggler!

Really Sweden? That's all you got?

2010-06-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

I've been devouring the 2nd book of the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson, "The Girl Who Played with Fire"(see NY Times review here). I have about 30 pages left to go, and I decided to make dinner and put the conclusion on hold until bed time. There has to be something to look forward to when I hop into my big empty bed tonight (Mark's gone on a over night school field trip).

But it has to be said-- What is with Sweden and Pippi Longstocking? I feel sad that this children's book series is really their only national claim to fame. And let me tell you, Larsson milks the popularity of the Pippi books for all it's worth. The main character in The Millennium Series is nicknamed Kalle Blomkist, a prominent character/boy detective in Pippi books. And the other main character Lisbeth (such a great kick butt character!!! Love her!), names her expansive apartment V. Vulla, after Pippi's home. Lisbeth has some Pippi-esque qualities, now that I think about it. But it just cracks me up how these Pippi books keep being referenced in Larsson's Millennium books; they couldn't be more different.

Well, I look forward to end book 2 tonight. Book three can wait until my summer vacation officially starts on Thursday, on the other hand, maybe it can't!

But I do have to admit, Pippi rocks.

Sweet Baby Sadie

2010-06-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Sadie seemed to be ready for bed at 6:30 tonight, her usual time. I changed her, nursed her, and plopped her in bed before 6:45pm. She usually falls asleep right after we put her down, so I expected the same tonight, especially because she seemed exhausted. But about 20 minutes later I still hear her making noises. Hmmm, not good. I look in, and she's wide awake staring at her butterfly mobile dancing under the influence of the fan (It's been really hot here all weekend, and Oaklanders tend not to have air conditioning bc it's usually so cool). So, I promptly took the mobile down. A couple minutes later, I still hear her...and it's probably the fan keeping her up now. I turn the fan off. Now, for the past 15 minutes I have heard her via monitor sucking away on her little frog toy and scratching the sheets with her nails, drifting off to sleep. My silly girl. All those distractions was making it hard for her to sleep. I love my sweet baby! It is great being a mom. There are so many small moments that makes our relationship so special.

Yesterday it was June 12th, which means Sadie turned 7 months. Wow! I can't believe it! Time flies. This week Mark and I end school, so we'll get 5 weeks to hang with our little one. And Sadie's grandparents visit this week from Chicago, we can't wait! Here are some random photos from the last month.

Mother's Day snuggles

Mothers and daughters...we took about 5 of these, and they all turned out pretty random...it's the sentiment that counts, right?

Gma with Sadie

Sadie loves belly kisses

Grandma Ruff's girls

What silliness do my parents subject me to?

Doing laundry with Gma

In her big girl overalls

Already learning the alphabet

My Exciting 6th Month!!!

2010-06-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

Being 6 months old has been fabulous! I'm able to play a lot more, and get things when I reach. Here are some videos showing off my ever expanding skill set--

Here I am playing the piano. My daddy gives me lessons. I think I am very talented, for my age.

I'm also really good at playing with my cups. I can grab things when I want them, can you?

I really like to scoot on my back too. I can get around pretty well with this method. I still fuss when mommy and daddy make me hang out on my stomach. They're annoyingly persistent.

I'm also really good at grabbing my dad's hair. He keeps it long so I can be entertained. Thanks Dad!

Finally-- I really like to go wild in my exersaucer. I love practicing to stand and rocking back and forth like a crazy girl.

Hugs and Kisses--- SADIE

Urban Gardening

2010-05-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about making use of this dead driveway space. Our car will fit up the driveway, but it's a tight squeeze- so we've never done it. But this driveway gets AMAZING sun! I've been toying with the idea of making it usable gardening space for a couple of years, but I recently decided to go for it! Our front yard gets 3-4 hours of direct sun daily, and our backyard is shaded by a massive cedar tree. But this driveway gets sun all day long!

I got rid of the first 6-in of top soil (in case of contaminants), and added in some gardening soil. Side Note: You're not allowed to fill you green waste can with soil, oops! The plants have been there a couple of weeks, and they are thriving! I planted 3 more tomato plants in the middle strip (2 were already in the wine barrels), a cucumber, crooked neck squash, zucchini, and basil. I'll let you know how things progress. I can't wait to harvest my first tomatoes!

6-month Cutie

2010-05-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

Go Princeton Tigers! Okay, I had to adorn her with her first bow. Reason #1: She's finally starting to grow some lustrous locks! Reason #2: Ummm...lots of people think she's a boy (especially in this get-up). And, doesn't she look super cute in the jean jacket? This is a recent wardrobe staple thx to gram and grampa Anderson.

An early reader...Sadie loves magazines, just like her Daddy.

In actuality, this prop was placed by two eager parents.

Yeah!!! Proof of Sadie's latest feat---sitting up!

Ruby

2010-05-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

***Gorgeous Ruby***

Here are some overdue pics of the new little Prinz bundle!!

look at that little head!

with papa prinz

Doesn't she look great the day of labor?? You rock Sooz!!

Uncle Aaron!!

Ruby and me

gma prinz

ruby red peonies for ruby

uncle mark

sisters!!!

I love my Aunts!!!!

2010-05-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

This post is several weeks belated... it was so great to have Lida and Claire visit us a couple weeks apart. They both had business in SF, so came to visit us in Oakland. Both visits were delightful!!

I love my Aunt Claire! She stayed for the night and we played and played!!!

stoic sadie

Aunt Lida came to hang out with us for an evening last month. Lida lives in DC, so it was especially nice that a business trip brought her out west.

Baby Cousin Prinz #2

2010-05-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's a girl! Ruby Adelia Prinz was born at 6:23 this morning at 9lbs 7oz (i think i got the weight right...). Yeah! Congrats Matt and Sooz!!!! She's gorgeous and has lots of hair, just like her big sis! Pictures to come soon....

Babies!

2010-05-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went with my friend Anne to the movie Babies. We both have babies about the same age, and enjoyed watching the subtle changes of the 4 babies in this movie over their first year. The Mongolian baby is my favorite! I think this would be a great movie to bring your 3-4 year old to, granted that they have the attention span of an adult.

Read 'em and Weep

2010-05-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think I can finally admit that I like page turners. My husband has been reading Light in August by William Faulkner. I am impressed by this attempt (I say attempt because he's been reading it for 2 months). He is relentless, and I know I would have given up if I were him. I however, have been drifting towards quick reads. Not as impressive. Not as challenging intellectually. But darn good fun! And, Oprah would be proud of me. I see that I tend toward the heart-wrenching novel.

I know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb: 916 pages of high drama. I really liked this book. It deals with the complexities of being a twin. The main character is so invested in looking after his schizophrenic (yes, I spell checked that!) twin brother, so much so that he neglected taking care of his own emotional well-being. Wally Lamb's books are not light, and they deal with serious issues, and they usually take you on a long, well-worth-it journey.

Yiyun Li is an Oakland author (woot!woot!). Her first full-length novel, The Vagrants, deals with a group of interrelated characters in post cultural revolution China. Some of these characters were very compelling, but I don't think the plot came together as well as I wanted it to in the end. I did like getting to know China during this era.

See a good review of this at a blog I like, The Best Little Bookshelf, here.

This book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was a good fun read (oh yeah, and a little sadistic too!). I am a big sucker for mysteries. PD James and Tara French are two of my favorite mystery writers. This book was unputdownable (yes, that's a word I made up). Larsson's writing is smart, and the plot moves quickly from the onset of the book. You must read this. I am at my wits end trying to get the second book in the series into my hot little hands. Okay, so I've been thinking... why do mysteries not only deal with murder, but always have some weird sexual subplot? Even with 80-year-old kick a** James you get these twisted characters with odd sexual habits. Just saying...

I love my spring yard!

2010-05-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

It's been beautiful and sunny here in Oakland, yet it's rained enough to get the garden in full gear--it's just lovely!!

Lavender and Sweet Peas

I love this plant, don't know it's name...

Squash growing in 1/2 a wine barrel out front

Lettuce, thyme, rosemary, and mint in our raised bed in the front yard.

Tomatoes in our driveway! BTW, I'm planting a garden down the center of our driveway. I'll post a picture soon (I finished it today!). I'm so excited about it, because I get awesome sun there. Oh, and we don't use this part of our driveway...

A New Perspective on Life

2010-05-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sadie was so much fun this weekend. She's a little social girl, and always can rally if there is a party to be had. Mark went to pick her up from Daddy Daycare with Uncle Lon on Friday, and he reports that Sadie glanced at him, as if to say, "Oh hi its you, I'm going to go back to playing now."

I've been trying to get Sadie to sit up for the past couple of weeks now by strategically strengthening her core and upper body muscles (joking! kinda...) to help her balance while sitting. But to my delight, she started sitting up unassisted this weekend. Yeah for Sadie! She's such a big girl!

Thanks Aunt Claire for the new toy!

Yummy arm! (This is daycare bud baby K with Sadie. Sadie loves to look at baby K.)

K enjoys tummy time, while Sadie naps. Super cute!

Baby K and Sadie play on the bed.

Happy Half of a Year, Sadie!

2010-05-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Sadie is 6 months old today! And to celebrate, we went to the doctor. (side note: Mom celebrated all day by obsessively reading [and finishing!] The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--loved it!!)

So here are her latest stats:
Weight 17 lbs, 11.5 oz (80% percentile)
Height: 26 in (the same as last time!--there's definitely NO science in measuring a baby)
Head: I forget the inches, but it was big-- in the 90th percentile.

Sadie is so much fun. She has so many little idiosyncrasies at the moment-- it cracks us up! For example, she's not a fan of rolling over, so to entice her Mark gets out the talking Baby Elmo doll --and of course, she rolls over for Elmo. Also, she loves smacking her toys against things to make a loud noise (seen below). And--she scratches her nails against everything to feel the texture. We now have to guard our glasses, because it's the first thing she'll reach for. She also loves her feet, and in the video below she trys to eat them. If you only watch one video, watch the last one--- Aunt Claire taught Sadie to mimic her--what a smart little bundle of baby she is! And so on, and so forth...She is just a ball of fun! It gets better every day! I can't wait for summer!!!

#1 Obsessed with her feet

#2 Obsessed with making noise

#3 Obsessed with the arm trick that Aunt Claire taught me

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

Being a mom has been so much better than I imagined it.

Honestly, I always pictured myself being a good mom, and that's probably because I have such a quality mom. My mom always talked about how much she loved being a mom, and how much she loved us kids (She also talked about how easy labor was--I can't say that was true for me!). Getting those positive vibes on motherhood my whole life made me confident that I would take care of Sadie well.

But, loving Sadie so much is what has surprised me. The first couple of weeks of her life my mom would ask me, "Don't you just love her? Isn't it wonderful just to look at her and think about how perfect she is?". And I would reply (a little annoyed that I didn't share her sentiment), "Um, she just lays there or sleeps. I don't really know her yet." Now that's Sadie's going on 6 months next week, I completely get where my mom was coming from.

Being a mom is amazing. You feel so much love for your child. And, you feel so proud of making this wonderful and unique being. So, a million thanks to my mom for giving me such a healthy view of parenting. I wouldn't be the mom I am to Sadie without the years and years of wisdom, perspective, and love my mom has poured into me.

Thanks Mom, I love you!

I love my grandmas too!!

Pre-Crawling??

2010-05-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hey parents out there, what do you think? Does this look like Sadie's getting ready for crawling in this video? Sadly, she's lost interest in rolling over. We joke that she thinks, "Been there, done that!". Yet even without a sustained interest in rolling over, she moves around pretty well. I'm not sure how she's doing it, but when I put her down she just wiggles into a new position within a of couple minutes. She loves this singing toy, too. I am so impressed that she's learned to push its buttons (only some of the time). If she's cranky we just play this toy and she instantly calms down and flashes a big smile. I'm trying to get her to sit up, but it's just not taking! We shall see, maybe I just need to keep at it.

By the way, I love May!! It's beautiful here in Oakland!