Thursday, April 18, 2013

Salad Dressing Magic: Briannas Ginger Mandarin

my new food obsession is Briannas Home Style Ginger Mandarin Dressing. My lovely friend Rachel introduced me to it recently...I love it on everything. It makes me crave salad. So far, I find it most delicious on chunks of avocado. And, it has a special "Award Winning Taste" sticker; I really don't know what else one would need to be sold on this delicious sauce.


                                    half-eaten lunch:

Though, just because it goes on salad doesn't mean it's a diet food or anything. It has 14g of fat per serving. And then you want to eat it on everything. Luckily, I don't really care that it's like delicious ginger fat juice.

If I'm going to spend hours a week with them...

I just got off of a phone call with a woman from Gymboree. Emerson and I tried a sample class a few weeks ago at their Shoal Creek location, and she was following up for feedback, etc.

I felt a little bad saying it, but I told her that, though we liked the program, we'd be trying another location "to see if the group of parents is different there."  It was the most diplomatic way I could find to say, "to avoid the bizarro Stepford, ex-sorority^, monochromatically beige (and caucasian), elective c-section parents."   That's way harsh Tai, I know. Harsh and très judgy, but it is the truth i perceived.

The day we went, there were 2 families of color--out of like 12--and nobody seemed to interact with them. (They also turned out to be the most interesting people I met there, so your loss, seeming lamers!)

I mean, we'll go to open gym or something at Shoal Creek soon--the staff was nice, and one musn't be too hasty with final judgments--but, I've certainly put them on notice.



^ though, let me clarify here, that not all sororities (or sorority girls) are equal. but, exceptions aside, there is a certain group of types and cultural norms that tend to gravitate towards greekdom. no?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Secret Holder


i love secrets. it's a lifelong thing.  and so sometimes, i like to hide things--mostly trivial things--so there is a secret to hold....but, then i forget about it and can't find the thing when i need it, or it randomly shows up at a terrible moment, like a tiny/choking hazard trinket tucked inside the lining of a bag suddenly in Emerson's hand bc he found it with his baby spider-sense.

so, i am now actively hunting my own forgotten secrets to purge all the little baby boobytraps from the house.

kristin vs. kristin...let the battle begin!


In the process of becoming a different being...

Since becoming a mom, my iPhone/iPad usage has skyrocketed; and, I now regularly try to tap links with my finger....on the laptop screen. I then feel annoyed, impatient, and a little embarrassed.  But, not so much so that I don't curse Apple aloud for not being on top of the touchscreen laptop market by now.

Monday, April 15, 2013

The World Needs Thinkers--My Highly Sensitive Child

People often comment on Emerson's reserved and contemplative nature; he's highly sensitive like both his  mom and dad :).

This means he likes to assess things before jumping in, and he processes information more deeply than the average person (they say 15-20% of any animal population has the temperament trait of high sensitivity)^. Comments range from, "He's so aware," to, "Wow, he's so serious," ...to, "I feel like he's judging me." (we get this last one more than you'd think...and, he probably is.) I think part of what people are noticing is that he looks at things very intensely, and for surprisingly long spans of time. He is really trying to see things to understand them.

One of my very first memories in the moments after he was born was how, once his face was in close proximity of mine, he held his gaze on me for what seemed like forever, and his little eyes followed a methodical path around my face, examining and cataloguing. He wasn't crying or freaking out, he was just quietly considering what was before him.


^ this stat is from Elaine N. Aron's The Highly Sensitive Child.

6.5 months....10 minutes into his first swing. He was pleased, but not particularly impressed.


From the surveillance camera: chillin' and slowly considering the stuffed animals in his crib.

Taken by Shanna Weisfeld

5.5 months old...he had been sitting for about 15 minutes listening to the dishwasher and just scanning the room.

Taken by Shanna Weisfeld

3.5 months...In the thought-stimulating waters of a hot bath.


6 weeks. Taken by Brian A. Cerda

6 weeks.

3 weeks.
1 day.


Blueberries

We fell off the new solid foods train for a while (and the solids everyday train...), but we're back! Sunday afternoon we started mashed organic blueberries.

The options at HEB were from Florida and Chile. Florida may not be local, or even the same time zone, but it won by being on the same continent. I like to think about these kinds of things when making choices, especially choices for others. I really believe that the karmic meanings of the choices I make for Emerson matter. That doesn't mean I don't cut corners or make selfish and lazy choices, but y'know, I'm at least making those kinds of choices consciously.











....it's all fun and games until someone gets berried.