Sixmonths None the Richer

Six months ago I met my son...

 ...And today he is six months old: Happy Half Birthday, Benjamin!

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all.

Rice Rice Baby

I am happy to report that Captain Blueberry Pants is now among the food eaters of this world.  He skillfully mastered eating rice cereal and has thus moved on to homemade pears.*  This weekend we are going to try some sweet potatoes.  HE LIKES IT!

So, baby product that I love: the Beaba Multiportion Freezer Tray – basically a glorified ice cube tray – but it allows you to freeze food in the perfect portion and then pop them out when needed.

*Recipe for Homemade Pears (Bake in Oven):  Buy two Bartlett pears and cut them in half.  Remove seeds and put face down in a baking dish with about one inch of water.  Bake for 30 minutes (or until soft) at 400 degrees.  Once out of the oven, remove the skins and blend with a hand mixer until a puree consistency.  I use breast milk to thin, but formula will also do. 

Seriously?

I am thinking of changing the focus of this blog to be “all things mommy, baby, brooklyn and weather!”.  Pictures from my commute from Carroll Gardens to Downtown Manhattan.  *Sigh*

Snow Birds

While it was no Day-After-Christmas-Blizzard, Brooklyn got around 8.5 inches of snow. This time around Our Next President Mayor Mike showed New Yorkers that he means business by leaving no street unplowed, which enabled two snow birds to venture out and enjoy the day.  Hope you did too!

Umbrella You Crazy, Man

Really?   Is it *really* raining that hard that you cant pick up your eyes from the road for one second to avoid impaling me with your umbrella?  Is it *really* snowing that hard you need to bundle yourself in SO MANY LAYERS that they actually prevent you from watching your umbrella bayonet my cornea? I am now blind.

Yes, I get that we live in New York and its cold and it rains and it snows.  But somehow I missed the memo that said it's socially acceptable for New Yorkers to use umbrellas as a medieval torture devices.  I find myself getting frightened when it rains because it brings out the worst in people and they are able to hide their shamefulness behind, umm yes, their umbrellas. 

And, it really blows my mind that it has been raining and snowing since biblical times, yet I am pretty sure we have the same idiotic contraption that Noah used to shield his Arc.  We can clone sheep, pause live TV, impregnate a man, but we can’t come up with a better way of keeping us dry?  This is a universal problem people - I am pretty sure everyone at some point in their lives had to use an umbrella…

...Which is why I am in the market of selling umbrella hats.  Laugh now, but all I need is for Sarah Jessica Parker to wear one of these babies and they'll be selling like hot cakes.  Hands-free, sleek, sexy and there is no chance of me forgetting mine in the back seat of a taxi cab.

Oats and Beans and Barley Grow

Since becoming a momma five and half months ago, I find myself very nostalgic.  Nostalgic for the old songs and movies and books and toys that made my childhood rich.   I am in constant pursuit of my adolescent obsessions, which in turn has inadvertently closed the door on the new songs and movies and books and toys that have been developed since I was a wee thing.   And while I agree it is a parent’s due diligence to guide their fledglings based on their experiences, I do think one must be open minded to what's new for their own growth. If I continue down this path of everything nostalgic, poor Benji will show up to his first day of Kindergarten looking like its 1983.  And we dont want that (ok, maybe I sorta do...)

In any event, this is why I am so grateful for Raffi Radio via Pandora Radio – a sweet collection of everything old and new. I am able to listen to all the old favorites, but am also exposed to new talents such as Elizabeth Mitchell and Laurie Berkner:

Four and Twenty Black Birds Fall from the Sky?

Ok, so strangely enough, on my way home yesterday the Beatles’ Blackbird was the last song I listened to on my ipod, which is odd because… 

…hundreds of blackbirds magically tragically fell from the sky onto an Arkansas highway on New Year’s Eve.  And, according to reports “the birds were likely spooked by fireworks, lightning or some other loud event and then ran into each other and other objects as they fled at night while roosting”.  Ummm, what? Say that again? 

Apparently there have been 16 incidents in the last 30 years where more than 1,000 blackbirds have died all at once. And, to make matters more terrifying, reports are now saying 500 *additional* blackbirds fell RIGHT OUT OF THE SKY in Louisiana.  How can that firework / lightening logic work in this case?  Is Alfred Hitchcock behind this?

I wonder what was so traumatic for them to perform this mass exodus?   Do they know something we do not know yet…. 

Let me be the first to say, RIP red-tailed blackbird. I hope your life was filled with love, purpose and good fortune.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

One Person’s Misery is Another Person's Opportunity

Ok, so last week I was enraged mad at Brooklyn.  Like, really mad.  We often get into fights like this, but it's usually over lack of parking or obnoxious drunkards outside Bar Great Harry’s.  But after Sunday night’s blizzard, there was a dirty little rumor circulating that 700 sanitation workers deliberately called out in an effort to stick-it-to-Bloomberg for recent layoffs, which created a *major* debacle in my favorite borough.  Now, I have lived through several other Brooklyn blizzards, a hail storm and a tornado, and yet, nothing compares to the utter craziness of last week.  But one of my New Year resolutions is to drastically limit my complaining (unless I offer constructive solutions to support that complaint) so I end here.


On the brighter side, at least one person benefited from our lack of street plowing and garbage pickup:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40887628/ns/us_news-life/

The Hundred Acre Woods

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

A Few of My Favorite Things

Oprah Benji’s Favorite Things: 0-5 Month Edition. 

Like every other new mom, I am in constant pursuit of the latest and greatest new baby items.  Below is my shortlist:

1.) Merry Muscle Jumper - As a Brooklyn momma who struggles with limited space, this jumper works great because you can screw it into a beam and take it down when not in use.  In my opinion, this is important because you can avoid buying yet another piece of Fisher Price plastic that will further contribute to the growing display in your family room. This jumper keeps my baby entertains for more than 15 minutes and we laugh and giggle and smile at how cute he looks in it.

2.)  Sophie the Giraffe – Ok, so I’ll admit it. I was intrigued with this giraffe after seeing it in the hands of so many babies (ok, celebrity babies).  I was interested with the historical relevance, and even more so, that this toy has been helping babies teeth since 1961.  I decided to pay the hefty price and buy Benji his very own.  Not quite sure I agree that this should cost $22, but nonetheless, Sophie has helped with Benji's teething woes.

3.) Kiddopotamus Swaddles – Let it be known that my child loved being swaddled.   And when I mean swaddled, I mean Hannibal Lecter swaddle style.  When we brought him home from the hospital (Benji, not Hannibal Lecter) we quickly learned that the old fashion swaddle blankets wouldn’t cut it.  But the Kiddopotamus wraps kept his hands snug in the contents of the wrap so that he couldnt accidently or deliberately wake himself up.  

4.)  Medela Pump In Style – this is a must have for any pumping / working mom.  While the price is steep, I found it to be my saving grace (and still is).  Hands down one of the best purchases I made in the last five months.

5.) City Mini Stroller – I am a huge fan of the city mini, not only because it is extremely durable for the city streets, but because it is the lightest of stroller (aside from the Graco umbrella strollers) so it makes carrying it up brownstones with an infant in tow much easier.



First Christmas

After overcoming some barriers (i.e., an infant head cold, a sick nephew, an unexpected family death and a blizzard), Benji’s first Christmas was as wonderful and memorable and special as I had hoped for.  

Baby Its Cold Outside

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Captain Blueberry Pants

Pepperidge Farm Fatty

You.  You’re so damn good I can’t even pronounce you.   But I have a bone to pick.  You have severely cannibalized my post-pregnancy weight loss.    And while you may think its cute that you sit in a fancy, sophisticated canister, I do not.  In fact, I loathe your canister. 

Why? 

Because you make it impossible for me to secretly dispose of you.  Your counterparts, Oreo, Chips Ahoy, the girl scouts, all housed in a biodegradable, easily-disposable package that allows me to eat and discard without my husband knowing. But you and your bulky, cumbersome canister make me look piggish when I eat lets say...several canisters...and then leave me no room in my garbage for anything else.  How selfish of you!  And to make matters worse, I need to RECYCLE you in a clear plastic bag so my shame and embarrassment is broadcasted all over neighborhood.  

Shame on you.  But I love you so much.

We Do It All For the Nookie

When I was pregnant, I was *that* mommy-to-be  that said “my kid wont need a pacifier”.   I thought with enough love and cuddles and support that I could soothe any fuss.  But as with many other things, I was quickly jolted to reality when I realized how that binkie / nookie / life-support-plug quickly revolutionized my son’s emotions.  In those first critical weeks of his life, we would sanitize and wash that pacifier anytime it left his lips.  Should it fall on the floor, we would act as if it fell into a pile of hot, steaming dog poop and quickly perform the sterilization process (i.e., boil the pacifier, remove it with tongs, ensure that it doesn’t touch ANYTHING until his next use).  Fast forward five months later, when that pacifier falls on the floor, as it does a hundred times a day, I find intense satisfaction when I look down to find it sitting “nookie plug up”.  Sometimes I cheer quietly to myself.  Small victories. 

Schizophrenic Swan

If a movie consumes your thoughts for more than 72 hours, does that mean it was a good movie?

Delicious Sandwich

The true greatness of a turkey sandwich is measured by the amount of mayonnaise.  For those who dislike mayo, I am willing to detract this statement.  But for those who are mayo-crazed like myself, I challenge you to find me a better tasting turkey sandwich without a healthy glop of Hellmann’s best.

Captain Blueberry Himself

My creative inspiration.  Benji 4 months old.

New Beginnings

After years of being very uninspired, I am excited to have *offically* found the creative inspiration to create my own blog.  While I am uncertain of who the target audience will be, or if anyone other than myself will read this blog, I am eager to share the beautiful chaos of my life: a full-time job, one baby, two cats and a husband in 700 square feet of Brooklyn brownstone living.